Toucan Play...

The concert last night evolved in a rather extraordinary way for two musicians from Huddersfield.
They actually first met in Lima airport, Peru!
Robin spotted Simeon, submerged beneath a pile of flute cases, and likewise, Simeon rightly surmised, with incredible deductive powers, that Robin was also a musician, as he was sitting with his guitar flight case.
The two struck up a conversation and found they were destined for the same place.

Here they are, later in the trip when they were in Costa Rica:



Last night the venue was full, with some members of the audience travelling quite large distances, as they had previously seen the pair play when in South America.


The programme was eclectic, with Simeon playing a wide variety of flutes and pan pipes in a combination of duets and solo performances.

Programme:

Entracte - Jacques Ibert Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Fairie Queen - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

She Moved Through the Fair - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Malaguena - Trad. Robin Hill

Un Dia de Noviembre - Leo Brouwer Robin Hill

Tango En Skai - Roland Dyens Robin Hill

Gabriel's Oboe Theme - Ennio Morricone Simeon Wood

Devotion - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Concerto in D - Vivaldi Robin Hill/Simeon Wood


INTERVAL

Sonata in D - Christian Gottlieb Scheidler Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Grasping the Thistle - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Adagio: Concierto de Aranjuez - Rodrigo Robin Hill

Rakes of Kildare - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Danza Brasileira - Robin Hill Robin Hill


ENCORE

Improvisation - Robin Hill & Simeon Wood (Chinese Flute)

The concert was a great success and both musicians look forward to playing together in the near future.

Robin Hill and Simeon Wood - In Concert

Rather late notice, and please don't sack the manager - after all, one of my Twitter friends, Jonathan Harris, said this about me today:

"#followfriday @annahill for knocking spots of other music industry managers in her use of the internet. and she does it for love !!"

But if you are in travelling distance of Shelley, Huddersfield, then you will be able to see Robin in concert with Simeon Wood.

As the promoters say:

Robin Hill and Simeon Wood in concert together
Saturday 9th May 2009, 7:30PM - 10:00PM
World-renowned guitarist Robin Hill joins forces with flautist Simeon Wood to become The Dream Team - hugely popular in this area this will be our first opportunity to hear them combined in one great evening of music- with their own laid back style!
Admission Details:
Tickets £10 (children & students £8) available from Shelley Spar Stores or ring 01484 604486


There will be a mixture of solo pieces by both performers and a number of duets. It will be a fabulous evening and a great way to spend your Saturday night.

Details can be seen here


For more information, contact:
Mrs Priestman
Tel: 01484 604486

Venue:
Shelley Village Hall,
Huddersfield Road,
Shelley,
HD8 8HE

Shame (Flute) about the African Nose Trumpet

I haven't as yet been able to establish why, but in the last few days there have been a number of new visitors here from America, all arriving at the same page.

They found their way to a post I ran back in October 2007, called, The Shame Flute, which you can read here.

Whether there has recently been a radio or T.V. programme featuring the said flute, I'm not sure, but whatever the source, the interest has spanned from coast to coast.
But I am very pleased to welcome all new visitors and hope you enjoy the Hillhouse experience!

This got me thinking about unusual and interesting facts connected to instruments, so, I did a bit of research.

Did you know, for example, that the flutes used by Inca chieftains were made from the arms and shinbones of their captured foes?
Worth remembering next time you happen to be asked to play one.

Or that drums on the island of Timor are carved in the shape of a human torso, because an ancient tribal hero could imitate the sound of the drum by thumping his chest.

Finally, that the national instrument of Polynesia is the nose flute, which is played with one nostril.

This last point reminds me of a rather harrowing time our eldest child recently had.
He was being interviewed for a place at senior school, by the headmaster.
This, as you can imagine, is a stressful situation for an 11 year old, especially when shown an unusual object and asked to guess what it was.

Poor son was at a complete loss.
He'd never seen the item before, and correctly surmised that he was being tested on his lateral thinking.
After much examination, and soul searching, he still had no idea, so decided to try injecting a little humour.
"It's an African nose trumpet," he declared.
Their was no response from the headmaster, and I spent the next few days reassuring son number one, that his response had been acceptable given his family background. (By that I mean musical and not raving mad...)

Anyway, he starts at the school in September, so I assume he either guessed correctly, and the item was in fact an African nose trumpet, or, and more likely, the head 'overlooked' the attempt at humour and dismissed it as youthful high spirits...

The 'Shame Flute'

Rumour has it that in medieval Germany, musicians who played poorly, were subjected to the public humiliation of the 'Shame Flute'.

The poor musician was forced to wear a mock instrument, with their fingers clamped in position, whilst they made a public apology to the music!

Music was obviously taken very seriously, and I would love to find out more about this.

I can't help wondering who made the decision about the musician's ability.
Did the audience take a vote at the end of each concert?
Was it related to a sort of primitive clapometer?
Could the system be abused to humiliate a rival soloist?

Whatever the history, the fact that music was held in such high esteem, is a great thing.
I can't imagine having one's fingers clamped would help very much with any future performances.
Whilst I don't advocate a return of the practice, maybe it could be used as a method for encouraging students to spend a little more time on their scales and arpeggios....