The Weather and Everyone's Health

Friday, November 17, 2006

Today I...

Went to the 1pm concert at the Royal Academy. And here's the shocking part--are you ready? I left enough time so that even when I was running late I got there 15-20mins before it started--so I had my choice of seats, and I had time to go to the bathroom and peruse my program at leisure. It was like the twilight zone. The program was De Falla's "El Amor Brujo*" (with vocalists) and Britten's Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes or something. I think the acoustics in the hall weren't great, or at least I picked a seat that had a better view than it had acoustical properties. Still, the music was good, and the oboe player on "El Amor Brujo" should have had her own bow like the vocalists, because she carried a lot of it. I felt almost embarrassed for the vocalists because they were emoting so much, so close to the audience, and everyone was staring at them! And then I realized that was the point, so I stared, too. The libretto and translation in the program were neither complete nor completely helpful, but I was able to pick out a few words of Spanish in the untranslated parts so I had an idea of what was up.

I don't find Britten immediately accessible, but the interludes were...interesting, not bad. Mood pieces, I guess. In the last few bars of the final movement, the "storm," the orchestra totally rocked out, so the ovation was very enthusiastic. I actually liked the music better with my eyes closed, FWIW.

The Symphonic Brass of the Royal Academy are doing Pictures at an Exhibition and two Bernstein pieces on the 29th! Hmmm. We'll see. It's not free; it costs 5 pounds.

Anyway, after the concert I treated myself to an overpriced meal at a fancyish vegetarian restaurant. In retrospect, I should have gone to the unpretentious cafe across the street. Oh well.

Then I wandered over to Euston Square, where University College (now part of University of London) is. I was originally intending to just pass it on my way, but I decided to have a good ol' ramble in and around it. Plenty of old world charm, but also some striking juxtapositions in terms of architecture. For example, you might have a very modern glass-and-steel structure in the middle of--or as part of--a 19th century brick building. I think at one point I saw two 5-story libraries directly across from each other. As you can imagine, I became a little weak in the knees at that point and had to steady myself.
In my rambles through UCL I did even eventually manage to find Queen's Square, which is said to have the world's greatest concentration of MRI machines, because not only is it home to the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, but it is adjacent to the Institute of Neurology and also a 3rd thing, I forget what.

Then finally, I arrived at the British Museum. The building itself is very interesting. It looks like it used to be a big square building with a courtyard, and a small circular reading room was in the couryard. However, now the courtyard is covered by a dome so the whole thing is indoors. I think I'm glad I didn't know about it before I went because the effect is quite striking and almost surreal. But I would recommend going on a sunny day because I think they depend on light coming in through the dome; today it was cloudy and rainy and I didn't think the lighting was great. The reading room is now a place where you can access the collections and information about them with the online Compass system. However, apart from the indoor/outdoor architecture and the computer thingy, in many ways I found it to be a surprisingly old-fashioned museum. What I mean is, they had a lot of old things, many gotten, let's be honest, in socially irresponsible** ways, and there was not much attempt to apologize or contextualize that, or even to present a non-otherising view of the cultures from which they were taken. And that might have been ok, but what I found more disappointing was that there wasn't much done to help visitors make sense of or relate to the objects being exhibited; some of the plaques, in fact, were downright uninformative or confusing (My expectations have been raised by the Asian Art Museum, which I think has done a wonderful job of organizing its collection thematically and accessibly. Also, great lighting even on a rainy day). Having said all that, they have a tremendous amount of fascinating stuff there--I saw the Rosetta Stone! The actual one! And tablets of cuneiform writing, and 10-foot tall man-headed bulls that guarded that palace of Sargon that give you a chill when you stand in front of them. I had no idea we had so many concrete reminders of these ancient civilizations! I wish I could have taken my 9th-grade history class there. I also saw artifacts from Roman Britain. Amazing! Unfortunately, the main Roman Britain area of the museum was undergoing refurbishment or something, but they had "highlights" on display. One was the shield of a Roman soldier; on the edge, someone, either the soldier or his mother or lover, had punched his name so you'd know who's shield it is. Almost 2000 years ago and you can still see it. Wow. I wanted more information about these things and was not satisfied with the plaques, but I should add that there are many guides you can pay money for and buy in the museum. I guess that's only fair.

*Once when I was in HS or Jr. High, I saw a semi-staged production of "El Amor Brujo" on TV (I think it was Live from Lincoln Center) with Denyce Graves doing the singing for Candelas, and a flamenco troupe doing all the dancing. It was cool.
**For example, one sculpture "found its way to the Royal collection" after its original owner was beheaded. Hmm.

- posted by k @ 2:44 PM