tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post112358191396987482..comments2024-03-15T20:32:39.815+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Pärt, Perotin and Plainchant pre-eminent at PromsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1137631577575901352006-01-19T00:46:00.000+00:002006-01-19T00:46:00.000+00:00The baritone who collapsed from heat exhaustion wa...The baritone who collapsed from heat exhaustion was Thomas Allen. He had faltered once or twice before collapsing. Shortly after he was carried off stage and stranger appeared on the platform and sang what was left of the baritone's part. <BR/>He was an amateur singer who had taken part in an amateur production of the same work a copuple of weeks earlier.<BR/>DonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1123787526229800602005-08-11T20:12:00.000+01:002005-08-11T20:12:00.000+01:00If America weren't so anti-French denizens thereof...If America weren't so anti-French denizens thereof might know that proms was short for promenades. Back in the States, there are still pops concerts, which are sometimes indoors and sometimes outdoors. The British proms actually require a pretty high level of musical sophistication of its listeners,unlike most American pops concerts which tend to be revenue generators and time fillers for unionized American orchestral musicians with full calendar schedules to be filled. Once American pops concerts were pretty sophisticated and classy affairs but those days are generally long gone. I think New York needs a Proms concept to make the long hot summer months more bearable and meaningful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1123785073013090712005-08-11T19:31:00.000+01:002005-08-11T19:31:00.000+01:00Not a stupid question at all. The venue for the co...Not a stupid question at all. The venue for the concerts is the Albert Hall in London. This is an oval shaped auditorium which has a large flat floor space in front of the platform. There are no seats in this area, the audience stands. This is the 'promenade'- from the French <I>promener</I> to walk. There are no tickets for this area, you can only get in by queuing on the day of the concert. Admission is a ridiculously cheap £4 ($7US), which allows you to stand within feet of top-class orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic. There is additional standing room at the top of the auditorium. The total capacity for the two promenade areas is 1400 people. <BR/><BR/>There is a very strong tradition of promenading. At the last night each year the promenaders place a laurel wreath on a bust of Sir Henry Wood, the founder of the concerts. Promenading is not for the faint hearted. The arena can get very hot and airless, and standing in close proximity to 1400 other music lovers for the duration of one of the Ring operas can be as much a test of endurance as a musical event. Many, many years ago I was at a televised Prom with Carmina Burana conducted by Andre Previn. The TV lights created so much heat that the baritone soloist passed out, and had to be carried off the stage!Pliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1123784603818700502005-08-11T19:23:00.000+01:002005-08-11T19:23:00.000+01:00Stupid American question - Why are they called “Pr...Stupid American question - Why are they called “Proms”? In America, as I’m sure you know, “Proms” are dances in High School. I know that Prom is short for promontory, which according to Dictionary.com means:<BR/><BR/>A high ridge of land or rock jutting out into a body of water; a headland. <BR/>Anatomy. A projecting part. <BR/> <BR/>So, I’m a little confused. Is it just something that “is” and nobody knows why it’s called what it is?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com