Music and sound journey
February 16, 2012
As the piece is called Song of Songs, I suppose I should be thinking about singing. However the text in all its richness seems song enough in some ways.
I began by thinking about Bach's cello suites. Elaine – cellist who I first worked with on Michael Boyd's production of Macbeth in 2011 – and I talked a lot about the staging and choreographing of these. I have always loved the Sarabande from Suite No. 4.
Ultimately these are too interesting in themselves as a standalone work - not only the musical content but also the image of a cellist sitting on stage playing this music and we lesser mortals wondering how on earth it happens!
The Sarabande is contemplative in its nature and while that is the one for some of the Song of Solomon, it is not the celebratory tone that I also want to express, or indeed the rush or sensual excitement and stimulation. So the Courante.
So I went to William Lawes and listened to the viol da Gamba and enjoyed its more bassy and deeper sound. This is, so John Woolf, the RSC's Head of Music tells me, because of the ability to bow two strings at the same time.
It reminded me of working on the St Matthew's Passion at Glyndebourne – an amazing experience for all concerned (and Marmite in term of peoples appreciation or not!), in particular the use of the viol in the baritone aria Komm, Susses Kreuz.
This will be an ongoing bit of the Blog of Blogs as we get more and more information and thoughts begin to solidify.
by Struan Leslie
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