Well another review today, this time in the Independent. Seems to like me but I have to say I disagree with the rest of the review! Still here it is.

Scored for six singers and as many instrumentalists, Jonathan Dove’s latest opera is also pitched to a family audience. Where his previous Opera North commission Pinocchio sprawled across three hours without so much as a memorable tune, Swanhunter is succinct and catchy, with a cantering motif for accordion (Murray Grainger) and a witty libretto adapted from The Kalevala by Alasdair Middleton.

With Andrew Rees as Lemminkäinen and Yvonne Howard as his mother, Elizabeth Cragg, Frances Bourne, Nicholas Sharrat and Graeme Broadbent relate (and comment on) the impulsive hero’s quest for a bride in sweetly-blended two-, three- and four-part harmony. Dove’s musical language is unfussy and efficient: the splintered ice of the extreme North is conveyed in sparkling tuned percussion, a horn neighs violently at the appearance of The Devil’s Horse, and the Swan glides to Cragg’s stratospheric vocalise. Excellent ensemble-work aside, the vocal honours go to Howard, whose anxious refrain is expanded into a grand lament as she journeys to the north to reclaim her “cold, torn” son’s corpse.

Designed by Dody Nash, Clare Whistler’s athletic touring production has some ingenious touches. The hooves and antlers of Death’s Elk are garden spades and shears, Lemminkäinen’s home a fairytale turret, the ice-floes smoothly-curved abstract shapes, the costumes cosy padded parkas. At times, the jovial, credit-crunch atmosphere feels like a community theatre workshop in a garden centre, and I wonder if children might not feel a little patronised. Swanhunter and Rumpelstiltskin are both intriguing introductions to music theatre but were Sawer’s cautionary tale and Dove’s Finnish adventure to clash, I know which I’d choose.

‘Swanhunter’: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds (0844 848 2727) 3pm/6.30pm today, then touring

Here is the review of Swanhunter from the Guardian. I even get a mention!

Alfred Hickling, Guardian Monday 16 November 2009 21.30 GMT

Writing opera – or indeed any form of entertainment – for children is often considered a marginal activity. The best a child-friendly composer might hope for would be an opera company to commission a small scale, developmental work that, if successful, might lead to an invitation to the main stage. Curiously, Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton appear to be heading the opposite way. In 2007, Opera North had an enormous success with The Adventures of Pinocchio; a three-hour spectacular with full orchestra, a working Ferris wheel and a 20-foot giant. How to follow that? The answer is with a 50-minute chamber piece performed in Opera North’s studio space.

Dove and Middleton have taken a tale from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, dramatising the journey of a young hero, Lemminkäinen, to the northland to claim a bride “who makes the sun sigh and the moon ache”. But first he must complete a series of dangerous tasks and is unfortunately dismembered, before his grieving mother magically sings him back to life. It’s a perfect tale to be told in music – so perfect in fact that Sibelius has already done it in the symphonic Lemminkäinen suite.

Dove’s music is much leaner than Sibelius’s, which is inevitable with only six instruments in the ensemble. But it gains much of its character from the inspired use of an accordion, a wheezing orchestra in itself, which binds the score together like tightly packed snow.

After the extravagance of Pinocchio, the budget for Clare Whistler’s production has been whittled down to little more than a few polystyrene cut-outs to suggest ice-floes. Andrew Rees sings the taxing tenor role of Lemminkäinen with heroic stamina, despite having succumbed, not entirely inappropriately, to a cold. As his mother, Yvonne Howard’s life-affirming lament may be the most ravishing piece of sustained lyric writing Dove has produced.

Yet the fidget factor is a critical consideration, and for all its subtleties you can’t help wondering if a young audience is more naturally inclined towards the story of a puppet with behavioural issues than a mythic quest for a bride who can make the sun sigh and the moon ache. Swanhunter’s minor success is a result of its modest ambitions. But in an industry usually noted for grandiloquent folly, this feels like a rare instance of an opera company biting off less than it can chew.

Well I have done it again!! I have been hankering after a bandoneon for a while now have found a beautiful vintage Alfred Arnold ‘Perugi’ system model for sale.

The Perugi layout is very similar to a C system freebass accordion so I am able to play it relatively easily so I am very excited to explore all the possibilities this gives me.

It is coming from France so I will keep you all updated on how it goes!!

Well I am on the road again with Opera North. This year it is another new opera from Jonathan Dove called Swanhunter.

Swanhunter
Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton
World Premiere
(2009)

Commissioned and created specifically for families and children, Opera North broadens the reach and appeal of opera with mythical creatures, a talking swan and a menacing hat.

Talented duo, composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton, who brought the hugely popular The Adventures of Pinocchio to Opera North in 2007, now bring this short, small-scale opera, Swanhunter, an energetically enticing tale based on Finnish mythology.

Against his mother’s wishes, the determined hero Lemminkäinen travels North to find a bride. Along the way he is met by challenges and quests that will delight and enthral audiences and show that a mother’s love conquers all, even death.

It was wet… but still had a great time! Thanks to all!

We don’t often see much about the Maugein accordion factory but I found this recently! Enjoy!

Now as many of you will have seen I did something very unusual for me and actually purchased an accordion the other weekend! Well it is fabulous.. but like all ‘off the peg’ items it is not quite perfect for me. So since I have had a few days off recently I have been spending some time tweaking!

The first thing I have done is installed some sockets and an AKG MPA V L phantom power adaptor in te left hand. Regular readers know that this is my prefered way to miking the left hand. Well normally this is a little difficult but on the Maugein it was even harder as the left plate is made of metal!! Still with the aid of a large drill and a set of files the job has been done and all is working fine!

I have also removed the original grill cloth, and the cloth from the left hand too. I have replaced this with the same open weave cloth used on my Pigini to give a much more open sound, it also looks great too!

On playing the right hand I found the key work a little noisy so I looked for every place that was echoing. Maugein use a lot of metal, particularly behind the keyboard so I removed the plate and covered it with a sheet of foam, courtesy of Hobby Craft! The behind the keyboard register switches also ratlle a little so a little sliver of cloth there sorts that out. The grill is also a little lose so more foam and material sorts that. The end result?… well a crisp and fast keyboard but beautifully quiet and subtle!! Love it!!

Well I have been tempted…. and found wanting!!

It is a very rare thing for me to be tempted by another accordion but this weekend I have been tested and failed completely!

Whilst at Chippenham Festival I was lucky enough to come across the  most wonderful accordion. Built by the renowned French factory Maugein this accordion is a 4 row C system chromatic 80 bass accordion. With a 2 voice right hand its sound is so vibrant and crisp and unlike anything else you meet.

The significant difference comes from its construction, normally reeds are mounted agaist the blocks by wax but in the Maugein they are pinned against cork. This gives it such a different sound and  is something you just dont get from the normal Italian accordion. It is a sound you dont even get from my wonderful Pigini… so I had to buy it!!! Have a look at the photos and tell me you could have resisted….! Click here to have a look!

One of the biggest challenges for accordionists is how to amplify the sound. Well I have long struggled with this and have finally found a solution I am happy with! This does not mean I am not looking at other ideas but for now I am happy!

Lets look at each hand separately. Although internal mics are easy and convenient they are in my opinion a poor sound, muffled and not a true representation of the sound.  Now theright hand doesnt really move too much so a stand mounted mic is ok. But with so many mics on the market what do you choose?! Well I have tried many and as you might have guessed have settled an a rather special mic! Not cheap but gives a great sound. I now use a Neumann KM185, hyper cardioid mic but with such a pure sound. It always gives me a great sound and I just love the freedom it gives me. You might say that being stand mounted restricts you but I find the opposite, if I need a close mic sound I can move close, but can also move away for more subtle mic effects. Give it a try with the mic of your choice!

Now we can’t do the same with the left hand as it moves all the time. Again internal mics sound muffled and boomy so that is not for me. What I have settled on is 2 AKG micro mics. They now make the C516 mic but I have the older C416. Both work fine and can be used with a battey pack called the B29l. I however prefer to get away from battery and rely on phantom power so I use the MPA V L phantom adapter. I have installed this in the left hand internally, wired in to two small XLR sockets for each mic, giving my the convenience of easy plugging but retaining the separation of the AKG boom mounts.

Well that’s my solution, if you would like any more information or help, drop me a line!

As some of you may know my main piano accordion has been back to Pigini in Italy for some repairs but also for some work to develop the instrument. The standard model P36/3 that is my accordion is perhaps the finest 72 bass accordion available but the best is always open to tweaking and I am most grateful to Massimo Pigini for his help and assistance in tailoring the accordion to my specific needs.

So what has been done? Over all all the reeds have been replaced with the absolute finest hand made reeds giving an amazing sound and feel but that is just the start. Lets look further!

Lets start with the right hand. The normal accordion comes with 3 voices, 2 tuned at pitch and one tuned an octave low. Not only that but one of the ‘at pitch’ reeds can be tuned anywhere from the same tuning to up to about 16 cents sharp for that famous tremolo sound. Now my accordion has always been tuned ‘dry’ or totally in tune. However I have had that need for a slight tremolo, maybe about 4 cents sharp. Well on this new accordion I have all three reeds tuned at pitch! One is a wonderful mellow sound, the second is exactly the same to add power and definition. The third reed is a really hard sounding reed for penetration, but of course it can also be added to the first for a mellow tremolo sound.

Moving on we now look at the grill. The purpose of a grill is to give protection to the accordion but of course this is in conflict to the sound, the best sound being no grill at all. Pigini has managed to make the finest grill possible with as little material as possible and a very open weave grill cloth. This is the perfect compromise as it gives you some protection but also does not block the sound at all. The result is the most open and expressive sound you have heard!

Now the left hand! The first obvious thing is the two sound scrolls at the front of the instrument. Normally the sound escapes from the left hand from the plate by the wrist, facing to the left of the player. This is not really ideal as the right hand sound projects forward. What we have acheived is a focused sound projecting forwards by placing a solid wood left hand plate with no holes, thereby forcing the sound out through the two holes at the front, resulting in a great balance between the hands.

My left hand has also been replaced! Not personally of course but on the accordion! Now the obvious difference is that we have changed from 72 bass to 96 bass. Now in honesty this is more because we could than need to but the 96 bass stops any possible restrictions when playing the more complex chords. The much more exciting change is not visible but is with the dominant seventh row. Now for may years I have felt this row to be pretty useless as you can play exactly the same notes with the adjacent diminished seventh button, for instance a C dom 7 plays C E G Bb, but if you play a C with a G dim 7th you get C E G Bb!! So why have the dom 7th row?! So on my new accordion we have dispensed with it and replaced it with a row of open 5ths! This has let me explore all sorts of new sounds, sustained 4ths, minor 9ths without the 7th etc! This to me is one of the most exciting new possibilities my accordion gives me!

I must give many thanks to Massimo Pigini and all his staff at Pigini for the work they have done on my accordion. It is now in my opinion the finest compact accordion I have ever played and I am proud to play it!