Sean Shibe and Friends (Glasshouse)

 It's Sunday afternoon and I am in full flow of my weekly chores. The food shop for the week ahead has been done, a couple of washing machine loads have spun, and I have trimmed the hedges on my driveway. I am doing my best to coordinate the chaos of clothes in every corner of my house.

Not only is it time for this afternoon's Prom, but also time for a bite to eat. Thus far, it's just the filter coffee and chocolate brownie I had at Ness Gardens with my family earlier in the day. There are some eggs and avocado left over from last week, so I decide on these on toast for a late lunch.

Image: Pixabay.com

We are back to Gateshead this afternoon, and with a name familar from a Prom earlier in the week: Sean Shibe. This time he is in his usual acoustic guise, playing a lovely classical guitar piece (12 Caprices by James Dillon) to start.

Next up is Bel canto, sung by Cassandra Miller. It's a bit zany, and puts me in mind of some of Yoko Ono's work which, if I'm honest, isn't my cup of tea.

The interval is filled for us radio listeners by a bit of Debussy, and we hear from Pierre Boulez via the BBC archives, as a taster of what is to come in the second half.

From the beginning, it is clear that Le marteau sans maître is going to be another erratic piece. It sounds like a cloud of flute, glockenspiel, and the odd string arc. Each to their own, but to me it is too abstract to understand. Not something I would listen to for personal enjoyment, I'm afraid!

Bach and Mendelssohn in Gateshead

The third and (thankfully) final of today's proms on BBC Radio 3. I say thankfully only because it has been a near-seven hour shift today. Fortunately this one features two of my favourite composers, Bach and Mendelssohn.

I am back in the kitchen, and my ears are impaired by the spin of my washing machine, and my air fryer baking a Higgidy steak and ale pie (which I later pair with a can of Vimto zero - it is Saturday after all).

In Gateshead with the Royal Northern Symphonia, Bach's Keyboard Concerto in D minor certainly does start off heavy on the keyboard. Indeed, you can't move for the keys virtuosity in this piece of music.

During the interval, I think I catch the announcer saying that the conductor, Dinis Sousa, claims Bach as his favourite composer since childhood. This is something we have in common, though I would wager we took a different route. Chuckles at the Hamlet cigar commercials were my way in.

The second half is Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, and this showcases some beautiful movements on the strings, leading to grand choral works from the Hudderfield Choral Society.

I finish my tea and soak up the glory of this final piece of the day!

JADE & Royal Northern Sinfonia

JADE with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Robert Ames

Image: Pixabay.com

From the Royal Albert Hall in London, to the Glasshouse in Gateshead, all via the wizardry of Radio 3. Unlike the Albert Hall, I have, with much regret, never seen a show at the Glasshouse. But I do of course recognise it's architecture as a staple of the North East.

I am not familiar with any of JADE's repertoire, nor anything of Little Mix. But her cover of Madonna's Frozen is cracking, and her introduction of her own song Plastic Box hits a nerve - I listen to the lyrics intently.

The crowd and the atmosphere (from what I can decipher on the kitchen radio), reminds me much of the old Proms in the Park, which I was fortunate enough to attend back in 2017. I'm getting pleasant flashbacks of watching Steps, Texas, et al, at Hyde Park, with an old mate who has since graduated to the great concert in the sky.

It's a lovely orchestral introduction to Set You Free (N-Trance song), which flashes me back to childhood in the 1990's.

Who knew pop music could evoke such existential reflections?

Thank you, and good night!