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June 08, 2007
The Royal Festival Hall Festival
Tonight we went to a festival celebrating the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall, that great symbol of Britain's attempt at post-WWII recovery. Did you know that food rations were still in place here until 1954? I also discovered that Ealing Studios was used after the war as the British counterpart to Hollywood, to reinstate morale in the British public and to make major (and often satirical) political statements. I'd love to see some of those old movies they produced in the 40's and 50's.
So at the festival we were entertained by a flamenco guitarist, ballroom dancers, two choirs that called to each other between a riverboat and a balcony (the music was a little underwhelming and inaccessible, mostly new-agey/native american/dissonant, although overall the sound was quite powerful and it echoed across London- we were told that the choirs' role was to "praise" the building, sort of an odd pagan ritual), Indonesian gamelans, and finally, Billy Bragg. Yes, the same Billy Bragg who champions progressive politics and who recorded with Wilco. The highlight: he did his own "punk" piece, calling himself "Johnny Clash." Actually, the song was too political for our tastes, but quite funny all the same. On Sunday night we'll go back to the hall to hear Beethoven's 9th sung by a 2000 member choir, with the lyrics rewritten by Mr. Bragg himself. Ironically, Beethoven's original lyrics would have been consistent with the paganish feel of the whole festival, so I'm not sure why they bothered to change them.
P.S. Today we also visited the UK office of the EU parliament and were given a presentation by the director of media and communications, a liaison between the two entities. Let me just say - I want that job!
| By laurajuanita | 08:41 PM
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Comments
Ok, there is something just a a bit disconcerting about the British asking Billy Bragg to rewrite Beethoven. Did Britain demand that as part of Germany's reparation payments after the war? I can imagine Britian saying, "Besides all that money, our songwriters get to rewrite the works of your greatest composer...no ifs, ands, or buts!"
Glad you guys are having a good time over there!
Posted by: Todd at June 9, 2007 10:19 AM
