Ravel in a train station
November 30, 2011 2:44 PM Subscribe
Ravel's Bolero in Copenhagan train station. that is all
Where are the skaters?
posted by biffa at 2:51 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 2:51 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
Amazing. More concerts should be performed like this: amongst people and in the public.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 2:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ravel's Bolero in a massive space battle. that is all.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:55 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:55 PM on November 30, 2011
I hope they timed it so no train was leaving during this. I would totally miss my connection...
posted by ts;dr at 2:59 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by ts;dr at 2:59 PM on November 30, 2011
Few flash whatevers bring a smile now-a-days, but this one did..... thanks!
posted by tomswift at 3:03 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by tomswift at 3:03 PM on November 30, 2011
I hope they timed it so no train was leaving during this.
Considering that the video is nearly five minutes long and more than 1,450 trains leave the station daily, it seems unlikely.
posted by finite at 3:14 PM on November 30, 2011
Considering that the video is nearly five minutes long and more than 1,450 trains leave the station daily, it seems unlikely.
posted by finite at 3:14 PM on November 30, 2011
Oh, what a world we live in.
posted by unsupervised at 3:18 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by unsupervised at 3:18 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
I want to see the large trench coat from under which those tympani appeared.
posted by Kabanos at 3:23 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Kabanos at 3:23 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
Another reason to move to Denmark...
posted by Runes at 3:30 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Runes at 3:30 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
That was fabulous. I'm imagining how bogglingly awesome it would be in person. I would definitely give them a krone.
posted by Jode at 3:40 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by Jode at 3:40 PM on November 30, 2011
Wonderful.
posted by Sternmeyer at 3:43 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by Sternmeyer at 3:43 PM on November 30, 2011
I want to see the large trench coat from under which those tympani appeared.
YES. I want to see it, and then marry its owner.
or at least buy him a Carlsberg or something.
posted by argonauta at 3:49 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
YES. I want to see it, and then marry its owner.
or at least buy him a Carlsberg or something.
posted by argonauta at 3:49 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
I feel like the choice of song was important. An immediately accessible, exploding, serpentine dance in celebration of whatever it is that put that smile on your face.
posted by basicchannel at 3:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by basicchannel at 3:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [3 favorites]
I love Bolero for the same reason that I love the 1812 Overture: it's tacky and loud and just made of pure awesome, and never fails to put a huge smile on my face. Thanks for making this part of my day, eggtooth!
posted by BrashTech at 4:03 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by BrashTech at 4:03 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
Hey, BrashTeck. For me, somehow, it always came to mind when I was digging in a ditch.
posted by eggtooth at 4:08 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by eggtooth at 4:08 PM on November 30, 2011
I'm trying to think of other pieces that build and build like that so that you can legitimately have just a couple of instruments at first and then end with a whole orchestra. I boggled with delight when I saw they had actually lugged in a harp!
posted by winna at 4:08 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by winna at 4:08 PM on November 30, 2011
breathtaking!
posted by naplesyellow at 4:52 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by naplesyellow at 4:52 PM on November 30, 2011
One day I will be in a place where a flash mob happens and I will be happy.
posted by deborah at 5:19 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by deborah at 5:19 PM on November 30, 2011
This was brilliant. All the fuss about how classical music isn't accessible is here proven to be half the problem of the orchestra hall itself, which - when it is removed from the equation - makes the music and the orchestra charming. The orchestra members were clearly and obviously having fun, and I hope it inspires much more of the same.
posted by jet_silver at 5:33 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jet_silver at 5:33 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
With Bolero, Ravel was experimenting with layering orchestral instruments on top of another, all playing the same (to some, excessively repetitive) phrase and rhythm, in order to create a "new instrument". He repeats the phrase and rhythm over and over again, but with different combinations of instruments, which in turn make new sounds. The piece is also notable for including saxophone, which is rare in orchestral arrangements.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:49 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:49 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
This just made my day after dealing with flooded basement and other assorted crap - the look of glee on the performers' faces and the sheer wonder of it - harp! tympani! and even sneaking in the conductor's platform! Delicious!
posted by leslies at 5:56 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by leslies at 5:56 PM on November 30, 2011
I thought the King of Spain commissioned a piece and that this was Ravel's mocking response.
One theme, repeated with each orchestral section, building to a (in this example) mocking crescendo (the trombones) with the whole orchestra. or, is it just me?
posted by eggtooth at 5:57 PM on November 30, 2011
One theme, repeated with each orchestral section, building to a (in this example) mocking crescendo (the trombones) with the whole orchestra. or, is it just me?
posted by eggtooth at 5:57 PM on November 30, 2011
That was delightful. I especially liked the moment early on in the video when the father sat down with his children, settling onto the floor to enjoy the music.
Seeing this has made my night.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:27 PM on November 30, 2011
Seeing this has made my night.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:27 PM on November 30, 2011
I was in that concert hall - oops, sorry, train station - about 25 years ago. That gig just made my memories of it even more awesome. It was great to see the performers in their street clothes too, not in evening wear.
Great post - made my night.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 6:35 PM on November 30, 2011
Great post - made my night.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 6:35 PM on November 30, 2011
Things to love about that video:
The seemingly endless influx of musicians
All the parents with their kids and how they're interacting with them about the music
The intensity with which the players are playing
How once it's over, the orchestra just disappears
This was outstanding, and put a giant smile on my face for the evening. Thanks so much for posting!
posted by hippybear at 6:45 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
The seemingly endless influx of musicians
All the parents with their kids and how they're interacting with them about the music
The intensity with which the players are playing
How once it's over, the orchestra just disappears
This was outstanding, and put a giant smile on my face for the evening. Thanks so much for posting!
posted by hippybear at 6:45 PM on November 30, 2011 [5 favorites]
I loved all of it, but especially the confused elderly woman at the end. WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED.
posted by letitrain at 6:53 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by letitrain at 6:53 PM on November 30, 2011
Well, you'd better, because I just MeFi Married you.
posted by hippybear at 6:53 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by hippybear at 6:53 PM on November 30, 2011
I think if I had seen this in real life I would have sat down on the floor and cried for joy. Out of all the terrible things in the world, to see a crowd of professional musicians playing something so immediately accessible and beautiful for no reason other than they can fills me with hope. No forewarning, no audience, per se -- just a throng of humanity witnessing something extraordinary. Isn't it wonderful to be alive, sometimes?
posted by jpolchlopek at 6:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jpolchlopek at 6:55 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
"because I just MeFi Married you."
uh,
ok, good....
what does that mean, por favor!
posted by eggtooth at 6:57 PM on November 30, 2011
uh,
ok, good....
what does that mean, por favor!
posted by eggtooth at 6:57 PM on November 30, 2011
It means I added you as a contact, but made sure to click the "spouse" button.
It comes from the Great Metafilter Enspousening of 2009.
posted by hippybear at 7:00 PM on November 30, 2011
It comes from the Great Metafilter Enspousening of 2009.
posted by hippybear at 7:00 PM on November 30, 2011
goodness! I hope that's out of excitement and not terror!
posted by hippybear at 7:08 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by hippybear at 7:08 PM on November 30, 2011
I love this piece so very much. I heard it for the first time in 1984, when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean skated to it in the Sarajevo Olympics. My 14 year-old self was fascinated and a little obsessed with the piece after that.
I'm 41 now, and never have quite gotten over the thrill of hearing the glorious wave after wave of music.
posted by MissySedai at 7:29 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm 41 now, and never have quite gotten over the thrill of hearing the glorious wave after wave of music.
posted by MissySedai at 7:29 PM on November 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm 41 now, and never have quite gotten over the thrill of hearing the glorious wave after wave of music.
If you aren't moved by Bolero, there's something wrong with you and you should see a doctor to get it fixed.
posted by nooneyouknow at 7:34 PM on November 30, 2011 [4 favorites]
If you aren't moved by Bolero, there's something wrong with you and you should see a doctor to get it fixed.
posted by nooneyouknow at 7:34 PM on November 30, 2011 [4 favorites]
FWIW, this is a pretty condensed version of the piece. Apparently Ravel said the piece lasts about 17 minutes as written and the average performance lasts about 15 minutes.
posted by hippybear at 7:35 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by hippybear at 7:35 PM on November 30, 2011
Previously: Fragments of La Traviata in a Spanish fruit market
posted by Ruodlieb at 7:36 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by Ruodlieb at 7:36 PM on November 30, 2011
Wonderful! This reminds me of the Philadelphia Opera's Flash Mob performance of Brandisi (The Drinking Song) from La Traviata at the Reading Terminal Market in 2010. You'll recognize the song immediately
I love bringing high art out onto the street where it belongs. I watched this video of Bolero with my 2.5 year old in my lap and his response was the same as if I way playing The Clash -- clapping, fist in the air, and screaming at the end.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:39 PM on November 30, 2011 [4 favorites]
I love bringing high art out onto the street where it belongs. I watched this video of Bolero with my 2.5 year old in my lap and his response was the same as if I way playing The Clash -- clapping, fist in the air, and screaming at the end.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:39 PM on November 30, 2011 [4 favorites]
Wow, synchronicity. I like the Philadelphia one better, more crowded, with more PA schlubs.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:41 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:41 PM on November 30, 2011
This video went around on a harp forum I'm part of. We were all wondering EXACTLY how did that pedal harp get transported in and out casually? The timing was perfect, for me anyway, as I'd just earlier that week been advocating for a harp flash mob. My notion had been dismissed out of hand by the more experienced harpists because "harps don't flashmob". Seriously, pedal harps are heavy! And not too hard to topple, which can be potentially fatal for both the harp and any bystanders... I still contended it could be done. Then, lo and behold, this video shows one in action!
I watched the video several times, and still didn't figure it out. *sigh* I suspect unseen harp roadies.
posted by theplotchickens at 7:58 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
I watched the video several times, and still didn't figure it out. *sigh* I suspect unseen harp roadies.
posted by theplotchickens at 7:58 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
Looks like it could've been pretty heavily edited. So great, regardless!
Reminds me of a similar bit of subway classical
posted by arsey at 8:03 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
Reminds me of a similar bit of subway classical
posted by arsey at 8:03 PM on November 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
I first learned about Bolero from Zbigniew Rybczyńsk's amazing Stairway to Lenin and will forever associate the two.
posted by swift at 9:14 PM on November 30, 2011
posted by swift at 9:14 PM on November 30, 2011
I first learned about Bolero from Zbigniew Rybczyńsk's amazing Stairway to Lenin and will forever associate the two.
Oh. Dear. God.
"The Orchestra"
That damn thing haunts me so hard....
I have a VHS of it someplace, and still drag it out to torture friends on occasion.
I seriously need to get a DVD copy if such a thing exists.
I also seriously need to make a FPP about it. To share the haunting.
posted by hippybear at 9:22 PM on November 30, 2011
Oh. Dear. God.
"The Orchestra"
That damn thing haunts me so hard....
I have a VHS of it someplace, and still drag it out to torture friends on occasion.
I seriously need to get a DVD copy if such a thing exists.
I also seriously need to make a FPP about it. To share the haunting.
posted by hippybear at 9:22 PM on November 30, 2011
My step-grandmother hated the Bolero. Too pop for its time.
Thankfully others of my heroes loved and co-opted it.
posted by Conductor71 at 10:27 PM on November 30, 2011
Thankfully others of my heroes loved and co-opted it.
posted by Conductor71 at 10:27 PM on November 30, 2011
I also seriously need to make a FPP about it. To share the haunting.
Please do!
Because I seriously need some context for...whatever it was that I just watched when I clicked that link. WHO WAS PHONE??
posted by mstokes650 at 10:39 PM on November 30, 2011
Please do!
Because I seriously need some context for...whatever it was that I just watched when I clicked that link. WHO WAS PHONE??
posted by mstokes650 at 10:39 PM on November 30, 2011
And to think I had to watch some jackass with a mutt play the spoons (which he had no formal training for) while begging for a dollar. Oh yeah this kicks ass.
*This does kick ass, I'm just grumpy because I can neither play the spoons nor the French Horn*
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 11:36 PM on November 30, 2011
*This does kick ass, I'm just grumpy because I can neither play the spoons nor the French Horn*
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 11:36 PM on November 30, 2011
That was truly lovely.
But I have to confess I'm such a giant transit/train geek I found my mind wandering to all the great trips I've made out of or through Copenhagen's lovely, efficient central station.
(There's this little Asian noodle fast-food joint just around the corner from the performance space where my daughter discovered the whole idea of Chinese noodles and then we took the train together to Legoland. Another time I left my notebook on top of one of the payphones and came back like 2hrs later and it was still there and I was so delighted I hopped the Metro back to Christianshavn for another drink. My first free city bike ride, just out those doors over there . . . I'm sorry. Ravel. Yes. Lovely.)
posted by gompa at 12:20 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
But I have to confess I'm such a giant transit/train geek I found my mind wandering to all the great trips I've made out of or through Copenhagen's lovely, efficient central station.
(There's this little Asian noodle fast-food joint just around the corner from the performance space where my daughter discovered the whole idea of Chinese noodles and then we took the train together to Legoland. Another time I left my notebook on top of one of the payphones and came back like 2hrs later and it was still there and I was so delighted I hopped the Metro back to Christianshavn for another drink. My first free city bike ride, just out those doors over there . . . I'm sorry. Ravel. Yes. Lovely.)
posted by gompa at 12:20 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Definitely heavily edited. I'd love to see the more accurate version, to get a better idea of what it'd have felt like to be there, and because Bolero just isn't Bolero if it's under five minutes long.
posted by scrowdid at 12:51 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by scrowdid at 12:51 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know why, but I love watching classical performances in street clothes.
posted by Harald74 at 1:29 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Harald74 at 1:29 AM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Sooo. Can't watch the video atm, but am I the only one who has gotten the bolero stuck in their head just reading the blurb?
Less highbrow, here's what happened in Brussel Central Station last year when a flashmob of musicians descended to play "Bicycle Races".
posted by MartinWisse at 4:57 AM on December 1, 2011
Less highbrow, here's what happened in Brussel Central Station last year when a flashmob of musicians descended to play "Bicycle Races".
posted by MartinWisse at 4:57 AM on December 1, 2011
Where are the skaters?
Sarajevo '84 ?
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 5:27 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sarajevo '84 ?
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 5:27 AM on December 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you aren't moved by Bolero, there's something wrong with you and you should see a doctor to get it fixed.
Hee! Well, there's "moved" - which I very much am, chills, goosebumps, the whole shot - and then there's "completely distracted by it to the point of inability to get anything done til it's over". Which I ALSO very much am.
I was just watching the video that Elizabeth the Thirteenth so kindly posted, and my son remarked "Mother, put down the Bolero, you have things to do." He'll cheerfully tell you about the time we were visiting Chicago, and I dragged him down a corridor in the Music Mart because I heard Bolero. Turned out to be a high school orchestra rehearsing for a performance, and I was completely transfixed. He teases me about it, but indulges me as well - for Mother's Day last year, he gifted me with tickets to the local symphony's performance of a number of sensual pieces, including Bolero. Heaven!
posted by MissySedai at 8:29 AM on December 1, 2011
Hee! Well, there's "moved" - which I very much am, chills, goosebumps, the whole shot - and then there's "completely distracted by it to the point of inability to get anything done til it's over". Which I ALSO very much am.
I was just watching the video that Elizabeth the Thirteenth so kindly posted, and my son remarked "Mother, put down the Bolero, you have things to do." He'll cheerfully tell you about the time we were visiting Chicago, and I dragged him down a corridor in the Music Mart because I heard Bolero. Turned out to be a high school orchestra rehearsing for a performance, and I was completely transfixed. He teases me about it, but indulges me as well - for Mother's Day last year, he gifted me with tickets to the local symphony's performance of a number of sensual pieces, including Bolero. Heaven!
posted by MissySedai at 8:29 AM on December 1, 2011
Yeah, the editing and/or logistics of this is kind of mind-boggling. There are clearly a bunch of cameras and mics in the space but you never even see them! Plus the aforementioned mysterious sudden appearance of large instruments like the harp and timpani. I too would love to see the full performance, especially because they left out my favorite bit (where the horn and piccolos and celesta play in fifths).
posted by speicus at 2:46 PM on December 1, 2011
posted by speicus at 2:46 PM on December 1, 2011
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