Synthèse

S was off with one of his hardcore walking groups today. I took the bus into Almuñecar for a pre-lunch outdoor concert (yes,in February!) by Synthèse, a saxophone quartet from Castilla y León, because I'm a sucker for a baritone saxophone.

The bus got me there almost an hour early, so I had a glass of wine and a tapa at Seiva in the sunshine on the Plaza de la Constitución, very civilised. The concert was in a small square just round the corner from Los Pajaritos which I've never noticed before. Surrounded by high walls, it was quite sheltered from the wind, but you could see the tops of the eight tall palm trees that give it its name (plaza de las Palmas) waving in the wind, and it was a little chilly in the shade -- I was glad of my fleece and scarf. As they played, tempting smells of fried fish wafted over from Los Pajaritos. When I passed it on the way out of the concert it was so rammed you couldn't even see a path to the bar.

I can't say I was hugely fond of the programme -- it was a bit "Have you learned a tune yet?" I can't tell you what the pieces were, because I was near the back, and with no amplification could only hear about one word in ten of the introductions. I did catch the title of the last piece, which I quite liked -- it was more jazzy than the rest. I can't find a recording of them playing it, but here's Volcanic Ash played by the Sinta Quartet. I definitely preferred the last saxophone quartet I saw, also in Almuñecar.

Being at the back made photos a bit tricky, but I did my best. There's a colour one in extras because their saxophones were beautifully golden and shiny.

Taxi back seemed a better option than waiting three hours for the next bus, so that's what I did. S wasn't back so I had a very light lunch, having prepared a Sabrina Ghayour recipe of butternut squash and chickpea tagine for dinner. We haven't eaten it yet but I can tell you that it is delicious. It was less windy here than in town, surprisingly, so when S got back from his spectacularly scenic walk we sat on the terrace and ate ice cream. Now watching the sun go down before pouring a pre-dinner glass of wine.