Reaching out

A theme going here ... see yesterday's backblip.

S picked up Sue's daughter N and granddaughter A from the airport this morning. Funeral arrangements are well advanced.

Apart from that it was mostly a quiet day at home, but at 6 o'clock we went to Talairan to see No Mad, a group playing what was described as "folk music". It's not what you would think of as folk music if you're British, but it was well worth the trip. It was an acoustic concert in the genuine sense -- no amplification -- and lit only by candles on the stage, which made for a magical atmosphere, only enhanced by the music they played. I can't find out much about them, but I felt they must be classically trained. Not many singers these days are confident singing a capella without mikes.

The first song featured close harmony and a fugue. For a later one, they distributed themselves in the four corners of the darkened village hall and sang in perfect harmony and timing without really being able to see each other. The songs were so unusual, with complex structures and changes of tempo, and the five of them played a wide variety of acoustic instruments -- drums, bodhrans, xylophone, violin,cello, clarinet, guitar, melodica, foot bass, and no doubt a few others I've forgotten. The audience was spellbound for an hour and a half. For the encore, the lighting guy came and snuffed all the candles on the stage while they sang, so they finished in the dark. I bought a CD to support them, not that I've got anything to play it on, but I'll get the old white plastic Macbook out and rip it onto a hard disk. This video is a good representation of their repertoire.

As it's part of the Centre Culturel programme, there was wine and excellent nibbles from the local baker afterwards. The cellist had got a round of applause earlier, because she said her parents were huge fans of Corbières wines, and she was delighted to be in a room with people who made it. All round a very pleasant surprise for only 5 euros each. Vive la culture !