Blue Mushrooms

Of course, they're not blue mushrooms at all, but acoustic diffusing discs in the upper reaches of the Royal Albert Hall. I like to call them blue mushrooms though!

In fact, they're not always blue, but shine different colours depending on the light being shone at them from below. I like them best when they're blue!

Today was Bach Day! My Mum and I left home early (around 7.30), drove to London, had a coffee, and then started on our all-day marathon of 4 Bach concerts (the first two part of the Proms Saturday Matinee series, and the second two part of the Proms themselves). The complete listing for the day can currently be seen here.

It was a fabulous day! Two beautiful concerts of "pure Bach", a stunning organ recital on the amazing organ in the Royal Albert Hall, and then a concert of transcriptions. In between times, Mum and I had lunch in the Peter Jones restaurant and bought buttons and ribbon in the haberdashery department!

I keep trying to think of highlights of the day. The violin solo in Brandenburg 4, the interplays in Brandenburg 3, the horns in Brandenburg 1, the harpsichord solo in Brandenburg 5, the trumpet in Brandenburg 2, the incredible orchestration in Brandenburg 6. Etc etc etc. Walton's Wise Virgins, Respighi's Passacaglia.

All of it really, with the exception of Percy Grainger - which is, to me, the musical equivalent of pale pink lace or cherub ornaments - in other words not my taste at all. It's the only musical event of the day I'd have missed out!

Top of all though, was the wonderful wonderful Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor BWV582, in its "original" version for organ. It's one of my favourite pieces of all time. I know it intimately (having even attempted, when I was younger, to play it on the organ). I adore it, and to hear such a splendid rendition on such a wonderful instrument was just fabulous.

I just put my head back and stared up at the blue mushrooms. Can't get much closer to perfection!