Musicians are not strangers to PPE: many orchestral players wear hearing protection during rehearsals—and at post-concert after-parties (useful when avoiding drunken fans). However, few instrumentalists and singers, even those involved in hospital concerts and music therapy, are used to wearing masks. When members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra donned black facewear for a recent broadcast from Prague’s Rudolfinum, the effect was striking.
It was also, unintentionally, rather comical. Having a gaping hole to gain access to the mouth —as woodwind and brass players need—presumably negates many of the protective qualities. Besides, any instrument that relies on breath to create sound (including voice) is not ideal to be around during a pandemic. There’s a reason why brass players often bring a towel on stage.
As we continue to navigate a semi-lockdown existence, ensembles such as the Czech Phil are taking an important interim step: the live-streamed concert. Many organisations, including the country-house opera companies, have been sharing archive performances, but now it’s possible for some performances to resume, albeit to empty halls.
This year’s Proms will comprise a mixture of formats, opening with the BBC Grand Virtual Orchestra, where performers contribute from their respective locations, and ending with a Last Night held at the Royal Albert Hall. Whether there will be any flag-waving prommers present remains to be seen.
この記事は Country Life UK の June 17, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の June 17, 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Under the Cornish sun
From the late 19th century, artists attached themselves like barnacles to Cornwall's shores, forming colonies that changed both art and the lives of local people
The contented garden
George Plumptre returns to the garden of the American artist John Hubbard and finds it basking in comfortable maturity
Safe havens of the West
Wildlife and people alike can thrive in four magnificent estates in Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon
A bit of light relief
Why paler hues are back in favour
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom
As he prepares for another season on the fly, our correspondent considers what it is about fishing that has long enthralled the great and the good-from Coco Chanel to US presidents, Robert Redford and Eric Clapton
Walking with giants
On a meander around the mighty summits of Dartmoor, Manjit Dhillon recalls tales of warring giants, complex marriages and clotted cream
Romancing the stone
His walls are works of art, but it is Tom Trouton's innovative trees, fruits and even newts that set him apart as a master of dry stone
Claws for celebration
Caught in a pincer movement? Feeling the need to scuttle away? You're not the only one: Helen Scales gets under the shell of the UK's crabbiest crustaceans
Why we love (and hate) the A303
Sometimes, it is the journey we remember, rather than the destination. Julie Harding travels the long, winding-and sometimes frustrating road to the West Country, taking in the sights along the way
A valley of delightful beauty
In the first of two articles, David Robinson considers the medieval abbey at Hartland, beginning with its nebulous origins as an ancient religious site associated with the cult of St Nectan
