new departures

Heinrich the cello has now left the premises, and I am keeping up the practice habit with Jenny, the new cello on the block:

I am keeping up a revision rota of Bach movements, which haven't improved much since I reached peak Bach in the summer of 2021, but I still enjoy playing them, and I also need the revision to make sure I don't forget them. Here's the second minuet in G, liberated from the grip of the first minuet:

I am beginning to realise that the things I feel as raw and energetic when I play them may come across as scratchy and crude on the video. Oh well. For comparison, my recording of the same minuet with old Heinrich starts here.

Apart from keeping up with Bach, I am also learning the thumb position(s), which turns out to be much easier since I learned the essential fiddle playing. And I am trying to do something about my dismal sight reading. Long term plan: set up the world's worst string quartet.

In other cultural news, I am beginning to realise that there is a lot about Bach in the French TV series "Astrid: Murder in Paris", whose eponymous character has autism. I am learning a lot about both Bach and autism, even though I fear that it may reinforce the perception that enjoying Bach may be a symptom of autism. Will have to do a review of sorts when I'm through with the first season.

Oh and there was also a folky flashmob in the Weston Library last weekend, on the occasion of the Playford exhibition now open.