Like every other musical organisation all DGYO group activities have had to be stopped while we all cope with the Coronavirus. Well, perhaps not all! A few weeks ago our young players were set a challenge. Those of them who were up for it were asked to record their orchestral parts from the wonderful BBC 10 Pieces arrangement of Henry Purcell's Rondeau from his suite of incidental music for the play Abdelazer. Many of our players rose brilliantly to the challenge and this recording is the result.
You will be amazed by what these young players have achieved when you learn how the final piece was put together. First the players had to tune their instruments using a phone app called, believe it or not, SoundCorset! Then they had to set the SoundCorset metronome to a particular beat and to play the beat as a click in an earpiece while they played their part. That was to ensure that, so far as possible they were all playing at the same tempo. And then they had to record their part with the ear piece clicker going! Not until you've tried to do that can you appreciate how difficult it is. The resulting individual recordings were then mixed together by our chairman Nick Riley using another app called Audacity. Well done Nick!
A huge "Well Done" to all of our players who gave it a go. We think it was worth the effort and worth the wait to get the recording onto the website. And we've been so encouraged by what our young folk have achieved that we'll soon be issuing another DGYO challenge. Watch this space!