River of Music: 12 hrs Non-stop Music: Sunday 30 October

[doversoul1]

...with the utterly incompetent, tongue-tied, stumbling, bumbling Tom McK ? It makes the absence of presentation totally welcome..

On Sunday from 9.00am, we would have had James Jolly or Jonathan Swain, Michael Berkeley, Sara Mohr-Pietsch whose concert presentation has improved (I think) Lucie Skeaping, Ian Skelly and so on…

Still, as this is only one day, let it be...

P.S. Breakfast on River might be a good idea though.

[Bryn]

So far this has confirmed my doubts. Breakfast without the chat - single movements and bleeding chunks playing a significant part.

And no playlist.

It may be a bit tardy in being updated but there most certainly is a playlist.

[doversoul1]

It may be a bit tardy in being updated but there most certainly is a playlist.

Some of us don’t (well, I don’t) consider ‘what’s been played’ as the playlist. Unless I am listening on iPlayer.

[Bryn]

Some of us don’t (well, I don’t) consider ‘what’s been played’ as the playlist. ... .

Seems a pretty good fit to description to me. Perhaps you are confusing "playlist" with "advance playlist".

[doversoul1]

Seems a pretty good fit to description to me. Perhaps you are confusing "playlist" with "advance playlist".

Playlist to me is an advanced publication in the same way as concert programmes. Or maybe that’s why (how things are) it’s no longer called ‘programme’.

[LeMartinPecheur]

I'd have expected more enthusiasm for this return of "The Innocent Ear"

[french frank]

I'd have expected more enthusiasm for this return of "The Innocent Ear"

I switched on a few minutes ago and my computer was indicating Purcell's When I am laid in earth and when that finished it immediatedly flashed up Stimmung.

Sitting at a computer and listening in this way seems a better way to do so than having it on in the background while preparing Sunday lunch.

We know there are 70 pieces per half, so imagining people will switch on and off when there's something they like/don't like because they've checked an advance playlist would in any case be a bit ridiculous.

Add: The Morales was a matter of seconds late.

Chopin 30 secs late [NB not going to keep up the running commentary!]

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I'd have expected more enthusiasm for this return of "The Innocent Ear"

What? The programme presented by Robert Simpson, that lasted about half-an-hour with spoken introduction and "explanation"? When is that coming back?

(It's not even a "return" of Homeward Bound - which didn't have more than an hour before items were "announced".)

In spite of the obvious improvement suggested by Alpie's "Breakfast without the chat", my guilty ears don't feel inclined to take part in today's games - plenty of time to catch up with stuff I've missed over the past month, instead.

[Bryn]

Just now we were informed we were listening to "Parce mihi domine by Cristóbal de Morales", with not a mention of Jan Gabarek's noodling. Nuff snuff.

[gurnemanz]

So far this has confirmed my doubts. Breakfast without the chat - single movements and bleeding chunks playing a significant part.

And no playlist.

Only just realised it's on (was watching cricket, spectacular English collapse and not due to Brexit). Format seems OK to me as an experiment. I also don't generally like chunks and single movements but I can't see how whole works would fit into this structure (Bruckner 8, then Parsifal?). I won't bother with checking the internet to search for a playlist. Surely part of point is the element of surprise at what's coming next.

[Bryn]

... coming next.

Not as good a Management decision as that was.

[french frank]

Just now we were informed we were listening to "Parce mihi domine by Cristóbal de Morales", with not a mention of Jan Gabarek's noodling. Nuff snuff.

Yep - given the skill of the surtitle OPERAtors it could be a bit sharper! Seems to have stopped now - but the river goes on.

Oops, no, on again …

[johnb]

I'm (fairly) open minded about the experiment. Some of the juxtapositions are interesting but so far the sequence seems to be designed as background music (music to potter about the house to).

One thing I find disappointing (i.e. irritating) is how the gaps between the pieces are very short indeed (though that might be my lack of attention as I do my pottering) - one piece seems to segue into the next instead of giving a breathing space between works. Perhaps that's the intention.

[oddoneout]

How do you know they won't judge the experiment a success and use it as a pretext to cut announcers as "surplus to requirements"?

I don't, and neither does anyone else here I imagine, hence the caveat later in my post.

[oddoneout]

I'm (fairly) open minded about the experiment. Some of the juxtapositions are interesting but so far the sequence seems to be designed as background music (music to potter about the house to).

One thing I find disappointing (i.e. irritating) is how the gaps between the pieces are very short indeed (though that might be my lack of attention as I do my pottering) - one piece seems to segue into the next instead of giving a breathing space between works. Perhaps that's the intention.

I too am finding the lack of breathing space a problem, especially given the -ahem - 'striking difference' between the pieces in question, - jars a bit. For some reason, having very little information about this, I had assumed some sort of timeline approach, ie early through to present day, so got rather a rude awakening. At the moment I'm listening(I use that term loosely) completely blind and it's not making much sense as I can't work out what, if any, connection there is between the pieces being played. I loathe the R3 website as it has never yet provided me with the information I've wanted but wasted a lot of my time in so failing, but I suppose it might be an idea to risk it, if only to be able to say 'I tried this experiment and my opinion is....' Although as I don't do the twitbook stuff I'm not getting the full benefit.....