Ian Briggs
Music | Photography | Blog
Website Update
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 3rd May 2012 at 4:06 pm
Categories: Computing | Tags: blog, css, html, php, wordpress | No comments
I have been spending the last month or so studying some HTML and CSS, thanks to a birthday present I was given! I have now managed to completely redesign my website and have, for the first time, designed it from scratch coding most of it myself.
I then converted my HTML code into the right format for WordPress (including many hours learning PHP and WordPress functions to bring all the elements of the pages together), and produced a site that is fairly clean, and contains most of the elements I want to show off.
There are now new sidebars on most pages with links to things that I read often, and I have updated my photo galleries to hopefully show off the photos a bit better. I have also tidied up the blog section and hopefully made the posts a bit clearer.
Feel free to have a browse and point out any issues or bugs that I haven’t been able to troubleshoot myself.
The films of Federico Fellini
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 2nd May 2012 at 10:55 pm
Categories: Films | Tags: fellini, film, italy | 2 comments
I have been doing some reading on Federico Fellini’s films tonight and wanted to share some interesting links that I have found.
First up is Strictly Film School which gives a few reviews including some interesting points made on La Strada, which I saw recently for the first time at Screen St Ives. The religious metaphors are common themes in the Fellini films I have seen, and this post points out some of the more subtle points to pick up on in the imagery portrayed. This story provides an extended essay on Fellini’s religious beliefs which will take some time to read fully, but it is clear that some of his early experiences with the church had a profound effect on his life and is therefore prominent in many of his films.
One thing I have thought about Fellini’s work in the past is backed up by this comprehensive analysis which says of the imagery used in his films:
…these spectacular images increasingly lacked artistic discipline as well as narrative connection.
This was evident, to a certain extent, in La Strada, where I often felt images were inserted to give an effect; I just wasn’t always sure what the effect was meant to be.
However, from what I understand, La Strada was not the worst offender in this respect. I have still to watch 8 1/2, but by all accounts this is Fellini’s most surreal work, with a storyline that is perhaps self-indulgent, and less constrained than some of his other works.
By far the most surreal of his films that I have seen is Amarcord. An interesting analysis is given here which states that:
…[the film] seemed to practically have no existing plot – I could never fully understand exactly what was going on.
This is something I definitely agree with – I remember having to watch bits of the film again as it just didn’t make sense; it seemed to flit between classic Italian romantic cinema scenes to slapstick ‘Carry On-style’ comedy.
This is also something that has been discussed in regard to La Strada, including in the post-film discussion at Screen St Ives, and while I don’t think it applies to that film, I felt Amarcord truly did wander through Fellini’s imagination. I don’t know how much of the film was improvised, but in an interview as part of Mark Cousins’ Story of Film, Claudia Cardinale makes the point that various scenes in 8 1/2 were improvised, and lines were made up by Fellini on-the-spot.
It is perhaps this kind of freedom and creativity which I have not yet got used to in Fellini’s work. Nights of Cabiria and La Dolce Vita are both excellent films and by far my favourites, but perhaps I need to try harder to understand his other films.
Thoughts and comments greatly appreciated below…
Gig Review: Onyx Brass, Bangor Town Hall, 26th April 2012
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 27th April 2012 at 12:14 pm
Categories: Music | Tags: bach, bangor, copland, music, onyx brass, shostakovich | No comments
On Thursday evening, Bangor’s Town Hall played host to Onyx Brass in a concert at the council chambers, which provided a superb location for this five piece brass ensemble.
The group consists of players who play in some of the finest orchestras in the UK, and this was an opportunity for the audience to see something a bit different.
The programme consisted of a wide variety of classical, jazz and contemporary music ranging from fugues by Bach and Shostakovich, to modern commissions from Irish composer Andrew Hamilton (Slow Phrases Piece), and a jazz piece (Hamlet Stories) from baritone sax player Mick Foster.
The finale to the first act was a personal favourite: selections from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo. I’m a big Copland fan, and the three movements (Corral Nocturne, Saturday Night Waltz and the crowd-pleasing Hoe-Down) were beautifully recreated for brass quintet complete with foot-stomping percussion.
Acting as an interlude in the second half, the group performed Tim Jackson’s piece Anything But. This consisted of four poems performed musically, without instruments, and included Spike Milligan’s “Teeth” and Carol Ann Duffy’s “Mrs Darwin”. This was another great way to bring variety into the performance and was an unexpected piece of theatre which produced the biggest laughs of the night.
The playing itself was incredible: beautifully precise phrasing, full use of dynamic range, and an incredible tonal range that I didn’t realise was possible (spoken as a true woodwind player!) which was helped no-end by the amazing acoustics of the venue.
As someone who plays in a small ensemble, it was both fascinating and informative to watch the players interact with each other while playing; subtle directional movements and the ability to communicate during pieces with eye contact were lessons that all small-group players should take away.
A wonderful evening’s entertainment that provided laughs, insight and most of all, the chance to hear great music.
Film Review: The Story of Film – An Odyssey
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 17th April 2012 at 9:32 pm
Categories: Films | Tags: film, mark cousins, northern ireland, qft, the story of film | No comments
I’m just back from hearing Mark Cousins discuss his latest cinematic masterpiece “The Story of Film: An Odyssey” at the QFT in Belfast.
The last time I heard Cousins was at a screening of his last documentary film “The First Movie” which I wrote about here. This was part of the Belfast Film Festival, at which Cousins also spoke at a discussion on censorship in film. Having heard him previously, I was delighted to hear that he was appearing in Belfast again.
The evening started with a screening of a much-abridged version of the film (for it is not a TV series!). This picked out some of the highlights of the 15-hour work and was followed by a wonderful discussion, with Cousins being questioned by fellow Belfast filmmaker Brian Henry Martin and members of the audience.
Isn’t it great to listen to someone talk so passionately about what they do? This is exactly what we were treated to tonight, with Cousins speaking eloquently about content of his work, the difficulties and logistics of travelling the globe to film the movie, finding funding, and interviewing the directors, producers and actors who contributed to the footage.
Mark Cousins in discussion with Brian Henry Martin at the QFT
He spoke about the great films that many of us won’t ever see: from Iran, Japan and Eastern Europe, and also touched on his interesting belief that every nation lacks belief in their own body of film; while we are quick to point out that most of what emerges from America is not high quality material, he says that many people from other countries say the same about their own national work.
On the subject of “The Story of Film…”, it was interesting to hear his response to criticism about his narration style (which I thought was great, and reflected the passion with which he created the film). It seems the less-than-favourable reaction was considerably less pronounced outside the UK. Sad that this should detract attention from the content of the film itself, containing over 1000 clips showing the history of innovation in cinema, which as Sukhdev Sandhu sums up perfectly in a comprehensive review in the Telegraph:
In a television landscape that fears international cinema or any movie deemed challenging or original, this selection deserves to be celebrated.
Ultimately the most enjoyable thing about hearing Mark Cousins talk about his work is his infectious enthusiasm about film. You get the impression that he could talk for days on the subject and not repeat himself. It was great to see so many people turn out to hear and meet a brilliant local filmmaker. A great evening, and the DVD box-set is on pre-order…
Dave O’Higgins at the 606
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 8th April 2012 at 8:08 am
Categories: Music | Tags: Dave O'Higgins, jazz, music, saxophone | No comments
We are currently spending some time in London, and last night saw us venture to the 606 Jazz Club in Chelsea to see Dave O’Higgins.
The last time we went to the 606 it was to see the alto saxophonist Matt Wates play, and as this gig coincided with my birthday, I was delighted that one of the best tenor players in the country was playing this time round.
The gig was sold out and the performance didn’t disappoint. O’Higgins played as part of a standard quartet consisting of piano and rhythm section, and the sets consisted of a mixture of some of his tried and tested work, and some of his more experimental pieces. These newer works were adaptations of jazz standards which had been rearranged and retitled so as to give them just a hint of their original form.
The Dave O'Higgins quartet at the 606 club, London, April 7th.
The format of the music was fairly typical of modern jazz: an introduction followed by extended solo breaks on all instruments. This is a format I usually find a bit tiring in long sets but the solos were interesting enough, and the styles varied enough to keep me interested.
O’Higgins’ playing in particular was extraordinary: such fluidity and effortlessness belies the difficulty and imaginative content of the music; his improvisation is a masterclass in structure, movement and interaction with the band. His technique involves playing with the chord structure in such a way as to rarely hit the ‘home’ notes, but pass through them often enough to make the listener comfortable with where his solo is heading. This also gives the sound a freedom and fluidity which is so hard to achieve.
On a technical front, O’Higgins uses a classic setup: a 1930s Conn tenor saxophone with remodelled keywork, and a fairly standard ebonite mouthpiece. This combination gave the sound such a rich, creamy tone, it is understandable why he sticks with a vintage instrument.
As with the overall feel of the performance, some of his solo improvisation had more of an experimental feel to it, not all of which was successful, but for the great majority of the time, it was a wonder to watch and listen to, full of both virtuosic playing and great tonal interpretation.
Top class musicians, great playing and interesting musical variety (including one slow number on soprano sax that was astounding) combined to make this an exceptional gig from one of the best sax players around – inspiration indeed for me to try to take my playing to different places…
…must practice harder!
Music I’ve been listening to…
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 15th February 2012 at 9:03 pm
Categories: Music | Tags: big band, buddy rich, dave grusin, west side story | No comments
I wanted to post something about the music I have been listening to recently, and one track that seems to have been played most often in the last couple of weeks from my iTunes collection is the fabulous West Side Story Medley by Buddy Rich.
This unbelievable arrangement is embedded below from a Parkinson interview, and although it is not the best recording of the piece, it is brilliant to see a group of world class musicians make something so incredibly difficult look very very easy!
In the video below, particular standout moments are Jay Corre’s tenor sax solo and Rich’s drum solo about 7 minutes in; complete with one handed drum rolls and beautiful subtleties, he remains one of the few drummers who could create interesting solos not just filled with noise.
Another arrangement of West Side Story (can you tell I’m a huge fan) that I’m addicted to is the more modern version by Dave Grusin. This features members of the GRP All Star Big Band (some of the finest musicians in history…Sandoval, Weckl, Evans…) and is a brilliantly crisp performance. It also has a great solo from Michael Brecker; the way he crafts his solo around a pretty difficult backing is extraordinary, and the way he finishes the solo and gets out of it is masterful.
It’s great to see the recording session in the linked video of Something’s Coming, and the other songs available from the same album are also well worth a watch on YouTube too.
Film Review: January’s films
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 3rd February 2012 at 11:05 pm
Categories: Films | Tags: film, review | No comments
This is a summary of the films I saw in January. It has been a really good month for film viewing, largely helped by being on holiday for the first week and due to a free trial of Netflix via AppleTV. Anyway, here is a summary of what I’ve seen:
(more…)
Experimenting with wordpress
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 9th January 2012 at 5:14 pm
Categories: Computing | Tags: blog, internet, website | 1 comment
I have downloaded wordpress and am giving it a go…all the blogging content is now stored on my website, so I am no longer reliant on blogger (whose mobile application was terrible). I will be experimenting with this over the next few months to see if it can replace the old blogger app.
Initial views are good and it seems very customisable and the content seems to be comprehensive. Let’s see how it goes…
Favourite Books of 2011
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 2nd January 2012 at 1:42 pm
Categories: Books | Tags: books, review | No comments
Following on from my previous post on my favourite films of the year, here is a list of the favourite books I read in 2011…never thought I would ever compile such a list! (more…)
Favourite Films of 2011
Posted by: Ian Briggs on 2nd January 2012 at 11:40 am
Categories: Films | Tags: film, review | No comments
After much deliberation, here is a brief run down of my five top films from 2011. In no particular order:
The King’s Speech
A surprisingly entertaining film full of laugh-out-loud moments and swings of emotion.
Little White Lies
A nice film from one of my favourite actor/directors (Guillaume Canet). Had a real independent feel to it and a pleasant enough story.
Senna
A great documentary whether you are a Formula 1 fan or not. Full of adrelalin, emotion and suspense mixed with genuine tragedy.
Treacle Jr
One of the standouts from this year’s Belfast Film Festival. Aidan Gillen gave a brilliant performance which is both fun and incredibly sad in parts.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
A great, slow, British(ish) film with another of my favourites, Gary Oldman playing the lead role of George Smiley. An unexpected hit for me. (more…)