- hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
	known to many an afper...).

	- i've no idea whether there're any performances celebrating
	the anniversary, but if you've not seen & heard it - or even
	better, taken part in it - it's a great experience beloved
	of generations of children and grown-ups of *all* ages, and
	not only to those lucky enough to've taken part in the many
	performances by the finchley children's music group organised,
	rehearsed, trained, led, put together and conducted by some
	several generations - and branches - of the andrew[e]s family.

	- love, a ppint. happy to have two thirds the shop open again
	(in various pperformances of the fludde a squirrel, a raven'n'
	 a ppropertyppint. co-responsible, inter alia, for the waves)
	    [please drop the "v", and change the "f" to a "g",
	        should you wish to cc. to, or email, me]
-- 
                        "Incipient Doldrums."
           - roger thomas, 19/3/97 (3/19/97 for merkins)

v$af$ppint@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint. at pplay") writes:
>	- hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
>	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
>	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
>	known to many an afper...).
>
>	- i've no idea whether there're any performances celebrating
>	the anniversary, [...]

got home yesterday evening, and switched on the radio (already tuned
to r3).  immediately, a grin spread right across my face ... noye's
fludde!

my wife tells the tale of rehearsing for a performance in wells
cathedral; the school carpentry teacher (with an appropriate beard!)
was high up in the organ loft or something.

director calls out: "are you all right up there, god?"
capentry teacher (fruity bass voice): "fine, thank you mrs gardiner!"

cue startled looks from tourists all round the cathedral...  ;-)
-- 
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge

- hi; in article, <g3g0j5$im7$2@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>,
	    rf10@cl.cam.ac.uk "Robin Fairbairns" recounted:
>	v$af$ppint@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint. at play") writes:
>
>>	- hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
>>	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
>>	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
>>	known to many an afper...).
>>	- i've no idea whether there're any performances celebrating
>>	the anniversary, [...]
>
>got home yesterday evening, and switched on the radio (already tuned
>to r3).  immediately, a grin spread right across my face ... noye's
>fludde!

	- i caught their broadcast of the recessional sung whilst
	noyes family and all the animals troop out of the ark, in
	cohorts led by appropriately-clad property-persons holding
	aloft suspended from great poles variously the sun, the moon,
	and the stars, whilst occasionally peeking back at the new
	wonder unfurled across the sky, the world's very first ever
	rainbow...

	- there was no family involvement in the recording broadcast,
	(alas), but it still brought back a flood of memories :-)))
>
>my wife tells the tale of rehearsing for a performance in wells
>cathedral; the school carpentry teacher (with an appropriate beard!)
>was high up in the organ loft or something.
>
>director calls out: "are you all right up there, god?"
>capentry teacher (fruity bass voice): "fine, thank you mrs gardiner!"
>
>cue startled looks from tourists all round the cathedral...  ;-)

	- LOL!

	- *giggle* *g*

	- i remember best the fcmg performances in the early-middle
	sixties, with variously owen branigen (sp?) and norman lumsden
	as noye; david, my big brother, and marie-therese, my big sis-
	ter, were rather more significant members of the cast than was
	i, but it was a wonderful experience - and great fun :-)))

	- love, a ppint. happy to have two thrids IMT back open
	 [the address from which this was posted bounces e-mail;
	  please change the "f" to a "g" and drop the "v" if you
                     wish to cc. or e-mail me.]
-- 
 interstellar master traders 33 north road lancaster LA1-1NS england
      lancaster's sf/f/horror role-playing game and book shop
   http://www.i-m-t.demon.co.uk/ +44-781-344-1539 & +44-1524-382181
       10(ish) - 7pm (later by arrangement) monday - saturday

On Jun 18, 8:50 pm, v$af$pp...@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint. at pplay")
wrote:
>         - hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde>         was premiered fifty years ago today,

Ah yes... I remember chelling in that on the isle of man over a decade
ago. It involved kids from all over the island. I remember my sister
was some sort of a giraffe from primary school, while I was in the
Manx Youth Orchestra, and looked down on those amateur roles...

Rob

"ppint. at pplay" wrote:
> - hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
> 	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
> 	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
> 	known to many an afper...).
>
<snip>

This message brought back childhood memories to me.
As members of a children's singing choir we were rehearsing Britten's
"This Little Babe" from "A ceremony of Carols". We were given a Slovak
phonetic transcription of the text and were taught the pronunciation
by an university lector. What we haven't been told at all was the
contents, not even the theme - we were not supposed to know that the
song was about Jesus.
At home, my parents had fun trying to decode the actual English words
from the phonetic transcription - it wasn't that easy!

Anery

v$af$ppint@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint. at pplay") wrote:

> 	- hi; benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
> 	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
> 	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
> 	known to many an afper...).

You know, I'd never even heard of this? It isn't even in the article on
him in my 'cyclopaedia. Thing is, I don't much like opera, but I do like
the old mystery plays. What's Noyes Fludde like?

Richard

- hi; in article, ,
	raltbos@xs4all.nl "Richard Bos" sought enlightenment:
>	                ("ppint. at pplay") wrote:
>
>>	- benjamin britten's mystery play-opera, Noyes Fludde,
>>	was premiered fifty years ago today, in orford ness (east
>>	angular, not really _very_ far from a certain farm well-
>>	known to many an afper...).
>
>You know, I'd never even heard of this? It isn't even in the article on
>him in my 'cyclopaedia. Thing is, I don't much like opera, but I do like
>the old mystery plays. What's Noyes Fludde like?

	- lots of work - and enormous fun.

	- noye & mrs noye, ham & mrs ham, shem & mrs shem, japhet
	& mrs japhet, mrs noyes gossips (collectively), and all of
	the animals in pairs, collectively in groups by size and
	also as the whole ensemble (collectively, en masse with the
	audience or congregation) have singing roles in english (or
	potentially in translation into other vernacular tongues);
	noye also has some spoken lines, and the voice of god is
	entirely spoken - declaimed, even; noye & all of his family
	act out their parts as well as sing them; the animals (one
	or more schoolsful of children) wear painted masks depict-
	ing the birds & beasts they represent (ideally having both
	made and painted them themselves, e.g. during school time),
	trooping up the central aisle of the church into the ark
	after noye, his children and their wives have built it (to-
	gether with the propertypeople), and his children - increas-
	ingly excitedly - identified them as they come into sight
	(mostly actually into the ark, and then straight out the
	far - upstage - side, leaving sufficient sample animals to
	almost fill the ark), singing a simple, repetitive "kyrie
	eleison" as they process; first noye, and then one by one
	his children, try unsuccessfully to persuade mrs noye to
	leave her drinking companions and come up into the ark -
	her actual entry into the ark, and the exchange between the
	couple immediately after which is the humorous high point,
	is simultaneous with the fluddes sweeping away and drowning
	of her gossips.

	the orchestra, which has mostly supplied accompaniment only
	light and sparing, 'til now, gets to provide interludes, and
	especially the steadily rising storm during which wind and
	wave effects, and optionally lightning too, are provided by
	the propertypeople, and the squirrel is scared and maddened
	sufficiently by the lightning to attempt to escape to some
	sort of seeming safety up the mast, just before noye stands
	and leads all in one of the most stirring of hymns, "for
	those in peril on the sea" after which the storm slowly sub-
	sides, and all sleep, save noye and one of his children.

	the orchestra wakes all up, one by one, with a gentle shower
	and noye decides to discover whether there is dry land any-
	where out there by sending a raven to look; the raven dances
	off imitating a somewhat erratically planned search flight,
	but does not return; mrs raven is consoled by the family.
	at length, noye tries again, this time sending out a dove -
	who, after some time out of sight, does return - with the
	small token of the return of green and growing things with
	her; and whilst this is being celebrated, the propertypeople
	remove the waves from the stage, generally making all ready
	for the grand finale.

	the voice of god is heard again, summoning noye to come forth
	from the ark as his vengeance is satisfied, and in token of
	his promise never again to visit such upon the whole of hu-
	manity or of the world, creates the first ever rainbow to the
	sound of arpeggios of handbells; and all, singing another fine
	old hymn to the tune, "old hundredth", the animals and noyes
	family are lead out of the ark, to recess through the length
	of the audience/congregation by enormous mobiles of the sun,
	the moon and of the stars, carried high aloft on poles by the
	three tallest propertypeople, each starting out as the appro-
	priate verse commences...

	- leaving noye & mrs noye to take their leave, bringing up the
	rear (in some productions: in some he leads out, but i don't
	think this works so well), to the voice of god giving them his
	blessing. (optional arpeggios from handbells, especially if
	noye & mrs noye, and the voice of god, wait until the recess-
	ional hymn is over, and the sun, moon, stars & animals almost
	out of sight.)

	it is a good idea to have lots of simple "party" food & drink
	laid on for all the animals in a nearby church or school hall,
	and to allow parents and other non-performing relatives to
	mingle with them after the performance, if this is possible.

	argo lp nf1 1961 mono [later stereo release ?as zrg1? as znf1?]

	- love, a ppint. happy to have two thirds the shop open again
	    [please drop the "v", and change the "f" to a "g",
	        should you wish to cc. to, or email, me]	
-- 
     "Earth occupies about one-half a degree in two dimensions."
   - trde on rec.arts.sf.fandom, 10/5/2005 (5/10/205 for merkins)

- hi; 

>	argo lp nf1 1961 mono [later stereo release ?as zrg1? as znf1?]

	- argo stereo catalogue number: znf1 (and it may've been a
	                                      simultaneous release)

	- love, a ppint. happy to have two thirds the shop open again
	      [please drop the "v", and change the "f" to a "g",
	            should you wish to cc. to, or email, me]        
-- 
    "... being a book-seller, they don't expect you to be violent..."
                  - tony vettese, morecambe bookseller
                  11:05 BST 1/7/08 (7/1/08 for merkins)

There is a community performance of Noyes Fludde on Friday 11th July
in Romsey Abbey at 7pm
Romsey is in Hampshire, between Southampton and Salisbury.
for more information try
http://www.romseyartsfestival.org.uk/event25.htm

- hi; in article,
      ,
	 alicewratten@googlemail.com warned of approaching crocodiles:
>
>There is a community performance of Noyes Fludde on Friday 11th July
>in Romsey Abbey at 7pm Romsey is in Hampshire, between Southampton and
>Salisbury.  for more information try
>      http://www.romseyartsfestival.org.uk/event25.htm

	- alas, there's no way i can possibly get to this, much though
	i'd like to - both friday and saturday are working days for me,
	and it'd be something like a twenty hour round trip - i'm sure
	i'd be at least micro-sleeping for part of the way back, even
	if i took both days off, closing IMT, and slept through most of
	the saturday.

	- but if you *can* sensibly get to the performance, do; it's
	good fun (higher than which claire knows no term of approval).

	- love, a ppint. happy to have two thrids IMT back open
	 [the address from which this was posted bounces e-mail;
	  please change the "f" to a "g" and drop the "v" if you
                     wish to cc. or e-mail me.]
-- 
        "I do know I don't have the right to keep a pet rhino. 
            I don't feel in any way oppressed by this,
                even though I'd quite like one"
                - Daibhid Ceanaideach on a.f.p