School Aid Soundscapes Review

My thanks to Kim Griffiths who has sent a review of Robert's performance at the School Aid event in Broad Chalke on Saturday. 

Robert brought down some beautiful music in All Saints Church in Broad Chalke on Saturday. The event was advertised as being from 12:30 till 2pm and these were the specific times that Robert entered and exited the church.

On leaving he left the last piece reverberating around the church and within our memory.

The first piece was a carillon of bells, and this was a motif throughout the session. It was a framing piece (a la Scheherazade) it recurred and finished the set. Most of the pieces were diatonic and seemed to me principally in the major scale. The penultimate piece included resolutions similar to "The Heavenly Music Corporation" but this time from the leading note to the tonic (through three octaves).

There were four speakers around the church. Robert set up orchestral sounding loops, which moved to the back, and then he further improvised around them with (almost) conventional guitar sounds. This was not what I expected.

Unfortunately I spent some of the first part of the concert worrying about whether I had switched the car lights off and wondering whether I could sneak out unnoticed (this was not possible). But then a calm descended on me and I could feel the love in the music.

My daughter, Felicity, attended with me and we agreed afterwards that listening to this music was hard work! We enjoyed it nevertheless!

After Robert's departure, the headteacher of the local school thanked everyone for attending and thanked everyone for coming and "Mr Robert Fripp - I'm not sure where he's gone" (a long way from photos and autographs I suspect) and David Singleton for organising the event.

I note that David's single is apparently in the Virgin Megastore chart in Salisbury!

Thanks everyone.

Kim Griffiths