After the dance show I was feeling very enthusiastic about celebrating the last weekend of the Fringe so I dug out the Summerhall programme.  It's a venue that has hosted lots of interesting looking stuff of which I have seen very little.

I worked out that between noon and midnight yesterday I could see the last performance of seven shows and the last day of two exhibitions.  But as Sunday morning wore on my enthusiasm waned.  It was a lovely day with warm sunshine pouring through my balcony door and the attractions of relaxing with a book, listening to music, sipping a glass or two of wine with lunch and for exercise sorting out my window boxes grew, pushing Summerhall into the background.

I had a stab at substituting one Book Festival event for my seven plus two but that was sold out according to the website so a day of rest it became, as befits the seventh day.

I didn't entirely escape the Fringe though.  A year or two ago I saw there The Tailor of Inverness.  It was a play written and performed by Mathew Zajac telling the story of his father's wartime experiences in eastern Europe with the Polish, Russian and German forces ending up attached to British forces and eventually settling in Inverness.  Now Mathew has written a book telling the same story within the framework of his own journeys to Poland with his parents as a child and his discoveries there as an adult.  It's a very good read.

There is still the last week of the International Festival to go.  I have a couple of things booked and will no doubt find myself drawn to others as I was this morning to a concert at The Queen's Hall.

It featured the music of Mozart and of George Crumb with a starring role for the glass harmonica. That's not a form of mouth organ but a set of differently sized crystal bowls mounted on a spindle that turns continuously and is played by laying on wetted fingers.

The glass harmonica appeared three times.  Once it was overpowered by the other instruments playing alongside but in this fine work it is allowed space to shine and here is the solo piece we heard played by the very man who played it this morning.

Mozart's oboe quartet that started off the concert was delightful.  Crumb's two pieces were full of what we might call modern classical sounds.  In the duet the piano wires were played directly as well as via the keys.  The violin was plucked and its case drummed with bow and fingers. The piece had an undercurrent of tension and threat and its silences were of equal importance to its noises.

His Vox Balaenae that closed the concert is played by a trio; flute, piano and cello.  For some reason it's played in semi darkness and the players wear masks.  (To put them into a whalelike setting?)  We had a bit of amusement when the flautist slipped his on and the elastic broke.  The poor chap was a bit embarrassed but he managed to retie it and gamely got on with the job.

I thought it was lovely.  A recording is not a substitute for hearing it live but try this one.

If you want to compare the music with real whales check out this site.