Not too much to report. We are still in lockdown. Cases and fatalities are much the same as last week, but ten mutations were found today (28th January 2021). How is Greece doing? According to this study by the Lowy institute https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/covid-performance/ the answer is very well. 32nd in a list of 98 countries, and 11th in Europe if I have counted correctly. This is well above Germany (55th), the UK (66th) and France (73rd).
Last Sunday (24 January), I enjoyed two online music sessions. Our own session was at 11am. We all tuned in and accomplished our practice goals. We are gradually becoming more organised to boot. Currently we have a folder with six practice items for this coming Sunday. It is also great to be able to chat between tunes and exchange ideas.
In the evening it was another chance to hook up with what we call the Malta Crowd. Their Master Tune Book is very impressive: 134 tunes in alphabetical order followed by 89 sets made up with combinations of the 134 tunes. These are also in alphabetical order by the first tune in a set. A typical Irish jig, reel or hornpipe, with all the repeats, totals only 64 bars, so a tune is almost never played in isolation. Instead, it is combined with (usually) two or three others with key changes from one tune to the next giving a “set” its variety and uniqueness. As with chess where there is an infinite number of possibilities after a few moves, so it is with Irish music. For example, look for the jig ‘Father O’Flynn’ on YouTube and you will find every combination with Father of Flynn is different. In the same way, the Malta sets put the Thessaloniki participants in the position of rarely knowing all the tunes in a set. It would be the same for them if they were to learn our repertoire. Not that I am complaining. It is refreshing to learn new material. One of their sets was so charming that I decided to learn it: Spootiskerry and Willafjord, two lovely Shetland tunes played here by the American Fiddler, Kate Fritz:
I hope you enjoyed that.