Grèves (Strikes)

France is famous for many things: food, cheese, wine, bread, the guillotine, and among (many) other things, strikes. The French in general are more vocal about the issues they have with the government. Unionizing and organizing mass strikes is a pretty common way for a group to make its opinions heard when they disagree with a new law, or some sort of working condition. When I first visited France in 2006 there were public transportation strikes in Paris so that buses and subways were running on a reduced schedule everyday. I believe there were some sort of medical strikes when I was here last summer. Currently, there are massive country-wide strikes due to a new law that President Sarkozy initiated which will push the retirement age up to 62 from 60. There were major demonstrations last Tuesday, and it seems that since then it's been an ongoing thing. Here's a few pictures from Tuesday's strikes:














The way it affects me is that - because the issue isn't industry specific - students are striking along with everyone else. Most of last week students formed a blockade at the school's entrance and refused to let any teacher pass into the building. Any teacher who tried was booed and forced to make a hasty retreat. They only block the doors until about 10:30am, but then when teachers are finally allowed into the school, there are only 4 or 5 students per class. So I pretty much didn't work at all last week. In addition to this the buses are running on reduced schedules. They run about half as often, and stop at 8pm. The upside to this is that it forced me to make some more friends with the various ensembles I play with so that now I have a ride home from each of my three weekly rehearsals (and possibly have a date on Wednesday....I haven't quite figured it out yet, might just be a drink with a friend - either way's fine by me).

Speaking of ensembles, I played my first concert in France yesterday. I may have mentioned in my previous post that I had joined one more orchestra (this one is fantastic, a full symphony orchestra that plays pretty good music REALLY well). Anyway, this one was sort of fast, I was told "The Besançon Philharmonic is looking for a horn player...I'll ask the director if he wants you", about 2 days later I get a phone call while I'm on the bus (incidentally to the university orchestra's rehearsal) from the Orchestra's president telling me the concert's in a week and that she'll email me my music so I can prepare for the rehearsal. I end up getting the music the morning of the rehearsal and sightread with this fantastic ensemble that has already played all the pieces. I has to sight-transpose horn in Eb, F#, D, and C and got a couple of dirty looks for the conductor when I was screwing up the F# one (it was in German, and I'd never seen horn in F# before, so I didn't realize it wasn't horn in F, so everything I played was a half-step off until I figured it out 10 or so measures in). I got it sorted at the second (dress rehearsal) though, and actually got complimented by the symphony-playing trumpet player who sat behind me at the concert (the horn's bell faces backwards, so I was playing all my notes pretty much directly at his head - so he definitely heard everything).

Anyway, the concert was yesterday in a tiny town called Dampierre sur Salon about 70km from Besançon. I got a ride out there with Anne, the Orchestra's president and was given dinner by the people who organized the concert (it was a tiny town and I think us playing there was a big deal for them, they treated us like royalty, we got coffee, water, juice and brioche (sweet-bread) before our sound-check, before the concert, during intermission, and then we got a full dinner after the concert).

About dinner, this is something else that is very distinct about France. When it's dinnertime, you have dinner. I'm so accustomed to America where rehearsals might go through dinnertime and you grab a bite to eat on your way home or have dinner late. But no, here, you eat at the appropriate time, and you eat a real meal, sitting at a table, and take your time.

I first noticed this when I was called in to a 6 hour long rehearsal for the community band on a Saturday. 4pm to 10pm. I was told food would be provided and I was like "oh, cool, free ham sandwich". Oh no, oh no no no. At about 6pm we stopped playing, tables were rearranged and places were set. We all got blanc cassis as an aperitif (white wine with currant syrup), I got a whole lesson on the history of the grapes that made the wine, then I was given a second aperitif to see if I could detect the nuances of the wine that had just been explained to me. Eventually, when we were all good and liquored up on aperitif we sat down and trays of food got passed out. Apparently the band had paid for a caterer to provide these lunch-room style individual trays of food. Each had a carrot salad, a mixed-meat kabob on a bed of barley with some delicious sauce, some bread, a big hunk of good comté (local) cheese, some paté and an apricot tart. We had a choice of wine to accompany dinner, and my 50-something year old Euphonium-playing wine-instructor suggested I go with the Bordeaux for some complicated reason, I did, it was tasty. After dinner we had some bubbly wine, and coffee. A bottle of Sake (Japanese rice wine) was also being passed around, but I passed on this thinking it wouldn't be so good with my coffee (or for my playing considering I'd had about 5 servings of wine so far that evening). Eventually when everyone was finished we watched a video of the band playing back in the 70s, it was amusing to see some of the older faces from the group looking much younger and more Beetles-esque. Finally around 8:30 or so (2 and a half hours later) we started the second half of rehearsal.

Last night after the concert was no different in terms of how many elements there were to the meal. The only diffference was that in addition to the chocolate mousse thing that was on our trays, we also got served home-made apple tart that the ladies organizing the concert had made just for us. I was asked if I wanted a second slice and said no, but the lady told me I was too skinny and gave it to me anyway (though earlier this week when I was shopping for a hoodie, the saleslady called me fat...difference between the country and city attitudes to size? Or maybe that saleslady at Jules was just a bi*ch, I don't know).

Anyway, so thus far my music playing has gained me several good acquaintances, a few budding friendships, something to do on my evenings that doesn't cost anything, two great (free) meals, and car trips out to the boonies of France-Comté to play in a small town-hall. Oh yeah, and the music.

My mom will be pleased to know that I finally have played Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz with an orchestra, as that was on yesterday's program. Reedie musicians from a few years back might be tickled to know that I also played Beethoven's Coriolan Overture again (this time with a significantly higher number of instruments). If any TPYO people read this blog, I'm playing Gershwin's Porgy and Bess suite with the Community Band (arrangement for winds, but still a good piece), and RCGFB readers - the Community Band played the same arrangement of "Suite Française" that we played a couple of years ago. And if by some fluke Jacqui my former horn teacher is reading this, I got to play Mozart's 3rd Horn Concerto with the community band at rehearsal (I'm not going to be the soloist at the concert, but since the soloist doesn't come to our rehearsals (he's a professional with the Symphony), I play the solo part at rehearsal so people get to hear what it will sound like with horn, and I get to do something other than stare at a blank stand while it's rehearsed).

Hmm, this was supposed to be a post about strikes, but somehow it's turned to music again. Funny.

One last thing, I have a week and a half off for vacation next week and so I'm going to Paris this coming weekend, then spending some time with Jarrad in Lille/Dunkerque, and possibly talking him into taking a trip out towards Belgium. We'll see.