Last Posting Dates - Christmas 2017

Last Posting Dates

To ensure you don't miss the last post before Christmas,
these are the December deadlines that Royal Mail have issued:

INTERNATIONAL

(Applies to all international airmail services)

Friday 1st December:

Africa, Middle East

Wednesday 6th December:

Asia, Cyprus, Far East, Eastern Europe
(except Czech Republic, Poland & Slovakia)

Thursday 7th December:

Caribbean, Central & South America
Friday 8th December:

Australia, Greece & New Zealand

Wednesday 13th December:

Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland

Thursday 14th December:

Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA

Friday 15th December:

Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal,
Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia,
Spain, Switzerland, Belgium,
France, Ireland & Luxembourg

UK

Wednesday 20th December:

Royal Mail First Class

Thursday 21st December:

Royal Mail Special Delivery

Christmas Closing Dates

Our office will close at 12pm (midday) on Friday 22nd December and 
will re-open on Tuesday 2nd January 2018.
All orders placed online during that period will be despatched as soon as possible.
If your order is particularly urgent, please let us know and
we will prioritise despatch for Tuesday if at all possible.

 

What's your Favourite Wind Quintet?

 

When looking for a photo of this composer smiling, this is the nearest I could find. Nevertheless there is humour and tenderness in his music, and it's a pity that it isn't heard more often. When my quintet gets together there is nearly always a moment when someone says 'Oh let's play the Milhaud!'
On a concert-giving holiday near Aix-en-Provence a couple of us tracked down his house and found it was a sub-police-station on the ring road. We bounced into the front office and asked whether it would be possible to come and play his quintet in his house. The desk-sergeant, or whatever they are called in Provence, looked completely blank. Who was this 'Milhaud' and what were these two bizarre Englishwomen on about? I believe the building has since been demolished.

Each of the seven short movements of 'La Cheminée du Roi René is a little masterpiece, with its own character, style and unexpected but delicious harmonies. It starts with a solemn village procession, followed by a gentle summer Morning Serenade. The Jugglers come along next, larking about, followed by a rather poignant dance-like 'Maousinglade'. 'Joutes sur L'Arc' is a lively jousting contest on the river Arc, followed by an energetic hunting scene, where the piccolo adds some fizz to the activity.
My favourite movement of all is the final Madrigal - Nocturne. You can imagine that all the villagers have gone home, exhausted, and the countryside is bathed in moonlight. The ending is heart-stoppingly tender.
June Emerson

https://www.juneemersonwindmusic.com/LA-CHEMINEE-DU-ROI-RENEE-score-and-parts.html