tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62951435238710607942024-02-18T19:01:10.270-08:00Master Chorus EastsideMaster Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-27804156119809385282015-11-27T16:56:00.000-08:002015-11-27T16:56:17.045-08:00A "Choral" Christmas Carol 2<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
One of the overriding themes in Dickens’s <i>A Christmas Carol, </i>and<i> the </i>leading theme in Master Chorus
Eastside’s<i> A “Choral” Christmas Carol, </i>is
the struggle between darkness and light.
Early on it is darkness that dominates.
For example, Scrooge heats his office with a tiny coal fire that sheds
little light or warmth. He lives in “a gloomy
suite of rooms” inside a fog shrouded building whose entryway is black and old
and whose yard is draped in impenetrable shadow. The only light we see is when the face of his
deceased partner, Jacob Marley, appears briefly in the door knocker. But it is dismally lit “like a bad lobster in
a dark cellar.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcj1gKNcBMLGeieyu7P_nt-DMdI4qcubD4G6VuX7Y4guAGkKWJMye8ep-3xcevq6A6F5Ky9Qy-0BtytOZ-ibWkuRMhw1ZwtV5hCsxhfAaKwzmCnq-V3oH3_pX7OmnolnsgOn6J3EWe9qGz/s1600/marley+in+knocker+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcj1gKNcBMLGeieyu7P_nt-DMdI4qcubD4G6VuX7Y4guAGkKWJMye8ep-3xcevq6A6F5Ky9Qy-0BtytOZ-ibWkuRMhw1ZwtV5hCsxhfAaKwzmCnq-V3oH3_pX7OmnolnsgOn6J3EWe9qGz/s1600/marley+in+knocker+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
(I used to think this was a Dickensian joke until I
discovered that decaying crayfish actually glow with eerie phosphorescence!)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And again when Scrooge’s bedroom fire leaps up in
frightened recognition as Marley’s ghost proceeds upward from the dark cellar and
into the room. But it falls away again,
for no light can be sustained in such a miserable presence.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But darkness begins to give way as the story
progresses. When the Ghost of Christmas Past
appears, light flashes up in Scrooge’s bedroom; it comes from the “bright clear
jet of light” that emanates from the Ghost’s head.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8krYUaFFK_7oWa0B1vIRljZQuz5FikgEJ9cucHAyvxNDH5OXkXeIcDFATIMKyBv9OzTyaObp7dN2k9hXle6SSC3ruBU42LkuA8HnzHc7uQydqC3u9m7mI_7nZk3kPl4MM5AASHnxaCiH/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+past+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8krYUaFFK_7oWa0B1vIRljZQuz5FikgEJ9cucHAyvxNDH5OXkXeIcDFATIMKyBv9OzTyaObp7dN2k9hXle6SSC3ruBU42LkuA8HnzHc7uQydqC3u9m7mI_7nZk3kPl4MM5AASHnxaCiH/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+past+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It carries an extinguisher cap for a hat,
and at the end of our Stave I Scrooge struggles to cover the Ghost’s light with
the extinguisher. But even though he presses
down with all his might the light is unquenchable; it streams from under it “in
an unbroken flood upon the ground.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Light grows even brighter with the Ghost of Christmas
Present. Scrooge lies on his bed, “the
very core and center of a blaze of ruddy light,” which pours in upon him from
the next room. When he follows the light
he finds that the room has been transformed!
Bright gleaming berries glisten everywhere, the leaves of holly,
mistletoe and ivy reflect the light like mirrors, and a mighty blaze roars upon
the decrepit hearth. The huge jolly Ghost
himself bears a glowing torch, from which he dispenses blessings, and he wears
a holly wreath hung with shining icicles.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBhgDC8a35qWzRJdaiVo6neC1uyE6XxHFST71CsLeXXnOvRSrqwrIzu2egtWF1oOgdwkLsVZTheZbm0OzmVI2DkI3UXEOUN3vMAhQ1z3_zGirQgMpGkf6PHp70Js2DlrDsZaqHZ0VQmOe/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+present+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBhgDC8a35qWzRJdaiVo6neC1uyE6XxHFST71CsLeXXnOvRSrqwrIzu2egtWF1oOgdwkLsVZTheZbm0OzmVI2DkI3UXEOUN3vMAhQ1z3_zGirQgMpGkf6PHp70Js2DlrDsZaqHZ0VQmOe/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+present+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But then, with the final visitation, from the Ghost of
Christmas Yet to Come, the darkness becomes overpowering. The Phantom is draped and hooded in a deep
black garment, as black as the surrounding night that conceals him, for the
future—“will be” or “may be”?—is murky.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Oj-irL5iBXTPh_-hHrhrekt06vtWcGmfLnIfuwigvvjTraJvwAtpVDXgocwTc2DFPXMFDMgG9OQ83Sw92fvmbBy75OZhFxTddimDU2xxOjf8ZPmMiRQpgVPG6sqSQ-2D3nwh1Gsqc_gv/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+yet+to+come+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Oj-irL5iBXTPh_-hHrhrekt06vtWcGmfLnIfuwigvvjTraJvwAtpVDXgocwTc2DFPXMFDMgG9OQ83Sw92fvmbBy75OZhFxTddimDU2xxOjf8ZPmMiRQpgVPG6sqSQ-2D3nwh1Gsqc_gv/s1600/ghost+of+christmas+yet+to+come+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The scenes the Ghost leads him through are all blackness
and death: of the body, of the soul, sometimes both. Again the only light we see is the pale light
that barely illuminates a dead body that, unbeknownst to Scrooge, is his own
body, bereft and unwashed, his Christmas yet to come. It is only when Scrooge confronts his bitter end
that the light finally penetrates and he embraces it. And pure natural light floods the tale! He opens his window in response to the lusty
peals of church bells and sees “Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air;
merry bells. Oh, glorious! Glorious!” And,
as is only fitting, when Bob Cratchit arrives the day after Christmas, Scrooge
tells him to stoke up the fires and buy another coal-scuttle. No more darkness in that office!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There were many carols that cried out for insertion into
the above scenes: <i>Deck the Halls</i> to
accompany the Ghost of Christmas Present, <i>Carol
of the Bells</i> when Scrooge hears the church bells on Christmas Day, the
heartrending <i>Coventry Carol</i> for Tiny
Tim’s death scene, to name just a few. But
there was only one carol that could embody the darkness versus light theme, the
lovely old English <i>Sussex Carol</i>. It’s fourth verse especially captures what I
tried to create with this production.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
From out of darkness we have light,</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Which made the angels sing this night:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“Glory to God and peace to men,</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Now and forever more, Amen.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This carol gleams like a golden thread throughout our Christmas
drama; we sing it at the beginning and end of Stave I, it opens Stave II, we
hum it in a minor key to usher in Tiny Tim’s death scene, and it closes Vaughan
Williams’ beautiful<i> Fantasia on Christmas
Carols, </i>which we use<i> </i>as the finale of the production. Enjoy
this arrangement by the Kings College Choir, and as you listen, know that the
light wins out in this wonderful tale.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2cmfCq8iKgY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2cmfCq8iKgY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-614188261447763732015-11-17T14:42:00.000-08:002015-11-17T14:42:06.719-08:00A Choral Christmas Carol<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve taken an extended break from Master Chorus
Eastside’s blog in order to replenish my creative juices. Now that they are replenished I’m taking
pen—er, computer—in hand because it’s MCE’s 25<sup>th</sup>-anniversary season,
our season theme is “Where we’ve been, where we’re going,” and we’re kicking off
the “Where we’ve been” side with a reprise of one of my favorite concerts from
years past, <i>A <b>Choral</b> Christmas Carol</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
No, not exactly <i>A
Christmas Carol</i>, although Charles Dickens’s tale is at the heart of the
concept.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjW9wpqZiyrasGv7WbEGMhjc0DTDDyp6sKXFoC-4yR2cMDDeWbFfpSubd6FILESSpUckgv5JeRXn7g5fP1fExE4OZfuo3ArfsjBl51fdBt5yhZgrZ7QZdz1xw8aeT1SBVjyvWX3x3jKog/s1600/Dickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjW9wpqZiyrasGv7WbEGMhjc0DTDDyp6sKXFoC-4yR2cMDDeWbFfpSubd6FILESSpUckgv5JeRXn7g5fP1fExE4OZfuo3ArfsjBl51fdBt5yhZgrZ7QZdz1xw8aeT1SBVjyvWX3x3jKog/s200/Dickens.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I got the idea many years ago when I saw an adaptation of
Dylan Thomas’s <i>A Child’s Christmas in
Wales</i> put on by a chorus as part of their December concert. They brought in an actor to read the poem,
sprinkled Christmas carols throughout at appropriate moments, and sometimes
even provided sound effects. I was
enchanted, and immediately thought of Dickens’s <i>A Christmas Carol</i> and wondered if I could do something similar. I’ve long been a Dickens fan and knew it
well, but this would be something different and challenging. It would require cutting the story down to
make room for music, and yet keeping the thread of the tale intact. So, over the months that followed, I pulled
out my copy and marked it...and marked it...and marked it, excising parts, fitting
pieces together, until I had the bare bones of the story in my hands.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And it was amazing how often different carols sprang to mind
as I worked. I seldom had to search for
one. It was as if the story cried out
for carols to make it complete. I jotted
titles down in the margins, and slowly a concept began to form. This would be a
combination of two art forms, choral concert and readers theater. I have always loved readers theater because it
leaves so much to the imagination. There
are no sets, just actors on stools reading their scripts, reacting to one
another just as they would in a fully staged production. It was up to my imagination to fill in the
blanks.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAfM81UmZPBGVBHJQqNwFcmgr0jcbcBY1odU2EIjKOicp3q5e1bns6lJQLTf6viKfeCdpvKFQ5SI93YUwWEcvMKWglnzMyOUyYpWA9NebE1wErSuaIz4CJBbFab8LKpdXZCVsKzFcRmHQ/s1600/readers+theater+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAfM81UmZPBGVBHJQqNwFcmgr0jcbcBY1odU2EIjKOicp3q5e1bns6lJQLTf6viKfeCdpvKFQ5SI93YUwWEcvMKWglnzMyOUyYpWA9NebE1wErSuaIz4CJBbFab8LKpdXZCVsKzFcRmHQ/s320/readers+theater+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And since I’m a choral conductor, choral music is one of
my reasons for being!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rNIvsMMruMnd7UYf73uNEGXGJhGCC9NfPsnF-5GTDD2Z0T2fim00BtWyodfEZUFOOWlpHEi-aYYr9pmSR0wjUV0YrYpz4BGwd8fEGMGGhPhs12fESaDfZRHtJHd8WVzKq3QNBGWnWjSK/s1600/happiness+is+choir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rNIvsMMruMnd7UYf73uNEGXGJhGCC9NfPsnF-5GTDD2Z0T2fim00BtWyodfEZUFOOWlpHEi-aYYr9pmSR0wjUV0YrYpz4BGwd8fEGMGGhPhs12fESaDfZRHtJHd8WVzKq3QNBGWnWjSK/s1600/happiness+is+choir.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For my <i>A <b>Choral</b> Christmas Carol</i> I would need
a Narrator, who would read aloud as if to his family, and
Scrooge of course.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXttH3AluKE0UVytpl51tlR37REG4SxQEks-9EpBsnNfsGfLFRFbhLJUbTKwKUjGGSzZW05NjzsdLSK8VZfdTwOLF5l7wuiBxzkkOtOPXUPB-lwxl30hqLbdq5vKlFCw0vcOrQJPaNqqsw/s1600/Scrooge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXttH3AluKE0UVytpl51tlR37REG4SxQEks-9EpBsnNfsGfLFRFbhLJUbTKwKUjGGSzZW05NjzsdLSK8VZfdTwOLF5l7wuiBxzkkOtOPXUPB-lwxl30hqLbdq5vKlFCw0vcOrQJPaNqqsw/s200/Scrooge.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
They would need to be fine actors since they carried half
of the show. But smaller roles, such as
the Cratchit family or the Ghosts, could be played by chorus members who would
move in and out of the chorus and into the scenes as needed. And the chorus itself would be an actor in
the drama, commenting on, enhancing, expanding or shedding light on the story
through the music.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And it worked!
We’ve performed this piece maybe three or four times over the years. It is indeed “where we’ve been,” but it’s also
“where we’re going”—stimulating the imagination, exploring, bringing joy
through music and artistry. I’m really looking forward to doing so again with
this production. It’s really magical. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0Cf-wYKUjfo_aXoIY3GzyYOQTDsbWy-Y43BfHzS41DlW9YoheHOaWIMTVYldSqvyX2CXr0-Q1hLVQzlkoPncZLlnM3_NKky7GIztyMVrwfzzhOxy0HN6ch_2j0RyLzPSrZUo0nnQX-R1/s1600/A+Christmas+Carol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0Cf-wYKUjfo_aXoIY3GzyYOQTDsbWy-Y43BfHzS41DlW9YoheHOaWIMTVYldSqvyX2CXr0-Q1hLVQzlkoPncZLlnM3_NKky7GIztyMVrwfzzhOxy0HN6ch_2j0RyLzPSrZUo0nnQX-R1/s1600/A+Christmas+Carol.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-89088864739196431612015-03-03T14:07:00.002-08:002015-03-03T14:07:58.919-08:00The Great American Songbook: The Lyricists<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve been pondering the role of lyricists, the poets
really, of the genre known as the great American songbook since my chorus has
been preparing for our upcoming concert of the same name. By and large the lyricists tend to be
forgotten, swallowed up by the giant shadows of the composers who created the
unforgettable melodies we know so well.
And yet, those songs wouldn’t exist without the words that also gave
them life. Some lyricists worked for
multiple composers, some collaborated as part of semi-permanent duos. But each brought his or her own signature to
these great numbers.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Consider, for instance, Lorenz Hart, of Rodgers and Hart
fame.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgY6Zyfvy_x5oY9oz_wj5OYkhyphenhyphenUK6vZ2jjsuEil9LWltdbH98g5KLsNsd-qUN7hx7SCkxtp89EvubYf1BxUjeb7sAHK_IpDWMwShmHBMi-9NSHVWrwfAK_hXlsBEi6dH-qdX_2t2rWj_0/s1600/Lorenz+Hart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgY6Zyfvy_x5oY9oz_wj5OYkhyphenhyphenUK6vZ2jjsuEil9LWltdbH98g5KLsNsd-qUN7hx7SCkxtp89EvubYf1BxUjeb7sAHK_IpDWMwShmHBMi-9NSHVWrwfAK_hXlsBEi6dH-qdX_2t2rWj_0/s1600/Lorenz+Hart.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For more than twenty years, from 1919 into the 1940s,
they were the toast of Broadway and Hollywood; at least until Richard Rodgers
finally broke away in frustration from Hart to team up even more famously with
Oscar Hammerstein. Hart was known for
his witty, playful lyrics and unexpected polysyllabic or internal rhymes. Here
is just one of several clever lines from <i>The
Lady is a Tramp</i>:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I like the free, fresh wind in my hair.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Life without care,</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’m broke—it’s oke.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Which next time around morphs into:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I like the green grass under my shoes</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
What can I lose?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’m flat! That’s
that!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But loneliness and
wistfulness often lurked beneath the surface, and sometimes rose to the
surface, for he apparently felt that he was too unattractive to be loved. Here is the opening line from <i>My Funny Valentine</i>, a really lovely
ballad sung in our concert by soprano soloist and long-time friend Mary Jo
DuGaw:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My funny valentine</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Sweet comic valentine</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You make me smile with my heart.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Your looks are laughable</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Unphotographable</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Yet you’re my favorite work of art.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">Is this perhaps a
self-portrait?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">Here is Frank Sinatra
giving a tender rendition.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/Are-c0BLyIg/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Are-c0BLyIg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Hart was supremely
talented, but he was also an alcoholic, undependable, with a chaotic life. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Finally his friendship and partnership with
Rodgers fell apart, and Rodgers forged an even more successful collaboration
with Hammerstein.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">And Hart fell out of
sight and died in 1943 of pneumonia, exacerbated by drink and neglect.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">Or consider Johnny Mercer,
composer and lyricist who teamed with many different composers as a lyricist, creator
of such classics as </span><i>That Old Black Magic</i><span style="background-color: white;">
and </span><i>Laura</i><span style="background-color: white;">, both of which are on our
program.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2KdNLS64kfmkJbm1ZkrCPD9bXPMNTvNo-K5pT8njnQUtZjn_4hJNcXAzkkWjBpkP_mTG7t_mcGqDmrvJcR30kwp0ypkgjCs02VYLjSLb9MwUNOCioqD3REgpRUV8ADFPgjo1N8bmwdEF/s1600/Johnny+Mercer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2KdNLS64kfmkJbm1ZkrCPD9bXPMNTvNo-K5pT8njnQUtZjn_4hJNcXAzkkWjBpkP_mTG7t_mcGqDmrvJcR30kwp0ypkgjCs02VYLjSLb9MwUNOCioqD3REgpRUV8ADFPgjo1N8bmwdEF/s1600/Johnny+Mercer.jpg" height="186" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">He was a Southerner, and
his lyrics often grew out of the sounds of his boyhood home: colorful African
American or rural white expressions, country dance music, the clickety-clack
of </span><span style="background-color: white;">train wheels, the wind in the trees.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">He excelled in creating misty, magical
moments, such as the dream that is Laura, or the Black Magic that holds the
lover spellbound.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">Or consider Ira Gershwin,
modest, unassuming, bookish brother of George who didn’t show much interest in
writing until 1922 when he teamed up with George to create their first hit
song, </span><i>I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise</i><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLwV-nnaqb9SNvXuC2CDH0CfzvAd-k-9Mxz1bt_YUdDz4lM7ZAWqv8vgasdQTweU0ETTe2nyKqtbICZsgjzu5yQKCV5BpZaEKMsKxjCy00Z6MaP52_Pj3Cevz6foAi4bIftemTjh1Pd4u/s1600/Ira+Gershwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLwV-nnaqb9SNvXuC2CDH0CfzvAd-k-9Mxz1bt_YUdDz4lM7ZAWqv8vgasdQTweU0ETTe2nyKqtbICZsgjzu5yQKCV5BpZaEKMsKxjCy00Z6MaP52_Pj3Cevz6foAi4bIftemTjh1Pd4u/s1600/Ira+Gershwin.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Together they had a knack
for creating fresh and novel ballads, songs of chivalry and romantic love. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Like Johnny Mercer he delighted in the sounds
of the everyday world, but for him it was an urban world.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">And like Lorenz Hart he liked playing with
rhythmic timing of words, unusual word combinations, and new lyrical
styles.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Their classic </span><i>I Got Rhythm</i><span style="background-color: white;"> overflows with clean, clipped,
rhythmic lyrics that sing easily and naturally and perfectly fit the music.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I got rhythm,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;">I got music,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;">I got my gal, who could
ask for anything more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;">I got daisies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;">In green pastures<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white;">I got my gal, who could
ask for anything more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white;">Here is the incomparable
Gene Kelly singing it in an absolutely charming presentation in </span><i>An American in Paris</i><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/LvglHa_P9BA/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LvglHa_P9BA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
But Ira’s style was his own, and the brothers worked
perfectly together until George’s death in 1937. Ira wrote no lyrics for three years
afterwards, then went on to write for many big-name composers. Somehow he has never quite achieved the
recognition that he deserves. In fact,
all of these poets of song need to be heralded.
They contributed a vital element to the great American songbook. For these songs wouldn’t be part of our
culture without their words.<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-16105181832601094772015-02-17T17:08:00.001-08:002015-02-17T17:08:16.681-08:00Harold Arlen: Tattoos and Rainbows<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As I’ve looked into Harold Arlen’s life in preparation
for Master Chorus Eastside’s upcoming <i>Great
American Songbook </i>concert, I’ve been amazed at his versatility, grasp of styles,
and depth of expressiveness. He was a full-fledged Tin Pan Alley composer, with
all that entails: ballads, show business tunes, novelty numbers, film scores
later on: think of the light-hearted <i>It’s
Only a Paper Moon, </i>the wistful<i> Somewhere
Over the Rainbow, </i>the wacky<i> Lydia the
Tattooed Lady</i>. More than most white
composers, except maybe George Gershwin, he was conversant in jazz, blues, and
music of the dance bands: think of the sultry <i>Stormy Weather</i>, the jazzy <i>That
Old Black Magic</i> (which I examined in my last blog), and his first big hit,
the tent-meeting-revivalist-styled <i>Get
Happy</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Pretty good for the shy son of a New York cantor!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmxZx_YcMOKU8dIZV_Sso4nXhA-vUFlmTGJopHoMub6eiB26xNGh19_4IZOiRzczwdSba3tc-lLFbCR3yxgHVFUPptu94C8sc_d93OWtYIDnioVS8XekqfE3y5Ca6uSgETRK49WPBJirU/s1600/Harold+Arlen+stamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmxZx_YcMOKU8dIZV_Sso4nXhA-vUFlmTGJopHoMub6eiB26xNGh19_4IZOiRzczwdSba3tc-lLFbCR3yxgHVFUPptu94C8sc_d93OWtYIDnioVS8XekqfE3y5Ca6uSgETRK49WPBJirU/s1600/Harold+Arlen+stamp.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
He was born Hyman Arluck in February 1905, although like
other popular Jewish composers of the time, such as Irving Berlin and George
Gershwin, he changed his name as his career took off. At seven he joined his synagogue choir, so little he had to stand on a chair so all could see him. At nine he began piano lessons. At sixteen he dropped out of high school and
formed a small dance band, The Snappy Trio.
In his early twenties he joined a well-known eleven-man band called the
Buffalodians, and his composing career began to blossom. By the late 1920s he was attracting national
attention with a string of hits. In the
mid-1930s he moved to Hollywood and took
up film scores. There he created the music
for <i>The</i> <i>Wizard of Oz, </i>including Judy Garland’s signature hit <i>Somewhere</i> <i>Over the Rainbow</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYylXpnkRhTASMDqc3MjBBiuX5TJLKtuWTtyHQX-eB2kHl2zZQLC0IXiuQSSNi4gOob_lc_O0AlXzsWGEwEu8cHic86rmSTsQPf8g47ztcDBV-IpiIwFlhMMt_skvF5p3IK3prmNuS8Tr/s1600/Harold+Arlen+Rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYylXpnkRhTASMDqc3MjBBiuX5TJLKtuWTtyHQX-eB2kHl2zZQLC0IXiuQSSNi4gOob_lc_O0AlXzsWGEwEu8cHic86rmSTsQPf8g47ztcDBV-IpiIwFlhMMt_skvF5p3IK3prmNuS8Tr/s1600/Harold+Arlen+Rainbow.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And a song for the equally unforgettable Marx brothers
comedy <i>At the Circus</i>, that signature Groucho
tune, <i>Lydia the Tattooed Lady</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Arlen once said, “I could never stay with one thing very
long, in melody at least.” And his output
certainly bore that out. These two
movies were both released in the same year, 1939. And no two numbers could be more unlike!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Let’s consider <i>Over
the Rainbow</i>. Here is Garland in her
remarkably sweet movie rendition.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/U016JWYUDdQ/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U016JWYUDdQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Arlen beautifully captures the arc of a rainbow in the leaps
sprinkled throughout: “somewhere,” “way up high,” “there’s a land,” skies are
blue.” It’s as if Dorothy’s longing springs
with the melody far above the drab Kansas plains and into the very heart of imagination.
Which is astonishing, because there was no text to give Arlen inspiration. The melody came to him one day as he was
driving down Sunset Boulevard. The words
were added afterwards by lyricist Yip Harburg.
And then the fluttery mid-section seems to echo the wings of the
bluebirds in the final verse, wings that promise to carry her far above the
clouds and away from her troubles.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And now compare this to Groucho and crew singing <i>Lydia the Tattooed Lady</i>!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/n4zRe_wvJw8/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n4zRe_wvJw8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Like <i>Over the
Rainbow</i> there’s a leap in <i>Lydia</i>,
on “tattooed.” Is it great
artistry? Maybe Arlen just couldn’t
contain himself over the tattoos! But
that’s just about where the similarity ends.
The genius of this novelty number comes in a simplicity which is never
simple-minded: the attractive, singable melody; a surprisingly sophisticated
ABACA form which provides interest and variety (A= “Lydia,
oh Lydia”; B= “She can give you a view”; C= “Come along and see Buffalo Bill,”each section separated by a “la la” interlude);
the goofy lyrics which are never obscured by tune and harmony; and the waltzing
rhythm, for who wouldn’t dance over a phenom like Lydia! It’s 180 degrees from <i>Over the Rainbow</i>, and inspired zaniness!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Arlen died at age 81, not as well known as many of his
contemporaries, maybe because he was shy to the end. But he was a marvelously versatile composer,
capable of expressing great tenderness, world-weariness, optimism, and humor in
music dressed up in jazz, blues or ballads.
He deserves to be better known. And
since MCE is presenting these two numbers as choral arrangements, plus several
other Arlen classics in <i>The Great
American Songbook</i>, we’re doing our best to make that happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-62902120080986346642015-02-05T13:59:00.001-08:002015-02-05T13:59:40.486-08:00Harold Arlen: Magic!<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Harold Arlen may be one of the best kept secrets of the American
Songbook.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal48xtauVx9vy5ldKHOHEi1pNTMlkd37wOsJctuzKq_L00BhiOEtKZKlW7pFgJ7mGI3TPsbCSQ5abKwxj-s6p3GhWy7GzPYjdvzk2DX-GTRiYTVf3YQRMY3VJXI_7yJ10nEHlxbVncumk/s1600/Harold+Arlen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal48xtauVx9vy5ldKHOHEi1pNTMlkd37wOsJctuzKq_L00BhiOEtKZKlW7pFgJ7mGI3TPsbCSQ5abKwxj-s6p3GhWy7GzPYjdvzk2DX-GTRiYTVf3YQRMY3VJXI_7yJ10nEHlxbVncumk/s1600/Harold+Arlen.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
He composed some masterful songs, on a par with George Gershwin,
Jerome Kern and Cole Porter, and yet he is seldom mentioned in the same breath
with them, much less on his own. I’ve had
a nodding acquaintance with him as the writer of the lovely <i>Over the Rainbow</i>, but even so I’ve
hardly paid attention to him. Here is a
tiny glimpse of his output: <i>Stormy Weather</i>,
all of the music for <i>The Wizard of Oz, That
Old Black Magic, Get Happy, It’s Only a
Paper Moon, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive, One for My Baby (And One More for
the Road)</i>, and hundreds more. It’s
only as Master Chorus Eastside has been preparing for our <i>Great American Songbook </i>concert, which includes some of his
numbers, that he has come into focus for me as one of our most underrated
Songbook composers.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Take his <i>That Old
Black Magic</i> for example, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, who crafted the words in
1942, apparently with Judy Garland in mind.
I’ve heard it off and on over the years but haven’t really appreciated
it until I began rehearsing an arrangement of it with the MCE Chamber Singers.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here is Garland herself in a ballad-like 1942 recording.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/mKopyAOgIYU/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mKopyAOgIYU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The number suggests a love affair that is overpowering, magnetic,
maybe even dangerous—after all, it is black magic!—and Arlen adroitly expresses
that sense through some downright mesmerizing music. The A section begins:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
That old black
magic has me in its spell,</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
that old black
magic that you weave so well.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Those icy fingers
up and down my spine,</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
that same old
witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Notice the magical words: “black magic,” “spell,”
“weave,” “witchcraft.” Notice the melodic
note repeated over and over on “That old black magic has...in its spell,”
almost like a snake that has immobilized
its intended victim with its hypnotic gaze.
The harmony enhances that image; it remains an unchanging undercurrent
until the word “weave,” and then stays with the new chord until the word “witchcraft,”
where it begins a dissonant rising tension that finally resolves on the word “eyes.”
Notice the narrow compass of the melody; the first phrase uses only two notes confined
to the interval of a sixth, and the second phrase only adds two more notes. It all creates a sense of capture, confinement,
helplessness!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
He returns to that hypnotic sense with, “That
same old tingle that I feel inside,” but melody and harmony are now slightly agitated. The agitation increases with a melody line
that matches the rising elevator of the second phrase, strengthened by a brand
new chord on the word “ride,” one foreign to the key of the piece. And then melody and harmony gradually descend
in “Down and down I go, round and round I go,” still with those repeated notes
and harmonies, but now broken up in excitement by occasional passing notes.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The music comes suddenly to life in the B section, “I
should stay away, but what can I do?” as if trying to break away from the
spell: the melody frantically leaps here and there, repeated notes are mostly
gone, harmonies change more rapidly.
Most interesting is the disturbance evident in “I’m aflame,
aflame with such a burning desire...”: “aflame” is repeated (the first time words recur back-to-back), the melody plunges as if crashing in fire, then dizzyingly
ascends on the word “desire” over a remarkable minor chord, perhaps a last gasp
and somber recognition that escape is impossible. For then it begins to settle back into the repeated
notes of the spell and the kiss that puts out the fire.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The hypnosis reasserts itself in the return to the A
section with “You’re the lover I have waited for,” but then something new
happens: the melody soars skyward on “the mate that fate had me created for,”
still with repeated notes but over harmony that suggests a new key, at least
for a few measures. And somehow this
time, when lips meet and the singer is once again pulled downward into the spin
of love over that last, long stretch of mesmerized notes, there is certainly
acceptance, perhaps partnership, maybe even triumph. For even though the melody clings to its static statement, the harmonies move and
change, as if they are in control!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Since we began rehearsing <i>That Old Black Magic</i> I find that it runs almost unceasingly in my
head, over and over, as if...I were under a spell!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and Conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-33000909150861748622015-01-25T19:25:00.001-08:002015-01-25T19:25:24.425-08:00That Swing Thing!<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
“What good is
melody?</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
What good is music
if it ain’t possessin’ something sweet?”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
So, what is that sweet thing?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
“It ain’t the
melody, it ain’t the music.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
There’s something
else that makes the tune complete.”</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
What is that something else?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
“It don’t mean a
thing if it ain’t got that swing.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Thus wrote Duke Ellington and his manager/lyricist Irving
Mills in 1931 when <i>It Don’t Mean a Thing
(If It Ain’t Got That Swing)</i> first burst on the jazz scene.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It’s that swing thing!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVn7_Nvs77LcZ-2-T4LJ_tXWVqWv7MjJX9zekMxmjdeaYDAsQIOusc8yOvh0JKSJkzTERG6i1XS6TH9IR8JhTzYQhPMDfOZmeZxU6zh96-ZhN7cKX9NNIRrqcC7gIk1MxGW8F8pEUJgzW/s1600/swing+couple-negative.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVn7_Nvs77LcZ-2-T4LJ_tXWVqWv7MjJX9zekMxmjdeaYDAsQIOusc8yOvh0JKSJkzTERG6i1XS6TH9IR8JhTzYQhPMDfOZmeZxU6zh96-ZhN7cKX9NNIRrqcC7gIk1MxGW8F8pEUJgzW/s1600/swing+couple-negative.png" height="172" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside is rehearsing a choral arrangement
of this number for our <i>Great
American Songbook </i>concert, and we are really enjoying that swing
thing! A Russian piano teacher once told
me that Americans played jazz and jazz-based numbers differently than anyone
else. It’s in our blood, she said. And that’s very evident in the verve that MCE
is bringing to our concert preparation.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
What is swing?
It’s a bit hard to define, but it’s a syncopated lilt that makes the
listener want to dance. Paired eighth
notes are played unequally, driven by an underlying triplet feel, with the
first eighth note as the longer of the two.
When I see the directive “swing” at the beginning of a piece, I know to upshift
into triplets, let my inner dancer loose, enjoy the syncopation...and not be
too rigid about the whole thing!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlSPJzvNEYBtm6SZeb3Zl_N_iT9RQvsn5ZLoWp0vaa9MOR30BTd1ye_EG6ICariDNPvNqYmxb8Xccovr4lGf5s0tjnNG7T8zkWHf-HOkBOBz1Svby3fljwXk2H2CWzhRuHkiyKvT8LHsq/s1600/BennyGoodmanandBandStageDoorCanteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlSPJzvNEYBtm6SZeb3Zl_N_iT9RQvsn5ZLoWp0vaa9MOR30BTd1ye_EG6ICariDNPvNqYmxb8Xccovr4lGf5s0tjnNG7T8zkWHf-HOkBOBz1Svby3fljwXk2H2CWzhRuHkiyKvT8LHsq/s1600/BennyGoodmanandBandStageDoorCanteen.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It was big band jazz that made swing wildly popular, and
the swing era held sway in American dance halls and theaters from about 1935 until
the end of World War II. Big bands intertwined
New Orleans Dixie Land and Kansas City jazz styles, along with Latin American dance
impulses, into an irresistibly lilting dance beat. And Duke Ellington was among the best of the
best, both as a band leader and as a composer.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgip20WWgv71qRuPB9YZIev7No67hzV1zxmYNm2SekB5wy615qMVcOpkxIwcxW9kxcDtq1i9GAhnnyFFhe5wBBplEzR-5AIZ_dEfTB6bnCQZZoYIafGQcq1dE9Ly4Z35s5SEsLIJpAe0uw/s1600/Duke+Ellington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgip20WWgv71qRuPB9YZIev7No67hzV1zxmYNm2SekB5wy615qMVcOpkxIwcxW9kxcDtq1i9GAhnnyFFhe5wBBplEzR-5AIZ_dEfTB6bnCQZZoYIafGQcq1dE9Ly4Z35s5SEsLIJpAe0uw/s1600/Duke+Ellington.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Among the many works, large and small, that he wrote,<i> It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That
Swing) </i>stands at the top, and helped spark the first stirrings of the swing
phenomenon. It may be the first number
to use the word “swing” in its title, and it certainly helped to introduce the
concept to the general public. Ellington
credited the title phrase as the doctrine of his former trumpeter, Bubber
Miley, who died of tuberculosis the same year the song was birthed.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here’s the famous 1932 recording by Ellington’s band.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-FvsgGp8rSE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Classical conductor and jazz historian Gunther Schuller
called <i>It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t
Got That Swing)</i> “legendary,” and in 2008 it was voted into the Grammy Hall
of Fame. Schuller also predicted that
Duke Ellington would come to be recognized as one of the great masters of American
music—of all styles!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Ellington was truly one of a kind, and it is MCE’s
privilege to bring this number, as well as all of the songs in <i>The Great American Songbook</i>, to life. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qdqq70ALCDM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and Conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-1647787045456082332015-01-17T20:23:00.001-08:002015-01-18T08:04:59.446-08:00The Great American Songbook<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside has begun rehearsals for our upcoming March concert called <i>The</i> <i>Great American Songbook, </i>a catchall term
that has become current in recent years.
I love the phrase, it has music in its rhythm and flow. And my chorus LOVES the music; rehearsals are
energetic, to say the least! But what
exactly is the great American songbook?
It brings to mind a songbook of course, and you can actually find a songbook by that
title for sale at Amazon, with more than 100 standards from “the Golden Age of
American song.” But when was the golden
age of American song? And can it really
be contained in a single book?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The phrase as it is used nowadays <i>is</i>, in a way, a
songbook, or rather, songbooks, but it is more than that. It is a genre, even a kind of metaphor of a time,
a way of singing and composing and playing music, of style. The time, by most definitions, was the 1920s
through the 1950s, although some stretch it to include the parlor songs of the
late 19<sup>th</sup> century. Some
commentators think that the rock music explosion that began in the 1960s killed
off the genre, but others disagree and include later lyrical singers and
composers such as Carole King and Billy Joel.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I wasn’t able to pin down when the phrase came into common
usage. Michael Feinstein, probably the
most visible modern proponent of the Great American Songbook, says that no one
knows when it first appeared, but it has become an increasingly common term in
the last twenty or so years.</div>
(See: <a href="http://classact.typepad.com/robert_d_thomasclass_act/2014/07/memoir-michael-feinstein-building-and-preserving-the-great-american-songbook.html" target="_blank">http://classact.typepad.com/robert_d_thomasclass_act/2014/07/memoir-michael-feinstein-building-and-preserving-the-great-american-songbook.html</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The phrase doesn’t occur in any of my American music history text or reference books, several with copyright dates from the very early 2000s. But the composers and lyricists and performers are certainly written up there: Harold Arlen, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Tommy Dorsey, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Glenn Miller, Lena Horne, Cole Porter...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i6oGytt0Hiw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And the songs are there: Stormy Weather, Stardust,
Georgia On My Mind, Embraceable You, Fascinating Rhythm, Singin’ in the Rain, You’re
the Top, It Had to be You, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),
Satin Doll...</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CI2ieY4qqYQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And the styles are described there: Tin Pan Alley composers and producers (see my blog
of April 24, 2013), theater, popular and parlor songs, movie and radio music and, of
course, jazz, lots of jazz, because jazz is a uniquely American creation that
spawned music of harmonic complexity and melodic expressiveness closely married
to sophisticated lyrics full of poetic word play and wit.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I would argue that the Great American Songbook is, or is
becoming, the popular American equivalent of classical art songs. Consider how many art songs came from stage
productions—opera—or were written for intimate parlor entertainment as well as
concert recitals: the songs of Schubert, Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Debussy, Fauré,
the vast array of Italian art songs by Carissimi, Monteverdi, Antonio Scarlatti,
and many, many more. Their subjects are mostly
about love—love fulfilled, love spurned, unrequited love, love recovered from
(sound familiar?)—in music of harmonic complexity and melodic expressiveness closely
married to sophisticated lyrics full of poetic word play....</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My <i>New Harvard
Dictionary of Music</i> defines art song in part as “a song intended for the
concert repertory, as distinct from a folk or popular song. An art song traditionally is a setting of a
text of high literary quality...[with] accompaniment specified by the
composer...”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Certainly there are
differences between this definition and the Great American Songbook genre. But music never stays still, and definitions
change over time. Perhaps, fifty years
from now, no one will notice the difference!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VGeutKW1WXU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and Conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-52224744380646114512015-01-01T16:38:00.000-08:002015-01-01T16:38:16.285-08:00The Art of Conducting: When is Enough Enough?<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I remember once in a conducting class trying something, a
conducting gesture or an interpretive nuance of some kind, that wasn’t working. My conducting teacher and mentor, Abraham
Kaplan, waited patiently as I stubbornly kept plowing ahead with it. Finally I gave up and he asked, “Why did you
keep on doing that?” With some chagrin
and sudden wry insight I said, “Because I was in love with the idea.” He grinned and then kindly but promptly
turned my admission into a teaching moment for the entire class!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We conductors find it easy to fall in love with our ideas,
our signature conducting gestures, our long-winded explanations, our
interpretation of a number...our importance!
We tend to forget that a problem in rehearsal may mean that we are getting
in the way, that we may not need to wave our arms or explain quite so
much. To quote the creator of the comic
strip Pogo—sort of—the enemy is sometimes us!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1J1WETXsH_MV7hzyjVqELdiBoIwYRHP0fwjnrD1-uxsvi5Df8ZM1cfK0jru07O34z2Rx8WowmsuHuouLTYwM-imxeWc_kLoTuSFWg0cW5UXwAx4lyLQOkE8WJpTUb3VPCS-5Cx7hP8Jq2/s1600/Pogo-enemy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1J1WETXsH_MV7hzyjVqELdiBoIwYRHP0fwjnrD1-uxsvi5Df8ZM1cfK0jru07O34z2Rx8WowmsuHuouLTYwM-imxeWc_kLoTuSFWg0cW5UXwAx4lyLQOkE8WJpTUb3VPCS-5Cx7hP8Jq2/s1600/Pogo-enemy.jpg" height="200" width="196" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
None of us is immune, no matter how experienced we may
be. It takes humility, self-knowledge,
and the ability to view ourselves with detachment—and humor—to recognize those
moments.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So how do we tone it down? How do we know when we are overdoing it? When is enough enough? That will vary with every situation. No two choruses are alike, and even the same
chorus can react differently from one rehearsal to the next. And actually the same is true for a
conductor! But below is a video of a
master conductor who judged that very, very little was needed. Leonard Bernstein was famous for his grandly
dramatic gestures, even leaping into the air at climactic musical moments. In fact, I have seen Abe Kaplan, who prepared
many a chorus for Bernstein and had plenty of chances to observe him, do the
same thing himself! But here, out of
respect for the outstanding musicianship of his players, Bernstein took himself
almost completely out of the way and let them make the music, with only the
subtlest of guidance from him.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You couldn’t do this with every chorus or orchestra. But it’s a partnership that is a pleasure to
watch...and draw lessons from.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oU0Ubs2KYUI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-17488138463190162922014-12-24T15:24:00.000-08:002014-12-24T15:24:18.184-08:00A Mountaintop Experience<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After Master Chorus Eastside’s recent Christmas concerts,
which featured compositions by Northwest composers, several of them quite
demanding, I asked if any of our singers would be willing to write down their
thoughts about the experience for our blog.
One member responded with a creative combination of words and pictures, in the style of a graphic novel, that perfectly captured the experience.
Here is what he put together. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 24.0pt;">♫<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Here are a
few pictures worth a thousand words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Our director
says we are going to do some pieces by</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"> <span style="background: white;">Northwest composers, and it
promises to be a mountaintop experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrczyFzkSCC_zb8ZCmTraXtpETH35qpAzhaRoP9iOE7kwwwup0acozM83j0zWE-U2dbEUUAN4I4HpKTtjrDFVYQYJQE7xxFkqwWuMbznvjcCBeb1HNYINw2-bnD914Mv65ihq24zXCkns/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124237+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrczyFzkSCC_zb8ZCmTraXtpETH35qpAzhaRoP9iOE7kwwwup0acozM83j0zWE-U2dbEUUAN4I4HpKTtjrDFVYQYJQE7xxFkqwWuMbznvjcCBeb1HNYINw2-bnD914Mv65ihq24zXCkns/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124237+PM.jpg" height="320" width="297" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">When
studying the pieces I notice a degree of difficulty,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"> <span style="background: white;">for me as a singer, to be overcome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB5ZRT5yuEOR5I_BAiforwABLqzugyx6aC3lCwlOClTMJgdXT5PXN4n_o3H0bL_C-7BFDzhpfa13WwVIioWe47wuDeaVa-zqCR34-OkWxZibCv4Aj2MzIUTJMRx7odlsqAtLHQdcherSQ/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+123942+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB5ZRT5yuEOR5I_BAiforwABLqzugyx6aC3lCwlOClTMJgdXT5PXN4n_o3H0bL_C-7BFDzhpfa13WwVIioWe47wuDeaVa-zqCR34-OkWxZibCv4Aj2MzIUTJMRx7odlsqAtLHQdcherSQ/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+123942+PM.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I then find
other points that require my</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"> <span style="background: white;">focused time and effort to get
right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwuxZv_B1FPi0iQoCUgwvvOLomGoV5XSITXHmmXF5TIteCl0Z89xybX6fh2ij84NbnmisfcUqzQUjPPc8U0zWuY1cl2-ld1cl61kBfsAoyjcDdMO-uNbyEKgR2lULAyNpfPvcqwEIqhqz/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124334+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwuxZv_B1FPi0iQoCUgwvvOLomGoV5XSITXHmmXF5TIteCl0Z89xybX6fh2ij84NbnmisfcUqzQUjPPc8U0zWuY1cl2-ld1cl61kBfsAoyjcDdMO-uNbyEKgR2lULAyNpfPvcqwEIqhqz/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124334+PM.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I begin to
wonder if I can sing these pieces successfully<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf4Xf2ov8zQKbCsGKfoTbfckdNttKMBhxQP8moXU_ekxZ1eieBKc_V9aoBXh9ICCeoVBcMFU09rMCzPdwBxdtG4HLIWzSD4pra5zLwAokKBvM7kmb8BrngrST6EAuWhy0PfgB7b-JUPvV/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124019+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf4Xf2ov8zQKbCsGKfoTbfckdNttKMBhxQP8moXU_ekxZ1eieBKc_V9aoBXh9ICCeoVBcMFU09rMCzPdwBxdtG4HLIWzSD4pra5zLwAokKBvM7kmb8BrngrST6EAuWhy0PfgB7b-JUPvV/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124019+PM.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I ask a
higher power for help with this task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnq3hTviUhwOvHRXAOcil0gpJMt7JdzdKVESlLS-PSgqs8hXXvQ3k5R5umcY9OY2KJ1JaSx9sTCQ6bpACRcERZXS0ByBaf0wgxoyiMp3cTGYDzDwfcSHGGQciYj-NWBmwCxSgjxFdG1T_Q/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124241+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnq3hTviUhwOvHRXAOcil0gpJMt7JdzdKVESlLS-PSgqs8hXXvQ3k5R5umcY9OY2KJ1JaSx9sTCQ6bpACRcERZXS0ByBaf0wgxoyiMp3cTGYDzDwfcSHGGQciYj-NWBmwCxSgjxFdG1T_Q/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124241+PM.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I begin to
see the light at the end of the tunnel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq2UmyYBm7r1Hp1V5B5HK5EfJfOKcoQ3A0tflKUzvv-8fN41XltrTKwBnnwNTAkTK0Q0xvHGL1jDNT_G8s7CQADHtuCTydCb34TDTkd2HlDJy24i2ecwWgfH4iiNfsuRPSLSS1eU10sU5/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124403+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq2UmyYBm7r1Hp1V5B5HK5EfJfOKcoQ3A0tflKUzvv-8fN41XltrTKwBnnwNTAkTK0Q0xvHGL1jDNT_G8s7CQADHtuCTydCb34TDTkd2HlDJy24i2ecwWgfH4iiNfsuRPSLSS1eU10sU5/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12212014+124403+PM.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We finally perform the pieces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV-rCGhxdIEsNlfuWoCuuqivarolDv38M7DNSH9rA1D6e46lQJuwHUUR7KRxbfLaheUcXNTRMrjIfbwbe1_x5pvwSg8iIfU2i6G48o39Pm4fpT3z-o3H_zosWd4N3SlgtfrcZfoR2fszc/s1600/mt+top-distance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV-rCGhxdIEsNlfuWoCuuqivarolDv38M7DNSH9rA1D6e46lQJuwHUUR7KRxbfLaheUcXNTRMrjIfbwbe1_x5pvwSg8iIfU2i6G48o39Pm4fpT3z-o3H_zosWd4N3SlgtfrcZfoR2fszc/s1600/mt+top-distance.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">We see the composers’ faces radiating success, like the sun through the
clouds</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2BObRYk4N65CrcfdXuuWdKyupitUVnShFZp8L3j-RTet7eaawXB0q9YNvwOcUJginDUIEsXjKHS-6Pio9iZWSKRacf3nIfeIpNHrA09XLHCx-pmBMTVSn9mvIphhq8Iqy1AjFszaN9yV/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12222014+22247+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2BObRYk4N65CrcfdXuuWdKyupitUVnShFZp8L3j-RTet7eaawXB0q9YNvwOcUJginDUIEsXjKHS-6Pio9iZWSKRacf3nIfeIpNHrA09XLHCx-pmBMTVSn9mvIphhq8Iqy1AjFszaN9yV/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+12222014+22247+PM.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Dan Reitz, bass<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Master Chorus
Eastside<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-39658756388695260592014-12-20T14:05:00.000-08:002014-12-20T14:05:15.719-08:00Jessye Norman on Singing<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This morning I heard an interview with Jessye Norman on
NPR’s Weekend Edition. Now anything
concerning Jessye Norman captures my attention, and not just for her velvety
voice! A number of years ago I bought an
album, <i>Spirituals in Concert</i>, featuring
Norman and Kathleen Battle singing spirituals, and I was struck by the sense of
humanity, sincerity, authenticity, soul—not in the Motown sense—that she
brought to these wonderful pieces. There
was a connection with the music and its meaning that went beyond the ordinary diva
performance.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
She grew up in a musical family, began singing as soon as
she could talk: church music, spirituals, children’s songs, they were her
musical language from a very early age, and that may be part of the reason her
performance on the spirituals album was extraordinary. But in this morning’s show the interviewer
quoted something she wrote in her recent book, <i>Stand Up Straight and Sing! </i>that taps into her magic on a deeper
level.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“Singing for me is actually life itself. It’s communication, person to person and soul
to soul, physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual expression carried by
the breath.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This absolutely and utterly resonates in my own soul. It’s what drives me as a conductor, and it’s
what drives the chorus I conduct, Master Chorus Eastside. It’s captured in our mission statement:
Master Chorus Eastside, through the very best in choral music, feeds people’s
souls. Without that communication the
music can still be beautiful, but beautifully empty.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We tend to respond to the word “soul” intuitively rather
than intellectually. Some dismiss it
altogether. It’s described in several
dictionaries as that thing that encompasses consciousness, thought, feeling, life,
action, morality, spiritual or emotional depth, something separate from our
physical bodies. However you define it,
or perhaps dismiss it, do what Jessye Norman suggested in this morning’s piece:
sing, even if you don’t think you can!
All that oxygen you breathe in in order to expel it in song is good for
the body, makes you feel good, and makes the person listening to you feel good too. Go to a Christmas Eve or Christmas day
service if you are so inclined, gather with family and friends and sing carols,
sing in your car, sing in the shower. Communicate,
soul to soul!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here is the complete interview if you would like to hear
it:</div>
<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/11/25/364758676/guest-dj-jessye-norman-from-augusta-to-valhalla" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/11/25/364758676/guest-dj-jessye-norman-from-augusta-to-valhalla</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And here is Ms. Norman herself—soulfully!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/O-W5H1mdUsc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-61470308086172134242014-12-11T15:07:00.000-08:002014-12-11T15:07:05.847-08:00William Billings' A Virgin Unspotted and Chris Fraley's Let Us Be Merry<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I really enjoy the music of the colonial American
composer William Billings. It is tuneful,
sturdy, expressive, original, and gives a kind of snapshot of musical life in
Revolutionary-War-era Boston.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJb6VTjNFvY1x4KvS-D8pOtqGu-uByII6D74PXNxW_KA-uW0JSlYrTTGwPLPP10HSy5vnliw8_ICwI87wfcgIUuwsZfI4kfjbnnDoeJHBu44nadCFOT4BzIrP-KjBeAIq2K5Qt6-GYqN4/s1600/colonial+Boston+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJb6VTjNFvY1x4KvS-D8pOtqGu-uByII6D74PXNxW_KA-uW0JSlYrTTGwPLPP10HSy5vnliw8_ICwI87wfcgIUuwsZfI4kfjbnnDoeJHBu44nadCFOT4BzIrP-KjBeAIq2K5Qt6-GYqN4/s1600/colonial+Boston+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So what does William Billings have to do with Master
Chorus Eastside’s <i>Christmas in the
Northwest</i>, which features several works by Northwest composers?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">First, a little
background on Billings. He was a singing
master in late eighteenth-century Boston, meaning he taught Bostonians how to
sing and read music, conducted church choirs, and composed pieces for his six
tune books, which were his main teaching tool.
He began his working career as a tanner, but his passion for music is
evident in his introduction to his second publication, <i>The Singing Master’s Assistant</i>, in which he describes his feelings
upon the release of his first tune book, <i>The
New England Psalm Singer</i> (1770).
Here is part of it, creative eighteenth-century spellings intact, at
least as best as I can make them out. See
IMSLP for the original, <a href="http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Billings,_William" target="_blank">http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Billings,_William</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“Oh! how did my
foolish heart throb and beat with tumultuous joy! With what impatience did I wait on the Book-Binder,
while stitching the sheets and puting on the covers, with what xtacy did I
snatch the yet unfinished Book out of his hands, and press it to my bosom, with
rapturous delight, how lavish was I, with encomiums on this infant production
of my own [can’t make it out; could it be Numbskull?!]? Welcome!
Thrice welcome, thou legitimate offspring of my brain, go forth my
little Book, go forth and immortalize the name of your Author...”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And it goes on for a few more rapturous sentences until
he begins to reveal his criticisms of this first effort, finally stating that
most of it wasn’t worth printing! Hence <i>The Singing Master’s Assistant</i> of 1778, which
contains revised versions of the most popular tunes from his first book plus
some new numbers. He heartily recommends
it as much better than <i>The New England
Psalm Singer</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYCxr4f8FfGpdb49rkwmt-v-XFHGQKofWEqbLSiGnNcy7g3A5wdsVc8N2hH85nlzJuD0-05N_BHCicJzSextRJRPzx9i2P8TkunrSyNyhTN8hpsyy-Tslxm3xnloJoUA7DnPa15btFmIo/s1600/SingingMastersAssistant+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYCxr4f8FfGpdb49rkwmt-v-XFHGQKofWEqbLSiGnNcy7g3A5wdsVc8N2hH85nlzJuD0-05N_BHCicJzSextRJRPzx9i2P8TkunrSyNyhTN8hpsyy-Tslxm3xnloJoUA7DnPa15btFmIo/s1600/SingingMastersAssistant+2.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I can almost picture him with his short leg, his one eye,
his unconcern over his appearance and manner (the famous description of him is
all over the web, and can be found in various <i>Oxford Dictionary of Music and Musicians</i> editions, <i>the New Oxford Book of Carols</i>, and lots
of other publications), ardently clutching his tune book to his breast! This is a man after my own heart!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It is in <i>The
Singing Master’s Assistant</i> that <i>A
Virgin Unspotted</i> appears, and thus the connection with our concert.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/o2FJgjxzgQw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The text unfolds the familiar biblical story, and
predates Billings by a good 100 or so years; in fact, it could be heard all
over England and the colonies with all sorts of variations in text and melody. Billings’ tune is his own, which he called
Judea, and the tenor carries the melody in his four-part setting, as was
typical of the time. It is
straightforward and rugged, probably much like Billings himself. But it’s always fun to see what a modern
composer can do with a good tune, so when Seattle-area composer Chris Fraley
showed me his arrangement I leaped at the chance to perform it. He calls it <i>Let Us Be Merry</i>, and it is indeed a merry setting.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Chris wisely doesn’t overdress Billings’ setting, but he
adds some creative touches that reveal his own thought processes. He begins with the refrain, “Let us be
merry,” rather than the verse, “A virgin unspotted,” which supports the title
and underscores the cheerful nature of the work. He moves into a minor key for his second verse,
perhaps to reflect Joseph and pregnant Mary’s humble origins and their stressful
journey to Bethlehem as laid out in the text.
And then in his third verse (the sixth verse in the recording above), he
paints the humility of the text with a deft hand: he drops to an even lower and darker minor key, moves from
the original’s jolly 6/8 into a somber 4/4, and transfers the melody to the darker-voiced
alto. But hope is evident too, for he
repeats the last line twice to accentuate the main theme, swings back into 6/8
for the refrain, lets it spin out for a bit in simple counterpoint, and then joyfully
unleashes all in one last repeat of the refrain to conclude.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You can hear it “sung” by a computer at:<a href="http://fraleymusic.com/Music/Catalog/LetUsBeMerry" target="_blank"> http://fraleymusic.com/Music/Catalog/LetUsBeMerry</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Enjoy! We
certainly have enjoyed presenting it at our concerts.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-51885716842118061292014-12-04T20:22:00.000-08:002014-12-04T20:22:19.085-08:00Musings on Master Chorus Eastside’s Concerts: Christmas in the Northwest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Is there
something special about a Northwest Christmas? We
have evergreens and holly in abundance, but so do plenty of other
places.<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNbIMO8HWpzqL0Th38E46CF4cyiuyE-e0SiZBzOJoHvoQ1ALdSiTTTTRFqb0YzjC6_uh4NnAWJT4DOjYkyigjVOnrsmR1PjnLts_9jLNNspBIUe6kWgd2o2G3tHS1SvZUk5awEiZaH10Z/s1600/evergreen+forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNbIMO8HWpzqL0Th38E46CF4cyiuyE-e0SiZBzOJoHvoQ1ALdSiTTTTRFqb0YzjC6_uh4NnAWJT4DOjYkyigjVOnrsmR1PjnLts_9jLNNspBIUe6kWgd2o2G3tHS1SvZUk5awEiZaH10Z/s1600/evergreen+forest.jpg" height="132" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We are
woefully short of white Christmases.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkv3Zj0BhfK8ZvAzOWZmSOG1joFd4ktU-4KK4cbUpfBiZpAn3g_KWiMS5Fj9mQSVxFvpfPiE24emyvSTDfOpFmIGTh77CjmztY3SVb0fBXb1hBMJElRfhhOTfHWAM8c2BtY9RShzot9XZq/s1600/rainy+Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkv3Zj0BhfK8ZvAzOWZmSOG1joFd4ktU-4KK4cbUpfBiZpAn3g_KWiMS5Fj9mQSVxFvpfPiE24emyvSTDfOpFmIGTh77CjmztY3SVb0fBXb1hBMJElRfhhOTfHWAM8c2BtY9RShzot9XZq/s1600/rainy+Christmas.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We
do have rain and low clouds and long winter nights, but that’s hardly a mark of holiday distinction (although
I think most of us are secretly proud of our toughness in bearing up under a
Northwest winter)!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZyJnoS9FoCLZLPv0VdKScyM-G6IdUWOk1cFtG_eBxHGfK7hRQ-Okn4axRRxMCMRJD0kgWBuJhUaJ28iBzCwchiMaJAPDDY1iruiUxR9Yfy0vwVmAGVF9E6d_qg3Dmun6TNGh9Q2JMS9-/s1600/storm+clouds+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZyJnoS9FoCLZLPv0VdKScyM-G6IdUWOk1cFtG_eBxHGfK7hRQ-Okn4axRRxMCMRJD0kgWBuJhUaJ28iBzCwchiMaJAPDDY1iruiUxR9Yfy0vwVmAGVF9E6d_qg3Dmun6TNGh9Q2JMS9-/s1600/storm+clouds+2.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Perhaps
what really makes a Northwest Christmas stand out is our wealth of music,
especially choral music. The Northwest,
and Seattle in particular, enjoys a richness of choirs and composers that is
the envy of cities across the country, and it is our pleasure to celebrate some
of those composers in our just-around-the-corner concerts, as well as the carols, new and old,
that grace this holiday season.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Our musical
program flows in a kind of story
line, beginning with calls to rejoice: first, a call to celebrate the birth of
Christ in my own arrangement of <i>Personent
Hodie</i>, which piles ostinato upon ostinato in spellbinding fashion; then a
call invoking the presence of God in Seattle composer John Muehleisen’s
mystically luminous <i>Invocation</i>. He drapes the ancient Scottish text with
luscious tone clusters and dissonances, freely shifting meters and soaring
melodies to create a sense of ecstasy and wonder. Next, with halls decked and the festivities
prepared, like minstrels of old we unfold the ageless Christmas story in the
spirited French carol, <i>Masters in This
Hall</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The focus
narrows to the Virgin and Child in Seattle composer Bern Herbolsheimer’s superb
setting of the much loved carol <i>Silent
Night.</i> Bern was my composition teacher
at Cornish College of the Arts, so I am particularly fond of this work<i>,</i> a masterpiece of expressivity, tenderness, harmonic depth, and delicacy
of treatment. Breathless contemplation
of that silent, light-filled night merges into childlike images inspired by the
Christ Child in <i>Children’s Song of the
Nativity</i> with its ingenuous journey to the manger scene, and memories of childhood Christmases in <i>Away in a Manger</i>. And in childlike innocence the lovely,
graceful <i>In dulci jubilo</i> sings out in
heartfelt longing “oh that we were there” with the angels singing “Glory to God
in the highest!” <i>Children, Go Where I Send Thee!</i> sends us on our way “there” in a
merry counting game reminiscent of childhood that always leads back to the
little bitty baby born in Bethlehem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We continue
with an emphasis on the immediacy of the birth: first, Sweelinck’s <i>Hodie Christus natus est</i> (Christ is born
today), one of the great works of Renaissance choral literature; then <i>Novum gaudia</i>, (Good news! Christ is come
today), by Central Washington University professor and composer Vijay Singh. This is a vigorous medieval processional for
men’s voices that begins simply but unfurls in increasingly joyful
complexity. Woodinville composer Chris Fraley takes up a
sturdy Revolutionary War-era American tune, <i>Let
Us Be Merry</i>, and reworks it in imaginative ways. William Billings’ original is
straightforward, unadorned, but Chris creatively “paints” the text: for
example, a minor key setting as Joseph and heavily pregnant Mary head to
Bethlehem to be taxed, and somber music and a slower meter to depict the
humility of verse 3. The “virgin
unspotted” of the first verse inspired the next grouping, <i>There is No Rose</i> by Oregon composer Clyde Thompson, and <i>Ave Maria</i> by University of Washington
choral professor Giselle Wyers. Both are
modern settings of venerable texts, both are stunningly beautiful, and both
adore Mary as the mother of Christ.
Clyde skillfully weaves sudden, shimmering harmonic transitions together
to mark each new textual thought in <i>There
is No Rose</i>, while Giselle’s setting of the age-old prayer to Mary, <i>Ave Maria</i>, layers melodic cells in
tide-like ascents that climax in a rapturous outburst of devotion and praise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We come
back to earth with <i>Il est né, le divine
Enfant!</i>, a French country stomp that turns the birth of Christ into a
village celebration. And finally we
close with a modern Christmas classic, <i>Have
Yourself a Merry Little Christmas</i>, so memorably sung by Judy Garland in the
movie <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i>. The movie version is sad and poignant, but
this arrangement recalls the warmth of dearly loved friends and hangs a star of
hope on the highest bough of the evergreen Christmas tree. And in that lovely moment, our celebration
over, we send all out with
holiday wishes into their
own individual Christmas in the Northwest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sJaq-SWWvnG2Oa2JNbnvmjF3rg9yauJ_BOoyP4cWb40t2YzB97FkJNz-Newj4zCqX-smWKIP3AEACXakn0mQUImV7FMOBeApG2i1JQk46p3aAFVAXxcUh16ZBtdaM2x60WHHm9sYVBHf/s1600/christmas+tree-abstract+with+candles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sJaq-SWWvnG2Oa2JNbnvmjF3rg9yauJ_BOoyP4cWb40t2YzB97FkJNz-Newj4zCqX-smWKIP3AEACXakn0mQUImV7FMOBeApG2i1JQk46p3aAFVAXxcUh16ZBtdaM2x60WHHm9sYVBHf/s1600/christmas+tree-abstract+with+candles.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-78398802566947827062014-11-26T16:44:00.000-08:002014-11-26T16:44:48.455-08:00Children, Go Where I Send Thee: Is it Really a Christmas Number?<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
One of my favorite numbers is the spiritual <i>Children, Go Where I Send Thee</i>, and the
use of the word “number” here is not accidental!
Since it creates a kind of rhyming game with numbers, referring to it as
a “number,” a synonym for “song,” seems appropriate. It’s rhythmic, fast, playful, entertaining,
but is it really a song for Christmas?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZov0iCaB5WqMiFlmYVRHPlF3nksE3jPtAe8jUcEcy6zDCYqutnZpyW8rkXrCO9JOCFojxPdmUZCQ9VFwfH3xztmhQ3qZtIfNSAEAZyJPHdFMIcizSP0Vu6oV7SwSoMVxqSyPtYPY7uy0/s1600/Carolers+full+figure-B+&+W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZov0iCaB5WqMiFlmYVRHPlF3nksE3jPtAe8jUcEcy6zDCYqutnZpyW8rkXrCO9JOCFojxPdmUZCQ9VFwfH3xztmhQ3qZtIfNSAEAZyJPHdFMIcizSP0Vu6oV7SwSoMVxqSyPtYPY7uy0/s1600/Carolers+full+figure-B+&+W.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That’s hard to say because no one knows anything about
the origins of the song. It sprang into
being, as true folksongs do, out of the everyday lives of ordinary people, in
this case enslaved African Americans, and just seems to been, well, around. Some give credit for its revival in the 1950s
by Kentucky folk singer and song collector Jean Ritchie, who may have heard it
sung by a group of school children.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here she is singing it as if it were an Appalachian folksong.</div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCI7e_z8RL0" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But there are several recordings of the number from the
mid-‘30s and early ‘40s that pre-date her activities, so it was already in
circulation. Some think it might be a
kind of counting/rhyming game (I lean toward this one), others that it served
as a kind of biblical education for slaves who couldn’t read, although it’s
hard to figure out what it teaches. I’ve
even heard it referred to as a missionary song since it “sends” out the
listeners, rather like a sung sermon.
Maybe African American preachers were something of a model, with their
dynamically rhythmic delivery!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It riffs on rhyming numbers with words—except when it
doesn’t—and like most folksongs there are many variants. The “three for the Hebrew children” sometimes
occurs as “three for the three men riding,” “eight for the eight that stood at
the gate” can become the eight that “sealed their fate,” the nine who dressed
so fine are sometimes turned into the nine who stood in line, and the number
“five” becomes quite creative: “five for the five who came out alive,” or “came
back alive,” or even “five for the Gospel preachers.”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
No one knows how to interpret these numbers either,
although some claim to, especially online bloggers. Some of the meanings are clear, such as Jesus
as the little bitty baby, ten for the Ten Commandments, twelve for the twelve
disciples (or apostles, take your pick).
But beyond that it is purely speculative. Some say that the “three” are Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego escaping from the fiery furnace, or the three Magi who brought
their gifts to the Christ Child. The
“four” have been styled as the men who let the paralytic down through the roof
to be healed by Jesus, or as the Four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John), although they run into trouble when the “five” have also been styled as
the Four Evangelists plus Peter. Some think the “eight” represents those who
made it into Noah’s ark. But when it
comes to the other numbers the guesses are wide open. The “six who never got fixed” (or “picked” as I’ve
sometimes seen it) really has interpreters flummoxed! One
writer thinks it may stand for the jars of water converted by Jesus to wine at
the wedding...could work, I guess. And
“guess” is the appropriate word here!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The upshot is, the only connection between Christmas and <i>Children, Go Where I Send Thee</i> is the”
little bitty baby born in Bethlehem.”
But that is connection enough to make it appropriate for Christmas, or
anytime for that matter. Master Chorus
Eastside is singing my own fast-paced arrangement of it in our Christmas
concerts. We hope to have it on YouTube
soon, but until then, here is a dynamite rendition from the ‘60s by a duo
called Joe and Eddy. Their performance
here is rhythmically intricate, dynamic, and riveting. I’ve watched it three
times, and I am in awe of what they created. Tragically Joe was killed in a car crash in
1966, which brought an abrupt end to their budding career. It’s really unfortunate; they were
extraordinary performers.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Enjoy!</div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UozDAfeEa-c" width="459"></iframe><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-57010759998743293612014-11-21T16:04:00.001-08:002014-11-21T16:04:48.147-08:00The Ave Maria at Christmastide<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Ave Marias</i> have
long been sung as part of choral Christmas concerts. And that is no surprise, for they can be lovely
works of high art. Perhaps it is the
devotion that many feel for the Virgin that inspires composers to create such
beautiful music for this ancient text.
Here is a prime example from the 16<sup>th</sup> century, and one of my
favorites.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/YXyqPDU0_fM/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/YXyqPDU0_fM&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/YXyqPDU0_fM&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The Ave Maria prayer has been part of the liturgy from
the earliest centuries of the Church, and many, such as Victoria, have drawn
directly from its venerable melody. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LSAPvTeyfZk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But the emphasis of the Christmas season is on Christ, so
how did these Marian pieces come to be? The
roots can be found in the Christmas story itself. The opening line of the prayer is from Luke
1:28, the greeting by which the angel Gabriel saluted Mary at what has come to
be called the Annunciation, or the announcement that she would bear the Christ:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Ave Maria, gratia
plena: Dominus tecum</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Hail, Mary, full
of grace: the Lord is with you</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
According to Ron Jeffers’ <i>Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire</i>, volume I, this
portion of the chant dates back to the 6<sup>th</sup> century, and was first
used as a devotional greeting to Mary, accompanied by some sort of gesture of
homage. Later, in the 8<sup>th</sup> century, it began to work its way into
worship services during Advent, as part of the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception on December 8, and on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The second line also comes from Luke chapter 1, verse 42,
Elizabeth’s joyful proclamation as the baby in her womb, later known as John
the Baptist, also miraculously conceived, leaped upon hearing the voice of Mary:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
benedicta tu in
mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It is first referred to as part of established liturgical
practice in the 12<sup>th</sup> century writings of the Archbishop of
Canterbury.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The last section, a petition for intercession, had
apparently been a part of this prayer for several centuries before finally codified
for liturgical use by Pope Pius V in 1568.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Sancta Maria,
Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Holy Mary, mother
of God, pray for us sinners,</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Nunc et in hora
mortis nostrae. Amen</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Now and at the
hour of our death. Amen.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
These gradual accretions coincided with the flowering of
polyphonic music beginning about 1400, and a genre was born. An ongoing genre, for the bench is deep when
it comes to finding Ave Maria settings, ranging from Josquin to Schubert to the
present</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here is one of the most popular of 20<sup>th</sup>-century
settings, Biebl’s <i>Ave Maria</i>, sung by
one of my favorite ensembles, Chanticleer.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XVyCJlPiHFg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside is contributing to the tradition
by singing a modern <i>Ave Maria</i> by
University of Washington professor Giselle Wyers. I wish there was a YouTube of Giselle’s work,
for it is stirring and passionate. Her <i>Ave Maria</i> begins very softly, with
chant-like repetitions of “Ave”, and then moves short, repetitive melodic
cells, sometimes of just a single word, across a backdrop of long-held chords
that gradually shift and turn in ever-changing choral color. Like a slow-moving wave it builds to an
almost-climax at “benedictus fructus ventris tui,” then falls back at “Sancta
Maria,” rising through the “nunc et in hora mortis nostrae” to the true, ardent
climax at “Amen.” Then it settles
through a small cascade of descending Amens to close in quietness and peace.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It is a great privilege to sing a work of such beauty. If you can, take in a holiday concert, ours
or another chorus’s, especially if it contains an <i>Ave Maria</i>. For then you walk
in the footsteps of the ancients.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-15469624075101702092014-11-09T14:59:00.002-08:002014-11-09T14:59:41.600-08:00Christmas in the Northwest: Clyde Thompson's There Is No Rose<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside recently began rehearsing a piece
for our upcoming Christmas concerts, a lovely setting of a fifteenth-century carol,
<i>There Is No Rose,</i> by Oregon composer
Clyde Thompson. I first became
acquainted with the ancient carol many years ago when, as an undergrad, I was
given an opportunity to choose and conduct a number for a school concert, one of
my earliest conducting opportunities. I
found it in an old edition of the <i>Oxford
Book of Carols</i> and fell in love with its simplicity and, to my ears, early
music exoticism.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/x67ewYepN3g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A couple of things make it memorable: it’s a macaronic
carol, meaning it mixes two languages together, and the first verse acts as a
repeated refrain, which, according to the <i>Book
of Carols</i>, was sometimes done in liturgical processionals called sequences.
In fact, the Latin words in the first
three verses appear in the Christmas Candlemas sequence that begins
“Letabandus,” or “Come rejoicing.” That
may point to a church performance background for <i>There is No Rose</i>. But for us
the text is most famous as one of the movements of Benjamin Britten’s <i>Ceremony of Carols</i>.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uBYpju2YQeo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The carol compares Mary, mother of Jesus, to a rose, a
common symbolism in many Latin hymns and a few English carols as well. Here is the poem, in modernized spelling,
with the translations of the Latin words in parentheses. I love the way the Latin and English phrases
intertwine in shared meaning.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
There is no rose of such virtue<br />
As is the rose that bare Jesu;<br />
Alleluia. (Praise the Lord)</div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
For in this rose containéd was<br />
Heaven and earth in little space;<br />
Res miranda. (wonderful thing)</div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
By that rose we may well see<br />
There be one God in persons three,<br />
Pares forma. (of the same form)</div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
The angels sungen, the shepherds to:<br />
Gloria in excelsis Deo: (Glory to God in the highest)<br />
Gaudeamus. (Glory to God)</div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
Leave we all this worldly mirth,<br />
And follow we this joyful birth;<br />
Transeamus. (Let us go)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In the early Church the rose, the queen of flowers, gradually
came to symbolize Mary, the Rose of Heaven or the Mystical Rose.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaRigXLLkH5IFtewqYku17x5j8lWH7_NEDNcKpcgIYYN4XIKtBDrwCSNJkr194UMJk373bWUESH8sFcKKs1oHUdePFm6ZtSDIKLyDid7TNyjXeTP-v_OCXw-sda0IhU-K6JtUfEnf9m8R/s1600/Mary+as+Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaRigXLLkH5IFtewqYku17x5j8lWH7_NEDNcKpcgIYYN4XIKtBDrwCSNJkr194UMJk373bWUESH8sFcKKs1oHUdePFm6ZtSDIKLyDid7TNyjXeTP-v_OCXw-sda0IhU-K6JtUfEnf9m8R/s1600/Mary+as+Rose.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A few early Christians were inspired by the contrast
between this lush flower and its thorny stem.
The fifth-century poet Sedulius wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
“As the delightful
and very gentle rose springs forth from a thorny bush without injuring the
mother that it hides with delightful charm, so Mary, from the race of the
guilty Eve, could as the second virgin wash away, with the coming sacred light,
the fault of the first virgin.”</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I found the above in a very interesting paper on the
history of “rose” symbolism:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/rosarymarkings36.html" target="_blank">http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/rosarymarkings36.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Eventually a real rose called the Mystic Rose was
developed in Mary’s honor. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There is no YouTube of Clyde’s shimmery
setting, but it matches the beauty of the imagery. The form, although compact, unfolds with
skill and subtlety. In what may be a
touch of Trinitarian symbolism it falls into three parts. The first three verses, which contemplate
Mary and the mystery of the Incarnation, use closely related melodies, but the
key center shifts with each verse, thus outlining each one in variegated
harmonic light. With the change of scene
in verse four to the angelic “Gloria in excelsis Deo” a new melody appears and
the key center moves to a bright D major.
And finally, as we are exhorted to leave worldly mirth and follow—“and
follow” repeated twice for emphasis—heavenly joy, a third melody emerges and the
music returns to the original key center, E flat, and stays there, no longer
leaping from key to key, steady as a compass needle pointing to true north.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You’ll have to imagine what the
above may sound like. Or come to our
concert and hear it for yourself. It’s
worth it!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic Director and conductor<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside<o:p></o:p></div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-37130622536805607552014-10-22T17:16:00.000-07:002014-10-22T17:16:22.883-07:00Master Chorus Eastside's Christmas in the Northwest: Composer John Muehleisen<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It’s been an extraordinarily busy last few weeks, leaving me no time to blog But Master Chorus Eastside is gearing up for our December concerts on the 6<sup>th</sup> and 14<sup>th</sup>, which feature some exciting works by composers who live here in the Northwest, and I’m itching to write about them. So, deadlines notwithstanding, it’s my pleasure to begin with Seattle composer John Muehleisen, creator of a beautiful and otherworldly work in our program called <i>Invocation</i>.</div>
<br />
<a href="http://johnmuehleisen.com/index.htm" target="_blank">http://johnmuehleisen.com/index.htm</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I first met John several years ago, and he struck me as friendly,
unpretentious, outgoing, easy to talk to—a relief for us introverted types who
find hardly <i>anyone</i> all that easy to
talk to! Plus he exhibited an impish
sense of humor, always an appealing trait!
He showed me a piece of his, <i>Aversion
to Carrots</i>, part of his cycle called <i>Eat
Your Vegetables!</i>; it fit right in with a quirky concert I was planning
called <i>Sound Imaginarium</i>, and so we
performed it. Here is the entire cycle,
sung by the Central Washington University Chamber Choir. <i>Carrots</i>
is the middle piece, sandwiched in there between <i>Bounty</i> (as in the ubiquitous zucchini) and <i>Rah! (</i>short for<i> Rutabagas)</i>!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0nQrmVpI7Ig" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Invocation</i> couldn’t
be more different: enigmatic, mystical, Celtic in its sensibilities. It’s part of a three-movement Christmas cycle
called <i>This Night</i> for chorus and
harp, commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers in 2003-2004. John later reformed it into an <i>a capella</i> version for Seattle Pro Musica. The poem comes from <i>The Carmina Gadelica</i>, a massive compendium of folk lore and
remedies, poems and hymns, legends and proverbs, charms and blessings, in
Gaelic and English, gathered from crofters in the Highlands and Western Isles of
Scotland by a tax collector named Alexander Carmichael, and first published in
a limited edition in 1900.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here is a link to the 1940 edition, volume 3:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://archive.org/details/carminagadelicah30carm" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/carminagadelicah30carm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The poem appears on two separate pages in volume 2, numbered
as if it were two separate poems but John set it as one work, linked by text
and music.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
God of the moon, God of
the sun,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
God of the globe, God of
the stars,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
God of the waters, the
land, and the skies,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Who ordained to us the
King of promise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
It was Mary fair who
went upon her knee,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
It was the King of life
who went upon her lap,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Darkness and tears were
set behind,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
And the star of guidance
went up early.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Illumed the land,
illumed the world,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Illumed doldrum and
current,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Grief was laid and joy
was raised,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Music was set up with
harp and pedal-harp.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
God of the moon, God of
the sun,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Who ordained to us the
Son of mercy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
The fair Mary upon her
knee,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Christ the King of life
in her lap.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
I am the cleric
established,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Going round the founded
stones,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
I behold mansions, I
behold shores,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
I behold angels
floating,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
I behold the shapely
rounded column</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
Coming landwards in
friendship to us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It invokes the presence of God and overflows with
conundrum and contradiction, darkness and light, mystery and nature, all in
service to the Nativity of Christ: the star (of Bethlehem? The Morningstar
Himself? Who can say?), the sun, moon and
waters; stagnant doldrum and flowing current, indeed the entire world, illumined;
humble Mary holding the King of life; grief laid low and joy upraised; the releasing
of music; the enigmatic cleric with his ecstatic vision of mansions and angels
and founded stones.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
John’s music is passionate, expansive, expressive,
challenging! He uses dissonance to
obscure key centers and create an atmosphere of mystery, and fluid melodies and
time signatures and subtle tempo shifts to build a sense of eternity, of space
and time unleashed. But the piece isn’t
formless. He brings the music of the
first two strophes to the related fourth strophe, but shortened and transformed,
as is its text. The cleric begins with a
new melody, befitting his sudden appearance in the poem, but then the “illumed”
music reappears as he beholds mansions and shores and angels, perhaps because his
vision is equally illuminating. The “star of guidance” melody, which rises and
rises in layered tiers, bears a strong resemblance to the soaring lines that accompany
the setting up of harp and pedal-harp.
And in a really lovely touch, a similar music unfolds as the shapely column
comes “landwards in friendship to us,” but this time inverted, moving downward
from heaven, even as the star and harp music moved upward toward heaven.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The above is only a brief analysis of this wonderful
work. There is no YouTube recording, so
you will simply have to come and experience it 1n December. There will be a composers’ forum before each
concert, where John and several other local composers will discuss their compositions. May it illume your Christmas season!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
www.masterchoruseastside.org</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-68919683345379354982014-09-27T14:31:00.000-07:002014-09-27T14:31:35.904-07:00Vocal Fry and the Lowest Voices in the World<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A few months ago one of my chorus members asked me to
blog about a phenomenon called vocal fry.
Vocal fry, popularly called creaky voice, happens when the vocal cords
close tightly together except for a small area that loosely flutters, allowing
air to bubble through in a kind of very low rattling or popping or creaking
sound. If you want a more technical
explanation, during phonation the arytenoid cartilages compress tightly
together, allowing the vocal folds themselves to become rather compact and loose. A vibrating mass forms within the folds and
air bubbles through, creating a low frequency sound kind of like...bacon
frying! There's a film of vocal fry
in action about 37 seconds into this video.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YEqVgtLQ7qM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Vocal fry has been called a disorder in the past, but that
has been re-evaluated over recent decades (so don’t pay much attention to the
sensational statements in these videos). Most of us do it occasionally without harmful
effects, usually when our voice drops at the end of a word or sentence, but
that’s about the extent of i<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">t—except among (mostly)
female twenty-somethings</span>. In the last few years vocal fry has become what
some are calling a language fad mainly among young women, probably spurred by the
likes of Britney Spears, the Kardashians, and other pop stars. The 2011 study in the above video claims that
two-thirds of college women use vocal fry, and like the sound! It was a small study, but the percentage could
very well be true. Here’s a link to the
abstract. You can get to the full text
there if you are interested, but it’s pretty technical.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.jvoice.org/article/S0892-1997(11)00070-1/abstract" target="_blank">http://www.jvoice.org/article/S0892-1997(11)00070-1/abstract</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve certainly heard young women use this vocal
mannerism. Some have even speculated
that young women in particular are drawn to vocal fry because it lowers their
voice, makes them sound more authoritative—dare we say masculine?! Some also connect it to a growing use of a
California dialect that is marked by what is called “uptalk”—the rise of the
voice at the end of a sentence that makes it sound like a question whether it
is or not—the distorting of certain vowels—oo becomes eww, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ah becomes very tall and produced in the back of
the throat—the annoyingly frequent use of “like” and “I mean,” and vocal fry</span>. Listen to the first part of this video, you'll see what I mean.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UsE5mysfZsY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
But if you are reading this blog you are probably most
interested in choral music and singing, and the way vocal fry has been
purposefully used in singing is pretty interesting. All of my vocal technique books refer to it,
usually briefly and under various names—growl register, glottal scrape or
rattle, straw bass—as the lowest of the vocal registers. Some voice teachers use it to help singers
overcome a breathy voice or develop their low register; when used at the first
instance of phonation it can help the vocal folds to release tension and close
completely. But it’s the stylistic use
that I find fascinating. Listen to the
bass singer in gospel quartets; he’s usually “frying” those really low notes. Most American choirs depend on basses to “fry” subbasement notes in Russian choral music that the Russians sing so
naturally. We just don’t breed that kind
of bass here! I once tried to introduce
it to the Master Chorus Eastside basses in a Russian piece, but they looked at
me like I was nuts and I didn’t push it.
And Tim Storms has built his reputation on being the man with the lowest
voice in the world! He’s merrily frying
away, away on down there!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i9P1ymFCxf0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Let’s go out, then, enjoying a beautiful bit of Russian
choral singing. See if you can tell if
they basses are frying or not!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WpD2Cspn6g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-16319038878105002032014-09-16T15:07:00.000-07:002014-09-16T15:07:06.484-07:00The Value of Choir<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Several months ago one of my singers sent a TED talk
video to me that is right up the alley of all who value the value of choral
music! It’s an introduction and choral
performance led by Tim Rhys-Evans, a Welshman as you might guess from his last
name, who started a boys-only choir in Wales called Only Boys Aloud.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.onlyboysaloud.com/" target="_blank">http://www.onlyboysaloud.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Wales has a long and proud male choir tradition, but as
Rhys-Evans points out, that tradition appears to be fading, perhaps due in part
to rampant unemployment and lack of aspirational opportunities, as he calls it. So to buck that trend he took matters into
his own hands and started a group of boys choirs, but not your typical boys
choirs. These have a pop music twist to them. He speaks quite passionately of the need, in
our increasingly virtual world, to bring people together, in the same physical
space, to interact with one another, for then they enrich their communities and
as well as the lives of the “lads” (as he often calls them) who participate. And he brought along about 200 lads with him
on stage to demonstrate.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
He gets the audience singing as well. We often lead audience singing as part of our Master
Chorus Eastside concerts, and I believe just as intensely as he does that it is
vital that we all sing together, whether we are trained singers or not. Rhys-Evans delightfully and adroitly teaches the audience a short three-part riff to accompany the boys; he's very relaxed,
playful, encouraging, even has them do a couple of minutes of warm up after
their initial...(ahem!) attempt at singing.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If you don’t have time to watch the entire video, watch
the first four or five minutes for Rhys-Evans’s talk, and the last seven
minutes or so for the audience interaction.
Notice the way he brings the audience along, and the way excitement and
community build as the minutes pass. These
people are having the time of their lives, and it is singing together that does
it.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AgBMETH2UHA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Rhys-Evans charmingly breaks down what is called the
Fourth Wall, that invisible barrier between performer and audience that exists
at the edge of the stage. And by so doing
he brings the audience into the performance, makes them participants, and feeds
their souls through artistry and sheer joy.
And the music builds a bit of community for all, “lads” included!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-320207595753854952014-08-30T13:50:00.001-07:002014-08-30T13:50:19.396-07:00Alive Inside: Music and Dementia<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A few days ago I saw a documentary that profoundly
affected me. It’s called <i>Alive Inside</i> and it’s about the liberating
effect music has on people who suffer from dementia or who are confined to
nursing homes for other debilitating health reasons. It was electrifying.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My husband had heard about it somehow and showed me the
trailer on YouTube. I watched it and
said, “Oh dear, I will cry.” And that’s
exactly what happened. We went to the movie
on its last night in Seattle, and as we watched both of us laughed and cried and
sat open-mouthed as people who looked like crumpled dead things, who hadn’t
communicated in years, who couldn’t remember their past, were given ipods with
their favorite music in them. As they
listened their eyes lit up, their heads lifted, they wiggled to the beat, some
even began to sing. And a few actually put aside their walkers and began to
dance! And all, almost invariably, began
to talk, to remember the past, to come alive.
It’s hard to find the words to express its impact on us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/IaB5Egej0TQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This has all come about through the work of Dan Cohen,
who as a social worker in nursing homes began to observe music’s stimulation on
those with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. And all by himself he began a crusade to
bring ipods to nursing home residents.
It has been a long, lonely, uphill battle for him. Elder care has been heavily institutionalized
in this country and doesn’t get much attention.
But he kept bringing ipods to the elderly, seeking donations, making
connections with other like-minded people, and eventually formed a non-profit,
Music and Memory, that is beginning to make a dent in the need.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://musicandmemory.org/" target="_blank">http://musicandmemory.org/</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
NPR did a story on Dan Cohen and the movie in 2012. Read some of the listener comments below the
story. One woman writes about working
with psychotic patients and seeing similar results.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/04/18/150891711/for-elders-with-dementia-music-sparks-great-awakenings" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/2012/04/18/150891711/for-elders-with-dementia-music-sparks-great-awakenings</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If you possibly can, find a way to see this movie. Those of us who are in our right minds and enjoy
the great privilege of singing and making music have an obligation to those around
us. It’s good to feed the souls of those
who are whole through fine concerts and exceptional music. It’s also good to feed the souls of those who
can’t feed themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-11892614142809383702014-08-21T07:43:00.000-07:002014-08-21T07:43:10.769-07:00Rhythm and Community Redux<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I can’t resist one more blog on the community that can be
created by rhythm, again drawn from the NPR series <i>Rhythm Section: Spending a Week Trying to Catch the Beat</i>. This particular segment concerns probably the
most famous marching song in the Army. It first appeared in 1944 near the end of
World War II and it is attributed to an African American soldier, Willie
Duckworth, who wanted to buttress the spirits of his weary comrades.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Q6bhv4i8qso" width="459"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It’s an infectious, hypnotic rhythm that keeps people
moving together in time, which makes sense since research tells us that rhythm activates
the motor areas of the brain as well as auditory areas. But it does more than that. As Bobby Gerhardt, a modern soldier and
cadence caller interviewed in the NPR piece observed, it’s great physical
exercise because you have to move and chant and manage your breath all at
once. But it also kept him moving
forward and listening, eager to hear each verse so he would know how to answer
back. It motivated him to be a
cooperative member of the group!</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That’s part of the purpose of work songs, and <i>Sound Off</i> belongs to that tradition. Although the piece refers only to the work
songs brought here by slaves, they can be found in folk cultures around the world,
for they ease the burden of work by coordinating group activities, and they entertain
the heart at the same time. But what
appealed to me even more was the notion that impishly playing with the rhythm,
creating syncopations, could put a spring in your step, make the work go
faster, and set your own group apart from others. As Gerhardt said, he liked to rhythmically push the
envelope of what he was allowed to call, and that put a smile on his face.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It was group resistance to the Group through rhythm!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Here are more G.I. marching rhythms, with syncopation that
pushes the envelope.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t98kmvWuexg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">You can find the other stories from this series
at</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/06/16/322561463/rhythm-section-spending-a-week-trying-to-catch-the-beat" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/2014/06/16/322561463/rhythm-section-spending-a-week-trying-to-catch-the-beat</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span>Dr. Linda Gingrich<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-31004806181668011882014-08-14T10:21:00.001-07:002014-08-14T10:21:29.721-07:00Rhythm and Community<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I am always intensely aware of the rhythm of text, not
just in music, but in the very words I write.
Whether in this blog, or concert program notes, or a message to a friend,
there is a constant rhythmic word dance unfolding in my brain. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibw0FixwGEc0O8fm_MJa536NtyFUwUkiSLGaxh7keDa2jQ5b9HyDvgUm-Yp95sSuMgm7ekGxabpP21EiwvOLtjGEpg382NgERNjVr4g66j29tDwc-seP_aKOcW9FtwRg5l0bcBte9o-Zgd/s1600/Dancing_with_Words_by_kidtrip98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibw0FixwGEc0O8fm_MJa536NtyFUwUkiSLGaxh7keDa2jQ5b9HyDvgUm-Yp95sSuMgm7ekGxabpP21EiwvOLtjGEpg382NgERNjVr4g66j29tDwc-seP_aKOcW9FtwRg5l0bcBte9o-Zgd/s1600/Dancing_with_Words_by_kidtrip98.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It even waltzed along as I composed my doctoral
dissertation. You’d think a dissertation
would only encompass straightforward academic writing, but I still wrote with
the beat of words, syllables, clusters of phrases and sentences, in mind. I suppose it’s the musician in me. I can’t escape rhythm, and I don’t want to!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It was interesting, then, to hear, in the NPR series
called <i>Rhythm Section: Spending a Week
Trying to Catch the Beat</i>, a story on the cadences built into political
speech writing. It seems that speech writers
consciously build textual rhythm into political speeches. And there is a reason for that. According to Rob Kapilow, a composer and
conductor who is quoted in the story, rhythm can create community: for
instance, a crowd chanting at a football game, or people dancing as one to a
pulsing beat. (It can even set up
negative community, for as I read Kapilow’s words I had a sudden chilling image
of old newsreel footage of Germans in World War II chanting “Sieg heil” as
Hitler rolled past in parade! There was
community there too, but of the worst kind!)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For example, President Obama’s speech writers actually
figured out ahead of time how many beats they wanted in the first paragraph of his
2008 Iowa caucuses victory speech. In
the first sentence they created an eight-syllable phrase, or four iambs, as
journalist Ari Shapiro points out. Same
cadence in the second sentence. Then
they varied the pattern, but always with a sense of repetition, of mounting tempo,
until the climax arrived with its rolling rhythms, “We are one nation, we are
one people, and our time for change has come,”</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As an exercise in rhythmic rhetoric (no politics here!),
listen to the first 1 minute and 40 seconds of Obama’s speech that night. Listen to its measured beat, to the ebb and
flow of phrases. You can hear what the
speech writers, and Obama himself, did with the cadences, and the community of
joy they created in that moment.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XB-sNaaaJRU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Don’t we as choral musicians frequently experience that
kind of community? In my concerts with
Master Chorus Eastside I try to bring our audience into this as well. During last May’s <i>Out of Africa</i> concert I invented a rhythmic word play exercise to
do just that. I divided the audience
into four groups, taught each group their own short, spoken rhythmic phrase,
then layered it up one phrase at a time, played with dynamics and structure, built
it to a climax, and before I knew it, we became a single, vigorous,
happy community. It was amazing!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I had always thought that the act of singing together created
choral community, but now I think it is collective rhythm as well. As
Kapilow says, we are all looking for an opportunity to step outside of a “me”
and become a “we.” Now isn’t that a
beautifully rhythmic, and true, idea!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-74493785652015448012014-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:002014-07-31T20:36:13.555-07:00Rhythm and the Brain<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The connection between music and our bodies fascinates
me, and I’ve blogged about it several times in the last couple of years. This
interest was awakened again in June by a series that ran for a week on NPR
called <i>Rhythm Section: Spending a Week
Trying to Catch the Beat</i>. The stories
examined the hidden rhythms that affect our lives, and one of them, about
rhythms in brain cells, caught my attention.
Now I love rhythm, so this is irresistible stuff.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOi9fT4K8KJLDaLy6-AqJlNR9TOCjx3xq9ju7l_MMW4yUtCY-HgUMWRniPYIEsOnE9XMjyoukUFY0vAqYs0FhD374oWHgmFSSuRhy1rPmlvtZdMMHVy08LqKlYemef6gT5W9DpN_xMgCF/s1600/rhythm+is+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOi9fT4K8KJLDaLy6-AqJlNR9TOCjx3xq9ju7l_MMW4yUtCY-HgUMWRniPYIEsOnE9XMjyoukUFY0vAqYs0FhD374oWHgmFSSuRhy1rPmlvtZdMMHVy08LqKlYemef6gT5W9DpN_xMgCF/s1600/rhythm+is+life.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It seems that each individual brain cell has its own
firing pattern, its own rhythm, some faster, some slower. As neuroscientist Nathan Urban put it, each
one is like a little clock, with its own built-in frequency. To avoid brain chaos, cells synchronize their
rhythms to accomplish tasks. For
example, when a mouse explores a new space, neurons in the navigation area of
its brain begin to pulse together in rhythm.
This works because whenever two cells synchronize their rhythms, the
connections between them are strengthened!
Doesn’t that sound entirely human?
And innately musical.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4CJt6Lrq8m28yhHU7KmGw9M9_MYawakK_1r07-QQjJgXjr45wU8jHJ3u-iCT-aNxS3b0nSA6PHh5jyz1rKfYWTOC_Xytaswy7ukByXjMYpy6_ODWMYSX1YhkQ4Dx4nKpuk4P2HeUC355/s1600/neurons+firing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4CJt6Lrq8m28yhHU7KmGw9M9_MYawakK_1r07-QQjJgXjr45wU8jHJ3u-iCT-aNxS3b0nSA6PHh5jyz1rKfYWTOC_Xytaswy7ukByXjMYpy6_ODWMYSX1YhkQ4Dx4nKpuk4P2HeUC355/s1600/neurons+firing.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The actions of all living things are built on systems of
rhythms, circuits of nerve cells that fire in sequence, activating muscles in
repeated patterns, such as when we walk—pick up a foot, rock forward, put it
down, pick up a foot...—or when a fish propels itself forward with its swishing
tail. But many of the details of movement happen in the nervous system, not the
brain itself. It acts as a kind of grand
poobah, sending out a command to the nerves something along the lines of “activate
the walking rhythm.” This is even true
of motions that don’t appear to be rhythmic at all, such as reaching for
something. Isn’t that wonderful? And so we walk, or reach, or drive. In rhythm!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3hXeOY9e-1K22enDM9ftujOoxHyWSYtIz60xx5iL-Ywuw2HSiSMMaxAmlmc2S0vZsA9ne330bmOGLZjNeMyeA_ddiO330XAw09h8LHZy4b_T7TfzBR_paOhXZv-JIc6TcnUKbqmth0V1/s1600/walking+series-abstract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3hXeOY9e-1K22enDM9ftujOoxHyWSYtIz60xx5iL-Ywuw2HSiSMMaxAmlmc2S0vZsA9ne330bmOGLZjNeMyeA_ddiO330XAw09h8LHZy4b_T7TfzBR_paOhXZv-JIc6TcnUKbqmth0V1/s1600/walking+series-abstract.jpg" height="150" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Until something goes awry with the cellular rhythms. Beats fall out of sequence, cells can’t synchronize,
with heartbreaking results: Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, epilepsy. But many Parkinson’s sufferers find temporary
relief in music or dance classes. A
Parkinson’s patient noted that sometimes, when someone has trouble walking to a
class, she’ll get them to hum a tune with her, a waltz maybe, or a march. And they begin to move to the beat, and lo and
behold, they can walk!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Revel in the idea that all of life is buttressed by
rhythm! It’s irresistible, maybe a
little like these synchronizing metronomes!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/01_Lii68ZzI/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/01_Lii68ZzI&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/01_Lii68ZzI&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-33752440889486242082014-07-21T16:18:00.002-07:002014-07-21T16:18:53.835-07:00In the Arts, Self-Protection Kills, Collaboration Gives Life<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A year ago I attended an invigorating Chorus America
conference here in Seattle. For those
who don’t know about Chorus America, it is a non-profit that provides services to
choral groups of all kinds—professional, volunteer, children’s, you name it—on
how to stay viable and healthy. This can
include advice from experts on board development, marketing, recruiting
singers, and more.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://www.chorusamerica.org/" target="_blank">https://www.chorusamerica.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At one conference session I learned that for arts
organizations, self-protection or fear of competition from like arts groups,
such as other choruses in our case, is deadly.
It kills growth. Surprisingly,
when similar arts groups collaborate in all kinds of ways, not just in
performances, growth can happen for all.
And there is research to back that up.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For example, people who attend multiple arts events tend
to come back time after time to performances.
One study of seven opera companies in Philadelphia showed that although
only a small percentage of their audiences attended performances by more than
one opera company, 85% of those were repeat attenders; in other words, they came
back again and again. The patrons who
only attended a performance by one opera company were much less likely to
return.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So these Philadelphia opera companies decided to try
something daring. They advertised each
other’s seasons on their web sites, complete with a map pointing the way all
the opera companies. They looked
competition in the eye! And a funny
thing happened. Competition
blinked! Audiences for all the companies
went up! It was a rising tide that
floated all boats.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With this in mind, three of my fellow choral conducting
colleagues and I who operate in the suburbs east of Seattle: Bellevue Chamber
Chorus, Cascadian Chorale, Kirkland Choral Society, and my own Master Chorus
Eastside, have begun working together in a more dedicated way. For the first time we have listed one another’s
seasons on our web sites. We are
exploring commissioning a new composition to be premiered in a collaborative
performance by our four choirs. And we
have ramped up just a bit a shared experience that we’ve carried on for years
called Eastside Sings, which is a sing along of a major work on four Tuesday evenings
in July, each Sing led by one of the four conductors. We all also belong to the Greater Seattle
Choral Consortium, which works to promote the choral art in the larger Puget
Sound metropolitan area. We held an
amazingly successful choral festival last fall.
And we also advertise all member performances in member’s programs. We end up blanketing the area! It’s a wonderful way to build relationships,
help one another and boost the choral arts at the same time.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So be a choral arts supporter! Here are web site addresses for all four of
us:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Bellevue Chamber Chorus</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.bellevuechamberchorus.net/" target="_blank">http://www.bellevuechamberchorus.net</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Cascadian Chorale</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.cascadianchorale.org/" target="_blank">http://www.cascadianchorale.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Kirkland Choral Society</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.kirklandchoralsociety.org/" target="_blank">http://www.kirklandchoralsociety.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="http://www.masterchoruseastside.org/" target="_blank">http://www.masterchoruseastside.org</a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Attend performances by these fine choirs, or by choirs in
your own neighborhood if you live somewhere else.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It’s a small beginning.
But we hope the impact will be big!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-64672102956114590412014-06-25T19:31:00.002-07:002014-06-25T19:31:52.865-07:00So Just How Old Is The Star-Spangled Banner Anyway? Part 2<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Last week I wrote about the surprising history of <i>The Star-Spangled Banner’s</i> melody. The
history of the lyrics is just as fascinating.
It’s worth putting the whole picture together because the marriage of
words and melody during the War of 1812 created our National Anthem as we know
it today. Or did it?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
War broke out between Britain and America in 1812, and in
1813 Britain, the superpower if its day, blockaded the mouth of Chesapeake Bay
and began carrying out raids along its shores.
In one of those raids, August of 1814, in one of the most embarrassing
defeats of the war for the United States, the British burned Washington D.C.,
including the White House. As a member
of the Georgetown militia Francis Scott Key witnessed the burning, and his wife
and children actually had to flee the city.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQJedmNa9Pt1NvPM91Mb5N8p3QQ0Ozf4aIY1e67Ui6y6kBEF7E_BIZlBHkyfP-eyokfDV_1ANcwlkXOFAxjCgmKitQtvOC8P4g_soQHjxwIHLr_S_LihWjZcoa7Z6ewweny70_wLVSoQ0/s1600/burning+of+washington+with+people+fleeing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQJedmNa9Pt1NvPM91Mb5N8p3QQ0Ozf4aIY1e67Ui6y6kBEF7E_BIZlBHkyfP-eyokfDV_1ANcwlkXOFAxjCgmKitQtvOC8P4g_soQHjxwIHLr_S_LihWjZcoa7Z6ewweny70_wLVSoQ0/s1600/burning+of+washington+with+people+fleeing.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The citizens of Baltimore could see the glow of the
flames on the horizon, and as the third largest city in the country the inhabitants
knew they were next! So they set about
fortifying their city and harbor as fast as they could. If England could take Fort McHenry at the
mouth of Baltimore’s harbor, Baltimore would fall. And if Baltimore fell, the country would
likely fall!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A few weeks later, in September, Key was dispatched to
sail down the Bay to find the British fleet and negotiate the release of a
prisoner that the Royal Navy had captured; he found the fleet just as the
British were preparing their attack. He
successfully negotiated terms of release, but the British refused to let them
go quite yet because Key knew battle was about to begin. So, in the famous story, beginning on
September 13, Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry, quite possibly in
the front line of the battle from the deck of his own small boat.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxrrLT3HAtTmNvVspfwD6mKVJnqf8kHePX-EkTzxdUH01IHeJpQOHhX8PhRLpfj88lh-7ZDNzjyRhU-KJBSY9KrR6TDRRFvg3n276PaTemKUF8AKjk7_V5q_-EJ6ZZgW_q76dCeQMiVcp/s1600/bombardment-fort+mchenry+from+deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxrrLT3HAtTmNvVspfwD6mKVJnqf8kHePX-EkTzxdUH01IHeJpQOHhX8PhRLpfj88lh-7ZDNzjyRhU-KJBSY9KrR6TDRRFvg3n276PaTemKUF8AKjk7_V5q_-EJ6ZZgW_q76dCeQMiVcp/s1600/bombardment-fort+mchenry+from+deck.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With England’s superior fire power and ships it was
basically the nineteenth-century equivalent of our Iraq War Shock and Awe. Fortunately the American fortifications kept
the fleet far enough away to limit the damage somewhat. Nonetheless it was a frightening sight, with rockets
and mortar bombs raining down on the Fort, and the light of the explosions flickering
on the dark, rain-laden clouds. But
towards dawn on September 14 the bombardment stopped! Was it because the Fort had fallen? If so,
the Stars and Stripes would be replaced by the Union Jack. Key peered anxiously through the glimmer—whose
flag was flying? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just
then the rain stopped, the rising sun cleared the clouds, and a sunbeam shone
like a beacon on the American flag, still flying high over the fort.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It took awhile for
Key and all the Americans involved to realize that the mighty British Empire
had given up! The fleet was
withdrawing! Against all odds the
Americans had won! Baltimore, and soon
the nation, was delirious with joy. And Key was so moved by it all that he wrote his
famous words to fit the tune called, in America, <i>Anacreon</i>. It became
immensely popular, and after decades of debate over which song we should adopt
as our National Anthem, <i>The Star-Spangled
Banner</i> was so designated on March 3, 1931, by act of Congress.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So, end of story, right?
<i>The Star-Spangled Banner</i> will be 200 years old this coming September, 2014. Except that the song as we sing it today is
not exactly as 19<sup>th</sup>-century Americans sang it: some of the rhythms in
the early version are different, the dotted eighth/sixteenth-note beat so
typical of martial music is smoothed out, and the signature descending triad on
the first words, “Oh, say, “ so familiar to us, is simply not there! It begins quite simply on the tonic, or “do.” Amazingly, the triad doesn’t begin to appear
in publications until after 1910, almost within the living memory of some
Americans!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lvVtFD9Na0I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So just how old is our National Anthem? Well, as the National Anthem it is only 83
years old. The tune itself is quite old,
239 years. Who can say exactly how old the Anthem as we sing it today really
is, since it has changed a bit over the centuries? But as <i>The
Star-Spangled Banner</i>, an expression of national pride and unity, Key
memorably brought music and words together 200 years ago this coming September,
and that is a date to be celebrated!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcmVmYgoN41CLCWJ1XisAp9r07wTq-WfOhbl3GsYOPRXNByh6fNGx34S1i2youY9RTqoaB_qPcctSEFa1UClV5CZhe10OYvpHBhNTVR5ncQmpYFCjSWly896BBDYJtD-fA43p8XEg394K/s1600/fort+mchenry+flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcmVmYgoN41CLCWJ1XisAp9r07wTq-WfOhbl3GsYOPRXNByh6fNGx34S1i2youY9RTqoaB_qPcctSEFa1UClV5CZhe10OYvpHBhNTVR5ncQmpYFCjSWly896BBDYJtD-fA43p8XEg394K/s1600/fort+mchenry+flag.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
You can find out more about the anniversary by visiting <a href="http://www.starspangledmusic.org/" target="_blank">www.starspangledmusic.org</a>. And the next time you sing the Anthem, savor
the rich history behind it.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295143523871060794.post-60667566500921067562014-06-17T16:16:00.000-07:002014-06-17T16:16:36.324-07:00So Just How Old is The Star-Spangled Banner Anyway? Part 1<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Well, that depends on which portion of it you are talking
about. There is the tune, there are the
lyrics, and there is its status as our National Anthem, all of which rolled
onto the world stage at different times.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFHjuRe1HJ-KcsyngqvHBA43yymz_mKtkVpC1rcYR5ZhyLgfCD68aUU4yRTRG-NuUwsNhKsgndef3tJRc5iONWOMocPppROvWzv6fHAWU-lL8Ps_z5zka2zU0l9uUiEvtmb_1botHLG9T/s1600/national+anthem+with+flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFHjuRe1HJ-KcsyngqvHBA43yymz_mKtkVpC1rcYR5ZhyLgfCD68aUU4yRTRG-NuUwsNhKsgndef3tJRc5iONWOMocPppROvWzv6fHAWU-lL8Ps_z5zka2zU0l9uUiEvtmb_1botHLG9T/s1600/national+anthem+with+flag.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And why does it matter?
The 200<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the writing of <i>The</i> <i>Star-Spangled Banner</i>
is coming up in September. This is a big
deal, a chance to appreciate our history and our music, and Master Chorus
Eastside will commemorate this anniversary as part of our Celebrate America
concert on June 29<sup>th</sup>.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Let’s begin with the tune.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Most people don’t know that Francis Scott Key composed
only the lyrics, not the melody, of <i>The</i>
<i>Star-Spangled Banner</i>. The tune actually began life in 1775 as the anthem
of a gentlemen’s amateur music society and supper club in London called The
Anacreontic Society. Anacreon was a
Greek lyric poet who loved to write about drinking and women. Homer wrote about gods and heroes; Anacreon
wrote about romance and drinking; guess who is remembered today!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ENUN4GK9XHfpHwRok0qQaQF4kKFl_LoadNdI3Y5Yimp1QhBpKrosItPmhV-cdYcKU_9SrzySpGEXNzSMUF0xAAJHB9sEQSleuAcssCP_QMjRqqrWMlvTCujWAUidMpmDHzbwDZNW145Q/s1600/Anacreon+sculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ENUN4GK9XHfpHwRok0qQaQF4kKFl_LoadNdI3Y5Yimp1QhBpKrosItPmhV-cdYcKU_9SrzySpGEXNzSMUF0xAAJHB9sEQSleuAcssCP_QMjRqqrWMlvTCujWAUidMpmDHzbwDZNW145Q/s1600/Anacreon+sculpture.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Anacreontic Society meetings began with a two-hour concert,
followed by a late supper, group singing, and multiple toasts. The meetings combined a great deal of fun
with good quality music making, and it became known as THE place to be every
other Wednesday evening at whatever London restaurant they chose to meet at. The club anthem, in six rather silly verses,
calls on Anacreon to be their patron and inspirer, and the refrain became an
excuse to toast one another. The myrtle
of Venus, as mentioned in the refrain, was a symbol of romantic love for the
ancient Greeks, but for the Anacreons it stood for the friendship and unanimity
of the club. Bacchus’s vine, also
mentioned in the chorus, needs no interpretation.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OqyQO3xhNx0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The melody became highly popular and a convenient vehicle
for many a lyric, so much so that nearly everyone forgot its origins. By 1791 it had arrived here in America, just
in time to become the favorite tune for all kinds of texts, especially
commemorations of patriotic figures and events.
In fact, by 1820 it had been used for more than 85 different poems,
including one written by Key ten years before he wrote <i>The</i> <i>Star-Spangled Banner</i>! Key’s early version even uses some of the
same words and phrases that appear in his later lyric.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The melody itself, then, is close to 250 years old. Keys poem came along more than fifty years
later, inspired by a climactic event during the War of 1812. More on that in my next blog; the story is
wonderful, and makes our Anthem come to life in a way that I hadn’t really
understood before. And its path to acceptance
as our National Anthem is typically American: disagreement, the machinations of
politics, and the voice of the people.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
More next week!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Dr. Linda Gingrich</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Artistic director and conductor</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Master Chorus Eastside</div>
Master Chorus Eastsidehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963541224726780206noreply@blogger.com0