alla breve

Just a quick note (thus the title) as we try to finish packing before midnight for a short trip to Kauai: this last Sunday at church was quite satisfying, both because the service came together well and seemed to have meaning and import for many in the congregation and because I had three pieces performed (thus satisfying my composer's soul ).

[For those not up on their music notation, "breve" refers to a half note, a l'Americaine--the oval with a stem going up or down--in a piece of music fast enough that it's easier to count half notes than quarter notes--filled-in ovals with stems--but the whole point of the title is that I don't have any more time--but do read the rest of the note after clicking on the link below.]

The service was built around our contemporary, guitar-based Praise Team. I still wanted some organ presence, so I played a meditative piece that references How Great Thou Art (O Store Gud) for prelude, and wrote a variation of the closing song, Shout to the Lord, for postlude. At the offering, my wife Marianne sang my setting of the ubiquitous Footprints in the Sand poem of greeting card/wall poster/coffee mug/et cetera fame. I provided some background vocals and played piano (a quasi finger-picking style--as much as the piano can handle that particular guitar idiom).

We're down to the wire, and may soon start intruding on sleep time, as we do our usual last-minute rush to the finish line. We still have 9 hours until we leave for the airport: plenty of time to pack...and at least nap a couple of hours...and although the packing is not my favorite part of the trip, there is plenty else to look forward to that is...

music to my ears.

a short note

Yesterday was a very productive day. I completed two new pieces of music. One, an anthem version of the lds hymn Awake, Ye Saints of God, Awake!, I had started the previous evening, writing about half of the piece. I got up early the next morning, put in a couple of hours, and had a finished piece. I'm taking it with me today to see if the organ part works on an organ (it sounds fine through my computer's speakers, which isn't saying much).

The other piece, a tocatta-style chorale prelude on Shout to the Lord, came about as a result of my trying to find some organ music to fit in with Sunday's service, which features the guitar-supported Praise Team. I wanted to have something that harkened back to traditional for those who like the usually more even mixture of styles in our service, and yet I didn't want the organ to seem as though it had no connection to the rest of the service. I already had a prelude: a reflective setting of How Great Thou Art, which I wrote a while back. None of my existing music seemed to do for postlude. Rather than keeping digging until I unearthed something, I impulsively decided to write a piece based on the closing song.

I gave the church secretary my title, after playing around a bit on the organ and developing an opening idea. I'm trying the finished piece out today, so I'll report on it soon.

It was nice to have cousin Michael drop by, even if he wrote me a note directly rather than commenting. I expect to have a post from him soon about his musical and other adventures in Norway (far from his usual San Francisco haunts).

As usual, all this is music to my ears.