music to my ears

tempo rubato

2009-06-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a good week musically. Last Sunday was Pentecost; the choir sang well, with a very spirited rendition of William Dawson's Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit. Monday the choir was one of two at the San Francisco AGO's post-annual meeting concert. They were fabulous. In addition to performing works of several others, the performed my My Heart is not Lifted Up from The Needham Psalter, written in 1990. Marianne (my wife) sang the solo quite nicely, and the choir was right into the piece with her. When I get a chance I'll add in a clip from the piece.

But there was more. I performed And they were filled with the Holy Spirit, a work for solo organ, which I wrote in 1985. The Petty-Madden organ at First Congregational Church of Berkeley was in fine form. The audience--primarily organist colleagues--was quite complementary. I was delighted to be invited to perform the work again this week at the Composers' Forum put on by the Peninsula Chapter of the AGO (which I did this afternoon). It was fun on both these occasions to hear what fellow composers were writing--and even more fun to be able to share my work.

I'm hoping that this will get me working on promoting my music a bit more, and returning to the publication fray. This was a nice break from all the emotional fallout and ensuing work resulting from my father's passing almost a month ago.

More on that later. In the meantime, the forum, the concert, and the church service were music to my ears.

rubato to the max

2008-03-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been away a while. Actually, I've been ignoring my blog, my webpage, and have generally been preoccupied with real as opposed to virtual life. I'm hoping that I might be back (I'll know if I keep these entries going for a few weeks..).

Things have changed. I'm no longer the Music Director at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Dublin CA (a great group of people), but have been Minister of Music at St. Stephen's Episcopl Church in Orinda CA since mid-November 2007. It's been an exciting change, with different and increased responsibilities--about which I'll have more to say on another post.

The San Francisco Lyric Chorus keeps challenging me, with concerts upcoming in another month. They are singing the west coast premiere of my It Will Be Summer--Eventually, a setting of poems of Emily Dickinson approaching its 20th anniversary.

I'm taking handbell lessons with Michele Sharik, with the intent of developing some ability to play solo handbell music (actually, I'd just like to know the instrument better, and I learn better when I have a goal).

I'll add more soon--probably after Holy Week services, which pick up a full head of steam tomorrow (Thursday, and keep on coming until Sunday noon.

And that's music to my ears.

dolce, ma con moto

2007-07-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is supposed to be a little more relaxed. Back in the day when I relied quite a bit on freelance income from my musical pursuits, it was. And with all that extra time to do things, I didn't have the disposable income to do them!

I'm not doing as much freelance these days, but I find I'm actually busier. This past weekend, I played at two different churches, neither one where I normally serve. On Saturday I played keyboard for St. Bridget's Church, an Episcopal start-up in Rio Vista (roughly halfway between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento). It was a small but valiant congregation (less than 20 in attendance). They hold one weekend service a month, in between having weekday services, small groups, social and outreach activities. A fun group to visit.

I also played at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek, where I learned to play organ and played my first services as a young musician. It was satisfying for different reasons than Rio Vista. St. Paul's is quite established, although they, too, are trying to grow (a congregation of over 200). I played a Harrison & Harrison tracker in the chapel (it replaced the reed organ I played as a teenager), and a good-sized two manual Schlicker in the main church.

Whether new or established, both churches are dealing with issues of identity, building on Episcopal tradition while looking towards the future. Meanwhile, at John Knox Presbyterian in Dublin CA (where I serve as Director of Music), the children and adults who participated in last week's Vacation Bible School led the service.

JKPC, roughly the same size as St. Paul's, is also dealing with the same issues of identity and growth. Where St. Paul's has a strong traditional service, JKPC blends contemporary and traditional elements, both in service structure and in its music: Praise Band and Chancel Choir usually share the chancel, with children's groups and adult handbells regularly enriching the mix.

I got onto this because my quiet summer hasn't been quiet, but rather filled with variety and offer opportunities for growth. In my previous post, I mentioned Amy Beach's Mass in E-flat, which we perform in less than a month. That has offered the San Francisco Lyric Chorus some of the same opportunities for reflection on identity and growth as the churches I mentioned above. And then our daughter Delara and her husband are moving from London to L.A.; and our son Jeremy and his spouse are moving from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania.

So maybe there's a time for growth.

That is definitely music to my ears...

PPP

2007-06-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know where the time went! I've written and performed some new pieces, continued directing the handbell choir at church (not to mention the Chancel Choir and our contemporary ensemble), become assistant director of San Francisco Lyric Chorus, and otherwise filled up time in a number of interesting ways...but not said anything here since December.

Oh, yeah: And it's past time to celebrate the publication of I Come with Joy, a collection of my liturgical piano pieces published in March 2007 by Augsburg Fortress. I'm quite pleased by the set.

In succeeding entries I want to look at some of my compositions, including the piano pieces, comment on a blog or two I've been enjoying lately, and look at a couple of pieces I'm going to be playing soon: Herbert Howells' Partita and Amy Beach's Grand Mass in E-flat. Right now, I'm off to practice (26 days left before the Howells goes public...).

For now, that's music to my ears.

poco a poco

2006-12-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

Little by little things get done. Another day and the formerly-hidden oak floors return to their original glory. As soon as workers return from a (well-deserved for some) holiday break, we'll be able to live in more than one bedroom and the kitchen, with an occasional sojourn in a semi-working bathroom...

On the musical front, it's a combination of getting ready for Christmas Eve services (one morning, 3 evening) and posting a bunch of my compositions on New Music Jukebox (run by American Music Center). I've had some modest success selling my music; it's time to promote better.

poco a poco: a little bit each day. But my fingers are getting itchy to write--the last composition of 2006? the first of 2007? Before I can do that, I need to burn a CD with my Christmas Eve postlude (so I can be in two places at once...).

Whether fast or slow (and moving slowly, even poco a poco on the way from one dynamic state to another, is not my natural state), it's music to my ears.

Pianissimo

2006-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, my life has been anything but quiet...but I've managed to take a five month break without even trying. In my last post (July 22) I spoke about putting together some info on Songs of Prophecy. I've done that, but just not taken the time to post it. Five months later, I'm in the afterglow of a pretty nice presentation of the piece two days ago.

The piece went well, and even exceeded my expectations. It was the first time I've written an extended work with handbells (the piece includes handbells, choir and string quartet), so it was, for me, a bit experimental. The handbell writing worked, although I tended to write the part a little thin. We ended up adding notes to fill out chords (handbells are more homophonic than linear, imho, although my linear parts fit nicely with the strings and voices).

We're in the middle of a big house remodel (we moved in with my Dad almost 2 years ago)--roof and windows done first (last summer, just about the time I stopped writing here). Currently we're in the midst of walls, floors, bathrooms--it'll be great when it's done (did I mention kitchen next?).

I'll post the info on Songs of Prophecy soon, as well as update on some of my other musical activities. I need to put some quality time into updating my my composition list on New Music Jukebox before the end of the year (they are putting together a compilation for an upcoming Chamber Music America conference--it'd be nice to have some of my recent chamber works included).

Even though I have to leave the house these days to hear it (unless I want to write an homage to Varese, or an update of The Anvil Chorus)--

it's music to my ears.

Dies Irae (trans. it's d**n hot!)

2006-07-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Did I say that it was hot today? As I write this at 9:45 in the evening, it is still 95 degrees F. outside. That's hot, even for this part of California, where a little heat in the summer is a worthwhile price to pay for generally quite temperate weather.

I'm working on several posts that I hope will come to completion over the next week.

An index of my compositions that I have mentioned here. As part of that I hope to provide some missing but promised mp3s.
A fuller description of Songs of Prophecy. I'm in the process of compiling pdfs and jpegs (but before I can, I need to proofread the score; that'll probably take as much time as the initial writing of the piece!).
A comparison of my use of the text with Jennens' Messiah libretto. His work was masterful. My deconstruction and rearrangement is...I guess we'll wait and see.

There will be more. I read through parts of a couple of Mozart 4-hand Sonatas tonight: I hope our hosts for the evening don't have too much trouble cleaning up all the misused and abused notes we left lying around. Somewhere between Mozart and Adams...

it's music to my ears...

Songs of Prophecy

2006-07-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

In my last post, andante down the lazy river I mentioned that I was starting a Christmas Cantata. It's basically done, and I'm rather pleased by the results. Of course, if I didn't like it, it wouldn't be done, or wouldn't see the light of day! The reason it took so long (5 days) was that I did have to eat and sleep...not to mention make some music at church, teach an organ lesson, and do those pesky chores that just mount up and make the environs miserable until you pay attention to them...

The piece is called Songs of Prophecy. It uses 8 of the texts that Jennens, the librettist of Handel's Messiah included in what we know as the Christmas portion. I've long wanted to make my own work on the whole set of Messiah texts, but wisely set a less lofty goal for this piece.

Jennens generally has a very nice recitative, song, chorus form that focuses and organizes things very well. I totally ignored that form, although roughly speaking solo or soli voice alternates with chorus--but no real recitative.

I know, you'd like examples, and I don't have time right now. OK, here's one score excerpt:
And it sounds roughly like this mp3 without any editing or real balancing of voices (the first violin is a bit shrill on my computer).

My intent was to write a piece we could use in worship, so I wanted it under 20 minutes (I'm at about 16 and a half). In addition to satb chorus, I wrote for string quartet and handbells. I was fascinated how that altered my usual textures. I tended to opt for repeated peals, open harmonies, and a good degree of pentatonic writing.

This was just plain fun to write. I couldn't wait to get up and start writing to see how the next movement was going to come out. It has its derivative elements: African choral music, minimalism, Orff, and I also hear Adams (this Adams, that is), particularly from my Needham Psalter. The combination of chorus, strings and handbells is wonderful.

I'll post more soon on this project. I'm preparing a table comparing the use of the texts in Handel's piece and mine; I'd like to say something about each movement and how I felt the text flowed from movement to movement. And so on. And, as you would expect:

It's music to my ears...

andante down the lazy river

2006-07-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it is summer. And it's been more weeks than I like since I posted. No good reason. Oh yeah--there were the various tasks and projects I mentioned in my last post. We refinanced Dad's house, moved his IRA, and will have new windows in the house in a couple of weeks. I've written some music (surprise!) and will be posting about a couple of new pieces soon.

I've also started a project I've been resisting, because it means focusing on something besides writing new music. With Jeremy's able assistance, I'm starting a major revision of my website. I'm working on a master list of all my compositions (well, those worth seeing the light of day!) with accompanying information pages, and score and audio excerpts. I've been resisting for months, but finally gave in. If you want to check out the work in progress, click here.

By the time I'm done, I hope to have all my scores and recordings on a couple of DVDs, as well as a pretty full website. I'm also going to make sure that full scores and information get posted on the American Music Center's New Music Jukebox.

The rest of the month should be full

I'm starting a Christmas cantata for satb chorus, string quartet, and handbells.
I've developed the concept for a children's musical for church. The book will need much work before I can actually put in music.
I just set my current church's mission statement to music; it's upbeat and about as pop contemporary as I get these days. I look forward to putting it to work.
Developed a second sequence on Nicea ("Holy, Holy, Holy"). It'll be the prelude this Sunday.
On the non-musical front, there's a lot of cleanup, both at Dad's house and ours, particularly if we decide to move back to our place while the windows are put in

A little golf, work around the Yarn Boutique, nagging Dad to get some exercise rather than just sitting around the house all day (and coincidentally reminding Marianne and me to do the same!), and other important family and friends things fill up my dance card.

Summertime in California (as long as the wildfires keep their distance) is delightful music to my ears...

dal Segno

2006-06-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've made some good progress this past week on the list I posted last week, and also had a couple of neat creative experiences. First, the list:

Dad's finances: while it never ends, we are about to close on a loan which will allow us to fix up Dad's house
Beginning stages of fixup work on Dad's house: windows are ordered; final preliminary plans for other needed work should be done this week
2005 ASCAPlus list: done and submitted (as prep for next year, I'm updating a sadly out-of-date "What's New" section of my website that really makes putting the list together much easier)
Making an SATB version of a recent men's piece: rehearsals are going well; the piece is scheduled for the end of June
Did I mention Dad's finances?
Still looking into some additional sources of income: A couple of part- or short-term teaching slots I was looking into didn't pan out
Dealt with an overbooking at the Kauai condo: a financial loss for us, but I think our guests will be pleased
Have I brought up Dad's finances?

But there were also some nice creative moments this week...

I received a copy of the concert program that flautist Dawn Grapes and organist Joe McConathy presented in Fort Collins on April 30, 2006. They performed two of my works on Jesus Loves Me. The accompanying CD was quite nice. It was a fun program. If I can get permission, I'll post their performance of my pieces, either here or at New Music Jukebox (a site maintained by the American Music Center where I have a few works posted--I really need to make sure it duplicates my own site).

I composed my postlude for last Sunday: an electronic arrangement of Nicaea (better known as Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty). I basically used a big band setup: lots of saxes, trumpets and trombones, with some guitar and piano assistance. Eventually I hope to have a CD's worth of pieces (this is number 2). You can hear it here. I'd intended to use a sequencer, but got started with Finale. I added more dynamics and articulation detail than I might have done for acoustic performers.

The main reason I composed Nicaea was so that I wouldn't have to play a postlude after the service, since, in addition to my usual musical duties, I was preaching the sermon. I had a wonderful time. I was somewhat nervous before getting to the podium, but calmed down as soon as the choir and I started presenting the old testament lesson. I've spent a good bit of time over the last two weeks on the sermon--not much different than the sort of time I spend on a new composition, where I am both writing and performing the work.

So it's been a good week. I hope to have another post in a few days. Until then, it's all

...music to my ears.

lento ma non troppo

2006-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I've not exactly been setting the blogosphere on fire! Life seems to have been pretty full, although there always seems to be a list of things I still have to do. Main sources of time-passing (some more fruitful than others):

Dad's finances
Beginning stages of fixup work on Dad's house (roof, with walls, electrical, windows, plumbing and painting still to come)
Getting my 2005 ASCAPlus list done and submitted
Making an SATB version of a recent men's piece (I tried it with the choir last night; it looks to be very successful)
Did I mention Dad's finances?
Looking into some additional sources of income, including a couple of part- or short-term teaching slots (but either they're slow or I'm not in the running!)
Dealing with an overbooking at the Kauai condo (communication is REAL important)
Have I brought up Dad's finances?

It seems like music is getting slighted. But I have some thoughts on a couple of upcoming projects...

Project 1

A couple of weeks ago the children presented a musical as part of worship (Sermon on the Mound). It was cute. The kids clearly enjoyed themselves, and had a number of strong moments. The adults who assisted and guided the project also did wonderfully. The song Out in Right Field, recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, is featured--it's a great moment.

So I started thinking...is it time to write a musical for the kids myself? I'd have a good six months to work on it. I noticed some areas in this work that could be improved upon:

The vocal range is too great for kids (at least a 10th, I think). It should be kept within an octave, and not higher than c5 (an octave above middle c).
Through-composed or complicated melodies should be minimized ("Right Field" worked--a great example of story-telling in song--but it was sung by an adult). While one doesn't want the piece reduced to a set of simple choruses, simplicity is important.
There's an almost glib use of bible verses, reflecting the evangelical focus of the author and composer, I sure. Less would be more, I think.

Project 2

I'm playing organ and/or piano for a wedding the first weekend in August (the organ isn't much). The bride is the daughter of a good friend of high school vintage. I may play more piano than organ, and so I'm thinking of writing a postlude. Probably along the lines of a trumpet voluntary, but for piano rather than organ. Could be a fun challenge.

...and I thought of a project that is still in progress that I'd like to say a few things about: a setting of Isaiah 6:1-8, originally written for chorus and organ, but arranged for chorus, organ and cello. I'm thinking of some comments on the process of transcribing for different resources--both in my music and in some interesting works for violin and organ I purchased recently.

As usual, it's music to my ears...

Flutes rule!

2006-04-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

...or maybe it's the flautists who rule. I'm starting to get a steady trickle of interest in my music at my website www.adamsworks.com: an occasional instrumentalist here, a conductor there, but more than any other category--flautists.

Actually, I've always found flautists to be interested in pushing the musical envelope. My high school sweetheart played flute: just spending time with me was already taking a risk! Much of my recent flute and keyboard music was written for her niece, just to keep things in the family.

One recent visitor, Sue Agnew, played (it was actually a premiere) my Variations on a French Carol" on Easter at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona. Another, Dawn Grapes, will be playing Meditation on Jesus
Loves Me and Jesus Loves Me Variations as a set on a recital at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins on Sunday, April 30. I'm looking forward to that, even if in absentia.

It's nice to know that something that's music to my ears moves others--especially those intrepid flautists--to share that music with other ears.

On a non-musical note, Dad and I return to California later today. I'll comment more on the trip in an upcoming post. Let's just say that I have a more intimate understanding of how a toilet works...

a tempo

2006-04-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Some of my small cadre of most excellent readers have wondered where I've been, even going to the extreme of emailing me. Thanks y'all. Things have been busy, and I got out of the habit of posting. I've missed it, even as I've been busy accompanying a singer in a competition (she was delighted with her second place finish, as was I), preparing for Easter (more on that below), making music in one form or other, including writing several pieces, and in general feeling that life was fairly full.

Today my Dad and I flew to Kauai for 9 days work on his condo in Poipu (well, um, I do plan on a couple bouts of serious golf). It is nice to get away, even as I feel that I'm leaving things on hold (including Marianne's looong day trying to make sense out of our taxes; it was very unlike her to not remain for the party at the post office when she mailed our stuff this evening--clearly she was tired--and I was thankful for her hard work--she'll undoubtedly have more to say to me on that matter...).

Easter was very nice. John Knox Pres in Dublin held two services rather than its normal one. Both well attended. I had decided a couple of months ago to have us present Don Francisco's He's Alive (listen to the composer's rendition here. Marianne and I had seen Dolly Parton perform the piece on Leno a number of years ago, and we had performed it ourselves several times. I thought it would be a great piece to combine our 30-voice choir with our Praise Team (10+ singers, several guitars, bass, drums, keyboard) and a brass quartet we put together for Easter.

It took longer than I had hoped (part of the reason for my no-show here). The final score only came together less than a week before we presented the piece. Along the way, I got the idea of combining O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded with He's alive. A couple of excerpts punctuate the first half of the piece, while the opening melody backs up the singer at a couple of strategic points. A quartet from the praise team also sings backup, while both singing ensembles provide a wonderful antiphonal effect at the final He's Alive chorus.

I'd already started working on the piece, when it finally appeared on the rader screen of our pastor (a wonderful person with decent musical chops...plus he sings tenor!!!). We first thought it might function as scripture in song, but he had the brainstorm of combining it with his sermon. So a little more than two weeks ago, I'm back doing another rewrite.

It was worth the trouble. We alternated sermon and song, ending with the rousing finale of He’s Alive…followed immediately by the Hallelujah Chorus. It made Easter special for many of us who were there—even though we might like to fix up a wrong note here and a bad entrance there. As a composer, or rather, in this case, arranger, I was delighted both by the energy and enthusiasm of the musicians and the response of the congregation.

I’m hoping we got a halfway decent recording. If not, it’s about time to take on a special project, and a recording might just fill the bill. I’m looking forward to taking on some other compositional work after some relaxation and reflection on the last couple of months.

It’s been (soli deo gloria) music to my ears…

ad libs 2

2006-02-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

I'm about to head off to church. In the middle of the week. We (musicians, clergy, other church staff) actually do work more than one hour on Sunday. I've a meeting before staff meeting. Then staff meeting. Then a working lunch planning music for Lent. THEN I get to make music: some practice time, followed by an accompanying session (I'm working with a vocalist who is preparing for a competition). A few things have happened since I last wrote...

...I heard my cousin Michael play several selections from my Norwegian Suite at the dedication recital at the Norwegian Seaman's Church in San Francisco. Nice. What was even better, both he and the audience liked the music. I'm quite pleased. He goes back to Norway in a day or two.

...I wrote a contemporary piece for church, to be sung/played by our Praise Team (guitars, bass, drums, solo and ensemble vocal parts). Basically not unlike the pop music I played earlier in my career, but with a strong spiritual bent. It's been a fascinating project, particularly since, as soon as I write for voices, I start thinking chorally, rather than solo voices at microphones. Even though they are both ensembles, they're different. More about that in an upcoming post.

...I received an email from a former student, Andy Toomey, who recounted my (virtual) presence in a recent dream. It's rather comforting to think that former students might see their former professors as having saintly aspects...

...I gotta stop writing hard music! I've been practicing the piano part to my Christmas Toccata, written for piano and organ. In December Kymry Esainko (a wonderful pianist) and I (on organ) premiered the piece at a WomenSing concert. This time around I'm learning the piano part. It's HARD. I feel like I'm back learning my scales. There are a number of scale passages which are nice and flashy. I wrote them because I knew Kymry would make them sound wonderful. I guess you gotta watch what you write, because you may end up having to play it! On the plus side, it's doing wonders for my piano technique.

...I hit the golf links twice in a one-week period. Or should I say, the links hit me. Scores higher than I wanted. But great excercise (18 holes walking through the mud. Lots of walking as wayward shots went...wayward...). Can't wait for my next round!

...I'm off to my first meeting. In the long run--

it's music to my ears.

con brio

2006-01-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

When I first thought about this post, I was going to offer some thoughts about my trip to Las Vegas earlier in the month for a music conference...then I got started updating my web site and noticed that the last week or so has actually been rather busy compositionally.

It's actually been just over a week since I finished my Suite on Norwegian Folk Tunes for my cousin Michael. It's been a long time coming, relatively speaking. I generally work quite fast, but this piece has been on its way for a couple of months. The link above gives some info on the piece, but no mp3 as yet. That will probably wait until Michael performs the work on February 5 in San Francisco. In the meantime I'll work on an electronic version.

Lst Tuesday was particularly busy. I'd thought about writing a prelude for tomorrow's worship service, and relating it to the piece our children's choir was singing. Out of that came a neat Variations on Kumbaya. I love the slight African-inspired feel, with a rich composite rhythm as pedal and both hands--each playing fairly simple lines--combine their different but related rhythms. I'll have an mp3 soon (I'd like to get a performance recording, rather than relying on an audio version of the notated score).

That was Tuesday morning. In the evening I decided to see if I could come up with a piece that combined two hymns I'd been asked to play at the end of a memorial service I was playing the next day. The combination seemed unpromising. When I'd thought about it, and messed around a bit, I ended up with Quodlibet on Olivet and Battle Hymn. It seemed to work, but I wouldn't know until I had some time on the organ bench.

I basically got in two rehearsal sessions the next day before the memorial at 13:30 hours. The piece worked; people were happy. The rest of the week was filled with rehearsals...and one session of golf from which, 24 hours later, I'm still feeling muscles I'd forgotten I had!

So musically it was a good week. It was also rather nice dining out Wednesday with Marianne and my Dad before Marianne's rehearsal, and going to a party last night celebrating Wolfie's 250th birthday (that's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...). A crab feast at church tonight, a concert to attend at Grace Cathedral tomorrow afternoon, followed by a quick return to church for Annual Meeting round out the social calendar. The beginning of our weekend (now pushed back to 8:00 pm--20 hours--on Sunday) can't come too soon.

But with Mozart, music-making, and time spent with loved ones--it's all music to my ears.

O Tannenbaum

2006-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Well, today (January 23) we said goodbye to a dear friend...for the next 10 months. Dad and I put away the Christmas Tree. This is not just a tree--well, it's not actually a tree, since it is artificial--it's almost a member of the family. It's well-behaved; doesn't get up too early or make too much noise; doesn't make much mess; only goes to bed late once per year (Jan 23rd is not the latest it has stayed up!); it stands as a beacon of (night-)light as we pass through the shortest day of the year and begin our move back towards longer days and shorter nights.

We had to get new lights this year, but other than that the tree is a cheap date. We have more ornaments than would be proper to burden one tree, so those tend to differ slightly each year. I like the various stringed instruments, pianos and excerpts of Christmas carols. There are ornaments the kids made; various ones we've bought in our travels and living in several regions of the country; stories told and retold each year. I hated to see the tree go back in its box (actually, its box fell apart a couple of years ago; it now resides in a box formerly the property of one of my synths)--but the time for Tannenbaum is past, as the ground hardens enough that we may be able to find our golf balls in the fairway, rather than watching them hopelessly embed themselves in the mud as they burrow mindlessly toward the warmth and sun of the southern hemisphere, leaving us to guess their entry point as we search for the closest island of semi-dry ground upon which to gingerly place another future formerly-in-play golf ball which, when hit, we hope will head towards the correct green while we receive another coating of the same mud that so gleefully consumes each less-than-perfect shot.

Whether it's golf or tree, it's all music to my ears...

(not long) ago

2006-01-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the Region IX American Guild of Organists (AGO) mid-winter conclave in Las Vegas NM. It was good to get away; I attended a number of concerts and workshops, about which I'll say more after I get some sleep...

Oh, yeah: I found a little time to do some music writing, and may have written the organ piece my cousin Michael asked for (more on that as soon as I've been able to try it on an organ).

In the meantime...

that's music to my ears...

ad libs

2006-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Just a few odds and ends as the first week of the new year draws to a close. My furious pace of the first two days of the year slowed down as it became necessary to work for a living--even half time. The piece I wrote on the 1st, Find Your Rest, Oh My Soul, received its first rehearsal on Thursday. It sounds pretty good, but it'll take another rehearsal to get the whole thing together.Happily, I have two rehearsals before we present the piece. In any event, I was pleased.

For those who like travel, visit Bob Campbell's photo blog of a trip to Germany to get a new car. They're currently shown in reverse order, so start in the archive and work backwards! Some of the pictures are very good, indeed. (Bob and Jan are good friends of my parents; he and my Dad both worked for Chevron).

I'm off to Vegas for the Region IX (American Guild of Organists) mid-winter conclave. I really wanted to get in some golf in between concerts and workshops, but will focus on...music (!). Both of others and of mine, as I continue work on a piece for my cousin. As always, it's...

music to my ears.

happy (musical) new year 2

2006-01-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Monday is cleanup day, New Year or not. That didn't stop me from starting the second of the introit set I mentioned in my last post. Last week I wrote a piece for the men in my church choir to sing on the Sunday in February when the Women's Retreat takes place (which will include a good number of women from the two musical groups I direct). I wasn't sure whether the men or the Praise Team, which will also be low in numbers, would do the introit (the chancel choir was scheduled), so I thought it might be nice to do something that would involve both groups, although the chancel choir men are featured. But first, there was some housecleaning...

...although not as much as I thought, since we've been hiring help. We spend most of our time at Dad's place, so there's a certain amount of cleaning up for the three of us--it really messes up my composing time!

Since I thought this piece might work for both groups, I gave it a strong Gospel flavor (the piano part is going to be fun). The piano sets up a two-measure pattern, with slight variations and a few harmonic changes in each iteration. Finding a text for the singers, since I am following the lectionary with this set, proved difficult since I had already taken the best text for the men's anthem. The Episcopalians use a different psalm than the Presbyterians for February 19 (the day this will all be sung), and it offered some inspiration.

The piece works pretty well. After the piano sets the mood, the men come in with the text. Later (not too much later, since the piece is only 2 minutes long) there's a call and response between men and congregation, the latter to be led by the Praise Team. It's designed so that the congregation won't have to be taught ahead of time, but just repeat what the men sing.

I particularly liked in retrospect the way that the piano brings its phrase to a close between the first call of the men and the Praise Team/congregational response. As a result it sounds as though the response begins a new section, rather than responding to the previous call. That feeling changes as the call and response continues. I like the moment of uncertainty and ambiguity.

This piece should be a neat way to start the service. Here's the link to the pdf and the mp3 of the electronic realization. I hope its...

music to your ears also.

happy (musical) new year

2006-01-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Wishing my (few) loyal readers a very happy new year. For me, the year has started well. Last year ended with a snore. I managed to hold out until the Mountain time zone, but couldn't last until Pacific. My best friend awakened me with a kiss just after midnight (I'm not sure that it was so much to greet the new year as to get me to stop snoring! In any event, both goals were satisfied.). What would my first post of 2006 be without a new piece of music!

I was lamenting to Marianne on Friday that the previous day's piece was probably my last composition of 2005. She said that if I didn't write something earlier, I'd probably have a piece done before I went to bed on the evening of the 1st. Two days was plenty of time for another piece, but there were various things to do, including a pleasant Saturday with Marianne staffing The Yarn Boutique. We planned on leaving around 3:00, but customers kept us nicely busy for several hours more. That cut rather severely into my composition time!

This afternoon, however, proved to be quite different. After a morning at church (attendance lower with Sunday falling on the 1st, but with a good level of energy and spirit nonetheless), we returned home for a relaxing afternoon. Swedish pancakes for lunch, using a package I gave Dad in his Christmas stocking (my recipe from scratch is better, IMHO). After playing a few computer games, fighting the urge to nap (no, I don't know why I fight that urge!), I decided to try my hand at what I hope is the first of a set of six introits--short choral pieces--I'll create over the next three months.

My planning calendar lists the lectionary texts for each Sunday. The first introit was needed for January 22; the psalm for the day (Psalm 63:5-12) offered interesting possibilities. You'll find the link to the score at my website. I've also produced an electronic realization, also available on my website.

Because this piece is an introit--a piece that starts off a church service--it is not intended to be a full-length anthem. On the one hand, it's easier to write because it doesn't have a lot of development of musical ideas. On the other hand, I found myself wanting to develop musical material further and had to hold myself back, since I wanted to keep the focus on a short piece of text. From the point of view of the choir director, I didn't need to have two pieces that require a lot of rehearsal on the same Sunday (I have a pretty busy rehearsal schedule for the hour before worship begins already).

By writing a three-measure phrase for piano, and then choosing to repeat that phrase, with one exception about 2/3rds of the way through, I limited my harmonic motion and reduced my melodic choices. As choral material is repeated, changes are made to accomodate changes in text. There's also a response that the lower voices make to the soprano lead that gets longer each time it returns (I wanted to give a sense of freedom and expanse within a limited musical universe).

The exception I just spoke of? I repeated the first measure of my three-measure phrase six times (=two phrases in length), with each repetition off by about a third in pitch from the preceeding measure. By the end, we're right back where we started, having cycled through almost two octaves. If all that jargon leaves you cold, try this: I needed some contrast, and wanted a climax point. Changing the underlying material and speeding up the rate of harmonic change gave me the freshness and peak that I wanted. (I may not be working in the university now, but the professor just refuses to go quietly!)

Even though the psalm selection had 8 verses, I paraphrased and excerpted from not much more than three verses. I really wanted to do more; maybe I'll return later in the year and create a fuller anthem version. I like the piece. I hope any listeners and singers (especially my choir) do to.

In any event, it's music to my ears in very early 2006.

rest in piece (of music)

2005-12-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was scheduled to play keyboard for the funeral of our church secretary's dad (her sister is also a member of the church; both are strong members of the church's music ministry as well). I stopped on the way at church to pick up my keyboard, speakers, various cables, keyboard stand, music stand, and music--and somehow fit them in the car around my golf clubs and assorted music books, Starbucks cups, and other detritus that comes from almost living in one's car...or, in my case, just really bad housekeeping.

I had some time before I needed to leave for the funeral home, so I did some organ practice for Sunday and looked for a last few pieces of music to fill out my music chart through Easter. Well, I started to work on the chart, then noticed that I needed a men's piece for the women's retreat weekend, and that I needed about 6 choral introits. "Why not just write my own?" I thought. I was thinking of the introits, and that six would make a nice set. But I decided to check the scriptural references for the Sunday of the men's piece. The Isaiah reading (Is. 43:18-21 for those who are keeping score) looked promising.

The text suggested an interesting melodic fragment...and I didn't need much more. I finished seven measures--it looked like that might be the intro--and knew what my next chord would be. But it was time to go to the funeral. While there was a sense of sadness, there was also joy that the pain of illness was gone, and a sense of hope for something believed but not seen.

As soon as I returned to the church to put my gear away, the piece took over and within an hour was done. I wanted it simple but not simplistic (although I can never be as simple as I'd like!). Contemporary but appropriate for a choral group. And just plain fun to sing. I'll know when we start rehearsing the piece whether I succeeded, but it was a joy to write. You can find the score at adamsworks.com. As soon as I have an mp3 I'll add a link for it.

Rest in peace, Ken; this piece is for you. You were clearly music for the ears of family and friends.

A piece of you will be music to my ears.

a (not quite) silent night 3

2005-12-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the Christmas Eve services went quite well. The early service was a bit of a zoo, with lots of children underfoot. The 40 or so who led us in Go Tell It On The Mountain were fun to watch and listen to. The middle service was quieter, with lots of candles. The choir recycled a couple of pieces from their earlier-in-the-month Choir Sunday. While it fit together quite nicely, I'd like to get a little more ambitious next year. We couldn't get as fancy as the late service I played, with a half hour of music prior to the start of the service, because our service is too early in the evening (yeah, I know: have it start later--but traditions need to be handled quite gingerly...). The last service, after a half-hour drive, was quite different.

It was a sung Episcopal Eucharist. No smells (incense) but we did have some bells. The small choir presented a half-hour of music (various anthems were exhumed--I'm being unfair; they were charming, and directed with vigor and intelligence, but not up to the level of the service, imho). Guitar and clarinet and a very nice vocal solo of--what else?--O Holy Night completed the recital. A couple more anthems, plus several hymns and chants rounded out the service. Our afternoon had started about 4:30 with a contemporary ensemble practice and ended about 12:30 the next morning with the conclusion of the sung Eucharist (I brought out Bach's In Dir ist Freude to close things off.) We were ready for bed. My fingers felt as though they had run a marathon, carrying me along in the process...

And next morning (Christmas day) up at 7:00 to head off for a pleasant Sunday/Christmas Day service. Almost half the choir was there to lead hymns. A fun carol sing. "Anything as long as it's in the Christmas section..." I'm delighted that the rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah was in a different part of the hymnal--although part of me (NOT my fingers!!!) was tempted to call it out anyway.

The week has been relatively quiet, and my fingers have enjoyed the break. My main push this week has been to plan music through Easter (mid-April this year). And write at least one last piece of music for the year. I'm planning some comments on it in my next post (you've heard of unintended consequences? I often end up with unintended music!).

May the year's end and the start of the new year be music to your ears.

rehearsal as poetry

2005-12-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

I received a delightful, unexpected gift about a week ago. (Actually, gifts are best if they are unexpected!) Stan Morner, a choir member at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, brought a copy of the Carquinez Poetry Review by The Yarn Boutique. He had taken some of his notes from a rehearsal of my Pentecost cantata and fashioned them as only a poet can into a delightful poem about the rehearsal. I was very pleased and a bit overwhelmed. I asked Stan if I could post the poem on my blog and he gave me permission.

THE COMPOSER CONDUCTS A LAST REHEARSAL OF HIS NEW CANTATA FOR PENTECOST

No lingering on "Dark-ness"
and remember the "Spir-it"
doesn't slow down.
But hold "Jesus al-ive"
until the diminuendo
at "Je-ru-sa-lem."

We all come in together
on "The breath of God."
Enjoy the chord.
You can breathe later.

"There appeared to them
tongues as of fire."
Forte on the "tongues."
We don't get pianissimo
until "Hea-ven."

Watch me for signs
"On the earth be-neath"
and on "the moon into blood."
I'll give you plenty of cues
until "we shall all be saved."

Finally, some last advice.
If you make a mistake,
make it loud.

Now, let's go kick
some spiritual butt.

[Copyright 2005 by Stan Morner. All rights reserved. Used by permission.]

Music to my ears...and eyes. Now, should I set this to music? Perhaps with a choir singing the quotes from the lyrics? A soloist or narrator on the poem? And what about the rest of the poetry review? Might I find other poems that sing to me? For now I'm enjoying the resonance, the connections with last spring's rehearsals and performance, the energy and excitement, the moments of beauty amidst the uncertainty of presenting a new piece of music. Yup. Definitely music...

a (not quite) silent night 2

2005-12-19T21:55:00.000-08:00

I got distracted in my last post. Although the title fits my recent activities, I was really headed toward Christmas Eve. It was going to be quite simple this year (I'm assuming my gentle readers--all three or four--are quite aware of my work as a church organist). Then I was asked to play a late service. A reasonable 30-minute drive, with only a slight bit of panic as I leave later than planned and encounter unexpected traffic, and I'm good for another hour and a half! So I said no thank you...the first time.

The Director called back. Couldn't find anyone else. Could I play even though I had some time constraints? Soft spot for colleague in a jam. Last bit of cash for the year didn't hurt...

The biggest time crunch comes at the end of the service at the church I serve regularly. At the end of the service, everyone files out to the courtyard for a rendition of Silent Night, holding something resembling a candle. So I have to play some transition music while getting ready to lead the singing and clean up music, instruments, and so on for a speedy departure. I decided that an electronic setting of SN might help--not thinking (as my spouse lovingly pointed out) that I would still have to put the keyboard away. I'll find a workable solution in the next few days.

In the meantime, I've had fun creating an arrangement of SN, starting with some orchestral instruments (well, electronic versions of same). I saved the result as a .wav file, loaded it into Audacity (a great little program at a wonderful price), tinkered with it a bit (normalize, some bass boost, plus some delay), and here you are: Silent Night Sequence.

Merry Christmas. May the new year bring lots of music to your ears.

a (not quite) silent night

2005-12-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

After the week I spoke of in my last post (six concerts in 8 days) I was happy to have things slow down...until I got asked on Thursday if I would play in two concerts the upcoming weekend, with the first concert the next evening. "And why not?" I thought: "It's less than I did last week!" It had its fun moments, as I was playing harpsichord on the Baroque selections while the regular accompanist doubled the chorus on organ, playing some of the accompaniment figures as well. Then there was the one piece I played piano on, where I heard it with the chorus for the first time during the concert itself! There was no room for errors...

The concert had some musical moments (the chorus was an unauditioned community group of seniors: lots of energy and enthusiasm). I had never heard the Pergolesi Magnificat we did, and found it to be a rather pleasant piece. The Domine Deus duet from the Bach B-minor isn't a favorite of mine; the continuo part I was reading was terribly over-written, so I spent most of the piece leaving stuff out.

I'll have a couple other posts coming up soon: one on a poem a local poet (Stan Morner) wrote about a rehearsal I led, the other on some new music I've written (in the midst of all these concerts I still found time to write).

I hope that at least one of my new pieces will be music to your ears, as well as to mine...