Music – Page 13 – Random Connections

Singing for Your Supper

December 5, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

This time of year gets crazy with concerts, parties, and other social obligations. It’s not quite as bad as when I was a choir director AND teaching school music, but it’s hectic, nonetheless. I always have additional singing gigs, and this year we seem to have more than usual. We have a regular Carolina Christmas … Read More “Singing for Your Supper” »

A Christmas Carol

December 3, 2010December 4, 2015 Tom 3 Comments

Music

Nope, no ghosts this time (that I know of, although I did watch Scrooged this evening.) No, I’ve been spending some time with an old friend – my well-worn copy of The Oxford Book of Carols.

The Oxford Book of Carols was originally published in 1924, and edited by Percey Dearmer, Martin Shaw, and Ralph Vaughn Williams. It was supposed to be the definitive collection of Christmas Carols. It’s still widely available, as is the New Oxford Book of Carols.

As a young choir director I would check a copy of the book out of the library each year as a reference, and to give me ideas for upcoming Christmas programming. One Christmas my mother-in-law gave me my own copy. Understand that this was in pre-Internet days. You couldn’t just log onto Amazon.com and find a copy. Her neighbor was a retired reference librarian, and was able to track down a copy for me.

So, quick – name your favorite Christmas Carols. You would probably come up with something like this…

Joy to the World
O Come All Ye Faithful
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Silent Night
Angels We Have Heard on High
Away in a Manger

You might be surprised to find that none of those beloved carols are in there. Some of those titles don’t even fit the narrow definition of “Carol” applied to the songs that are in the collection. To be a supposedly definitive work, there is much that is lacking, as well as some surprising inclusions.

Rubik’s Music – Part 1

November 29, 2010 Tom No Comments

Music, Weirdness

This year mark’s the 30th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube. I’ve seen and heard lots of references to it recently, and Office Depot has even started using it as one of their advertising logos.

All of this reminiscing brought back memories of my own experiences with the cube, and in particular, a piece of music that I composed based on the cube.

The year was 1981, and the cube was in its heyday. I was a music student at Furman University, and had been studying 20th Century composers and compositional techniques. I had also been spending just about every spare minute trying o solve the blasted cube.

One warm spring afternoon I was in a Furman Singers rehearsal, and we were working on “O Crux” by Knute Nystedt. This particular piece is very dissonant, and doesn’t resolve its intricate harmonies until the very end of the piece. I was drowsy from a late night of working on the cube, so as I semi-dozed through rehearsal, the strains of Nystedt blended with visions of Rubik’s Cube twirling, and a new musical composition popped into my brain.

Read More “Rubik’s Music – Part 1” »

Fifty Years of Singing

October 20, 2010 Tom No Comments

Local, Music

This weekend the Greenville Chorale celebrates the opening of its Fiftieth Anniversary Season with a concert this Saturday at the Peace Center. On the repertoire is the first piece that the Chorale did in its very first season – The Brahms German Requiem. Also up are two pieces commissioned for the event by local composers Robert Powell and Dan Forrest.

The Chorale got its start in 1961 as the Rotary Civic Chorale under the direction of William Jarvis. From 1968-1987 the organization was known as the Greenville Civic Chorale. In 1987 it became known as simply The Greenville Chorale. The Chorale started with forty-five singers, and now features about 160 singers.

It’s also a celebration for our director, Bing Vick. This is his 30th season as the Chorale’s director.

Read More “Fifty Years of Singing” »

Online Tonal Toys

August 22, 2010 Tom No Comments

Entertainment, Gear, Internet, Music

A random link led me to a series of fantastic tonal toys. Some of these are simply diversions, and some are elaborate programs that can be used to create amazing compositions. Here’s a quick run-down of what I found…

Pulsate

Think wind chimes. This little Flash app by Andre Michelle is hypnotic and addictive. Clicking on the black work area will create a circle that expands from the click-point. The circle will continue to expand until it touches another circle, so you need to create at least two for this thing to work. When two circles touch a bell-like tone is generated, and the circles reverse direction. If they had been expanding they now contract. A contracting circle will contract until it reaches a single point, then start expanding again.

The pitch of the tone is determined by the size of circles. A larger circle will create a deeper tone, and a smaller one a higher pitch. An interval is created, but sometimes the larger circle’s pitch is so low that it’s hardly audible. It sounds like the app is tuned to a pentatonic scale to minimize dissonance, much like a set of wind chimes would be be tuned.

Rhythm is determined by the expansion rates of the various circles. You can create very complex patterns by positioning circles closer to or farther away from each other. Circles within circles also create neat patterns. I find it fascinating to start with a simple pattern of three circles, and gradually make the pattern more complex by adding more circles.

Here’s a short video of one of my creations. However, I suggest that you follow the link and create your own to get the full sensation.

The Chorale Does Verdi and Bernstein

May 3, 2010 Tom No Comments

Entertainment, Music

This past weekend the Greenville Chorale joined forces with the Greenville Symphony for a concert entitled “Inspiring Voice” featuring the works of Leonard Bernstein and Guiseppi Verdi. It was probably one of the most enjoyable and stirring concerts we’ve done, and I think all went very well. Local music critic Ann Hicks had this to … Read More “The Chorale Does Verdi and Bernstein” »

All Hail the Cimbasso!

May 2, 2010May 9, 2014 Tom 5 Comments

Music

This is a concert weekend for us. The Greenville Chorale is performing a selection of works by Leonard Bernistein and Giuseppi Verdi. The first performance last night went very well (more on that in a later post).

The repertoire called for some unusual instruments, including two brake drums hit by standard hammers for Verdi’s Anvil Chorus, and a sheet of metal struck to simulate thunder in Verdi’s Witches Chorus from Macbeth.

However, the instrument that really puzzled us and caught our attention was the cimbasso. As shown in the photo at the top of this post, it looks like a cross between a trombone and a tuba. It turns out that is pretty much it’s function, too. It fills a niche by providing an instrument in the bass range of a tuba, but with more of the tonal qualities of a trombone.

Read More “All Hail the Cimbasso!” »

Roxanne

March 25, 2010 Tom No Comments

Miscellaneous, Music

The other day I walked into our office and heard “Roxanne” by The Police playing on the stereo in our lobby. It was turned down low, but Andy Summer’s dry guitar pattern and Sting’s distinct voice are hard to miss. This wasn’t an arrangement of “Roxanne” scored for the 101 Strings or some such nonsense. … Read More “Roxanne” »

Furman Singers and the End of an Era

March 18, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Local, Music

Tuesday night Laura and I attended the Furman Singers’ concert. It was the last tour concert with Dr. Bingham Vick at the helm. This May Vick will retire from Furman after 40 years as a professor there. In most respects the concert was typical of the Singers’ tour concerts. The first half featured major choral … Read More “Furman Singers and the End of an Era” »

Winter Wonderland

January 29, 2010 Tom 2 Comments

Miscellaneous, Music

The weather forecast for our area calls for snow – as much as five inches of it in our area. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), it looks like most of it is going north of us. With our weather patterns, if it doesn’t come up from the Gulf and Atlanta, it … Read More “Winter Wonderland” »