Music – Page 13 – Random Connections

Lessons and Carols

December 13, 2010 Tom 4 Comments

Local, Music

Sunday afternoon Laura and I attended the Service of Lessons and Carols at Furman. For the past 15 years, the Furman Chamber Choir has been presenting the program in Daniel Chapel. Tickets are incredibly hard to obtain, and we were lucky enough to get a couple of the 5:00 service. As a choir director I’ve … Read More “Lessons and Carols” »

A Carolina Christmas

December 11, 2010 Tom 2 Comments

Local, Music

Last night the Greenville Chorale gave its Carolina Christmas concert at McAlister Auditorium at Furman. We were joined by the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, and we repeat the concert today at Mud Creek Baptist Church for the Hendersonville audience. (The photo above is from last year’s concert.) We’ve been working on the music since mid-October. The … Read More “A Carolina Christmas” »

Carols Ancient and Modern

December 6, 2010 Tom No Comments

Music

I collect hymnals – the older the better. It’s fascinating to see how musical tastes have changed over the years, and see which hymns were included or excluded. Language changes and various issues (such as temperance) rise and fall from prominence.

As far as Christmas Carols go, in addition to my Oxford Book of Carols, there are three hymnals that have held my attention. I actually possess one of these, and I’ve just found copies of the other two online. I guess that will have to do, if I can’t actually own the physical copies.

The first of these is Hymns Ancient and Modern, and is a general hymnal rather than being specific to Christmas. For many years it was the primary hymnal of the Church of England, and is a standard reference for hymnology. Anne Dudley put together an excellent CD of Advent and Christmas music based on tunes from the hymnal and entitled it Ancient and Modern. I was able to acquire a copy of Ancient and Modern on eBay. I think mine is the 1916 edition, and it’s a small pocket version with only the words to the hymns – no music (pictured above.)

In the mid-to-late 20th Century there was a revived interest in ancient melodies for worship. I noticed this in our most recent Presbyterian Hymnal, which included more plainsong chants and hymns with ancient origins. These next two hymnals are even older than Hymns Ancient and Modern.

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Singing for Your Supper

December 5, 2010 Tom 1 Comment

Miscellaneous, Music

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.

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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.

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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.

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