The Good Musician

All woodwinds, that is. The so-called woodwind quintet is a flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and french horn. The latter, however, is frequently included in small chamber consorts, especially in the Baroque, as they play those lovely hunting calls and stirring royal fanfares.

The Baroque sonata form often contained a 3/4 or 6/8 meter movement, and horns would feature prominently. The horn can also sustain a pedal tone or sound the root of a chord to support the other four instruments.

There was lots ‘o repertoire written for woodwind quintet in the 20th century. There is a woodwind quintet nestled in with a string quartet, augmented percussion, and celeste in Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw. Britten wrote the score for “eleven solo instruments,” and organized his twelve-tone row into triadic tonal centers so the ear hears common practice harmony.

Three of the woodwind quintet members double on other instruments. Flute/alto flute/piccolo, oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet and C clarinet. Britten’s orchestration is amazing. He creates a broader palette of pleasing sound than any other 12-tone composer.

The opera is based on the Henry James novella, and is every bit as scary. There are only four characters: a young boy and his older sister, the new governess, and two very sinister servants, a woman and a man. It’s a plum role for a boy soprano, and is not often performed.

I had a stupendous senior year in college. Actually two years. Sonoma State University in the late 70’s, faculty all Berkeley ph.d.s, slathered in non-western and experimental music. A lucky, lucky woman. I’ve been fortunate in having an arts management career on both the east coast and the west coast. Austin is not as fertile ground for me, or at least not yet. I’ve been fortunate in what I’ve found, and tonight I am very grateful for that.

This is the cool-down for The Good Musician, and I have learned quite a bit, especially about the pedagogy of blogging. Quite a challenge with a day gig, performing, and a tour. I’ll still write about music in my other blog (shameless promotion– http://friedokraproductions.blogspot.com), but you’ll have to put up with the rest of my nonsense if you dare.

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I’ve been reading Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine by Kay Gardner. She references Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music and the sciences. I once had a teacher who said that music was like mathematics in technicolor.
Gardner also illustrates the relationship of the chakras to the overtone series. When you produce a pure tone, either vocally or instrumentally, it sets up vibrations that are strong enough to be heard, occurring mathematically on a vibrating string. Going from the root to the octave, the fifth, fourth, third, and so on…
This is one of the most effective, quick warm-ups for …read more

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I was delighted when I began to hear Nina again, just here and there, then on my daughter’s player. She said, “Claudia, listen to this.” Then she put on Feeling Good. I was blown away that she was blown away that I knew about her and she didn’t. Then she clued me in that Nina is on the Six Feet Under soundtrack. It’s such a wonderment to share an appreciation for music with someone you love. And Nina’s songs speak deeply to women. She does it the way you wish you could.
I must have been 17 or so when …read more

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The last time I heard Mose Allison live was at the Continental Club in ‘85 or so. I discovered Mose at college in ‘63, and the first time I heard him on 33-1/3 vinyl I could have sworn he was black. I was astonished when my friend showed me the cover. As I listened more closely, I was amazed at his unusual piano style, a fusion of jazz and blues. He hums and grunts along with his piano solos, kinda like Glenn Gould does in his definitive Bach recordings.
It’s a distinctive style that no one has been able to …read more

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It’s been a little over ten years since Margaret Hillis, the indomitable conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, passed away. I met her at a Chorus America convention in the late 80’s, and was suitably awestruck. She had complete control over her chorus, and more, the CSO as well. My mom attended a performance of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, and Sir George Szolti was the director at that time. Sir G was taken ill, and Ms. Hillis filled in with only a few moments notice. Mom said it sounded just as good, if not better, than the Szolti version. Hillis …read more

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This was on the wall of a rehearsal room I recently inhabited.
1. Thou shalt attend thy rehearsals with steady faithfulness.
2. Thou shalt not touch graven metal with thy bare hands.
3. Thou shalt not take thy sharps and flats in vain.
4. Remember thy performance dates and keep them holy.
5. Honor thy director that thy days be long upon the land.
6. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s bell assignment.
7. Thou shalt not tap thy foot with exceeding loudness.
8. Thou shalt not steal thy neighbor’s pencil.
9. Thou shalt return thy bells to their …read more

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From the February ‘08 issue of eSkeptic comes a feature from Will Dowd entitled

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Image details: Power 105.1’s Powerhouse 2005: Operation Takeover served by picapp.com
“Sly Fox” is old news by now. Nas nails it with class. This young hip-hop artist is right on the money with his rhythms and rhymes, his telling it like it is without resorting to cliches or puerile gesturing. Nas is wide awake and doing better journalism than the MSM.
He may be selling out somewhere, but not in his music. This Good Musician has a social conscience, incisive raps, wrapped up in compelling harmonies and precise, grooving beats.
Mr. Nasir Jones gets loads of love from AlterNet, one of my …read more

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Choral singers and directors: if you had a 30 voice a capella chamber group, with proficiency ranging from gifted amateur to trained, professional singer, what would you build into your repertory?
Any period, any genre. Here are a few of my favorites–a contemporary American, a French Impressionist, and a French 20th century composer.

Les Chansons des Roses Morten Lauridsen
Trois Chansons Claude Debussy
Four Christmas Motets or O Magnum Mysterium Francis Poulenc

What would you program for an a capella choral concert? Your suggestions are welcome–who knows–one day you may get to hear your dream program.
Image details: Claude Debussy served by picapp.com

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The I Ching tells us that it furthers one to find a great teacher. The Good Musician has followed b5media’s own Darren Rowse for several years, and Darren is definitely my blogging guru. I use Problogger Tips as often as I refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for authoritative, useful, timely tips and ideas to help me think about blogging in a global, more productive way.
Darren has a Zen calm that shines through every blog post or vidcast he puts up. His generous, welcoming spirit makes you feel that he has just invited you into his living room expressly …read more

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