music Archives - Page 62 of 264 - Ramblin' with Roger

Julyish rambling: in search of meaning

That’s Life

HTETEOTW Chapter 3: Energy, Complexity, and Civilization

Inflation: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Pope apologizes for ‘catastrophic’ school policy in Canada

As Monkeypox Spreads, US Vaccine Access Is Pitifully Inadequate

How Much Household Income Is Required To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In These US Cities

Journalists Sense Turmoil in Their Industry Amid Continued Passion for Their Work

Five journalists covering the Internet in search of meaning, not viral trends

When Mixology Meets Medicine

LIVE: Around the World Cams / Beautiful Earth Webcam

The story we tell ourselves about today’s Stars and Stripes is a lie. The truth is much stranger.

John Green: Has this artist ever seen a baby?

Now I Know: The Herd Mentality That’s Actually Rather Democratic, and Maybe Monday Should Still Be the Weekend and The World Record That Will Definitely Stick and Hungry Hungry Hero Dog?

Defending democracy

Trump doesn’t have a side of the 1-6 story; there is no ambiguity

The Jan. 6 Hearings Utterly Embarrassed Trump and All Involved. The final January 6 hearing of the summer spotlighted Trump and allies like Kevin McCarthy and fist-pumper to fleeing coward Josh Hawley. It should serve as a reminder of their humiliating but dangerous thirst for power.

Mark Leibovich’s new book, Thank You For Your Servitude, pillories a party whose leaders remain (at least publicly) in the 45th president’s thrall. e.g., Elise Stefanik Attacks NYS Department of Education

The Secret Service Has Managed to Locate Only One Coup-Related Text Message

If Trump Wins in 2024, Christian Nationalism – which MTG has suggested for the GOP – Could Reign Supreme in Government. Also,
Authoritarianism 101: Trump Plot to Purge Civil Servants If Reelected Draws Alarm – “Do not underestimate the destruction this will cause”

Roberts’s Attempt to Keep “Roe” Intact Fell Apart After Alito’s Draft Leaked

Matt Birk (R-MN) Warns Abortion Leads to Women Having Careers and Claims Pro-choice Advocates Are Always Playing “the Rape Card”

“Pro-Life” Idaho Republicans Declare Women Should Be Left to Die to Save Fetuses

Primala Jayapal Shares Her Own Abortion Story — and Why Abortion Rights Are Vital

Why did Republicans vote against legal condom use?

Screenshot_of_Tweet_January_6_Audio_Clip

That’s Entertainment

Comic-Con 2022 Trailers

Marvel’s Movie Math: Comic Creators Claim It’s “Bait and Switch” On Payments

Kennedy Center Honors Will Fete George Clooney, Gladys Knight, and U2

Whatever happened to Sandy Duncan?

Discover the late Peg Lynch, a woman who, in the early days of television, wrote 11,000 scripts and starred in her own TV network hit sitcom for six years

Emma Allen, the New Yorker cartoon editor, makes history as the youngest and first woman in the role

Permanent JEOPARDY hosts and second chance contestants

How I Became the Fake Tom Cruise

There was a CBS-TV series called That’s Life (2000-2002) about “Lydia DeLucca, a 30-something, a blue-collar underdog who turns her life upside down when she ditches the guy she’s about to marry and goes back to college. Now, Lydia must juggle her classes, work, family, and friends, all the while trying to make ends meet.” I watched it because of Ellen Burstyn and Paul Sorvino, who played Lydia’s parents. Sorvino died at the age of 83.

Burt Metcalfe, Producer on Every Season of ‘MAS*H,’ Dies at 87

Mary Alice, Actress in ‘A Different World, I’ll Fly Away, Sparkle, and much more, dies at 85

Alan Grant, Legendary Batman, Lobo, Judge Dredd Writer, Has Died

Actor David Warner has died

Aaron Latham, Screenwriter, Journalist Dies at 78. Husband of CBS News’s Lesley Stahl

Taurean Blacque, Det. Neal Washington on Hill Street Blues, Dies at 82

MUSIC

There’s a guy named Maxwell Frost (D-FL) running for Congress. Every time I see his name, I think of this song by Mann and Weil

Coverville 1407: Cover Stories for Imagine Dragons and Joan Osborne and a Fast Times Tribute and Coverville 1408: The Don Henley Cover Story

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek’s score to Finding Neverland

Audra McDonald sings Climb Ev’ry Mountain from the 2013 televised version of The Sound of Music

Playing for Change: King Clave featuring Mickey Hart

All That Jazz – Bob Fosse Tribute, with scenes from Chicago, Cabaret, and Sweet Charity

Celluloid Heroes – Blackmore’s Night

We Both Reached For The Gun from the show Chicago in Korean

The Music Man with a partially deaf cast

Joni Mitchell Surprises Fans With Her First Full Concert In Nearly 20 Years

National Youth Festival Chorus

Carnegie Hall

The first performers for the concert at Carnegie Hall on Monday, June 13, 2022, were the National Youth Festival Chorus, a mass choir. It was conducted by Robyn Reeves Lana, the director of the Cincinnati Youth Choir, except for one song. Here are the selections.

Vidi Aquam by Kevin T. Padworski. The recording here is by the Cincinnati Youth Choir. CYO was one of the choirs at Carnegie Hall. And the video is from 2021, so it’s quite possible that some of the kids in the video I saw on stage. indeed, I believe I recognize a few.

The next song is The Persistence of Song by Alex Gartner, with the text by the late Howard Moss, the poetry editor of the New Yorker for almost forty years. I could not find a recording because I saw its world premiere. Gartner is the director of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus and directs the Festival Chorus for this song. Here’s him interviewed before he and the group headed to NYC.

Children Will Listen is by Stephen Sondheim from Into The Woods. It’s often covered by adults. This version is the Craighead Chorale part of The Big Sing 2015 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Common Threads by Andrea Ramsey. The 2019 recording is by the Allegro Choirs of Kansas City, another participating group at Carnegie Hall.

When Dreams Take Flight, music by Rollo Dillworth and based on a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This is College of the Holy Cross, St. Joseph’s Chapel, Worcester, MA.

We Will Do Miracles by Dominick DiOrio. This seems to be the Sunday rehearsal in NYC before the Monday performance!

Also

The other choirs participating in the National Youth Festival Chorus were the British International School NY Choir from NYC; Greenville [SC] Youth Chorale; Marin Girls Chorus from San Rafael, CA; and the Young Naperville [IL] Singers.

Next, the Masterworks Festival Chorus and New York City Chamber Orchestra performed the Mozart Requiem. The participating ensembles were The Celebration Singers, Cranford, NJ; Columbus [OH] International Children’s Choir; FUMC Allen [TX]; Gainsville [GA] Festival Singers; Scotch Plains [NJ] – Fanwood High School Chamber Choir; Trinity University Chamber Singers and Alumni, San Antonio, TX; and the Villanova [PA] Singers and Villanova Voices.

The Lydster at Carnegie Hall

As I noted, my sister was in a mass choir singing the Mozart requiem at Carnegie Hall on Monday, June 13, at 8 pm. To be honest, I was willing to let my daughter blow off school, go down to NYC with me on Sunday, then we’d come back on early Tuesday morning.

But then the school calendar changed. A sheet sent home to us and then subsequently mailed had stated that there was a mandatory senior meeting on Thursday, June 9. Caps, gowns, and honor cords were to be distributed. I was unaware of honor cords for the high school level. They are tokens “consisting of twisted cords with tassels on either end awarded to members of honor societies or for various academic and non-academic achievements, awards, or honors.” My daughter had ones for Honor Society and Art Honor Society.

An audible

But this meeting got moved to – you guessed it – Monday, June 13. So instead, my daughter came down to NYC after school that day, leaving at 3:30 pm to catch an Amtrak train scheduled to leave at 4:10. But the train was delayed and not expected to depart until 5:30, which would provide us zero time to get from Penn Station to Carnegie Hall.

Fortunately, my wife could switch our daughter to a 4:30 pm train, which arrived at 7. We took a taxi to the venue and got there by 7:30. Coincidentally, my sister Leslie was standing right where we got dropped off. My daughter and went to our VERY good seats, J1 and J3 just left of the center section.

The program

The concert had five ‘acts.” The first was the National Youth Festival Chorus, a mass choir comprised of seven choirs from seven states. The groups had been rehearsing individually but not together until two days earlier. They sang six songs, only one of which I knew, Children Will Listen by Sondheim. The c. 270 kids, roughly from 10 to 18, were very good, except for one kid near the end of a row who rocked back and forth with his thumbs in his pockets and distracted my daughter and me.

The Masterwork Festival Chorus included eight ensembles from six states, plus some stragglers, including my sister and five of her compatriots. The soloists were very good, especially the tenor (Anthony Webb) and the mezzo-soprano (Kathryn Leemhuis)/ They were accompanied by the New York City Chamber Orchestra. They too only sang together since Saturday. Following the Sunday rehearsal, they were given COVID tests. If they got called, they were positive and, therefore, out. At least seven folks couldn’t perform. My daughter recognized a couple of movements, notably Lacrymosa, probably from its use in TV and movies.

Wait, there’s more!

After the intermission, the Columbus International Children’s Choir performed. Their director, Tatiana Kats, must have perfect pitch, for she gave the notes without a pitch pipe or other instrument. They did four songs, including Ev’ry Time I Feel The Spirit, which I’ve sung since high school. It was the William Dawson arrangement but slightly altered. Why We Sing by Greg Gilpin had hand gestures that were quite touching.

The Trinity University Chamber Singers did three pieces, including If Ye Love Me by Tallis. A very good group. Both the Columbus and Trinity groups were part of the Mozart Requiem.

The final act was the Tara Winds Clarinet Choir, the first clarinet ensemble to play at this festival since 1935. I liked Two Songs without Words by Holst. I LOVED the Marcel Dupré: Variations sur un Noel.

Then my sister told us to go to the gift shop, so my daughter could pick out a souvenir, but the building closed at 11 pm. From there, across the street to Trattoria Dell’Arte, which was fabulous. Lots of hours oeuvres, enough to fill one up, and wonderful service.

We took a cab back to the apartment, where my sister gave my daughter some presents. They all went to sleep at some point, but I didn’t because my daughter and I needed to take a 7:15 train back to ALB, and I got anxious. We took an Uber to Penn Station, got food, and took the train home. I’m told I fell asleep for a time.

My wife picked us up and took my daughter to school for her last day, then took me home, where I slept for four hours.

Leslie: always drawn to performing

don’t know where, don’t know when

One of the attributes my family always knew about my sister Leslie was that she was always drawn to performing.

She had the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall as part of the Manhattan Concerts Productions’ Song of Renewal on Monday, June 13. She and about 240 other people were to sing the Mozart Requiem. (I love the Mozart Requiem. In fact, I could have joined them, but I declined because of my chronic rhinitis and other factors.) And there would be other choirs as well.

Leslie ended up staying at a Club Wyndham on East 45th Street, starting on Friday so she could be at the rehearsals over the weekend. I came down on Sunday night via Amtrak and the subway. The best thing about the resort is the great view from the 33rd-floor deck. One could see the Chrysler Building and the United Nations building only a few blocks away.

We had a nice conversation with a couple from Vancouver, BC, Canada. They have a daughter graduating from high school and two younger sons. They had only recently recovered from COVID, but they had mild cases.

Wet cushions

The next morning, we were back on the 33rd floor. It had rained overnight, and I had quickly ascertained that the cushions outdoors were too wet to sit on. But my sister needed to check this out herself; ah, the cushions were tied down. (By 11 a.m.. they had dried out.)

While sitting in the lounge inside, I mentioned to the two women sitting across from me that my sister on the deck would be singing at Carnegie Hall that night.

I had recommended a video that Kelly had linked to, a clip from the Amadeus movie that was wonderfully enhanced. I showed it to Leslie later, and she loved it.

This led to a conversation about the white cliffs of Dover, which Leslie had recently seen in person on a Dave Koz cruise that Rebecca Jade, her daughter, had performed on. This led to conversations about Vera Lynn (who had sung the song) to Johnny Cash (who had sung the Vera Lynn standard We’ll Meet Again.)

Somehow, we talked about the Green Family Singers and especially the song Hole In The Bucket. By this point, the husband of one of the women had joined us, and he recorded us performing a snippet of it. (We hadn’t had a chance to warm up the vocal cords. Just sayin’.) One of the women was so enamored by my sister that she gave her a big hug.

This is how I spent part of my time seeing my sister Leslie for the first time since the aftermath of her bicycle accident in the summer of 2018. This was a much more pleasant occasion.

BTW, this is Leslie’s XXth birthday. More on this narrative in three days.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky

The Final JEOPARDY on April 29, 2022, was in the category MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS. “‘Tuileries’ and ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ were 2 of the artworks that inspired this classical work completed in 1874.” Only the defending champion got it correct. What is Pictures at an Exhibition? Yes, I knew that one.

I have at least two versions of this piece. One on the NAXOS label notes that the suite was “a tribute to the versatile Viktor Hartmann,” who was an architect, among other things. THAT I was not aware of. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881) wrote the piece for piano in 1874. But it did not gain its prominence in the classical canon until Maurice Ravel’s 1922 adaptation for a full symphony.

As the Wikipedia page shows, it is a 10-movement piece, interrupted by various forms of a Promenade. The first Promenade is described from notes by Vladimir Stasov, an influential critic, who likely introduced Mussorgsky to Hartmann. “In this piece Mussorgsky depicts himself ‘roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly in order to come close to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend.'”

LISTEN

Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy
Chicago Symphony Orchestra live, conducted by Georg Solti
Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra with some vocals, though they are mixed down so low that they are nearly inaudible
Sergui Celibidache – this is a slower take than many

The NAXOS recording I have is from the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. I could not find the entire piece online. But you can hear the stirring finale, The Great Gate of Kiev, which has always made me emotional.

The FIRST LP I owned of Pictures at an Exhibition, though, was by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, described as incorporating “elements of progressive rock, jazz, and folk music (1971).” The lyrics were by Greg Lake.

Note: my spellcheck wants to spell Kiev as Kyiv. I’m guessing that was a recent adaptation.