Bernstein Mass

I've been on a Bernstein Mass kick. I rented the DVD of it that was recorded at the Vatican in 2000. The staging was interesting to see, but felt like some of the bite of the original album had been toned down. (I saw some comments on either Netflix or Amazon about censorship. At the Vatican? Image that.) The orchestra for that DVD was truly mediocre. However, I did notice some text changes, but more on that later.

So I went back to listen to the original 1971 production. Overall it is so superior. Some days I think "If only the modern text was not so dated" with the "groovy" feel of the 60s. Other days I think that it is the time that it was written.  Still, to hear Alan Titus sing Simple Song is worth it.

It turns out that I have another recording: the Marin Alsop recording of 2009 with Jubilant Sykes as the Celebrant. This seems to have the all the text changes and the orchestra sounds much better. Although, the technical quality of the recording doesn't sound right. The original 1971 recording has a real lush sound to it. It seems missing here. (I'm sure that some would say that is the difference between the analog and digital recording technique, but to be honest I've never bought that theory.)

What I love about the piece itself is that it presents a conflict with the celebrant. "The celebrant, in a furious rage, hurls the sacred bread, housed in an ornate cross-like monstrance, and the chalice of wine, smashing them on the floor. At this sacrilege the other cast members collapse to the ground as if dead while the Celebrant sings a solo..." (Wikipedia) (BTW--this act of sacrilege is what is missing from the Vatican version.) It also asks the question about what makes the celebrant (the priest) different from anyone else (the laity.) Given the behavior of the Catholic leadership in that not too distant past (regarding the sex abuse scandal), I find this to be a timely and valid question.

Psalm 139

A premiere of a new piece brings a combination of reflection, excitement, and (if I'm being honest with myself) nerves.  Adding to that I'm also singing as part of the choir in the premiere today.  There is always that part of the private rehearsal process for me when I look at my own music with anxiety and think "Why on Earth did I write it that way?"  But, with age you learn that that is part of "The Process."  You also learn to trust that there was a reason you wrote it that way at the time.  And finally, you learn to wait to hear the performance and then decide if that was an idea you might want to explore again or not.

Psalm 139 speaks of the wickedness within each of us and also of our enemies.  In these divisive times I felt these words had something to say to us now.  This psalm is considered one of the Imprecatory Psalms.  As Wikipedia states, they "invoke judgment, calamity, or curses, upon one's enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God."  When I began setting this piece I actually stayed away from that part of the psalm, focusing instead on the line "Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb."  But the line "If Thou but would slay the wicked, O God" kept reasserting itself in my thoughts.

As a nation we are dealing with times where many people speak of enemies--of them versus us.  Part of what I love about the Psalms is that they are written from King David's point of view--not God's.  King David sins. He does horrible things. He rails against his enemies. Yet, he continues to try to walk with God.

For the past few years I have been singing with and composing for the Minnesota Compline Choir. They are a wonderful group of singers. I would like to thank the choir, its director, Adam Reinwald, and Pilgrim Lutheran Church's director of music, Paul Stever, for their continued encouragement and the premiere of this work.

Compline for a New Millennium this Sunday, October 15, at 6:51 pm.

Psalm 139, adapted by Chris Gennaula.

Biblical Sources:
King James Version,
Jewish Publication Society, 1917
Douay-Rheims

SOLOIST:
If Thou but would slay the wicked, O God.

ANTIPHON:
Prove me, O God, and know my heart: 
And see if there be any wicked way in me.

VERSE:
Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb. 
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: 
Marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  

SOLOIST:
If Thou but would slay the wicked, O God.

ANTIPHON:
Prove me, O God, and know my heart: 
And see if there be any wicked way in me.

VERSE:
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; 
Too high, I cannot attain unto it. 
If I take the wings of the morning,  
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 

SOLOIST:
If Thou but would slay the wicked, O God.

ANTIPHON:
Prove me, O God, and know my heart: 
And see if there be any wicked way in me.

VERSE:
Even there shall thy hand lead me,  
And Thy right hand would hold me.  
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; 
even the night shall be light about me. 

ANTIPHON:
Prove me, O God, and know my heart: 
And see if there be any wicked way in me.

Compline Geek

In my late teens I tried to read Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. (Looking back at this, I think you need to be a bit older to read Eco. But I digress.) Even being a Cradle Catholic, this was the first time I ever read or heard about Compline. Admittedly I probably would have been the only kid in CCD class (Sunday school) who would have been interested in the rich, somewhat esoteric history of the Catholic Church when I was a kid—I was that geek. I still am 

As part of the Liturgy of the Hours, Compline is the final ‘office’ or service at the close of the day. When I came to Minneapolis and began singing in the Basilica of St. Mary choir, I found that Compline was still done at the Basilica. Compline is the prayer before sleep.  Personally I view Compline from three different standpoints.  From a rational standpoint it is a time to begin to let the mind rest.  From an emotional standpoint it a time of gratitude for the day that has past.  From a spiritual standpoint it is a time of awe and wonder at the universe of God.

A bit less than two years ago I began singing with the Minnesota Compline Choir. This is an ecumenical choir—it’s not just Catholics who do Compline. This was part of reason I joined this choir. It is important to me to sing in a choir that crosses denominational lines. (In CCD I was also listening to some of the lessons of the Second Vatican Council.) Twice a month from September to May we sing the service on Sunday nights at 8:00 PM in the Basilica of St. Mary. 

Each time part of the service consists of a psalm setting, normally done as a chant, sometimes with minimal harmony added. I wanted to write a simple psalm setting. These settings are normally written and prepared quickly. To me, that was the challenge. Chant is the original musical minimalism and from a compositional standpoint one must write it while thinking ‘less is more.’

I approached our director, Aaron Humble, and asked if he would be willing to look at a psalm setting I would write for the choir. After he said yes I asked if there was a particular psalm I should set. He said set one that speaks to me.

Geek that I am, I began doing some research into psalms that have a long-standing relationship with compline. I decided to use Psalm 4. Although this psalm, according to the Rule of St. Benedict, is to be performed straight through without antiphon, I decided to structure the piece in an antiphon/verse format using the last line of the psalm as the antiphon: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”

Now for the truly ‘esoteric’ composer-speak: Since the text referenced sleep I decided that I wanted to begin the piece with a downward melodic gesture. I did not want to use any pre-existing plainchant melody, but rather write my own. I also decided the antiphon would be metered (in 6 8 time) while the verses would be done in un-metered chant style. From a harmonic standpoint I choose to pentatonic scale, but not be strict and allow myself to borrow notes from other scales.

I am so thankful that Mr. Humble has included this setting in our service tonight (May 3, 2015 at 8:00 PM). I am looking forward to hearing the setting in the reverberant space of our Minneapolitan Basilica.

Psalm 4 from the King James Version 

Antiphon:

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. 

Verses:

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

Sometimes the text finds you.

This coming Sunday a new work of mine will be sung at Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church in Golden Valley, MN.  In the Fall of 2011 Wendy Gennaula, my wife, began to sing there as a member of the quartet of choir section leaders.  Jerry Rubino, the director of music at the church, asked if I would be interested in writing a solo piece for Wendy.  I love to write music for Wendy and jumped at the opportunity to do so again.

But the first question that came to my mind was "what text to set to music?"  And my go to answer for this question is "the Psalms."  In my experience, all the emotions of the human experience can be found there.  When I was young I had the idea that the Bible was like a users manual for life.  It told you exactly what you should do.  As I've grown older, I have found that that approach is not very helpful.  Instead of finding the best answers in the Bible, I have found the best questions.  And a perfect place to find those questions is the Psalms.  There one will find joy, rage, loneliness, emptiness, fullness, companionship, peace, and sorrow.  But which Psalm?  There are 150 of them!

Sometimes the text finds you.  I honestly can't remember where I first heard Psalm 31 in the Fall of 2011. Was it at the wedding of friends?  It might have been during a service at First Covenant where I sing in the choir once a month.  It could have also been the Sunday that I visited Spirit of Hope to hear Wendy sing with the rest of the choir.  In any case I remember hearing a Psalm Response based on Psalm 31:24.  "...all you who hope in the LORD."  Hope in the Lord.  A Spirit of Hope.

Sometimes the text finds you.

Hello, again, hello....

Yes. I am quoting a Neil Diamond song. (Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with that...)

It's been a while since I last posted anything here. Since my last post I've written 2 pieces for 1st Covenant Church in Minneapolis and started singing in the Gospel Choir there. Gospel singing was always something I've admired from a far. When I found out that 1st Covenant was starting one up with Robert Robinson as director I thought I can't let this opportunity pass. It's been great. A very different experience from singing in a cathedral or classical choir. I'm still trying to get use to the concept of learning things by rote without music. (After years of dealing with printed music it makes me feel exposed--vocally naked. I can't look at a page--I have to just use my ears. I'm not saying one is better than the other--just different.) Also it's been fun to just open up the vocal chords.

Right now I'm busy working on the music for YARRRH!!! which will be presented at the Minnesota Fringe Festival this summer (August 4th-14th, 2011). Women! Pirates! What more do you need to know?

That's all for now. More to come. Really...

Time to become a Note Head again

I've been more of a code monkey for a while now. I need to get back to being a Note Head. Mainly been loading new tunes to my iPod shuffle. Latest additional was actually the song "Code Monkey"--a really fun tune! Also got an old recording of La Traviata with Maria Callas recorded live at La Scala. It was the first opera album I ever bought. Although I know there are better sounding recordings, there is something to be said about your first love of a recording.

Sometime I need to blog about hearing most of my music now of days through my iPod shuffle instead of live performance. I think one would expect me to be quite snobbish about the superior quality of live performance--and yet for the trade off to enjoy music anywhere I don't really have much of a problem with my shuffle.

The Bells (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

"Then, all at once, behold!--for it seems at times, as though the ear also possessed a sight of its own,--behold, rising from each bell tower, something like a column of sound, a cloud of harmony."



[ Link ] to The Bells.

For the opening of the Hunchback of Notre Dame Leah, the director, wanted to have the house lights up. The cast would wander onto the stage as music would be playing on the sound system.

"First, the vibration of each bell mounts straight upwards, pure and, so to speak, isolated from the others, into the splendid morning sky; then, little by little, as they swell they melt together, mingle, are lost in each other, and amalgamate in a magnificent concert."

I used the chant Ubi Caritas as the basis for the bell peel. “Where charity and love are, God is there.” This summarizes the time that Quasimodo and Esmeralda will spend together at the top of Notre Dame.

When the bell peel is done, one of the cast members would have a guitar and they would start playing along with the song.

"It is no longer anything but a mass of sonorous vibrations incessantly sent forth from the numerous belfries; floats, undulates, bounds, whirls over the city, and prolongs far beyond the horizon the deafening circle of its oscillations."

Italics text is a quote from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Journey to Opening Night, part 2

To recap from part 1, In September or so I became part of the design team (as composer) for an adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The director (Leah) and I agreed that I should get a copy of the script and start looking at it to determine what musical cues to write. I had assume that Leah had found an adaptation that was already written and had been performed. Turned out it would be a bit more exciting. Mitchell "Bucky" Fay, long time member of the Cromulent Shakespeare Company, was doing a new adaptation. So Leah, Bucky and I met to discuss the show. I found out the script was going through some revisions and I would get hold of it when those revisions were done.

Leah told me this was a play, not a musical, which was somewhat of a relief. I have worked on a few musical projects now, and they are big jobs and very time consuming. I was looking for something a bit smaller in order to try to keep my sanity between family, work, and fun music projects. In my mind I thought this would just be a few sound cues to set scenes. I was wrong.

It didn't turn into a musical, but when I got my hands on the script I found out that there were 5 songs in it—and a number of them for the entire cast. Writing songs is very different than writing instrumental music for me. With instrumental music I can just thinking of where I want the melody and harmony to go and then write out the music. With songs, everything has to fit in with those pesky words. That takes more time. The other “problem” is that I love doing it.

The chance to write music for Quasimodo and Esmeralda was a really exciting prospect for me. Also I wondered if Frollo might have a song or two. But I had to remind myself that this was not a musical. Also Leah had told me that the casting had been done without regards to musically ability. I didn't know if any of the cast felt comfortable singing on stage.

So the next step was to send out a survey to the cast to ask what kind of musical background they had. Once I knew that I could start thinking about specific songs. You don’t need to be classically trained singer to sell a song. But I believe the performer has to feel comfortable. In order to do that the composer needs to have some understanding of the performer’s voice so that an appropriate piece for both the performer and the character can be written.

The surveys came back and it was clear that we had a real mix of people with musical experience and without. Esmeralda could sing, but Quasimodo and Frollo did not have a lot of musical experience. Since we had a mix of experience I needed to take that into account as I wrote the songs for the entire cast.

(Next time: the writing of the songs begins…)

The Journey to Opening Night, part 1

Well, it is one week and one day later, but Hunchback of Notre Dame had a great opening night. Since about September I've been working on original music for an adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. The Cromulent Shakespeare Company had decided to do this in repertory with Richard III and not only share the cast but also the set and costumes. Now this is a BIG undertaking.

I first heard about this when I saw a status from Leah Cooper that she was going to direct Hunchback. That caught my attention for several reasons: 1) I have seen Leah's work before and have great respect for what she brings to the stage, 2) I had worked with Leah before and knew what a wonderful collaborative experience she creates, and 3) I only knew Hunchback through the Disney movie.

Now for all lovers of Hugo's novel, I can just imagine the rolling of your eyes regarding Disney. Culturally Hunchback is just part of us. Even if you never read the book or saw any of the many adaptations for the screen, you know the basic characters of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Since I was not familiar with any adaptation before Disney, I didn't have a strong negative ("This is an Abomination!!!") reaction to the movie.

The movie is not a Ratatouille, but it is not horrible either. It took the broad outline of the story and combined characters, made at least one villain good, and came out with a happy ending. The happy ending part has been done before--see the 1938 movie version. But even having not read the book, I knew you had to approach it as something different from what Victor Hugo intended.

I knew Leah well enough that I knew I could ask if she was thinking of music for the adaptation and so I did. And to my great happiness she said she would love to work with me again! (Yea!!!) Next step was to see the script.

The Minneapolis Rag

I have been away for a while from my blogs. Sorry, the election just held my attention too much. Before I left my blogs to their own devices, I did upload this "Minneapolis Rag" to my website, but I never posted a link to this blog.

I'll add a bit more to this entry later about the song.



[ Link ] to The Minneapolis Rag

Microtune, #3, Fanfare for an unsettled night

I'm having an unsettled tonight. Nervous energy lashing out in odd directions. Angry at nothing. Cranky just to be cranky.



[ Link ] to Microtune, #3

Big Band Swing on Pandora

I have a new toy: Pandora Radio. Finally I can create a radio station that plays Baroque Choral, Big Band Swing, Billy Joel, The Beatles, among others. Right now I'm listening to Side by Side sung by Anita O'Day.

Sometimes I think I was born at the wrong time--I love this music. But I love working on computers too much to have been born during the Big Band era. Actually this is the music of my parents. Both of them drew up during the depression and came of age in the 40's. Maybe it was something passed on through the genes or through the songs they hummed to me.

The other thing I've found is that this is great music by which to write code. Something about listening to the winds and writing Java just fits.

CD Review: The Grapes of Wrath / Live from the Minnesota Opera World Premiere

Amazon.com: The Grapes of Wrath/Live from the Minnesota Opera World Premiere: Ricky Ian Gordon, Grant Gershon, Deanne Meek and Brian Leerhuber: Music

I want to like this opera. I love Ricky Ian Gordon's music. His Bright Eyed Joy is one of my favorite CDs that I have listened to over and over again.



I have now experienced the opera 3 different ways: I was lucky enough to see a dress rehearsal. I also saw a full performance during the initial run at the Ordway. And now I have listened to the entire CD. Although I love much of the music in Grapes of Wrath I find that I enjoy the individual parts of the work. The whole does not move me the way I wish it did. My biggest issue is with Michael Korie's libretto. It is WAY too long. Also the mixing of the stylized dust bowl speech patterns with the operatic singing does not work for me. And diction is an issue--at times I can't understand what is being sung and at other times it is too perfect for the dialect of the text.

Any yet, there are moments. The opening chorus of "The last time there was rain" and the death of Noah as he sings "I can be a help" stand out for me.

With the material presented on this CD I hear the potential of a wonderful American Opera, but the story telling needs to be tighter. That being said I am still looking forward to what Mr. Gordon writes next.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Microtune, #6 (Call)

Call. As in "a call". As in "the call". As in "a calling".



[ Link ] to Microtune, #6

Alleluia, version 1

Alleluia

It feels right that I'm working on a piece of music with this title on a Sunday morning. I am a Cradle Catholic. As I get older I find I am exploring outward from that base in a way that I can best describe as Freelance Monotheism (to borrow a phrase from Karen Armstrong). My religious experiences and musical experiences are tied. And when I experience music that is transcendent the word that comes to mind is Alleluia.



The mixing of music and religion is not a new idea. I do not expect that if someone enjoys music I write that they have a religious experience. (I may hope, but I don't expect.) When I let ego go (which in my understanding seems to be the truest root of most religions), what is left is a desire to find communication, or using a great "Catholic" phrase: Communion, with God.

With this piece I want to take a journey. It was originally written for piano and quartet or small choir. The mp3 realization I've done here is very straight forward. What I want to do next is work on orchestrating it. As such I will be publishing a number of versions of it to this blog (intermixed with other music as well). I want to work on my technique of orchestrating for electronica orchestral soundscapes (EOS?)

So here it is: Alleluia, version 1.

[ Link ] to Alleluia, version 1.

Music and the Geek: MP3 tag command line editor

This morning my inner geek has gotten the best of me. I want to upload a new mp3 file to The Note Head, but I need to edit the mp3 tags first. I hate using the GUI for this because I want the tags to be consistent. When I type them in myself I am way too prone to making a mistake.

So I'm searching Sourceforge for a good mp3 tag editor. I want to be able to script the set up of these tags. I found something called lfid3, but is also requires a library called id3lib. So I'm working through the magic of doing the build on cygwin.

None of this has much to do with music except for the end result. Still I find it fun to work through the technical issues of doing this.

What are you listening to?

What music are you listening to? I'd love to hear of suggestions (or better yet links) to music to listen to. Thanks!

Blessed are the Merciful

There are some things I write that I find I cannot leave alone. Wendy reminds me from time to time that I should be writing more new music. But then I find I don't feel like I'm quite done with an older piece.

Blessed are the Merciful is one of those pieces. It was originally written for choir and did get a performance. But then it has sat on my hard drive. Looking back at the piece now, while I like the actual melodic lines, I'm not happy with the setting of the text. So I thought I would try to orchestrate it.

Now that I have Garage Band and the Symphony Orchestra Jam Pack, I have some better sounds to work with. Still there are places where I want a more legato line and the realization of the score is not doing that for me. I still think there are some really interesting moments in this version. But I'm still feeling my way around Garage Band and how to make things sound better.



[ Link ] to Blessed are the Merciful.

Microtune, #4 (Fanfare for Change, yes we can!)

Writing a fanfare I think is one of the best things to do. The older I get the more important I think it is to just let go and do things that you enjoy. A fanfare should capture that feeling. It should also have a sense of the anticipation and hope of what is to come.

This has been a two week period in which the word "Change" has been thrown around quite a bit. I, among many people, feel that it is time for change-in our national outlook and in Washington, DC. So with that in mind I decided to call this one "Fanfare for Change, yes we can!" (And yes, I am an Obama supporter.)



[ Link ] to Microtune, #4

Microtune, #2 (The hand held game)

After listening to one of my previous microtunes, my friend, Boris, asked me "Is this micromalism..?" I think he might be on to something here. We've had Minnmalism--now is it on to Micromalism? In an age where most communication is cut into small packets to be sent as a TCP/IP message across the World Wide Web, perhaps this is to be expected? I don't know.

I do know that this Microtune #2 makes me think of one of the hand held games that my sons play. We're in some kinda of crazy jungle and we have to jump above rolling balls in order not to be flatten by them.



Link to Microtune, #2