Speaking of Oboe...

I wish I liked new music more.
Should I say, "I wish I liked contemporary music more"?
"I wish I liked modern music more"?

One feels such a philistine.... it's like admitting to not liking poetry. Or Brando's "acting." Or sushi. Or goat cheese. (My shame on this account is no doubt exacerbated by my high school humanities field trips and the beginnings of my "free tickets with student I.D." days having coincided with the tail end of Boulez's [Boulezs'? Boulez'z?] tenure with the NY Philharmonic and subsequent lionization.)

Stipulating that serialism, at least, is a dead letter, there are other musical attempts at modernity to which i just do not take.
But I have learned that just as the mighty King of Instruments, (why isn't it the "Queen of Instruments?" a friend once suggested it was because a king usually takes a queen. I digress,)  is a gateway to actually enjoying sonorous dissonance, the oboe produces so winsome a sound that it makes palatable that which would set my teeth on edge played by the finest violinist in the world.
There is a lot to love on Michele Fiala's The Light Wraps You: New Music for Oboe,
and
Overheard, (I liked the Averill very much,)
and especially
A Tree in Your Ear. (Give Stephen Caplan's "Miniatures" a listen.)

I had almost forgotten how beautiful liturgy speaks to me

Home again, home again, jiggity jig, and making do with what is available.
But I can dream, can't I?

Radio

Somehow, (not sure, but let's just say Himself is to blame,) I have been given a little notebook by Arbitron, (I don't think this information is confidential,)  to record my radio-listening...

Radio.
Radio???!?#??$??? 2014???

It turns out, I listen more than I would have thought, but only ever in the car.

Since I was never into contemporary popular music, I didn't listen to the radio growing up, although I could probably hum the themes, NOTE FOR NOTE, from the classical program that my Father, (and my Mother too, some,)  listened to and the lets-get-ourselves-up-and-out-the-door morning programs that were an invariable part of those two saints getting us dozen brats to school.

In the NY area there are two news stations, (none here,) so when I was on my own I listened to that getting ready to go in the morning, and then only ever the Saturday afternoon Met broadcast.

Now, I must say I am grateful to have a Catholic radio station, that's my default if there is reception, (which I do not pretend to understand, but sometimes I do and sometimes nada.)

Oh, and I'll even leave for mass a few minutes earlier than necessary Sunday Morning to catch more of Pipe Dreams Wonderful.

(And I admit that I turn off Catholic radio when they start in on some wretched sacro-pop.)

Feet, Don't Fail me Now!

As the sort of musician (and I use the word loosely,) some blog commentator, (Gavin, IIRC,) is wont to refer to as "Left Footed Lucy", I am really tickled by the subtitle of this offering from WLP.

Oh, to be in...

...Miami, this coming weekend!

And the recitals sound out of this world.

Wadsworth, Ryan, Lebounsky, Prowse, (and that barely scratches the surface, the CMAA is developing a deep bench,)... a newly composed motet by Paul Weber....
And His Excellency Archbishop Wenski presiding over Solemn Pontifical High Mass for the Feast of Candlemas -- EF!
It's just a little too far to drive with current familial obligations.
I do hope some of the presentations
will be posted on line.

Breathing Room

Strangest thing, so caught up FIRST in the scripture, and THEN IN the song of the angels, that at a Mass celebrating the great consolation that is OUR LORD DEIGNING TO BE RECEIVED BY US AS FOOD AND DRINK, my receipt of the Body and Blood, my actual communion passed almost unnoticed -- does that make sense? I wasn't distracted, exactly... or perhaps that is exactly what I was.

I was thinking about words, rather than the Word.

On the other hand, the communio and a Eucharistic motet gave me pause, and then leisure to recollect myself.

And it was very powerful.

Sometimes I think Himself is right, (although he is not as he is deliberately,) sometimes the best, deepest, and most meaningful experience of the Liturgy is allowing it to "wash over" you, in all its "sacramenty goodness."

I think my participation may have been utterly actuosa, if not activa...

(Incidentally the motet was .... a bicina, maybe? anyway, contrapuntal, 2 voice, began Ave Verum, and sent me off into spirals of contemplation. Quite, quite, quite wonderful. Sometimes the most surprising things lift your mind and heart and soul to where you wish they could always be.... the duo_organ_recital I attended this weekend was marvelous, and uplifting, and brilliant, and varied, and beautiful... but what floored me on Sunday, and stayed with me was the fanfare/intro/background music/improv, that one of the organists stayed to provide before the Tantum Ergo at the Vespers cum Exposition and Benediction that followed the concert So striking, and gave such focus to the proceeding -- WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF LITURGICAL MUSIC, NO?)

"Time was made for God and organists"

In packing, I come across so many unread what-the-devil-was-I-thinking-when-I-bought-that books, half completed why-did-I-imagine-that-was-worthwhile projects,still in the package who-was-I-kidding-that-I-would-ever-use-that cooking implements, no longer my size where-did-I-suppose-that-would-ever-be-appropriate-dress garments, and scraps of paper with illegible writing on them.

Notes to myself of thing I though I ought to know, or that struck me for one reason or another....

Music which accompanies worship should never be performed in a fast tempo.

Devotional music, whether vocal or instrumental, cannot be hurried without losing much of its prayer.

Charles Marie Widor, at present the oldest among great church organists, has often said, "Time was made for God and organists."

The spirit of worship is opposed to any hurried feeling.
A(lexander? loysius? lbert?lphonsus?) S(mith? chwietzer?keffington?)
M (arch?ay?usic?) '37

I imagine it was from the forward of some old and crumbling organ collection in some dusty loft.
Anyone recognize it?

(I do know WHY I copied it out, as I look back with no nostalgia whatsoever on the sniping about tempi that was such a large part of my life until recently)

Another Wonderful Opportunity for Chicago Music Lovers

Organ Recital by Br. Jonathan Ryan, SJC

Aug. 30, 2:00 pm

Organ Recital by Br. Jonathan Ryan, SJC

Music by Frescobaldi, J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, Karg-Elert, Ligeti, and Conte.
St John Cantius
825 N. Carpenter St., Chicago, Illinois 60642-5499

St John Cantius is one of the treasures of the Catholic Church.
(And I don't think it would be stretching a point to say that Br. Jonathan is one of the treasures of St John Cantius.)

A Treasure Trove for the Organist of Meagre Talents

Because I am so absent-minded, it seems obvious that anything I know must have come to the attention of everyone else eons ago, and I often assume as much, but I know it ain't necessarily so.

In light of that, it occurs to me that not everyone knows about the Werner Icking Music Archive, running neck and neck with CPDL for second place (behind the CMAA's resources,) for the most extravagantly, graciously, (and I use that word quite deliberately,) useful site for those of us who "do" church music, on the interwebs.

Sometimes I am simply in awe of the generosity of those who have made all these gifts available, the true liberality, the love that has made this possible -- Grace indeed!

My memory was pricked by the CanticaNova article I referenced yesterday, where among the possible sins of organists cataloged by the author, was the charge of sameness.

Not a fault of which I am guilty thanks to several decisions and/or lucky breaks, but I digress -- the one I am discussing is that I DONT PLAY THE SAME MUSIC OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER... (there is one lady I know who, I swear to the Almighty, plays Preire a Notre Dame EVERY MASS.)

No, I have an embarrassment of riches, or at least, an embarrassment of comfortably-well-offs from which to choose for postludes, preludes, fill-in at the Offertory procession outside of Lent, traveling music...

In case you didn't know about Werner Icking, and in case like me you are an accidental organist, I highly recommend the works of John Stanley. I had come across a voluntary or two of his, the ones that show up in the usual Organ-For-You-People-Who-Can't-Really-Play-Organ-And-Who-Do-You-Think-You're-Fooling? albums, (Oxford has some nice ones,) but he wrot e scads of music, SCADS, several collections of, in some cases fairly long, multiple movement voluntaries.

So there you are. An entire years worth of mostly sight-readable keyboard pieces.

A reasonable variety of keys in case you like easy segues into and out of that hymntune that you are playing to death so that when you finally program it people will think they already know, a variety of moods and textures, some very short, some extraordinarily easy, all with a modicum of dignity, (that not all "liturgical" music is possessed of dignity was brought home to me yesterday when I took a funeral programmed entirely by someone else, and found myself working overtime to try to... well, the less said about it the better.)

Stanley suffers a tad bit from Telleman-itis, who is said to have written not 500 concerti, but the same concerto 500 times, but there's still a lot there, a lot.

Anyway, God bless Stanley, Icking, and the wonderful, wonderful musicians, academics, and computer whizzes who have made the archive possible.

The Organ is Too LOUD!!!!!!

Worthwhile essay at Canticanova.
This point really rang a bell: often people who say the organ is too loud really mean they don't like the selection of music.

So I'm willing to admit that, that it is a worthwhile essay.

HOWEVER -- (you knew there was a however, dincha?) I am actually open to complaints, (surprisingly to anyone who knows me,) even if I doubt the legitimacy of them, but when the person is known to me and we've been through it before, and I have already determined that he has an agenda or she has a blind spot, (a "deaf spot"?), it's kind of hard to smile and say, Oh, okay, I'll see about that...

Flame of Living Love

Looking forward to this, very much -- not only is Br Jonathan WONDERFUL, but his programming is fascinating (was very drawn to the Shearing pieces at the last recital of his I attended, not at all the kind of thing I'd ever listened to before,) and his program notes top drawer, (thanks to him I inched closer to "getting" Messaien) (sp?)

Organ Recital by Br. Jonathan Ryan, S.J.C.

Details:

Jun. 7, 2:00 pm

Br. Jonathan Ryan, SJC will play a 60-minute organ recital of music centering around the praise of God and the octave day of Pentecost entitled O Flame of Living Love. The program is:

Fanfare to the Tongues of Fire
Larry King (1932-1990)

Prelude, Adagio, and Chorale-Variations on Veni Creator, Op. 4
Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

Trio on Glory be to God on High, BWV 676
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750

I Love Thee, Lord
George Shearing (b. 1919)

Chorale-Fantasy on Hallelujah! Praise God, Op. 52, No. 3
Max Reger (1873-1916)

Solemn Vespers for Trinity Sunday and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will follow the recital. A free-will offering will benefit the parish music program.

The Invisible Organist

Help is on the way for the short-handed parish music ministry:

The current church organist shortage has resurrected a modern form of what was once called The Barrel Organ. Like music boxes that have pins sticking out of a little drum that pluck out tunes, these organs had large drums that pins would be inserted into in musical patterns to play hymns in churches that were without organists.

In 1982 popular musical instrument manufacturers met and worked out an agreement to make popular electronic musical instruments compatible and able to communicate with each other in an easy manner.

This resulted in the creation of MIDI, which refers to the mechanical means of connecting instruments and the programming language used for the communication.

Before long MIDI appeared in church organs that produce sound from digitally recorded sampling of organ pipes, but now it is also common in pipe organs as they adopt the use of digitally controlled keying systems.

Even historic-style tracker pipe organs now can be fitted to record and even play back MIDI files.

MIDI makes possible the recording and playback of instruments, so when an organist has to be away or when a church cannot find an organist, it is possible for an organist to record all the hymns and liturgical music and have someone punch buttons to play the organ. And not through speakers as you would with a CD, but the MIDI file plays the real pipes or sampled sounds of the organ just as a live organist would.

And now it is also possible to purchase MIDI files on floppy disks for older units and USB thumb drives and memory sticks for newer instruments. A cottage industry has popped up that provides these MIDI files of hymns and even anthems for choirs so that organist/directors may have their hands free to direct the choir.

A Google search on ORGAN MIDI FILE provides links to many files, some free and some for purchase, for those interested in knowing more about this new development in church music.

Noel Jones is Creative Director of Frog Music Press and Editor of The Catholic Hymnal in Englewood, Tennessee. He may be reached by email at noeljones@usit.net