More Showchoir Influenced Music Education

Bad. Really Bad.

Dr. Kris Interviewed for UAB Stories

Look here.

How Show Choir plays out in the later years

Hooray for Shante

We honor Lindsey. We miss her. And we wish her well on her approaching recital, expertly advertised on Facebook:

NCCO Program 2008

For posterity:


The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Concert Choir
Dr. Philip L. Copeland, director

Alleluja          József Karai (b.1927)
EMC 198163       
   
Lobet den Herrn      Albert Becker (1834 - 1899)
Opus 32, 1
Berliner Chormusik-Verlag
BERLI00009       


O sacrum convivium       Vytautas Miškinis (b. 1954)
Edition Ferrimontana 
EF 2558
       
Long Ago          Raymond Liebau (b. 1937)
http://www.musicnmorebyrnr.com/Choral.htm       
   
Garota de Ipanema      Arr. Cloúis Pereira
Manuscript       
   
Country Dances        Ward Swingle (b. 1927)

chamber choir

I "think" these are the files I needed to get to you:

Halo choir
Halo tour
OWA

Doesn't this Spanish sound like Italian?

O Sacrum

Bianca sent me this on Facebook . . . sharing with you and curious to see what you think:

NCCO Program

Revised program here.

A change: Miskinis for Miskinis

I'm making a change for Concert Choir's NCCO program:

Changing "Salve Regina" for "O sacrum convivium."

It's the one we did last year.

Reasons:

1. I get to make those sorts of decisions.
2. Pieces are very similar, but "sacrum" might end better.
3. We will be able to work it up very quickly and hone it.
4. New people can learn from last year's recording.
5. I never got my stellar recording of this work although we came close.

The Gravity of Ockeghem's Requiem: A 9/12 Remembrance

I wrote this for ChoralNet today and decided to cross post it here. Look at the score and spend $.99 if you have it. A great work and story here:

Julie Bryson wrote this yesterday on ChoralTalk:

My most vivid musical memory of 9/11 actually came on 9/12.  Having heard so much about the importance of moving on and continuing with our daily lives, I set out to pursue that goal.  My music theory class stopped me in my tracks, though.  Dr. Hawthorne, a rather eccentric professor, had the Kyrie from Ockeghem's Requiem playing as we entered class; he was not personally in the room at the start of class.  As silly college students, we were more interested in catching up with each other than in listening to the music that filled the room.  Suddenly, Dr. Hawthorne stormed into the room:  "How dare you carry on like that on a day like today?" That's when the gravity of what had happen really sank in.

The passion and conviction with which he delivered our well-deserved scolding branded my mind with the value of reflection and mourning.  We sat there in stunned silence as he replayed Ockeghem's Requiem, and to this day, I find a special connection to that work--one that I had never before heard.

In fact, every year on September 11, I tell that story to my choirs and play for them an excerpt from the Kyrie as a reminder that on days like today, even the busiest choral program needs to stop, listen, and remember what has happened.

If you haven't heard the Requiem, I strongly encourage you to find a good recording.  It is a very solemn, moving piece of music history.

I remember something about Ockeghem's Requiem from my music history classes, but I listened to it with new ears today. Like Julie, I highly encourage you to give it a listen. If you do Itunes, Paul Hillier's incredible group is only $.99 away if you click here. Follow along with this score that I found on CPDL.

Garota translation

Found here:

Olha que coisa mais linda
Look, what a most beautiful thing there

mais cheia de graça
moreover full of grace

É ela menina que vem e que passa
and she, this girl that comes and goes

nun doce balanço, caminho do mar ...
with this sweet, swinging gait, along the way to the sea. . . .

Moça do corpo dourado, do sol de Ipanema
The girl with this golden body from the Ipanema sun

O seu balançado é mais que un poema
Her swinging gait is more than a poem

é a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar...
and the most beautiful thing that I ever saw go by

Ah! Porque estou tão sozinho
Ah! why am I so alone?

Ah! Porque tudo é tão triste
Ah! why is everything so sad?

Ah! A beleza que existe
Ah! the beauty that is there!

A beleza que não é só minha
The beauty that is not just mine . . .

que também passa sozinha
that is also passing by alone.

Ah! Se ela soubesse que quando ela passa
Ah! if she only knew that when she passes by

o mundo sorrindo
the world is smiling

se enche de graça
filling up with grace

e fica mais lindo
and turns more beautiful

por causa do amor
because of love

por causa do amor
because of love

por causa do amor
because of love

RSS feed

I use bloglines.

potential unlimited

both my uab groups are exceeding my expectations and i'm so proud.

i'm having a blast with the VideoGamesLive with Chamber Choir.  Jauchzet is going to be better than the first time I did it with UAB Concert Choir.

Concert Choir is excelling at difficult works and sounding better every day.

I'm proud of everyone and always looking forward to the next rehearsal.  Every day.

keep it up.

Ekthikisi

 

"I wish I hadn't said that."

Lobet den Herrn

Text from Becker work:

Psalm 147
Lobet den Herrn; denn unsern Gott loben, das ist ein köstlich Ding.

Lobet den Herrn, solches Lob ist lieblich und schön.

Der Herr bauet Jerusalem und bringet zusammen die Verjagten in Israel; er heilet, die zerbrochnen Herzens sind,
und verbindet ihre Schmerzen


Psalm 147 (Luther's Translation)
Lobet den HERR! denn unsern Gott loben, das ist ein köstlich Ding; solch Lob ist lieblich und schön.

Der HERR baut Jerusalem und bringt zusammen die Verjagten Israels.

Er heilt, die zerbrochnes Herzens sind, und verbindet ihre Schmerzen.

Psalm 147 (King James Version)
Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Psalm 147 (New King James Version):
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.

Found: Information on Albert Becker

Source

Born: June 13, 1834 - Quedlinburg, Germany
Died: January 10, 1899 - Berlin, Germany

Albert (Ernst Anton) Becker was a German composer of some distinction from of the Romantic period. He was first a pupil of Bönicke in Quedlinburg, studied composition in Berlin with Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn from 1853 to 1856.

Albert Becker became teacher of composition at Scharwenka's conservatorium in 1881, and in 1891 was appointed director of the Domchor. He taught composition at the Akademie der Künste. His most famous pupil was Jean Sibelius, who studied with him counterpoint from 1889 to 1890. In 1890 he became director of the Königlichen Hof- und Domchor. In 1892 he rejected an invitation by the Kaiser to become Thomaskantors in Leipzig as a follower of Wilhelm Rust.

Albert Becker's first great mark as a composer was made by his symphony in G minor, to which the prize of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna was awarded in 1861. In 1877 some of his songs, notably opp. 13 and 14, to words from Wolfi's Rattenfänger and Wilder Jager, attracted much attention and soon afterwards, in 1878, a Mass in B flat minor was produced by the Riedelsche Verein. Other important works are listed below. In sacred music, in which Albert Becker won his chief success, his style is broad and dignified, without losing sight of beauty and originality in his themes. In chamber music, a quintet for piano and strings, op. 49, is the most remarkable of his works; several pieces for violin and orchestra, such as op. 70 and op. 86, one very effective work for violin and organ, op. 66, a fantasia and fugue for organ, op. 52, and an opera, Loreley, in manuscript, may be mentioned.

In my pants

I found comic blogs recently.

This one gives interesting commentary on various story lines.

This one substitutes the last phrase with "in my pants" for quite humorous results.

New blog for auditions

I'm changing up my method for reaching choir members for next year.

1. Developed a new blog that contains information about the audition.

2. Using more google forms to streamline the process.

Some of the things we talked about

For the benefit of all my students, here are some of the things we talked about in my methods class tonight:

1. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. An awesome book and way of living.

2. Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment. Find out what you are here.

Here's mine:

ENTP

For ENTPs the driving quality in their lives is their attention to the outer world of possibilities; they are excited by continuous involvement in anything new, whether it be new ideas, new people, or new activities. They look for patterns and meaning in the world, and they often have a deep need to analyze, to understand, and to know the nature of things. ENTPs are typically energetic, enthusiastic people who lead spontaneous and adaptable lives.

Here's the video:

No practice or performance this Saturday

Rumor has it we are practicing or performing this Saturday.

Neither are true.  Enjoy the weekend!