Two very different types of performances. On Saturday, I attended a lecture with music—The Musical Parlor of Emily Dickinson. Sunday brought the 39th annual version of Tuba Christmas!
I know very little about Emily Dickinson or her poetry. The lecture I attended, curated by George Boziwick (of the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts) with the Red Skies Music Ensemble and Elise Toscano was interesting. And I mean interesting in a good way.
The focus was on the music book—an actual compilation of purchased sheet music—of Emily Dickinson. It gave us insight into what might have been the “sing around the piano” life of Emily and her family. For the record, the songs/music included “Long Long Ago” (strophic, very folk-song–like), “Oh the Merry Days When We Were Young” (1840), “There’s a Good Time Coming” (1846), “The Girl I Left Behind Me” (c. 1830), “The Blue Juniata” (1844), etc. Additionally, there were Irish tunes and minstrel songs (vestiges of Ms. Dickinson’s family’s Irish and black servants—still, it’s to her credit that she included those pieces in the music book that was sent away and bound for posterity).
Mr. Boziwick was pretty darn credible as a presenter (and harmonica player!); Ms. Toscano
acted her readings of Ms. Dickinson’s diary entries a little better than her sung versions
of the songs. It could be that her rather plain singing style was meant to intimate
Ms. Dickinson’s—it seemed a little too plain to my ears.
acted her readings of Ms. Dickinson’s diary entries a little better than her sung versions
of the songs. It could be that her rather plain singing style was meant to intimate
Ms. Dickinson’s—it seemed a little too plain to my ears.
Red Skies (piano, percussion, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, banjo, fiddle and bass) added great support. From the program notes, it seems that this presentation will be repeated at a couple of Dickinson events later in 2013. I might suggest (and I know that this is venue related) grouping the instrumentalists separate from Ms Toscano. I especially liked her exit from the stage ahead of the lecture/presentation portion that included the death and funeral references to Ms. Dickinson.
Tuba Christmas! I stumbled upon this two years ago (in my “anything to get me out of the apartment” phase). But what fun. It is a large group of tubas—actually, Sousaphones, bass tubas, baritones and euphoniums—playing Christmas carols/music. The bells of the Sousaphones had covers spelling out TUBA CHRISTMA 2012, along with wreaths, lights, etc.
I didn’t go last year (bitterly cold) but I braved the damp (and rain) this year. {{channeling Sophia Petrillo}} Picture it. Rockefeller Center. Huge Christmas tree. Four-hundred-and-sixty tubas!!! Yep, the usual suspects—O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, We Wish You …, Jingle Bells and others. But performed by four-hundred-and-sixty tubas!!!
Oh, yeah, I’ve got the Christmas spirit!
ConcertMeister
No comments:
Post a Comment