Rite of Summer Music Festival (8/20/22)

The Westerlies – Riley Mulherkar, Trumpet; Chloe Rowlands, Trumpet; Andy Clausen, Trombone; Willem de Koch, Trombone 

Andy Clausen: Robert Henry; Duke Ellington: Echoes of Harlem; Duke Ellington: Where’s the Music; Charles Ives: In The Mornin’; William Walker: Louisiana; Woody Guthrie: Two Good Men; John Prine: Way Back Then; Judie Sill: The Kiss; (Traditional, Arr. Golden Gate Quartet): Do Unto Others; (Traditional, Arr. Sam Amidon): Saro

Since there is a major scarcity of music for two trumpets and two trombones, a lot of the pieces were either arrangements of existing music or written specifically for the Westerlies. It made for a varied, interesting, and enjoyable concert. 

The first work was composed by one of the quartet members, Andy Clausen. It was jazzy but with a modern vibe. A second section was very modern but with a jazzy vibe. At one point I thought I heard a child crying. It was a trumpet. It seems the piece was written with Andy’s two-year-old nephew in mind, and the players were urged to improvise on a two-year-old’s reaction. It really worked well. The second piece had a stately opening, laying out the tune nicely, at times sounding like a chorale that gets sassy every once in a while. 

A pair of Duke Ellington pieces followed. Echoes of Harlem was definitely Harlem-tinged jazz with a trumpet soaring and almost wailing. Where’s the Music was in a slower tempo, chorale like and a bit bluesy. It was a nice change of pace. The Woody Guthrie was not a tune that I recognized, though I did get a sense of the folk era. 

Way Back Then was arranged for the Westerlies as a tribute to John Prine (a composer whose name I did not know) who died during the pandemic. It also had a bit of that folk era feel, and was mostly laid back and mellow. Indeed, a lovely tribute. The next piece, Louisiana, was based on shape note singing, a term I'm only vaguely familiar with. It was to be played in a walking tempo, but the group said they would (and did) play it more like a New York walking tempo. It was lively and upbeat, rather simplistic by nature, yet also enjoyable. 

The Kiss, by Judie Sill, began rather moodily, then went into a slightly more energetic and fuller section, before returning to moody. My notes for the piece that followed included that it was brisk, featuring trumpets—a jazzy spiritual? The happy birthday tune even made an appearance. After it was done, it was announced as Do Unto Others, a gospel tune. My guess of a jazzy spiritual was pretty darn close. 

The concert ended with an arrangement of Saro, an Old English folk ballad. It opened with a serene trumpet duet, staying serene even when all four players were in the mix. A middle section added some verve and drive before the piece wound down and faded out. 

This year’s Rite of Summer Music Festival concludes on Sept. 10, with a concert at 1pm, to be repeated at 3pm. It’s a lot of fun hearing music in an outdoor setting like Governors Island.

ConcertMeister

NYC Summer Streets 2022 (I) – 8/6/22

Today was the first of three NYC Summer Streets events—the next two are Saturday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, Aug. 20, 7a–1p, both days.  

So, what’s new this year? The route. It goes from the Brooklyn Bridge (various streets in lower Manhattan then permanently on Park Avenue) all the way up to 110th Street. Runners can run, cyclists can cycle, dog walkers can walk, skateboarders can—well, you get it. What else is new? Two more rest stops, at 81st and Park and 109th and Park, in addition to Foley Square, Astor Place, Rose Hill (26th/27th Sts.), and 51st St. 

I volunteered today from 7a–11a, and will volunteer again next week. Today I was at the 51st Street rest stop. The tasks were slightly disorganized at the beginning, e.g., we attached signage to small marquee tents. Then we took the signage down and moved it to a different spot on the marquees. Then, apparently, they needed everyone to sign in, so I went to the various marquees with a sign-up sheet. Then I was asked if I had gotten the Brand Ambassadors to sign in. Um, nobody ever explained what a Brand Ambassador was, but once I figured it out, all was right with the world. 

Fifty-first Street had bead stringing, Ojo de Dios weaving, temporary tattoos, watercolors for beginners, marching band hat making, plants of NYC, and a performance stage (a violinist, doing music minus one, aka karaoke for instrument—classical and light pop/theater/movie tunes; a jazz trio—guitar, trumpet, and drums; Music With A Message—a youth group performing NYC-centric tunes; and Sirens of Gotham, a close-harmony SATB a cappella group—think Barbershop + Sweet Adelines). For the most part, the music was pretty OK. MWAM was the most popular. As a result, at times four lanes of uptown Park Avenue were reduced to two. One of our missions was to try to keep the roadway clear for the runners, cyclists, etc. It was not easy, but we managed as best we could. 

I’m going to try to volunteer at the 81st Street rest stop next week (a much easier commute!). 

After my volunteer shift, I walked the route from 51st Street to 92nd Street. All in all, a pretty good day, not too hot, no accidents that I saw, and a lot of people having a lot of fun. Fingers crossed for good weather for the next two Saturdays. I will not be volunteering on Aug. 20, since that’s a concert day for Rite of Summer on Governors Island. 

VolunteerMeister

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/route/event-map.shtml

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (8/2/22)

 East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO)

Sonata di Chiesa, (1992) – Adolphus Hailstork, (1941–)
1. Exaltation; 2. O Great Mystery; 3. Adoration; 4. Jubilation; 5. O Lamb of God; 6. Grant Us Thy Peace; 7. Exaltation

Peruvian Renaissance Suite – Maureen Nelson, arr.
1. “La Moresca” by Pedro Guerrero (b. 1520, Spain); 2. “Mille Regretz” by Josquin des Prez (1450–1521, France); 3. “Follia: A Chacua” by Anonymous (Peru)

String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810, ‘Death and the Maiden’, (1824) – Franz Schubert
1. Allegro; 2. Andante con moto; 3. Scherzo Allegro molto; 4. Presto

ECCO is a group that uses an ‘everyperson’ approach. Each member can be a leader at some point; each member has an equal voice. It is, indeed a chamber orchestra – here, there were seven violins, three violas, three cellos, and one bass. On another note, I was happy to hear that Mr. Hailstork is on the faculty of Old Dominion University, my alma mater. This was the final concert of the 117th season of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. No, I have not attended every one of the 117 years. 

The first piece was listed as seven movements but they were not laid out well enough for me to make sense of them, so I'll just go with stream of consciousness reactions. The opening was fairly rich and full, bright and upbeat. A more modern section followed that was calmer and softer. Next was a more up-tempo, pleasant section and then one that was slow and stately, in a subdued fashion. The sixth, which I believe was Grant Us Thy Peace, was appropriately peaceful. The entire piece wandered a bit and was a little hard to follow but relatively easy on the ears, ending with a reprise of the earlier richer, fuller sound. 

The first piece of the Suite that was next was rhythmic and dance like, with one of the cellists adding percussion with a sort of tambourine stick that added a touch of fun. The second piece was slower and, in a sense, somber. But also very pleasant. The third opened with insistent, but not harsh, rhythms. A section followed that was more like a dance—jaunty came to mind. And it was lots of fun. 

The Schubert was interesting, since the string quartet was embellished by adding a bass part courtesy of Gustav Mahler. With four violins, three violas, three cellos, and the aforementioned bass, a string quartet was turned into a piece for chamber orchestra. The first movement had a brief dramatic opening, then a quiet section, rhythmic exposition next, and a series of pleasant themes, even though they seemed slightly subdued due to the minor key setting. Interestingly, there were a couple of phrases that turned out to be false endings; then the actual ending was dramatic yet subdued. The second movement had a hauntingly beautiful opening that set the tone for the entire movement, though it included a bubbly middle section, inspiring hopefulness and yearning. A rather solid section followed before ending with a mix of strength and quietude. The third movement was lively yet solid, with touches of drama, then a lovely lyrical section. It finished with a fuller sound and a little more drama. The final movement was brisk but not frivolous, full but with seriousness. Even in its lighter sections, seriousness prevailed.

Minor quibbles, though. Both the online program and the hard copy program listed the first composer as Adolph Adolphus Hailstork. The printed program had a wrong title for the first song in the Peruvian Suite; it was correct in the online program. The WQXR host was Eliott Forrest (correct online) and not Jeff Spurgeon (hard copy program). As I said, minor. Will they keep me from returning next season? Definitely not!

ConcertMeister