Chaplin at Essanay (11/12/22)

His New Job (1915); By the Sea (1915); The Bank (1915); Police (1916) 

Four Charlie Chaplin films at Essanay Studios 

What is Essanay, you ask? (Kudos to Steve Massa.) In 1907, George K. Spoor and Gilbert Anderson were the “S” and “A” of Essanay. 

Oddly, His New Job was Chaplin’s first job at Essanay. He was experimenting with his ‘Tramp’ character. He was a wannabe actor being hired for his first film role. 

By the Sea showed Chaplin in an outdoor setting (in California, as opposed to filming in Chicago for His New Job.) The open air of California added a lot of comedy. 

The Bank offered a few more slapstick offerings—including figuring out the combinations and machinations of the vault inside the bank. There was some funny stuff there, more than once. 

Police adds a bit of intrigue. Instead of just regular slapstick, a little bit of subterfuge is added in. 

This was an interesting look at Chaplin’s growth of his Little Tramp character. Not just as he changed, but as he grew the characterization. There was plenty of humor and slapstick but growth, as well.

As always, Ben Model provided pitch-perfect improvised piano scores to all four films. As added commentary from the stage by Steve Massa, Gloria Swanson was in the background of the first film shown. Apparently, Miss Swanson denied ever being in a Charlie Chaplin film. You decide.

ConcertMeister

Joseph Jones; Telemann’s Bassoon (11/10/22)

Joseph Jones ~ bassoon; Serafim Smigelskiy ~ violoncello; Robert Warner ~ harpsichord 

Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in C Major – J.F. Fasch (1688–1758)
Largo ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegro assai
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in G minor – J.B. de Boismortier (1689–1755)
Allemande ~ Aria ~ Adagio ~ Giga
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in E minor – J.E. Galliard (1687–1747)
Allegro−Adagio e Staccato−Adagio ~ Allemande ~ Corrente ~ Tempo di Menuet
Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo in F minor – G.P. Telemann (1681-1767)
Triste ~ Allegro ~ Andante ~ Vivace 

What does this even mean? Sonata for Bassoon and Continuo? Well, the bassoon is the soloist, supported by continuo (usually a keyboard instrument—here, a harpsichord). But ‘continuo’ can also encompass another instrument—here, a cello. 

That said, in most of these works, the cello was pretty much an equal partner with the bassoon. The bassoon is a fun instrument. It makes those slightly squeaky, burping sounds you hear in an orchestra. But it can be a little more smoother and fun, as was heard in this concert. 

That said, these four Sonatas were very similar in overall sound and interest. The Telemann had movements that were slightly longer than the other three. And the third movement of the Telemann ended surprisingly, which led into the fourth movement. 

Since the Sonatas were so similar, the movements were (without overly repeating myself): Gentle; Bright; Slower; Brisk; Dance-like; Leaning toward mournful. Notably, one movement opened with a harpsichord cello duet, which was a nice change of pace. Well, the rest of my notes are pretty much repeats. 

You’ll notice that I often say dance-like. That’s because the composers use dance terms as movement names—Allemande, Giga, Corrente, Menuet. Yes, there is a mish-mash.  Corrente = courante, corrente, coranto and corant are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Allemande = An allemande (allemanda, almain(e), or alman(d), French: "German (dance)") is a Renaissance and Baroque dance, and one of the most common instrumental dance styles in Baroque music, with examples by Couperin, Purcell, Bach and Handel. It is often the first movement of a Baroque suite of dances, paired with a subsequent courante … (thank you, Wikipedia). I think Menuet speaks for itself discounting a rather ‘blue’ joke? 

Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the concert and learned a little about composers I’d never heard of before.

ConcertMeister

Canstruction NYC 2022 (11/9/22)

 I really CAN’t help myself; I’m reporting as CANcertmeister. 

Canstruction is a fun, friendly competition using unopened cans of food to construct interesting sculptures. The exhibition is on display at Brookfield Place (their website is helpful and informative) in lower Manhattan until Nov. 14, from 10a–8p. I have seen this before, and in fact I was more impressed on my first viewing than I was today, probably because of the novelty of it the first time around for me. 

That said, this is NYC’s 30th iteration. Here’s the deal. Teams get together to prepare sculptures. They use unopened cans of food. At the end of the event, everything is dismantled, and every can of food is donated to City Harvest. 

My only complaint is that there was incomplete signage. I’m pretty sure I saw 15 of the 20 entries, but I just couldn’t find the other five. I asked about a handout that might have served as a map; no deal. I later learned that I could use a QR code as a guide. Nope. They don’t know Luddite ’Meister. (Also, the volunteer on duty when I arrived didn’t even offer that option.) Okay, off my complaint soapbox. 

I’m going to try to add a photo of my favorite: PumpCAN Pi. Three others that caught my eye, and my poorly used tablet camera, were: An UnCANny Hot-Air Balloon; May the Food Be with You; and A Meal Fit for a King. I will try to post those photos on Facebook—I’m Uncke David. 

There were literally thousands and thousands of cans of food on display (sometimes thousands in a single sculpture). They also request a donation of a can of food (which I did—tomato soup). Will I go again next year? Most likely, yes. 

CANcertMeister