Caroling, Caroling (12/15/24)

Under the auspices of the West Village Chorale, caroling was attained. This year, we gathered at a different place. Since it was new, I arrived early. Since I was early, I was in Group 1.

It was a little better organized this year but still got off to a late start. The Group 1 leader had a suggested route. She couldn't get her GPS to play well with others. Ain't technology grand?

We sang lots of favorites—The First Nowell, Hark! the Herald Angels, Let it Snow!, Winter Wonderland, The Little Drummer Boy (which flagged a bit because no one knew how long to wait between lines of the song), Jingle Bells, Silver Bells (and, yes, I had my Thelma bell with me), Deck the Halls! (I still maintain that it should be Hall), and Oh, Come All Ye Faithful (an intrepid caroler even led us in the first verse in Latin, which was included in our songbook).

My only quibble? The group leader asked for a crowd favorite at the beginning of each stop. If I were a group leader (and I do not want to be a group leader), at each stop I would announce what song we would start with and ask the group to have a suggestion for a second song. Organization plus inclusion.

Will I attend next year? I'll certainly try.

ConcertMeister

Les Bergers ~ Joyeux Noël (12/12/24)

This was part of the Gotham Early Music series.

Ben Matus ~ musette & bassoon; Kevin Devine ~ hurdy-gurdy & harpsichord; Kelsey Burnham ~ flauto traverso; Jimmy Drancsak & Amelia Sie ~ violins; Dan McCarthy ~ viola; Sarah Stone ~ violoncello

Symphonie en quatuor sur les noëls, No. 5 in A minor – Michel Corrette (1707–1795)
Nouveau Recueil de Noëls pour deux musettes ou vièles – Esprit Philippe Chédeville (1696–1762)
Symphonie en quatuor sur les noëls, Nos. 2, 4 & 6 – Michel Corrette

So much new to me. Musette de cour and hurdy-gurdy. And both composers. Each work had numerous miniature movements (eight, fifteen, and six, respectively, ask, if you're really, really interested). Here's a brief description from the well-written program notes – the musette de cour (bagpipe) ... the vielle à roue (hurdy-gurdy or literally “wheel-violin”). The musette (from what I read) has a bellows mechanism. My guess is that the air sac refills when pressure on it is released, because I saw no blowing into it by the musettist, which I would expect in a bagpipe-style instrument. Re. literally “wheel-violin”, yes, the hurdy-gurdy is like a hand-cranked violin that can create a drone sound to be paired with the musette. Did I mention new to me?

All three pieces were based on noëls—folk songs that would easily be recognizable to audiences of the time. The general basis was, play the tune, embellish the tune, keep embellishing until you're done. I could stop right here, but I did actually take a few notes.

The first Corrette piece was, indeed, in a minor key but it was neither sad nor mournful; it was gently jolly, essentially a string quartet with added harpsichord and flute (which was wooden and a little larger than the silvery one you'd expect). As a result, it had a bit of a deeper tone while still adding the brightness you'd want from a flute. One movement featured the above-mentioned flute, one featured the violin and cello, and one featured some rather fancy fiddling.

As a nod to Joyeux Noël, one violinist had a bow (the ribbon kind) on the lapel of his jacket, another had a bow at the hip of her skirt and at the end of the neck of her violin. The flautist had a bow in her hair. Both the musettist (is so a word) and the hurdy-gurdyist (is so a word) had bows on their music stands. Alas, sightlines did not let me see whether or not the violist and cellist joined in. My guess would be yes.

The second work was for hurdy-gurdy and musette de cour (bagpipe). While pleasant, it tended to drone on (pun intended).

The third work included all seven performers, with the bagpiper switching to the bassoon and the hurdy-gurdyist returning to the harpsichord. It also included some pizzicato (plucked) string playing.

All in all, a fun concert with just a tip of the chapeau to Joyeux Noël.

ConcertMeister

Wreath Interpretations (12/9/24–1/2/25)

This is a wonderful exhibition of slightly off-kilter wreaths on display at the Arsenal in Central Park (5th Ave./64th St.). The good news is that it's free. The bad news is that it's only M–F from 9a–5p (and closed on holidays).

If you can carve out a long lunch hour, I say go for it. It's really fun, and without being a total spoiler, red pens are involved in one wreath, so you know that would be one of my favorites. Some are NFS (Not for Sale), but some are. I remember nothing about prices.

I'd say there were 20-something wreaths on display, mostly created by amateurs (sometimes working in teams), and using stuff that you don't usually associate with wreaths. Sure, there are some ribbons there, but not your usual pine cones and holly berries.

I'll try to tease you with a photo here. I'll definitely be posting more photos on FB (my handle there is Uncke David). If you go, I hope you enjoy. If you only get a chance to visit virtually, I hope you enjoy. There's a lot of fun stuff out there, kids!

ConcertMeister (non-ConcertMeister, here)

Tree Lighting in Carl Schurz Park (12/8/24)

Nope, not a splashstravaganza like Rockefeller Center. This was low-key, with a few speeches by local politicos and local park personnel/volunteers.

There was a brass quintet who played very well. Cantori sang five songs—I can only remember four. All of the aforementioned were available to seek out, but only via a QR code. So I need to rely on memory.

The choral group (a cappella) sang Ding, Dong, Merrily on High; Carol of the Bells (a Ukrainian song); I Saw Three Ships (arranged by a Cantori singer who was not present—he's a new papa!); I don't remember the fourth (see QR code, above); and finishing with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

After the lighting of the tree, we then went into sing-along mode with Joy to the World. Second was O, Christmas Tree, but since I didn't have access to the lyrics for the version they were using, I headed for the exit. I did jingle my hand-held bell as I drifted away during Jingle Bells. A fun early evening.

I also had hot chocolate (the kids volunteering did a great job; I even got whipped cream, even though I usually don't—I wanted them to feel like they were contributing). Ditto for the five-year-old offering cookies. Hey, 'tis the season, right?

I'll try to post photos. (See FaceBook.)

ConcertMeister