Make Music New York (6/21/23)

It’s that time of the year again. The solstice always brings Make Music New York—free music events spread all over the city. I kept my choices Manhattan-centric this summer and, as usual, bit off a little more than I could chew. My chosen five were classical piano at 11:00am, outdoor jazz at noon, Old Father Eternity at 3:00pm, a violin duo (Miolina) at 4:00pm, and outdoor a cappella vocal at 6:45pm. Oh, I also snuck in Sousapalooza at 2:00pm-ish Are you tired yet?

Finding the first venue turned out to be a chore—Freeman Plaza at Hudson Square. Hudson Square is near the Hudson River, not near Hudson Street. Along the way I passed through Cavali Park and Duarte Square. Cavali Park had dancers going through their paces, but not quite what I was looking for. Duarte Square was also not quite what I was looking for. Aha! I found Freeman Plaza. There was a piano (covered) there. I was a few minutes early. (Hello! I'm a Mallard!) 11:00am came and went. 11:15 came and went. When I figured that the pianist was probably a no show, I just went. 

I still made it up to 63rd and Broadway in time to hear the beginning of the jazz quartet, Eric Person’s Soul Saturation. The jazz was pretty good. And there was a good-sized crowd. The tunes were announced by the saxophonist, Eric Person. The only tune that was vaguely familiar to me was Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” (actually, the rhythms were more familiar than the tune was). They took a break after forty-five minutes, and I started walking to my next venue, grabbing a cup of lentil soup along the way. It may have been the first day of summer, but it was definitely cool enough for soup.

I got to my next venue (58th Street Library) with time to spare, so I strolled over to hear a little bit of Sousapalooza. This was an amateur group of about forty musicians playing Sousa marches. I recognized the conductor from at least one other MMNY, so I felt right at home. He was announcing the pieces, but it was very hard to hear him. At any rate, most of the pieces were familiar to me. Except for one. A dirge march, written for the funeral of President Garfield. Apparently, the piece was also played many years later for Sousa’s funeral. The things you learn off the beaten track. I wasn't even planning on doing Sousapalooza. I’m glad I did.

Old Father Eternity was neither old nor a father. It also started at 3:15 instead of 3:00. Not a biggie. Neither was the crowd. Only about eight people, one of whom was the artist’s mother (whose phone went off!) and two were library employees. Old Father Eternity, a female, was a fairly modern folk guitarist and singer. Pleasant enough, and she composed at least one of the songs on the program.

A brisk walk took me to the 76th Street Library for Miolina, the violin duo. Alas, this duo playing only music from after 2003 led to much scratching and screeching. The audience was five people, including one library employee. And one audience member left. The music was very hard to take, although it was very well composed.

I Cancelled Uptown Sound, since it was already cocktail hour, and I didn’t want to kill all that time just to end up at 100 Central Park West. I think I made the right choice, for me.

All in all, a successful Make Music New York experience. I’m so glad I discovered this.

ConcertMeister

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (2023)

 ACRONYM (6/13/23)

Opening Fanfare: Times Square Brass
World premiere (2023) – Martin Kennedy

Anonymous, (Biber?/Schmelzer?), Sonata Jucunda a5 in D minor
Samuel Capricornus, (1628–1665), Sonata a8 in A minor
Francesco Cavalli, (1602–1676), Canzona a8 in C major
Andreas Kirchhoff, (fl.1700), Sonata a6 in G minor
Alessandro Scarlatti, (1660–1725), Sinfonia a4, (from Agar et Ismaele esiliati)
Clemens Thieme, (1631–1668), Sonata a8 in C major
Johann Pezel, (1639–1694), Ciacona a6 in B-flat major
Giovanni Valentini, (1582–1649), Sonata Enharmonisch a8 in G minor
Antonio Bertali, (1605–1669), Sonata a6 in D minor
Johann Philipp Krieger, (1649–1725), Sonata a4 in F major
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), Battalia a10 in D major

OK, I’m sure all of the above actually means nothing to you, including the names of the composers. So, here’s the deal. Acronym is a chamber music ensemble (strings, harpsichord, and reed organ) that plays early music on period instruments, using old-fashioned cat-gut strings. This resulted in much more re-tuning during the concert.

Don’t be put off by the Sonata a8 or the Ciacona a6 in some of the titles. It does not mean eight or six instruments, rather eight or six voices that can be played by small groups of instruments, e.g., three violins can be one voice while two cellos can be another voice.

This is the 118th iteration of the Naumburg concert series but more to the point, it is the 100th anniversary of the newly restored bandshell in Central Park. As a result, each concert this summer will open with a special fanfare. This concert featured a brass fanfare (two trumpets, two trombones, and two French horns) playing a modern, but listenable, fanfare. And it was a world premiere. How lucky am I?

As to the music on the program, it was pretty much similar from piece to piece. Some were chorale-like, some were dance-like.

Of special interest to me was Giovanni Valentini Sonata Enharmonisch a8 in G minor, since it paired parts of the composition in G minor (two flats) and G major (one sharp). It was oddly disjointed but eerily interesting, too.

The last piece on the program Battalia a10 in D major was actually a sonic picture of a battle. It was rhythmic and quick, using tapping bows on strings, while being sometimes out of tune (on purpose).

It was a great introduction to a group I had never heard before, and a great introduction to a five-concert summer series. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

Now the caveat (yes, I am becoming a curmudgeon). Because of the 100th anniversary of the bandshell, there is a special brochure that includes all five concert programs. I either need to bring the oversized brochure to the next four concerts or print out each of the rest of the four programs so that I’m not wielding an unwieldy brochure.

 ConcertMeister

Broadway at 92NY Chorus (6/11/23)

The Berlin and Porter Concert

I have been to one previous concert by this amateur choral group. They have been since rebranded with this new moniker that even the conductor stumbled over. Enough about that. The concert focused on music by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, and it was a fun afternoon.

The program (though there was one change in order that I don’t remember—hey, I’m getting older!):

There’s No Business Like Show Business – Irving Berlin (Annie Get Your Gun, 1946)
I Get a Kick Out of You – Cole Porter (Anything Goes, 1934)
Lazy – Berlin (Popular song, 1924)
So In Love – Porter (Kiss Me Kate, 1948)
Anything You Can Do – Berlin (AGYG)
Anything Goes – Porter (AG)

–Sing-Along–

You’re Just In Love – Berlin (Call Me Madam, 1950)
True Love/Always – Porter/Berlin (High Society [Film], 1956/Popular song,1925)
Blow, Gabriel, Blow – Porter (AG)

Seeing as how I’ve done two productions each of both Annie Get Your Gun and Anything Goes (oh, the stories I could tell), a lot of this music was very familiar to me, and I enjoyed all of the performances.

The sing-along, less so (not quite my thing). It was a tribute to Burt Bacharach, and included Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, (They Long To Be) Close To You, and What The World Needs Now. Pleasant, but just.

However, the concert was a lot of fun, and the participants—conductor, accompanist, vocalists—all seemed to have a great time. As did the audience.

ConcertMeister

Hay Fever (5/8/23)

A New Musical Reading (5/8/23) 

This one was weird. It was based on a 1924 Noël Coward play. Apparently, the play was not very successful, though it had multiple revivals. Even Coward said that there was not a plot there, and there were no funny lines. 

This new version showed why it was not very successful. Written by A.J. Freeman (lyrics and adaptation) and Sam Balzac and Ben Covello (music), this did not play out well. 

Coward’s dialogue was said to be sparkling, even though the characters spoke over one another at times. This does not transfer well to a musical. Characters singing over one another is a recipe for failure. That’s what happened here. 

Am I glad I saw this work in progress? Yes! This is how theater grows and how we grow, too.

ConcertMeister

The Orchestra Now (5/14/23)

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Paul Dukas (1865–1935)
Poèmes pour Mi; Katherine Lerner Lee VAP ’23 soprano – Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992)
Scheherazade – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908)

What a wonderful concert. I learned so much. If you think the Dukas is just a Mickey Mouse trick, think again. Yes, the basic theme, apprentice runs amok, is inherent in the work. But when you actually see a conductor taking an orchestra through its paces to paint that picture both visually and aurally, you see it and hear it anew. And, yes, this was the first time I’d ever heard the piece live. That actually goes for all three pieces on the program.

The Messiaen composition was nine art songs for soprano and orchestra divided into two parts—First Book (four songs) and Second Book (five songs). It didn’t really matter because Messiaen’s musical style was so nebulous (to me) that it was difficult to follow the progression. Were the individual songs pretty and interesting? Yes. Did they make sense, logically, to me? No. But that’s part of what makes Messiaen Messiaen.

Scheherazade is a work I have heard many time as complete performances or as individual movements. There are four—The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, The Legend of the Kalendar Prince, The Young Prince and the Young Princess, and Festival at Baghdad–The Sea–The Shipwreck. Here’s the backstory, and it’s a doozy. Touching on the tales of the Arabian Nights, Scheherazade keeps spinning new tales for 1,001 nights in order to prevent her husband, Sultan Shakriar, from executing her. Fun stuff, right? Well, yeah, the score is fun stuff. While I enjoyed these four movements in their entirety, it made me realize something. I’m used to hearing a well-mixed and engineered recording. That’s not what you hear in the concert hall. You hear a performance that may be a little rough around the edges, and that maybe doesn’t flow the way you’re used to, but you’re hearing it live. And I loved that experience.

I’m so glad I went. I just wish that my The Orchestra Now buddy had been with me, but she is recovering from eye surgery and, wisely, decided to stay home. Next time for sure!

 ConcertMeister

Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble (5/11/23)

The Musical Murder Mystery of Gesualdo

Charlotte Mundy & Angela Yam ~ sopranos; Timothy Parsons ~ countertenor; Tomás Cruz ~ tenor; Jeffrey Gavett ~ baritone and director; Steven Hrycelak ~ bass; Adam Cockerham ~lute

Mentre, mia stella, miri – Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566–1633)

Sparge la morte al mio Signor nel viso – Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa

Tu part’ohimè dolente – Crescenzo Salzilli? (ca. 1580–1621)

Se vi duol il mio duolo
Moro, lasso
Chiaro risplender suole – Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa

Murder Mystery? Apparently Carlo Gesualdo murdered his unfaithful wife. This was never prosecuted, since it was an OK thing to do in his day. You make your own decision. I was more concerned with the music.

Unlike many early music vocal ensembles, these folks sang with a very full tone that sounded almost like a choir. I liked it. The first piece was bright and clear. The lute was included, but was hard to discern against the five voices. Not all vocalists performed each piece. This one was two sopranos (including one very high soprano), countertenor, tenor, and bass.

The second piece (soprano, countertenor, baritone, bass) was somber. There were some chromatic shifts, typical of Gesualdo’s music, that added some drama and tension to the music itself. By that, I mean that Gesualdo shifted the sound—harmonies, and even what sounds like jump-shift key changes—yet he ends with a calming tonic feeling. This was on display a little more in some of his later compositions.

Two versions of Tu part’ohimè dolente were offered. In theory, this was to offer the differences between two different tuning versions in existence during this time period. The differences were lost on me.

The final three Gesualdo pieces were my favorites. The first (soprano, countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass) included even more of the chromatic shifts within phrases and had varied tempos and volumes that created more interest and drama. The second (soprano, soprano, countertenor, tenor, bass) was somber, but with the addition of the extremely high soprano plus the many jump-shift key changes gave an edgy feel to the piece, yet it ended once again with a pretty regular major chord. The third (soprano, soprano, countertenor, tenor bass, lute) had a very full sound, similar to the first piece on the program, but with many more of the dissonances prevalent in the later Gesualdo works, stretching the style rhythmically, as well.

For the record, this was the first Ekmeles concert that included a lutenist. He acquitted himself quite well.

ConcertMeister

 

Jane’s Walks (5/5, 6, 7/23)

Jane’s Walk 2023: Garment District NYC (5/5 at 9 AM)
On the Streets Where They Lived (5/5 at 11 AM)
Downtown Dames: Historic Women Celebrated in Public Spaces in Lower Manhattan (5/5 at 1 PM)
Sustainable Walking Tour of East Village Highlighting Community Gardens (5/5 at 3 PM)

Jane’s Walk 2023: 57th Street A–Z (5/6 at 9 AM)
Jewish Harlem (5/6 at11 AM)
East Harlem (5/6 at 1 PM)

Jane’s Walk 2023: Dumbo, Brooklyn Bridge to Winter Garden Atrium at World Financial Center (5/7 at 9 AM)
Union Square: Prism of the City (5/7 at 1 PM)

 All of the walks were free. Each walk was set up in its own way, which made the experience enjoyable. Each leader was free to use her/his own style, timeline, and choice of scripted or non-scripted. Most leaders used some sort of voice amplification, which was a big help. All leaders did a good job. I’ll hit highlights or this would be a very long read.

My first walk, in the Garment District, was great. The leader was quirky but interesting. He led us through a historical venture of how the garment district was in its early years and how it progressed. He included information about how the physical buildings changed during the thirties and forties, and he actually took us into buildings and used those experiences to show us different buildings. A great experience.
On the Streets Where They Lived covered the Upper West Side—Broadway and Riverside Drive, from 106th Street to 110th Street. I didn’t take notes, so I can’t really give you names of the folks who lived there, but the architecture was well worth the tour.
Downtown Dames was a bit of a downer since the leader did not use amplification and did a lot of reading from her handwritten notes.
The East Village walk was great, covering a lot of Community Gardens and touching on the era of the squatters and their plights in the ’70s and ’80s.

Saturday morning was also a treat. The guide along 57th Street was a dynamo. He took us from Ninth Avenue to Madison Avenue. He spoke without amplification, but we could all hear everything. It was fun for me, because I worked at 9 W. 57th Street (with its curved base, famously filmed in the Superman movie). I mentioned its twin at 42nd Street near Sixth Avenue. The leader acknowledged my input.
Jewish Harlem was a lot of fun, though the leader did not use amplification, so I missed a lot of what he said.
The East Harlem tour took me by surprise a little, since a lot of it was focused on Lexington, Madison, and Fifth Avenues, not locations my mind associates with Harlem. But, indeed, to native New Yorkers (I am not one) this is technically true. The walk touched on one of my favorite spots in New York, the Conservatory Gardens (Fifth Avenue and 105th Street). If you’re ever in NYC and have the time to get there, it’s well worth the visit.

Sunday’s walk across the Brooklyn Bridge was not my first time walking the span. I’m glad I did it though, especially to see that the bicyclists have been given their own space, making it safer for walkers. This guide also did not use amplification, so it was hard to hear some of his insights into the walk we were taking. I missed my 11 AM walk because of arriving way the heck at the Hudson River at the end of the 9 AM walk. Why, yes, I had a book with me. After a lengthy lunch break, I attended my final Jane’s Walk of the weekend. I learned a lot about Union Square and had a short visit in a museum as well, to cap it off.

Jane’s Walks, named in honor of Jane Jacobs, is a tradition I have enjoyed for several years (eight? nine?). Her story is very interesting. Go, ye, and Google her.

ConcertMeister