Gotham Early Music Scene (5/28/26)

THEOTOKOS
Music in the Time of Charlemagne 

Adrienne Lotto ~ voice; Garrett Eucker ~ voice; Dongmyung Ahn ~ vielle; Trący Cowart ~ harp, voice; Rocky Duval ~ voice; Doug Balliett ~ harp, organ, direction 

Part 1: Renovatio 

The most beautiful chants
Alleluia: In die resurrectionis meae ~ Hymn: Aeterna caeli Gloria ~ Gradual: Christus factus est ~ Offertory: Jubilate Deo omnis 

Part 2: Inventio
Anglo-Norman Sequalae
Adorabo Minor ~ Exsultate Deo ~ Lyra ~ Fulgens Praeclara  

Notker: Sequences
Epiphany: Festa Christi ~ Assumption: Congaudent ~ Gallus: Directe deo 

Tuotilo: Hodie cantandus est 

Part 3: Subjugo
The Heliand (excerpt) 

Part 4: Cadio
Plantus Cygni

Historia Santus Arnulfus Metensis (excerpts)
Antiphon: Splendor Aspira ~ Responsory: Politis in Lapidibus ~ Prosa: Solus qui ~ Antiphon: Cum Promere ~ Responsory: Cum Civitatis ~ Prosa: Pro Meritis

Planctus Karolus (excerpt)

Whew! The first work in Part 1 was for soprano, vielle and harp. Next there were five vocalists chanting, with vielle as continuo, in unison at first and then with simple vocal harmonies. The third was for solo male chanting with organ accompaniment. (This was the very first time I was hearing the organ at St. Malachy’s.) The section ended with five vocalists chanting with vielle and the director adding hand claps as percussion. It was quite lively. For those of you wondering, a vielle is a stringed instrument similar to a violin but with a longer and deeper body that, therefore, produces a deeper, slightly richer sound. And, yes, I had to do an internet search. 

A note about each Part. Since each included several pieces that were performed fairly seamlessly, it was a little difficult to tell where one chant ended and the next began, so there won’t be a naming or a description of each individual work. All of the chants were similar to each other but there was enough variety—number of singers, choices of accompaniments, etc.—to keep the entire program interesting. 

Part 2 had a combination of wordless chants over a vocal drone (a single note sustained throughout), harp, vielle, finger cymbals(?) (I never saw them), and tambourine in one lively, celebratory chant.

Part 3 was interesting in that it was a spoken excerpt (with snippets of song) of an epic poem. Fortunately, it was performed in an English translation. Mr. Balliett was at times dramatic and at times humorous.  

Part 4, as announced from the front of the church, had two pieces cut, but it would have been hard to tell since that section of Part 4 had six small pieces listed and it was difficult, once again, to tell where one piece ended and the next began. 

All in all, it was a varied and interesting program well performed by all involved. I’m not sure I’d see and hear the group again, but I’m glad I heard them here. 

ConcertMeister

The American Art Fair (5/19/26)

This was a lot of fun. I heard about it on WQXR and decided to give it a look on the last of the four days of the fair. It took place at the Bohemian National Hall on East 73rd Street, a building I have been in a couple of times before. The fair was on the fifth, fourth, and third floors, displaying art from eighteen different galleries. It was almost overwhelming. In fact, when I go next year, I’ll probably do the fifth and fourth floors, then take a break for a nosh or a beer (or both) and then go back for the third floor. With eighteen galleries to go through, I can easily see spreading it out over a couple of hours.  

The fifth floor is the balcony of the ballroom, and it was fun seeing the chandelier up close and personal. There was a lot of modern art there and for some reason, I was drawn to paintings of flowers of many colors. Since it was the balcony, there was a large empty space in the middle and as a result, it had the smallest number of paintings on display—a good way to dip my toes in without being totally overwhelmed. 

The fourth floor had much more art on display, mostly paintings but also a few small sculptures. If I’m remembering correctly, that’s where I saw the Wyeths. Three generations were represented—N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. All three were interesting. One of the non-Wyeths that I particularly liked was a study for a WPA mural. I did minimal sleuthing, but I never found out whether the mural was actually completed. 

On the third floor, I was drawn to a painting titled In Flight (?). Well of course I was drawn to it, they were mallards! Also on that floor was a small Art Deco sculpture with two women facing each other and doing backbends. What I really liked about it was that it was a flower holder, and there were flowers in it. Just a few but that was just right. Life imitating art as art being used as intended. 

As mentioned above, I plan on going back next year. In fact, I'm already on their mailing list for 2027. It will be the twentieth anniversary. How is it that I just heard about it for the first time this year? As always, there’s a whole lot of exploring to do out there. Oh, and it was free. And there was a lecture each of the four days at 2 p.m., also free.

ConcertMeister (but not)

Jane's Walks (5/1, 5/2, 5/3, 2026)

I did six of seven walks this year. These are walks led by regular people (some of whom are also actual tour guides) honoring Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who helped derail the car-centered approach to urban planning. Do yourself a favor and search for Jacobs and Robert Moses. Anyway, on to the walks. 

Friday began with the Longest Short Walk in Brooklyn, which was exactly one block long, but the excellent guide easily filled the entire hour. We began at the Brooklyn Museum and ended at the central branch of the Brooklyn Library. We covered the museum, Mount Prospect, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Rock Garden. The guide encouraged us to talk about favorite other Jane’s Walks we’d been on, and it was fun hearing about other walks and what was good about them. I would highly recommend this one. 

Hike the Hudson! I didn’t get a chance to. I was at the corner of Fulton Street and West Street at the appointed time and didn’t see a soul. No leader, no other walkers, nothing. I located a library so that I could check my email, but there were no email updates. Thinking I had messed up, I tried the meeting place one hour later. Nothing. Maybe I’ll try again next year. 

The City Speaks was a walk that covered language that’s particular to New York and New Yorkers. The guide (once we found him) was very entertaining. Why (once we found him) you ask? The information we were given listed the meeting place as 117 E. Houston Street. There is no 117 E. Houston Street. Yes, the meeting place was actually in a park on E. Houston Street. As an icebreaker, the guide had us introduce ourselves to another one of the walkers. Oddly, the guy I was chatting with was going to be leading a walk in Astoria, Queens on Saturday. Anyway, back to our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable, had us interact with each other throughout the entire walk, and even had three costume changes! As a finale, he did hip-hop dancing right on the sidewalk. This guide is an actual tour guide, who gives this tour to paying customers, but once a year does a freebie for Jane’s Walks. Once again, I would highly recommend this one. 

Saturday’s first walk was Community Gardens on the lower east side. I’ve attended this one before, so I skipped the leader’s spiel about the history of squatters and reclaiming unused space in the middle 1970s. It seems his activist harangue went on a lot longer than I remembered; as a result, we only saw one garden and part of Tompkins Square Park. This one I would not recommend, although we did learn a lot about the one garden we visited. 

Next up was Sunnyside, Queens. Unbeknownst to me, the Sunnyside neighborhood features prominently in Spider-Man comic books and movies. Fun facts – Sunnyside Gardens is one of only two private parks in NYC with the other one being Gramercy Park. Sunnyside was also home to a Sunshine Baking Co. factory, and Cheez-Its were invented there. The tour guide had also seen a really bad painting job on the street. He told us that the moment he saw it, he recognized it from a scene in a Spider-Man movie. It really was a rotten paint job. I’ll post a photo on Facebook. This guide knew his stuff very well and kept us actively engaged. Highly recommended.  

Sunday’s first walk was a Water Tower Tour. I learned an awful lot about water towers. Additionally, some of the walkers really got into the spirit of things. One woman had a water tower tote bag and another was wearing water tower earrings. How cool was that? Water towers are constructed of interlocking wooden slats held together by steel bands. No screws, nails or glue. And there are over 17,000 of them in NYC. Sometimes they are enclosed in materials matching the architecture of the buildings they are on top of. With a life span of about thirty years, you might wonder what happens when they need to be replaced. More and more, the wood is being recycled. In fact, the Delacorte Theater in Central Park has recently been refaced with recycled water tower wood. I haven’t seen it yet, but that’s on my list of things to do. The tour guide is also a professional who volunteers her time for a Jane’s Walk. I really lucked out this year and I’d also recommend this walk, as well. 

My last walk of the weekend was on E. 59th Street. This one was also a slightly activist one about reclaiming public/private space being held onto by the Department of Transportation, but I knew about the activism ahead of time. There was literally space that has gone unused by the DOT for twenty years. When quizzed by our two tour guides, the DOT reply was, “Well, we may need it someday.” Sheesh. Just in the block between Second and First Avenues, there were at least two more unused areas fenced off by the DOT. And just east of First Avenue, there is a pocket park that is often rented out for functions, e.g., weddings, receptions, private gatherings. When not in use for an event, the police sometimes shoo private New Yorkers out of the park. Mind you, it’s a public space, and the public has every right to be there. I wish those 59th Street residents good luck with reclaiming those unused spaces. You can learn a lot on a Jane’s Walk, and I did. I’m already looking forward to next year!

ConcertMeister

Saint Andrew Chorale (4/19/26)

Mystical Voices
Works by Kodály, Price & Vasks
David Enlow, organ; Andrew Henderson, conductor

Laudate Dominum (2016) – Peteris Vasks (b. 1946)
Resignation (1932) – Florence Price (1887–1953)
Communion Service in F (1936) – Price
Missa Brevis (1945) – Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967)

Vasks' Laudate Dominum opened with an organ prelude (and there were also organ interludes) that preceded the chorus singing "Laudate Dominum" in a rather subdued setting. I found the organ a bit overwhelming as set against the relatively calm choral singing. Perhaps that was the intent. That said, I liked the organ accompanying the beginning of the choral "Alleluia".

You must read up on Florence Price. There were very few American female composers with works being performed in the 1930s. Especially black female composers. Do yourself a favor and explore her. Indeed, some of her scores weren't even discovered until after her death. Intrigued?

Resignation was a solid choral composition written in the style of an African-American spiritual. Strophic (Ms. Price wrote both music and text), it was done quite well, including a soprano line backed by a humming chorus. This might have been my favorite piece on the program. It really touched me.

Ms. Price's Service in F—Kyrie Eleison, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, Gloria—was very interesting. The Credo had a straightforward, declarative setting of the text that worked very well. The Benedictus was sweet, with a nicely rousing Hosanna section.

Kodály's mass was a traditional setting of the mass text bookended by an organ Introitus and an Ite, Missa Est. Once again, the organ movements were rather jarring to me. Taken as a whole, this was a rather grand and muscular setting of the mass.

The Saint Andrew Chorale sang very well throughout, and I'm glad I was introduced to live performances of Vasks and Kodály. Interestingly, I first heard Ms. Price's music live on April 13, 2026, so I'm glad I was able to hear her live again just six days later. I'm a lucky fellow.

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Orchestra of St. Luke's Mentoring Program (4/13/26)

The Cerrone Quartet – Mannes School of Music students – Violin, Violin, Viola, Cello

Maurice Ravel
Allegro moderato from String Quartet in F Major, M. 35

Florence Price
Juba from String Quartet No. 2 in A minor   
***

The Cutwater Quintet – Mannes School of Music students – Trumpet, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Tuba

Ivan Jevtić
Quintette Victoria

Reena Esmail
Khirkiyaan – Jōg; Tuttarana   
***

Quintal Harmony – Manhattan School of Music students – Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon

Leonard Bernstein
Overture to Candide (arr. Cliff Townsend)

Valerie Coleman
Tzigane 
***

Members of the Orchestra of St. Luke's mentored graduate students of two of New York's prestigious music schools. This concert was the result.

As announced from the stage, Ravel based his composition on the works of Claude Debussy. The piece was lyrical and modern but not at all atonal. There were rich sonorities, almost bordering on Impressionism, with a touch of Asian influences (to my ear). There was also nice pizzicato (plucked strings) playing at the end. 

The Price was rhythmic and energetic with a very positive vibe. Juba is a dance-like frame of mind that this composer returned to frequently, though this movement of her string quartet had a relaxing ending. 

The Jevtić had a fanfare-esque beginning and was much more modern than the earlier pieces. Mutes were used for the trombone and both trumpets (and both trumpeters dropped theirs at two different points). A mute was also used for the horn, which I thought was slightly odd since the horn is played with the fist of the player in the bell of the horn. The piece was harsh at times and a bit too modern and disjointed for me. 

As sometimes happens with violins in string quartets, the first and second trumpets reversed parts in the Esmail. The first movement was energetic and interesting, but it didn’t really hold my interest throughout. That may just be a “me” thing, though. I liked the opening of the second movement better. The rest of it was OK, too, but not great. 

The Bernstein was very familiar to me, and it was a lot of fun. While interesting to hear it scaled down to a quintet, it lost a bit of clout but still worked. The flutist doubled on piccolo for a few phrases in the middle of the work. Kudos to this quintet for taking a bow after the first of their two pieces. The other two groups did not.

The Coleman was modern but easily listenable. Did I see a mute for the bassoon? I never knew such a thing existed. There were a lot of Easten European influences (am I allowed to say gypsy?). The clarinet had a long, involved improvised cadenza leading to the end of the work. The entire piece had a real klezmer feel to it. Fun fact—though she wasn’t there at this performance, Ms. Coleman is one of the mentors for this woodwind group. 

This was my first time hearing Ms. Price’s work live. Ditto for Ms. Esmail. In fact, this was the first time I’d even heard of her. That, and learning about a bassoon mute, made for a very interesting evening. 

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Music of the Regiment (4/2/26)

From the Parade Ground to Paris ~ A Portrait of Bernhard Crusell 
Dominic Giardino ~ classical clarinet, Shelby Yamin ~ violin, Stephen Goist ~ viola, Matt Zucker ~ cello 

Quartet in B-flat Major – Franz Tausch (1762–1817)
Allegro molto

Quartet No. 4 in C minor – Jean-Xavier Lefèvre (1763–1829)
Allegro moderato
Adagio
Rondo: Poco allegretto 

Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 4 – Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775–1838)
Allegro: Molto agitato
Menuetto–Trio
Pastorale: Un poco allegretto
Rondo: Allegro 

A part of the Gotham Early Music Scene series, this was an interesting program that included three composers who were new to me—Bernhard Henrik Crusell, Franz Tausch and Jean-Xavier Lefèvre. Tausch, based in Berlin, was one of Crusell’s first teachers. Lefèvre took up that mantle in Paris. Crusell was Finnish. Geography lesson over. A word about the clarinet. When it is played in brisk, scale-like passages, it sounds bubbly. There were a lot of bubbly phrases on display. That is the last time you will read the word bubbly in this post. Now to the next minor concern. Since all three works were for clarinet quartet, they were fairly similar even though they came from slightly different eras. On to the music. 

The Tausch had a unison opening—all four instruments playing the same notes though in different octaves. It was jaunty and pleasant. The unison theme was repeated, while the clarinet was definitely featured. 

The Lefèvre, being three movements instead of one, was a bit longer. The first movement was slightly dark but not somber. In fact, it was pretty energetic. It pitted a string trio against the clarinet quartet. This compositional technique was repeated a few times. In fact, the second movement opened with the string trio that was then joined by the clarinet in a gentle adagio. There was still energy—just a gentler energy. A small, bright burst of energy led to a subdued ending. The third movement had a much brisker tempo that almost made it to fun while the minor key seemed to be holding it back. If it wasn’t quite fun, it was interesting in a good way. Then the tempo picked up and it finally made it to fun. 

After the strings retuned, the Crusell had a strong opening that then softened just a bit. Overall, the movement had a solid quality. The second movement was definitely dance-like—a nice, gentle dance, though it was also spirited at times. The third movement was gentle and lovely, opening with a string trio before being joined by the clarinet. This phrasing was repeated several times. Crusell had certainly learned from his teachers. The final movement was energetic with fleet fingering from the clarinet. It was pretty bub... oops, not going there. 

I’m glad I attended but the similarities of the three works made me rethink the concert that followed on April 9th. It was for solo flute. Literally. No piano or harpsichord or other instrument involved. Just a flute. I decided to pass on that one. 

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Across a Crowded Room (3/28/26)

A few words about this New York Public Library program. A group of writers and composers get together, meet and greet, and then determine who they’d like to work with. The goal is to create a 20-minute musical. This could be a standalone or something they would like to expand further after presenting their short works. Saturday was the first public performance of five of these from this season. There are also two industry people giving feedback after each performance. On to the shows! 

Man of My Dreams had three actors and a pianist (who, in this case was also the composer). The score was vaguely pop rock, and our protagonist was a gal who was meeting with her boyfriend who happened to be a blue haired girl—actually a character from a video game. The gal and the ‘boyfriend’ go on actual dates that are both contracted and scripted. Oh, the gal also has a husband. A real-life flesh and blood husband. The romantic triangle that ensues is pretty much left hanging at the end of the 20 minutes. The score and lyrics were pretty good, the performances were good, and the plot was relatively easy to follow. 

Elizabeth & Essex had four actors, a fifth person off to one side reading the stage directions, and a pianist/music director (who was not the composer this time). The score, at least parts of it, had a ’20s vibe. The plot was somewhat convoluted and involved a piece of missing mail, a Postal Warden condemning the mailboxes in the lobby of an apartment building, an underground pneumatic tube system for delivering mail from condemned mailboxes, and a Postal Pigeon. I’m not making this up, you know. Oh, the portal to enter the underground place was supposed to be at the corner of Elizabeth and Essex Streets in NYC, which run parallel to each other. (Did I mention a convoluted plot?) The Postal Worker’s song was swell. The title song slightly missed the mark. The Postal Pigeon’s song was hilarious. The minimal staging was witty. All in all, this was my favorite of the five. 

Up next was Joybot, the story of an Artificial Intelligence superintendent of a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The five actors did a very good job of fleshing out the story, which revolved around getting some of the neighbors out of their insular, me-machine lives, and leading to them being real people relating with other as real people again. The music was pleasant enough, though one number dragged on a bit, and there was some nice harmony singing. A pleasant show with pleasant characters and pleasant music. 

The Atomic Age – A New Musical followed. The score was vaguely 1950s with some angular harmonies thrown in. The plot involved women in the workplace (punch card operators), two of whom end up hinting at a lesbian friendship/relationship that pretty much destroys the first woman’s marriage. There were references to the beginning of coding and a new, changing world. As one of the panelists noted, the piece sort of couldn’t make up its mind as to whether it had a ’50s vibe or a ’70s vibe. 

Dynamo was set in 1929 and dealt with creating new type of energy—hydropower—and the inevitable progress involved. The music wasn’t tremendously of the period, but the plot was interesting and the staging was very interesting. I wasn’t blown away by the music though I wasn’t turned off by it either. And all three actors did very good jobs. 

In fact, all of the performers in all five pieces were very good. From a musical standpoint, I found that some of the vocal writing, especially in the high ranges (both female and male) was a bit difficult and made the lyrics a little hard to understand. All told, it was a very enjoyable day letting me experience new theater. Will any of these shows have legs? Only time will tell. There is one more group of plays to be presented toward the end of May. I will be there. 

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