Plan A....through Plan Z

Hello, my ever-ready solfeggists!

Well, it's Holy Week. And it's the day after my DMA recital...and I even have photographic evidence!

Needless to say, between 28 verses of "All Glory, Laud and Honor" and the concert yesterday, it's been a whirlwind of a weekend, and there's no slowdown in sight.

In times like these, we make plans and hope that things fall into place. And, sometimes we're lucky and that's what happens -- we're lucky enough (or experienced enough) that Plan A winds up being the plan we use. However, that's not usually the case, and I can tell you honestly that even though last night was a pretty smooth ride as concerts go (thanks in large part to the kindness, flexibility, and skill of my collaborators), there were several necessary deviations from my original Plan A. That being said, it's probably also true that these deviations and changes and adaptations impacted the evening in ways that were visible and invisible, predictable and unpredictable, and knowing what I know now, I think I wouldn't go back and change much, even if I could. Why? Because while I know I could have done a lot of things better and I had to compromise on some things because I couldn't have everything I thought I needed, trading in history for yet another unpredictable future seems both ungrateful and probably ill-advised. The detours and negotiations and maybe even the mistakes led me and all the performers to the exact time/place/action I call "last night's concert", and behold....it was good.

So, in the realm of solfa, let's take an adventure with an old tune....

http://www.pucpr.edu/diocesis/cantoral/VictimaePasGR.pdf

If you read just the top line (which you may choose to sing starting on "re" or "la"....there are no Bs in the tune, so it's all diatonic either way), this is one of the more well-known Gregorian tunes. It also happens to be one of only four sequences that survived the Council of Trent's liturgical reforms...perhaps the first point earning it its place in music history textbooks.

Now, if you read through this tune and thought to yourself, "Gee, that sounds familiar, but I don't think that's how I know it....", check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_lag_in_Todesbanden.JPG

That's right...this Gregorian tune, which certainly had its day in polyphonic settings by Catholic composers (look for long notes in order to locate the tune):

http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/4/45/Busnois-Victimae.pdf

http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/b/b0/Lasso_Victimae_c.pdf

http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/9/92/Morales1546-10.pdf

...got a new identity as a Lutheran chorale tune, courtesy of Luther himself. Predictably, the guy who took Luther's tune and made Lutheran magic (in the vernacular) with it was our favorite Thurungian genius, J.S. Bach:

http://www.kantoreiarchiv.de/archiv/choir_orchestra/cantata/bach/bwv_4/bwv_4_score_pdf/bwv_4_01a.pdf

And ever since, the tune has had a double life, and people from both Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations associate it with Eastertide.

So, this week, take a little time and read through various parts of its various incarnations. Look for common threads, and look for points of contrast. Hunt down other settings and tell us what you find! Choose your own adventure!

Greed

Salutations!

Last night, I had the privilege of seeing Sweet Honey in the Rock perform live for the second time. If you don't know this group, you must, must, MUST check them out: click here, here, or here.

To my shame, I don't go to lots of non-classical concerts, but whenever I get wind of Sweet Honey coming to town, I'm there. Why? Because I always leave the hall feeling empowered and inspired, and I leave convinced that I'm not the only one who thinks what I think, that maybe there is such a thing as the larger human family. And, I happen to really love Sweet Honey's political agenda, which I'm sure not everyone does, but regardless of one's political views, they talk and sing about certain issues that transcend politics and reach into the realm of morals. At last evening's concert, there was a lot of talk about the dilemma of greed.

What is greed? Well, the woman who spoke about it said that Greed never shows up alone. Greed brings a bodyguard -- named Fear. And from there, human beings get scared of not having enough, of not being able to survive, and in response to this fear, they start hoarding. It happens to everyone, and it isn't just about money....for some of us, money never enters our consciousness as something to hoard. It might be about attention. It might be about our own expressions of love for others. It could be any substance or behavior even remotely under our control, and it is absolutely human nature to try to grasp, clutch, and hide away in order to keep ourselves from running out of whatever it is. What's the fix? Well, I doubt anyone can uproot it from themselves once and for all, but I believe that the practice of being present is a moment-by-moment antidote to freaking out and clamping down. Why? Because if you're invested in being where you are, doing whatever you're doing with all of your might, it's hard to be stockpiling off to the side.

I think musicians have a bit of an advantage here -- maybe that's why all those Greek guys talked about the ennobling attributes of music. High-level music-making, such as performing in a solo or chamber music context, enforces presentness -- hopefully ensemble performance of any kind enforces it, but if there's someone else singing/playing your part with you, there's always the possibility of zoning out and getting away with it, at least for the moment. Also, music-making that requires intense concentration, such as sing-and-play exercises or sight-reading, takes the mind away from the places it tends to get itself into mischief.

That being said....

Rising Level 2's

Sight-reading: Any Ottman example from 6.1-6.20 -- just scan, set your key and tempo, and go!

Sing-and-plays: Ottman, 5.38 and 5.39 -- read through each line on solfa, and then pick line to play on the piano as you sing the other. If you're very comfortable at the piano, play the harder line and sing the easier one. If you're more comfortable as a singer, sing the harder line, and play the easier one. I would also recommend practicing singing one part while just tapping the rhythm of the other as an intermediary step if you have trouble putting it together.

Rising Level 3's

Sight-reading: Any Ottman example from 12.18-12.25, 12.30-32 -- just scan, set your key and tempo, and go!

Sing-and-plays: Ottman, 11.33 and 12.39 -- follow the same instructions as the rising 2's.

Rising Level 4's

Sight-reading: Any unknown Ottman example from chapter 20 (we've done lots of them in the summer, so see if you can find a few we haven't used). Once you've found an unfamiliar one, just scan, set your key and tempo, and go!

Sing-and-plays: Ottman, 15.106 and 15.107 -- follow the same instructions as the rising 2's.

Strive for undivided attention in the few minutes you take to do these tasks. Try not to worry about how it's going to go or if you'll be able to do it. Be generous with yourself in the face of challenges and mistakes. Don't throw in the towel or try to give yourself too many crutches too soon. Take a risk on yourself. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you get in return.

Fatal Flaws

Salutations, my dear solfeggists!

I'm writing from my comfy couch, looking out on an April snowstorm....not an uncommon occurrence in Colorado, but always a shock to the system when it follows an 80-degree day -- although that, too, is not uncommon.

This week's blog post subject material is courtesy of a conversation from yesterday with one of AKI's own...with a little help from church this morning.

In yesterday's conversation, we were discussing our respective "fatal flaws" -- the thing we just can't stop doing, even though we'd like to change it. Everyone has one (or several...), and chances are that you know about them in both yourself and other people. In fact, to some extent, we are even known by our flaws, and they actually become a part of our identity....it happens in choirs and classrooms all the time. You know the part in X piece where that one person always makes a mistake, and you can take a good guess at which kid turned in a paper without a name on it by looking at which answers are incorrect.

In a sense, when we Kodály types talk about going from the known to the unknown, we're dealing with an outward manifestation of an inward process: as we know ourselves and our strengths more thoroughly, we are better able to ascertain when we understand a concept, and we're able to demonstrate what we know in varying ways. Group dynamics and blind luck can disguise what is understood and what is not, and in the classroom, this happens all the time -- in fact, it is infrequent to be observed from the outside in a way that is identical to what's going on inside. If this is true, then all education is really self-education, because only the individual truly knows what he or she understands. And, similarly, when I teach you, I'm bound to start by teaching you as if you were me with all the flaws and strengths I recognize in myself. Hopefully, over time and by watching others, a teacher cultivates a more extensive bag of tricks than only what is effective for him/herself, but we all probably default to using ourselves as a point of departure. We are always our own first student.

So, all of that being said, I invite you to plot your own course for this week's assignment. Do what you know you need to do to be successful with this material. Make a note of what works for you and what doesn't. Be creative. Increasing your own self-knowledge is the name of the game.

Rising Level 2's

Take a look at this bicinia by Orlando di Lasso:

http://individual.utoronto.ca/crossey/lasso/bicinia/13-scribantur.pdf

....and this lovely Brahms piece (you may know it in another form, with German text, as the second movement of his motet "Warum ist das Licht gegeben")

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/brahms/brah-ben.pdf

What is easy about each piece? What is difficult? Do they behave how you expect them to behave? If not, how will you cope? Creativity in practice is encouraged.

Rising Level 3's

Take a look at these pieces:

http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/images/b/b7/Vic-lucis.pdf

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/bruckner/bruc-ta2.pdf

Sometimes you'll want to be in the key notated, sometimes a fifth away...I'll leave it in your capable hands to decide.

Rising Level 4's

Take a look at the chromaticism in these pieces:

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/e/ed/Bruckner-Locus_iste.pdf

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/DVK86K.pdf

What can you do to make the chromaticism seem less forbidding?

Now get out there, and show your flaws who's boss!