Sunday Morning Music

27. March 2022 · Comments Off on Sunday Morning Music · Categories: Sunday Morning Music · Tags: , , , ,

As Every Day, They Mercy Spares (No. 38)
Cantus

Cantus performs the rare early-American hymn “As Every Day, Thy Mercy Spares (No. 38),” a beautiful 1844 church song based on a Mozart tune. Enjoy! ???

Find more choir music at YourClassical Choral Stream: https://www.yourclassical.org/choral

—
“As Every Day, Thy Mercy Spares (No. 38)”
Performed by Cantus (https://www.cantussings.org)
Hymn: Elam Ives, Jr., William Alpers and Henry C. Timm
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Music from the American Classical Hymns project
Free sheet music:

Filmed May 11, 2021, at Central Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minn.

Executive producer: Randy Salas

Thanks to Prof. Peter Mercer-Taylor, University of Minnesota, and Jennifer Anderson and Anna Sanchez, Central Presbyterian

Alexander Koshelev (Oboe) in Kharkiv bunker

25. March 2022 · 1 comment · Categories: Praying for Ukraine

I found this moving.

There are many more of these on his channel that he’s posted. I just can’t imagine being in a bunker, much less than playing oboe while there.

For Ukraine

25. March 2022 · 1 comment · Categories: Praying for Ukraine

Erkki-Sven Tüür: For Ukraine

From the YouTube page:

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste

Video of a new piece “For Ukraine” written by Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür, who has been distressed and in pain since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the composer explained to the Estonian Music Information Center (EMIC): “I wanted to compose something to provide immediate and direct spiritual support to people in Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom and suffering from the power of incredible evil.” The work for mixed choir and orchestra uses texts from the books of Isaiah and Habakkuk.

VIDEO – Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR)

“For Ukraine”

Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a city by iniquity! (Habakkuk 2, 12)

God, save Ukraine!

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who replace darkness with light
and light with darkness,
who replace bitter with sweet
and sweet with bitter.
(Isaiah 5, 20)

God, save Ukraine!

Woe to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed;
Woe to you, traitor, you who have not been betrayed.
When you have finished your work of destroying, you will be destroyed;
and when you have completes your betrayal, you will be betrayed.
Lord, be gracious to us,
for we wait for you.
Be our strength every morning
and rescue us when troubles come.
(Isaiah 33, 1-2)

Just a Bit of Advice

21. March 2022 · 2 comments · Categories: etiquette

I’ve been meaning to write this little bit of advice for eons, but keep forgetting. Finally I’m getting to it!

Some years back I was playing a concert with a younger player (NOT in my section) who came to the concert without wearing the requested concert attire. When a friend of his came to chat with him he said, “What’s with the clothes?” His response, “No one can see me anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

No. It matters. It matters greatly.

This young player made sure I would never recommend him for a job in a group I play in. Others heard what he said as well, and I’m betting I wasn’t the only one taken aback by his not caring how he appeared.

Be careful what you say. Always.

Now, to be fair, I confess I’ve been known to say stupid things, and I have to watch my tongue as much as the next person. (But I would never break a concert dress rule. Ever.)

So that’s it. Just a wee bit of advice that, I hope, no one but that one player ever needs to hear.

Side note: there are other bits of advice I would love to give. I have written an etiquette page, but I doubt anyone reads that. I sure see a lot o younger musicians who don’t know some simple little “rules”.

Concert Over ‘n Out

20. March 2022 · 4 comments · Categories: Ramble

What fun to finally get to play again with San Jose Chamber Orchestra. It’s been so very long. Also fun was walking to work, of course.

BUT most fun?! Getting to play with Daniel Gurevich next to me after all these years. What a fine, fine player he is. I’m angry with myself, though: I should have had a photo taken with him! I even had the pleasure of seeing and chatting with his parents. Why didn’t I think of a photo?! (Surely it can’t be about my age, right? (Hm. Don’t answer that!)

Of course playing with him makes me marvel at the passing of time. It doesn’t feel all that long ago that I met him, a young, very enthusiastic oboist, or conversed via email with his father, yet here is he, a grown man, ready to get that playing job somewhere.

I’m not ready to deal with time passing this quickly, but of course I have no choice! So it goes.

Bravo, Daniel … and bravi tutti to the other young wind players there. (I was guessing I might very well have been the second oldest person on that stage. Eek!)

Sunday Morning Music

20. March 2022 · Comments Off on Sunday Morning Music · Categories: Sunday Morning Music · Tags: , , ,

Orlando Gibbons: Almighty and Everlasting God, arr. Paul Smith
The Voces8 Scholars (U.S)

CREDITS:
Voces8 Scholars: Maxwell Ary, Aaron Cates, Logan Combs, Jenna Hernandez, Jess Huetteman, Grace Kiver, Lauren Lestage, Adrien Redford, Christopher Short, Michael Skarke, Ross Tamaccio and Emily Wood.
Directors: Paul Smith and Erik Jacobson
Recording: Cameron Wiley, Evan Clark and Peter Ecklund
Video post-production: Evan Clark
Executive producer: Randy Salas

Recording dates: Nov. 15-17, 2021

A Concert This Weekend

17. March 2022 · Comments Off on A Concert This Weekend · Categories: A Musician's LIfe, Ramble

San Jose Chamber Orchestra has a concert this Sunday evening, and we had our first rehearsal today. Here is a first for me: I only have to walk eight minutes to get to work! It’s quite lovely. (Of course the weather has been warmer than it should be: I’m not sure how I’d feel if I was freezing or if it were too rainy!) You can read more about the concert here.

An interesting side note: many years ago I conversed occasionally with the father of a young oboist named Daniel. I so enjoyed “chatting” (via email) with the father, and one special day I got to meet him, along with his son. This young boy is now grown into quite a fabulous oboist. He attended Julliard and San Francisco Conservatory, doing miles more than I ever did as a young player! Today? Well, he sat next to me. He is playing this set, and it’s just lovely to have him there. (I wrote about him earlier in this post, where you can also hear him play.

Time. It flies by. And students, they pass us oldsters by. (I was never actually Daniel’s instructor, but still ….)

Prayer for Ukraine

15. March 2022 · 2 comments · Categories: Praying for Ukraine · Tags: , , ,

Kantorei

Concert opener for “Exile Lamentations” performed March 6, 2022
Wellshire Presbyterian Church, Denver, CO USA
Joel M. Rinsema, Managing Artistic Director
Emma Tebbe, mezzo-soprano

Translation:

Lord, oh the Great and Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Bless her with freedom and light
Of your holy rays.

With learning and knowledge enlighten us,
your children small,
In love pure and everlasting
Let us, oh Lord, grow.

We pray, oh Lord Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Grant our people and country
all your kindness and grace.

Bless us with freedom,
bless us with wisdom,
Guide into kind world,
Bless us, oh Lord, with good fortune
for ever and evermore.

Still Playing!

15. March 2022 · Comments Off on Still Playing! · Categories: English horn, Oboe · Tags: , , ,

Back in 2017 I posted this video of these sweet young girls playing Albinoni. Yesterday I was greeting by another video by them when I logged into YouTube. I’m happy to see they are still playing!

From the YouTube page:

Shepherds de Provence, op. 43
for oboe and English horn
by Eugene Bozza (1995-1991) – French composer

I. Pastorale Provencale

Young Music Maker 2019 Final Concert
Young Oboe Player – Wong Si
Young English Horn Player -Wong Sa

Katherine Needleman & Mekhi Gladden play Bartok

14. March 2022 · Comments Off on Katherine Needleman & Mekhi Gladden play Bartok · Categories: English horn, Listen, Oboe · Tags: , , ,

(Hat tip to Bob Hubbard for bringing this to my attention.)

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
arr. Katherine Needleman
Duos for Oboe and English Horn

New Year’s Greeting No. 2 0:05
New Year’s Greeting No. 3 0:46
New Year’s Greeting No. 4. 1:38
Serbian Dance 2:20
Harvest Song. 3:13
Limping Dance 4:43
Arabian Song 5:11
A Fairy Tale 6:32
Teasing Song 7:47
Comic Song 8:15
Bride’s Farewell 9:00
Ruthenian Kolomejka 10:32

Katherine Needleman, oboe
Mekhi Gladden, English horn / cor anglais

This is a live performance from An Die Musik in Baltimore on March 5, 2022. This arrangement can be acquired at katherineneedleman.com/publications

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