O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Text is a twelfth century Latin hymn, translated into English by John Neale (1851)
Music is the fifteenth century hymn tune VENI VENI EMANUEL
Performed by Barlow Girl
"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."
Monday, December 1, 2014
Musical Advent Calendar 2014, Day 1
Monday, December 1
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Text is a twelfth century Latin hymn, translated into English by John Neale (1851)
Music is the fifteenth century hymn tune VENI VENI EMANUEL
Performed by Barlow Girl
"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Text is a twelfth century Latin hymn, translated into English by John Neale (1851)
Music is the fifteenth century hymn tune VENI VENI EMANUEL
Performed by Barlow Girl
"Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Resources for Advent
Today, Sunday, is the First Sunday of Advent. It is the beginning of the liturgical year and the beginning of the season of preparing for Christmas, the celebration of the Incarnation. It is and always has been my favorite time of year, originally, when I was a small child, because of the fun and presents, and still now that I have the (if I may be so bold) intellectual and spiritual maturity to appreciate the significance of the season to redemptive history. But enough about me, and more about Jesus!
I would like to highlight two devotional resources for this Advent season.
The first is a new devotional by Ray Pritchard (my former senior pastor), Why He Came. You can get the ebook for FREE on Amazon today through Thursday (after that it will cost $2.99). Ray's seasonal devotionals (he usually writes one for both Advent and Lent each year) are always good; I highly recommend you download a copy for yourself!
The second is the fourth edition of my Musical Advent Calendar. I started this in 2011, my first year out of college, and have been blessed with positive responses from family, friends, and colleagues over the years. A bit about it for those of you unfamiliar:
Each day from December 1 through December 25, I will have a different Advent- or Christmas-themed song featured here on my blog. The twenty-five selections are a mix of songs from across the centuries and styles, and are performed by an equally wide variety of artists. Each day’s post will be live at 5 AM Central Time. You may visit the blog each day or, to have the posts delivered directly to your email, please subscribe to my blog if you have not already (see the "Follow by Email" feature directly below my picture in the right-hand column). Please feel free to share my calendar with the people you know!
I would like to highlight two devotional resources for this Advent season.
The first is a new devotional by Ray Pritchard (my former senior pastor), Why He Came. You can get the ebook for FREE on Amazon today through Thursday (after that it will cost $2.99). Ray's seasonal devotionals (he usually writes one for both Advent and Lent each year) are always good; I highly recommend you download a copy for yourself!
The second is the fourth edition of my Musical Advent Calendar. I started this in 2011, my first year out of college, and have been blessed with positive responses from family, friends, and colleagues over the years. A bit about it for those of you unfamiliar:
Each day from December 1 through December 25, I will have a different Advent- or Christmas-themed song featured here on my blog. The twenty-five selections are a mix of songs from across the centuries and styles, and are performed by an equally wide variety of artists. Each day’s post will be live at 5 AM Central Time. You may visit the blog each day or, to have the posts delivered directly to your email, please subscribe to my blog if you have not already (see the "Follow by Email" feature directly below my picture in the right-hand column). Please feel free to share my calendar with the people you know!
And those are just two of what I am sure are many, many other resources that focus on Christ, the Word become Flesh, in the context of this Advent season. Are there any others you would recommend? Please share in the comments below.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Achieved is the Glorious Work
It was easily the most complex production of my young career. According to my boss, Tony Payne, Creation at Wheaton was also the most complex production of his over three decades at Wheaton. After well over half a year of coordinating, discussing, organizing, and re-organizing the details of all that was involved in all the activity leading up to and surrounding last night's concert, I think it is safe to assume that all of my colleagues and I, not to mention all the Wheaton students who were involved, are now breathing a collective sigh of relief. I was actually in a bit of a daze at church this morning, and not just because of the lack of sleep. After months of continuously thinking about this project, with all the details and their multilayered connections, spinning in my head, I woke up this morning with the very liberating feeling of no longer needing to mentally hold it all.
This is not a confession that I almost had a break down or anything like that. Sure, there were moments when I was, as I put it to a friend yesterday, "professionally annoyed." And of course I know I did not do everything perfectly; I certainly hope to learn much from this experience to apply to my future work. But, truthfully, I am also breathing a sigh of satisfaction, and I think that is true for the others as well.
There are so many things I could say about the Creation at Wheaton project. Hearing from music students about the thrill of rehearsals with John Nelson. Seeing a group of high school students engaged in their special workshop. Witnessing the fine work of my student staff, aptly executing every task I assigned to them (I must pause here at say thank you to Matthew James, Anna Krcek, Cathrine Peistrup, and Sameah Villaca). I was also, at the risk of sounding conceited, very gratified to see people use the hashtag #WheatonCreation that I created for the whole project back in February. Needless to say, I have yet to fully process everything (and being still short on sleep as I write this, I will likely not finish doing so today.)
So I will simply offer a few reflections on last night. First, we had a tremendous audience, both in scope as well as in style. Moments like that, when Edman Chapel is alive with energy and excitement, are always special, and last night took it to a new level. Everyone was enjoying the evening.
Second, we had a tremendous group of musicians. Wheaton College is indeed blessed to have such quality student music ensembles. They performed with such passion last night, no doubt driven by the fact that the piece they were performing is a part of their faith. I was in the backstage corridor with the ensemble directors when the students all came back at the conclusion of the performance, and it was so special to see 260 very happy musicians walk past us.
And third, I had the unique experience of having one of my best friends from my days at Wheaton College, my senior year roommate Nathaniel Olson, as one of the featured guest professional soloists!
All told, an experience I will not forget anytime soon. I am so grateful to have been part of it.
And now a couple pictures from last night...
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| My senior year roommate and one of my best friends from Wheaton, Nathaniel Olson, sang the role of Adam in THE CREATION. |
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| Maestro John Nelson, flanked by the soloists and backed by the Wheaton College choirs and orchestra, greets the audience to begin the concert. |
Monday, October 27, 2014
Classical Music Concerts
I read a great piece by Swiss conductor Baldur Brönnimann, "10 Things That We Should Change in Classical Music Concerts." Some of his points I agree with completely, and with others I have reservations. Please read his list (it will not take long) before continuing to read here.
Welcome back!
And now, my responses.
1. The audience should feel free to applaud between movements.
Maybe. Perhaps after the first movement of a concerto, if there was a cadenza involved. Perhaps after each item in a song cycle or series of dances. It can show that the audience is following and affirms the conductor's interpretation of the overall piece as it progresses through the movements. But I think it would be difficult to derive a new standard here. Applaud only after loud, fast movements? Temper your applause to up to fifty percent of what you would give at the very end? What if people start to applaud just as the conductor preps the downbeat to the final movement? I certainly think there's room for a shift from a universal frown, but where to redraw the line is a challenge.
2. Orchestras should tune backstage.
Should they also refrain from meandering out to the stage fifteen or twenty minutes before curtain and quietly (or maybe not so quietly) playing this or that passage from the evening's program? To me, the entrance of the conductor is what signals the true start of the concert; the tuning does not affect my hearing of the actual pieces of music.
3. We should be able to use mobile phones.
People are doing it anyway. Is an orchestra really going to lose money because a few quick photos, even from the new iPhone 6, or even some 15-second Instagram recordings are circulating on the Internet? I would even say orchestras should create hashtags for each program in their season and ask people to tag their posts from the concert accordingly! Appropriate etiquette must be observed, of course: silent mode, and lowest brightness, so as not to disturb people who, in their own discretion, wish to focus solely on the music and musicians, and react later.
4. Programs should be less predictable.
This idea has merit. While it is true that the repertoire is often the selling point, a well-chosen theme, with the exact pieces announced from the stage, can sell well also. Not to mention headliner soloists! Seriously, does it really matter what Yo-Yo Ma is going to play? Yo-You Ma is going to play!
5. You should be able to take your drinks inside the hall.
I will not embarrass her, but I was once at a concert with a friend and no one prevented her from bringing her slushee into the hall after intermission. There was an audible slurp during a quiet moment of a Dvorak Symphony.
As long as straws are not involved, I have exactly zero problem with folks having their coffee or tea or beer or cocktails in the hall. No aluminum cans, though. Very tacky.
6. The artists should engage with the audience.
Absolutely yes. I would love it if conductors would say a few words about how they arrived at the interpretation they are about to present. Do keep it short, though. And not for every piece on the program. And yes to mingling with concertgoers after the concert. Probably not backstage, where stagehands will be at work and dressing rooms will be train stations, but why not in the main lobby?
7. Orchestras shouldn't play in tail suits.
Here I must hold out as a traditionalist. Uniforms are important. I really have no idea what purpose the tall white hat serves in a kitchen, but it is part of the package.
8. Concerts should be more family-friendly.
Yes and no. I firmly believe that every professional performing arts organization should devote part of its time, energy, and resources to programming suitable for children. But on the other hand, some works of art are hard to understand, and take more attention, patience, and critical thinking. Those works are part of the canon, and just because children are unable to understand them, adults should still be able to engage without the children around.
9. Concert halls should use more cutting-edge technology.
There is merit in this idea. Depending on the configuration of the hall, I have no inherent problem with image magnification (though sometimes seeing the full breadth of the orchestra from the highest balcony, with each bow moving in unison, is very much worth being far away). Downloadable content, yes. Digital acoustic enhancements, sure. As long as it all supports the music, rather than creating something that is more artificial than not.
10. Every program should contain a contemporary piece.
Maybe. As long as the inclusion is for the sake of presenting quality music, not for the sake of presenting a contemporary piece. Present the best music from across the ages, rather than meeting quotas.
What do you think about all those ideas?
Brönnimann himself responded to some of the comments on his original post; his responsive thoughts are worth reading as well.
Welcome back!
And now, my responses.
1. The audience should feel free to applaud between movements.
Maybe. Perhaps after the first movement of a concerto, if there was a cadenza involved. Perhaps after each item in a song cycle or series of dances. It can show that the audience is following and affirms the conductor's interpretation of the overall piece as it progresses through the movements. But I think it would be difficult to derive a new standard here. Applaud only after loud, fast movements? Temper your applause to up to fifty percent of what you would give at the very end? What if people start to applaud just as the conductor preps the downbeat to the final movement? I certainly think there's room for a shift from a universal frown, but where to redraw the line is a challenge.
2. Orchestras should tune backstage.
Should they also refrain from meandering out to the stage fifteen or twenty minutes before curtain and quietly (or maybe not so quietly) playing this or that passage from the evening's program? To me, the entrance of the conductor is what signals the true start of the concert; the tuning does not affect my hearing of the actual pieces of music.
3. We should be able to use mobile phones.
People are doing it anyway. Is an orchestra really going to lose money because a few quick photos, even from the new iPhone 6, or even some 15-second Instagram recordings are circulating on the Internet? I would even say orchestras should create hashtags for each program in their season and ask people to tag their posts from the concert accordingly! Appropriate etiquette must be observed, of course: silent mode, and lowest brightness, so as not to disturb people who, in their own discretion, wish to focus solely on the music and musicians, and react later.
4. Programs should be less predictable.
This idea has merit. While it is true that the repertoire is often the selling point, a well-chosen theme, with the exact pieces announced from the stage, can sell well also. Not to mention headliner soloists! Seriously, does it really matter what Yo-Yo Ma is going to play? Yo-You Ma is going to play!
5. You should be able to take your drinks inside the hall.
I will not embarrass her, but I was once at a concert with a friend and no one prevented her from bringing her slushee into the hall after intermission. There was an audible slurp during a quiet moment of a Dvorak Symphony.
As long as straws are not involved, I have exactly zero problem with folks having their coffee or tea or beer or cocktails in the hall. No aluminum cans, though. Very tacky.
6. The artists should engage with the audience.
Absolutely yes. I would love it if conductors would say a few words about how they arrived at the interpretation they are about to present. Do keep it short, though. And not for every piece on the program. And yes to mingling with concertgoers after the concert. Probably not backstage, where stagehands will be at work and dressing rooms will be train stations, but why not in the main lobby?
7. Orchestras shouldn't play in tail suits.
Here I must hold out as a traditionalist. Uniforms are important. I really have no idea what purpose the tall white hat serves in a kitchen, but it is part of the package.
8. Concerts should be more family-friendly.
Yes and no. I firmly believe that every professional performing arts organization should devote part of its time, energy, and resources to programming suitable for children. But on the other hand, some works of art are hard to understand, and take more attention, patience, and critical thinking. Those works are part of the canon, and just because children are unable to understand them, adults should still be able to engage without the children around.
9. Concert halls should use more cutting-edge technology.
There is merit in this idea. Depending on the configuration of the hall, I have no inherent problem with image magnification (though sometimes seeing the full breadth of the orchestra from the highest balcony, with each bow moving in unison, is very much worth being far away). Downloadable content, yes. Digital acoustic enhancements, sure. As long as it all supports the music, rather than creating something that is more artificial than not.
10. Every program should contain a contemporary piece.
Maybe. As long as the inclusion is for the sake of presenting quality music, not for the sake of presenting a contemporary piece. Present the best music from across the ages, rather than meeting quotas.
===
What do you think about all those ideas?
Brönnimann himself responded to some of the comments on his original post; his responsive thoughts are worth reading as well.
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