SEATTLE RECORDER SOCIETY Recorder Notes
January 2015 Vol. XLVI, No. 4 From the Music Director (Peter Seibert) Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767) w as one of the most prolific composers who ever lived. In the era of composers like J.S. Bach and Handel, who wrote music o f the highest quality rapidly, Telemann out-‐produced them all – and did it with inventiveness and eloquence. Like Bach and Handel, Telemann was a north German composer as well as an instrumentalist w ho played several instruments well. He was considered one of the leading composers of his day, having mastered French and Italian national styles, and he also incorporated some music in the Polish style in his writing. His wrote in every musical genre of the day: cantatas, oratorios, operas, concertos, chamber music, and orchestral suites. To bring in the year 2015, w e will play new editions and arrangements I’ve done of several movements from his over 100 orchestral suites. These movements, most of which are baroque dances, are delightful and are within the technical grasp of most recorder players. Most recorder players are only familiar with his chamber music for recorders, his solo and trio sonatas. His orchestral suites are equally marvelous, but rather than being vehicles for soloists, they are ensemble pieces – all arranged for SATB – that are accessible as ensemble music. Come join us as w e bring in the New Year w ith marvelous music at the Telemann Bash. And remember: The meeting is on Friday, January 2nd! Backroom Gang: Sally Mitchell will again work with those w ho want to play with a small ensemble. She’s an experienced director and is helping players develop ensemble skills. This could be for you! February Meeting: We will look back over the history of the Seattle Recorder Society and the American Recorder Society, as well as some of my own contributions to the SRS and ARS. Then w e will play some of my compositions and arrangements, most of which have not appeared at SRS meetings. More about this in my February column. Port Townsend Early Music Workshop: Dates are 5 – 11 July 2015. You’ve probably seen our ad already in American Recorder and Early Music America. Give yourself a holiday present! Sign up early! And online! SRS Meeting Friday, January 2nd, 2015 @ 7:30 p.m Playing Session (Peter Seibert) The January Telemann Bash SATB recorders plus big basses, viols, etc. The Backroom Gang (Sally Mitchell) Music will be provided. It’s Time! Registration for the Port Townsend Early Music Workshop, July 5 – 11, 2015, is now open! Please visit our website to see the enticing topics that our splendid faculty have to offer. www.seattle-‐
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Meeting Notes: December 5th, 2014 (Text by Molly Warner – photos by Bill Stickney) For our opening program in December, we had the pleasure of a lecture-‐demonstration by Curtis Foster on the several varieties of baroque oboe. Curtis is a professional oboe and recorder player based in Seattle who studied at the Indiana University Early Music program. His introduction to the oboe was on a modern instrument, but he soon became enamored of the baroque instruments. A quick search for “Curtis Foster oboe” on the Internet shows that he is a busy fellow who plays regularly with a number of early music organizations around the country, including but definitely not limited to our own Seattle Baroque Orchestra. There were no oboes during the Renaissance, Curtis told us. Although direct-‐blow double reed instruments in the form of shawms were popular, the shawm is a very loud instrument best suited for parades and outdoor pageants. We learned that around 1660 Louis XIV commissioned a shawm-‐type instrument that could be played indoors without damage to one's hearing. The first attempts w ere not very successful, but by about 1680 there were o boes that worked well in concert with strings, o ther w inds, and harpsichords, and the oboe quickly became integrated into the music of the Baroque. Oboes appeared first in France and England, and then quickly spread to other parts of Europe by the beginning o f the 18th century. A German craftsperson, Eichentopf, was a well-‐known maker of oboes in Leipzig. The English name “oboe” comes from the French “haut-‐bois” which means “high-‐wood,” as the oboe is one of the higher w oodwinds. Curtis had several different oboes w ith him to d emonstrate, and they w ere all quite different in sound. He played a short piece with each one, and the differences in sound were quite pronounced. The first was an o riginal, probably made by Bressan about 1690, that was found in an attic in England. It was pitched at A=392, the low pitch favored in France by composers such as Hotteterre. This instrument had a dark, rich sound. Except for this o ld instrument, all o f the instruments Curtis showed us were made by Sand Dalton of Lopez Island. One of the major factors affecting sound production for the d ifferent baroque oboes is the shape of the foot of the instrument, which can be slightly flared, bell-‐shaped like a bulb, or broadly flared. We heard a soprano oboe in C (A=415) that was much brighter than the Bressan. “The oboe d'amore has a different foot that gives it a warm, pastoral sound,” we learned. Bach used the oboe d'amore in the Christmas Oratorio. The oboe d a caccia is like a hunting horn, curved rather than straight, and has a metal bell for a foot similar to what one would see on a brass instrument. The one that Curtis demonstrated was pitched in F, lower than the other instruments. J.S. Bach was the main composer for (continued below) 2014/2015 SRS Meetings Meetings are usually (but not always) held on the first Friday of each month, October to May, at 7:30 p.m., Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, 10005 -‐ 32nd NE, Seattle. Meetings include a short performance or lecture of interest to recorder and viol players, ensemble playing for all levels of recorder players, and a beginning recorder ensemble. A $5.00 donation is requested for non-‐members. October 10, 2014
November 14, 2014
December 5, 2014
January 2, 2015
February 6, 2015
March 6, 2015
March 27, 2015
May 1, 2015 Refreshments (January) Cookies Ruth Pattison Fruit Naomi Shiff Veggies Jill Shupe Thank you for volunteering! 2
Meeting Notes Recorder Classes (Laura Faber) (Continued) this instrument. Curtis played another oboe at A=392 from the late Baroque (about 1 750). This instrument had a bell that was not as flared, and produced a more silvery sound. “This one is good for pieces by Rameau,” Curtis informed us. At the beginning of the 19th century the need arose for higher instruments that could be played for a longer time. Instruments began to be keyed rather than having mostly o pen holes. Curtis demon-‐
strated one that he had specially made for him by Sand Dalton that had several keys and was pitched at A=430, perfect for Schubert. Note: New beginners are welcome at any time. Contact Laura to get started. Advanced Beginner/Lower Intermediate Ensemble Tuesdays – 7:30 to 9:00 pm Advanced Beginner/Lower Intermediate Ensemble Following the demonstration, Thursdays – 12:30 to 2:30 pm Curtis answered questions from the
audience, many of w hich involved the tricky Intermediate Ensemble business of oboe reeds. Curtis makes all his Tuesdays – 12:30 to 2:30 pm own reeds, w ith a species of reed that comes from southern France. The general principle Bass C
lass is that the bigger the instrument, the wider Saturdays –
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0 am to 12 pm the reed, so bassoon reeds are much wider than oboe reeds. Baroque reeds last longer * * * than the reeds for modern instruments, and the bigger ones last longer than the littler ones. Curtis rotates his, so they can rest between playing sessions. Class Descriptions “I might get only one concert cycle (with rehearsals) out of a classical reed,” he said. Regardless of the pitch of the instrument, the parts are transposed to read in C, so the fingerings are pretty much the same from one instrument Advanced Beginner/ Lower to another. Thank you, Curtis, for a very enlightening lecture-‐demonstration! Intermediate Ensemble (SATB) Comfortable w ith all common After the lecture, the Backroom Gang moved down the hall to play fingerings and rhythms seasonal music w ith Sally Mitchell, including a 12 th century song about Saint Nicholas that Sally arranged for recorders. They also played other Christmas Intermediate Ensemble music with early roots and a Hannukah song. The group this time consisted (SATBGB) of three bass recorder players, one tenor, and one alto, and Sally on soprano. Playing both F and C instruments, counting halves, Those who remained in the big room worked with Peter Seibert reading from parts on his “Second Suite on Early Carol Tunes” (copyright 2014, soon to be published by PRB Productions). About fifteen years ago, Peter published his Bass Class “Suite on Early Carol Tunes” – unaccompanied medieval carol melodies that Any player interested in he set for SATB recorders. They proved to be best-‐sellers and, having learning more about bass learned of this recently, Peter decided to technique may join at any time. arrange a sequel, using SRS as the delighted “guinea pigs.” Curtis Foster joined us on a 10-‐10:30 Beginners/technique borrowed tenor recorder (his recorders, 10:30-‐11:15 Everyone together except for one plastic instrument, are all at 11:15-‐12:00 Intermediate A=415). We had three viol players, a couple of great bass recorders, and two contrabasses as Players a
re w
elcome to attend well. I took skimpy notes, trying to play at the any o
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his class. same time, and later talked w ith Peter about the tunes he arranged. * * * “Als I Lay on Yoolis Night” is a middle English tune he found with a People who are interested title but no words. We began the introduction with smooth, scale-‐wise should contact Laura by email at passages, and didn't get to the tune itself until letter A of the arrangement. [email protected] “Those rests are important!” Peter coached. This short piece began the suite (continued below) or b
y c alling ( 206) 6
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Meeting Notes SRS Board M embers (2014/2015) (Continued) Music Director: Peter Seibert (206-‐329-‐2774) [email protected] because it could fit on the first page, and the familiar “Greensleeves” appeared next as it required two pages. This is based on the 16th century pazzemezzo antico, one of the Renaissance bass lines that was enormously popular as the basis for composition. Peter used the pazzamezzo five times, first in two choruses with the familiar melody, then in two more free sections
over the pazzamezzo bass, and then finally with a last chorus with the melody.
This is the latest piece in this collection. “Veum caro factum est: In hoc anni
circulo” was originally in triple time but Peter set it in cut time, changing part
way through both key and rhythm to triple time. This piece was a lot earlier than
“Greensleeves”; it is a virelay/ballotta form arranged with a number of parallel 6-‐3 chords as well as some baroque-‐sounding counterpoint. “Angelus ad Virginum” is a 13th century piece in w hich Peter used drones, a staccato accompaniment, and “shocking chords,” in triple meter counted one to a bar. “I used some counterpoint and some parallelisms,” Peter told me later. “Nova Nova” is a 14 th century tune that he set in 6 /8 except for some 9/8 bars – “and four dotted halves at the end of each phrase with some 20th century jazz chords.” This one he characterized as “short and snappy.” This five-‐piece suite indeed makes a nice set, and w e hope that it sells as well as the previous set of carols has done. Two more seasonal pieces followed the suite. About ten years ago, Peter made an arrangement that incorporated “all the Wassails I could find.” These are from Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, Somerset, and the north of England. He connected these with a “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” phrase. Towards the end of the piece, the Wassail from Somerset is arranged in canon, with two parts at pitch, another augmented, and another inverted – and it worked! Happy music! And finally, at the end of the evening, we played Peter's big-‐band arrangement for five recorders o f “White Christmas.” “Take this at society tempo!” Thank you so much, Peter. We are so lucky to have you arranging, composing, and conducting wonderful music for recorder orchestra! This was a fine conclusion to 2014. Happy New Year, everyone, and we'll see you on January 2nd, 2015 for our next meeting! * * * * * * * * SRS Board Meeting Reminder The next meeting of the SRS Board will be on Tuesday, January 20th, at 7:30 pm. Hanan’s house * * Officers: President: Kathleen Arends (425-‐649-‐9869) [email protected] President-‐Elect: Hanan Bell (206-‐695-‐2276) [email protected] Past President: Ellis Hillinger (206-‐547-‐0718) [email protected] Secretary: Molly Warner (206-‐523-‐5192) [email protected] Treasurer: Richard Ginnis (206-‐633-‐1969) [email protected] * * * * Membership: Betty Swift (206-‐323-‐3879) [email protected] Newsletter: Karen Berliner (206-‐550-‐3384) [email protected] Refreshments: Mike Woolf (206-‐300-‐6623) [email protected] Viol Representative: Ellen Seibert (206-‐329-‐2774) [email protected] Webmaster: Charles Coldwell (206-‐328-‐8238) [email protected] Ex-‐Officio Member: Vicki Boeckman (206-‐985-‐9916) [email protected] Members-‐At-‐Large: Katie Sprugel [email protected] Carolyn Wallace (206-‐782-‐6898) [email protected] “Recorder Notes” is published monthly, October through May, for its members by the Seattle Recorder Society. 4554 -‐ 4th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105. $35 Annual Membership Dues. www.seattle-‐recorder.org Concerts and Events Calendar J A N U A R Y – 2 0 1 5 F E B R U A R R Y – 2 0 1 5 Fri., Jan. 2 @ 7:30 pm: Seattle Recorder Society Meeting. Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, Seattle. Sat., Jan. 10 @ 2 pm: Moss Bay Recorder Society Meeting. Bellevue Library. 1111 –110th Ave. NE, Bellevue. www.mossbayrecorders.org Sat., Jan. 10 @ 8 pm: Seattle Baroque Orchestra presents: “A Twelfth Night Celebration – Festive Music from the English Theaters.” Guest conductor Julie Andrijeski. TH. EMG. Fri., Jan. 16 @ 7:30 pm: Queen City Musicians present: “Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day.” First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach, 18354 – 8th Ave. NW, Shoreline. www.queencitymusicians.com Sat., Jan. 17 @ 7:30 pm: Queen City Musicians presents: “Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day.” St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4805 NE 45th St., Seattle. www.queencitymusicians.com Sat., Jan. 17 @ 7:30 pm and Sun., Jan. 18 @ 3 pm: Gallery Concerts presents: Ensemble Electra. Virtuosic music of Vivaldi and other Late Baroque masters. Queen Anne Christian Church, 1316 – 3 rd Ave. W, Seattle. www.galleryconcerts.com Fri., Jan. 23 @ 7:30 pm: NW Showcase presents: “Haydn’s Seven Last W ords – Crucifixion of the Earth.” Music by Josef Haydn w ith new texts by Robert Bringhurst and Jan Zwicky. TPC. EMG. Sat., Jan. 24 @ 8 pm: Pallade Musica presents: “A Mio Modo.” Celebrates the individual creative spirits and fantastical conceptions of Stile Moderno, the modern 1 7th-‐century composition style. TH. EMG. Sat., Jan. 31 @ 7:30 pm: The Byrd Ensemble presents: “In Memoriam, Hallock & Tavener.” Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, 10th Ave E, Seattle. www.byrdensemble.com Sat., Jan. 31 @ 8 pm: Medieval W omen’s Choir presents: “Alta Voce.” St. Hildegard of Bingen’s telling of the legend of St. Ursula. Chapel at St. James Cathedral, 804 – 9th Ave., Seattle. www.medievalwomenschoir.org Tues., Feb. 3 @ 7:30 pm: NW Showcase presents: “Cornish College of the Arts Recital.” Students Bryan Lane, tenor, and Mara Winter, Baroque flute, accompanied by members of the Early Music Faculty. TPC. EMG. Fri., Feb. 6 @ 7:30 pm: Seattle Recorder Society Meeting. Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, Seattle. Sat., Feb. 7 @ 7:30 pm: Sound Counterpoint presents: “Sonate auf Concertenart.” Linda Melsted, violin; Curtis Foster, Baroque oboe; Miyo Aoki, recorder; and Jonathan Oddie, harpsichord, play music of Fasch, Telemann, Vivaldi, Bach, and others. TPC. EMG. Sun., Feb. 8 @ 4 pm: Sound Counterpoint presents: “Sonate auf Concertenart.” See above. Waterfront Park Community Center, 370 Brien Drive, Bainbridge Island. EMG. Fri., Feb. 13 @ 8 pm: Northwest Baroque Masterworks presents: “Theodora.” Alexander W eimann directs Handel’s penultimate oratorio. Northwest Baroque Masterworks is a collaboration of Early Music Guild, Early Music Vancouver, and Early Music Society of the Islands (Victoria). TH. EMG. Sat., Feb. 14 @ 2 pm: Moss Bay Recorder Society Meeting, Redmond Library. 15990 NE 85th St, Redmond. www.mossbayrecorders.org Sat., Feb. 14 @ 7:30 pm and Sun., Feb. 15 @ 3 pm: Gallery Concerts presents: “Duo Romantique.” Page Smith, cello; and Tamara Friedman, Romantic pianoforte, play duos and solos by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Chopin. Queen Anne Christian Church, 1316 – 3rd Ave. W, Seattle. www.galleryconcerts.com Sat., Feb. 21 @ 7:30 pm: The Tudor Choir presents: “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” West Coast premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s new setting. Blessed Sacrament Church, 5050 – 8th Ave. NE, Seattle. www.tudorchoir.org EMG (Early Music Guild, 206-‐325-‐7066) www.earlymusicguild.org TPC (Trinity Parish Church, 609 – 8th Avenue, Seattle) www.trinityseattle.org TH (Town Hall, 1119 – 8th Avenue, Seattle) www.townhallseattle.org All events are subject to change.