Currently I am listening to "Take the A Train" performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. What this has to do with March Evensong...well...nothing to be completely honest. But to tie it in some way, I guess I could say that my music taste is broadening as the repertoire I'm performing at St. Andrew's.
We began the evening with the Introit- Crux Fidelis by King John of Portugal which is a beautiful composition. To be completely honest, I have historical background of King John of Portugal, so I will have to remind myself to look him up and shed light upon him. If he was a novice composer, not bad at all! Great voice leading and he definitely had a great teacher. Very full and round sounds for the piece.
Alas, I do not have the program from the night on hand, but the reason I mentioned the ever expanding rep list is that for the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis we sung William Byrd's setting. This setting I was not familiar with at all, which is a good thing because anytime that new compositions come a long (by new, I mean compositions I personally or the choir as a whole has not sung) I welcome them. Of course, the initial grumble of learning music you're not comfortable with sets in (come on, it goes for everybody) but after a couple rehearsals, you kinda lighten up and enjoy the piece. Though, I would like a mulligan with the Byrd some time in the future. Those rhythms in from what I can recall, both sections, were throwing me off. Perhaps I can't read or just the way the copyist wrote them in. Who knows?
But the Byrd is the Wyrd.
The highlight of the evening was Felix Mendelssohn's "Hear my Prayer" sung by not just one but TWO sopranos that evening. Both were sublime as always. It's really nice to hear two different timbres in one composition. I'm a sucker for timbre and tone, especially with our sopranos that evening.
All in all, a great Evensong for the month of March.
Note to self: Look up King John of Portugal and analyze the Mendelssohn- found some interesting text to music elements.
Another Sunday is in the books, and of course we continue in the season of Lent.
Today's musical selection had some creative moments. In my couple years at St. Andrew's (4th to be exact), I don't think we've ever sung a introit that required the choir to face a different direction.
Our rehearsal in the chapel included two choristers singing the opening melody and the choir singing a harmonized section to follow (to put it simply). Without going into the technical jargon that is called music, due to contrasting dynamics and overall aesthetic between choristers and choir, the choir had to do two things:
1) decrease level of volume
2) face away from the chapel entrance
Both adjustments worked wonders from outside listeners. I suppose the balance was so uneven that, the grown adults/young men and women in the choir didn't necessarily match the young choristers. How about that?
You learn something new every Sunday.
As the service went on, a personal highlight, which I'm sure is the same for everyone else, was singing Palestrina's Sicut Cervus. I recently listened back to the recording of the parish choir sing- to be honest, the product didn't come out as good as I thought it was when singing. Usually, from my experience of live recording in general, that is common.
Reminder: never get used to that...
But overall, the choir definitely sounded the best with the Palestrina. My fondest memory that still sticks out from today was the final cadence. After the journey throughout the piece the choir really locked in and I definitely heard some overtones being excited.
It's been awhile since I last updated this blog. Wow.
Let's see...I believe I left off at Lessons and Carols which would have made my last entry in December. Well...yeah, I'm overdue for more.
What originally was going to be a one semester entry log, I figured that I might as well go for the whole choir "season" and come full circle.
So, currently we're in the Lenten season (not just at St. Andrew's but worldwide) and I've been doing my best to not eat meat on Friday's. To be completely honest, reader, I don't observe the tradition that much- I guess as a poor college student, if you're hungry, you're hungry and sometimes fish isn't always available.
All kidding aside, Lent has always intrigued me since I arrived at St. Andrew's. I guess up to my sophomore year at Duquesne, it seemed to me Easter was focal point and nothing else really lead up to it (I totally payed attention in church growing up).
The door opened when I arrived at church to really see Lent in it's full form. From a musical standpoint, I was very fortunate enough to sing Bach chorales on Good Friday and of course have the meditation. That was such a great experience and I began to grasp the meaning behind the Lenten season.
Gah, okay, going to stop for now, but will continue to post in the future until the summer. Then who knows after that?
Ah, always my favourite time of year- Advent. One really cannot go wrong with this particular season/holiday. Winter is just around the corner (technically late December, but sometimes we all jump the gun with the 1st of December).
Last night at rehearsal, we all at last opened our parish choir folders to the musical selections for Lessons and Carols this year. As every year, we have a blast sight reading but mainly going through selections we have sung in prior L&C's (most have a rotation system so we don't have repeats each year).
One of my favourite selections this year is by far the "Coventry Carol" (which I will double check on the arrangement), which is always said by Peter (our choir director) "sounds much better on organ than piano."
So, the next couple of weeks will be steadfast and hardworking at assembling another great choral service. Every year is a packed "house" so that's just another reason among many to get excited.
Details to come, but here is the lovely poster Jen Palmer made for this years Lessons and Carols. Adding to my collection.
Aye, some much has occurred in the past weeks since Thanksgiving. I really do need to catch up without a doubt. For this entry, I'll work backwards up to my lest entry, if that makes sense for readers.
This past Sunday was the usual Post-Thanksgiving service at St. Andrew's. I spent the holiday in New Jersey with my girlfriend's family and made the trip back on Saturday. I figured that the bass section could use more assistance (as not as powerful as my voice is) on the beloved Stainer anthem "I Saw the Lord." I must say, the anthem is a fun-filled ride and what makes it even more beautiful is the use of double choir.
Our director, Peter Luley, split the choir in half, with of course being generous to voice placements, as we sang the anthem. Whose voice worked best with Choir I or II was placed where they needed to be. Placed in Choir II, I was content (and blessed, sorry for the pun) to have a comfortable range composed by Stainer. Though, my low "G" is just a small growl, it still can be produced.
We have sang this anthem before at Lessons and Carols (video will be supplied in a new entry) and produced a great sound. For a Sunday mornign service, the results were not bad, to be completely honest. Our rehearsals start at 9:40 AM and around 10:30 AM it began coming together. Even though we have went through consistent rehearsal time, it was the first Sunday morning after Thanksgiving...we are all human.
Other than the Stainer, we performed a Mendelssohn's "Above All Praise and All Majesty" as a prelude, which came together beautifully. That selection has a comfortable rotation in our repertoire at St. Andrew's, commonly due to the specific day on the calendar etc. It was a relatively easy Sunday, music wise. The challenge majority of the time is beldning with the other members and finding that beautiful balance in the church space. Each selection has it's benefits, and don't get me started an Psalms and Anglican chant (soon to come!).
After being stuck in New York and New Jersey for about a week, I at last made my arrival back to St. Andrew's just in time for the orchestral performance this past Sunday.
Due the hurricane, I missed Evensong that Thursday, but the recordings still continued and the choir sounds beautiful! When it comes to recording the choir, due to not distracting the view and worship of the congregation, Bill Ghrist, tenor in the choir, places his recording device on a tall pole. This captures the acoustics of the church and also keeps a clear view for the congregation (also clear for when communion is taken). That is something that has been operable for the past year or so and we definitely value the recordings.
At last, Sunday morning arrived and I was excited to be back in the choir stalls. The orchestral performances happen once a year (mainly early in the choir season) and it definitely lifts the spirits of the choir as well as the congregation. Having a collective ensemble come together to produce great music is a fantastic experience.
From what rehearsal spoke of, there was a difference between the orchestral parts and the choir parts. Luckily it was only one issue but a big one to be brought to attention. In one of the movements (I believe the Sanctus) we had to cut an extra measure. From what I discovered, the choir part had the extra measure that was not needed, which I'm sure at rehearsal produced a lot of question marks. But, all in all, it was fixed by the service and it went smoothly.
Often when it comes to projects like this, it is traditional for the choir and orchestral to rehearse separately and the day before the performance/service, we rehearse together.
Sunday:
Choir often starts at 9:40 AM and we usually go through the rep for the service. Prior to rehearsing in the church, we go over important segments in the choir room. Fine tuning the hymns, descants and psalms, Peter selects certain phrases to be emphasized by the choir. As a bassist, the psalm of that Sunday was not the friendliest bass line, but as a whole (with SATB) proved to be very beautiful.
As we finished up the psalms, we headed downstairs to rehearse with the orchestra. To my surprise, many Duquesne students were part of the ensemble and even one of them was the alto soloist! I said my hellos and proceeded to find my spot in the bass section. Brianna (the new recruit) sat in front of me, which had me content because we have yet sing "together" if I may put it in that light. But nonetheless, rehearsal moved on and we went over last minute corrections. Luckily, one of the sopranos brought up the extra measure situation and that was taken care of by our conductor Tom Octave.
As the church service started for All Saints, I'd say everything went well without a hitch. Transitions were smooth, the music was solid and nobody messed up big time- which is a blessing. Thanks be to God!
But in all seriousness, Sunday was a beautiful day to make music and I am truly blessed to be apart of St. Andrew's. What a collection of musicians and people willing to make this happen.
Well, not really easy, but definitely something to warm our chops up for the upcoming festal holy communion.
Usually prior to a big/important event we take it somewhat easy in the choir. The Sundays prior are filled with music that is sight readable but with so much depth and musicality. I love every piece we sang this past weekend.
Sunday morning following our rehearsal with Tom Octave, we ran through more of the Haydn St. Nicholas Mass and some of the Evensong music for November (we have Evensong every first Thursday of each month during choir season). After we ran through the bigger works, we went over the music for the service we were about to sing. Yes, you read and possibly comprehended that correctly- we rehearsed the Sunday service music the morning of for the first time. Peter is such a great choirmaster and has such a fantastic ensemble around him that we are able to accomplish that feat. When I first visited, I found it amazing that we could sing it so well. Now, granted some pieces majority of the choir has sung many times before, but for me...nope. Never sang a note of each of them.
On second thought, I have sung the Kyrie by George Oldroyd and his selections from his mass setting. Also a love Psalm 91 chant done by Walmisley and a lovely Anthem at the Offertory composed by Karl Graun: Surely He Has Borne our Griefs.
Again, another great service and well sung by the choir. As we inch closer to the All Saints Festival some great events are on tap at St. Andrew's. Below is a poster containing the upcoming concerts.
Recently, the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh consecrated a new Bishop. How recent? Well, just this past Saturday. Though I was not in attendance, I did hear about the wonderful service that took place...and the length of the service as well. Overheard "3 weeks worth of church" took place and after checking out the live feed, the previous quote is correct. A 3 hour service but of course definitely meaningful due to the importance of the event.
Previously Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh served under Kenneth Price whom I never met personally, but a couple times in passing. He complemented by piano playing and has visited St. Andrew's at least once a year since I've been there. A very nice and like-able man from what I have been exposed to...so, nothing wrong there. Over the course of the past year I have heard that the board of the Diocese is selecting a new Bishop for the autumn consecration. I was not really sure of what was happening and when, but I clearly knew this was an important event.
Approaching the new school year (as choir is off during the summer) the word spread quickly of who was newly elected...checking the website...Revered Dorsey W. McConnell. I hope to see him this coming year and find out what direction the EDoP is headed. I'm sure all good things from him and by all involved.
So, just a small post regarding the new Bishop, thought that was worth mentioning in the blog. I will post about the recent Sunday soon. In the mean time, enjoy a selection from one our Evensongs and one of my favourite musical selections:
Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Blessed be the God and Father
Coming up in a couple weeks we have our annual Lessons and Carols for All Saints at St. Andrew's. Needless to say, I am very excited for the upcoming rep list and just overall spectacle that is- Lessons and Carols. One thing I have been disappointed is my lack of attendance the past couple of years around this time, but finally (being that Halloween falls during the week) I will be in attendance. As I took a peek into my choir folder, I saw the schedule (updated) of the next couple weeks and the repertoire list of the music to be sung into mid-November. The one benefit that we all have in the parish choir are the two Sundays "off" going into All Saints. Last week (October 14), the local Heinz Chapel Choir took over the Sunday and sang for the congregation, which they never disappoint. Our second Sunday "off" is when the choirsters take over, our youth choir so to speak, combined of excellently trained kids (from about the age of 5/6-14). They also never disappoint and are just a blessing to hear every week for a full church service. But alas, this coming Sunday, the parish choir is on tap. To be honest, I forgot what we have planned to sing because we didn't go over it in rehearsal. After 3 years of being at St. Andrew's I have come to realize this is common practice if we have more things tackle in rehearsal for larger scale works (such as the Haydn St. Nicolas Mass), which I will get to soon.
So, on Thursday I picked up my friend Brianna Bortz (a fellow Duquesne music school friend and viola player) and headed towards St. Andrew's. Brianna will be singing in the alto section in the parish choir for the time being, which I am very excited about. She asked me a while ago if she could find a church that would allow her to teach viola once she gets a bundle of students. So, I contact my choir director Peter Luley and he was more than happy to have another interested member join the team. Of course, Brianna had to stop in and check out the facilities- seems everything went well because she hasn't missed a rehearsal and really enjoys attending. Lutheran at heart, but a singing Episcopalian...can't complain. It's also nice for me to have company on the drives up there to Highland Park.
Moving on towards rehearsal, we picked through an anthem and definitely sorted out the mistakes from last week. At the current moment the title escapes me, but it's a unique little piece music...tough to tame at first but unique. After singing through it a couple times, the bass lines aren't necessarily "predictable" so in a way, you can't be on auto-pilot when reading this! Nonetheless, the bass lines are of moderate difficulty and to be honest a little on the low side for me. I don't have much of a range, but alas, I do my best, so that's good enough right?
Out beloved friend and conductor Tom Octave (on faculty at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA) came in to help us rehearse the Haydn: St. Nicholas Mass. On Sunday, November 4th he will be conducting the mass in the usual choral service with an orchestra. Last year was the Schubert Mass in G and this year is Haydn...I believe the year before that was the Mozart Missa Brevis (early work)...anyway, getting sidetracked...
Mr. Octave ran through the first couple movements of the Mass with us and was very detailed with what he wanted. He honestly has so much energy for everything he does, I have no idea how he does it. After going through the Gloria the Kyrie (which seems to be the early portion of screaming for the soloists) we at last hit the Credo...which is ALWAYS a blast. Words on words on words on words...and for Haydn he doesn't disappoint for any religion. One aspect of the compositions I have found unique is how each Credo is structured. I guess throughout all of the beautiful solo lines, one doesn't notice the detailed choir section (says a choir member). At the end of the blog, I'll post the Gloria just to get a full idea of the speed and "endurance" one needs to survive.
Side note: My heart goes out to Brianna, because she hasn't sang in a choir since middle school. So...welcome back!
Nearing the end of rehearsal we accomplished the Sanctus and reviewed what we needed to in order to build on the momentum into next week.
Overall, the composition isn't that difficult and I guess for some bass lines, we have the benefit of being on auto-pilot...tonally speaking. It does help to read the music, but 18th Century Classical literature goes without saying where the next note may be (for basses). If you listen to the other voices, the answers are all there...in the music...on the page.
Excellent rehearsal and I can't wait to actually perform this piece.
So, this blog will be my unofficial "journal" for my internship at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is nestled in the wonderful neighborhood of Highland Park (uptown Pittsburgh).
This will be my fourth year singing in the choir and my second round interning.
I love every minute of it. So many great events happening the in the next two weeks. We have the Lessons and Carols for All Saints coming up in early November (often around Halloween). This will be a unique All Saints because Halloween officially occurs DURING the week and not on a weekend (like previous years).
There were always great events in stored for the All Saints Festival, a couple years back we had former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Andres Cardenes conduct the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. Singing in that was a great experience and even though we haven't done something of that nature the past couple of years, St. Andrew's never ceases to amaze me. Every year is something beautiful and I am very blessed to be a part of the All Saints Festival this year.
We had a rehearsal last Thursday and began the St. Nicholas Mass by Joseph Haydn. Personally, I love Haydn so this is going to be an amazing piece. In a couple weeks, we will be performing this at the usual church service with an orchestra directed by Tom Octave (chair of music at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA).
We have a couple Sundays this month but rehearsals still schedule. Slowly getting ready for next, as mentioned above, All Saints Festival. I will post a schedule later this week.
There is also a new recruit for the parish choir. I'll also get into the later.
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