MARCH  2022

NEXT MPRO MEETING

The Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra’s next Zoom meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. See Fred Palmer’s column in this issue for more information.

COMING EVENTS AND ONLINE RESOURCES

March marks the 30th anniversary of the American Recorder Society’s Play the Recorder Month.   For 2022 the ARS’s specially commissioned piece is “Fanfare: Returning” by Bay Area composer Erik Pearson. Links to sheet music, play-along tracks and other resources for ARS members are available at Play the Recorder Month.  In this video, Emily O’Brien performs “Fanfare” Returning” on SATB recorders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T8rXwmkBxA.  

The South Bay Recorder Society has scheduled a virtual workshop with Glen Shannon on March 26 titled “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out: Recorder Music Arranged for the Psychedelic 60’s.”  There will be two sessions, one featuring original compositions for recorder from the 1960s and one including Shannon’s arrangements of music from the Beatles' "Blue Album." See this link https://sbrs-recorders.herokuapp.com/views/templates/glenshannonflyer22.pdf for more information and a registration form

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CONDUCTOR’S CORNER

 Dear members of the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra,

        Ray White and I will be co-hosting a virtual MPRO meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:30 P.M. Those attending will be admitted to the meeting starting at 7:15 P.M. We will be working on the following music:

Boyce: Symphony No. 3

Machaut: Ballade

Mozart: Ave Verum

Anonymous: Rex

I have sent out the music and PDF files for these selections to all MPRO members. Please remember that I will be conducting each of the selections scheduled. This means that the music will not appear on the screen, and those attending will need to read from hard copies they have downloaded when playing along with the sound files. Ray White will be sending out invitations to all MPRO members with a link to the virtual Zoom meeting and other information. Please contact him at <rayhwhite@yahoo.com> if you do not receive an invitation.

The orchestra will continue with virtual meetings until the current health situation changes and in person meetings are once again possible. I look forward to seeing those who will be attending the meeting on March 9.

Sincerely, Fred Palmer

MORE COMING EVENTS AND ONLINE RESOURCES

The San Francisco Early Music Society has announced the availability of tickets for “Main Stage” concerts at this year’s Berkeley Festival and Exhibition. The “in person” festival is scheduled for June 5-12, and will include special events, fringe concerts by Bay Area performers, and an exhibition/marketplace. For more information see https://berkeleyfestival.org.  SFEMS is also offering a variety of virtual classes through March and early April. See https://sfems.org/sfems-workshops/spring-2022-virtual-sessions/.

Virtual tickets to a concert by Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations titled "Tous les matins du monde,"  featuring music from the court of Versailles, will be available and can be used between March 11 and March 25.  The performance is part of the Boston Early Music Festival’s concert series. See: https://bemf.org/concert-season/jordi-savall/.

Piffaro: The Renaissance Band is also offering tickets to a virtual concert, “Music for Austrian Court & Countryside.” The concert will be available between March 19 and 29.  See: https://www.piffaro.org/21-22-season/. Piffaro’s home page has additional information about the ensemble including recordings of music tracks.

A recent broadcast of the syndicated Harmonia Early Music public radio series featured music from the court of King Christian IV of Denmark, the brother-in-law of King James VI/I of Scotland and England. Christian sent his court musicians to Venice to study with Giovanni Gabrieli, and hired German, Polish, Dutch and British musicians to come to Denmark. The latter included Thomas Robinson who tutored Christian's mother and sister, and John Dowland whose salary was equivalent to that of a navy admiral. Dowland composed some of his "Lachrimae" pieces while at the court. Use this page to reach the broadcast: Copenhagen's Court | Harmonia Early Music - Indiana Public Media. It includes a "Transcript" link with more information on the music.

As an extra for Dowland fans, here is a video with a costumed couple dancing "The King of Denmark's Galliard" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQnjumrrJZA.

RECORDINGS OF MPRO’S “NEW” MUSIC

Boyce, Symphony No. 3 in C Major, performed by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIMfvPH0TDE

Machaut: Ballade “Quant Theseus-Ne quier veoir,” a vocal recording with a crumhorn accompaniment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj2n-RnP8io

Machaut: Ballade “Quant Theseus-Ne quier veoir,” vocal performance in a castle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nJDTBceeQ

The Board: President: Judith Unsicker; Treasurers: Chantal Moser and Mary Ashley; Recording Secretary: vacant; Membership: Chris Flake and Tom Granvold; Publicity: vacant; Graphics: Mary Ashley; Newsletter Editor: vacant; Workshop Coordinator: vacant; Hospitality: vacant; Music Sales: Laura Gonsalves; Historian: vacant; Webmaster: Dan Chernikoff;  Music Director: Fred Palmer.  MPRO website: http://www.mpro-online.org   

Past Months' Issues: http://www.mpro-online.org/MPROArchives.htm