Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra Newsletter




MAY 2009

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENTS

Grace and Liz This is our final communications before "the fat lady sings"!

And as this last concert of our season approaches, our fearless leader herewith offers the folowing information that will give more meaning to our praticing and more depth to our performance.

Gracias to Fred! Salud to all!

Grace and Liz (Co-Presidents)


PROGRAM NOTES
by Frederic Palmer

Here are the program notes for the June 7 MPRO concert. I hope they will give you a more complete picture of the music you will be playing.

William Boyce is considered the greatest native-born composer in 18th-century England. Although his musical vocabulary and compositional procedures are patterned after those of Handel, he cultivated a style that makes his music easily recognizable as his own. While Boyce occasionally experimented with the pre-Classical idiom in his later compositions, his eight symphonies, published in 1760, hark back to the High Baroque and do not belong to the same genre as the modern symphony being developed by Haydn and other composers of the period.

Guillaume de Machaut was a cleric, poet and musician and is considered the greatest French composer of the 14th century. The Ballade heard this afternoon is unusual in that it calls for four parts rather than three, which would have been customary for the time. Two poems, each with different but complimentary texts, are sung simultaneously by the upper voices while the two lower parts are without words and may have been played instrumentally. This is one of Machaut's most sophisticated and forward-looking secular compositions and employs a rhythmic texture and syncopations not heard again until the turn of the 20th century.

Klezmer music has its origins in the Jewish folk tradition of Eastern Europe and since the beginning of the 20th century has enjoyed a considerable degree of popularity in the United States, where it also found its way into Jewish musical theatre. The simple, earthy style of this music makes it ideally suited to recorders, and there are several arrangements of this genre now available for ensembles of these instruments. Der Shtiler Bulgar is best remembered today in its swing band version from 1939 entitled, And the Angels Sing.

Andrea Gabrieli was the uncle and teacher of the Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612), a key figure in the development of Venetian polychoral music during the late 16th century. The text of Andrea Gabrieli's madrigal, Quando'io ero giovinetto, deals in almost risqué detail with an old man's current state of affairs as opposed to his amorous youth.

Heinrich Isaac was one of the most prominent and original Flemish composers of the Renaissance, and the setting of Isbruck, ich mus dich lassen heard this afternoon is probably his most famous work. In the late 16th-century the text was reworked to create the hymn, O Welt, ich muss dich lassen, and J.S. Bach incorporated this version in his St. John Passion. In 1896 Brahms composed two chorale preludes for organ based on the melody, and one of these has been arranged for recorders. Brahms' use of a renaissance melody set to a baroque keyboard form reflects his interest in early music and using it as a point of departure for his own compositions.

Of Bach's four orchestral suites, the third and fourth are modeled after the Sinfonies pour les soupers du Roi by Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726). The popularity of the Suite No. 3 is due in large part to the sublime Air for strings that follows the Ouverture. However, all of the movements of this suite exhibit Bach's unique and exceptional style, and the intricate harmonies and counterpoint of the Gigue make it more than a typical 18th-century court dance.


CONDUCTOR'S CORNER

Dear members of the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra,

Listed below is information regarding the final two rehearsals and performance that will conclude MPRO's 2008-2009 season. Krummhorns, great bass and contrabass recorders will be needed for the rehearsal on May 20 and krummhorns, great bass and contrabass recorders, viola da gamba, timpani and keyboard will be needed for the rehearsal on June 5 as well as for the concert on June 7. Please note that Friday, June 5, is the dress rehearsal for MPRO's spring concert, and this rehearsal will take place at Foothill Presbyterian Church, 5301 McKee Road in San Jose at 7:30 P.M. The spring concert will take place at Foothill Presbyterian Church on Sunday, June 7, at 3:00 P.M. As in the past, small ensembles are encouraged to appear in the spring concert. Those groups that intend to perform at the spring concert on June 7 are asked to send me the following information by May 20: the title(s) of the music to be performed, the name(s) of the composer(s), the name of the ensemble (if any) and the names of the ensemble's members.

Wednesday, May 20 JLS Middle School, 8:00 P.M.
Gabrieli: Quando?io ero giovinetto
Isaac: Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen
Brahms: O Welt, Ich muss dich lassen
Bach: Gigue
Friday, June 5 Foothill Presbyterian Church
5301 McKee Road in San Jose, 7:30 P.M.

Boyce: Allegro from the Symphony No. 5
Bach: Gigue
Machaut: Ballade
Kandel: Der Shtiler Bulgar
Gabrieli: Quando?io ero giovinetto
Isaac: Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen
Brahms: O Welt, Ich muss dich lassen
Sunday, June 7 MPRO Spring Concert
Foothill Presbyterian Church, 3:00 P.M.

Boyce: Allegro from the Symphony No. 5
Machaut: Ballade
Kandel: Der Shtiler Bulgar
Gabrieli: Quando?io ero giovinetto
Isaac: Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen
Brahms: O Welt, Ich muss dich lassen
Bach: Gigue

This season's spring concert will feature two brilliant works from the Baroque using all of the orchestra's resources as well as outstanding selections from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, and I encourage you to invite your family and friends to attend this performance. I would also like to thank the members of MPRO for all of their hard work preparing for this concert and, once again, want to express my thanks to the orchestra's officers for their invaluable expertise in seeing to the necessary tasks that make MPRO's programs possible as well as for organizing two highly successful workshops this season. I wish all MPRO members the very best this summer and look forward to seeing all of you again in September at our first meeting of 2009-2010 season.

Sincerely,
Fred Palmer


READING MUSIC

On March 28th, Fred Palmer directed a day-long music-reading session featuring new selections for recorder orchestra to be reviewed for the American Recorder magazine. Thirty recorder players from around the Bay Area, and as far away as Sacramento, gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park to participate. Three pieces were included in the session, beginning with Renaissance Dance Suite No. 2, based on Susato's Danserye, and arranged by Denis Bloodworth. The second piece was an Andante from Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Symphony No. 4, arranged for recorders by Hans-Dieter Michatz (originally written for strings). The final piece of the day - probably the most fun and most technically difficult to play - was Delius' Sleigh Ride, arranged by Layton Ring. Fred worked with us on each piece, practicing the difficult passages, until he felt it was ready to be recorded.

Fred has already submitted a critique of one of the pieces to the American Recorder magazine. Watch for it in a future edition!

Several people contributed to the success of the day: Fred, of course, for organizing the day; George Greenwood, who provided midi files to help us in practicing ahead of time; Greta Hryciw, who brought all the equipment and made the recordings; Margaret More, who made arrangements for the use of the church; Jean Ridley, who handled hospitality, covering for Stevie White who was ill; Leslie Pont, who was Jean's able assistant.

Some comments from participating MPRO members: Dick Oglesbee thought the day was enjoyable and liked two of the three pieces - he likes the Susato better as a 4-part piece, rather than 9-parts. Margaret More, loved the variety of the music, and playing with 'high level musicians'. She's hoping that MPRO will play some of the music - especially Sleigh Ride. Lois Ario liked the Mendelssohn, but didn't think it should be performed on recorders. Other MPRO participants were: Amy Booth, Liz Brownell, Mary Carrigan, Dan Chernikoff, Diana Fischer, Tony Jackson, Claire Heinzelman, Suzanne Rankin, Nick Vigil, Sonja Wilcomer, Anne-Marie Wiggers, and yours truly, Laura Gonsalves.

The consensus of most participants seemed to be that it was an interesting experience to read through new selections before they are published, and an enjoyable day as well. We hope there will be opportunities for more of the same in the future.

Laura Gonsalves


MPRO HAS NEW TREASURER

Leslie Oga Pont has agreed to take over the position of MPRO Treasurer beginning 1 July, 2009. The Board extends a big thank-you to Leslie on behalf of the Membership and looks forward to having her in this position on the MPRO Board.

Leslie replaces Mary Carrigan, who has served as MPRO Treasurer since 1999. MPRO extends a big thank-you to Mary for her faithful service!


NEXT UPBEAT

This is the final issue of UpBeat for this season. The next issue will be published in September.
(Editor's note: There was no April issue this year.)