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SEATTLE RECORDER SOCIETY
Recorder Notes
December 2018
Vol. L, No. 4
www.seattle-recorder.org
From the Music Director (Vicki Boeckman)
Hello Everybody!
I was so sorry to miss leading the meeting and seeing the opening program with Anna and Olivia last month, but very grateful that our director emeritus could step in on very short notice. Thank you, Peter! You will all have a chance to play under his baton again for the December meeting, a tradition that we have upheld now for several years. A little birdie told me that he is putting the finishing touches on some choice new sea-sonal arrangements especially for the occasion. Peter will tell you about them below, so please keep reading!
I want to wish each and every one of you a lovely holiday season full of the things that make your hearts warm and your spirits glow. I am grateful for all of you. Thank you for being a part of and continuing to support this wonderful community. I hope to see you at the December meeting, and/or at any one of the various concerts around town. May all your wishes and dreams come true.
Newsletter Deadline for January Issue:
Sunday December 16
SRS Meeting
Friday, December 7, 2018
@ 7:30 pm
Opening Program
Viol consort with Ellen Seibert, Amy Warren, Koren Wake and
soprano Marian Seibert
Playing session led by Peter Seibert
Seasonal Music Old and New
All sizes of recorders and viols are welcome.
Back Room Gang led by Miyo Aoki
This is a great option for any-one who is less experienced or
would like a slower pace. If you plan to be there, please
let Miyo know so she can choose repertoire accordingly!
The Upcoming December Meeting (Peter Seibert)
It was a surprise for me to be called to fill in for Vicki at the November meeting. And a week later it was great pleasure to see Vicki, her health now restored, together with Charles, lead an inspiring performance by the Recorder Orchestra of Puget Sound.
I’ll return to lead the December meeting, bringing some entirely new settings of melodies drawn from Piae cantiones, a Finnish source published in 1592. It con-tains LXXVIII melodies with Latin texts, some of which are for the Christmas sea-son. I have taken five of these single-line melodies and created four-part com-positions based on the melodies. To these SATB settings, I have added optional great bass and contrabass parts, which can also be used by viols.
Among the five settings are two based on tunes familiar to many of us: In dulci jubilo and Resonet in laudibus. The other three melodies were unknown to me.
2018/2019
SRS Meetings
Meetings are usually (but not always—see *’d dates below) held on the first Friday of each month, September to May, at 7:30pm,
Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, 10005—32nd NE, Seattle. Meetings often include a short performance of interest to recorder or viol players, en-semble playing for all levels of recorder players, and a begin-ning recorder ensemble.
A $5 donation is requested for non-members.
December 7 January 4
February 1 March 1 *April 12 *May 10
Refreshments (December)
Fruit
Christiane Schulz
Veggies
Betty Swift
Baked goods
Ione Turman
Karen Soma
Thank you
for volunteering!
December’s Meeting—continued
All five provide opportunities to create multi-part sets of variations. In addition, there will be a brand-new arrangement of a “familiar seasonal bonbon.”
Below is the original source of Congaudeat turba fidelium, one of the melodies new to me from which I worked.
Opening Program—Three Viol Babes and a Soprano
English music for the viol is some of the most glorious of all consort playing. William Byrd (1542-1623), John Dowland (1563-1626), Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), John Jenkins (1592-1678), and William Lawes (1602-1645) were towering giants of the 16th and 17th centuries. Late into the 17th century Henry Purcell, another English giant of composition, looked backward toward his earlier coun-trymen’s contrapuntal style and wrote a series of viol fantasias in 3 to 7 parts. Our trio will perform selections of some of these English composers, finishing with a guest appearance of our soprano, Marian Seibert.
SRS Board Members (2018/2019)
Music Director: Vicki Boeckman (206-985-9916)
[email protected] Music Director Emeritus: Peter Seibert (206-329-2774)
[email protected] Officers: President: Nancy Gorbman (206-852-4762)
[email protected] President-Elect: Michael Bancroft (206-523-6668)
[email protected] Past President: Molly Warner (206-523-5192)
[email protected] Newsletter: Mike Woolf (206-300-6623)
[email protected] Secretary: Kathleen Arends (425-649-9869)
[email protected] Treasurer: Richard Ginnis (206-633-1969)
* * * * Membership: Betty Swift (206-323-3879)
[email protected] Refreshments: Maja Eberhardt (206-525-4283)
[email protected] Librarian: Hanan Bell (206-695-2276)
[email protected] Webmaster: Charles Coldwell (206-328-8238)
Local Recorder Happenings (Vicki Boeckman)
Friday, November 30, 2018 at 7:30 pm Please join Gary Stroutsos, David Revelli and me for a unique evening of stories and songs from the Hopi nation woven together with Medieval, Sephardic and Armenian songs played on traditional Native American and silver flutes, and a vari-ety of recorders and percussion. Music Center of the Northwest 901 N 96th St Suggested donation $25, or pay as able; no one will be turned away. I met Gary and Dave at a house concert in Inverness around this time last year. It was an unforgettable experience. When Dave plays on the clay pots it's like the earth opens up and we are reminded of our origins back to the very beginnings of time. I am humbled and excited to have this opportunity to play with them both. I hope you can join us. (Thanks to Bill Stickney for this lovely picture of Gary’s and my instruments)! Sunday, January 27 @ 6:00 PM: Byrd Notes
Please join us for a Renaissance recorder ensemble concert featuring the music of William Byrd and others. Vicki Boeckman, Charles Coldwell, Silke Harper, Jill Carl-sen, Laura Faber, and Mike Woolf. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2531 Hoyt Avenue, Everett
Concerts and Events Calendar
Saturday, November 24 @ 7:30 PM: Byrd Ensemble: A German Christmas Kick off the Christmas season with a festive program from Renaissance Germany. This program features a vari-ety of German Christmas carols, chorales, and motets by Michael and Hieronymus Praetorius, Hans Hassler, Heinrich Schütz, and Franz Gruber. Trinity Parish Church, Seattle. Details Here
Saturday, November 24 @ 7:30 PM: Gallery Concerts: NOT a Christmas Concert! Arwen Myers, soprano, Linda Tsatsanis, soprano, Ingrid Matthews, violin. Jillon Stoppels Dupree, harpsichord, Nathan Whittaker, violoncello … though it might sound like Christmas, as two of the Pacific Northwest’s most stellar sopranos, are joined by stellar Seattle artists to perform Handel’s glorious Italian cantatas which later became the famous Messiah tunes. Enjoy a fun Corelli fugue, “borrowed” for the famous Hallelujah Chorus, and other festive musical gems. Queen Anne Christian Church. Details Here
Sunday, November 25 @ 3:00 PM: Gallery Concerts: NOT a Christmas Concert! Same as above.
Friday, November 30 @7:30 PM: Music of Two Worlds Gary Stroutsos - Native American flutes and Vicki Boeckman - Recorders Ancient Hopi songs and pieces by Markus Zahnhausen, Somei Satoh a.o. Music Center of the Northwest Suggested donation $25
Friday, November 30 @ 7:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: A Country (Baroque) Christmas Whip up a big batch of holiday cheer with an old fashioned Country Christmas featuring music from Renais-sance and Baroque Italy, France, Spain, and Latin America. Henry Lebedinsky and the Underground House Choir serve up holiday treats including Isabella Leonarda’s luminous Gloria in Excelsis Deo, rustic and boister-ous country carols, and tender lullabies. Naked City Brewery, Seattle. Details Here
Sunday, December 2 @ 8:00 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: A Country (Baroque) Christmas Same as November 30 listing, except at The Royal Room in Columbia City, Seattle.
Tuesday, December 4 @ 7:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: A Country (Baroque) Christmas Same as November 30 listing, at Naked City Brewery.
Wednesday, December 5 @ 12:10 PM: Pacific MusicWorks: A New and Old World Christmas Organist Henry Lebedinsky and the Pacific MusicWorks Underground House Choir perform Christmas carols and villancicos from Renaissance and Baroque Spain, Italy, and Latin America, including Isabella Leonarda’s brilliant Gloria in Excelsis Deo. After the concert, join the musicians and fellow music-lovers next door at Moore Coffee for sandwiches, treats, and more! Christ Our Hope at the Josephinum, Seattle. Details Here
Friday, December 7 @ 7:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks: Christmas in Rome Stradella's dramatic Cantata per il Santissimo Natale and Corelli's beloved 'Christmas' Concerto are only a few of the highlights of this festive holiday program of joyous music from 17th and 18th century Rome. Soloists include sopranos Tess Altiveros and Danielle Sampson, tenor Eric Neuville, countertenor Nathan Medley and bass Matthew Treviño, with Stephen Stubbs and Tekla Cunningham leading Pacific MusicWorks Orchestra. Epiphany Parish, Seattle. Details Here
Saturday, December 8 @ 7:30 PM: Bach Collegium Japan: Vivaldi, Handel, Bach Legendary conductor Masaaki Suzuki and his ensemble bring the best of the Baroque period to life through harmonic inspirations from Vivaldi, Handel’s lavish motet Silete Venti featuring soprano Joanne Lunn, and French-inspired dances by Bach. Bastyr University Chapel, Kenmore. Details Here
Sunday, December 9 @ 2:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks: Christmas in Rome Same as December 7 listing, except at Trinity Parish in Seattle.
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Concerts and Events Calendar—Continued
Saturday, December 15 @ 2:00 PM: Moss Bay Recorder Society Meeting Larry Stark conducting. Redmond Library, 15990 NE 85th Street, Redmond. Details Here
Saturday, December 15 @ 8:00 PM: Medieval Women’s Choir: Hodie! The Medieval Womens Choir unleashes its joy in sharing masterpieces of the season from cathedral, court, and countryside. St. James Cathedral, Seattle. Details Here
Friday, December 21 @ 7:30 PM: Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project: Monteverdi’s Christmas Vespers With violins, cornetti, sackbuts, theorbos, and voices under the direction of David Fallis, experience a recreation of the lavish celebration of Christmas Vespers from the Church of San Marco in 17th-century Venice, with music by the incomparable Claudio Monteverdi! Featuring works from his 1641 collection of sacred music, the concert will resound with the glorious sounds of a Christmas celebration you won’t soon forget. Bastyr University Chapel, Kenmore. Details Here
Saturday, December 22 @ 7:30 PM: Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project: Monteverdi’s Christmas Vespers Same as December 21 listing, except at Seattle First Baptist.
Sunday, December 30 @ 7:00 PM: Byron Schenkman & Friends: Baroque String Extravaganza Celebrate the season with our “Baroque Big Band” and an evening of all-time favorites including Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons featuring Ingrid Matthews, the Telemann Viola Concerto with Jason Fisher, and Bach’s A Major Harpsichord Concerto, plus rare delicacies by Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre.
Friday, January 4 @ 7:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: Correli Goes Global Elvis Presley. Duke Ellington. Ludwig van Beethoven. Revolutionary musicians who disrupted the very fabric of the artistic world around them. Add to the list Arcangelo Corelli, the true first celebrity violinist who truly went viral. Renowned baroque violinist Ingrid Matthews joins harpsichordist Henry Lebedinsky for a program of works by Corelli and the composers he influenced, including music from Mexico, Sweden, China, and Russia. Naked City Brewery in Greenwood. Details Here
Saturday, January 5 @ 1:30 PM: Seattle Historical Arts for Kids: Family concert! Medieval Music for Everyone Discover instruments and songs of long ago in this friendly discovery concert for adults and children of all ages! The concert lasts less than an hour — and kids are invited to come up and try our instruments at the end! University Heights Center – 5031 University Way NE, Seattle. Details Here
Sunday, January 6 @ 3:00 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: Correli Goes Global Same as January 4 listing, but at Resonance @ SOMA Towers, Bellevue.
Sunday, January 6 @ 8:00 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: Correli Goes Global Same as January 4 listing, but at the Royal Room in Columbia City.
Tuesday, January 8 @ 7:30 PM: Pacific MusicWorks Underground: Correli Goes Global Same as January 4 listing, at Naked City Brewery in Greenwood.
Saturday, January 12 @ 2:00 PM: Moss Bay Recorder Society Meeting Conductor TBD. Bellevue Library, 1111—110th Ave NE, Bellevue . Details Here
Saturday, January 26 @ 7:00 PM: Seattle Baroque Orchestra: Music and Medicine Guest conductor Henry Lebedinsky leads the Orchestra on a journey into the world of early modern medicine, from the humorous to the terrifying. Music includes Marin Marais’ Tableau of a Gallbladder Operation, selec-tions from Lully’s The Love Doctor, and works by Charpentier, Geminiani, Farina, and Zelenka. Seattle First Baptist Church, Details Here
Sunday, January 27 @ 6:00 PM: Byrd Notes A Renaissance recorder ensemble concert featuring the music of William Byrd and others. Vicki Boeckman, Charles Coldwell, Silke Harper, Jill Carlsen, Laura Faber, and Mike Woolf. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2531 Hoyt Avenue, Everett
DECEMBER
JANUARY
November Meeting Notes (Molly Warner, Photos Bill Stickney)
As Recorder Society members gathered at the Maple leaf Lutheran Church at our November meeting, they found the chairs arranged in a large oval rather than the customary semicircular rows. Tonight was an evening for a presenta-tion of baroque dances by the incomparable Anna Mansbridge of Seattle Early Dance and her associate Olivia Spencer. These two marvelous dancers were accompanied by our own Charles Coldwell, playing soprano or alto recorders, with Laura Faber on bass recorder. Our music director Vicki Boeckman had been scheduled to play in the small orchestra, but was forced to stay home to nurse a wretched cold.
Anna introduced Olivia, who has been dancing with Anna since age 14. Both were beautifully dressed in 18th century costumes, and Anna wore a wig (which she said made it difficult to use her reading glasses to read her notes). She began with a quote by Jean Baptiste Molière from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (1670), "All the ills of man-kind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the po-litical blunders, all the failures of great commanders, have arisen merely from a lack of skill in dancing". The Sun King, Louis XIV, loved dancing and liked to show off his shapely legs. His whole court (then at the Louvre Palace in Paris, prior to Versailles) followed suit and loved to dance also. From this time period, systems of notating the choreography were developed, and the dances presented this even-ing were performed as written down in the 18th century.
They began with three Ballo from Venice Italy, given as a wedding gift to a noble couple in 1726. Antonio Grimani married Loredan Duodo in the church of Santa Maria Della Grazie in Venice. These three dances were choreographed by the famous Gaetano Grossatesta, Maestro di ballo in Venezia; they are the only samples of Bauchamp-Feulliet dance notations discovered so far in Italy. A beautifully bound book of the three notations was given as a wed-ding gift. The two women circled one another or mirrored each other's postures, smiling, gesturing and stepping incredibly quietly.
Ballo Primo was identified as a triple time Grave, followed by a nimble Bouree, and then an elegant Passpied. Ballo Segundo was a fast duple meter, and Ballo Terzo was a Passpied. This was sweet music in a major key.
Anna next discussed the minuet. This was the most popular dance of the 18th century. It first appeared at the French court during the 1660s. John Baptiste newly composed 92 titled minuets for his theatrical works. The minuet was a popular social dance by the 1680s. There is much controversy as to the tempo of the minuet. Some sources say it should be fast while others say it should be moderate rather than quick and that the character should have a "noble and elegant simplicity". Olivia danced a lovely minuet by herself. The minuet step, Anna demonstrated, is a ONE-two-three-FOUR-FIVE-SIX pattern that can be done in many different ways. Rhythms are created by bending and rising. The German dancing master Gottfired Taubert called the minuet "the daughter of the Courante, but much easier and more useful" (The Compleat Danc-ing Master, 1717).
The playful Bouree was illustrated by Anna and Olivia with a piece by Jean Fiery Rebel (1703). The Bouree originated as a French folk dance. Under Louis XIV it came at the fashion in both a social and
November Meeting Notes—continued
theatrical dance. Lully included many in his operas and ballets. There are at least 24 choreographed couple dances. The step pattern common to all bourees is the pas de bouree. Next came a solo dance from 1713, for a famous balleri-na at the Palace Opera, Mlle. Guiot.
The French and the English had different gestures, with steps including jumps, slides, kicks, and twirls. These used a shorthand notation system to indicate the sequence of movements and the spatial arrangements of the dancers.
The final dance by both Anna and Olivia together was done to the popular tune of the Folias, these particular varia-tions by Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1656). These are six beautiful dance phrases of eight measures each, danced on one side and then the other, cleverly crafted to reflect the rhythmic textures of the music. Olivia and Anna danced the variations written down by Raoul Feulliet. We always enjoy Anna's dance demonstrations and her lively discourse! Thank you so much, Seattle Early Dance!
The playing for the evening for the big group was designed to follow the dance demonstration. Tonight Peter Seibert graciously stepped in to substitute for Vicki, who had planned to present a dance suite by Jean Baptiste Lully from 1666 that Peter had previously arranged for recorder orchestra. Peter concentrated on leading us into making each movement come alive in its own way with appropriate style, his coaching interspersed with interesting historical facts. We began with Les Planettes, in AABB form. "Put air spaces between those dotted rhythms! Those are declamatory half notes. Now, let's do it up to tempo!" With the Ballet des Les Magiciens, we worked on the trills, starting above the note. "I like to think that all beats in French are upbeats. When your finish with a long note, a long trill stopping on beat 2 or 3 is a good thing to do, specific to this style." The Second Entree was a minuet. "The first beat is the most important, then the two short ones. LONG-short-short - once in a while those rhythms are turned around. Use inegal for those eighth notes!"
"Now we will look at the Ouverture, divided into slow, fast, slow sections. Lully invented it - the Italian version was fast, slow, fast, designed to quiet the audience. In France this was entertainment for the King and it always involves a lot of dancing". Peter explained that Louis XIV lived each day by a strict schedule in which he was awakened at eight, and was helped to dress by 100 people (!!!). He went to church at 10 and to meetings at 11. In 1666 he was still living at the Louvre (the court moved to Versailles in 1682). "Let's get the right feeling, feel the grandeur of France, uncross those legs, sit up straight, Yes! That was worthy of a king!"
November Meeting Notes—continued
Peter led us through several more movements: the Ballet des Muses, the Marche des Grecs, the Marche des Indiens, Le Grand Combat (a battle scene), Les Basques, and finally Canaries (a dotted Gigue). His directives: "get off the final quarter!" , "air space helps" , "straight time with detached quarters" all helped to shape each of these dances with style. Thank you once again, Peter!
Laura Faber reported that three intrepid players attended the Back Room session. They worked on a Bouree by Jean Fiery Rebel. Miyo Ayoki led the group last month and had given them a Morely madrigal, Lady Those Eyes, which they played again with Laura. Finally, the group enjoyed another dance in 6/8 time, Lilliburlero.
Peter Seibert will conduct the playing session again in December - with a twinkle in his eye he promised us "a new Christmas set this time, with a new surprise at the end!" We look forward to that!
Report on Recorder Orchestra of Puget Sound Concerts, November 10 & 11 (Vicki Boeckman, photo Bill Stickney)
Our new rehearsal schedule for ROPS packed a heavy punch this season. We decided on three long and focused re-hearsals, with the concert on the same day as the final rehearsal. This type of scheduling enabled several players from Bellingham and Bainbridge Island to participate in addition to other strong players who otherwise could not commit to weekly rehearsals. The results were apparent already after the second rehearsal. Our concerts at Sand Point United Methodist Church on November 10th and at the Ida Culver House, Ravenna on the 11th were enthusias-tically received.
Report from Recorders in Concert, November 17 (Vicki Boeckman, photos Bill Stickney)
As a music teacher there are many gratifying moments, but one of my great joys is to be able to sit back and enjoy my students’ perfor-mances when they share music that they have been working on for months. The concert on November 17th was thrilling and uplifting for performers and audience members alike. Everyone outdid themselves with regards to sheer music making and expressing what was in their hearts and we were all duly “wowed”! The concert started with a renaissance sextet playing a variety of sacred and secular works by Palestrina, Victoria, Gabrielli, Wilkes and Parsons. Then Barbara Green played a personal rendition of Telemann’s solo Fantasia #1 with the preface, “I’m giving new meaning to the term Vivace”…!
Jim Pilon and Mike Woolf each played one of the virtuosic solo sonatas from Telemann’s collection of Essercizii Musicii - both with impressive fast passages and heartfelt, passionate slow movements. Mike introduced the d minor sonata as “having more personalities than the C major!” Especially engaging was Christy Johnson’s cello accompaniment with her tasteful interspersing of pizzicato to shape the dynamics in the d minor sonata.
Report from Recorders in Concert—continued
After the intermission, Laura Faber and Mike Woolf played a marvel-ous piece by James Howard Young called Canonically Speaking for two tenor recorders. A three movement work written entirely in can-on. The first movement the canon is 1 beat apart, then 2 beats apart for the second movement and 3 beats apart for the third. Rather brilliant. Mike said it was basically a musical version of “Simon Says”!
Next up was Laura Faber playing a sonata in e minor by Telemann from his collection of Methodical Sonatas. Laura read Johann Mattheson’s description of the key of e minor from his treatise on the theory of Key Affections (Mattheson was one of Telemann’s highly regarded colleagues and dear friends), giving us insight to the fact that “something quick may be composed with it but it is not the same as something pretty.”
Last but definitely not least was Jill Carlsen’s delightful rendition of Francesco Barsanti’s whimsical sonata in F major. By the end of the piece we were all giggling with delight at Jill’s interpretation and aplomb.
A truly inspirational evening. Kudos to all!
