Monthly Archives: October 2009

Medieval polyphony rocks!

Posted on October 11, 2009 | 1 comment
The Nyack waterfront, looking north to Hook Mountain.

The Nyack waterfront, looking north to Hook Mountain.

Anonymous 4 unveiled their latest concert program, Secret Voices: Music from Las Huelgas, c. 1300,  in Nyack last night, wowing a packed GraceMusic audience.

Grace Episcopal Church, Nyack, NY

Grace Episcopal Church, Nyack, NY

It’s a lovely collection of polyphony from a Cistercian convent near Burgos, in north-central Spain, programmed around the structure of a liturgical day —in particular a day honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Over the course of about 75 minutes, the audience was carried through the day from First Light, moving into Morning and so forth, ending with Night.

The four women of Anonymous 4 — Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek — blended their voices beautifully, as always, as they sang motets and liturgical elements in various configurations, sometimes letting just two voice do all the work. Their un-amplified sound filed the rustic Gothic nave.

Apologies for the lack of concert photos, but the artists requested that now photographs be taken.

Thank you to everyone who attended. This concert was a benefit performance for Grace Church, which has housed GraceMusic for 40 years. This was the first show in the GraceMusic season. Upcoming programs include:

40th Annual Messiah Sing – 4:00 p.m. – December 6, 2009
Rockland’s only Messiah Sing! We provide the soloists, you sing the choruses! A holiday tradition.
Only $10 – children free

Steppes Song – 4:00p.m. – January 17, 2010
NYC-based, Rockland-dwelling chamber music stars Katherine Fink, Laura McGinnis, and Christopher Oldfather perform music by Russian composers Prokofiev, Cesar Cui, and others.
Admission: $15; Seniors $10, Students $5

ETA3 – 4:00p.m. – February 28, 2010
Juilliard-trained chamber trio (debuted at Alice Tully Hall) plays Debussy, Bartok, and more. Artistically perfect and totally enjoyable”
Click here for artist’s website
Admission: $15; Seniors $10, Students $5

Happy Birthday Johann – 4:00p.m. – April 25, 2010
Cantatas and concerti performed by the Grace Church Choir and Orchestra conducted by Robert Barrows to celebrate Bach’s 325th, including greetings from Dietrich Buxtehude and Antonio Vivaldi.
Admission: $15; Seniors $10, Students $5

All concerts at Grace Episcopal Church, 130 First Avenue, Nyack, NY
Free Childcare available! Meet the Artists receptions follow each concert except Messiah Sing.

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Posted in Classical, Music

Don’t miss Anonymous 4 in Nyack tomorrow

Posted on October 9, 2009 | Leave a comment
Anonymous 4

Anonymous 4

This is just a reminder to anyone in the NYC metro area that Anonymous 4 are performing Saturday, Oct. 10, at GraceMusic in Nyack, NY. It’s a pleasant and easy trip up the Hudson Valley from the five boroughs or anywhere else in the Tri-State.

The first ladies of early music will be performing their new program, Secret Voices: Music from The Las Huelgas Codex, c. 1300.

It’ll be a fantastic show. And it’s for a good cause, as proceeds will be donated the church, which has housed GraceMusic for decades. Get there early, as seating is general admission. GraceMusic has a limited number of stadium cushions available to make the wooden pews more comfortable. But since this show is likely to draw a full house, I’d advise you to bring your own cushion if possible.

If you drive, the concert is just two blocks from the heart of the village, in easy walking distance from the municipal parking lot and steps away from buses from Tarrytown (connecting service from Metro-North’s Hudson Line) and Manhattan. For schedule information, click here.

Read previous coverage by Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? here. And click here to read more on Anonymous 4’s web site.

Anonymous 4 performs at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. A meet-the-artists reception follows the concert. Free child care available. Grace Episcopal Church, 130 First Avenue, Nyack, NY. (845) 358-1297. $20 at the door.

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Posted in Classical, Concerts, Music

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Directors Sher and Chéreau talk talk about what they know

Posted on October 7, 2009 | Leave a comment
Bartlett Sher rehearses at the Met in 2006.

Bartlett Sher rehearses at the Met in 2006.

Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb has enlisted some of the world’s greatest directors to shake up Met productions and make them more theatrical.

Patrice Chéreau

Patrice Chéreau

Two of them,  Bartlett Sher (director of the hit revival of South Pacific) and Patrice Chéreau, will join Gelb for a conversation on opera, theater, and the art of directing at the New York Public Library tomorrow evening. Both directors have new productions on the schedule at the Met this season. The talk is called Cognitive Theater.

The talk starts at 7 pm in the South Court Auditorium at the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets. Tickets $25, available online.

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Posted in Music, Opera

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Discuss: Twitter at the opera?

Posted on October 7, 2009 | 2 comments

OperaHouse

Nashville Opera is encouraging audience members to use Twitter to comment on its performances of Tosca tomorrow and Saturday, and promises to project the Tweets in the lobby of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall during the show’s two intermissions. (Click here for a full report.)

“Social networking has become an integral part of Nashville Opera’s marketing efforts,” says Carol Penterman, the company’s executive director. “The use of Twitter and Facebook has been the ticket sales catalyst for this production, and we see this unique program of projecting ‘tweets’ in the lobby as a natural extension of our networking strategy.”

The marketing strategy makes sense. Whether you think facebook and Twitter are useful tools or huge time-wasters, there’s no denying their popularity and impact on our culture. Social networks help build buzz about shows, boost sales and clue people in on things the might not have even noticed in the arts pages of the local paper or in other old media.

But it seems to me that this is another example of an arts presenter encouraging its audience to not pay attention to the very thing they’ve come to see. The only way there will be Tweets to project at the intermissions would be if patrons are Twittering during the performance.

Does that make sense? Won’t it be a distraction? I’m a big fan of Twitter and facebook. But I find it terribly distracting to sit in a darkened theater and see audience members’ faces glowing with the reflection of their cell phone and BlackBerry screens as they text or Tweet or send facebook messages. And the clicking of the tiny keys adds another dimension to the distraction.

What do you think about this development? Please weigh in!

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Posted in Music, News, Opera, Theater

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Who needs roadies: Pete Seeger is 90 and still carries his own gear!

Posted on October 5, 2009 | 1 comment
Pete Seeger is still carrying his own gear – at 90 years of age! (Copyright 2009, Steven P. Marsh)

Pete Seeger is still carrying his own gear – at 90 years of age! (Copyright 2009, Steven P. Marsh)

The crowd in Nyack’s Memorial Park was getting antsy after dark fell last night. The several hundred people gathered in the park on the banks of the Hudson River were waiting for one man: legendary folk singer Pete Seeger.

He was the headliner for the Health Care for All rally. The organizers kept assuring the crowd that Pete was on the way, racing to Nyack after an appearance in Manhattan’s Central Park. But by shortly after 7, it started looking like the rally’s 7:30 end time would come and go before Pete got there.

The crowd crowded the stage for a glimpse of Pete Seeger.

The crowd crowded the stage for a glimpse of Pete Seeger.

Then someone near the park entrance shouted, “He’s here. Somebody just saw him.” That caused some in the back of the crowd to turn and face the driveway into the park, expecting to see a livery car racing in. Instead, through the gathering darkness strode a rail-thin man in a chambray shirt and jeans, a floppy hat on his had, with two gig bags, one slug from each shoulder.

Yes, it was the 90-year-old folk icon, walking into the park, carrying his own gear. A roar rose up from the crowd, which seemed to double in size as people pushed forward to get a glimpse of Pete.

He apologized for being so late, explaining that this was is fourth event of the day — which he spent racing between his home in Beacon, to NYC to Nyack. And then he launched into energetic performances of  a handful of familiar songs, including a “rap” version of “English is Crazy,” a singalong of “This Land is Your Land,” and a beautiful rendition of his 1950 chart-topper “Goodnight, Irene.”

The energy was intense. And I’m sure that the doubters who left before Pete arrived are kicking themselves for missing out on such a vital performance.

A number of other musicians performed brief sets during the nearly four-hour-long rally, including the Roues Brothers of West Nyack, Tom Chapin of Piermont and Emory Joseph of NYC.

Check out the Nyack News & Views report here.

Click through to the jump for more photos. Continue reading →

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Posted in Folk, Music, News

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Drawing the (bar) line

Posted on October 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

COVER_finalMy musical friend Kelly Flint, an extraordinary singer-songwriter, fantastic mom and all-around amazing person, posted this on facebook. I’m sharing it here, too, since it’s in keeping with the theme of Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?

Thanks, Kelly! (If you don’t know Kelly, you should. She was the voice and auburn-haired singer in NYC band Dave’s True Story,  which grabbed the national spotlight with “Crazy Eyes” and “Sequined Mermaid Dress,” which were on the soundtrack of the 2001 cult film Kissing Jessica Stein. With DTS on an open-ended hiatus, Kelly’s been pursuing a solo career as a folksinger. Be sure to check out her site or her MySpace!

Music Bar
Oct. 2 at 11:14am
C, E-Flat and G go into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry,
but we don’t serve minors.” So E-Flat leaves, and C
and G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the
fifth is diminished and G is out flat. F comes in and tries to
augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. D comes in and
heads for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me, I’ll
just be a second.” Then A comes in, but the bartender is
not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.

Then the bartender notices B-Flat hiding at the end of the bar
and says, “Get out! You’re the seventh minor
I’ve found in this bar tonight.” E-Flat comes back
the next night in a 3 piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The
bartender says, “You’re looking sharp tonight. Come
on in, this could be a major development.”

Sure enough, E-Flat soon takes off his suit and everything else,
and is au naturel. Eventually, C sobers up and realizes in horror
that he’s under a rest. C is brought to trial, found
guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is
sentenced to 10 years of D.S. without Coda at an upscale
correctional facility.

Yesterday at 11:14am

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Posted in Folk, Music, Pop and Rock

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Pete Seeger, Tom Chapin perform at Nyack health-care reform rally

Posted on October 3, 2009 | Leave a comment
Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger

Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger and Piermont’s own Grammy Award-winning folksinger Tom Chapin will headline a Health Care for All Rally in Nyack’s Memorial Park tomorrow.

Tom_Chapin_CROPPED

Tom Chapin

Pete, 90, and Tom top a roster that also includes  New York City blues rocker Emory Joseph and The Roues Brothers from West Nyack.

The rally for universal health care was organized by Health Care for All Now and is co-sponsored by The Fellowship of Reconciliation, Rockland Progressive Dems, Spring Valley NAACP, Nyack NAACP, WESPAC Foundation, Organizing for America, and Rockland Women’s Political Caucus.

For further background, click here to read an article from  The Journal News about the rally.

Health Care For All Rally, Sunday, Oct. 4, 4:30-7:30 pm. Memorial Park, 53 Piermont Ave (at Depew Ave.) Nyack, NY. (845) 512-3261 http://healthcareforall.tripod.com.

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Posted in Blues, Folk, Music, News, Pop and Rock

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A stairway to purgatory

Posted on October 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

The dancers of [purtgatorio] POPOPERA in dress rehearsal at the Joyce Theater. (AFP photo)

Vocalist Michaela Riener, center, and two dancers in a dress rehearsal at the Joyce Theater. (AFP photo)

I couldn’t help but think of Led Zeppelin as the score Michael Gordon wrote for Emio Greco | PC‘s dance piece [purgatorio] POPOPERA unspooled at the Joyce Theater last night. Michael, one of the three founders of the Bang on a Can new-music organization, is very much a product of rock and roll, and his compositions are heavily influenced by a rock aesthetic, in this case Zep.

Dance is not my favorite form of performance, but the prospect of hearing interesting and provocative music keeps drawing me into the dance theater. I’ve sat through many mystifying dances just to hear the music.

But [purgatorio] POPOPERA was a pleasant surprise. Emio Greco‘s choreography and the dancing were as inspired — and inspiring — as the music. That seems to stem from the fact that the work is a total collaboration between the visual and the aural, as Michael uses the dancers as the band, making them play the score on electric guitars while dancing. Continue reading →

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Posted in Contemporary, Contemporary Classical, Dance, Music

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