Wednesday, September 30, 2009

September 30 - Another Green Blue Tan Day


Print out the parts for the fourth movement of Elijah Ghost, and blast off to DVC for a pre-season Franz Xaver Gruber Silent Night as dictation and board harmony, with a little contrapuntal/chromatic spin on Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto Quartet and Storm, some form analysis (including W.A. Mozart Sonata in C of yesterday), and Will Eukel's intriguing chromatic / whole-tonish modulatory Composition 2. Break camp briefly for the



Student



Union, for a meeting with Bill Oye, then back to make a performance version and Garbage Band recording of



For My Brother For My Brother:



3.Dressing Up I.-IV.










-- in the lab, but not of the lab, created completely on the laptop -- using the Tascam as a tabletop and a sound booth simply as a reasonably sound-proof chamber.



Return via



Wooded Top,



Stonewind and



Parish West Canyons,



the occluded Chinese Wall and Dinosaur Ridge,



Fairfield Pyramids,



Poverty Hills, and



Central (moony) and



North Lagoon Mountains to orchestrate The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Tax Collector (pages 8-14).

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

September 29 - Driving Home the Messages


Print out the parts for the third movement of Elijah Ghost, before heading off to Diablo Valley College for mid-day Mozart -- the Amadeus deathbed dictation scene (then a flashback to J.S. Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor -- with a snake pit of soprano C moveable clef -- and the all four parts of the Cantata No. 140 chorale as sight-singing) and our ear-training on W.A. Mozart's Sonata in C, K. 545, first four measures -- which also serves as board harmony and keyboard-solfege of the week. Ian performs his impressive Composition II on bass, then a quick trip home to orchestrate page 7 of The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Tax Collector and see Harriet.



Returning past the slanting shadows of South Lagoon Mountains,



with Mt. Diablo



and the Concord Range



in view, the evening class takes a jaunt from the late Renaissance Dublin Virginal Book composer (Variations on the Romanesca) through the mid-Baroque of Henry Purcell and Dido and Aeneas.



Somehow we run out of quizzes, so things get a bit adventurous at the end, but William goes to the rescue at the xerox, and the notes on the board for next week are finally reasonably correct, too. Doug and I shoot for Elephant Bar, but they've called last round early. A cold night, with the heater kicking on for the first time since spring (yes, a warm-weather aficionado, here, definitely). Ah, well, there's always tomorrow. Until there's not....

Monday, September 28, 2009

September 28 - Bearing Up


Print out the parts for the first two movements of Elijah Ghost, present Theory dictation on J.S. Bach's Cantata 140 ("Wachet Auf") chorale and go over B, F#, and C (the latter in Melodic) Minor plus Bb & Eb Major, pass off keyboard component of Quiz 6 with Pamela and Jeff, attempt a rhythmic transcription of Bernie's amazing guitar work, take a listen to John Veitch's latest piano piece (and he to Elijah Rock: III. Rehoboam [Chronology and Call]), coffee break with Doug, and record Tritone Orchestra versions of

THE PASSION ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW, Op. 55

XX. . . . QUADRUPLE FUGATO ". . . Golgotha"


[...INTERLUDE (The Nailing to the Cross)
CHORUS I (The Abuse of the Crowd)
RECAPITULATION (The Charge Against Him)
CHORUS II (The Lament of the Disciples)]











XXI. SPECIES COUNTERPOINT (After Zarlino) "He Saved Others" (At the Cross)











XXII. CANONIC PALINDROME "Eli, Eli, Lama sabachta'ni"











XXIII. OSTINATO-CANON "It Is Finished" (Trope II)











XXIV. CANTUS FIRMUS "And Behold"










Home to Harriet in the evening shadows, another orchestrated page (6) of The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Call, and raccoons cavorting on the roof in the late hours.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

September 27 - Solidarity


Whoops, they spelled Cabaret wrong, but it's nice to be on the marquee anyway. Big success at Live Oak with impressive crowd and premier performances from all for the World Premiere of



Patrick Dailly's Solidarity (with Dalyte, Eliza, Erick, Harriet, Indre, John, Julia, Justin, Keisuke, Kristen, Meghan, Nathan, Nora, Roger, and Sarah-Nicole( -- fun all the way around, including



before and after (nice to see Allan, Alden, Amanda, Laverne and beau, Lisa, Ken, Peter, Steve (sans chapeau!), Wayne and escort, Music History students, and lots of other friendly folks -- familiar and new -- in the audience). Another beautiful, warm day through the


moony



Sulfur



Springs



Mountains



past


St. John Mine Mountain Ranch all the way to



the setting sun at Live Oak Park. Load up the cars afterwards, drive Meghan home, debrief with Harriet, finish the score and parts to Elijah Ghost, and do another page (5) of orchestration for The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Tax Collector.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

September 26 - Solid Rarity


Final music/staging rehearsal for Patrick Dailly's Solidarity



on a beautiful warm day (after picking up the program and cheesesteaks and hoagies), before San Francisco Cabaret Opera world premiere opening gala tomorrow at Berkeley's Live Oak Theatre, plus


half the score and parts Elijah Ghost: VII, and another page (4) of orchestration for The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Tax Collector.

Friday, September 25, 2009

September 25 - Beyond the Edge of the Pavement


Further? Well, there's the car.

Back to the scene of last Friday's crime, walking on the continuation of the now-unpaved Mosquito Ridge Road beyond French Meadows Reservoir. This after a morning of score and parts for Elijah Ghost: VI and page 3 of The Gospel According to St. Matthew: XVI. The Tax Collector orchestration, followed by paper grading at Bootlegger's in Auburn over a shrimp po' boy (what will be thought of next?) and cabernet.



It gets a bit more rustic, between Chalk Bluff and the dwindling Middle Fork of the American River, with



Granite Chief beckoning. "There's a better shot just ahead," call out a couple of friendly-helpful bicyclists of a certain age, the first such recreationalists that I've seen in many a walk.


And the last for now, as the Chipmunk Ridge



falls behind in the deepening woods.



The moon is a distant companion, until mileage post 42 (reckoned from Foresthill), scouting out the route unfolding on route 51,



abandoning the Mosquito Ridge Road's ascent of Red Star, where the



signs are maybe no-



maybe yes- believable.



Turning around for the evening, the last light is captured at the French Meadows south boat ramp,



as the Granite



glowers, and



the glow



fades in



ghosts.



All the more reason to hasten back, not without detours, to finish Ghost: VI.