Tom and Linda Nocita are my sister and her husband. Coleman's Mom is Mimi, Tom Nocita's neice! Linda Nocita has kept in touch with us given Coleman's brush with us as alternate caregivers.
All this is a good characterization of this video! Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Monday, December 27, 2021
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Pomona College Choir - 2021 Fall Concert
Sunday, 5th December 2021 at 3:00 p.m.
Donna M. Di Grazia, Conductor, Rosa Li, piano
It is interesting that when the conductor, Donna M. Di Grazia, began thinking about this year's concert, she had Covid19 on her mind. She frankly speaks about the Choir when she says how grateful I am for your presence.
But keeping six feet of distance between each member of the choir on performance day is simply too much!
Nor testing for Covid19 three times a week leading up to that time is really too much!
1. Alleluia (2020) Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
It's interesting that the composers of the various Alleluia use different churchmen as their first quote. Elaine Hagenberg used St. Augustine, whereas many would use Martin Luther. Here is how the program looked when she came on with St. Augustine,
"Alleluia! All shall be Amen and Alleluia. We shall rest and we shall see. We shall see and we shall know. We shall know and we shall love. Behold our end which is no end. Amen."
Leonard Cohen based his finding in "Hellelluia" on wordings which didn't "fix" that something. It was intemperate!
2. O nata lux (1997) Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
This didn't rest on substituting Martin Luther for St. Augustine but instead on the lovely vocals which soared above the phrases!
3. Praise the Lord (1951) Florence Price (1887-1953)
Florence Price composed the Symphony in E Minor. Both the White and Black press were glowing. The Chicago Tribune noted that Price was "repeatedly called on stage to acknowledge the enthusiastic applause her music received." Similarly, the Black weekly The Chicago Defender reported, "...the large auditorium, filled to the brim with music lovers of all races, rang out in applause for the composer and orchestral rendition, [and] it seemed that the evening could hold no greater thrills," while the Chicago Daily News added, "[the symphony] is worthy of a place in the regular symphonic repertory." But it didn't take its place because repression didn't let up.
So Praise the Lord came up on our list.
4. O magnum mysterium (2009) Mark Buller (b. 1986)
5. Lovely, Dark, and Lonely One (1934; arr. 2021) Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) arr. Donna M. Di Grazia
Harry T. Burleigh comes up. Do you remember "Black Patti"? She came up because Adelaide Patti was the White one, whereas soprano Matilda Sissieretta Jones was the Black one. "African Mahler" was a Black and he was compared to Gustave Mahler. No such sobriquet adorned Harry T. Burleigh Lovely, Dark, and Lonely One (1934). He had Marian Anderson's voice in mind.
6. The Ballad of the Brown King (1954; rev. 1960) Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Six years after 1954 she decided to expand the the piano piece to full orchestra. She added the movements (4, 5 and 7) and she dedicated it to Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the things she added was a 4 calypso Mary Had a Little Baby.
In recalling the premiere in 1960, Bonds daughter Djane Richardson noted, "The place was jam-packed. People from Harlem could be depended upon to attend black cultural events and support their own."
"Despite The Ballad's early success, the full orchestral version of the work remains in manuscript, which has prohibited performances in that guise, " according to Donna M. Di Grazia, the conductor. "Inexplicably, the piano version from 1954, which we are singing here, remains out of print. I am thus grateful to Allegra Martin (who I discovered had a photocopy of the score) for graciously answering my email this summer, and for Alfred Music Publishers for granting permission to photocopy it for our work this semester. Without both, we could not perform The Ballad this weekend."
-Donna M. Di Grazia, Conductor, page 6 of the Program.
1. Of the Three Wise Men
2. They Brought Fine Gifts
3. Sing Alleluia
4. Mary had a Little Baby
5. Now When Jesus was Born
6. Could He have been an Ethiope
7. Oh, Sing of the King who was Tall and Brown
8. That was a Christmas Long Ago
9. Alleluia!
1. Of the Three Wise Men
Of the three wise men who came to the King, one was a brown man, so they sing.
Alleluia!
Of the three wise men who followed the star, one was a brown king from afar.
Alleluia!
2. They Brought Fine Gifts
They brought fine gifts of silver and gold
in jeweled boxes of beauty untold.
Unto His humble manger they came
and bowed their heads in Jesus's name.
3. Sing Alleluia to our King!
4. Mary Had a Little Baby
Mary had a Little Baby
Jesus, that was His name.
All the world became much brighter
when the little Jesus, the Christ child came.
That was in a lowly manger,
outside the night was cold.
But within that lowly manger,
behold how warm His love is; Oh, behold!
Mary had a little baby,
in the night a bright shone.
I, so lost, so lost and lonely,
nevermore shall be alone.
5. Now When Jesus Was Born
Now When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem,
in the days of Herod, the King.
Behold the came wise men for the East saying,
"Where is He that is born?"
For we have seen His star in the East.
Oh, we have seen His star.
6. Could He Have Been an Ethiope?
Could he have been an Ethiope
from an Ethiopian land?
I do not know just who he was,
but he was a kingly man.
I do not now just who he was,
but he followed the star that night,
Could he have been a tall, dark king?
Maybe Arabian?
I do not know just who he was,
But he was a wise, wise man.
Of all the kings who came to call,
one was dark like me,
and I'm so glad that he was there
our little Christ to see.
Follow, follow the star tonight,
our little Christ to see.
7. Oh, Sing of the King Who Was Tall and Brown
Oh, Sing of the King Who Was Tall and Brown,
crossing the desert from a distant town;
crossing the desert on a caravan,
his gifts to bring from a distant land;
his gifts to bring from a palm tree land,
across the sand by caravan,
with a single star to guide his way to Bethlehem,
to Bethlehem where the Christ Child lay.
Oh, sing of the king who was tall and brown,
and the other kings that this king found,
who came to put their presents down
in a lowly manger in Bethlehem town,
where the King of Kings, a babe was found;
three kings who came to the King of Kings,
and one was tall and brown, tall and brown.
8. That Was a Christmas Long Ago
That was a Christmas long ago,
when the three wise men bowed so low.
The three wise men who followed the star,
one was a brown man from afar.
The three wise men who came to the King,
one was a brown man, so they sing.
9. Alleluia
Alleluia! Christ the King.
Alleluia! So they sing!
He is Christ the King, Alleluia!
Alleluia! Praise his name!
Alleluia! Christ the King!
Alleluia! They did sing!
Alleluia! Christ the King!
-- Langston Hughes (c. 1954/55, pub. in part as Carol of the Brown King)
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Tracking for the Choir Concert, December 5 at 3:00 pm
Alleluia - SATB | Elaine Hagenberg Music
Morten Lauridsen - O Nata Lux (Sheet music video) - YouTube
Praise the Lord - Florence Price - YouTube
O Magnum Mysterium - Mark Buller - YouTube
Lovely, Dark, and Lonely One (Langston Hughes) by H. T. Burleigh - Roderick George, tenor - YouTube
The Ballad of the Brown King: I. Of the Three Wise Men - YouTube
Monday, December 13, 2021
Jazz Ensemble, Pomona College Department
November 13, 2021 at the Greek Theater at 3:00 pm
I want to acknowledge and review Cameron Gliddon and Dylan Yin for their delightful performance of Crystal Silence, composed by Chick Corea. So we will skip to Cameron and Dylan.
Cameron is a piano player, so we hear light, tinkling piano music at the beginning. Dylan is the saxophone player, so we hear really rich sounds of the saxophone just after the beginning.
In Chick Corea's work, featured on Amazon, he had Gary Burton, a vibraphonist, do this as an accompanist. As a vibraphonist, Burton work is very "light." It is impressive, but it in contrast with the saxophone version, it doesn't compare!
1. Main Stem, Duke Ellington (1899-1974), transcribed by David Berger
Barb Catlin welcomed everybody to the Greek Theater. She mentioned that it was the first time they had performed in over two years! She then, in some bizarre way, got the beat down, and we were off to hear Main Stem! (You've got to hear the 1942 version of this number! Go to the post just before this one and choose the first one on the list.)
2. Mambo Inn, Grace Sampson/George Woodlen/Mario Bauzá (1911-1993)
This has the rhythmic quality! Great band, in the original, Afro-Cuban.
3. Fancy Pants, Sammy Nestico (1924-2021)
In dealing with Sammy Nestico, we are dealing with a person who did Hollywood movies. But with 70 years of "trying to be like the model citizen," he is incredible! (And this is my first time with him.)
4. Bossa For Strayhorn, Bill Liston (b. 1959)
The saxophone went all over the place! (You got to hear "Take the A Train" with Strayhorn as Duke Ellington's guest. It's on YouTube. By the way, Strayhorn is a pianist.)
5. High and Dry, Thom York (b. 1968), Jonny Greenwood (b. 1971)
I go to YouTube to rehearse for my reviews.
For High and Dry led me to some "far out" stuff! I chose the piano transcription for the YouTube backup. I hope you like it!
6. Crystal Silence, "Chick" Corea (b. 1941)
Here are the two young gentlemen, Cameron and Dylan.
7. Chucho, Paquito D' Rivera (b. 1948)
What does "Chucho" mean? Big Daddy?
8. 'Round Midnight, Thelonious Monk, arr. Rebecca Mauleón & Barb Catlin
I didn't know YouTube really well so it was a surprise to see the Thelonious Monk Quartet up there on YouTube!
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Giri Kusuma
Bridges Hall of Music (Little Bridges)
December 6, 2021 at 8:00 p.m.
This is the Balinese Gamelan concert!
(You might was to go the previous post where I've made a parallel track of the features in YouTube. It is possible there to have an experience of what I saw at Little Bridges using very similar videos on YouTube.)
1. "Beleganjur" We began with this marching feature. There were dozens of people entering from the back door in costume! These were the four dancers, the rest of the Gamelan players, and two actors, one from "Baris" (the 6th number) and one from "Jauk," (the 7th) who was "demonic"! We'll get to them in a minute. In our dance, the dancers carrying the cymbals leaned far to the right, and then to the left.
2. "Bapang Selisir" The program says that this is a traditional piece derived from an early style of gamelan pengabuhan. Bapang refers to meter and rhythmic foundation for the piece, while selisir refers to the type of pentatonic scale used by the ensemble. It is quite similar to the other compositions by the "Baris" and "Jauk" dancers.
3. "Lecture Demonstration" This was similar to the one Bill Malm did years ago. Nyoman Wenten, the Music Director, arose from the orchestra and commentated. He did interlocking claps, first on one side of the audience, the on the other. I remember my claps, just barely! I don't know what the first one was. One, pause, then, quickly, three claps. He said, "we were doing good"! The overall had something to do with the foundation of rhythmic discourse!
4. "Pendet" Here the focus is on the four women. They grasp in the right hand the branch and with their left hand, they perform elaborate gestures or "mudra's." They open and close the fingers, just so, and they vibrate the shoulders also. while rotating the hand. The head rotates, left and right. They lean forward also. In performing the the four women seen from the front were four and then two (one behind the other) and then four.
5. "Baris" This is the traditional male warrior dance, according to the program, it is learned and performed as way demonstrating physical prowess and martial skill. Baris dancers typically wear a sheath containing a kris, or dagger, on their backs. The cues from the vigorous displays of the dancer guide the music.
6. Gendér Wayang: Angkat-angkatan, Batel Music for the Balinese shadow puppet theater (wayang), according to the program, usually provided by four musicians playing ten-keyed mettallophones known as gendér. It's like having a small jazz group!
7. "Jauk" This is the "demonic" dance. It begin with "sets," arrested states of the dancer in various sets of head and feet. The music is timed to this. But most predominately it is the hands! The dancer has on gloves where the fingers quite slim and fanned out. He goes through "flapping" contortions opening and closing the hands.
8. "Penyuwud" According the the program, this is a traditional piece that is played for the conclusion of a performance. The word penyuwud means "ending."
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Parallel Tracking with the Gamelan concert at Little Bridges
Here we gave tracked YouTube videos of various Gamelan performances with those of Little Bridges. So you should have a complete performance. (So you have to wait a bit for the first one. The sponsored video will play until the "skip ads" will appear, you should be ready!)
1. Baleganjur Gamelan beleganjur contest performance, Bali, Indonesia, 2005 - YouTube
This was the first piece, at Little Bridges with the entire ensemble coming in from the back, four dancers, the entire orchestra, and two individuals, the "Baris" and the "Jauk," the Warrior and the Demonic figure! Here they don't come in from the back!
2. Bapang Selisir Bapang Selisir - YouTube
3. Lecture Demonstration Gamelan Lecture Demo (GIta Asmara Show 2013) - YouTube
4. Pendet Tari Pendet dari Bali Indonesia - YouTube
5. Baris Solo Warrior Dance - Classical Balinese Dance (Baris Tunggal) - YouTube
6. Gender Wayang: Angkat-angkatan, Batel Gender Wayang -- Rebong (Teges) - YouTube
7. Jauk JUARA 1 LOMBA TARI JAUK MANIS | TAKSU FESTIVAL 2021 RESMAN - YouTube
8. Penyuwud LMU Gamelan Recital! - YouTube
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