It has been a while since our Weatherspoon performance, but I wanted to share the video from that performance. It is a condensed version of the lecture I gave while on tour and the full musical performance. If you skip ahead through my lecture, don't worry, I won't be offended. But try not to miss the group's excellent improv!
To have a look, click here: Weatherspoon Performance
We were also featured in the Atlanta Early Music Alliance May newsletter. Thanks to Breda Lloyd for writing about our performance! For the pdf, please click: AEMA Broadside
Although last year's project is complete, I am looking forward to taking this in new directions. Stay tuned!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Deceptive Cadence
On the last day of spring break and after a fast trip to Dallas for the American Choral Director's Association conference, I finally have a chance to really reflect on my students' work with Josquin and their growth over the tour. The amount of pride and ownership I saw grow within them was remarkable. And each performance was remarkably different! Our final performance was at Furman University where we were hosted by the wonderful Hugh Floyd. Hugh and I are both Michigan grads (Go Blue!) and had the same church job when we were students in the program. We definitely share the Michigan family bond. I was so happy my students got a chance to be around his wonderful personality and got to see the beautiful Furman campus.
The students there were very receptive to our material and the space in which we performed was the most acoustically beautiful by far. To change things up a little bit, we did two improvisations, both in minor keys. One in our normal style and another with shorter note lengths. It was so fun to experiment and I am AMAZED at how the improvisation has improved and become more complex as the ensemble gained connectivity and identity. I can't wait to do more work in that area.
I look forward to reading my students' reflections on what they learned and experienced in this process. Already the language they have used in expressing their experience is exciting to me and although our work together is technically complete, I see many ways this whole idea can expand.
We will have one more performance in Greensboro which is tentatively planned for April 26 at 4:00 p.m. in the Weatherspoon Art Museum on the UNCG campus. I will post again when this becomes official. If you are in the area, please come and hear us! I won't give my full lecture, but will talk about the project, what we learned, and give my students a chance to speak and answer questions.
We got some lovely feedback from the audience at the UUCA. One women wrote on our facebook invite:
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| Go Blue! |
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| Sextet |
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| Kate and Deon'te performing Mille regretz |
We will have one more performance in Greensboro which is tentatively planned for April 26 at 4:00 p.m. in the Weatherspoon Art Museum on the UNCG campus. I will post again when this becomes official. If you are in the area, please come and hear us! I won't give my full lecture, but will talk about the project, what we learned, and give my students a chance to speak and answer questions.
We got some lovely feedback from the audience at the UUCA. One women wrote on our facebook invite:
This was a musical experience that not only educated, but lifted the spirit and allowed it to soar. It was both pure and complex - and astonishingly lovely. Thank you Don for inviting us and thank you Dr. Ott and your 10 gorgeous vocalists for singing us into your perfect realm.
Knowing that we made such an impact, even on just one person, is a wonderful thing.
Monday, March 11, 2013
One more day!
It is hard to believe that we have now given our presentation four times. We are really looking forward to performing at Furman tomorrow on our way back to Greensboro and to performing again in our hometown a little later in the semester. I can't even begin to process much this project has meant to me, how much I have grown, and how much my students have grown. I believe so passionately in the transformational experience of chamber music and have witnessed it first hand with this wonderful group of singers. Today was a whirlwind with an early performance at Kennesaw State University hosted by Alison Mann and Georgia State University organized with Deanna Joseph and hosted by Ariel Merivil. My students are becoming quicker and quicker at adapting to new spaces and more comfortable navigating unpredictable performance situations. We have one more long ride in Bev, one more road performance, and one more group lunch to navigate. And then it is on to the rest of spring break, which for me means Dallas and ACDA. Whew!
Today was really too fast to take many pictures, but this hilarious one is too funny NOT to share. It's what happens when there is concentrated togetherness...
Today was really too fast to take many pictures, but this hilarious one is too funny NOT to share. It's what happens when there is concentrated togetherness...
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Atlanta!!
Well, we are here! Thrilled to be on Spring Break and thrilled to be performing such great music in an awesome place. It was a gorgeous day for travel. We left Greensboro at 9(ish) this morning, stopped at the Anderson Mall for lunch, and made it to the UUCA for our late afternoon performance. We had a very appreciative crowd and it felt so good to have stopped moving and to be singing. We were a little nervous warming up since everything kept going sharp from fatigue and travel and daylight savings...but things settled very nicely during the performance.
Our van's name is Bev and she is a BEAST! We love her. I know I'll miss her come Wednesday morning. We got some great pictures. Since the image of 10 college students and their professor singing great music and traveling in a van named Bev complete with monster/fairy finger puppets shouldn't be left to anyone's imaginations, I'll leave you with a few images...
Our van's name is Bev and she is a BEAST! We love her. I know I'll miss her come Wednesday morning. We got some great pictures. Since the image of 10 college students and their professor singing great music and traveling in a van named Bev complete with monster/fairy finger puppets shouldn't be left to anyone's imaginations, I'll leave you with a few images...
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, Monday
Ah, Monday.
Here we are, two weeks away from traveling and performing. Great things happened last week, including fantastic progress on Gaude Virgo and the smaller ensemble pieces. Near the beginning of this project, I discovered a wonderful resource that I am just now getting around to sharing.
The people over at The Josquin Research Project have compiled an AMAZING database of works by Josquin and others of his time, digitized them, and made them available here.
This has been extremely handy for a quick check against the NJE for ficta and pitch issues as well as notational discrepancies. Since many of our editions have either come from cpdl or were created by me, this database has been a very useful tool!
I'm thinking this week of having the ensemble do some broad listening of Josquin. So far, they have been doing very specific "deep" listening of the pieces they are singing. It might be time for a new approach, especially since I believe it is part of building knowledge of a composer's compositional language. I look forward to their insights!!
Here we are, two weeks away from traveling and performing. Great things happened last week, including fantastic progress on Gaude Virgo and the smaller ensemble pieces. Near the beginning of this project, I discovered a wonderful resource that I am just now getting around to sharing.
The people over at The Josquin Research Project have compiled an AMAZING database of works by Josquin and others of his time, digitized them, and made them available here.
This has been extremely handy for a quick check against the NJE for ficta and pitch issues as well as notational discrepancies. Since many of our editions have either come from cpdl or were created by me, this database has been a very useful tool!
I'm thinking this week of having the ensemble do some broad listening of Josquin. So far, they have been doing very specific "deep" listening of the pieces they are singing. It might be time for a new approach, especially since I believe it is part of building knowledge of a composer's compositional language. I look forward to their insights!!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
What a WEEK! (or TGIS...Thank God it's Sunday)
Last week was a picture of insanity. I'm glad it's over and I know everyone else is, too. With a Chorale/Chamber concert, Valentine's Day, the NATS competition, and illness...well, let's just say it was challenging. A few key things happened, though....
1. The full ensemble rocked some Josquin-inspired improv in our Friday under-the-library rehearsal.
2. I realized that the singers would have an easier time with the French text if I recorded myself speaking through it. (Why I hadn't thought of this before is still a mystery to me)
3. Our performance itinerary was completed!
4. I created this brochure outlining our project which can be used the spread the word about upcoming performances.
All good things! We still have to schedule some Greensboro performances, including a pre-tour run through and post-tour concert so be on the look out for our local times and locations.
1. The full ensemble rocked some Josquin-inspired improv in our Friday under-the-library rehearsal.
2. I realized that the singers would have an easier time with the French text if I recorded myself speaking through it. (Why I hadn't thought of this before is still a mystery to me)
3. Our performance itinerary was completed!
4. I created this brochure outlining our project which can be used the spread the word about upcoming performances.
All good things! We still have to schedule some Greensboro performances, including a pre-tour run through and post-tour concert so be on the look out for our local times and locations.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Rehearsal Recap and Random Improv
Last week's rehearsals were very productive! The sextet made good progress on both Petite camusette and Baises moy. Incidentally, whenever I hear the Renaissance pronunciation of "moy" (moi - say mway instead of mwah) I immediately think of the few days I spent in Briançon, France, where the hip French people all pronounced "oui" with the same, laid back diction. ("way" instead of "wee"... but say it in a cool way. Perhaps while riding some kind of motorcycle on your way to go ski in the neighboring town of Montgenèvre) Two totally different words and two totally different time periods, I know. But same, awesome sound in my head!
Although I had to be absent from the quartet rehearsal on Saturday due to the Winston Salem Symphony Chorale performance of Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe (anybody see a French theme going on here?), all reports were positive. They sent a recording of Mille regretz that showed good progress and highlighted some difficulties that we will address together this week and mentioned rehearsing Tant vous aimme as well, which is a beautiful, lesser known chanson.
The full group tackled Gaude virgo by splitting into two rooms - one with the guys and the other with the gals - since there is a good amount of duetting voices and sectionalized writing. What a GREAT motet! We made some ficta choices by consulting the NJE and worked on the wicked syncopation in that piece. The altos rocked some three against two challenges and by the end we were able to work out way through the whole thing. After Amanda slipped off to French, we went ahead and ran the Ave Maria just to see how it felt. This was a GOOD DECISION given that we found some key points to rehearse this week. Namely, the entire end after the lovely triple section I posted last time. Whew!
I also began working with my University Chorale here at UNCG on some improvisation which was inspired by reading the work by Stephen Nachmanovitch. This carried over into the sextet rehearsal, where I had the group create improvisational pieces in the style of Josquin. It was really exciting and I plan to do this with the quartet as well as the full group. These improvisations have proven to be a very useful tool in learning to listen and interact as an ensemble. I'm looking forward to doing more and perhaps performing in this way as well!
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| Here are a few random pictures of Briançon. I know, I know. It looks medieval. Because it is medieval! But I swear the people were modern and hip and said "oway". |
Although I had to be absent from the quartet rehearsal on Saturday due to the Winston Salem Symphony Chorale performance of Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe (anybody see a French theme going on here?), all reports were positive. They sent a recording of Mille regretz that showed good progress and highlighted some difficulties that we will address together this week and mentioned rehearsing Tant vous aimme as well, which is a beautiful, lesser known chanson.
The full group tackled Gaude virgo by splitting into two rooms - one with the guys and the other with the gals - since there is a good amount of duetting voices and sectionalized writing. What a GREAT motet! We made some ficta choices by consulting the NJE and worked on the wicked syncopation in that piece. The altos rocked some three against two challenges and by the end we were able to work out way through the whole thing. After Amanda slipped off to French, we went ahead and ran the Ave Maria just to see how it felt. This was a GOOD DECISION given that we found some key points to rehearse this week. Namely, the entire end after the lovely triple section I posted last time. Whew!
I also began working with my University Chorale here at UNCG on some improvisation which was inspired by reading the work by Stephen Nachmanovitch. This carried over into the sextet rehearsal, where I had the group create improvisational pieces in the style of Josquin. It was really exciting and I plan to do this with the quartet as well as the full group. These improvisations have proven to be a very useful tool in learning to listen and interact as an ensemble. I'm looking forward to doing more and perhaps performing in this way as well!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Quartet Group
Greetings!!
Today the Josquin-Quartet group met for our first rehearsal and we began with Mille Regretz. In preparation for our rehearsal, we worked on our parts separately and listened to the recording Dr. Ott sent to us as well. Upon meeting, we retrieved the IPA for our music from Dr. Ott, wrote it on the board, and then I read the translation aloud before listening to the recording one last time as a group. Then we read through the piece on a neutral syllable and secured a few notes and rhythms.
The element of this piece that presented itself to be most difficult was keeping the rhythmic integrity across the ensemble. To help us overcome that, we set a metronome at 47bpm, which helped us focus on listening more to one another. Afterward, we spoke the text in rhythm and made sure to correct some diction issues, with the help of Dr. Ott. These methods are things that helped really lay a solid foundation for Mille Regretz and have an extremely successful first rehearsal.
Next week the quartet group will meet and add some musical elements to this piece to really make it stylistically beautiful, and work on other pieces led by other members of the quartet. I am really glad and excited to be able to take part in such a great experience. Josquin's music is truly captivating and it is so rewarding to be able to share it with this blog, friends, professors, and peers!
Tune in for more Josquin!
Today the Josquin-Quartet group met for our first rehearsal and we began with Mille Regretz. In preparation for our rehearsal, we worked on our parts separately and listened to the recording Dr. Ott sent to us as well. Upon meeting, we retrieved the IPA for our music from Dr. Ott, wrote it on the board, and then I read the translation aloud before listening to the recording one last time as a group. Then we read through the piece on a neutral syllable and secured a few notes and rhythms.
The element of this piece that presented itself to be most difficult was keeping the rhythmic integrity across the ensemble. To help us overcome that, we set a metronome at 47bpm, which helped us focus on listening more to one another. Afterward, we spoke the text in rhythm and made sure to correct some diction issues, with the help of Dr. Ott. These methods are things that helped really lay a solid foundation for Mille Regretz and have an extremely successful first rehearsal.
Next week the quartet group will meet and add some musical elements to this piece to really make it stylistically beautiful, and work on other pieces led by other members of the quartet. I am really glad and excited to be able to take part in such a great experience. Josquin's music is truly captivating and it is so rewarding to be able to share it with this blog, friends, professors, and peers!
Tune in for more Josquin!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Ancient A Cappella
Just got back from our second full ensemble rehearsal and I just have to say that this group is such a hilarious and fun bunch of singers! And SMART. We worked through the Ave Maria, reviewing things from our first rehearsal and fine tuning timing and rhythm. The edition I chose off of CPDL is good for the notation with its use of breves and a lack of real bar lines, but sometimes the spacing is slightly off within each measure. We're discovering the importance of good rhythmic spacing and having to work a little harder to decipher the rhythm when looking at all four parts at once. It isn't the end of the world, of course, but good to note for the next time I pull out this edition. As we move forward with the piece, our goals will be for each person to expand his/her awareness of their part within the whole and to communicate as an ensemble through body language, eye contact, and phrasing. I also stressed the importance of putting vertical lines in the score where there are rhythmic...um...oddities.
We did all sorts of hilarious things today to help rhythm and pulse. They might not be early music movement approved, but we had a great time. I tried to capture of a video of us acabopping (I am probably spelling that wrong...) in the awesome syncopated parts of this piece, but failed to capture the hilarity (and effectiveness) of the moment. This time. I also may have invoked the spirit of Beyoncé. I think Josquin would have approved.
After working through most of the Ave, we stopped to listen to this recording of the amazing Gaude virgo, and Amanda had to slip off to French class. Kind of appropriate, no?
I'll leave you with a thirty second clip of the triple section in the Ave. This is an excellent beginning to beautiful music making. There are obviously things to work through, but the ease with which these singers are adopting style and musicality in this music is amazing to me. I will email the group our recording of the run through for reflection before our next full rehearsal and look forward to meeting the quartet for chanson work tomorrow!
We did all sorts of hilarious things today to help rhythm and pulse. They might not be early music movement approved, but we had a great time. I tried to capture of a video of us acabopping (I am probably spelling that wrong...) in the awesome syncopated parts of this piece, but failed to capture the hilarity (and effectiveness) of the moment. This time. I also may have invoked the spirit of Beyoncé. I think Josquin would have approved.
After working through most of the Ave, we stopped to listen to this recording of the amazing Gaude virgo, and Amanda had to slip off to French class. Kind of appropriate, no?
I'll leave you with a thirty second clip of the triple section in the Ave. This is an excellent beginning to beautiful music making. There are obviously things to work through, but the ease with which these singers are adopting style and musicality in this music is amazing to me. I will email the group our recording of the run through for reflection before our next full rehearsal and look forward to meeting the quartet for chanson work tomorrow!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
the who and the what
As we begin our first week of rehearsals, it occurred to me to post which students are involved in this project and a link to a better description of what exactly it is that we are doing together every week.
The Who (not the band)
Quartet
Kate Jackson-Adams, soprano
Rachael Bumstead, alto
Davis Kelton, tenor
Deon'te Goodman, baritone
Sextet
Meredith Mormonn, soprano
Amanda Girelli, soprano/alto
Eun-Ju Seo, alto
David Boyd, tenor
Jacob Gilbert, baritone
Austin Jeffries, bass
The What
If you are interested in reading a more detailed abstract for this project (more detailed than my first post), click here.
A part of this project is travel to disseminate information gathered during our research and rehearsal process. I had a great conversation last night with my friend and colleague Deanna Joseph, Director of Choral Activities at the Georgia State University School of Music, about presenting our material at GSU. We will be looking into other performance opportunities in the area and when our itinerary is set, including performances in Greensboro, I will add a specific travel post!
The Who (not the band)
Quartet
Kate Jackson-Adams, soprano
Rachael Bumstead, alto
Davis Kelton, tenor
Deon'te Goodman, baritone
Sextet
Meredith Mormonn, soprano
Amanda Girelli, soprano/alto
Eun-Ju Seo, alto
David Boyd, tenor
Jacob Gilbert, baritone
Austin Jeffries, bass
The What
If you are interested in reading a more detailed abstract for this project (more detailed than my first post), click here.
A part of this project is travel to disseminate information gathered during our research and rehearsal process. I had a great conversation last night with my friend and colleague Deanna Joseph, Director of Choral Activities at the Georgia State University School of Music, about presenting our material at GSU. We will be looking into other performance opportunities in the area and when our itinerary is set, including performances in Greensboro, I will add a specific travel post!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Rehearsal and Orientation - January 26
Our first rehearsal this past weekend went really well. We
met to go over expectations and procedures, set up a rehearsal
schedule, and talk about the process of working in chamber ensembles.
After getting the business side of things out of the way, we
listened to the Ave Maria...virgo serena.
It is so nice to be immersed in such fantastic music again and to share it with
students who have had little experience with Josquin. Over the course of about
an hour, we were able to rehearse the Ave well enough to sing through it
entirely with only a few hiccups here and there.
The singers on this project are great musicians and will
find and fix those problems before the next rehearsal. I provided translations,
IPA, and recordings to get them started on rehearsing the chansons this week,
and also gave them journals in which to document and reflect on their rehearsal
process. I plan to give them prompts each week and some direction on what and
how to rehearse, but want them to take ownership of this music and think
creatively about how to represent it. Although this is not a purist venture from a
performance practice or early music perspective, they have already
intuitively adopted the sound world appropriate for Josquin (natural, easy,
release without overproduction). These are super smart singers and I look forward to our next rehearsal!
An Introduction
Welcome!
This blog is dedicated to documenting the rehearsal and performance process of ten undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who are working, many for the first time, in chamber ensembles on the music of Josquin des Prez.
A little background on Josquin (in case you were wondering)...
Josquin des Prez lived from around 1450-1521 and was one of the first super star composers. Courts courted him. Composers imitated him. Publishers and composers used his name to market and sell their music. Women fainted at the sight of him. Okay, I made that last part up, but he really was the Eric Whitacre of his day. He was born in the Franco-Flemish regions (read: Belgium-ish/France-ish) but traveled widely throughout what is now Europe. He wrote music for the church, music for the court, and music for having a good time. He also masterfully blurred those lines.
The Josquin Project includes ten music students who are working in small ensembles on some of Josquin's chansons and motets, including the famous Ave Maria (think music history class), which can be heard performed by the Tallis Scholars by clicking on the link. Leadership is shared by members of the ensemble and guided by me. At the end of our rehearsal and research process, we will be traveling to present a lecture-recital on various aspects of this music. The dissemination of this research is supported by the FTLC and the Department of Music Performance.
This blog is dedicated to documenting the rehearsal and performance process of ten undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who are working, many for the first time, in chamber ensembles on the music of Josquin des Prez.
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| Petrus Oppmeer's woodcut |
A little background on Josquin (in case you were wondering)...
Josquin des Prez lived from around 1450-1521 and was one of the first super star composers. Courts courted him. Composers imitated him. Publishers and composers used his name to market and sell their music. Women fainted at the sight of him. Okay, I made that last part up, but he really was the Eric Whitacre of his day. He was born in the Franco-Flemish regions (read: Belgium-ish/France-ish) but traveled widely throughout what is now Europe. He wrote music for the church, music for the court, and music for having a good time. He also masterfully blurred those lines.
The Josquin Project includes ten music students who are working in small ensembles on some of Josquin's chansons and motets, including the famous Ave Maria (think music history class), which can be heard performed by the Tallis Scholars by clicking on the link. Leadership is shared by members of the ensemble and guided by me. At the end of our rehearsal and research process, we will be traveling to present a lecture-recital on various aspects of this music. The dissemination of this research is supported by the FTLC and the Department of Music Performance.
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