One of the questions frequently asked at job interviews for music leadership positions is, "What type of music do you like?" The short answer is that my heart lies with early music (music written between 500 and 1750 or 1800, depending on who you ask/approximately), particularly Baroque music (1650-1750 ish) and 20th-century/contemporary classical. (Please rest assured that those two things will not be a focus at St. Andrew's) BUT! I have a less stodgy side, I promise, and two of my favourite pop artists are Ben Harper and Jason Mraz.
Our voting leaned pretty heavily to pop songs before 1980 and country music, so I've taken the liberty of mixing things up a bit with some newer stuff. Last week we got to hear some Miley Cyrus, who is ultimately after my time, but this week I'm bringing some pieces that have resonated with me.
The first is Ben Harper's Morning Yearning. To me, this piece is like a prayer. I hear it as the singer pleading for relief from various aspects of life. I trust that this will fit well with the sermon, "Bad Things Happen." I love Ben Harper because while most of his work is secular, there are a lot of Christian elements that pop up. A good portion of his work advocates for social justice and pacifism. He has also recorded gospel albums with the Blind Boys of Alabama and on his secular CDs there is often enough a spiritual song. Lyrics here.
The second song is Quiet by Jason Mraz. Jason Mraz is probably most famous for I'm Yours, if you are trying to place the name. I would say that this song is probably supposed to be a love song. The gist of the song is "In the midst of our noisy world, every thing is quiet with you." However, that message is reminiscent of a relationship with God to me. Peace provided in the chaos. Lyrics here.
Saturday, 4 July 2015
Bach: All Music Is Sacred
On June 21st, Martin was kind enough to play a prelude full of Bach's music for us.
I asked him to do this because when looking at where sacred and secular music intersect, JS Bach is an interesting figure to consider. He worked for churches, so almost his entire compositional output was sacred music, but beyond that, Bach believed that all music was sacred. Because of this, "secular" tunes would make their way in to Bach's sacred work. This viewpoint resonates with me and I would argue that all music is sacred, although, not all music is appropriate for church.
Music is such a wonderful gift with so much power to touch the soul. I think that all music can be understood and appreciated in relation to spirituality, God, and Religion.
I think that it is fabulous that I have had the chance to play and sing so much"secular" music for you through this series, but also before that, when Scott preached about Jaws, Star Wars, when we've had the Academy Awards, and other times that it fit with the service.
I asked him to do this because when looking at where sacred and secular music intersect, JS Bach is an interesting figure to consider. He worked for churches, so almost his entire compositional output was sacred music, but beyond that, Bach believed that all music was sacred. Because of this, "secular" tunes would make their way in to Bach's sacred work. This viewpoint resonates with me and I would argue that all music is sacred, although, not all music is appropriate for church.
Music is such a wonderful gift with so much power to touch the soul. I think that all music can be understood and appreciated in relation to spirituality, God, and Religion.
I think that it is fabulous that I have had the chance to play and sing so much"secular" music for you through this series, but also before that, when Scott preached about Jaws, Star Wars, when we've had the Academy Awards, and other times that it fit with the service.
Monday, 8 June 2015
Sacred and Secular: Week 1
On Sunday, June 14th, Scott and I will begin our first week of looking at where sacred and secular intersect. I, of course, am presiding over the music side of this. Music very much has a long history of sacred and secular overlapping and stealing from each other.
The winner from our voting this week was "You Raise Me Up." Of all the secular pieces that we voted on, this one is the "most sacred" in my opinion. It does not directly refer to God or other religious aspects and could certainly be interpreted as a love song (which I definitely did when the boy I had a crush on in high school sang it at the school assembly), but if anything, the words make more sense when they are referring to God rather than a sweetheart. What I find interesting is that the song becomes even more blatantly sacred (though not literally) when you add the second verse which is not included in the most popular version by Josh Groban (another high school crush, my goodness, maybe it was just the song). You can take a look at the lyrics here.
Our offertory this week will be "Agnus Dei" from Missa entre vous filles by Orlando di Lasso. This piece was written in in the 16th Century and is what we call a parody mass or an imitation mass. In the 16th century there were different approaches that composers would use to write a mass. One was to take a preexisting song and use that tune to compose the mass. Missa entre vous filles uses the tune from Jacob Clemens non Papa's Entre vous fille de quinze ans or "Oh you fifteen year old girls." And yes, the text of the piece goes where you think it is going and is incredibly obscene. Yet the mass using its tune, which everybody would have known, was sung in church. I love this piece because it is a great example of how ridiculously scandalous our "stuffy" classical music is! Text below:
Agnus Dei Lamb of God
Qui tollis peccata mundi You take away the sins of the world
Miserere nobis Have mercy on us
The winner from our voting this week was "You Raise Me Up." Of all the secular pieces that we voted on, this one is the "most sacred" in my opinion. It does not directly refer to God or other religious aspects and could certainly be interpreted as a love song (which I definitely did when the boy I had a crush on in high school sang it at the school assembly), but if anything, the words make more sense when they are referring to God rather than a sweetheart. What I find interesting is that the song becomes even more blatantly sacred (though not literally) when you add the second verse which is not included in the most popular version by Josh Groban (another high school crush, my goodness, maybe it was just the song). You can take a look at the lyrics here.
Our offertory this week will be "Agnus Dei" from Missa entre vous filles by Orlando di Lasso. This piece was written in in the 16th Century and is what we call a parody mass or an imitation mass. In the 16th century there were different approaches that composers would use to write a mass. One was to take a preexisting song and use that tune to compose the mass. Missa entre vous filles uses the tune from Jacob Clemens non Papa's Entre vous fille de quinze ans or "Oh you fifteen year old girls." And yes, the text of the piece goes where you think it is going and is incredibly obscene. Yet the mass using its tune, which everybody would have known, was sung in church. I love this piece because it is a great example of how ridiculously scandalous our "stuffy" classical music is! Text below:
Agnus Dei Lamb of God
Qui tollis peccata mundi You take away the sins of the world
Miserere nobis Have mercy on us
Children's Choir & Frozen
Yesterday, June 7th, was the Children's Choir last performance this year. The group is new to St. Andrew's and I have had some much fun working with them. They are great little singers and we had a good time singing music from Frozen. For me, it was a sort of unofficial start to Scott and I's upcoming series on the intersections of sacred and secular (which officially starts next week, look for blog posts!). Frozen isn't directly or obviously related to Christianity, but what a fun way to bring our children's world into worship. Frozen is by far the most popular children's movie from the past couple years, so I thought it would be perfect for our Academy Awards.
Side note: Children's Choir will begin again in late September. I can't wait to work with them again. Look forward to them singing more often with us during worship.
Side note: Children's Choir will begin again in late September. I can't wait to work with them again. Look forward to them singing more often with us during worship.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
The Music This Week - Holy Week: Easter Sunday
Easter
Sunday
I
don't want to say a lot about the music for Easter Sunday other than,
the choir has been working hard and sounds great, we're delighted to
be welcoming Adam Spiers, a Laurier trumpet student, and I am very
excited!
The Music This Week - Holy Week: Good Friday
Good Friday
For Good Friday we
are going to do an a capella service. I will lead all the hymns
vocally and I will sing two pieces unaccompanied. My hope is that the
lack of instruments will allow for a very somber and reflective
service. The acoustics in our sanctuary are gorgeous and it is the
perfect space for this type of approach.
The first of the
two pieces that I will be singing is O Sacred Head, one that
you are familiar with, but I will be doing it in French. The second
is a piece called Canzonetta spirituale alla sopra nanna by
Tarquinio Merula. It is one of the most heart-breaking pieces I know.
It is a very old Italian lullaby which Mary is singing to the baby
Jesus in which she is saying “it's time to sleep, let me comfort
you now, for the day is coming when horrible things will happen to
you.” The piece goes back and forth between her imploring him to
sleep and vivid descriptions of the crucifixion.
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
The Music This Week - Holy Week: Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
Scott will be revisiting the"found object" wash bin and towel, so I thought I would consider the theme of water. I've chosen four romantic and early 20th century piano pieces about water to play for you. Here is a little information on each piece:
Venetian Boat Song by Felix Mendelssohn
This piece was written during the time that the piano was gaining popularity. You can hear the rich harmonies and dramatic expression that was so characteristic of the Romantic Era. It is from a collection called Songs Without Words. That title is such a lovely idea and hints at the vast expressive possibilities of the piano as an instrument. In this piece the left had provides a continual flowing accompaniment while the right hand has a soaring melody.
Sérénade sur l'eau by Jacques Ibert
This is the latest piece that I've chosen today; it was published in 1944. Jacques Ibert, a somewhat lesser known composer, was not famous for a specific genre or school. He maintained that "all systems are valid," and has often been called an "ecletic." Like the Mendelssohn piece, you can hear the rocking of the waves in the left hand. The melody is more minimalistic though. This piece makes me think of a calm canoe trip. In the latter half of the piece you can hear a repetitive descending melody which reminds me of water flowing over rocks in a stream.
On the Lake by Heinrich Hofmann
This lovely piece, from a relatively obscure composer, creates the sense of rocking on the water across both hands. Meaning that the flowing triple rhythms which sound like water and waves moves through the lower and higher notes of the piano and is part of the melody. This is unlike the other pieces where the musical depiction of water stays in the lower notes of the piano. This piece is very straight-forward and is a testament to the idea that less is more. It is very simply beautiful.
Barcarolle by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
This piece is from Tchaikovsky's work "The Seasons," a collection of twelve (each month) character pieces. Character piece is a somewhat vague term which generally means a piece based on an idea or program (narrative). A barcarolle is the song a Venetian gondoliers sing. Once again, you can hear the water in the left hand, under the melody. Although this one uses a duple pattern (two beats) as opposed to the other three pieces which all use triple patterns (three "beats").
Scott will be revisiting the"found object" wash bin and towel, so I thought I would consider the theme of water. I've chosen four romantic and early 20th century piano pieces about water to play for you. Here is a little information on each piece:
Venetian Boat Song by Felix Mendelssohn
This piece was written during the time that the piano was gaining popularity. You can hear the rich harmonies and dramatic expression that was so characteristic of the Romantic Era. It is from a collection called Songs Without Words. That title is such a lovely idea and hints at the vast expressive possibilities of the piano as an instrument. In this piece the left had provides a continual flowing accompaniment while the right hand has a soaring melody.
Sérénade sur l'eau by Jacques Ibert
This is the latest piece that I've chosen today; it was published in 1944. Jacques Ibert, a somewhat lesser known composer, was not famous for a specific genre or school. He maintained that "all systems are valid," and has often been called an "ecletic." Like the Mendelssohn piece, you can hear the rocking of the waves in the left hand. The melody is more minimalistic though. This piece makes me think of a calm canoe trip. In the latter half of the piece you can hear a repetitive descending melody which reminds me of water flowing over rocks in a stream.
On the Lake by Heinrich Hofmann
This lovely piece, from a relatively obscure composer, creates the sense of rocking on the water across both hands. Meaning that the flowing triple rhythms which sound like water and waves moves through the lower and higher notes of the piano and is part of the melody. This is unlike the other pieces where the musical depiction of water stays in the lower notes of the piano. This piece is very straight-forward and is a testament to the idea that less is more. It is very simply beautiful.
Barcarolle by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
This piece is from Tchaikovsky's work "The Seasons," a collection of twelve (each month) character pieces. Character piece is a somewhat vague term which generally means a piece based on an idea or program (narrative). A barcarolle is the song a Venetian gondoliers sing. Once again, you can hear the water in the left hand, under the melody. Although this one uses a duple pattern (two beats) as opposed to the other three pieces which all use triple patterns (three "beats").
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