Aweigh in A Major
A composer's thoughts about music and musiciansA Blessing on the House
Reading the Bach chorales f you’ve ever wondered how there can be 1126 works in Wolfgang Schmieder's Bach Werke Verzeichnis, it’s because the first 224 are cantatas and Nos. 250–438 are chorale harmonizations. The chorales are little...
Word extensions…. Who needs ‘em?
“Our engraver had a strong opinion against word extensions.” ach musical family has its own technical language. A slur is a universal and effective symbol, but slurs mean different things to different families. To a string player, a slur...
“I needed to hear someone singing tonight”
Listening to Anna Tivel don't remember how I discovered the songs of the Portland-based folk-singer Anna Tivel. It was probably through Folk Alley, an internet radio station that keeps me company while I’m doing computer work. I admired...
Addio Argento
One month ago, on February 20, 2019, we lost master composer Dominick Argento. The affection I felt for the man and the respect I had for his art can’t be neatly summarized, but here is an appreciation adapted from words at a concert of his music at Hill House in...
Remembering Poet Donald Hall
I had been thinking about Donald Hall, wondering how he was getting on. That usually means: pay attention. Twenty years ago, I wrote a song cycle for soprano and piano based on Hall’s baseball writings. In the Country of Baseball, a title I borrowed from one of...
Get In Touch
Leave your name and email below, with what you are looking for in the message box. Or call me at 612-870-3747.
