Music and Lectures

Hello, all,

Here's your required listening for the weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuMhhIJ3T3M

(This video looks a bit funny because the video is a smidge ahead of the audio. Also, there's a brief hiccup in the video a few minutes in... pay these things no heed!)

This piece has been stuck in my head recently.

Tchaikovsky originally wrote this piece as a movement of one of his string quartets. This means that this piece was part of a group of relatively short pieces that form a collection generally called a "string quartet." Note that the word "quartet" refers to the fact that there are four musicians in the ensemble (two violins, a viola, and a cello), not to the number of movements (sub-pieces) in the larger work. By technical / dictionary definition, a "string quartet" is just a four-person ensemble (the instrumentation of which varies historically, of course), but the term has long since taken on the meaning of a suite written for such an ensemble.

Anyway, the movement turned out to be a big hit, and Tchaikovsky arranged it a few years later for solo cello and piano (or string orchestra).

The piece is known as the "Andante cantabile" movement. Musicians translate "andante" as a tempo marking indicative of a "walking" tempo -- it's not slow, but it sure ain't fast, either. "Cantabile" means in a singing style, or "singing-ly," to construct an adverb.

I discovered this piece because I randomly found a bass transcription of it in my sheet music collection. I'm not sure if I'll learn it and perform it for anything, as the arrangement isn't centered in a very soloistic register for the bass... which is almost indubitably the reason I had a hard time finding a recording. (I might try getting funky with the key, though; we'll see.) After spending a couple of hours scouring Baylor's electronic resources directory and the internet at large looking for a bass recording of the piece, I presented my quest to a friend who immediately suggested YouTubing it. I hadn't really thought of that. There was no bass recording, but we did find this (and other) recordings. For a dramatic (and awesome) string ensemble recording, check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEsgZ_KYPv8

What a melody! I hope it gets stuck in your head a little bit, too, so that you may carry it around and enjoy it throughout your day.

~~~~~~~

(This segment of this post was written a few days ago in a state of extreme tiredness. Please excuse any odd linguistic choices.)

So, I attended a lecture earlier this evening. The event was held in a spacious room inside the Honors College. I, however, am not in any of the Honors programs here, and I do not live in the Honors College building, so my campus ID card does not grant me access to said building. I was a typical nerd in junior high and high school, and I did all that that implies -- good ol' academic competitions, calculator programming, computer science / programming, over-extensive AP testing... Been there, done that, still wear the t-shirts. (My TICalc.org profile still exists, too. Should you have a need for a Hearts scorekeeper for TI-83+, fret no more.) As high school ended, though, I knew I had to make a choice between music and math/science. Reasoning that I would miss music more than I'd miss math and science, I chose the music path. I do believe that this was the correct choice to make... but believe me, I do miss math and science. As a non-Honors student, lacking the unique flavor of academic rigor that those Honors kiddos taste every day, I tailgated my way into the building with a faint, faint worry of being a fish in a foreign pond. I don't know too many people in the Honors College / programs, but I've seen a lot of them around. Upon entering the lecture room, I grabbed some seats to help establish a Brooks College (that's my home!!) base near the front. The room filled shortly afterwards, and the lecture began.

An hour and change later, my legs were feelin' it from the harsh limitations that the chair in front of me placed on their degrees of freedom. I was also past the point of tiredness, somewhat hungry, and almost cranky. I stood up to stretch my legs and look at the crowd in motion around me.

Generally, I'd say that I tend to be fond of crowds. Blessed with the bird's-eye view that I have, navigation is never a problem, and I like the feeling of being part of something big. It's like going to a midnight movie or book release, when you're able to tune into and sync with the energy of everyone else there. Having said that, though, you should know not to expect me, upon being released into a crowd, to go around and try to learn everyone's name or extract the life story of whatever hapless bystander I run into first.

So, after briefly contemplating the scene, I drifted towards the refreshments table at the back. That's when... it happened. Dun-dun-duuunnnn!!!!!! (Mind ye not my midnight melodrama.)

I started running into people I had seen before. I saw a girl whose name I had forgotten, but I knew she was in the School of Music with me. I chatted briefly with her and her friend (I didn't know his name either), until I finally gave in and asked if she could remind me of her name. She kindly did, and asked if I knew her friend. "No," I replied, and in perfect unison with the Mystery Man, I added, "But I've seen you around a lot." Mystery Man immediately called jinx, and all traces or hints of potential grumpiness gone, I laughed with them. Moments later, I joked with strangers about where the line for the refreshments table was (or wasn't) and who was cutting in said line, and soon after that, I was spontaneously aiding a group effort to determine what exactly the mysterious, carbonated, non-water punch-like beverage was.

In these brief moments, I experienced something that I do not often feel nowadays -- something from an earlier time in my life. I have my dear friends, of course, who I love very much, but this was something different... a unique flavor of camaraderie, but more than just a feeling of general chumminess -- it was like an instant identity. It was like meeting an old friend, or a whole bunch of old friends all at once.

At times like those, I miss math, I miss science, and I miss being around people who feel the same way.

~~~~~~~

I love, value, appreciate, enjoy, and am thankful for my training as a musician. I am proud of the choice that I made.

The Secret Life of the Camp Counselor

In the summers after my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I attended Baylor University's High School Summer Full Orchestra Camp. I don't remember much about my first visit, but my second week of living at Baylor was one of the best weeks, I think, of my entire life. Those camps served their hidden purpose well -- recruitment!

And now, five years later, I'm a Baylor Bear and a music student, spending time as a camp counselor for the very camp that drew my attention here. (I'm actually writing this in the hall outside a friend/counselor's door... I don't get the campus wireless in my own room, but I have signal here for some reason. It's after lights-out, and everything is quiet and still... except for the Dr. Pepper machine down the hall.) Kudos to the School of Music and all those involved for running so many awesome camps. There's also a piano camp going on, and a choir camp coming up later, then All-State workshops... wow!!

Anyway! Last week was high school camp, and this week is junior high camp. The younger kids need a little more looking after, but the great thing about them is that (as a friend/counselor said) they're not "too cool for school" yet. Most of them are very enthusiastic. Yeah, they need a little direction, but they're good kids... and they go to bed at lights-out time, and they always wake up SUPER-early and are ready to go like pros!! The other great thing about this week's camp is that lights-out is an hour earlier than it is at the high school camp... which means more sleep / free time... hence the blogging.

During a meeting, one of my campers asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you sound like Kermit the Frog?" I was surprised, though pleasantly so -- a Kermit the Frog impression is one of the few items in my bag o' tricks, along with the Gollum cough, the Tauntaun squeal, and the growls of Watto. (Hmm... maybe I should work on expanding my lineup outside of the scum of sci-fi / fantasy movies.)

One of our evening activities for both camps was an optional Guitar Hero tournament in which students and counselors / staff were welcome to participate. I managed and oversaw the tournaments, which was a fun (though somewhat demanding) job. Juggling four brackets (one for each difficulty) over four TVs with students hopping up onstage to ask you how long it is until they play (or if they can go to the bathroom) will really take it out of you!! It was definitely a blast, though.

Another evening activity is our faculty recital. This week's faculty recital is tomorrow, and I'll be playing the Rossini duet for cello and double bass with another counselor. That piece is sure a good 'un -- I'm looking forward to it!!!

~~~~~~~

I don't have a picture for this post, but I do have something cool to leave you with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoDTjaw-ZUA

This is from last week's talent show. We didn't announce what song we were playing before we started... hence the rock concert-esque cheering at the beginning. Enjoy!!

Merry Christmas -- and Backordered Posts!!!

Season's greetings and happy holidays to everyone!!

Though I didn't write much while sloughing through the thick of the end of the semester, I kept the Journal in mind and have notes on my desk for the things I plan to write about. Here are the writings that are in transit and scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks before school starts again:

• A look at Childrens' Concerts
  
• Brief discussion of a Bruckner symphony
  
• My first experiences in a Praise Band
  
• A preview of next semester's Opera
  
• Discussion of Christmas Concerts
  Including a brief essay: The "Melodic Fi" and Its Uses in Generally Awesome Music
• A bit about good ol' John Cage

...quite a smorgasbord of subjects! I probably won't go in exactly this order, but I'll be sure to hit all the topics.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas and that you have several more days to spend with your family and friends before work and school start up again.

That's all for now -- I'll be writing again soon!

A stage, beautifully set for a Christmas Concert!

A Journal's First Entry

Greetings to friends, family, fans, and fellow students of music!!

I'm Anson, a collegiate double bassist studying music education (and aiming for a math minor on the side), and this is the official outlet of all things musical that I have to share.

In the days ahead, as I record my journeys through the world of music, this will become a collection not only of writings, but of recordings and compositions as well... and I'll probably throw in a few pictures here and there.

It is my hope and goal that all of my readers -- both trained musicians and casual listeners -- will enjoy these brief excursions into music as much as I enjoy sharing them, and maybe find a fun fact or souvenir to take with them along the way.

~~~~~~~

There are quite a few things going on in the near future that I will be able to write about, which is handy. The Baylor Symphony Orchestra is playing Bruckner's 4th Symphony (the "Romantic") on Tuesday evening, and I will soon be working on a passacaglia for a Theory V composition project. I also have plans for a few other compositions... we'll see if those ideas ever make it into Finale.

For this first entry, I would like to present a recording I made recently of Giovanni Bottesini's Elegy for double bass. This is from the Fall 2008 Baylor Bass Studio Recital, which was last week. It's an awesome piece, perfectly written for the bass -- enjoy!! (Be sure to listen to it on a speaker system with subs for maximum bassage.)

Elegy (Giovanni Bottesini), 11/12/08

[ download ]

Though the piece is an elegy, it is not fraught with despair. The song, in my mind, suggests images of an elderly man walking through a beautiful park. A close friend of this man has died, one who surely lived a long and joyful life. As he moves through the trees and small gardens, he recalls memories of the countless joys they have shared, and is saddened by the barrenness of nostalgia... but he cannot grieve for long, because as he continues to walk, children run across his path, their laughter trailing behind them to where their parents sit on a blanket between the trees -- even through the death of a friend, the beauty of life is clearly evident.

Whatever you visualized, however, is the best interpretation for you.

Okay, okay, that's all. A picture to close things up, and then I'm out.

My bass, backstage during the Childrens' Concert series.