Hello everyone,
Our ongoing survey of Winter and Spring quarter repertoire continues! First up: "Seigneur" and "Tout puissant" (4 Prayers of St. Francis of Asissi, set by Francis Poulenc - Chamber T/B)
------------ "Terminus" - text by R.W. Emerson, music by Nancy Hill Cobb
You may know Emerson's famous essay on "Self-Reliance" - if you don't know it, DROP EVERYTHING FOLLOW THIS LINK AND READ IT RIGHT NOW! Forget the self-help aisle - go to the source, get the real deal - FREE :-)
------------------ "Mr. Toad's Song" - text from "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame; setting by Lee Peterson
Y'all, TWITW is one of my favorite books of all time. I re-read it at least half a dozen times each year. It is a magical masterpiece! If you don't know it - hie you to Half Price Books and buy a copy /right now/.
Now - read the notes on your musical score for the background and text of this piece. And, think about Mr. Toad - he turns up in the most interesting places! He's practically an archetype. I'll leave it at that :-) :-)
About Mr. Grahame and the book:
A note about my setting: I love strutting, pompous, verbose, self-centered, manic but essentially good-natured Toady.
I was musically influenced by the magnificent Cab Calloway!
Get into the mood with these clips - -
Here's "Minnie the Moocher":
And a famous CC upbeat tune, "Jumpin' Jive"
Have fun with Mr. Toad - and yes, there is a video of me doing THE MOTIONS.
-------------------
In musical solidarity,
Lee
There's enough info above to keep you very, very busy at YouTube!!! Try taking one gospel song and listening to different renditions. "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" - for example...! Mahalia Jackson - "Precious Lord" - long-meter style
Aretha Jackson - very long meter version.
EVERYBODY YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS CLIP!!!! - it is Thomas A. Dorsey speaking about his song, "Precious Lord Take my Hand."
Fascinating book which references the text: lotta garble but I think you can extract the pertinent information - Begin at p114 “Singing at work and the dialectic of grounded happiness”
I
Have Had Singing paraphrases lines taken from
Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield, Portrait of an English Village. In
the 1960’s, Blythe traveled to the north of England interviewing farmers,
plowmen, blacksmiths — people whose stories dated back to the early 20th
century. One subject, given the name Fred Mitchell in the book, was an
80-year old horseman who told his story of working a bleak, unfertile land in a
life filled with little joy. In the midst of his story, he stopped and said,
“But there was always singing; the boys in the field, the chapels were full of
singing. I have had pleasure enough; I have had singing.”
About the Zentralfriedhof –
AMAZING PLACE. I have been there. I cannot tell you how awe-struck I was, to actually touch BEETHOVEN'S GRAVE. Somehow, despite years upon years of loving labor on various compositions, he truly became a Real Person (TM) to me when I went to the cemetery. He's near Schubert and Brahms (who has a most interesting gravestone indeed - one that I'm sure would have greatly amused him!)
SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE RECORDED THIS SONG!
Go to YouTube and type "Precious Lord Take My Hand" into the search bar -
!! - Use the "Performances" section in that Wikipedia article as the go-to list.
Bella Voce's "Grace" is a setting of "Amazing Grace" - read the entire article for information about the text and about John Newton - a truly moving and inspiring story!
