• Work with Gretchen
  • Bio
  • E-book
    • Goal-oriented Practice
      • Book intro
      • Book review
      • Book T of C, p. 1
      • Book T of C, p. 2
  • Review
  • Pictures
  • About me
  • Contact form
  • My career path
  • What they’re saying

Gretchen Saathoff

~ Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach ~ forging partnerships, making memorable music together

Category Archives: concert

Adventures in not pedaling

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by GretchensPianos in acoustics, career, chorus, collaboration, concert, expression, extremes, goals, integrity, listening, music, new approach, new experience, new insights, outside the box, pedal, perception, performing, piano, priorities, responsibility, rhythm, serving music, singing, something new, the unexpected, tools, video, work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

collaboration

Cupola. Source: Pixabay. Public Domain

Cupola. Source: Pixabay. Public Domain

 

When is the last time you performed something without using the pedal?  That’s right, no pedal at all.  

As it happens, I did exactly that on Sunday night.  I was thinking about that while driving home, trying to remember the last time I’d omitted all pedal. There was one occasion several years ago.

Christ & Saint Stephen’s in midtown Manhattan features a dome above the altar area.  A baritone I played for had included “Why do the nations rage” from Messiah on his recital program.  The piano reduction, 16th note tremelos, sounded like what you might call a bloody mess!  The singer’s girlfriend, a professional cellist, attended the dress rehearsal, for which I shall always be grateful.  She suggested that I play 8th notes at first, but even that sounded too muddy for audience consumption.  Then she suggested playing quarter note chords, no tremolo at all, without any pedal.  Amazingly enough, that worked.

Prior to that experience, the only time I played without pedal was probably in college, when playing Baroque music.  At the time, I was a die-hard original sound freak, or preferred to come as close as possible given that I was playing a piano rather than a harpsichord.  That certainly meant that the pedal was not to be used at all.

Since college, I have discovered that using the pedal on every note of a continuo bass line (i.e. quarter notes) enhances the sound without blurring it. But it must be used judiciously!  Just tap it.  The idea is to allow the strings to vibrate without making the sound last longer.  You will hear the sound become rounder, closer to cello pizzicato.

Sunday night’s concert venue was a large church with high, valuted ceilings. The reverberation time was at least 4 seconds.  We performed Copland’s “The Promise of Living” with a large group of combined choruses.  The version on our program featured a piano four-hands accompaniment.

Both of us arrived at the piano, sat down and looked at each other.  Whose score would we use?  After we solved that question, my fellow pianist said, “Do you want to pedal?”  I said, “Go for it!”  He was playing the secondo part. The pedal would be easier for him to reach.  In addition, he would be playing the part with the harmonic rhythm.

Soon after, we heard how live the acoustics were in the space.  The piano was some distance away from the singers.  We decided not to use the pedal at all, in order to provide as much clarity as possible.

I’m happy to say it worked!  A professional singer, who sang an aria during the program, was sitting in the audience during the Copland.  She and I were talking afterwards, when she said she heard clarity, and it sounded as if we had pedaled.

Have you ever performed with no pedal?

If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.

I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Please take a look at my e-book!

“Goal-oriented Practice”
Are you practicing well? Is your repertoire of ideas working for you? Are you making consistent progress?

My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.

50% off!!!  Absolutely NO JARGON!  Even my non-musician little sister says so.

Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

PianoAnd: The lid. Full stick, half stick, or none at all?*

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by GretchensPianos in acoustics, balance, career, collaboration, concert, dynamics, engaging the audience, expression, goals, listening, music, performing, piano, priorities, rehearsal, serving music, tools

≈ 5 Comments

Source:  Wikimedia.  Public domain.

Source: Wikimedia. Public domain.

No worries!  The following is not a scientific analysis!

*The lid may be closed or removed entirely.

Where do our preferences come from concerning the position of the piano lid in performance?

  • Early teachers
  • It’s always been that way
  • Never thought about it

If you think about balance, I’m sure you must have your own list.

Variables

What are the important considerations when balancing other instruments/voices with piano?  If you’re the soloist, your main concern is that your part will be clear.  But what about the other performers?  If you’re the pianist, YOU want to be heard.  (There are exceptions.  Sometimes pianists seem to be intent upon disappearing out of a fear that they will be too loud.)

Assuming that our goal is to find appropriate balance among all participants, there are several variables that need to be considered from venue to venue:

  • Acoustics of the room
    • Curtains (at the front, back, and sides of the stage, at the windows, and on the walls of the room), seat cushions, carpet, wall hangings, hard surfaces, shell/no shell behind the performers
    • size of audience (which wears clothing that soaks up sound)
    • the way sound travels on stage (can you hear other performers?)
    • other variables in the hall (i.e. moveable acoustical features, such as blinds, panels, walls, ceilings)
    • Sometimes a room has a muffled sound. A closed lid, in that case, means that the piano’s sound is not clear.
  • Where is the soloist in relation to the piano? If the piano is “too loud,” is that actually the case, or would moving away from the piano create a separation in the sounds (soloist/piano) and resolve the problem?  Try it!  A change of only a few inches often makes a huge difference.
  • Size of room, size of piano. Smaller rooms with larger pianos may call for a shorter stick.  I would tend to consider this arrangement, but I know other musicians who use full stick regardless.
  • Type of music? Joseph Fuchs used full stick ALL the time for violin/piano.  Part of the resonance of the violin came from the piano’s soundboard.  When playing music with more density in the writing, I would tend to prefer short stick.
  • The pianist’s manner of producing sound. When less arm weight is used, the sound is lighter.  More transparent writing in combination with less arm would make full stick clear but not overwhelming.  Also, voicing the piano part (more focus for prominent lines) goes a long way.

Wooden block

Perhaps you feel that using the short stick would be too much.  In addition, some pianos no longer have a short stick.  Occasionally, manufacturers include only full stick or a variation, about 3/4 high.

You can take a wooden block with you.

A rectangular block, painted black, about 5” or 6” x 3” x 2”, is a better choice than a hymnal or book.  Propping the lid open with a book results in a dented book cover.  In church concerts, churchgoers are sometimes offended when hymnals are used in this way.  (Setting anything on top of the Bible is considered sacrilegious.  By extension, the hymnal, which contains sacred texts, is included in this category by some.  If you want to be invited back, don’t prop the lid open with a hymnal.)  Also, painting the wooden block black helps to avoid audience distraction.  The dimensions of the block allow it to be used on either side and on end.  Plenty of options.

Recording

Using a recording device to assess the sound is a great way to go when you have the time.  Yo-Yo Ma swears by it, placing the recorder at varying distances from the stage. This can be done during solo practice sessions, rehearsals, and warm-ups, as well as in performances.

The acoustics of the room change depending on the size of the audience.  Rehearsals typically take place in empty halls.  Once the audience arrives, everything changes.  So keeping an open mind, listening to the room, making adjustments in one’s playing during a performance, and trying various options make a difference.

Takeaway thought

My hope is that performers will be aware of the variables.  For the music to reach the audience effectively, the sound needs to be clear.

Please experiment!  And… go.

How do you approach the piano lid issue?  Comments welcome!

piano_music

Source: Google search. No evident copyright.

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Please take a look at my e-book!

“Goal-oriented Practice”
Are you practicing well? Is your imagination working for you?

My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.

50% off!!!  Absolutely NO JARGON!  Even my non-musician little sister says so.

Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.

If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.

I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

How 2 high school seniors mastered Bach style in just 2 rehearsals

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by GretchensPianos in Bach, balance, coach, collaboration, concert, directed practice, dynamics, editing, learning, marking the score, music, new approach, perception, performing, piano, practice, practicing basics, preparation, process, progress, rehearsal, rhythm, serving music, teaching, tools, video

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

baroque music, baroque period, collaborative piano, flute, high school, interpretation, J.S. Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, music education, phrasing, style, trio sonata, violin

Bach title page

Bach page 1

Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading? How did you proceed?

Last week I had the privilege of collaborating with a talented violinist, a high school senior.  One piece on her recital program was the Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo in G Major, BWV 1038, by J.S. Bach.  The flutist was also a high school senior.

Both played very well.  Baroque style, however, seemed to be unfamiliar to them. So they relied on the score much more than on listening to each others’ phrasing.

The edition we were using contained editors’ markings which were misleading if taken literally.

First rehearsal

This was to be our only rehearsal together, with the exception of a short time in the hall prior to the performance.

I liked many aspects of what I heard:

  • In-tune playing.
  • Good balance of sound (one player not louder or softer than the other).
  • Legato playing, appropriate for this largo movement.
  • Nice tempo.

In the “needs work” department:

•  Give and take so the moving part could carry the music.

Each player needed to diminuendo on the long notes, as they had alternating parts. Both players were more familiar with other musical styles, where a crescendo would be called for instead.

Notice in this clip that the top part (flute) plays tied notes while the 2nd part (violin) has more melodic and rhythmic interest.  The give and take in the sound when the players honor that approach changes the sound completely. Now it sounds baroque rather than romantic.

bach-page-1 clip 2

•  The music needed forward motion.

This could be heard primarily in the flute part.  The flutist, looking at the editor’s markings, playing the slurs as indicated.  In addition, because she needed to breathe, she would breathe after a short note.  That took just enough extra time to interrupt the flow of the music, whereas taking time away from a long note in order to breathe would not have had the same effect.

bach-page-1 clip

 

 

Take a look at the top two parts (flute and violin, respectively).  Notice how the markings seem to ask for the longer note to be slurred to the shorter one?

The music flows when exactly the opposite phrasing is used, as in the notation at the right of this example:

Bach rhythm

So we changed it!  The sound improved immediately.

Second rehearsal 

This rehearsal was with violin and piano only.  However, we had an opportunity to discuss the Bach.

At the end of the first rehearsal, my impression was that the violinist understood the changes we had made.  The flutist had improved, but was still relying on the printed score more than listening to the flow of the music.

My suggestion was for the violinist and the flutist to get together by themselves.  They attend the same school and have free time, so this was not a problem.  I asked the violinist to coach the rehearsal, finding musical lines they could play together, such as this one:

bach-page-1 clip 3

My goal was to make any differences in phrasing between the two players as clear as possible. Rehearsing alternating lines might not have had the same effect.

Pre-recital and performance

I am delighted to say that the sound was transformed!  During our brief time in the recital hall prior to the performance, we had just a few minutes to rehearse this piece. After marking in accidentals that crept up on both players, likely because of nerves, I felt encouraged.  If everyone could remain calm, count, listen, and enjoy it, we had an excellent chance of performing well.

And… it happened!  The audience loved what they heard, and I felt gratified.

Here are two YouTube videos of this beautiful piece.  Enjoy!

One version, performed with piano:

And another version, this time with harpsichord:

Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading?  How did you proceed?

 

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★


Improve your practice results with my e-book!

Are you heading into June and beyond without a teacher? Need fresh ideas to share with your students?  

Teach students as individuals, and perform with confidence.

50% off!!!

http://gretchensaathoff.com/e-books/e-book-goal-oriented-practice/

Thank you!

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Addendum regarding that glamorous lifestyle

12 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by GretchensPianos in career, concert, extremes, health, perception, performing

≈ Leave a comment

Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry.  Source:  Wikimedia Commons. Flickr.com user "Ilpo's Sojourn"

Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Flickr.com user “Ilpo’s Sojourn”

When writing about Robin Williams’ passing, my thoughts needed to be put into written form. They were not all from one place, in that being on stage means the performer is not him/herself while on stage, in a way. Sports are something entirely different.

I want to say more about being an artist.

When the public attends a concert or watches a performance by other means, they can become mesmerized.  It’s magic.  It’s a chance to suspend cares and discomfort.  They have the wonderful opportunity to enter another world.

Performers do that, too!  Having the ability to do that is the reason many performers are on the stage in the first place.

I can’t speak for all performers, obviously, but just yesterday, I entered another world while practicing.  Sometimes this occurs in mundane ways.  Just before leaving home in the afternoon, I felt hungry.  So I took an energy bar along and headed for a practice session.  While practicing, I forgot all about being hungry.  Five minutes after stopping, I was ravenous!

It is often not only possible, but necessary to place whatever problems or concerns one has into an invisible box while practicing, rehearsing, and performing.  If the music doesn’t come first, the work is compromised.  What are you going to do, turn to the audience when you miss a note and say, “Oh, sorry!  I was thinking about…  I forgot to turn off the over.  I forgot to lock the door.  I’m worried I might miss my plane.  I’m planning dinner for tomorrow night!”

Performers have daily lives, just like everyone else.  When they are not “on,” they can feel insecure and vulnerable.  Think for a moment about what percentage of their time is actually spent performing.  Not so much, right?  That leaves plenty of time left over for whatever normal life is supposed to be.

Sometimes the difference between those two lives, performing and not, can be difficult to navigate.  After a concert, there is very often a huge letdown. Just because someone is a good performer does not mean their entire personal life is wonderful, easy, ideal, glamorous… feel free to add your own terms here.

You may feel you know a performer if you follow his/her career.  But that is just a small part of that person’s life.

I’ll give you one more example about the glamour involved:  My piano trio drove from New York to Pennsylvania to play a concert.  On the way back, we got lost and ended up stuck in traffic for miles.  At some time around 3:00 a.m., we all became hungry at the same moment.  Even though we were only 1/2 hour from home, we stopped at a highway rest area.  So there we were, standing in the empty parking lot in concert dress, enjoying burgers and fries from Roy Rogers off the top of the cellist’s BMW (a relic), laughing about our glamorous lives.  We arrived home at 4:00.

I’d do it again in a second.  We had a blast.  But the next day each of us had to get out of bed and practice.

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Travel sticker for instrument cases!

28 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by GretchensPianos in career, concert, gigs, music, musical theater, on the road, travel, work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

air travel, airport security, musical instruments, STICKER

Thanks to the pianist Christopher O’Riley, here is brand new information that makes it easier for instrumentalists to navigate airport security:

Christopher O’Riley

3 hrs · 
a great idea by Kyle Price to protect traveling string players: In light of the recent Time for Three situation involving instruments on the airplanes I have designed a STICKER (5 inch by 3 inch) which can be applied DIRECTLY onto instrument cases regarding the federal public law, title IV section 403 which, “Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry, without charge, a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment or under a passenger seat in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.” By showing this sticker on our cases, we can now provide flight attendants and crew with the federal law which supports our rights with the instruments and there place on board and safety from disaster. This kind of stuff has happened to often and I hope this can serve as a simple way to help solve this boarding issue. If anyone is interested in getting a sticker please message me. Part of the sticker proceeds will go to the non-for-profit Chamber Music Connection cmconnection.org .

Kyle Price Hey Christopher O’Riley! Thanks for your support here is the link to the design.http://files.wnd.vphosted.com/…/4a8438f1a446c70e052ff6f..

20101222-1015-22-001-7D-mkm

(Photo credit: Michael McCarty)

Enhanced by Zemanta

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Happy Birthday, Norman Luboff!

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by GretchensPianos in a tribute, audio, career, collaboration, concert, links, musical theater, on the road, performing, pianist, piano, singing, work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

arts, Music, Norman Luboff, Norman Luboff Choir, Pianist, piano

Norman Luboff

Norman Luboff
(May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987)

I had the privilege of touring the United States as pianist with The Norman Luboff Choir twice. I am grateful to have had such a wonderful experience.

 Discography of The Norman Luboff Choir

 

 

Back to top

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

New job!

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by GretchensPianos in auditions, career, chorus, collaboration, competitions, concert, crossword, engaging the audience, feeding my soul, music, new experience, on the road, performing, piano, rehearsal, sightreading, singing, something new, Verdi, work

≈ Leave a comment

Univ of Hartford sign

photo source: hartford.edu

A few weeks ago, I began working as a pianist in the Vocal Studies Division at The Hartt School, part of the University of Hartford.

Last Thursday, a voice teacher introduced me to one of his students as “our newest acquisition!”

Hartt has been, since I first set foot on campus for my interview, a friendly, welcoming place.  The students are excellent, and the faculty is consistently engaged in the students’ progress.

I love my job.

This is my bio as it will appear on Hartt’s web site, along with the photo to the left of this post:

 

Pianist in the Vocal Studies Division

 

Gretchen Saathoff was born in Springfield, Illinois and grew up in Burlington, Iowa.  She began piano lessons at age 6, and by age 12 was studying piano, organ, and voice at the University of Iowa.

 

Her father, a minister, trained her to collaborate in liturgical service playing from halfway across a rather large church sanctuary.  She began playing church services at age 14.  This proved to be excellent training in coordinating with a minister in the role of cantor, anticipating from a distance by using visual cues rather than sound, and leading congregational singing in the liturgy and hymns.

 

Thomas Dunn, then conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society, observed a chorus rehearsal for which Gretchen was accompanying during her sophomore year at SIU/Carbondale.  Following the rehearsal, Mr. Dunn suggested that she consider a career as a professional accompanist.

 

After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from UMass/Amherst, Gretchen worked as staff accompanist at Smith College, also commuting to New York to study with Martin Katz, the venerable accompanist and vocal coach.

 

She then earned a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Accompanying and Coaching at Westminster Choir College, where she continued studying with Mr. Katz, graduating first in her class.  During this time, she commuted to Philadelphia to play rehearsals for The Philadelphia Singers, directed by Michael Korn.  Additional training includes fellowships to the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals, scholarships to the Alfred University Summer Chamber Music Institute, and accompanying singers in an audition class offered at The Metropolitan Opera by Joan Dornemann.

 

Following graduate school, Gretchen moved to New York with the goal of gaining the widest performing experience available.  She lived and worked in New York for 18 years, where she founded Kairos, a piano trio, followed by a collaboration of several years with the prominent violinist Lisa Rautenberg.

 

Gretchen toured the United States twice as pianist with the Norman Luboff Choir.  In addition to Mr. Luboff, she has worked with more than 75 conductors, among them Zubin Mehta, Placido Domingo, Daniel Barenboim, George Manahan, Paul Halley, Robert DeCormier, John Daly Goodwin, Amy Kaiser, Harold Rosenbaum, Joseph Flummerfelt, Greg Funfgeld, Clara Longstreth, Alan Harler, Alice Parker, and Tony Thornton.  In addition, she has worked in the studios of sought-after voice teachers such as Judith Raskin, Paul Sperry, Oren Brown, Edith Bers, and Cynthia Hoffmann.  She has collaborated with students of Joseph Fuchs, Harvey Shapiro, Richard Stolzman, Emanuel Vardi, Philipp Naegele, and Joel Krosnick.

 

She played rehearsals for the Brooklyn Opera, Bronx Opera, acted as House Accompanist for the Queens Opera Verdi Competition and the Oratorio Society of New York Soloist Competition, and played auditions for The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and Amato Opera.  She has played countless auditions for singers and instrumentalists in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven, and many other cities.

 

Influential teachers include Mr. Katz, Ms. Dornemann, Mr. Fuchs, Mr. Krosnick, Mr. Shapiro, and Kenneth Cooper.

 

In addition to her work at The Hartt School, Gretchen is Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton, MA, and pianist for the Hampshire College Chorus and the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble.  Her freelance activity has seen her performing with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Commonwealth Opera, the Valley Light Opera, the Amherst College Choirs, a variety of students and groups at UMass/Amherst, the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, and Mak’hela, the Jewish chorus of Western Mass.

 

Gretchen is actively engaged in creating audience-friendly performances.  In solo recitals, she insists that the house lights be left on so audience members can read her program notes.  She has received a great deal of positive audience feedback when also providing verbal notes during her solo and chamber music concerts.

 

Her other interests are, among others, being outdoors; The New York Times crossword; listening to jazz, gospel, and soul; watching tennis, baseball, and old movies; and enjoying dinner out with friends.

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Q&A: Can the prelude to a church service be sung?

16 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by GretchensPianos in choosing program, concert, engaging the audience, music, observations, Q&A, question, singing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

arts, church music, Church service, order of worship, Prelude

Light Singers  - 61

Light Singers – 61 (Photo credit: pixiduc)

Short answer:  there is nothing that says “no” to this in all cases.

You would need to check out each situation.

A more detailed answer:

In my experience, the congregation is in “music on the side” mode before the service begins.

There are also some situations where singing could work:

A pre-service concert series

One church where I’ve performed concerts designates one Sunday per month as their concert Sunday.  The musician(s) play a half-hour program which is followed immediately by the service.  The congregation arrives 1/2 hour before the usual service time expecting to listen to the music.

A sung pre-service concert would be wonderful!

Congregation expects to listen

At The Riverside Church in New York, the prelude occasionally consisted of Mozart sonatas for piano and violin.  William Sloan Coffin, who was trained as a concert pianist, enjoyed teaming up with an accomplished violinist from the congregation.  However, at Riverside, the congregation is accustomed to hearing great music played by organists at the top of their field.  People come early, find a seat, remain quiet, and listen.

A singer would be comfortable in this situation.

Most of the time

My suggestion would be to include a singer after the service has begun. When the minister is at the front of the sanctuary and the call to worship or opening prayer has been spoken, people are more settled.

Why planning matters

Choir members at a nearby church (not mine) told me that when they sang an anthem as the prelude, nobody listened.

The text of a song or anthem is much more important than background music.   We need to keep that in mind when deciding where to place sung music in the service.

People who write advice columns about party/dinner planning say that instrumental music works best when guests are talking.  The prelude can be seen in the same way.  The congregation is just arriving, and they want to greet one another.  When they are talking, the text of a song is lost.

Please comment!  What have you experienced with sung preludes?

 

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

A fascinating video: Viola Organista

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by GretchensPianos in article, concert, links, music, something new, video

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Krakow, Leonardo da Vinci, Poland, Slawomir Zubrzycki, String Organ, Viola Organista

Thanks to Mary Likins, who posted a link from NPR on Facebook!

Read the news story.

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

“Who was J.S. Bach?” Seriously?

18 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by GretchensPianos in article, Bach, chorus, concert, links, NY Times, on the road, question, singing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Johann Sebastian Bach, Leipzig, review, St. Thomas Boys Choir, web site

Thomaskirche

Thomaskirche (Photo credit: Stefan Schlautmann)

The St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig sang a concert in New York last Tuesday.

Clicking on the link above will take you to the choir’s terrific web site.

Upon reading this review, I was so impressed, I couldn’t keep it to myself. Speaking with a college student, I mentioned that the choir is 800 yrs. old and was conducted at one time by J.S. Bach. The student responded, “Who?”

So now, as I continue scraping my jaw off the floor, I wonder at what age people typically become acquainted with Bach. And I realize that it would have been unavoidable for me:  my parents met in college choir; my father was a Lutheran minister;  and my older sister is a (former) wonderful organist.

Although I was not a prodigy and had no early access to an elite musical education, music has always been a huge part of my life.  Piano lessons at age 6 and organ lessons at 14 meant playing Bach Inventions, Preludes, and Fugues.  Singing in choruses at school included performances of “Singet dem Herrn,” “Magnificat,” and “Christ lag in Todesbanden.”  The Lutheran hymnal includes so many chorales harmonized by Bach.  So becoming acquainted with Bach was unavoidable.

 Which path has your Bach experience taken?  Please share your thoughts in the Comment Section below!

 

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Would you like to save practice time and learn more music faster? Subscribe for free!

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Gretchen Saathoff

Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive FREE notifications of new posts by email.

Search this blog

http://www.wikio.com
Follow @GretchensPianos

NEW! LOWER PRICE!

Pages

  • Work with Gretchen
  • Bio
  • E-book
    • Goal-oriented Practice
      • Book intro
      • Book review
      • Book T of C, p. 1
      • Book T of C, p. 2
  • Review
  • Pictures
  • About me
  • Contact form
  • My career path
  • What they’re saying

Contact Me

Please use the Contact Form above.

Top Posts

  • Piano Glasses
  • PianoAnd: The lid. Full stick, half stick, or none at all?*
  • How to learn piano and organ fugues
  • How a piano technique book changed my playing forever
  • 7 Stretches to beat "Piano Back"

Blogroll

  • All Piano
  • All Things Strings
  • Arts Journal
  • Carolyn Donnell
  • Chamber Music Today
  • Chamber Musician Today
  • Christopher O'Riley
  • Clef Notes
  • Crosseyed Pianist
  • Divergence Vocal Theater
  • Everything Opera
  • Geraldine in a Bottle
  • Get Classical
  • Global Mysteries
  • Good Company
  • Hell Mouth
  • Horn Matters
  • If it Ain't Baroque
  • Interchanging Idioms
  • Katerina Stamatelos
  • Marion Harrington
  • Metaphysics and Whimsy
  • Music Matters
  • Music Teach ,n. Tech
  • Musical Assumptions
  • My Life at the Piano
  • Noble Viola
  • Oboe Insight
  • Once More With Feeling
  • Operagasm
  • Pedal Points
  • Pianists from the Inside
  • Piano Addict
  • Pianorama
  • Practising the Piano
  • Rachel Velarde
  • Speaking of Pianists
  • Spirit Lights the Way
  • Stephen Hough
  • Susan Tomes
  • The Buzzing Reed
  • The Collaborative Piano Blog
  • The Glass
  • The Mahatma Candy Project
  • The Musician's Way
  • The Orchestra Pit — Musical Theater Piano Central
  • The Piano Files
  • The Rest is Noise
  • The Teaching Studio
  • Think Denk
  • Tubahead
  • Under the Piano Stool

Resources

  • "Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique" by Alfred Cortot FREE DOWNLOAD!
  • The Whole-Hearted Musician

web site

  • Digital Piano Review Guide
  • El Sistema USA
  • Ergo LCD Corp, Ergonomic Specialists
  • J.S. Bach Foundation
  • Jason Coffey, baritone
  • Piano Buddies
  • The Human Solution
  • Website Marketing

article career collaboration concert directed practice distractions focus goals health learning listening music new approach new experience performing piano practice practicing preparation priorities process progress rehearsal singing teaching the unexpected tools Uncategorized variety work
NetworkedBlogs
Blog:
Gretchens Pianos
Topics:
piano, music, collaboration
 
Follow my blog

Archives

  • September 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (1)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (4)
  • June 2015 (7)
  • May 2015 (9)
  • March 2015 (5)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (1)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • October 2014 (5)
  • August 2014 (4)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (6)
  • May 2014 (17)
  • April 2014 (1)
  • March 2014 (1)
  • January 2014 (4)
  • December 2013 (4)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (7)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • June 2013 (3)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (2)
  • December 2012 (2)
  • November 2012 (5)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (5)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (4)
  • May 2012 (10)
  • April 2012 (9)
  • March 2012 (9)
  • February 2012 (8)
  • January 2012 (9)
  • December 2011 (8)
  • November 2011 (24)
  • October 2011 (14)
  • September 2011 (10)
  • August 2011 (10)
  • July 2011 (8)
  • June 2011 (7)
  • May 2011 (11)
  • April 2011 (13)
  • March 2011 (15)
  • February 2011 (13)
  • January 2011 (16)
  • December 2010 (10)
  • November 2010 (15)
  • October 2010 (16)
  • September 2010 (6)
  • August 2010 (8)
  • July 2010 (14)
  • June 2010 (16)
  • May 2010 (25)
  • April 2010 (11)
  • March 2010 (25)
  • February 2010 (4)
  • January 2010 (4)
  • December 2009 (3)
  • November 2009 (4)
  • October 2009 (9)
  • September 2009 (5)
  • August 2009 (5)
  • July 2009 (29)
  • June 2009 (40)
  • May 2009 (23)
  • April 2009 (20)

Copyright Notice

All posts are copyrighted by Gretchen Saathoff and may be used only by permission of the author.

Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools
Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!

Free SEO Meta Tags Generator

Blog Catalog Blog Directory
Active Search Results
Quickregister.net Link And Article Directory

Would you like to save practice time and learn more music faster? Subscribe for free!

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Official PayPal Seal

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: