Fun with Five Octaves

Partial list of music that can be played on a 61-key keyboard:

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Andante for organ in F Major

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Piece in G Minor for a Barrel Organ, Wq 193-28

Sonata in B Minor, Wq 62-22
Sonata in D Minor, Wq 65-15
Sonata in G Minor, Wq 65-27
Sonata in C Minor, Wq 65-31
among others; the famous "Solfeggietto" won't fit

Johann Sebastian Bach:

Most of the Well-Tempered Clavier Books I and II, and the Inventions and Sinfonias (Sinfonia #6 doesn't fit)

"English" Suites:

• I in A Major, BWV 806: Prelude, Sarabande
• II in A Minor, BWV 807: the whole suite
• III in G Minor, BWV 808: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gavottes I and II, Gigue
• IV in F Major, BWV 809: the whole suite
• V in E Minor: the whole suite
• VI in D Minor: the whole suite

"French" Suites, BWV 812-817:
All of Suites I, II, III, IV and V; all but the Bourée from Suite VI

Partitas:

• I in B-flat major, BWV 825: Sarabande, Menuet I and II, Gigue
• II in C Minor, BWV 826: Courante, Saraband, and Rondeau
• III in A Minor, BWV 827: Fantsia, Sarbande, Burlesca, Scherzo, Gigue
• IV in D Major, BWV 828: Allemande, Courante, Aria, Sarabande, Menuet, Gigue
• V in G Major, BWV 829: Tempo di Minuetto, Passepied
• VI in E Minor, BWV 830: Toccata, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Tempo di Gavotta, Gigue

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variations 6 and 18 require transposing the keyboard down an octave; Var. 24 contains a high d''' which will be out of range if the keyboard is transposed down to reach the G' at the low end.

Chorale preludes from Kirnberger's collection:

• "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten"
• "Ach Gott und Herr" a 2 klav.
• "Christ lag in Todesbanden" Fantasia a 3 Canto fermo in alto (but how will you bring out the chorale tune?)
• "Christum wir sollen loben schon" Fughetta
• "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" Fughetta
• "Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn" Fughetta
• "Nun komm'' der Heiden Heiland" Fughetta
• "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her" Fughetta
• "Gottes Sohn ist kommen" Fughetta
• "Lob sei dem allmächt'gen Gott" Fughetta
• "Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt" (separating the voices will require some work)
• "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" (1 and 2)
• "Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt"
• "Wir Christenleut'" (may be possible; definitely not easy)
• "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'"
• "In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr"
• "Jesu, meine Freude" Fantasia

Other pieces:
Canzona, BWV 588

Béla Bartók: 

• All of Mikrokosmos, vol. II
• All of Mikrokosmos, vol. III except Variations and the second Chromatic Invention
• These pieces from Mikrokosmos, vol. IV: Notturno, Thumb Under, Crossed Hands, In the Style of a Folk Song, Diminished Fifth, Major and Minor, Through the Keys, Playsong, Children's Song, Clashing Sounds, Intermezzo, Variations on a Folk Tune, Bulgarian Rhythm (1 and 2), Theme and Inversion, Triplets in 9/8 Time, Dance in 3/4 Time, Fifth Chords, Two-Part Study
• These pieces from Mikrokosmos, vol. V: Chords Together and Opposed, Staccato and Legato, Boating, Change of Time, New Hungarian Folk Song, Major Seconds Broken and Together, Studies in Double Notes, Perpetuum Mobile, Whole-tone Scale, Merry Andrew (this one has some held tones that may not work well)
• These pieces from Petite Suite: Whirling Dance, Bag Pipe
•  Rumanian Christmas Carols 1st Series: Number 10 is the only one that won't fit.
• Rumanian Christmas Carols 2nd Series
• Rumanian Folk Dances, nos. 2-5

Ludwig van Beethoven:

• 6 Ländlerische Tänze
• Rondo in A Major
• Menuett in E-flat Major
• Allegretto quasi andante, from Seven Bagatelles Op. 33, No. 2
• Two Preludes through all the major keys, Op. 39
• Tempo di Menuetto from Sonata in G Major, Op. 49, No. 2
• Rondo in C Major, Op. 51, No. 1
• Bagatelles, Op. 119, Nos. 4, 5, 8, and 9 
• Six Minuets for piano, WoO 10, Nos. 1, 3 and 4
• Seven Ländler for piano, WoO 11
• Ecossaise in G Major, WoO 23
• Rondo in A Major, WoO 49
• Piano Sonata in C Major, WoO 51
• Nine Variations on a March by Dressler, WoO 63
• Six Easy Variations on a Swiss Song, WoO 64
• Variations on "Nel cor piu non mi sento", WoO 70
• Waltz in D Major, WoO 85
• Ecossaise in E-Flat Major, WoO 86
• Sonatinas in G Major and F Major, Anh. 5, 1 and 2 (possibly not by Beethoven)

Johannes Brahms:
Waltz, Op. 39/3 (piano solo version)
Waltzes, Op 39/2, 3, 6,  9, 10, 11, 12, 15, and 16 (simplified piano version by Brahms)

Dietrich Buxtehude: All of the keyboard suites

Cecile Chaminade: These pieces from Children's Album, First Series, Op. 123:

Prélude, Intermezzo, Canzonetta, Rondeau, Gavotte, Gigue, Romance, Barcarolle, Air de Ballet, March Russe

Frédéric Chopin: the following Mazurkas:

• Op. 6, no. 2
• Op. 7, nos. 1, 4, and 5
• Op. 17, nos. 3 and 4
• Op. 24 no. 3 contains a long note but is otherwise playable
• Op. 33 no. 3
• Op. 50 no. 2
• Op. 67 no. 3
• Op. 68 nos. 3 and 4
• Op. posth. B-flat major, D Major (two of them), and C Major

      Waltz Op. 69/1 "L'adieu"

Muzio Clementi:

• Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 1
• Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 3

François Couperin:

from Ordre II:

• Menuet
• La Charoloise
• La Diane
• Fanfare pour la Suitte de la Diane
• La Florentine
• La Babet
• Les Papillons

from Ordre III

• Gavotte
• L'Espagnolette
• Les Matelotes Provencales

from Ordre VI

• Les Moissonneurs
• Les Langueurs-Tendres
• Le Gazoüillement
• La Bersan
• Les Bergeries
• La Commére
• La Moucheron

Louis Couperin:

• Chaconne, C Major
• Passacaille, C Major
• Sarabande, C Major
• Menuet, C Major
• Chaconne, C Minor
• Chaconne, G Major
• Branle de Basque, F Major

Jean-François Dandrieu: most of the 25 Noëls
         (but you will have to do some thinking about changes of registration and contrasts of color)

Louis-Claude Daquin: Le Coucou

Antonín Dvořák: Humoresque

Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Rondeau

Many of the pieces in The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book

César Franck:

• L'Organiste, vol. 1 (59 pieces), FWV 41
• 5 Pieces for harmonium, FWV 26

Girolamo Frescobaldi:

• Gagliarda, G Minor
• Passacaglia, B-flat Major
• Fugue in G Minor

Johann Jakob Froberger:

Most of the organ music (occasional chords have to be re-written because they require the pedal)
Toccatas 3-15 from the collection linked above

Note that Toccata #17 is actually by Johann Caspar Kerll

Giovanni Gabrieli: 

Ricercar noni toni, Ch. 226

Ricercare dell’ 8vo tono (a 3 soggetti)

 

 Alberto Ginastera:

“In the First Pentatonic Minor Mode”, No. 5 from Doce Preludios Americanos

Lodovico Giustini: Sonate da cimbalo di piano e forte detto volgarmente di martelletti, Op. 1
(the first known published music specifically for the fortepiano)

Edvard Grieg: These pieces from Lyric Pieces:

• "Arietta", Op. 12, No. 1
• "Watchman's song", Op. 12, No. 3
• "Elfin Dance", Op. 12, No. 4
• "Album-Leaf", Op. 12, No. 7

These pieces from Op. 38:

• "Skipping Dance", Op. 38, No. 5
• "Elegy", Op. 38, No. 6
• "Waltz", Op. 38, No. 7

Alexandre Guilmant: Noël Écossais

Georg Frideric Handel:
almost everything in this collection, including:
Fugues in G Minor (G. 264, HG II/iv/1 and G. 231, HG II/iv/2), B-flat Major (G. 37, HG II/iv/3), B Minor (G. 27, HG II/iv/4), A Minor (G. 17, HG II/iv/5), and C Minor (G. 83, HG II/iv/6) 
Suites:

• B-Flat Major (G. 30-33, HG II/ii/7), 
• D Minor (G. 108-111, HG II/ii/4, G. 112-117, HG II/i/3, G. 118-122, HG II/ii/3 and G. 123-126, HG II/iii/1)
• E Minor (G. 160-162, HG II/ii/5, G. 163-167, HG II/1/4)
• The Prelude and Allemande from the suite in E Major (G. 145-146, HG II/i/5)
• Suite/Sonata in F Major, G. 175-179, II/i/2
• F Minor (G. 193-197, HG II/1/8)
• F-Sharp Minor (G. 204-207, HG II/i/6)
• Suite (Partita) G Major, (G. 211-217, HG II/ii/8)
• G Minor (G. 26-249, HG II/ii/6, G. 250-255, HG II/i/7 (all but the Gigue and Passacaille), G. 260-263, HG II/iii/2)

Sonatina, B-Flat Major,  G. 40, HG II/iii/10
Sonata, C Major, G. 56-58, HG II/iii/12
Sonata, C Major, G. 59, HG II/iii/11
Fantasia, C Major, G. 60, HG II/iii/4
Capriccios in  F Major (G. 183, HG II/iii/8) and G Minor (G. 270, HG II/ii/3)
Chaconnes in F Major (G. 184, HG II/iii/5) and G Major (G. 228, HG II/ii/2 and G. 229, HG II/ii/9)
Minuet, G Minor (G. 242, part of HG II/ii/1)
... and many others


Franz Joseph Haydn:

• Sonata in D Major (1767)
• Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI/1: Allegro
• Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI/8

Pieces for Mechanical Clocks (Flötenuhr), Hob. XIX:1-32 

From Twelve Minuets, Hob. IX:8: Minuet No. 12 in F Major

From 12 German Dances, Hob. IX:10:

1. Deutscher Walzer

2. Tanz in G Major

4. Deutscher Tanz

From 10 Minuets, Hob. IX:22: No. 2, German Dance in D Major 

Stephen Heller: Preludes, Op. 81/4, 12, 15, and 18

Fanny Hensel: Mélodie (Op. 4, No. 2)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel:  Piano Sonatina in C Major

 

Johann Caspar Kerll:
Toccata VII (it was included, incorrectly, in the Froberger collection above, where it's number XVII.)

Edward MacDowell:
from Woodland Sketches, Op. 51:
"To a Wild Rose", "Will o' the Wisp", "In Autumn", "From Uncle Remus"
Transpose the keyboard down an octave to play "At an old Trysting Place", and "A Deserted Farm"

from Sea Pieces, Op. 58:
Transpose the keyboard down an octave to play "A.D. 1620" and "Song"

from New England Idylls, Op. 62, transpose the keyboard down an octave to play "With Sweet Lavender"

Ursula Mamlok: Number 2 from Three Bagatelles for harpsichord or piano

Marianne Martinez: Sonate No. 3

Padre Martini Giambattista: Fugue in E Minor

Etienne Louis Méhul: Elevation in A flat

Leopold Mozart:

• Geheime Liebe
• Menuet in D Minor
• Menuett in F Major (from the Notebook for Anna Maria (Nannerl) Mozart)
• Polonaise (Allegro) in C Major
• Sonata in C Major
• Sonata in F Major
• Sonata in B-flat Major

W. A. Mozart:

complete sonatas

• Sonata in E-Flat Major, K. 282
• Sonata in C Major, K. 545

individual movements

• Sonata in F Major, K. 280, II. Adagio
• Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 281, III. Rondo. Allegro
• Sonata in G Major, K. 283, II. Andante
• Sonata in D Major, K. 284, II. Andante [Polonaise en Rondeau]
• Sonata in D Major, K. 311, II. Andante con espressione
• Sonata in C Major, K. 330, I. Allegro moderato
• Sonata in C Major, K. 330, III. Allegretto
• Sonata in A Minor, K. 331, III. Alla Turca. Allegretto
• Sonata in F Major, K. 332, II. Adagio
• Sonata in F Major, K. 332, III. Allegro assai
• Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 333, II. Andante cantabile
• Sonata in F Major, K. 533, I. Allegro

Other pieces:
Adagio for glass harmonica, K. 356/617a

Allegro in B-Flat, K. 3

Andantino, E-Flat Major, arranged from Gluck, K. 236/588b 

Contradance "Das Donnerwetter", K. 534

Courante from Suite in C Major/Minor, K. 399/385i

Fugues in E-Flat, K. 153/375f, and G Minor, K. 154/385k (both completed by Simon Sechter)

Minuets in G Major, K. 1/1e, F Major, K. 2, F Major, K. 4, F Major, K. 5, C Major, K. 6, D Major, K. 94/73h, and D Major, K. 355/576b
Variations on "Laat ons juichen", by Graaf, K. 24
Variations on "Willem van Nassau", K. 25
Variations on a Minuet by Fischer, K. 179/189a

Christian Gottlob Neefe: Minuetto
Allegretto in C

Johann Pachelbel:

At least the following chorale preludes:
(numbering and page numbers, where given, are from this collection)

• “Ach, Gott vom Himmel sieh darein”, P. 1 (the shorter setting)
• “Ach, Herr, mich armen Sünder”, P. 3 (the shorter setting)
• "Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht", P. 63
• "Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund", P. 70
• “Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt”, P. 103 and P. 105
• “Es spricht der unweisen Mund wohl”, P. 114 and P. 115
• “Es woll' uns Gott genädig sein, P. 118
• "Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir", P. 183 (the chorale tune in the pedals has to be played an octave higher)
• "Gott Vater, der du deine Sonn'", P.. 178
• "Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt", P. 202
• "Jesus Christus unser Heiland, der den Tod", P. 218
•  "Jesus Christus unser Heiland, der den Tod", P. 219 (take the chorale tune up an octave)
• "Jesus Christus unser Heiland, der von uns", P. 51
•  "Komm Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist", P. 223
• "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott", P. 225
• "Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn", P. 227 (take the chorale tune up an octave)
• "Lob sei Gott in des Himmels Thron", P. 237
• "Mag ich Ungluck nicht widerstahn", P. 241
• "Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren", P. 388
• "Nun lob mein' Seel' den Herren", P. 47
• "O Lamm Gottes unschuldig", P. 393
• "Vater unser im Himmelreich", P. 48
• "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her", P. 52 (take the chorale tune up an octave)
• "Was mein Gott will, das gescheh' allzeit", P. 488
• "Was mein Gott will, das gescheh' allzeit", P. 489

Preludes:

1 in D minor, 2 in E-flat major, 3 in G major, 4 in G minor, 5 in A major, 6 in A minor

Toccatas:

1 in C major, 2 in D minor, 3 in D major, 4 in C major (take the pedal part up an octave),

6 in D minor

Fantasias:

E-flat major, p. 28, P. 127

G minor, p. 29, P. 128

Ricercares in F-sharp minor (P. 421) and C major (P. 418)

Prelude and Fugue in E minor

Toccata and Fugue in B-flat major 

Fugues:

1, 2 (P. 143), 3 (P. 144), 4 (P. 148), 5 (P. 149), 6 (P. 145), 7 (P. 146), 8 (P. 150), and 9 (P. 151) in C major, 10 in C minor, 11 in D major, 12 in F major, 13 in G major, 

14 in C major, 15 in G minor, 16 and 17 in A minor, 18 in D minor, and 19 in G minor

Bernardo Pasquini: Partite sopra l'aria della Folia d'Espagna

Camille Saint-Saens: Fugue, Op. 61, No. 2

Domenico Scarlatti:
The Cat's Fugue

At least the following sonatas:

• E-flat Major, K 306
• C Major, K. 308 and K. 309
• B-flat Major, K. 310 and K. 311
• D Major, K. 312 and K. 313
• G Major, K. 314G Minor, K. 315
• F Minor, K. 316
• D Minor, K. 317
• F-sharp Minor, K. 318 and K. 319
• A Major, K. 320, K. 321, K. 322, and K. 323
• G Major, K. 324 and K. 325
• C Major, K. 329 and K. 330
• B-flat Major, K. 331 and K. 332
• D Major, K. 333
• B-flat Major, K. 334
• D Major, K. 335 and K. 336
• G Major, K. 337 and K. 338
• C Major, K. 339 and K. 340
• A Minor, K. 341
• A Major, K. 342, K. 343 and K. 344
• D Major, K. 345 and K. 346
• G Minor, K. 347
• F Major, K. 349, K. 350, and K. 351
• D Major, K. 352 and K. 353
• F Major, K. 354 and K. 355
• E-flat Major, K. 474, L. 203

Franz Schubert:

• Moments Musicaux Op. 94/2, Op. 94/3
• Variation on a Waltz by Diabelli
• Andante (C Major)
• Allegretto (C Major)

Clara Schumann: Fugue, Op. 16, No. 1

Robert Schumann: 
These pieces from Kinderszenen, Op. 68:

Von Fremden Länden und Menschen, Kuriose Geschichte, Hasche-Mann, Bittendes Kind
Fugues No. 2 and No. 6, from Seven Pieces in Fugal Form, Op. 126

Florent Schmitt: Prelude in G Minor

Alexander Scriabin: Preludes Op. 15/4 and 5, Op. 74/4

Jan Peterszoon Sweelinck:
At least the following chorale preludes and variations on chorale tunes:

• Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
• Es spricht der unweisen Mnd voll
• Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gemein (both sets, #47-48 in Seiffert) 
• Nun komm der Heiden Heiland

Fantasia chromatica

Toccata in a (#29 in v. 1 of the collected works, ed. Seiffert) 

Toccata in C

Variation sets:

• Est-ce Mars
• Paduana Hispana
• Paduana Philippi
• Unter der Linden grüne

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:

• Chant sans Paroles, Op. 2, No. 3
• Humoresque, Op. 10, No. 2
• Feuillet d'Album, Op. 19, No. 3 (transpose the keyboard down an octave)
• From The Seasons, Op. 37:  November ("Troika")
• Most of Album for the Young, Op. 39 
• Chanson Triste, Op. 40, No. 2 (transpose the keyboard down an octave)
• Valse, Op. 40, No. 9

Georg Philipp Telemann:

• Twelve Easy Chorale Preludes
• Fantasias for Harpsichord, TWV 33:1-36

Things to think about:

• This is NOT a list of music that is easy to play!
• These pieces range from two octaves below middle C to three octaves above
• Some of the pieces require long held tones, which may die out too soon (in voices named "piano")
• Some of these pieces were written for organ; use a voice named something like "church organ" (or maybe "chapel") to play them
• Most of the important music for piano, harpsichord, and organ is not on this list

Note added April 7, 2018: I've been expanding this list as I've run across appropriate music.  It would be good to know if anyone finds it at all helpful.

Note added January 2, 2019: Shortening my comments, and moving them to the bottom of the list.

Happy New Year!

It's been a long time since I've posted, which has been the product of two things.  One, I prefer doing things to writing about them.  Two, it's hard for me to come up with things to write that would actually justify the time I'd spend writing them.

2016 has been a year of a lot of changes.  Most of them aren't really on-topic for this blog; I'll leave writing about politics to others, and while it's attractive to write about the environmental, financial and humanitarian disasters both looming and in progress, it's not my purpose here.  My own life has had a major upset or two, and as a result I've had to re-think a lot of plans.

So, what has 2016 contained?

Not as many new compositions as I'd like, but that's par for the course:
Forebodings, Too Easily Dispelled for saxophone choir
     A companion piece, Ignore the Clouds, the Droplets are not Rain, is in the works

The beginnings of a set of pieces for hatun kena and piano; two pieces basically done, unsure how many will follow.

"The Gardener's Song," a short song in Esperanto about a groundskeeper who painstakingly sorts the autumn leaves into piles by color, and has to re-think when the wind comes along and mixes them up again.

A number of performances, of which the most interesting are probably the ones at the Spanish Benevolent Society with a group of Spanish-language writers, artists, poets and musicians.  It's an honor to share the stage with them, and I'm looking forward to more wonderful programs in 2017.  Here's where to find their upcoming events.

I also played some Azerbaijani music up at Lake George for the Autumn Esperanto Convention
in October; it was my first time attending that gathering, and already I can't wait for next year.

In performing terms, 2016 has been the year of the 61-key keyboard; mine has a very different sound and feel from the pianos and 88-key digital keyboards I've played, and I've enjoyed getting to know its more intimate feel.  I'm working on a list of music that can be played on such a keyboard; I was surprised to find pieces by Bartók, Chaminade, and Florent Schmitt that will fit.  It's not a surprise that most of the important works of the piano repertoire need a bigger keyboard, of course.

My wish list for 2017 is still in progress; the above-mentioned piece for saxophone choir heads the list, followed closely by some keyboard pieces.

Happy New Year!

Cultura SIN Límites, May 3, 2016 - POSTPONED

The event that had been scheduled for May 3, 2016, Culture with NO Limits, has been postponed.  It will take place on June 7 at 7:00 PM at the same location (The Spanish Benevolent Society, La Nacional, 239 West 14th St., Manhattan, New York City).  My apologies to everyone for the inconvenience.

I didn't know, two years ago, when I posted about the 300th anniversary of the birth of C.P.E. Bach, what kind of adventure would follow.  I've discovered a rich collection of beautiful music, in which every page begs not only to be read, but repeated, savored, treasured.  This coming Tuesday evening, March 3, 2016, I'll be continuing that exploration, by playing C.P.E. Bach's Sonata in D Minor, W. 6/15.  Not all of his music works on a five-octave keyboard, but this piece certainly does.

For those unfamiliar, Culture with NO Limits has been a place to cross boundaries.  Previous events have included readings in Spanish, French, Portugese, English, and Esperanto, and songs in Spanish, Basque, Esperanto, Azerbaijani and Bengali.  This event will extend the tradition.

In Memoriam Gerald Ranck (1941-2015)

Gerald Ranck was the Music Director of the New York Society for Ethical Culture for almost 30 years.  He passed away in April, and was a kind mentor and dear friend.

This post celebrates a few of the many wonderful things about his life.

Foremost, of course, he was a harpsichordist and pianist.  He studied piano with Joseph Echaniz at the Eastman School of Music, and harpsichord with Sylvia Marlowe at the Mannes College of Music.

Gerry was a Scarlatti expert, and performed many concerts of his music.  He was also well-known for his Bach; here's the New York Times announcement of his performance of the Goldberg Variations at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Here are some YouTube videos of his playing:
Henry Purcell: Four Harpsichord Pieces: Z 655, ZT 682, Z 656, ZT 688

Farewell performance at the Society for Ethical Culture

J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord (with Laurel Zucker, flute, and Samuel Magill, cello)
Sonata in B Minor, BWV 1030

• I. Andante
• II. Largo e dolce
• III. Presto allegro

Sonata in E-Flat Major BWV 1031,

• I.  Allegro moderato
• II. Siciliana
• III. Allegro

Sonata in C Major BWV 1033

• I. Andante
• II. Allegro
• III.  Adagio
• IV. Menuet I-II

Sonata in E Minor BWV 1034

• I. Adagio ma non tanto
• II. Allegro
• III. Andante
• IV. Allegro 

J.S. Bach: Sonata in B Minor for Flute and Harpsichord, BWV 1030 (with Daniel Waitzman, flute)

G. F. Handel: Adagio, Op. 2, No. 3 in F (with Evan Johnson, violin, and Steven Machamer, vibraphone)

Georg Philipp Telemann: Die Kleine Kammermusik, Partita No. 2 in G Major (with Humbert Lucarelli, oboe, and Alan Brown, bassoon)


Daniel Waitzman: Sonata for Viola and Pianoforte or Harpsichord from 2008 (with Louise Schulman, viola)

At the Society for Ethical Culture, Gerry was known as much for his talks as for his playing; here are three examples:
"Tribute to our Progressive Conservationist President"
(about Theodore Roosevelt)
"Gun Violence in the Wake of Newtown"
"Clarence Darrow: Ethics, the Law, and Monkeys"

Farewell, dear friend. 

Looking back, looking ahead

Happy New Year!

2014 was a busy year.  A set of short pieces for euphonium and piano, a piece for five saxophones ("Que un inmortal amor todo lo puede"), and some short pieces for high school string and wind ensembles constituted the main fruits of the compositional activity; a piece for saxophone quartet and saxophone choir is still in progress.

2014 was the year I met Juan Navidad.  We've already collaborated on two events; another is planned for January 21, 2015 at Centro Español.  For these events, I've written four piano pieces, re-purposed two of them for violin and recording, and written a third for violin and recording.  El Reloj de la Impaciencia ("The Clock of Impatience") is one of the pieces that exists both for piano and violin; here is a recording of the keyboard version.

2014 was the year of the 300th anniversary of CPE Bach's birth.  I provided links to online resources about him, in the hopes of stimulating interest.  I learned and performed a number of his works this year.  Here's a recording of one of them on SoundCloud.

2014 was the year of Alones Together, a concert devoted entirely to solo works for saxophone, cello, and piano.  Here's a YouTube link to Javier Oviedo's performance of a sonata for unaccompanied tenor saxophone.


2014 was a year of a considerable amount of home recording.  Here's where you can hear some of it.

2014 was the year of WikiConference USA.  I'm still digesting things I learned there.  One question I'm currently struggling with is how the various wiki-projects can benefit music education.  There is a lot of potential, but right now only a small fraction is being utilized.  Another struggle is the exponential distribution of languages along the content curve.  A few languages have lots of content, but many more have relatively little.  There's not much hope of evening things out, though there is work being done on the problem.


So what's ahead for 2015?

I already mentioned the event on January 21, which will include readings, music, and artwork.  There should be at least one new piece for that; stay tuned.  I'm enthusiastic about the combination of music and poetry, and looking forward to many more events that combine the two.

A concert is planned for Goshen, Indiana, probably sometime in June.  This will take place at Evergreen Place, on the Greencroft campus, and will include chamber music as well as some of the new piano pieces.

Again, Happy New Year to all!

Mistakes and Disputed Points in Music

Mistakes and Disputed Points in Music, by Louis C. Elson, was published in 1910.  I've written before about my liking for old music books, and this is another fascinating find.  It's not a long book, but Elson manages to cover a large amount of territory, from acoustics, through orchestration, conducting, teaching, notation, tempo and rhythm, language and pronunciation, history, form, and several other matters, including a discussion of musical mistakes in literary works of various kinds.

The main thrill with a book like this is realizing that it came out in the same year Samuel Barber was born.  Charles Ives was living in New York, selling life insurance, playing the organ, and writing his Fourth Symphony (among other things).  Mahler was conducting in New York; 1910 was the year his Eighth Symphony premiered in Munich, and he died after returning to Europe the following year.  Amy Beach was at the height of her powers, soon to embark on a three-year European tour.  Arnold Schoenberg wrote Harmonielehre that year.  I doubt this book was on the bookshelves of any of them, but it certainly might have been bought by people who heard them.

Another source of interest is comparing the recommendations to more modern practice.  Some of the advice is still good.  Elson recommends using an up-to-date orchestration text, which is wise, though of course "up-to-date" for him meant Strauss's expansion of Berlioz.  He also suggests that composers mark accidentals if there's any possibility of a question, regardless of whether it would technically be required; still a good idea.  But piano pedal markings have changed considerably since those days, and understanding of 18th-century signs for ornaments has undergone revision.

Elson talks about the supposed emotional characteristics of various keys, pointing out that, since the standard pitch has risen, the keys whose characteristics Berlioz listed wouldn't be the same in Elson's day, when the standard pitch was 435 Hz.  The argument has become even stronger since that time, as the standard pitch has risen still further.  But Elson doesn't seem aware of the Doctrine of the Affections that preceded Berlioz, though he does quote a 1724 music dictionary (which he doesn't name) regarding tempo markings.
 
But there's much more here than musical technicalities.  There's an anecdote about a test made with three cornets, one of silver, one of brass, and one of papier mache, which showed that it wasn't possible for a blindfolded listener to tell, from the sound, what material the cornet being played was made from.  Elson puts an end to the myth that composers are generally short-lived, though he only mentions one composer who lived into his 80's (Verdi).  He deals at some length with a novel, "La Vieillesse de Guillaume Du Fay", which appeared in a Paris magazine as early as 1837, and purports to tell the story of the discovery of counterpoint.  The author plays fast and loose with history, but the story sounds interesting anyhow.

I'd never heard of Ouida before I read Elson's book; now I've read about the musical mistakes in some of her novels.  You didn't know that Palestrina wrote "airs", or that Mendelssohn wrote masses?  In her books, apparently, they did.  Another author has a character play a Sonata in A-sharp major by Mozart.

This is a section that would be fascinating to update, though it might have to become an encyclopedia.  Thinking only of fantasy and SF novels I'm familiar with that deal with music brings up a long list; if other novels that were written since 1910 were included, to say nothing of poems and short stories, I'm guessing it would be a nearly impossible job even to read them all, let alone discuss them.  Elson, of course, doesn't pretend to be exhaustive; he only mentions a few of the more notable instances of literary license that had come to his attention.

Louis C. Elson was professor of Music Theory at the New England Conservatory, and wrote several other books, including a music dictionary.  Right now that's all I know about him, but as this book shows, he had quite an amazing mind.

Reading/Performance at Centro Español/La Nacional

Before the memory fades too much, I'd like to write a few words about the reading/performance with Juan Navidad last Tuesday, December 2, at Centro Español in New York City.  This came about on very short notice; the space had become available a bit less than a week before.

There is currently no piano in the space.  While I do have a traveling keyboard I sometimes use for situations like these, I had other obligations earlier in the day that would have made it difficult to lug a keyboard, stand, and other assorted equipment all over the city.  So I decided, instead, to arrange two of the pieces for violin and backing track, and write a third piece to go along with them.  The results turned out well.  The performance was not recorded, unfortunately, but subsequent ones surely will be.  Playing violin in front of people again felt really good!

El Timón de la Suerte ("The Rudder of Fate") works very well on the violin; better, in fact, than on the piano.  While the middle section still needs a bit of tinkering, the outer sections definitely came across very well during this performance.  I was worried about El Reloj de la Impaciencia ("The Clock of Impatience"), but after some serious wood-shedding it turned out much better than expected.  It's still basically a piano piece, but the violin version is worthwhile.

The third piece of the evening was Diamante Crudo ("Rough diamond").  The sentence points out that every diamond starts as an ugly piece of rock, and the music begins with a rather ungainly set of pitches and rhythms, which are gradually refined into something beautiful.

One of the highlights of the evening for me was hearing Juan talk about his experiences.  He became a writer because he was upset at the misinformation he found in the popular children's books he grew up with.  Real life stood (and stands) at a respectable distance from the way things were portrayed in those fictional universes!  Juan spoke about his passion for encouraging people to pursue their dreams, and, where possible, putting tools into their hands to allow them to do so.

We'll be in the same space again on January 21, so mark your calendar!  My current plan is to play violin, have a few more pieces to perform, and get at least some of it recorded.  We'll see how things develop.