Make practice a part of the living day
2005, April 17
New Microphone
Practice for the computer
In the spirit of Elizabeth Perry's daily sketches, I set up a microphone to my computer so I can record some of my practicing. Unlike Elizabeth, I will not post the files to the web because there is nothing worse than listening to a beginner practice the violin, especially when self-conscious about a new microphone. But I will be able to hear my progress as time goes on, and not just have to take the teacher's word for it.
Perhaps when the sound is tolerable I will post a little file.
So I am not following Elizabeth's precept of "not to criticize". But I am going to practice daily. I really am.
2005, April 16
Rules for Living
Can I follow all these rules?
Like Abe Lincoln, I can follow all the rules some of the time, some of the rules all the time, but never all the rules all the time. Sometimes only one a day.
Do not fight
Do not be greedy
Do not seek
Do not be selfish
Do not pursue personal advantage
Do not lie
2005, April 14
Schübler chorale 3, BWV 647
Who allows God alone to rule him (Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten)
This is the third Schübler chorale, BWV 647, based on the melody "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten", used in cantatas for many occasions, including one wedding. The melody may be by Georg Neumark, from about 1640, and appeared in his "Fortegepflantzter Musikalisch-Poetischer Lustwald", Jena, 1657.
This is a transcription of the soprano and alto duet from Cantata 93. All the sections of the Cantata use the chorale melody, with the seventh section a simple four part harmonization.
| The music: | BWV 647 | Cantus firmus in the pedal, sounding an octave higher than written (Pedal 4 Fuß). | |
| BWV 93.7 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 166.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 179.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 197.10 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 434 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 642 | Another organ chorale on the same melody. | ||
| BWV 690 | Another organ chorale on the same melody. | ||
| BWV 691 | Another organ chorale on the same melody. |
MP3 files of these chorales are available. If you want one, leave me a note in a comment with your email address and I will send it. Unfortunately, the files are too large to put them on my ftp server for general distribution.
Some names under which this chorale is known:
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
Wer weiss, wie nahe mir meine ende
Who allows God alone to rule him
Who will but let himself be guided
Discussion from the Bach Cantatas website
Discussion from the website of Emmanuel Music of Boston
The Organ Music of J.S. Bach, 2nd ed.
Peter Williams, Cambridge University Press 2003
2005, April 10
Violin lesson one
"A full lovely forte", that of which dreams are made.
This year I once again started music lessons. I've done this before and given up.
This time, starting out again, I have had the good fortune to find a teacher who combines physical therapy, violin technique and musicianship. Emily Onderdonk, violist, violinist and teacher, with keyboard skills to accompany her students, looks at the music not note by note as I have experienced before, but from the standpoint of the character of the whole piece.
This has changed the focus of awareness from the left hand and all those fingering problems to the right hand, the bow and its travels over the strings. Strangely, this has made the experience of the music and the violin completely different.
I am so thankful to have found such a wonderful teacher at this time of my life.
2005, April 08
Schübler chorale 2, BWV 646
Whither shall I flee? (Wo soll ich fliehen hin)
This is the second Schübler chorale, BWV 646, based on the melody "Wo soll ich fliehen hin". The melody is of secular origin, from an anonymous composer. According to Charles S. Terry, the name of this anonymous melody is "Venus du und dein Kind".
This melody is used in cantatas associated with the 8th, 17th, 19th, 21st, and 22nd Sundays after Trinity (Schmieder).
This organ chorale, alone among the Schüblers, is not a transcription from a known cantata. There is speculation that it may be from a lost cantata. It is a trio in E minor, with the chorale in the pedal.
| The music: | BWV 646 | The cantus firmus in the pedal. | |
| BWV 5.7 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 89.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 136.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 148.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 188.6 | A four part harmonization of the chorale melody. | ||
| BWV 694 | Another organ chorale on the same melody. |
MP3 files of these chorales are available. If you want one, leave me a note in a comment with your email address and I will send it. Unfortunately, the files are too large to put them on my ftp server for general distribution.
Some names under which this chorale is known:
Auf meinen lieben Gott
Wo soll ich fliehen hin
In my beloved God I trust
In my dear God
Where shall I fly?
Where shall I refuge find?
Whither am I to flee?
Whither shall I flee?
Where may I fly, oh where?
Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian Bach.
ed. Wolfgang Schmieder, Breitkopf and Hartel, Wiesbaden. 1990 ISBN 3-7651-0255-5.
The Organ Music of J.S. Bach, 2nd ed.
Peter Williams, Cambridge University Press 2003
2005, April 05
Excerpt Pnin, Vladimir Nabokov
An Excerpt from Pnin, Vladimir Nabokov, 1907-1977
…everything surged forward—truck one, Pnin, truck two. From where I stood I watched them recede in the frame of the roadway, between the Moorish house and the Lombardy poplar. Then the little sedan boldly swung past the front truck and, free at last, spurted up the shining road which one could make out narrowing to a thread of gold in the soft mist where hill after hill made beauty of distance, and where there was simply no saying what miracle might happen.
2005, April 03
Tree with a heart
Can you find the heart hidden in the tree?
Here is a page from the journal of Richard Bell of Wild West Yorkshire. Does anyone else see a heart in this tree?
2005, April 02
Split second from death
A motorcyclist one split second from death.
Driving on Hilltop Drive yesterday, a motorcyclist came riding toward me. He became impatient, sped up and passed the car in front of him. This brought him into my lane. He swung back in time to avoid a head-on collision. However, he underestimated his own speed, and was unable to keep control of the bike as he came by my car. He was falling toward my lane as we passed.
In my rear view mirror, I saw him lying across my lane, right where I had been less than a half second before. Now what I felt was the most intense rage. He had nearly involved me in a fatal accident. Fatal to him, because I am driving a large station wagon. I was most angry that he nearly messed up my whole work day because of his incredible stupidity. He picked himself up unhurt. I swore a lot and shaking, continued driving.
Will he learn patience, some reluctance to take unnecessary risks, consideration for other people on the road, more refined motorcycling skills? I hope so, but somehow, I doubt it.
