Taverner Concert

Later today I will be performing in the Taverner "Western Wind Mass" concert set at the Berkeley Early Music Festival.

I've not been to this venue before, so I need to leave a little extra early to make sure I find parking. I've heard from fellow singers that the room in which we'll be performing is quite lovely and that the acoustics are nice. We'll have a bit of a pre-performance rehearsal and then the excitement begins.

After the concert, I'll be changing out of performance garb and traveling to another destination for a rehearsal for Friday nights' "Trecento" concert. It will be a very full day of singing.

Thursday through Saturday, the venders will be set up at First Congregational Church to offer their services and wares. I need to get a bow rehaired and I am curious to see what exciting music A-R Editions will be bringing.

Berkeley Early Music Festival

It's that time, once again, for the bi-annual Berkeley Early Music Festival. "BFX Ten", as it is being called this year, has a large selection of concerts, lectures, and vendors to explore. Musicians from various parts of the globe congregate in Berkeley every other year to perform, share information, and spread the beauty of Early Music.

I am performing in 2 different fringe concerts during the heart of the festival with Coro Ciconia. We are reprising the "Trecento" concert from April, in addition to a second concert centered around Taverner's, "Western Wind Mass".

Rehearsals for each of the 2 concerts have alternated from rehearsal to rehearsal and we have increased rehearsals the past week in preparation for the festival.

I have yet another rehearsal tomorrow before the "Western Wind" performance on Wednesday, which will be followed by a rehearsal for the "Trecento" concert. So I'll be singing a lot on Wednesday! The "Trecento" concert will be on Friday.

Trecento: Early Flowers of Polyphony

This afternoon is our final rehearsal for our first performance of the "Trecento" music set. This concert will be repeated at the Berkeley Early Music Festival in June 2010. We might get a few minutes of a break before the concert begins at 7pm.

Pedro Memelsdorff will be attending. The group is a little nervous since he is considered by many to be the world's foremost expert on the very music we will be performing. Many of the tunes will will perform tonight, his ensemble, Mala Punica, has recorded.

We are doing some very interesting pieces by Landini, Jacopo, Firenze, and Ciconia. There are now only 22 pieces on the concert.

My clothes are ready to be donned and I begin warming up once I finish up here. I leave in about 2 hours to head out into the unusually heavy rain to drive the 42 miles to the venue. Sometimes the rain makes for a small crowd at events and sometimes, it bring people out in droves. It will be interesting to see which it is this time.

Upcoming Coro Concerts

Wow! I hadn't realised that it had been so very long since I had posted to the blog.

We are working on 26 songs for Coro Ciconia's next concert. It concerns me since it makes the performance much longer than audiences typically prefer. I have a firm belief in, "leave them wanting more". I'm sure that we will trim the program and focus on the best sounding pieces.

This concert set will be performed on April 10th, 2010 at St. Alban's Epicopal Church in Albany, CA. It will be repeated for the Berkeley Early Music Festival on June 8th at the Berkeley City Club.

The following evening, we will present a completely different set of music, the "Western Wind Mass" by Taverner, at the same location.

As seems to be rather typical of altos, I am currently experiencing some sort of sinus/ENT malady. For the longest time, I thought it was just me, but apparently, this is common among altos. We are prone to issues in this area. It would be great if someone in medical research did a study on it. Perhaps it's somehow connected to why it takes altos longer to warm up before singing.

Coro Ciconia Dates

"Trecento: The Earliest Flowers of Polyphony"

April 10th, 2010

7 pm

St Alban's Episcopal Church

Albany, CA

June 8th, 2010

5:30 pm

Berkeley City Club

Berkeley, CA

"Western Wind Mass"

June 9th, 2010

5:30 pm

Berkeley City Club

Berkeley, CA

Invited Back To Coro Ciconia

Well, it was a very busy concert season. My last post in November was the last time I really had an opportunity to devote any time to the blog endeavor. I couldn't believe that the performance season began so early for me this year. And that I was so terribly busy.

I have been invited back to sing with Coro Ciconia. It seems to be a good fit, thus far. My greatest appreciation for this group is their overt appreciation for having a real alto. Throughout my career, I have witnessed an enormous amount of dismissive attitude regarding altos and alto lines, in general. It has only been in rare circumstances that groups acknowledge the importance of this line and the importance of having a real alto singing it. The real kicker is that most of the time when acknowledgment is given, the alto line and singing voice is only given any real recognition when a man is is singing it.

Coro Ciconia's next concert is on Sunday April 11th; a mere 12 weeks away. I have already received 10 of the pieces. I think there will be about 16 of them. We will be singing Ciconia, of course, along with Jocopo, Landini, Firenze, and other 14th century Tuscan composers.

We will reprise the concert set a couple of times, in addition to a completely different concert program, for the Berkeley Early Music Festival in June. I am really looking forward to this experience.