Danny's Dispatch from the Amherst Early Music Festival

Greetings, TEMP-ites! I'm in New London, CT for the Amherst Early Music Festival and, looking at the weather in Texas, I was feeling a bit guilty, what with the temperature being in the mid-70s last week and dropping at night... but it warmed up substantially for a few days and we had the same kind of rain that's being soaking Austin. Summer has its way with us no matter where we are....

All of that takes a backseat to the energy, excitement, and profound musicality that we've enjoyed at the workshop. San Francisco’s Farallon Recorder Quartet (with Annette Bauer, a frequent TEMP guest artist) opened the concert series last week and charmed us all. The Baroque Academy Faculty concert was an eye-opener and ear-pleaser with some music and composers I had never heard of; knocked my socks off!

The Baroque Academy opera Der geduldige Socrates (The Patience of Socrates) by Telemann revealed a side of Telemann I had only dabbled with.  I've performed and taught his secular cantatas, but knew nothing about the opera.  It has some very nice arias, which were sung by some really good students. Quite fine!

Saturday was crazy with 6 concerts.  My Baroque Academy ensemble of 3 singers and continuo, hailing from Connecticut, Arizona, and Winnipeg, performed Schütz and did very well!  On the faculty concert, I performed 2 of my favorite things with some of my favorite people: "Da Jakob nu das kleid Ansah" by Senfl which I first learned as a junior in college, and "Anima mea liquefacta es" by Schütz, which has been a favorite for decades; TEMP regular Cayla Cardiff and TEMP guest Temmo Korisheli were some of the stars of the all-workshop Collegium's performance of "Musikalische Exequien".

The second week of concerts started with an exquisitely beautiful concert of viol and lute music, performed by Italy's Vittorio Ghielmi and Luca Pianca. Life-changing performances of Forqueray, Marais, and others, including a sonata by Andras Lidl who was previously unknown to me.  Simply amazing.

In the midst of this are classes, rehearsals, administrative duties, and an expected lack of sleep. Still, it's wonderful and I love it; this is my 32nd Amherst Early Music festival; I'm hoping for at least two more handfuls of them....

And, somehow at the same time, there is planning the upcoming TEMP season, working on the season brochure with TEMP Board president Wendy Brockett, who is here also, and scouting for some new guest artists to join us for concerts in Austin.

Off to the next event - more soon! Danny

Q & A with Jane Leggiero

In celebration of the Christmas spirit, and in hopes of entertaining you, I posed a few questions to our performers.  What we learned from this endeavor is that TEMP has more than its fair share of amateur comedians and smarty-pantses.  Without further ado, I’ll let the performers speak for themselves.

Look for additional upcoming Q& A posts & happy holidays!

—Jane Leggiero (official TEMP office elf)

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What is your favorite holiday music?

Danny Johnson: Still working on that one …

Claire Daniels: It is hard to pick favorites but I don’t ever tire of Handel’s Messiah. Sorry to be cliché! This is my first Christmas with TEMP though, and I really love the music Danny has picked for us to sing.

John Walters: I like lots. I like the old classics. I like new original music if it's good--my definition of what's good of course!  I loved finding new arrangements of Christmas for my school orchestras to play.

Cayla Cardiff: French carols, medieval English carols, Ariel Ramirez's "Navidad Nuestra", and Britten's "Ceremony of Carols."

Meredith Ruduski: 1940s and '50s crooner/jazzy stuff.

Scott Horton: Early 17th century like Gabrieli, Biber, etc.

Becky Baxter: The Chieftains recording entitled "The Bells Of Dublin" and that old Hershey's Chocolate kisses TV commercial where the animated kisses are pretending to be handbells ringing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." I still get a kick out of the last little kiss saying "Whew!" because it reminds me of how I will feel at the end of December after all the gigs are over!

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What is the worst holiday pop song?

Danny: “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus”

Becky: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Cayla: UGH that hideous "Do They Know It's Christmas" monstrosity.  I know they meant well but the lyrics are so pathetic.  ("Where nothing ever grows/no rain or water flows/do they know it's Christmas time at all" - about AFRICA?!?!?  SERIOUSLY?!?!?!)

Scott: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

John: I don't know. I'm too fast at tuning it out if I think it's going to be bad.

Meredith: That 1980s "Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart" atrocity

Claire: I don’t really mind the Christmas pop music. However, I HATE any version of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and the 12 Days of Christmas. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any version that I liked, so why bother?

Jeffrey Jones-Ragona: Without a doubt, "Christmas Shoes."  The first time I heard that song, I no longer believed in puppies, the laughter of children, or anything good.

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How many concerts do you have during the month of December?  Does your spouse/significant other/cat remember what you look like by January 1?

Abby Green: Mid-December is finally when I have some time off.  My tour/travel/festival season is July thru December.  I hardly stop at all.  December is my light at the end of the tunnel.  I finally get to breathe and relax!

Cayla: Including school work: 10, not counting the three I'm supposed to be at but am sending a sub, and not counting church.

Claire: If I counted correctly, I will sing 10 concerts, even more than that if you count informal short concerts and short performances for school. My boyfriend is actually in LA filming a movie for almost all of December. I won’t really see him until after Christmas so I guess I’ll have to let you know…

Jeffrey:  Typically, one (different) one each weekend, and some weekends, I have had as many as three different concerts-- not the same concert given three times, but three *different* repertoires/events/ensembles.  Although one year it was all Messiah-- just three different orchestras, conductors and Choruses.  Of course, the weeks before are occupied with rehearsals.  It's not unusual for December 26th to be my first full day off since Halloween or earlier.  And no, I have to get reacquainted with my cats right after Christmas.  They are definitely inquisitive and mildly distrustful when I spend an entire day at my house.  Although I spend most of that day like they do--sleeping!

John: My wife gets more than me.  [She’s in the symphony]

Meredith: Regarding pets and loved ones: after they get through the initial barking and smell my hand, they remember that I feed them and do the "recognition wag," though my husband still acts a little weird if I make sudden moves or go around his food bowl.

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You get invited to a white elephant gift exchange.  What do you bring?

Claire: A white elephant, you say?!

Meredith: A white elephant, duh! [Y’all are a bunch of literalists! – ed.]

Danny: Another white elephant? Wait, they didn’t say this was gonna be on the test.

Scott:  Silver picture frame.  [Care to explain, Scott?  Are you secretly a werewolf? – ed.]

Abby: A sleeve of saltine crackers wrapped in really pretty paper.

Cayla: A FRUITCAKE.

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What’s the weirdest gift anyone ever gave you?

Cayla:  A FRUITCAKE.

Danny: A paisley elephant.

Abby: I can't think of any that stick out in my mind.  I have given many odd gifts...  my favorite this year is a fuzzy pink monster puppet.  The recipient is 30 and she is going to LOVE it.

Meredith: A box of tampons.

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What do you like to do in Austin at this time of year?

Cayla:  Shop for local stuff on South Congress!

Claire: Sing Christmas music! Especially descants!

Danny: Apparently, I like to give concerts! Oh, and I do like the weather, usually, except when it’s 80 or so….

John: It's family time.

Meredith: Take allergy medicine and go on hikes!

Scott:  Not be hot.

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From pipers piping to partridges in pear trees, which of the 12 days of Christmas is your favorite and why?

Abby: FIVE GOLD RINGS!!!!  Because of Miss Piggy's contribution in the Muppets' Christmas album.

Claire: I hate to be a scrooge, but bah humbug! Refer to #2. [Question about the worst holiday pop song.]

Scott: The 13th day upon which I rest.

Meredith: I think "seven swans a swimming," although I wouldn't want to clean up after them.

Becky: Five gold rings - I'm a jewelry hound.

Cayla:   Three French hens.  I don't know why.  They sound happy.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you freak out if it snowed right now?

Abby: If by "freak out" you mean throw a temper tantrum because I'm supposed to camp next week...I'd say a level 7 freak out, and a sad face.

Becky: I'm a Texas native. Nothing in Texas weather surprises me or freaks me out. Now, finding a snake or a scorpion inside the house is a whole other story.

Cayla:   2.  I'm not easily impressed.

Scott:  -1, i.e. not at al! Snow, snow, snow!!!!!!!!

Danny: In general, I'd give it a 4.5.

Meredith: 10!!!! That would be so awesome! Especially if the snow actually stuck to the ground. =D [I think Meredith would be freaking out in the good way! –ed.]

John: I love the snow. I'll be out making snowmen and having snowball fights.

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Specifically for out-of-towners:  What do you like about coming to work with TEMP?

Becky: TEMP has quite a few 'closet' stand up comedians. [This questionnaire proves that pretty well! – ed.] A great sense of humor in rehearsals is a blessing when you have a lot of music material to cover in a short amount of time. Specifically what I love about coming to work with TEMP for the December concerts is that I get my annual "fix" hearing Stephanie Prewett sing "Balooloo, my lammie." There is something exquisitely comforting about the way she sings it. At different times all through the year when I am having a tough day, the memory of her singing "Balooloo" will replay in my mind like being wrapped up in a warm blanket.

Abby: TEMP is awesome...no, really.  I get the chance to sing some amazing music with some of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard.  Not only is the musicianship outstanding, but everyone is so NICE!  It is such an absolute honor to get to absorb some of this music and friendship even if only for a week per year.

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What is your favorite thing to do when you visit Austin?

Becky: Wheatsville Co-op, Instep (best shoe store in Texas, if not the world), and Blue Moon glassworks, Austin Flameworks, and Austin Art Glass to see the cool art glass and meet the wonderful artists.

Abby: Eat cheese enchiladas, hang out with friends, drink a margarita or three.

TEMP’s Upcoming Performance -- They Might Be Giants: Josquin and the Renaissance

Renaissance polyphony can be sublime, suspenseful, moving, and exhilarating! We hear the interweaving voices, the imitative entrances, the artfully prepared dissonance along with the excruciating sweetness of the resolution, and we simply know we are listening to the music for a master who could control the notes, rather than the other way around. Texas Early Music Project’s upcoming concert of music by Josquin des Prez and three of his Franco-Flemish colleagues will display the skill, precision, imagination, and variety available from the best of the generation of composers who lived from c.1440-c.1520 and who set the standards for future composers.

Josquin, the most renowned composer of his day, was really a giant among giants. This concert will immerse listeners in the music of Josquin and three of his Lowlands contemporaries: Antoine Brumel, Loyset Compère, and Pierre de la Rue.  Each of these composers, including Josquin, was named in Jean Molinet’s famous ode “Nymphes des bois,” written after the death of Johannes Ockeghem, their musical father, and each of these magnificent composers contributed his own unique vision to the sacred and secular repertories of the day. Josquin, Compère, and Brumel worked for courts and cathedrals in France and Italy and influenced the next generations of composers all over Europe. Pierre de la Rue lived and worked mostly in Burgundy (now Belgium) where he continued in the footsteps of his predecessors Dufay and Busnois at the Grande chapelle, the musical establishment of the Burgundian-Habsburg court.

Among the featured pieces are some of Josquin’s standouts, including “Nymphes des bois,” and two pieces from the beginning and the end of his career. Beautifully transparent and emulating some of the techniques of earlier composers, TEMP will feature the much-loved “Ave Maria” from the beginning of his career. “Missa Pange lingua,” composed during the last few years of his life, exhibits the powers of a composer who has nothing to prove. Rather than exhibiting new skills, Josquin went deeper and composed with calm mystery, especially in the “Agnus Dei,” which ends the concert. One of the most unique masses composed during the Renaissance was Brumel’s “Earthquake Mass” (“Missa Et ecce terrae motus”) for 12 voice parts.  The Gloria of the mass is perhaps the most celebrated movement and TEMP is excited to bring the splendid and exciting music to the Austin community!

TEMP founding member Christopher LeCluyse will return to perform in this concert. A small chamber choir of 12 voices will perform some of the most splendid a cappella motets and mass movements by the featured composers and will feature some of the best voices in Austin. A trio of viols will present lively secular pieces and solo lute will perform intabulations of sacred and secular music of these Renaissance titans.

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They Might Be Giants: Josquin and the Renaissance

• Saturday, October 29, 8PM,St. Louis King of France Catholic Church, 7601 Burnet Rd.
• Sunday, October 30, 3PM, First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive

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TICKETS

for They Might Be Giants & other TEMP performances

‣ purchase online

‣ by phone (512) 377-6961

‣ or at the door.

See you there!

Danny Johnson's Take on ‘El Mundo Nuevo’

Listen to Danny Johnson, founder and artistic director of the Texas Early Music Project, describe the music that TEMP will perform in the upcomingEl Mundo Nuevo: 18th Century Music from Latin America.  In this interview with Sara Hessel, Danny explains how this groundbreaking project—with pieces that have never before been played in Texas—came about with guest director Tom Zajac.

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[audio http://texasearlymusic.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/kmfa-sara-danny-interview-sept-11-2011.mp3]

This 6 minute, 11 second clip originally aired on KMFA’s Ancient Voices on September 11, 2011.

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TICKETS

for El Mundo Nuevo & other TEMP performances

‣ purchase online, ‣ by phone (512) 377-6961, ‣ or at the door.

See you there!

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ABOUT

El Mundo Nuevo: 18th Century Music from Latin America

‣ Saturday, September 17, 8 PM, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

‣ Sunday, September 18, 3 PM, First Presbyterian Church

In collaboration with early music luminary and virtuoso performer Tom Zajac, TEMP explores music from the New World: 17th & 18th century selections from Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. The color, flavor, and joy of the music from the Trujillo del Peru manuscript are dynamic and exotic. A small vocal ensemble, string trio, guitars, and percussionists will perform selections for Christmas Eve in Trujillo, dances from the jungles, music in the extinct language of Mochica, and motets from the cathedral of Mexico City.

Spotlight on TEMP’s presentation of ‘Nuevo Mundo’

Music from the New World is a subject of great interest to many early music performers and scholars. Viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall performed some of this repertoire in Austin in October 2010 with members of Hesperion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and soprano Montserrat Figueras.

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The following excerpt is from an interview with Jordi Savall, conducted by KMFA’s Sara Hessel.  This originally aired on KMFA’s Ancient Voices in October 2010.

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SH: Does this music [from the concert El Nuevo Mundo: The Route of the New World] have a special resonance with Latin-American audiences?

JS: This music is so perfect for this type of audience because it is so close to them. This music is on the roots of the Spanish and Mexican culture. At our last concert, I have seen all the people who looked like Latin Americans smiling and dancing… it was so wonderful to see how all those people reacted to this type of music.

SH: Will Latin Americans recognize some aspects of this music from their own living traditions?

JS: These are living traditions. And even the ancient songs, they are based many times on typical rhythmical structures, that they feel very modern. The mix of this Caribbean culture was the mix of African people, coming with Conquistadores, and then the sailors and the soldiers and the priests and the noble people. And then there was an encounter between African music, Indian native music, and the Spanish music. And this was like a bomb! [laughs]  Something fantastic! And what remains today is a living tradition maintained through oral tradition.

SH: What are your thoughts on why this music has such an immediate emotional impact on listeners?

JS: I think that characteristic of this music is the same characteristic that you have with Sephardic songs, that you have with Irish fiddle music, la musique Bretonne, music from Galicia: communities from cultures who have suffered. They have suffered in South America from the oppression, from the exploitation of the Spanish, the Conquistadores; in the same way, the Breton, they have suffered from the French, or the Irish people and Scottish people have suffered from the British power.

SH: And here we had the oppression of the African-Americans, and the tradition of spirituals arose out of that.

JS: Yes, it is the same. This is surviving music: helping people to survive. And this is why all this type of music has such a special emotional element. You feel immediately touched by- really something necessary for life.  The music was really the only possibility to be really happy for one moment, and be in some harmony. And they sing and they play together. And this was what sustained people: the hope, and to remember their roots.

SH: What else can you tell us about this music?

JS: I think this music comes immediately to your heart and your soul. It is such a dynamic music; it has such an intensity, a melancholy, a happiness, it has everything. It’s a mix of what makes this music so surprising. It’s very exuberant, but it has a certain element of melancholy. It’s very old, but because it has so much improvisation, it’s always new. And this is fantastic- the most beautiful repertories are when you are working with something where you remember your roots, but you can improvise and you can improve every day this music. It becomes every day something new and something of our time, too.

2011-2012 Tickets & Subscriptions Now Available!

El Mundo Nuevo: 18th Century Music from Latin America

• Saturday, September 17, 8PM, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1206 East 9th Street
• Sunday, September 18, 3PM, First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive

In collaboration with early music luminary and virtuoso performer Tom Zajac, we explore music from the New World: 17th & 18th century selections from Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. The color, flavor, and joy of the music from the Trujillo del Peru manuscript are dynamic and exotic. A small vocal ensemble, string trio, guitars, and percussionists will perform selections for Christmas Eve in Trujillo, dances from the jungles, music in the extinct language of Mochica, and motets from the cathedral of Mexico City.

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They Might Be Giants: Josquin and the Renaissance

• Saturday, October 29, 8PM, St. Louis King of France Catholic Church, 7601 Burnet Rd.
• Sunday, October 30, 3PM, First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive

Josquin des Prez was the most renowned composer of his day but he was really just a giant among giants. In this concert we will immerse ourselves in the music of Josquin and three of his Lowlands contemporaries: Brumel, Compère, and Pierre de la Rue, who were mentioned in the famous ode upon the death of Okeghem, their musical father. Each of these magnificent composers contributed a unique voice to the sacred and secular repertoires of the day. A small chamber choir, viols, and lute will perform the music of these titans.

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Yule, Britannia! Christmas Music in the British Isles

• Friday, December 9, 8PM, First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Ave.
• Saturday December 10, 8PM, First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Ave.
• Sunday, December 11, 3PM, First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive

TEMP celebrates the Christmas season with the music of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. From Sarum rite chants and Medieval carols to traditional English wassails and Celtic lullabies, TEMP puts its unique stamp on these beautiful and joyful selections with innovative arrangements for solo voices, small chorus, harps, violin, and more.

**Special guest artists: historical harpists Therese Honey & Becky Baxter

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Fleurs-de-LYS: Laurie Young Stevens & Friends

• Friday, February 10, 8PM, St. Mary Cathedral, 203 E. 10th St.
• Sunday, February 12, 3PM, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 1500 North Capital of Texas Hwy

Our award-winning concertmistress (Best Instrumentalist: Austin Critics Table, 2004) leads a performance of superlative Baroque chamber music, featuring professionals from around the globe. This group of international artists comes together once a year for the pleasure of collaborating with Ms. Stevens on a concert that is always outstanding and entertaining.

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Living Waters: Works by Hildegard von Bingen

—  one performance only  —

• Saturday, February 25, 8PM, St. Mary Cathedral, 203 E. 10th St.

TEMP’s 2003 performance of Hildegard’s liturgical drama “Ordo virtutem” won the Austin Critics Table award for Best Chamber Concert of the season. Nine years later, we return to the beautifully sophisticated and powerful music of the 12th century German abbess with a performance of “Ordo virtutem” and several of her compelling antiphons and sequences, performed in the splendid acoustical space at the St. Mary Cathedral by female singers accompanied by a small Medieval band of vielles, harp, lute, and psaltery.

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TEMP Goes the Full Monteverdi

• Saturday, April 28, 8PM, First English Lutheran Church, 3001 Whitis Ave.
• Sunday, April 29, 3PM, First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive

Claudio Monteverdi was one of the few composers whose career successfully spanned two eras, the Renaissance and the Baroque. His ability to work masterfully in both styles guaranteed his place in musical history and in the hearts of performers and audiences alike. TEMP soloists, chamber choir, string and continuo groups will perform selections from the full span of his catalog with a cappella madrigals, works from St. Mark’s in Venice, and beautiful arias and choruses from the stage and the courts.

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Tickets & subscriptions available at http://early-music.org/tickets.html

Questions?  Contact TEMP at

512-377-6961    or   danny@early-music.org