Ferdinando + Christine for 625 years!

Ok, we are now three weeks out from dress rehearsal for our first concert of the new season, Let’s see here, what needs to be done? Take a nap? Check. Have some coffee? Check. Maybe another nap? Nah, not really! We’re brimming with excitement (and also with activity: there is indeed so much to do!) about this Texas premiere, all the very cool friends who will be assembling here in a couple of weeks for this concert, and the fact that it’s presented by KMFA Classical 89.5! Our very own Medici patrons! And the fact that we got so much very generous support from so many folks from all over the nation (and the UK!) in our Indiegogo campaign. Thanks so much! This would not be happening without you. 

I’ll be back soon with an update or two or three. In the meantime, here’s a reminder about the concert and the details! Stay cool! Sorry, couldn’t help but have a little wishful thinking….

Danny

Our Opening Concert:

 La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding
presented by KMFA Classical 89.5

 Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 8PM
Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 3PM
St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 606 W.15th, Austin 

Texas Early Music Project’s opening concert of the 2014-2015 season will be a unique and extraordinary event: the performance of La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding. Created by some of the greatest composers of the Italian Renaissance for the spectacular wedding celebration of Ferdinando de Medici to Christine de Lorraine in 1589 Florence, La Pellegrina consists of six musical intermedi or acts for vocal soloists, small ensembles, full chorus, and a full orchestra of Renaissance period instruments.

 Not only will this be the Texas premier of the entire work but our research shows that this will be the first U.S. performance of the complete work since at least the early 1980s, and our September performance will generate the first American CD recording of La Pellegrina. This will be a unique opportunity and experience not just for TEMP and all the artists involved, but also for classical music fans and history buffs both within and outside the Austin community. This will be of interest to students of all ages, from those in middle school and high school to those who are lifelong devotees of education, the fine arts, and cutting edge experiences.

 We have gathered a stellar ensemble of over fifty voices and early music instrumentalists from across the country and there will be a full orchestra of period instruments, including viols, cornetto, sackbuts, harps, and lutes, authentically recreating the sounds of the Italian Renaissance. We have commissioned a poetic narrative written and performed by Lawrence Rosenwald, Anne Pierce Rogers Professor of American Literature at Wellesley College, revealing the mythology behind the six stories. Sara Hessel Schneider, producer of KMFA’s Ancient Voices, will provide the pre-concert lecture for both performances.

 TEMP soloist Jenifer Thyssen (soprano) opens the concert with one of the most simultaneously haunting and acrobatic arias imaginable, and TEMP regular Meredith Ruduski (soprano) and guest soloist Ryland Angel (tenor, New York) both have show-stopping arias in the 5th intermedio. TEMP newcomer Ariadne Lih (soprano, Canada) joins Meredith Ruduski and mezzo-soprano Erin Calata (Seattle) as the Three Graces in the charming and invigorating finale. All the soloists are also among the 26 voices that comprise the ‘core’ chorus. The 21-piece, period-instrument orchestra includes special guests Stephen Escher (cornetto, California), Mary Springfels (viola da gamba, Santa Fe), Phillip Rukavina (lutes, Minnesota), Tom Zajac (recorder & percussion, Boston), and more. TEMP regulars in the orchestra include harpists Therese Honey (Houston) and Elaine Barber, organ/continuo master Keith Womer, lutenist Scott Horton, sackbut (Renaissance trombone) players Nathaniel Brickens, Blair Castle, and Steven Hendrickson, viol players Jane Leggiero, John Walters, and Stephanie Raby, violinist Bruce Colson, and more.

Experience the beauty, brilliance, innovation, and passion of some of the best composers from Italy in the late Renaissance joined with the expertise, talents, and joy of TEMP and its guests in this momentous and celebratory concert, presented by KMFA Classical 89.5.

For more information, call 377-6961 and leave a message,
or email temp@early-music.org.

TEMP's Red-Letter Day!

August 6, 2014 was a red-letter day for TEMP! We surpassed our goal of $15,890 in our Indiegogo campaign for September's season-opener,  La Pellegrina: Music for a Medici Wedding, and then we had a party at Fino's to celebrate Allison Welch and Jonathan Riemer, who got the new TEMP website operational AND beautiful --- in fact, this very website you're looking at right now!

More soon! Really!

Danny

Fall is in the Air

Ah, October! My fave! Occasional hints of cooler weather, there are pumpkins at the grocery stores, there are pumpkin flavored drinks everywhere, the pumpkin bread tastes fresher, pumpkin pies are baking in the oven, and someone has at least hinted that she will bring some pumpkin beer bread to one of rehearsals this week?

Yes, in addition to ubiquitous pumpkin sightings (UPS) and it being my fave month, we have more yummy action: TEMP’s Sephardic concerts at First Presbyterian and Congregation Agudas Achim! Annette Bauer is here during her two-week hiatus from Cirque de Soleil and Peter Maund, Therese Honey, and Kit Robberson will all be arriving Thursday to join forces with all the Austin-based TEMP musicians for our first Sephardic concerts since May, 2011.

We hope to see you there!

See http://early-music.org/index.html for more info and tickets!

Danny

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

Danny Johnson Bares All!

As we work through our week of rehearsals for TEMP Goes the Full Monteverdi, I recognize a familiar bifurcated feeling:

It’s our last concert of the season, so I’m happy that we enjoyed a good season, got to work with splendid musicians performing splendid music, and seem to have pleased the audiences!

But: It’s our last concert of the season, so we won’t get to experience the excitement of concert week again for four and a half months!

But: It’s our last concert of the season, so in addition to summer workshops, I’ll be spending lots of time researching, picking music for 2012-2013, inputting the winning music into my computer (yay Sibelius!), and enjoying other music nerd things. I admit it. [n.b. Sibelius is a music editing software, not just a composer!]

So, you see, it’s a confusing time of the year! I am very much looking forward to our Monteverdi concert, though. It’s such wonderful music, exhibiting the full palette of emotional colors. It’s fun for performers and audience alike!

And speaking of fun, here are some questions that the office elf Janey submitted to me about this concert and the answers I cribbed off someone else’s paper….

>  What's your favorite piece on the program?

There are about 10 of my very favorite pieces on this concert! "Lamento della ninfa" and "Zefiro torna" are probably in the upper tier...

>Why those?

Those were among the very first pieces of Monteverdi that really knocked my socks off when I was a sophomore in college. We performed those and others in the Collegium Musicum at Texas Tech. Unforgettable. My love affair with the passacaglia bass line of the “lamento” began immediately and hasn’t waned in all these decades!

>What pieces by Monteverdi do people know that might be on the program?  Or that might remind them of pieces on the program?

Most will probably recognize "Lamento della ninfa" and "Zefiro torna" and "Beatus vir" - but the thing that they will recognize about "Beatus vir" is that it sounds like some other piece they heard in Music Appreciation class: "Chiome d'oro". That trickster!

>Why do a Monteverdi retrospective like this?

Partly because of Monteverdi's ability to live in two eras, so it's not just a concert of Renaissance madrigals or Baroque continuo songs, but is inclusive of just about every important and lasting aspect of both eras.

>What does the audience get out of it that they wouldn't get out of a wider spread of composers?

Concerts with repertoire by a variety of composers are equally valid, of course, to represent a particular "school" of composition or national or linguistic aspects of creative art, [but] witnessing the progress and process of one genius/master/creator is a powerful experience.

We hope to see you and fifteen of your best friends at one of the two performances this weekend! Or come to both of them!

You can purchase tickets here in advance, or at the door on concert day!

Photographs by Cecily Johnson

Changes to Annual "Laurie Young Stevens and Friends" Performance

Oh my gosh, it’s February.

We’ve been preparing for our two concerts this month and now they are really upon us. Here’s a little extra info about the first of the two.

This weekend is the annual (since 2006) concert by “Laurie Young Stevens and Friends” (aka Fleurs-de LYS) with guest stars from Europe and the US. This year’s guests include German violin virtuoso Henning Vater, founder of the Göttingen Baroque Orchestra, and Dutch recorder maestro Paul Leenhouts, now director of Early Music Studies at University of North Texas in Denton.

We are very sad to announce that, due to an injury, Laurie Young Stevens will not be able to perform this weekend. She’s following doctor’s orders and giving it time to heal, but she will be at the concerts as chief MC. In her stead, prize-winning violin and viola player Veronika Vassileva, from Bulgaria and Germany will be our third special guest artist.

Austin’s stellar Jenifer Thyssen, soprano, heads up the cast of the remaining ensemble members, who come from around the US.

If you were at the concert in 2010, you might remember the encore. There’s a *chance* you could hear it again this weekend. (Here’s a hint for those who weren’t there: coming to our concert on Friday night won’t completely deprive you of hearing music by Andrea Bocelli.)

_____________________________

PERFORMANCES

‣ Friday, February 10, 8PM, St. Mary Cathedral

‣ Sunday, February 12, 3PM, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Friday night parking at St Mary’s: concert patrons will be able to park in the garage immediately to the south of St Mary Cathedral. Access to the garage is from San Jacinto St. Concert patrons can exit the garage for free between 9:45-10:30. After 10:30, please see Daniel Johnson for tokens.

_____________________________

TICKETS

For this & other TEMP performances

 ‣ purchase online

‣ by phone (512) 377-6961

‣ or at the door.

See you there!

See http://www.early-music.org/index.html for more concert info.

_____________________________

More (very) soon about our second February concert!

Danny

more.

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)

__________________________________________________________

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!

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________

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.

Danny Johnson's Takeaway: Holidays, Memories & Montserrat Figueras

December is but a few hours away so as I rush to finish this episode of the blog, I realize that I approach December, more than any other month, like a puzzle—a puzzle that provides much delight when finished properly but that is tricky to maneuver when in motion. And it’s in constant motion.

There are three Texas Early Music Project performances to rehearse and present; a variety of services and concerts at St. Mary Cathedral (including the famed “Celtic Christmas at the Cathedral”); the St. Cecilia Baroque Festival at First Presbyterian Church in which I am performing; and, if possible, I might even catch a concert presented by other friends.

As we enter the next phase of the TEMP Christmas performances (the phase in which the performers study their music in preparation for next week’s rehearsals), I can reflect on the pieces that I chose (while mentally writing the concert program notes) and think about the many pieces I opted not to include this time around. I also reflect on the performers I get to work with and the mentors who helped me get to this moment in time. One of the biggest influences on my artistic ventures passed away last week.

_________________________________________________________

Montserrat Figueras, married to viola da gamba master and conductor Jordi Savall for more than 40 years, was one of the most important figures in the “early music” movement in the 1970s and 80s. Because of her and others like her, early music hasn’t been a “movement” for quite some time; instead, it is a sophisticated, diverse, and lively art form, that transitioned from being a movement to being essential.

_________________________________________________________

Montserrat, Jordi and other members of their ensemble Hesperion XX were in Austin for two weeks in the summer of 1984 for a workshop masterminded by the late Dr. Robert Snow and Dr. Douglas Kirk. It was an exhausting experience, but Jordi and Montserrat were exquisite professionals: friendly but demanding, encouraging but not too-easily swayed. The attention they gave to the students was spontaneous, human, and life-changing for more than a few of the attendees. The touching thing was that it was also important for Jordi and Montserrat: they made a few lifelong friends through that workshop. Kit Robberson took them to Barton Springs for an afternoon in preparation for the second week of classes and they bubbled for days after that.

I don’t want to dwell on these memories too much, but through that experience I became more aware of the living energy of early music, the endless sources for inspiration, and the necessity of making it available for my generation and those that follow. One of my fondest memories is going to a chamber concert Jordi and Montserrat did in Oxford in 1986 or ’87; they were so surprised and thrilled to see two Texans in the audience they had a hard time suppressing smiles while they were performing. Afterwards, we talked outside the church (I had a train to catch) and they introduced me to their daughter, Arianna, and son, Ferran, who was still a baby. Arianna and Ferran are now both respected performers in Europe. It is difficult not to see or hear Montserrat in their timbres and gestures; in fact, it is reassuring.

Thank you, Montserrat.

And thank you for following along here—I hope to see you at our Christmas concerts! See early-music.org  for more info or just look at our blogspace here at texasearlymusic.wordpress.com.

Peace!

Danny