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Articles, Dean's Message

Subdean’s Message June 2020

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Dear chapter members,

Greetings from your board during these challenging times! Tacoma chapter programs and activities are currently on hiatus, but if you have ideas of things you’d like to see from your chapter–either right now, or for next year–please feel free to contact me.

For those who are able to take this time as a kind of sabbatical/study leave, I commend to you David Dahl’s excellent article on studying Bach cantatas. I’m adding to the study theme with a list of some online resources for continuing education & artistic enjoyment-

Organ Resources

The AGO national website has an education page, which includes classes on many topics, for many levels.

AGO has also entered into a reciprocal agreement with the Royal College of Organists, so we should soon be able to access the RCO educational materials. Pipedreams, the weekly radio broadcast of organ music from American Public Media, has recently-released shows on its website.

Streamed Performances

Seattle’s Pacific Music Works Underground (early music organization) is live streaming on Facebook. Another early music ensemble, Voices of Music, is posting a weekly performance video . For opera fans, Seattle Opera has an online recital series on their website, plus Saturday morning broadcasts on KING FM. Additionally, Metropolitan Opera has a nightly streamed show, and The Royal Opera House is posting videos regularly (opera & ballet).

Resources for Composers

Lastly, as a composer, I’d like to mention a couple of sources for viewing performances of brand-new music: American Composers Forum has all manner of streamed events listed on their calendar, and the British Columbia branch of the Canadian Music Centre has a video performance series of new works for solo performers, “Unaccompanied”.

Handwashingly yours,
Sheila Bristow
Sub Dean

Articles

Exploring Bach Cantatas

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During this sheltered in place time, I felt I needed a project. So together with a friend who also loves the music of J. S. Bach, we decided to try to listen to all of his sacred cantatas, allowing two days for each one. We write down our observations and exchange results. This is a somewhat daunting task in that Bach wrote some 300 cantatas. Of the 300, about 75 were lost, and 25 of the rest are secular. The sacred cantatas were composed for most all the Sundays of the three-year liturgical cycle as well as festival days (Christmas, Ascension Day, etc.) No cantatas were needed during Lent or Advent 2, 3, 4.

We began with BWV 1, and we’re now at BWV 36. A typical cantata is about 20 -30 minutes in length, intended to support the scriptural lessons of the day. The cantata was sung just before the sermon, or split in two parts surrounding the sermon.

The typical musical forces include a small orchestra consisting of 2 violins, viola, 1-3 oboes, 1-2 flutes (transverse or recorder), cello (or viola de gamba), violone (double bass), and organ for the basso continuo. All of the finest performance groups today use Baroque instruments. The vocal forces include a small size SATB choir and one or more vocal soloists. For more festive occasions, Bach would add 1-3 high register trumpets, and timpani. Some cantatas might also make use of the horn (without valves).

Many of the cantatas are structured with these components:

  • Sinfonia (purely orchestral introduction) or Chorus (choir with orchestra)
  • Recitative: describing the essence of a lesson
  • Aria: vocal solo (or duet) reflecting on that lesson (two types: slow (caantible) or quick (vravura)
  • Recitative
  • Aria
  • Chorale (one of the large body of German Lutheran hymnody, harmonized by Bach and with orchestra or Chorus (with orchestra, and which may or may not include a chorale melody)

What makes the cantata exploration especially interesting is that there always seems to be a surprise element, often related to the “text painting” of the libretto (text, supplied by one of several of Bach’s librettists). Classic examples of this would be music that suggests joy, sorrow, contentment, anger, longing etc.), which could involve unusual orchestration, unexpected interruptions by the chorus in an aria or recitative.

Each cantata might be regarded as a mini sacred drama

How do we go about exploring a cantata? We listen to the cantata (fine free performances are available online) we read commentary (Wikipedia is one source for basic information), then perhaps listen again, but to a different performance, and finally write down our observations and send off to our colleague.

BTW: Good performances may be heard by the following:

Gardiner, Suzuki, Van Veldhoven, Lutz, and Harnoncourt (at times you may have to click off an ad to resume the performance).

You may find a Bach cantata exploration as a gratifying adventure. I certainly have found it so. Some of the least known Bach works are the cantatas; they are filled with musical gems.

David P. Dahl

Articles

An Organist’s Perspective on COVID-19

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For our entire forty-plus year careers in church music, Tim and I have always served different congregations, as we do currently. We live in Auburn, and several times each week, I travel 23 miles south to Spanaway Lutheran, and he 34 miles north to St. Andrew’s Episcopal, Seattle. We cherish being in community with both of our congregations, yet we never get to collaborate musically, nor experience worship together. But now, we along with all of our colleagues, are dutifully following the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, and Tim and I for the first time ever, have been busy collaborating in an effort to bring community through music to both of our churches remotely.

The technological learning curve was steep, making Holy Week even more stressful than usual, but we have now become comfortable with multi-track video recording, and have hit our stride. What does this collaboration look like? Tim takes the cantor role and I provide accompaniment on piano, reed organ and harpsichord. We discover all the neglected instruments laying around the house: tuba, harp, penny whistle, recorders. All manner of duets on all instruments, plus the addition of other remote musicians by the wonder of multi-track recording, have been a delightful adventure, and we hope a measure of comfort to our church communities.

The COVID-19 pandamic is terrifying; my heart aches for the world, and for friends and family as they try to cope with the current, sometimes grim, reality. At the same time, Tim and I try to stay in the moment – music, cooking, gardening, walks rainy and sunny, staying in touch with family and friends, prayer. We find the most gracious moment serving both of our churches from afar, together in faith, hopeful for the “joy that comes in the morning.” We miss all of you, and long for the day that we are able to be together. Stay well, friends!

Cheryl Drewes

Cheryl and Tim Drewes demonstrating a live-streamed performance from home

Articles, Dean's Message

Subdean’s Message May 2020

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Dear chapter members,

I would normally be writing a note about upcoming chapter meetings and organ performances. This is not a normal time! However, I would like to bring your attention to Saint Mark’s Cathedral’s livestream of the annual All-Bach On the Flentrop. Michael Kleinschmidt will be performing and offering commentary from the console on Friday, May 8th, at 7:30 PM. More information is available at https://saintmarks.org/music-arts/music-series.

This is a time of great personal and professional upheaval for all musicians. My primary church job, Organist & Choirmaster at Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, has thankfully continued with streamed services. Only staff are allowed in the building, but morning prayer is led by the rector, myself, and two well-spaced cantors. (My pre-service warm up time now includes a LOT of wiping of doorknobs and light switches before I get to the bench!) I’m trying to use the enforced break from my other musical jobs as a kind of sabbatical, including spending more time on music composition. Last week I finished a trumpet and bassoon duet (an almost Hindemith-worthy combination!) for a couple in Orchestra Seattle. It will be premiered online, along with other new music written to celebrate the group’s 50th anniversary and annual auction.

I’ve asked other board members to contribute articles about how they are dealing with the quarantine, and there are some wonderful ideas forthcoming. Please see Cheryl Drewes’ article , the beginning of an ongoing series—as we continue in an ongoing situation.

Sheila Bristow
Sub Dean

Articles

Chapter Elections Postponed

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Noting that many organists are under increased stress due to having to develop online alternatives to church or dealing with other impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, your board has voted to postpone Chapter elections. The present slate of officers and members of the executive committee will continue until such time as we can resume chapter meetings.