Music for 5 August - 10th Sunday After Pentecost

I'm doing the sub thing again, this time at Holy Family (Episcopal) Church in Chapel Hill. Here's the music list.

August 5: Pentecost 10

Prelude: Andante from Voluntary V, Op. 6 (John Stanley); Fantasia in d minor (Johann Pachelbel)
Pro: When in our music God is glorified (ENGELBERG)
Hymn of Praise: This is the feast of victory (FESTIVAL CANTICLE)
Seq: Take My Life and Let It Be (HENDON)
Off: He who would valiant be (MONK'S GATE)
Sanctus: Powell
Agnus Dei: Landsmark-DeLewis
Comm: Let saints on earth in concert sing (DUNDEE);
All to Jesus I surrender (from Lift Every Voice and Sing II)
All my hope on God is founded (MICHAEL)
Apparently, no Recessional Hymn.
Postlude: In dir ist Freude (Bach)

Again, I'm repeating prelude and postlude music from last week. At least this time around, I should be able to play a prelude, and hopefully the postlude will go over better on HF's Zimmer than it did on IC's Zimmer.

29 July, Ordinary 17 / 9th Sunday After Pentecost - Edited

I'm doing the sub thing again this Sunday, this time for two different churches.

Church 1: Immaculate Conception, Durham, NC, 7.45 am Mass. I'm the chump at the Grand Orgue, and my buddy Andy Stewart is cantoring. Numbers are from GIA's Gather Comprehensive 1994 (green cover).

Postlude is a recyclable for the first service because my organ teacher said so. And I will, in all likelihood, repeat them for another service I'm playing 5 August.

July 29: Ordinary 17 (Sun. 7.45 am)

Gloria: Andrews
Alleluia: Mode VI; verses to Tone 6F
Sanctus: People's Mass
Mem. Accl., Amen: Danish
Agnus Dei: XVIII, in English

Prelude: Andante from Voluntary V, Op. 6 (John Stanley); Fantasie in d minor (Johann Pachelbel)
Pro: 535 To God with Gladness (CYMBALA; some Joncas thing. Sounds way better on piano, so I'll play that there, doubling on the bass octaves for the last verse.)
Psalm: 134 Ps 138, Refrain III; Haas (can you say syrupy sentimental? Again a piano thing, way too pianistic to work on the organ)
Off: 604 You are near (I'll do this on the organ - thanks to CBW III, I was able to make head and tails out of Sr. Theophane's organ accompaniment)
Comm: 615 Seek Ye First (matches the Gospel of the week well)
Re: 600 Faith of our Fathers (ST. CATHERINE)
Postlude: In dir ist Freude (Bach)

(Edit: I didn't get to play the prelude pieces because Andy came quite late, and there were several things I needed to tell him, plus I needed him to show me how to: 1. unlock the sound board; and 2. operate the wireless hymnboard. Mass went well, but it was difficult to get used to the delay between me and the chancel. I'll admit - I lost track of what verse I was on for "You Are Mine," but luckily for me, I looked over my shoulder and noticed that Fr. Jacek was already pouring wine into the chalice, so I thought, "good, just finish the verse, and stop with the refrain, and it won't matter where I'm at." Perfect timing - just as he finished his ceremonial washing, we finished the refrain.)


Church 2. This one will be at Chapel of the Cross (Episcopal) for their 5.15 pm Rite II Eucharist. Hymnal in the pews is The Hymnal 1982.

July 29: Pentecost 9

Prelude: Prelude in d minor (attr. Bach; probably by J. T. Krebs)
Pro: On this day, the first of days (GOTT SEI DANK)
Seq: We know that Christ is raised and dies no more (ENGELBERG)
Off: O God of Bethel, by whose hand (DUNDEE)
Sanctus: Community Mass (Proulx)
Comm: Allegro from Voluntary V, Op. 7 (John Stanley)
Re: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (HYMN TO JOY)
Postlude: Fugue in d minor (attr. Bach; probably by J. T. Krebs)

So okay, my postlude choice is a bit strange, given my closing hymn. But I just got the music for this service late last night (Thursday), and so I chose my voluntary music before I even know what my hymns were going to be. Yes, I could have played the same thing I was playing at IC; however, I already played those two pieces at earlier services at Chapel of the Cross, and I wasn't about to repeat music there.

I'm going to have a very busy weekend; I'm finding ENGELBERG much harder to play than I expected.

(Heaps of thanks to Nick for his help with the Andrews Gloria ... I just wish the Zimmer I'm playing it on were voiced better for the space that it's in, but there was quite the story behind its reinstallation in the new "worship space" back in 2003 that I don't really care to go into at this point ...)

(Edit: At the late afternoon service, the priest actually started the service a little early. So after only planning 2 minutes of prelude music, I had to provide 7 minutes of it. (Service usually starts with a Laying on of Hands, where people approach the altar rail to seek a blessing for healing of mind, body, and spirit.) So in addition to the d minor Prelude, I also played the Pachelbel d minor Fantasia. Sure, it's a repeat as I played it at Communion for Chapel of the Cross a couple of weeks ago, but that's okay, I hope no one remembered it. There were heaps of people at the service, more than I recalled at a usual summer 5.15pm service, so the Stanley wasn't enough to cover. So I decided to do an improv on "Seek Ye First." It was the Communion Hymn Andy and I picked out for the Catholic Mass, as it fit the Gospel reading well. The Episcopals used the same set of readings for their service. I was very happy with the way that turned out, and the timing was perfect - I finished it right as the last person received. That allowed for some silence during the Purificaiton of the Vessels and the Clearing of the Table. Perfect. Hymns went over well, so I'm glad, and I managed Engleberg. I find it much easier to play in F than in G.)

Katharine Dain, soprano; and Andrew Earis, organ

Here is the program from a wonderful soprano and organ concert I went to last night at Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. It featured Chapel Hill native Katharine Dain, soprano; and organist Andrew Earis.

Laudate Dominum (Claudio Monteverdi)
Les Angelus (Louis Vierne)
I. Au Matin
II. A Midi
III. A Soir
Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera (Antonio Vivaldi)
I. Aria
II. Recitative
III. Aria
IV. Alleluia
"The Black River" (Gavin Bryars)
Fantasia of Four Parts (organ) (Orlando Gibbons)
"A Divine Hymn" (Henry Purcell)
"An Evening Hymn" (Purcell)

The Bryars piece is his setting of Jules Verne's Vingt Milles Lieues Sous Les Mers (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), Part I., Chapter XIV. It was an exquisite marriage of word and text, and Earis' accompaniments were brilliant. Their encore piece was George Gershwin's "Summertime". Very nicely done.

Song lyrics

Just for the fun of it ... here are the lyrics to one of the songs in my playlist.
The original link is here:

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/laputa/lyrics_nosete_jis.txt

--

Kimi o nosete (Carrying you)
"Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa" ending theme (1986)

ano chiheisen  kagayaku no wa
dokoka ni kimi o kakushite iru kara
takusan no hi ga natsukashii no wa
ano doreka hitotsu ni  kimi ga iru kara
saa   dekake you  hitokire no PAN
NAIFU  RAMPU  kaban ni tsumekonde

*tou-san ga nokoshita  atsui omoi
kaa-san ga kureta  ano manazashi
chikyuu wa mawaru  kimi o kakushite
kagayaku hitomi  kirameku tomoshibi
chikyuu wa mawaru  kimi o nosete
itsuka kitto deau  bokura o nosete



The reason the horizon shines
is that somewhere it's hiding you.
The reason I long for the many lights
is that you are there in one of them.
So, I set out, with a slice of bread,
a knife, a lamp, stuffed in a bag.

*Father left me his burning desire.
 Mother gave me her eyes.
 The earth turns, hiding you.
 Shining eyes, twinkling lights.
 The earth turns, carrying you,
 carrying us both who'll surely meet.

* Repeat

Carlo Curley Concert Program

Carlo Curley

Presented on July 12, 2007, at St. Francis United Methodist Church, Allen Renaissance Heritage organ (new installation)

Note: this entire program was done from memory ...

Largo from Symphony No. 9 From the New World Op. 95 (Antonin Dvorak, arr. Curley)

Sinfonia in D Wir danken dir Gott from Cantata No. 29 BWV 29/1 (J. S. Bach; arr. Curley)

Aria for Strings from XII Concerto Grosso (G. F. Handel; arr. Curley)

Voluntary in F "A Fancy" (John Stanley; arr. Thalben-Ball)

Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C BWV 564 (Bach)

Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde (Richard Wagner; arr. Curley)

Entry of the Nobles, Grand March from Act II of Tannhäuser (Wagner; arr. Curley)

Introduction and Trumpet Tune in D (Stanley)

Interlude in C (Sir Walford Davies)

Prelude and Fugue in g minor Op. 7, No. 3 (Marcel Dupré)

Andante in F (J. L. Dussek; arr. Thalben-Ball)

Londonderry Air (arr. Archer)

Toccata on an American Theme from West Side Story (Stefan Lindblad)

Ann Elise Smoot and Simon Lindley - Concert Programs

This week, the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is having their Carolina Course for Girls and Adults and Organ Institute. It's a week including nightly organ recitals, organ Masterclasses, and Choir and Vocal technique building. For me, I'm just interested in the organ recitals, and if I could, swing by to listen in on the Masterclasses.

There are three organ recitals this week, the first was performed by Ann Elise Smoot, and tonight's was presented by Simon Lindley. Their programs are as follows. Carlo Curley's will be posted tomorrow evening.

Ann Elise Smoot

Presented on July 9, 2007, at Chapel of the Cross (Episcopal), Kleuker Organ

Toccata in F, BuxWV 156 (Dietrich Buxtehude)
Three Pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (Giles Farnaby):
- Tower Hill
- Tell mee, Daphne
- The Lady Zouches Maske
Chorale Partita Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig (J. S. Bach)
Theme and Variations in D (Felix Mendelssohn)
Allegro, Choral and Fugue (Mendelssohn)
Offerte du 5ème ton (Vive le Roy des Parisiens) (André Raison)
Partita sopra Nun freut euch (Lionel Rogg):
i. Choral
ii. Bicinium
iii. Canon
iv. Presto
v. Recit
vi. Passacaglia
vii. Toccata
Miroir (Ad Wammes)
From Suite Médiévale: iv. Méditation (Communion) (Jean Langlais)
Fête (Langlais)

Simon Lindley

Presented on July 11, 2007, at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Möller/Schantz organ

The Archbishop's Fanfare (Francis Jackson)
Hymn Prelude: East Acklam (Jackson)

Four Extemporizations: Carol - Divertimento - Fidelis - Fanfare (Percy William Whitlock)

Spring Song (Alfred Hollins)
A Trumpet Minuet (Hollins)

Romanza and Allegretto (William Wolstenholme)

Evening Song (Edward Bairstow)

Sonata in G, Op. 28 (Edward Elgar):
- Allegro maestoso
- Allegretto
- Andante espressivo
- Presto [comodo]

I Love Filipinos!

Yesterday, I flew home from Toronto. At the Toronto airport, the person who checked my boarding pass as I boarded a shuttle bus to take me to my terminal asked me if I was Filipino. I responded, "Opo." He then proceeded to ask me, in Tagalog, if I was going home. Now coming from a Filipino, I interpreted "home" to be "going to the Philippines." I responded back, in English, that I was going to North Carolina. He said, you don't speak Tagalog? I said my box of Tagalog was very small, but that I understand it. He then asked me where my parents were from, so I responded (mum from Baliuag, dad from Mandaluyong). So with that, he said it was nice chatting, sige at ingat. I responded, "Paalam, po."

Filipinos are so cool. I love how friendly they are, especially when they recognise other Filipinos. I experience that in North Carolina as well. I meet a Filipino, and s/he will recognise me as one, so then a greeting will follow. It's really nice to feel a part of the Filipino diaspora. Home isn't so far away, after all.

A "Yikes!" Moment

This morning, I was on the way to see Casa Loma and the Spadina Museum. I got off the subway and walked up Spadina until it ended at Davenport. There was an area with benches right at the corner of Spadina and Davenport, so I sat there for a few minutes, looking over my Toronto guidebook, and steeling my strength for climbing all those stairs leading to the Casa Loma and Spadina Museum. (I think those stairs are called the Baldwin stairs, but don't quote me on that.) So I got up, crossed the street, and went up the first flight of stairs. I then heard a loud noise below. I turned around, and saw a car, swerving to the right to avoid a line of cars behind the traffic light on Davenport. The car hit the benches I was sitting at, and then after rolling over on the roof, came to rest between two trees on Spadina. People came running to see what they can do to help. My thoughts turned to an elderly Chinese woman and (presumably) her son, who were sitting next to me on the bench. I hope they moved away, because if they didn't, the car would have hit them and then ...

There were two people in the car, and they were able to crawl out of the car. The emergency personnel responded within 5 minutes of the accident, and within minutes, an ambulance, a couple of police cars, and a couple of fire trucks were on the scene. It's a lucky thing that only two people were hurt and that no one was killed. Steam emanated from the car, which the fire personnel quickly dealt with.

So after sitting there, stunned, I continued my trek up the stairs and then onward to Casa Loma, followed by the Spadina Museum.

After I saw both places, I went back to where the accident occurred this morning. It didn't hit me until then about the timing of it all. The car came careening by 5 minutes after I left the bench and crossed the street. How would things have turned out if I were still sitting on the bench ...

After pondering that for a while, and seeing the trees and such uprooted, and bark stripped, I left the area, headed back to the subway, and went back to the heart of downtown Toronto.

Congee Queen!!!

Yesterday (3 July), I had the pleasure of eating at the absolute best Chinese restaurant I have ever eaten in. It beats all of the places I've eaten in NC by a million miles! They are Congee Queen, http://www.congeequeen.com/ , and their food is amazingly good. We started off with their Seafood Super Bowl Congee. I love the flavour, the texture, and I just couldn't stop eating it. Of course, me being Filipino, I wish they had patis-mansi on the side (fish sauce, has to be Filipino style, not the weaker and more sweet Thai style, and mansi is short for calamansi, Citrofortunella microcarpa, or Calamondin orange), but not having that definitely does not detract from the wonderful way they did their congee. A deep-fried dough object was served along with the congee. It was donut-like, without the powdered sugar. But somehow, it worked well with the congee.

We had a variety of other foods as well (Chef Special Fried Rice, Fried Thick Noodle with Shrimp and Shredded Pork, Shanghai style, Stir-Fried Beef with Broccoli, Stir-Fried Beef with Ginger and Green Onion, Deep-Fried Shrimp Wonton (excellent, by the way), Deep-Fried Pork Chop (also yum), and Spice-and-Pepper Salt Squid. There was hot tea a-flowing, which I found a little weak, but it was very helpful in aiding the digestion of all the oily foods. We ended it all with Taro Bubble Tea. Excellent bubble tea, runs heaps of rings around the concoction they called bubble tea that I had back in NC. Total yum!

We had 13 people at this dinner party (11 adults, two kids), and the food was more than sufficient - we took home leftovers.

Unfortunately, it appears this restaurant only exists in Toronto (two locations). I wish there was a Congee Queen near me. I guess after I leave Toronto, the best way for me to get my Congee Queen fix would be to go to the website and drool ...