Bulkogi Truck!!!

Right after a special rehearsal held for a small schola earlier tonight, David B., Fred, Chris, and I headed down the street to the corner of 9th and Main and the Bulkogi Truck I mentioned in an earlier post. There was a good-sized crowd by the time we arrived there. Most were waiting around for their food; the wait time was around half an hour from the time you ordered to the time you got your food. But there was only one chef, and he had a backlog of as much as 15 orders. Poor guy.

Chris and I ordered the spicy bulgogi (sorry, I can't see this transilliterated with a 'k'...). On a spiciness scale of 1-10, Chris chose 3 and I chose 6. Both of us could have gone higher. I could not discern any spice at all with 6. I suppose I could have added a bit of the Sriracha sauce of awesomeness... Fred ordered the chicken curry whilst David also ordered a spicy bulgogi.

Despite the lack of heat, my bulgogi was nice. The beef had a nice, sweet flavour to it, and the veggies (shredded carrots, onion, scallions, cabbage, peas) were there in about the right proportion. The serving size was about right as well. I wish it wasn't so greasy, though.

Fred said he really enjoyed his chicken curry. It smelled really good.

The pictures are below. I would definitely consider a repeat visit ... but here's to hoping that they'll have the kalbi plate. That was really what I had wanted in the first place, but it wasn't available.

This was the spicy bulgogi.

And this was the chicken curry.

A New Chancel Organ for St. Thomas Church

H/T to the Anglican Music Listserv. This one seems to be more of a PowerPoint slide presentation via YouTube, but it's very interesting, nonetheless.

UP Madrigal Singers—Huwag Kang Mangamba

Noticed this video today. It's a song composed by Fr. Manoling Francisco, S.J. (no relation to me) called 'Huwag Kang Mangamba' (Don't You Worry).

The reason why it caught my attention: Fr. Manoling spoke before the performance of the song (in which the University of the Philippines (Diliman) Madrigal Singers, under the direction of Mark Anthony A. Carpio, is accompanied by the composer on piano). It was very moving. He described a former student of his who had lost his entire family to the genocides in Rwanda.

Here's the video.

Compline at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC—03.28.2010

Compline at Chapel of the Cross.

We've been using the Order for Compline, as set by David Hurd.

Here are our little additions:

Christus Factus Est (Felice Anerio)
Psalms 31 and 134 (chanted to Tone 8)
Hymn: The royal banners forward go (VEXILLA REGIS PRODEUNT, plainsong Mode I)
In manus tuas (Sheppard; sung in addition to "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ...)
Nunc Dimittis (fauxbourdon, H. Willan)
Ave Regina Cælorum (Marian antiphon right after the Dismissal)
Ave Maria (Josquin Desprez)

(Note: the picture above depicts one of the votive candle layouts that Jimmy Satterwhite had laid out a couple of years ago. I can't remember where the picture came from, though.)

28 March—Palm Sunday

Goodness, we are in Holy Week already!!!

To start off, my lists. You'll notice that the slate of music for both St Joseph's and Chapel of the Cross remain essentially unchanged from last year's lists with the exception of the choir anthems for both places.

With that ... the lists.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church where I played the usual 10.30 am service. As usual, the numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

Palm Sunday: Holy Eucharist Rite II
At the Blessing of the Psalms:
Psalm: 157 Psalm 118 (Gallican Chant)
Processional: 154 All Glory, Laud and Honor (VALET WILL ICH DER GEBEN)

Psalm: Psalm Ps 31 (Tone II.1)
Sequence Hymn: 158, Ah holy Jesus, how has thou offended (HERZLIEBSTER JESU)
Offertory Hymn: 162, The royal banners forward go (VEXILLA REGIS PRODEUNT, plainsong Mode I)
Sanctus: S-117, J. McGregor, after Verbum caro factum est (Hassler)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Agnus Dei: S-157 (Merbecke)
Communion Anthem: Were You There? (Raymond Haan)
Recessional Hymn: 168, O Sacred Head, sore wounded (HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN)

I'd like to thank Meg (viola) and David (classical guitar) for their musical contributions to this service, especially for the anthem. Great job! :)

For the plainchant Vexilla Regis, I had the choir and congregation chant verse 5 a cappella. What a wonderful sound! The last, for O Sacred Head, taking the idea from someone who proposed it on PIPORG-L, I decreased the registration as we went from verse to verse, and then finally on the last verse, the congregation sang it, a cappella. It was a nice effect.

H/T to my friend Kathy P. for the Communion Anthem; her choir had sung that for Palm Sunday last year, and I was so charmed by it, I wanted it for my choir. They did wonderfully, and people commented on how much they enjoyed it, and how it really enriched and enhanced the service.

Now that is music to my ears. :)

---

Chapel of the Cross

My friend, Chris, drew the organist playing duties for the 5.15 pm service.

With that, the music, including Chris's voluntary pieces.

Palm Sunday: Holy Eucharist Rite II
Prelude: Trumpet Tune (Douglas E. Wagner)

At the Blessing of the Psalms:
Anthem: Hosanna to the Son of David (Georg Philipp Telemann)
Processional: 154 All Glory, Laud and Honor (VALET WILL ICH DER GEBEN)

Sequence Hymn: 158, Ah holy Jesus, how has thou offended (HERZLIEBSTER JESU)
Offertory Anthem: God so loved the world (J. Stainer)
Sanctus: S-125 Community Mass (R. Proulx)
Communion Voluntary: Le Prie-Dieu (George Oldroyd)
Communion Hymn: 313, Let thy Blood in mercy poured (JESUS, MEINE ZUVERSICHT)
Recessional Hymn: 168, O Sacred Head, sore wounded (HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN)
Postlude: Prelude and Fugue in e minor (attr. J.S. Bach)

By the way, for both the service at St. Joseph's as well as that at Chapel of the Cross, the accompaniment for Herzliebster Jesu was taken from the Hymnal 1940. I'm not sure what the editors of the Hymnal 1982 did with the accompaniment, but I just found it easier to follow in the 1940 as opposed to the 1982. My choristers agreed with me and were happy to make the switch.

Have a Blessed Holy Week, everyone! ♥

Mămăligă cu brânză şi smântână

Mămăligă cu brânză şi smântână (Mămăligă with Romanian feta cheese and sour cream) is a Romanian traditional dish that resembles polenta. What makes it different and unique is the Romanian feta cheese, typically made with sheep's milk, and that it's typically stirred in the pot as the mămăligă is being cooked.

My friend Daniel and I decided to try making this tonight when he found the brânză (Romanian feta cheese) at Harmony Mediterranean Market in Cary. When I told him I had stone-ground cornmeal, he immediately requested that we try making mămăligă.

Here is the recipe we tried. I suppose it must have been successful because he said the smell, consistency, and taste is how he remembered it when he was in Romania last summer.

3-1/2 cups water
Salt, to taste
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into bits
Brânză (Romanian feta cheese), crumbled into bits
salt, pepper, and sour cream to taste
1 egg, fried over-easy (optional)

Combine the water and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal in a steady stream and whisk until the water returns to boiling. Gradually add the rest of the cornmeal, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook the mixture, covered, until thickened and cooked through, 10 minutes.

Add in the butter, a piece at a time, stirring constantly. Add the brânză and continue stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes more.

We served it right out of the pot. We placed the mămăligă on a serving plate, added more brânză, salt and pepper to taste, a dollop of sour cream, and topped it with the fried egg. It was served with 'Salata de roșii cu brânză' (tomato and cheese salad).

It was my first exposure to Romanian food. By Daniel's expression, I believe we managed to get it about right.

Korean Taco Truck?

Did my eyes read this correctly? I can get Bulgogi and Kalbi in Durham???

I must check these guys out. H/T to Carpe Durham.

Click here to read more.

When I try these guys out, I'll post my impressions. More later...

Devotional for Music Majors

h/t to Bob Moody from the PIPORG-L listserv.

THURSDAY, March 18 (Cyril of Jerusalem)

1 Corinthians 12:12-26. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.

Watching an orchestra, I noticed three things. First, the unchangeable oboe sounded the pitch and all the other players tuned to it. Second, the musicians each concentrated on their own instrument. Third, they watched the written score before them but played according to the interpretation of the conductor. What a fine parable for the church! Composers writing for an orchestra don't want a hundred clarinets. They call for families of varying voices, in groups both large and small--all playing in harmony. In the church it doesn't matter whether all think alike, but that we love one another, find our own faults rather than our neighbor's, be in tune with the congregation, and follow the score as directed by our conductor.

We must practice alone, but in a concert only one score can be played at a time. Someone must arrange the program if the church is to produce harmony and not discord. Let us keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, rather than the uniformity of our opinions in the bond of prejudice. (1937)

Caro Emerald—A Night Like This

Thanks to Fr. Roderick, I've had this song playing in my head all day.

Caro Emerald, a young singer from the Netherlands, recently released an album called Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor. One of the songs from this albums is called "A Night Like This".

It's a great melody. The video is embedded below. Enjoy!

Compline at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC—03.21.2010

Still playing catch-up...

Compline at Chapel of the Cross.

We've been using the Order for Compline, as set by David Hurd.

Here are our little additions:

Hide not thou thy face (Richard Farrant)
Psalms 4 & 134 (chanted to Tone 8)
Hymn: To you before the close of day (TE LUCIS ANTE TERMINUM, Mode 8)
In manus tuas (Sheppard; sung in addition to "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ...)
Nunc Dimittis from Short Service (O. Gibbons)
Ave Regina Cælorum (Marian antiphon right after the Dismissal)
Ave Maria (Josquin Desprez)

(Note: the picture above depicts one of the votive candle layouts that Jimmy Satterwhite had laid out a couple of years ago. I can't remember where the picture came from, though.)

21 March—Fifth Sunday in Lent

I am so, so far behind with my service music posts, it's not even funny. I'll post this one, though, hoping to get myself back on track.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church where I played my usual 10.30 am service. If I was thinking, I would have played the piece I played last week as prelude instead of this one. The reason being this past Sunday marked the 325th anniversary of J.S. Bach's birth. You can imagine me *headdesking* over this one...

As usual, numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982 unless otherwise noted.

Fifth Sunday in Advent: Holy Eucharist Rite I
Prelude: Lamb of God, Pure and Sinless (D. Cherwien)
Processional Hymn: 149, Eternal Lord of love, behold your Church (OLD 124TH)
Kyrie: S-91 Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena (Willan)
Psalm: Psalm 126 (Tone II.1)
Sequence Hymn: 455, O Love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
Offertory Hymn: 170, To mock your reign, O dearest Lord (THE THIRD TUNE)
Sanctus: S-117, J. McGregor, after Verbum caro factum est (Hassler)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Agnus Dei: S-157 (Merbecke)
Communion Anthem: Drop, Drop Slow Tears (SONG 46, O. Gibbons)
Communion Hymn: 458, My Song is Love Unknown (LOVE UNKNOWN, with alt. accompaniments and descant by Donald Busarow)
Recessional Hymn: 473, Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim (CRUCIFER)

Services for Palm Sunday and Holy Week will be held jointly between St Joseph's and the Episcopal Center at Duke University.

Robert Parkins, organ / Happy Birthday, JS Bach

Sunday, March 21, 2010 marked the 325th anniversary of the birth of JS Bach. What better way to celebrate than to go to an organ recital featuring his works?

Robert Parkins, the University Organist and Professor of the Practice of Music at Duke University, presented an organ recital featuring Bach's organ music that is appropriate to the Lenten season. He used a pair of toccatas (and fugues) as bookends to two chorale fantasies, one of which was recently (2008) discovered, and chorales from the Clavierübung III and the Eighteen Chorales comprising the core of the program.

Before I list the program, the recently discovered piece is Fantasia super Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128. According to the scholars, the style and source firmly confirms this as Bach's, dating to his early years, possibly composed in his late teens, early twenties.

Bob performed this program on the Flentrop organ and dedicated it to the memory of his mother, Bette Parkins.

Toccata and Fugue in d minor (BWV 565)

Chorale Fantasy on Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält (BWV 1128)

Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit (BWV 672)
Christe, aller Welt Trost (BWV 673)
Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (BWV 674)

Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (BWV 671)

Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (BWV 663)

Wir glauben all an einen Gott (BWV 680)

O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (BWV 656)

Chorale Fantasy on Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (BWV 658)

Toccata and Fugue in d minor ("Dorian"; BWV 538)

I must say I was charmed by the new piece and wouldn't mind having a copy of that piece. It would be difficult to choose a favourite amongst this group of pieces Bob had presented. Even the (IMHO, overplayed) opening Toccata and Fugue received a refreshing treatment. The Flentrop is a four-manual instrument, and you can tell Bob used every manual in this piece, especially in the double-echo passages. And what can I say about the Dorian—it was a most satisfying way to end this wonderful program of music.

As a post-script, Bob said in his program notes that he concluded his first recital in Duke Chapel on the then-new Flentrop on February 27, 1977.

Being Crafty Again

I just finished another scarf I made for my friend, Daniel. I knitted this one in the round and just now finished fringing it.

The first picture is the scarf and the second is Daniel modelling it.

Leche Flan

... cringes at how horribly she is neglecting this blog ...

I made dinner for a friend of mine earlier tonight, and he requested flan for dessert. I thought I'd make him the Filipino version of it.

I will admit to taking shortcuts with it, but the final result is still close to the original.

And yes, this is not for the faint of heart ... or for those with very high cholesterol levels ...

This one is pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1 can (14 oz.) condensed milk
• 10 egg yolks (yes, ten of them!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pancake syrup or maple syrup

Yes, the last ingredient listed is my shortcut as I was too lazy to make my own caramel syrup, which is generally made with sugar (1 c) and water (3/4 c).

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Combine the milks, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat well. (You may use a blender; however, I just used a big bowl, a whisk, and elbow grease. ;) )

In a mould (and I used the disposable "individual pot pie" sized aluminium pans, which are pretty small), put the syrup in so it just covers the bottom. Add the mixture until it's about 3/4 full. Cover the moulds with aluminium foil.

Place the moulds on a baking pan filled with water and bake for ca. 45 minutes or until the centre of the custards are relatively firm (i.e., stops jiggling). Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When it's cool enough, place in the refrigerator.

To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the leche flan. Place a plate on top of the mould and then turn it upside down. Be careful that you don't spill the caramel all over yourself (and believe me, if you're not careful, that's a possibility...)

Enjoy! Because this recipe calls for egg yolks, the final product has a very creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

I've also made this with whole eggs instead of just the egg yolks (use 5 eggs if you do that). It won't be as creamy, but it'll still be quite good.

Memorial Service for Bette C. Parkins (1924–2010)

Today, I attended a memorial service for Bette Parkins, who was the mother of Duke University organist and Professor of the Practice of Music, Bob Parkins. I never knew her; she was one of the Friday office volunteers at First Presbyterian Church in Durham. She sounded like a wonderful person. She was also beloved mother to Patricia (Bob's sister), mother-in-law to Kathy (with whom I work at FPC) and beloved grandmother to David, Laura, Michael, and Jesse.

It was a simple service with organ music provided by Bob. I couldn't help but think it was befitting of the mother of an organist. You could tell Bob's heart and soul went into this tribute to his mother. It was a beautiful service.

Here are the music and hymns, as well as the readings, that were a part of this service.

Prelude:

• O Welt, ich muss dich lassen (No. 11), Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
• O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen, Brahms
• Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, Brahms
• Canzone (from the Symphonic Chorale Jesu, meine Freude), Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877–1933)

Hymn: The King of Love, My Shepherd Is (ST. COLUMBA)
Old Testament Lessons: Genesis 1:1–5; Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 60:1–3; Psalm 27
Interlude: "The Peace may be exchanged." (from Rubrics), Dan Locklair (b. 1949)
New Testament Lessons: John 1:1–5; John 14:1–7; Mark 9:1–8; Revelation 22:1–5
Hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine (DOWN AMPNEY)
Postlude: O Welt, ich muss dich lassen (No. 3), Brahms