Detroit Symphony Live

My laptop was up and going by 8:45 am Arizona time so I could join the audience for the Detroit Symphony's live concert. Titled "Pictures at an Exhibition," the broadcast featured three works by Russian composers, the last of which was Mussorgsky's symphonic poem, "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Befuddled by the modernity of the first work which was composed just eleven years ago, I busied myself doing some house chores. The Prokofiev piano concerto that came second was more standard in nature but still characteristically Russian.

By the time the symphony started the first measures of Ravel's arrangement of Pictures, I could sense that the audience was ready for the more familiar. 

The DSO did not disappoint. Originally written for piano, "Pictures" as adapted by Ravel contains rich brass, eloquent winds, and ringing percussion. There are gentle moments as well as stirring, lusciously full orchestral strains. 

The live stream of the DSO is a feather in the cap of a city that is overly criticized these days. Detroit and all of Michigan can be proud of the orchestra. And for all the criticism that we aim at technology, concerts like this are yet another argument for universal broadband access.

Just like watching a football game on TV, watching a concert is not the same as being there, but live streaming of a concert brings the joy of music right home. That's pretty cool.





  

Christmas Album Favs -- Six More

I can't let this season escape without looking at six more favorite Christmas albums.

At the top of this list is the 2000 release of "You Better Watch Out" by Michigan's own Three Men and a Tenor. I'm pretty sure it is Chuck Colby's rendition of Elvis's "Blue Christmas" that gets me singing along with their a cappella arrangements. The 3MT guys are regulars around Michigan and deserve to be heard again and again.

"Come Darkness, Come Light -- Twelve Songs of Christmas" by Mary Chapin Carpenter fits the category of holiday albums that feature winter, thanksgiving and Christmas, all on the same disk. Her "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" is plaintive, yet festive, and a carol that is not so over done on albums.

I have to include "The Muppet Christmas Carol" which is available as a DVD and a CD. My nephew Matt loves this production and watching it with him brings out all the subtle lyrics, especially those by the long suffering Beaker. My favorite song, "Bless Us All," is sentimental and syrupy and right to the point. It's a Jim Henson production with songs by Paul Williams.

My sis-in-law Sue gave us a copy of "Carols By Candlelight," that features the Falcone concert grand piano at Marshall United Methodist Church. Performed by Dr. David Sly, this collection of piano music is what I listen to when I'm in the kitchen making cookies. It is a limited edition album with local connections that warms the heart. Somewhere I have a Philadelphia Singers album from my sister Heidi that falls into this category, too.

I'm a Harry Connick fan, especially at Christmas. "When My Heart Finds Christmas" is from 1993 and includes "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," a great song for a guy like Harry to have recorded.

NPR fans willl recognize Garrison Keillor's "Now It Is Christmas Again," a compendium from the Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church, with story and song. My high school choir director was a graduate of St. Olaf College and in his choir you learned Norweigan carols, many of which are on the album and take me back to my Ripon High School choir days.

There you have it. Six more holidays favorites from Wanda's big box of well loved holiday CDs. Enjoy.

Christmas Album Favs -- First Six

Christmas music is a big joy of the season. I'm always watching out for new albums, but get out the old ones every year, too. My box of CDs grows with the years and it is officially the holiday when the box is unearthed from its year round hiding place.

John Denver and the Muppets did "A Christmas Together" in the early 1980's. There's a great version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on this album and the "Silent Night" is one of my favs. I even have the piano music for this album and enjoy playing it every year.

Sting's very medieval sounding "If On A Winter's Night" brings me back to my days in high school madrigals when the group of us would carol with our luscious 8 part harmonies. This album is almost mystical and kind of edgy. It counters all of the sweet and syrupy stuff that is holiday music these days.

Straight No Chaser, an a cappella group from Indiana, has several holiday CDs. I listen to "Christmas Cheers" and enjoy the tight harmonies.

Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album" is plop in the middle of the 1980's Christian music scene, but her "Tennessee Christmas" always reminds me of my Memphis sister and her family. It can be a tear jerker for me. Yes, it can.

Chris Botti's silver sounding trumpet shines in his album, "December." Mellow, very mellow, and with a jazz touch. Listen to "Winter Wonderland" on this one.

Then there's Tony Bennett's Christmas album, "Snowfall." He sings with such exquisite diction, so full of soft vowels and consonants that flow that you hardly miss a word. Tony is a big favorite of mine and this album does not disappoint. "White Christmas" has some great trumpet behind Tony's voice, too.

I haven't listed these in any order of preference. Christmas is Christmas, and music is music.

Crazy For XM

The radio system in my Chevy Volt has a dynamite sound system that is almost always playing when I drive. Both Ed and I enjoy classical music and often play the game of "what is that music?" by saying aloud the name of a composer or musician or work, and then punching in the XM identifier. 

Today's goodie was brass with pipe organ.  We both knew it was Trumpet Voluntary, but I identified it as Canadian Brass when it was Empire Brass. 

Since we've heard Empire Brass in concert, I asked Ed to snap a photo if the XM screen so I can look up this performance. 

Yep, I'm just crazy for XM radio and grateful for the company of great music when I drive. 

Ruth Road Moon

The April full moon floated up over a wheat field on Ruth Road last night around 7:30. My Chevy Volt cast a long shadow along with a nearby utility pole when I stuck my camera out the car window and snapped this image. Tony Bennett was singing on my car stereo.

I wished on the moon

For something I never knew

Wished on the moon

For more than I ever knew

A sweeter rose, a softer sky

On April days that would not dance by**

 It was a good moment in early April and I wished on the moon last night.

**Lyrics to "I Wished on the Moon" by Dorothy Parker and Ralph Rainger

Copyright 2012

Wanda Hayes Eichler



Airport Karaoke

We could hear some sort of music at McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last night.

"Holiday music. Live holiday music. How cool," I thought as we headed toward the fountain to make the big turn toward the escalators that carry passengers to the baggage claim area.

The music was karaoke for charity. As a benefit for Salvation Army, Sing Because You Care gives passengers and airport employees the opportunity to donate and sing. I've always thought that karaoke is kind of hokey, but the sound of vocalists doing their best for charity warmed my heart as we headed out of the airport into the cold Michigan night.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

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Zoo Lights In Tucson

The animals at Tucson's Reid Park Zoo are treated to a nightly show during the month of December. For two hours just after sunset, twinkling lights and live music and visitors of all ages join the elephants and tigers and giraffes for a night under the desert stars that the zoo calls "Zoo Lights."

We walked through the zoo on Friday night with hundreds of others who were enjoying the cool night air, the music of the Tucson High School Steel Drum Band (actually, two of their five bands played), popcorn and hot chocolate, and thousands of sparkling, colorful outdoor lights that outlined the walkways, fences and trees.

The high school steel drum players danced and twirled and beat their drums in an exciting display of outdoor percussion sound. The students exchanged places between songs, moving from one set of drums to another with not a shred of music in sight. Their director moved among them, joining their animated showmanship and entertaining high stick choreography. The band showed exciting musical talent. The audience loved the rhythmic, exuberant music. 

From the roar of the tiger (who was separated from his mate -- it's that time of the year) to the parades of little kids with glow sticks to the magical outdoor sound of the steel drum band, Zoo Lights is an evening to enjoy in Tucson.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler



Outside My Comfort Zone

Inside the Kimball -- strings, pegs, the harp, felted padding

I'm going outside my comfort zone today. I volunteered to play Christmas music on the Yamaha Clavinova (a digital instrument) at Country Gardens Assisted Living Facility for their noon meal today. I put together about twenty minutes of carols and Christmas songs. I play piano for myself at night, but haven't played in "public" for a long, long time. Maybe fifteen years.

Our Kimball grand has been vacuumed and dusted as I've prepared for this gig. I chose music that is basically four part harmony because my piano style has evolved to a choral approach; I play as if I'm singing or directing a choir. So sometimes there is two part harmony in the octave below middle C. That's the tenors and basses doing their thing. Other times I play three parts in the middle C octave. That would be the three part women's voices. And sometimes I finish a song with just the melody, played an octave above middle C. That would be a flute, accompanying my choir.

"Away In A Manger" from "The Evangelical Hymnal" (1921)

Some carols will be played in two different keys. Some keys are bright and lively while other keys are comfortable and soothing. So a carol sounds different, depending upon the key it is played in.

Since there are more than one version of lots of carols (think of Willie Nelson's rendition of "Silent Night" versus that of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir) I have looked for carols that have different tunes. "Away In A Manger" or "Luther's Cradle Hymn" is one such tune. I'll use the popular tune but will also play the J. E. Spillman version from 1834.

Hymnal title block with gold oak motif. Notice cloth binding.

I found the Spillman version of "Away In A Manger" in "The Evangelical Hymnal," dated 1921 (the year that my Dad was born). I have a copy of this hymnal that belonged to my grandparents, William and Rose Luedtke. The book is in excellent shape and was the hymnal for the Evangelical Church which is a precursor denomination of the present United Methodist Church.

The little program finishes with "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Here's hoping that the audience today is tolerant of the background music for their noon dinner!

Copyright 2011
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Silver Sound

I heard it. I heard the silver sound of the trumpet section in the Spartan Marching Band yesterday afternoon from the sidelines at Spartan Stadium. J. T. Madden, director of the SMB, arranged sideline passes for Ed and me so that we would get to experience the band's performance at a football game up close and personal.

The sound of 300 brass, wind and percussion players, all in concert together, filling an outdoor stadium on a 50 degree sunny day in fall is incredible. It envelopes you with its purity and brassiness -- with the rising thunder of the percussion, with the brilliance of the trumpets and mellophones, with the sheer throatiness of the saxes, and the earthy, rooted bass of the baritones and the tuba line.

Mr. Madden's dream of having each section playing the same instrument comes clear when one hears the trumpet line with their new silver instruments. It's as if all the players are blowing into the same organ pipe. There is a unity, a clarity in the sound that we absorbed as we listened on the sideline yesterday.

"This is a special thing that we get to do together on Saturdays," Mr. Madden told the band as they gathered on Dem Field after the game. "There are people who would give anything to be doing what you get to do as a part of this band." 

Then instruments are lowered and placed aside. Arms around each other's shoulders, in one voice, acapella, they sing the MSU Alma Mater. Now the sound of choral oneness drifts across the field and runs along the pathways where golden maples and rusty oaks cast their shadows on an autumn afternoon.

It, too, is a silver sound. It is the sound of students who choose to be a part of a greater good, to be in the band, to make music together, to perform. In harmony, the day ends with, "MSU, we love thy shadows," almost a hymn to the belonging that has made the Spartan Marching Band, with its silver sound, a defining experience for countless students through the years.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler



On Stage, The Spartan Marching Band

Almost every member of the Spartan Marching Band is visible in this cellphone photo of last night's Spartan Spectacular. Picture the moments before the photo. An empty stage. A whistle blows. A single drum cadence. The stage begins to fill. Then this picture.

We are proud SMB fans and enjoyed Spartan Spectacular immensely this year. Kudos to Mr. Madden and the Band staff and the entire Department of Music at Michigan State for the energy and dedication that produces moments like these in the lives of so many students.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler