So...ich bin hier!!

And I really thought it would be SO much HARDER than it was. Before I left, Rachel asked me if I was excited, and I told her that I was but not "giddy excited," meaning I didn't have a smile plastered to my face like the day of our wedding...wait...I promise I was (and still am) happy about that! But I was excited about travelling to Leipzig, but I wasn't so excited about leaving her behind, going by myself, not really knowing where I'm goinging, and not really knowing enough German. Sounds like a recipe for disater. But I got here 10,000 times smoother than I ever imagined I would. The hardest part was going through London's Heathrow airport...uhg. What a drag that place is. Seems like it has taken organization lessons from America's public schools...I mean...oops. Did I just type that? Really? Well, not ALL of USA's public education systems are quite that bad...maybe only the ones in which I've had some stake...possibly only one particular school... Anywho, note to self: Avoid Heathrow at all costs; unfortunaltely you have to go back through it on the way home... But really, though I had plenty of time to work out the Heathrow ordeal. I had five hours to figure out how to get a boarding pass for my next two flights (changing airlines was a new adventure for me) and find my boarding gate...plenty of time to feel like I haven't felt since registering for college the first time..."No, sorry sir. You're gonna have to go across campus to this building here and have THEM tell you what to do next...(meanwhile- back-at-the-Hall-of-Justice kind of thing for all you long time Superman fans)..."I'm sorry sir. You're going to head across campus from where you started...blah, blah, blah..." Ah, c'mon. You remember registering for college the first day...especially back before the user-friendly online registration. (Pretty sure I just dated myself...Thank Heaven the Internet and online registration isn't very old! Thanks Al Gore!)
Anyhoo... I get through Heathrow, which is the first stop of this LANGER Tag, and I'm off to Düsseldorf. 4 hour layover. Seemed like an ETERNITY. No one goes to Düsseldorf much. Smaller population than Dresden, TN. Cross my heart on that one. Finally board the plane to Leipzig/ Halle, and we are shuttled out onto the tarmac. This can't be good. One bus load. One plane full. It was the smallest plane I had ever realized I was going to ride. Smallest. Hands down. But you know, it was the smoothest ride of which I have ever taken part! Smoothest take off..eh, a few turbulent patches...and the smoothest landing ever! It really was quite amazing, and I congratulate and deeply thank my capitan of that flight.
So I get off the flight wondering if my luggage actually made it straight from Rahleigh, NC to Leipzig, De. I'm here to tell you that these people are good at what they do! My luggage was right there. I wasn't even given a baggage claim/ deck number. Picked it up, and off to get some food in the Leipzig/ Halle airport.
I get food, and the entire time I'm eating I'm thinking, "How am I gonna get to my hotel. Can I even FIND it? Maybe I'll take the train...but it's getting late, and I might have to sleep on the street. Oh my. I've never been this uptight and in knots in my LIFE!" All the while eating a salomi sandwich, which was quite good! I did enjoy my sandwich in spite of all that second guessing and, dare I say, THINKING too much. So...it's been a long day of waiting...waiting...waiting...so I follow the Taxi signs. I'm here to tell you that the Taxi driver took me right to my Hotel. It only cost 30 Euros WITH the gratuity. I might have paid only the fare with that amount in the States. And here I am in my cozy little Lindner Hotel Leipzig room with a bed, an Internet connection, and a mini-bar. Now for some sleep to rid myself of jetlag and fatigue...

Today's Tunes

John Adams' Harmonium. (The link is to an exerpt of it.) Nevermind the conducting...when you become as prestigious as Simon Rattle your gesture can be whatever, I suppose. Rattle is conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Today's Tunes

Yes...I'm still alive. Even after my first year of graduate work, I'm still breathing. So today's tunes will be a culmination of several days, inasmuch that "several days" constitutes several weeks...

1) Beyoncé...she has been a recent voice in my headphones, and the girl has some pipes; her song "Halo" in particular.
2) Of course Bach...I've been practicing "Minuet in G," and I'll be the first to testify that practice REALLY DOES work!
3) Portions of Heinrich Schütz' Geistliche Chormusik is entering my brain as I write.
4) Alberto Ginastera's Concerto for Strings. 20th Century piece, and it's ridiculously good! ...even with it's 20th Century dissonances that folks don't line up outside of the theater to hear.
5) Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. I don't know how many times I've sat down to listen to this piece, but I finally listened to it with the full score. It's much more genius than I ever gave it credit.
6) The singer Bryn Terfel has sung to me a lot this semester...either through Schubert lieder or as a soloist in large choral works. Terfel is a staple in the document of vocal music...yes, he's that good.
7) The choral works of Mendelssohn, including the masterwork Elijah, which has become my all time favorite oratorio...even over Handel and all of his genius.
8) Arvo Pärt's Miserere
9) Henryk Górecki's Miserere
10) Mozart's Mass in c minor...my favorite Mozart work. Unfortunately, it wasn't finished before he died.
11) Stravinski was truly one of the world's most fascinating composers. Symphony of Psalms and Rite of Spring...incredible stuff.
12) Shamelessly..."Billie Jean" Because she's not my lov-uh...she's just a guhrl...

Today's Tunes

So, I've been a little busy...ok, A LOT busy. But here's what's in the speakers lately:
1) Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
2) Bernstein: Kaddish Symphony
3) Bach: Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden
4) Schüz: Psalmen Davids
5) Shostakovich: String Quartets
6) Haydn: Piano Sonatas
7) Haydn: Paukenmesse
8) Mozart: Grand Mass in c
9) Damjian Mocnik: Christus est natus
10) Any of Mocnik's works should be given undivided attention.

And I just realized that all of these guys have something to do with Germany...and I'm taking German...and I'd like to go study in Leipzig sometime soon...and I have German heritage...
Coincidence? Nein! Es ist mein Schicksal!

Get thee behind me...

Another semester come and gone. But this one was different. I've NEVER had a semester where I've not "ugh"-ed over assignments, except this one. Sure, Fall 2008 has had its moments of frustration with professor demands and deadlines too close to meet those demands with quality (but I guess we couldn't officially call this experience education if that were not the case...); but I have truly turned in each assignment (whether that be a paper or theory analysis or concert I conducted in) feeling like a better person for having spent the time doing it.

Next semester holds some challenges. Stars in the East is a new ECU event instated by Dr. Bara, and he has hired some conductors to come work with his grad students for the experience, education, and as a resume builder. 3 conductors are coming in January, and...drum roll...the first one is William Weinert (Director of Choral Activities at Eastman, and Dr. Bara's teacher), Craig Arnold (director of choral activities, conductor of the Nordic Choir, and professor of music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa), and Dale Warland. Dale Warland is extremely well known, and I encourage you to read the bios on all three of these outstanding choral teachers. Also in the spring I get the opportunity to teach Bach to University Chorale: 1) Sicut locutus est from Johann's Magnificat (I think I get to call him by his first name now), and 2) Dona nobis pacem from his B-minor Mass. If you haven't heard these two works what in the world are you waiting for?! Stop reading Blair and go listen to Bach!

Orchestral Conducting

Last weekend ECU Symphony along with Chamber Singers performed Mozart's Requiem. What a satisfying performance!! Dr. Bara conducted the amazing performane, and I observed him non compos mentis so as to pick up all I could from my teacher about how to teach and conduct an orchestra. It's a bit of a different language, as you can't turn to the violins and ask for things like, "Violins, could you guys put a little more breath in that sound," or "Cellos, could we find that dome-space resonance in that tone?" So if these tricks don't work, what does? Dr. Bara sang to them a lot, and actually Dr. Jorge Richter, the symphony's regular conductor, sang to them as well - "Trombones, I wonder if we can make your B-flat sound like [insert a b-flat pitch] taww, rather than taaa." Dr. Richter also demonstrated rhythms verbally - "DI-da-da-da, violas...Again!" And Dan gave the players the benefit of the doubt of being able to read music well, but that passage was just a mistake; so his response would go something like, "Careful that your dotted quarters aren't too long, clarinets."

Anyway...another geeked out post.

Today's Tunes...

So, I've been engulfed in my Choral Literature class the past several weeks, and I've heard some amazing music.
Obrecht wrote some fantastic music, Missa Caput in particular.
Palestria...WHOA! Go listen to his Pope Marcellus Mass...at least the Kyrie. Fantabulastic!
Thomas Luis da Victoria...good stuff.
My favorite: Josquin. Absalon fili mi.

I'd heard the music of these guys before, but not in context of what I have learned about their cultural time period. These guys were rock stars!

alright...now that my geek self has passed, Rachel Yamagata has been coming through my speakers. Jazzy girl. Good stuff. Cold Play's X&Y album has been playing in my vehicle. I like his voice, even though he sings with little resonance and solely from his throat. I certainly wouldn't encourage my choir to sing like that, but his voice fits his music well.

Hmm...this is a geeky post, but I am, afterall in graduate school.

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Todays Tunes...

Howard Helvey's arrangement of the spiritual The Time for Praying. Ooo...good stuff. I think I'm going to do this with our church choir.

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Today's Tunes...

So this is a much more fitting title for this section of my blog, rather than confining me to a specific day; we all know how well that worked out.

Today I've listened to Stile Antico, a choir of young British singers which has gotten its name out of a Renaissance idea. I have been listening to their album "Music for Compline" while working on a research & bibliography assignment. You can preview the entire album on Amazon, and I have particularly enjoyed tracks 5, 10, and 16. I think you will particularly like 10.

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Choral Scholars and Chamber Singers

Beautiful concert in a beautiful singing space! Here's the Ave verum corpus (William Byrd) I conducted. This is Choral Scholars, a small volunteer choir from Chamber Singers. You may not be able to readily tell that it's me, but rest assured that you aren't seeing some guy off the street and that it is in fact me...in that case, I guess it IS some guy off the street. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO, RACHEL!!

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