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J. S. Bach: Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen
I’ve just completed a successful time at the 25th annual Moab Music Festival. It’s a big achievement which I am proud of. NYFOS is celebrating our 30th year starting next month, so this seems to be a big anniversary year for me. Moab and NYFOS have converged on many occasions, but never around the music of Bach. There are so many specialty groups now that specialize in early music, which includes Bach. At NYFOS I guess we feel that Bach is covered.
Damien Sneed: I Dream a World
“I Dream a World” is one of the most beautiful and loving poems by Langston Hughes I have come across. It was set to music by composer Damien Sneed in 2017. Langston speaks about a dream world where every person is equally as valuable and should be treated with respect. As farfetched as this idea may seem, I believe that this world Hughes is speaking of can actually come to fruition. He didn’t see it in his lifetime and I probably won’t see it in mine, but he contributed to that becoming a reality one day.
William Bolcom: Ballad of the landlord
“Ballad of the landlord” is a poem by Langston Hughes. It basically is a dialogue between an African American tenant and a white landlord. It’s interesting to me that Langston doesn’t offer any opinions. He tell’s the story as it happens and the reader/ listener has no choice but to develop their own opinion.
Ricky Ian Gordon: Luck
During my rehearsals with Ricky Ian Gordon for our concert on September 18, I noticed that in his home there was a framed poem on top of the door to his studio. I asked him about it, and he expressed to me that it meant a lot to him, and was one of the most significant settings of a poem that he’s written. The poem is “Luck” by Langston Hughes.
Margaret Bonds: Minstrel Man
Right after I left Opera Theatre of St. Louis last summer, I went to West Palm Beach Florida. I was competing in the national rounds of a year long competition presented by NANM (National Association of Negro Musicians) NANM is the oldest organization for the preservation of African American Music. Each year, there is a different instrument that is the focus of the competition. Knowing that it was the year for “voice” my teacher helped me put together a solid program. The singers were required to present an Aria, Lied, African American Art Song, and a Spiritual. Surprisingly, I had never even heard of an African American Art Song.
Ricky Ian Gordon: When Sue wears Red
The piece I was given was “When Sue Wears Red” This piece was my introduction to both Ricky Ian Gordon and to Langston Hughes who wrote the text. To the readers that know the work of both of these men, you can understand how mind blown I was when I researched them for this project. I had heard of both artists but had never actually worked on anything of theirs.
Sergei Taneyev: Music / Stalactities
The legendary Irina Arkhipova is found here in great form singing Sergei Taneyev’s “Music” and “Stalactites” from a 1971 concert comprised entirely of Taneyev’s compositions.
Marquis Hill plays “My Foolish Heart”
Having mastered hip hop, hard bop, free form and everything in between, Marquis Hill is one of the heaviest hitting cats on the jazz scene in America. Hill has made a name for himself as one of the most gifted trumpeters around, winning the Thelonious Monk Trumpet Competition in 2014. After listening to Mr. Blier and Ms. Bennett perform some jazz classics in Orient so inspiringly, I was reminded of all the times I have been lucky enough to hear Marquis and his Blacktet play in Chicago.
Tchaikovsky: Yeletzky’s Aria
Style, ease, grace, beauty, power and a wonderful reminder that perhaps perfection is attainable.
![Ted Hearne: [EXPLOSIVE HAZARD]](https://nyfos.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ted-hearne-explosive-hazard.jpg)
Ted Hearne: [EXPLOSIVE HAZARD]
A little over a year ago, transgender Americans were granted the right to serve openly as such in the U.S. Military. This was a decision that allowed an estimated 2,500 people the freedom to be themselves. Following the repeal of this decree four days ago, I felt it necessary to share just one more selection by Ted Hearne.
Ted Hearne: Letter to my father
Today’s selection comes from Ted Hearne’s 2015 composition Coloring Book. He describes the work as such: “I set the words of three great black American writers of different generations (Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Claudia Rankine) in texts dealing with identity, not because I could ever pretend to speak for them, but because I wanted to know: Could I better understand their words by speaking them in my own voice?
Ted Hearne: Kanye West 9.2.05
In a search for understanding how people with the power to do good choose evil, I turned to music—particularly the music of Ted Hearne.
NYFOS@North Fork: Day 5
When I planned “Red, White, and Blues” I thought I was making a light summer entertainment: 10 French songs, 10 American songs, encore, done. A pitcher of musical sangria. Then I started working on the program, and got a little carried way with visions of sugarplums. “Wouldn’t it be great to do the aria from ‘Mme Chrysanthème’? Gosh, this is the time everyone needs to hear ‘Awaiting You’! Oh, we’re by the water, we should do ‘J’attends un navire’!” The result is that my light repast is more like a five-course meal catered by Lutèce.
NYFOS@North Fork: Day 4
Thursday is the last day I can really work on the songs and push the cast to take risks. On Friday our water breaks as we do our first work-through. Reassurance is the name of the game. On Saturday, contractions start as we have our dress rehearsal. We retreat to our corners. And we deliver the baby on Sunday.
NYFOS@North Fork: Day 3
Unlike some coaches I’ve observed, I don’t tend to start my work by manipulating the surface of the music. Sure, I can be a maniac on the first day about language, because those kinds of errors do need to be nipped in the bud. They take days to repair. But I try not to pick away at musical minutia at the beginning.