Music for December 15

I put Veni Emmanuel, Dona Nobis Pacem, and my trill exercise on the play list for December 15. If you need parts, follow the links on the MMO schedule page.

Wow

At Guitar Center today (11/30) they are selling new Rogue brand mandolins for $39.99. 

IMSLP: free classical scores

Here is a link to thousands of free classical scores, all in the public domain:

http://imslp.org/

which stands for International Music Score Library Project.  Lots of useful stuff here.

Guitar-Cello Concert Nov 19 St Thomas University (St Paul)

If anyone wants advice about parking, I'll do my best to be helpful (or you can look for a map at http://www.stthomas.edu/)

-Ray: ray.e.artz@gmail.com, 612-616-0788

Arpeggione Duo to present guitar and cello 10^th

anniversary concert Nov. 19 at St. Thomas library

Christopher Kachian and Thomas Schönberg will perform at the O’Shaughnessy-Fry Library Center. It’s free and all are welcome.

St. Paul, Minn.  --  The Arpeggione Duo of guitarist Dr. Christopher Kachian and cellist Dr. Thomas Schönberg will perform a 7 p.m. concert Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Great Hall, located on the second floor of O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center on the St. Paul campus of the University of St. Thomas.

The duo’s 10^th anniversary concert is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served. For information call(651) 962-5014.

They will perform the French Suite in G major by J.S. Bach, another French suite by Gabriel Faure and Maurice Ravel, and Hello Cello by Claude Gagnon. The duo also will premier a new work they commissioned: Campfire Songsby Michael Karmon.

The evening’s program is the same one the duo will perform on a November concert tour in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

Schönberg and Kachian, who are educators as well as performers, formed the Arpeggione Duo after meeting at the Guitar Festival of Sollentuna, Sweden, in 2004.  They tour annually and have recorded four albums.

Schönberg is a native of Sweden and was accepted to the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm at age 13.  He received his doctorate at the University of Hartford, Conn., and is dean of the Lidingo School of Music in Sweden. He performs throughout Europe, Asia and the United States on a cello made around 1715 by Guarneri filius.

Kachian, whose doctorate is from the University of Minnesota, heads the Guitar Studies Program at St. Thomas and in 2011 was inducted into the renowned Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. A champion of new music, he has commissioned and premiered more than 40 works for guitar. He has given more than 500 performances in Japan, China, Africa, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru and throughout Europe and North America.

Kachian is a founding member of the Society for the Affectation of Baroque Music and also plays the blues harmonica.

Contacts: Jim Winterer, News Service

(651) 962-6404  jcwinterer@stthomas.edu
Julie Kimlinger, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center

(651) 962-5014  jakimlinger@stthomas.edu

The Arpeggione Duo

The Arpeggione Duo presents a new and rare sound, that of two of the most ancient string instruments, the cello and the guitar.

The Arpeggione Duo marries the old with the new in its programs of music written in the 17th century to the present day. They specialize in elegant and evocative concert renditions and interpretations of folkloric musics of the world. Melding art music with the “music of the people” comprises the conviction of the Arpeggione Duo: to render the music of all composers, be they ancient or a in a premiere of a commission, accessible and to synchronize it all into an enjoyable event.

Both performers have decades-long world touring experience on every continent, hold doctorates in their instruments and are long time pedagogues but this is not their persona. Thomas and Chris are performers who project meaning by “narrating” with their approach to interpretation. Audiences regularly comment on how engaged they are with both the performance and the performers. 

July 7 upstairs

We'll be rehearsing upstairs on July 7. When you go in the front door, go up the stairway and assemble in the large room upstairs. Another group will be in the room we usually use.

Free Rene Izquierdo In Concert Friday May 9

Many of you may recall Rene from the 2013 CMSA convention in Minneapolis.  Here's an opportunity to take in a free concert at the UofM.

5-6pm at the Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall - Ferguson Hall

More info here: https://events.umn.edu/031456

Free Guitar Concert: Tony Hauser at St. Thomas, May 16

Brady auditorium is in

Brady Educational Center (BEC), St Thomas Univ.

2115 Summit Ave, St.Paul, MN 55105

type in Brady Educational Center or BEC in the upper left corner app

http://webapp.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/

Inexpensive parking available at Anderson Ramp

New Horizons to play Lilacs Suite

New Horizons String Orchestra is a student ensemble based at MacPhail Center for the Arts. The group will be playing Sherry Ladig's Lilacs Suite, with Stu Janis on the hammered dulcimer. These are the dates I got from Stu:

1. Thursday, April 24, 8:00 pm at Becketwood, 4300 West River Rd., Mpls.
2. Saturday, May 3, 2:00 at Jones-Harrison, 3700 Cedar Lake Ave., Mpls.
3. Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 at MacPhail Antonello Hall, 501 S. 2nd St., Mpls.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida guitar

I got some blank looks Monday when I mentioned Erik Brann's scraping guitar sound on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. You can hear at 14:02-14:10 here:
http://youtu.be/UIVe-rZBcm4?t=14m1s

Another Guitar Society concert

The Minnesota Guitar Society welcomes Oud master Simon Shaheen for a Sundin Hall concert beginning at 8:00 pm. Simon will be joined by Twin Cities percussionist Tim O'Keefe. 
Ticket prices are $22 general admission, $17 for MGS members and seniors, and $10 for students

Call 612-677-1151 to reserve, or buy tickets on-line at http://www.mnguitar.org/

Here's a youtube sample of Simon's work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEuQDRQ2e7Q

Favorite Mandolin Recordings

I was thinning out some files on my computer and came across this list. I put it together about 10 years back and can't remember why. It might have been for some thread going around on MandoCafe. Anyway, I'd be interested in seeing similar lists from others.

Five of my Favorite Mandolin Recordings

Its hard to limit my favorite recordings to five. With a couple exceptions, my listing isn’t necessarily of recordings that feature the mandolin, but more of recordings that stick in my memory because they were where I first heard the mandolin being used in a particular style.

John Hartford – Aereo-Plain (1971) and Morning Bugle (1972)
Yes this is two recordings but I didn’t want to leave out either. Norman Blake played mandolin on both recordings and Hartford also played on Morning Bugle. On Aereo-Plain Blake provides a beautiful accompaniment to the ballad “The First Girl I Ever Loved”. Adding texture and emotion to a song like this remains one of my favorite uses of the mandolin. “My Rag” on Morning Bugle is typical Hartford fun with him calling out the chord changes while he bounces through a great little rag.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle be Unbroken (1972)
Like many of my generation, this was the first time I gave bluegrass music a serious listen. And with the likes of Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Merle Travis and Vasser Clements I could not have asked for a better introduction to the genre. The mandolin playing is by the NGDB’s Les Thompson who I don’t think had been playing the mando for very long prior to this recording. He had his work cut out for him playing with all those great players and he did a great job of playing in the traditional style. He takes some nice breaks including one on my favorite all time fiddle tune “Lonesome Fiddle Blues”.

David Grisman – Hot Dawg (1979)
Swinging! Whoda thunk that an instrument mostly heard playing country could swing with the likes of Stephan Grappelli? While this was his second recording of “Dawg” music, it was my introduction to the style and it absolutely blew me away! It also introduced me to the playing of Tony Rice, Mike Marshall, and Darrell Anger. All great musicians who would become regular collaborators with Grisman.

Kenneth “Jethro” Burns – Swing Low, Sweet Mandolin (1994)
I remember seeing Homer and Jethro on TV as a kid, but I never really gave Jethro a serious listen until I started picking the mandolin in the 90s. This is one of the last recordings Jethro made and it shows him still enjoying playing as much as ever. He is accompanied by the very swinging guitar of Don Stiernberg.

Jorma Kaukonen – Blue Country Heart (2002)
Kaukonen, guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, recorded this CD of old country blues tunes with the hottest players of the day – Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Byron House, and Bela Fleck. This recording is great fun and Sam Bush’s mando and fiddle playing adds some fresh new ideas to these old tunes. Sam shows great restraint and seems content not being featured. Check out his simple bouncy rhythm playing on “Bread Line Blues” and listen to how he sets the grove for the tune.

Preliminary set list for spring concerts

Evolution Rag
Here, There, and Everywhere
This Boy
For J. L.
Antonina
The Lilacs Suite
Jesse Polka
Oblivion
Concerto alla Rustica
Je te veux
Plink, Plank, Plunk!
Silver Ripples

Guitar recital Friday March 7 at Hamline

I'm going, how about you?

"Don't miss next Friday's Sundin Hall concert by up and coming virtuoso Colin Davin. The concert starts at 8:00 pm and will feature an excellent and varied program with works by J.S. Bach, Joan Tower, Johann Kaspar Mertz, Erin Rogers, Franz Schubert and Benjamin Britten.

Ticket prices are the usual $22 general admission and $17 for MGS members and seniors, but for this concert only:

Students are FREE!

Call 612-677-1151 to reserve, or buy tickets on-line at http://www.mnguitar.org/"

Dave

Tuner batteries bargain

3-volt CR2032 lithium batteries, which a lot of tuners use, are 49 cents each at Micro Center, the computer store in St. Louis Park.

Russisches Zigeunerlied tremolo

This post summarizes our use of tremolo in Russisches Zigeunerlied:

1-8: no tremolo
9-15: tremolo all notes
16-30: no tremolo
31-32: m1, m2, mandola tremolo quarter and dotted quarter
33-38: no tremolo
39-40: tremolo all notes
41-47: no tremolo
48: tremolo quarter notes
49-55: no tremolo
56-61: tremolo quarter notes
62-78: no tremolo
79-89: tremolo half notes
90-103: no tremolo
104-105: m1, m2, mandola tremolo quarter and dotted quarter
106-117: no tremolo
118: mandola tremolo last two eighths
119-126: no tremolo
127-130: tremolo all notes
131-136: no tremolo
137-end: play triple-beamed halves as double-stop tremolo, mandocello tremolo half notes.

Feb 3 info

We'll be at the Loring Pasta Bar 327 14th Ave SE, Minneapolis.
Please arrive between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. and wear "business casual" clothing.
The Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra will play around 7:00. We'll play

• Swimming Down the Stars
• The Bird in the Lilacs
• Equity
• Jesse Polka

Please take Concerto alla Rustica as well, in case we need another selection.
Valet parking is available for a fee.

Guitar and Organ Baroque: includes music originally composed for mandolin!! Feb 8

Mandolin Orchestra friends,

Sorry about the earlier mixup regarding a concert that actually happened last year!  This one is different: no cello, but guitar and organ.  Still highly recommended: I expect it will be terrific music and great fun!  Here's a link to campus maps:  https://www.stthomas.edu/media/campusmaps/stpaul2Dalpha.pdf .  Parking at Anderson Parking Facility (#71 on map) is guaranteed to be safe.  If I can find out anything about parking in the closer parking lots in the evening, I'll post info.

Ray Artz

News From the University of St. Thomas

For immediate release: Jan. 21, 2014

Contacts: Chris Kachian, St. Thomas Guitar Program
(651) 962-5858 and cskachian@stthomas.edu<mailto:cskachian@stthomas.edu>
Jim Winterer, St. Thomas media relations
(651) 962-6404 and jcwinterer@stthomas.edu<mailto:jcwinterer@stthomas.edu>

St. Thomas baroque group to open season Feb 8 with works
written by three great composers ‘in their callow youth’

The 15th anniversary free concert in St. Mary’s Chapel is presented by the Society for the Doctrinal Affectation of Baroque Music.

St. Paul, Minn. – The Society for the Doctrinal Affectation of Baroque Music opens its 2014 season with a free concert at 8PM, Sat Beb 8, in St. Mary’s Chapel, located on the far-western end of Summit Avenue on the campus of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas.

The 15th annual concert features the youthful music of three great composers: Bach, Haydn and Beethoven. Works will include the rarely heard Beethoven mandolin pieces composed in the thrall of affection for a patroness; Haydn’s early masterful effort at the string quartet form, here in a world-premiere arrangement for guitar and piano; and recently discovered organ chorales of the teenage Bach.

Musicians are David Jenkins, organist and pianist, and Christopher Kachian, guitarist. Jenkins is liturgical music director at the School of Divinity and teaches organ for the university’s Music Department. Kachian is professor of music at the university.

A third society member, St. Thomas art historian Michelle Nordtorp-Madson, will present minilectures, with slides, about art from the Baroque period in Europe.

The society’s program notes explain that it “is dedicated to stylish performances of early musical artifacts with nonconventional instrumentation. The society’s artistic mission is to arouse the elevated passions of modern audiences through elegant interpretations informed by the latest in historical discovery.”

The concert is co-sponsored by the School of Divinity and the university’s Art History and Music departments. More information about the society is available at (651) 962-5858.

Added by Ray Artz 31 Jan: Campus map: https://www.stthomas.edu/media/campusmaps/stpaul2Dalpha.pdf
Parking is available at the Anderson Parking Facility (normally around $2 per hour, proabably free on the weekend).  There are surface lots nearer the concert.  Parking restrictions there might not be enforced the niight of the concert, but there's no guarantee. (If I learn more, I'll re-post.)  Free on-street parking might be available on Summit Ave.

CHRIS KACHIAN, GUITAR

DAVID JENKINS, ORGAN and PIANO

MICHELLE NORDTORP-MADSON, ART HISTORIAN

THE SOCIETY FOR THE DOCTRINAL AFFECTATION

OF BAROQUE MUSIC IS DEDICATED TO STYLISH PERFORMANCES

OF EARLY MUSICAL ARTIFACTS

WITH NON-CONVENTIONAL INSTRUMENTATION.

THE SOCIETY’S ARTISTIC MISSION

IS TO AROUSE THE ELEVATED PASSIONS OF MODERN AUDIENCES

THROUGH ELEGANT INTERPRETATIONS

INFORMED BY THE LATEST IN HISTORICAL DISCOVERY.

THE SOCIETY SUBMITS

FOR YOUR WORTHY INTELLECTUAL ENTERTAINMENT

A PERFORMANCE OF YOUTHFUL MUSIC BY BACH,

HAYDN AND BEETHOVEN.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2014

8:00 P.M.

ST. MARY’S CHAPEL

THE SAINT PAUL SEMINARY

UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

ORGAN CHORALES OF BACH, CHAMBER MUSIC BY HAYDN AND BEETHOVEN

ALL FOR YOUR GRACIOUS REPAST

ADMISSION, AS ALWAYS, IS FREE

CONTACT: (651) 962-5858

Adult practice technique - very interesting

Play slower to play faster and more accurately!!!

Music for February 3 update

Last week I announced these selections for the February 3 party:

Swimming Down the Stars
The Bird in the Lilacs (Lilacs Suite I)
Equity
Jesse Polka.

Monday night, it sounded like Jesse Polka might not be ready for performance. We'll play it again on January 27. If Jesse isn't ready, we'll play Vivaldi's Concerto alla Rusta at the party instead, giving us this set list:

The Bird in the Lilacs
Equity
Concerto alla Rustica
Swimming Down the Stars.

World-class Guitar/Cello Concert: Complete mixup!!!

Ignore the earlier post -- it was an accidental repost from 2013!  I will repost the correct info for a Baroque concert Feb 8.  Someone (not me, as it happens) made a cut-and-paste error!  As far as I know, there is no Arpeeggione Duo concert currently scheduled for April 2014.

Music for February 3

These are the MMO selections for the party on February 3:

Swimming Down the Stars
The Bird in the Lilacs (Lilacs Suite I)
Equity
Jesse Polka

Set list for January 12

This is the set list for our January 12 concert at Edinborough Park:

• Evolution Rag
• Here, There, and Everywhere
• This Boy
• For J. L.
• Lilacs Suite
• Oblivion
• Little Rock Getaway
• Concerto Alla Rustica
• Canzonetta
• Plink, Plank, Plunk!
• Young America
• Poets in Time 

Driving directions are on the offical set list.
Please be ready for a sound check at 6:30.
Microphone suppliers, please have your equipment on stage by 6:00.