A better day - 7/9

7/20 -
It appears that Oxford is now letting me post!  Not quite sure what was preventing my earlier posts.
Indeed, July 9 was much better.  The first conducting session was a taking apart of all my conducting structures internally and externally.  I cried but I also realized that I had to get to the extreme fundamentals and it doesn't include conducting patterns! :-)


Some of my notes from that day include:

1. When you pull music from context, you pull it out by its roots.
   This is a difficult one because, in the case of chant, we are not monastics.  We are not the ones, as James Whitbourn said, who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of a monastic life. How do we contextualize something of which we are NOT a part?  Of a time that is different from ours?  We have to seek the universal, the timelessness, the eternity of the music. We will not always understand, but we can bring our imagination and our humanity to it!
2. Worry pulls attention to that which you are worried about. Are you expecting something to go wrong?  When it goes wrong, do you try to fix it?  Most often you will make it worse.  Encourage the singers, look beyond the elements that worry you.  Trust them to fix it.
3. Stay in the music.This is a corollary to the worry.  Don't let incidents pull you out of the music, as it disconnects you very quickly!
4. Get out of the way of the music; let it carry you.
5. Do not manipulate the sound; it is a cheap trick and makes the music dishonest.
6. Let go.

Music is Magic.

Music is Magic!  The tenor, Ian Bostridge, wrote his Oxford thesis, "Witchcraft and its Transformations" on choral music coming on the scene when witchcraft faded away . . . and that music has acquired witchcraft's power.  There is a copy at San Jose State Library that I will have to check it out. 

Today's lectures were interesting. The first one, given by the president of the college was listed as "Finding Quietness and preparation," but was really about the history of the college and the Oxford movement of the the 19th and early 20th century, with the music provided by the men and boys.

The second, "Sound as teacher," given by James Jordan and was on the role of the conductor ala Parker Palmer, "be yourself."

There is an intellectual seduction that occurs here, that makes you glad that you have the time to study and go deep. There is the seduction of tradition. But it is a seduction.  I mentioned it briefly to my friend Ruth, an Oxford grad, yesterday.   (The evening bells are ringing right now).  One can find with the seduction an abandonment of the self . . . which is not healthy. 

First session conducting

It was only ten minutes, but it was a long 10 minutes!  Working with very good singers in a very reverberant space was a bit intimidating, and I must confess, I "overconducted" wanting to indicate every nuance. 

The singers were tolerant and my mentor as well.  Time to strip everything down to basics and get some coaching on the other pieces before I conduct it publicly. 

This is what I came here to do . . . so it was a good day!

Beautiful music! Friendly musicians!

Today, we had the opportunity to hear all the music being conducted by our two teachers/mentors.  The music was beautiful and some of it quite interesting, such as a piece from a "cantata" about the Christmas Eve transmission from Apollo 8, which was the mission with the "earth rise" photo. The composer, Kile Smith, also used some writing of the medieval music theorist Boethius.  The piece is called "The Stars Shine" and it is from The Consolation of Apollo.  Here's a link to hear another piece from the larger work. 

Our job today was to observe our professors as they conducted the literature that we are to conduct.  One conductor's conducting (James Jordan's) is very similar to my own the other's (James Whitbourn's) was very different.  It was Mr. Whitbourn who conducted my pieces and my conception of both of them are very different from his, particularly tempi!  This will be a wonderful opportunity to discuss our differences!

St. Stephen's House is growing on me, although it is an amalgam of several different buildings, creating a confusing warren of hallways and doorways.  I "remember" my way from the showers and bathrooms by following the fire exit signs! St. Stephen's is one of 44 colleges at Oxford. It is the smallest and also only offers studies in theology and education, unlike the other larger colleges.

We were in the chapel and the monastery church today.  My phone was low on power so only got a few pictures today, and a recording of the warm-ups. 

The architect of the churches, cloisters, and chapels was George Frederick Bodley, one responsible for the resurgence of Gothic Architecture, and who also designed the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  He also submitted a design for Grace in San Francisco, but his design did not "win."

Part of St. Stephen's is a former monastery, with a monastic church and two chapels.  The walk to the church and one of the chapels is via the cloisters:

This is where I'm going to do my hanging out, doing my walking meditation.  It is so clean . . . so clear, so psychically pure. 

The altar in the church has a rood screen, something not often encountered in the United States:

Although you don't see much of the screen in this picture, it is very beautiful. I will post another one later.

In the church are also several St. Georges.  I will need to retake the St. George, though because you cannot see the dragon very well in my picture, and the dragon is the best part!


The Williamson Singers are wonderful, but a young group.  Many were jet-lagged today, too.  It will be a privilege to work with them.  They have a pure, but not a European pure sound, there is still some "American" color in their sound, which I am happy to report!  All the singers have marvelous resonance, and there was only one soprano voice today that was a little brighter than the others.

I am deeply moved by the friendliness of everyone here.  There is a wide variety of conductors, some college/university, some community, some secondary, some church, and one gal who is a 1st and 2nd grade choir director.

I have some reading to do tonight, so, I need to end here tonight



 

First glimpse at St. Stephen's House

On Marston Street

the dining room

the stairs to my room

My room at 5 am

Monday's travels - now that I am awake!

Good morning!  Where I am at UTC or GMT!  How cool is that! I'm in the place around which modern time (since 1960) revolves, although GMT has been around for much longer and we have St. Benedict (c. 480 - 543) to thank for the Offices or Hours! 

Gratitudes:

• For my daughter Sarah, for reminding me on our Saturday conversation to keep open to what people have to offer.  Keeping open also keeps us curious.
• For the restorative power of sleep
• For Chinese medicine and jet-lag herbs (called Xiao Chai Hu Tang Wan)
• For the best French Fries I've ever had 
• For the morning birds which have just awoken outside my window - Now how do I post these little sound files?
• For smaller airline  seats where my feet touch the floor and my head is not forced forward by the "misplacement" of the head rest

So yesterday's very brief post was about Angelica and the Guatemala City Lady.  This post is about some sundry observation:

In Houston airport, there was an oval shaped area with lots of "monitors" mounted around the edge of the oval.  I imagine this used to be where you would get your flight information, but it was rather creepy feeling.

I was also amused by a sign that says;
"Drilling for American energy with software."

My mind thought, "is that to soften the environmental impact of how we really drill?"

Other observations:

• Guys in first class were wearing black turtlenecks and jeans (In Houston . . . where it was hot . . . ) Is this some kind of "cultural" statement? Come on guys!!! Where is your "think [dress] different(ly)?"  (The loss of the adverb suffix "-ly" is another post for another time). Dapper, well dressed gentlemen, some in sport jackets (in Houston!), most in dress shirts were with the hoi poloi like me in Economy class.  Interesting that it is generally guys in first class.  We gals just don't make enough money or choose to spend it on other things? :-) 
• The summer light in England is like San Francisco's in the winter time, but even more diffuse and softer.  I like it!
• The countryside between London and Oxford is lushly green and beautiful.
• Whenever I travel, people are always asking me questions as though I know where I am and what I am doing, and . . . where they should be and what they should be doing. 
• English people are always apologizing, but we knew that already.
• When crossing the street, look right first!

Oh the people that you meet!

It is incredible the people you meet sometimes, even if you don't speak the same language!

Gratitudes: 

Safe, trip by plane and bus
Good tacos in Houston
Great fries in Oxford at Coco.
Someone to help me up the flight of stairs to my first floor room!

Here is Angelica from Chihuahua! It is her first trip out of Mexico and she is so excited! She does not speak English and she needed help with what the stewardesses were saying to her.  We a bit!  And she wrote me the sweetest note! (It says, "Much success at the University. It's the best! God bless you!"

I also met a free-lancing journalist who is working on an article for Al Zazeera. It is about the Guatamalan children brought to the United States (and reared in the U.S.) and what happess when they return to Guatamala.She was going by herself and loved her job!

I will have to fill you in on other details later as I am falling asleep at the keyboard here . . .

Before I leave

Am I excited?  YES!
There is a bit of excitement to go to a place that is probably more mythical in my mind than any other place:  England.  The literature itself is mythical:  Tolkien, Lewis, Carroll, Shelley, Wilde . . . so my mental conception of England probably requires quite a bit of deconstruction. I want to taste it, smell it, feel it, see it, hear it!  I want to know what place it has in my life and the lives of others.  What spirits or guides will I find there?  St. Frideswide, what do you have to say to me?  What serendipity will I encounter?

GRATITUDE:
I am grateful for the graciousness of so many people who are making this trip to England possible:

• the Vegesna Family for setting up the Grants for teachers to do more with their professional development
• the Grant committee for considering and choosing my application
• Westminster Choir College/Oxford University/St. Stephen's House for the Choral Institute
• the two main teachers I will be working with: James Jordan and James Whitbourn
• Dr. Ruth Meyer, whose stories of Oxford and Coventry have been an inspiration
• my students who challenge me to greater depths of inner knowledge
• my colleagues, of whom there are many, but a special acknowledgement of David Xiques and Will Skaff
• the people I love the most in my life:  David Harrison, whose perpetual encouragement and whole-hearted support means more than he might ever imagine; my kids, Sarah and Nathan, who love me unconditionally and support me with their love

When the grant opportunity was announced, the inaugural year is this year, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity but had nothing in mind.  The very next day, I received the announcement of the Choral Institute.  It felt right, and even though I had to make a commitment to the Institute  before the Grants were announced, I went ahead and made that commitment to attend. 

OTHER FEELINGS:
There has been a lot of anxiety around going, not that I doubt my abilities to really dig in musically, but that my conducting instruction has been so meager.  But that is why I need to go . . . to be better, more effective, in my craft.  My primary "school" has been the numerous conductors I've worked with in my adult life.  There are some that are spectacular: Michael Tilson Thomas is among my favorites because he is so clear, and also follows the spirit of the music in performance, making each performance new. There are some, however,  that I hope never to work with again (and probably won't!) 

PREPARATION OF PIECES:
The preparation has been a bit daunting.  The reading required doing physical exercises, and I still am not comfortable with all the new ways of doing things . . . I'm directionally challenged and require repetition (a lot of it) before I can do something in physical space with even a modicum of grace.

The music came much later than anyone expected.  I will be finishing my analysis on the airplane of my second piece, hoping that the JSTOR articles that I downloaded will have enough for me to put together a historical  narrative of sufficient scope.

Both my composers are not deeply documented, either in books or journals, so the bulk of my documents are web-sites, that our librarians would say are "commercial, therefore questionable,"
or reviews of recordings which often are more about the quality of the recording than the music.   However, I think my bibliographies will be acceptable. 

WHITBOURN:  Of one that is so fair and bright
The two pieces for which I am responsible are marvelous pieces.  Of one that is so fair and bright, that the composer, James Whitbourn, says is in locrian mode, beckoned to a place of introspection: questioning why he chose the Victorian version of a Medieval prayer; finding the text to be an intercessory prayer that identified with the one about whom they are interceding before the Blessed Virgin, and the complete release of the burden; and not finding the piece to be locrian but rather phrygian with half cadences. The last is most likely a pedantic discussion, but I really am curious why he sees it as locrian. 

DURUFLÉ: Tantum Ergo

The second piece is by Maurice Duruflé, Tantum Ergo from the Quatre Motets. Duruflé's signature is the referral to Gregorian Chant in his pieces, and this one directly quotes in the soprano line and at a two beat remove from the soprano almost directly quotes in the tenor line, with slight embellishments.  The alto and bass are in counterpoint and there is almost a dissonance occurring on every beat, yet the contrapuntal writing is so skillful that the effect is not of chaotic dissonance but masterful resolution of the dissonances. 

I hope to be posting videos of my own conducting of these works . . . I hear them so differently than the recordings linked above!