Some people these days spend a lot of time thinking about what they want their memorial service to be like. My mother, Dorothy Au, spent the last year or so deciding what she wanted in the way of music, food and arrangements down the last detail, even though she was reasonably in good health until… Read More Music for the End
This is the post that I knew one day would have to be written. I just didn’t know it would be today. I had already made plans to fly to California to be with our son, Stephen, as he was to undergo gall bladder surgery. This morning, though, I received a call from my brother,… Read More Dorothy Chiu Au, 1917-2011
The phrase “letting the cat out of the bag” apparently dates from the “quaint days of the English country fair,” according to John Collins of the Writers Block web resource. It means to “reveal a secret, a plot, or a subterfuge of some kind,” and originated from the practice of switching plump suckling pigs for… Read More The cat is out of the bag
Over the weekend, Joey Fala and I have been working on the repertoire which will be performed at the July 9th PipeWorks, the educational outreach program of the American Guild of Organists, which introduces the pipe organ to young people. Joey asked me to play something “flashy,” so I have decided to play Marcel Dupré’s… Read More Marcel Dupré and his house organ
Hey! I thought this was supposed to be a blog about music! Well, keep reading and you’ll see the connection. Last night Carl and I happened upon a PBS program called “Need to Know” and the segment detailed two couples, one of whom has been married for 63 years and the other 49. The premise… Read More The secret of a long life and a happy marriage
Ever since we returned home from Boston, I have been working with Joey Fala on the PipeWorks event, to be held on Saturday, July 9th starting at 11 am. Please check out my posting, “From generation to generation,” on the details of the July 9th program. Joey says most of us organists “got in through… Read More An Open House for the Pipe Organ
This Sunday, June 26th, John Alexander will be away attending a niece’s graduation and he asked Carl to conduct the 8 am ensemble. That means you’ll have to put up with me playing the piano. Sorry! On the schedule will be the Alleluia Mass, written by the folk duo, The Braeded Chord aka Sharon Dennis… Read More Alleluia Mass this Sunday
We have been so fortunate to be at the Boston Early Music Festival — it is presented in odd-numbered years and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to hear the best of the best in early music. I dare say that at this particular festival every single concert is over the top… Read More Sharing BEMF with the world
Surely the crown jewel of the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival was the opera production of “Niobe, Regina di Tebe (Niobe, Queen of Thebes)” by Agostino Steffani (1654-1728). This four-hour Baroque opera was absolutely fantastic in every possible way — the music, EVERY SINGLE singer, the period orchestra, the costumes, the sets, the acting, the… Read More The crown jewel
Today is Trinity Sunday and we attended the High Mass at the Church of the Advent in Boston, where Edith Ho was the organist and choirmaster for 30 years. The church has a reputation for its stellar music program and in Carl’s opinion, is one of the pinnacles of church music in North America. The… Read More Trinity at Church of the Advent