Aside from a chair falling over in between movements, last night’s opening performance of Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor was perfect in every way. Maestro Carl Crosier set the pace with a grand opening Kyrie followed by a series of fast, joyful choruses contrasted with expressive solos and duets. The final Dona nobis pacem… Read More A new high
Hey, I bet you didn’t know what “friggatriskaidekaphobia” was —right? It’s “fear of Friday the 13th !” Today is Friday, May 13, and tonight is the opening night of Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. It’s Carl Crosier’s “swan song,” if you will, his final concerts as Cantor after 38… Read More No “friggatriskaidekaphobia” for us!
Tonight Carl and I hosted a reception for the patrons of the Bach B-Minor Mass and the Abendmusiken Concerts—individuals and organizations who have given contributions of $1,000 or more. I guess it was Carl who came up with the name “Bach Crest Circle.” Five years ago, Carl said he would have fixed all the food… Read More Bach Crest Circle
Those were Carl’s words at the end of tonight’s dress rehearsal for the Bach Mass in B Minor. Tonight was the first time we went straight through the piece, from beginning to end, and did not stop except where we will have an intermission in the concert. Carl got so excited, though, in the final… Read More We did it!
Those were Carl’s words after the rehearsal with the orchestra tonight. “The orchestra is finally responding to me, and is getting into the style.” Tonight we worked primarily on Part II, beginning with the Credo. Everything seemed a little easier tonight. Even the sopranos popped their high Bs with ease. Carl said, “There are… Read More “Finally settling in”
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Noe Tanigawa had interviewed Carl Crosier and recorded part of the orchestra rehearsal last night for a “sound bite.” The story will air on Hawaii Public Radio on Friday, May 13th. Turn on your radio on Friday to: 88.1 FM Friday 7:30am and 4:30pm, or 89.3 FM between 8-9 and… Read More Thank you, Hawaii Public Radio!
We didn’t get home last night until 11 pm from transforming the church into a concert hall, so it was pretty hard getting up this morning at our usual 5 am. We had to make one more airport run to pick up bass David Newman, who flew in from Washington, DC. Carl has contracted David… Read More David Newman and the first orchestra rehearsal
On Sunday after the 10:30 am service, we began the transformation of the church into a concert hall. The first step was to bring the extra platforms down from over the Board Room, and to move the continuo organ off the elevated floor. Yes, that means I will not be playing the big organ and… Read More Bach Week begins
Our historic performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor are only a week away, and I thought I’d give you some instructions and explain our personalized system of ticketing. First of all, I would like to encourage everyone to arrive early so that you’re not looking for parking at the last moment. We are asking… Read More Your program is your ticket
I found an interesting article today, on the health benefits of singing in a choir. The article was written by a health educator and a music professor, and is called “Choral Singing Beneficial for Body and Soul.” It was published by the England’s Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. “Singers reported… Read More Music IS medicine