In my last post, I wrote about the upcoming 65th anniversary of Compline which will be celebrated at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle after 65 years of weekly services . I couldn’t help but think all of that was due to the work of one man, namely Peter R. Hallock, our former business partner of… Read More Love, prh
The first time I heard the word “Compline” was when I was a music student at the University of Southern California and learned about the Daily Offices in Music History 101. That was more than fifty years ago! The Lutheran Church of Honolulu started its own Compline Service modeled after the one in Seattle on… Read More 65 years of Compline
Those eleven minutes of terror happened in tonight’s First Mondays concert, “La camera y la chiesa,” in which violinist Darel Stark and I played the “Violin Sonata in G minor” by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. I’m not even sure I took a breath during that work! The piece begins at about 33 minutes and 26… Read More 11 minutes of terror!
Question: How many people does it take to play a trio sonata? Answer: 4 Huh? I thought a trio meant 3! Nope! That’s because the bass line requires two players, in this case, a cello plus a keyboard instrument to fill out the harmonies (harpsichord or organ). Here’s what Brittanica says on the subject: Trio… Read More When 3=4
Yesterday the Early Music Hawaii board made the difficult decision to postpone the September 11th all-Josquin concert. Here is the message from Ian Capps, president of Early Music Hawaii: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT Dear Lovers of Early Music: Given the sudden and serious developments in COVID infections here and the uncertainty of whether gatherings will be further… Read More Blame the delta variant
It’s easy to categorize organists as natural multi-taskers. After all, in order to play a fugue, for example, you have to be able to play and hear every single voice phrased and articulated simultaneously. That means that you are hearing and playing at least four melodies at the same time, all starting at different time… Read More The perils of multi-tasking
In the last week, I have stepped up my practice for two concerts I’m playing soon. September 6, First Mondays Concert. “La Camera e la Chiesa”, 7:00 pm, Music by Antonio Lotti, J. S. Bach, Henry Purcell, C.P.E. Bach and Arcangelo Corelli. In addition to myself on organ and harpsichord, I will be joined by… Read More Every … single … note!
Yesterday I sent out an email on behalf of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists. RIP Edward Kurtz News has been received that former Hawaii AGO member, Edward Kurtz, passed peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, August 19, 2021 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Edward had been in ill health. He had retired young due to… Read More Because of Ed …
One way my world has opened up recently has been through my Spanish classes. That is to say, I’ve met a lot of non-musicians in my Spanish classes who don’t know the difference between keyboard instruments. Like, what’s the difference between an organ and a piano? What’s a harpsichord? If you can play the piano,… Read More The harpsichord (el clavecín)
Today would have been Edith Ho’s 89th birthday. Everybody had an “Edith Ho” story, and in addition to what I wrote on the day of her passing, “A giant in church music,” not only did Edith send me the obituary she had written several years ago, she also left instructions for her Requiem. A 22-voice… Read More Happy heavenly birthday, Edith!