Two Passions have been scheduled for this year’s Three Choirs Festival, Bach’s St. John Passion and the other by the little-known composer, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, called Die leidende und am Creutz sterbende Liebe Jesu. In the morning we attended a most interesting lecture by Dr. Paul Ellison titled “A Passion to Rival Bach’s?” I was… Read More In the presence of greatness
[Yesterday I started to share Carl Crosier’s 2008 article from Cross Accent, the journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, “A Personal Journey to the Bach Passions.” Here’s the second part.] “Although the St. Matthew Passion had been presented several times before in Honolulu, it had only been sung in English, in an adapted… Read More St. Matthew Passion: Part Two
I guess it’s only in America that going to a concert and getting a program is a given. After all, the purpose of a concert program is to know what is coming next. It’s nice to read program notes about the music you’re hearing and knowing how many songs comprise a set is important to… Read More No programs? No problem!
I changed my Facebook cover photo as you can see above, and a number of people made comments about my Christmas tablescape, which is different every year. In the years that my husband and I were in church music, in addition to making the music, we also gave a lot of parties. In fact, the first… Read More An early Christmas miracle
It all started with an inquiry to my Ionian Arts email account last January 28th, 2016: Dear Mrs. Crosier, I found your email address on the Ionian Arts website. I hope it is O.K. to contact you. My wife and I may be moving from Cape Cod MA to Honolulu in the coming months and I am trying… Read More Aloha and Welcome, Todd and Jennifer!
You’ll never believe it, but our tradition of inviting all of our 35th floor neighbors to a holiday party began with the St. John Passion in 2004. Carl Crosier always liked to give a party after a big performance, and even though we had just moved into our building and didn’t have any area carpets… Read More It started with the St. John Passion
Today, Jason Anderson posted James Weaver‘s obituary from the WYDaily.com, the local newspaper from Williamsburg, VA. You may recall from my last post about necrology, that Jim’s name was the last name read Sunday night at Compline, and that his death was sudden and unexpected. You can read the complete obituary by clicking here, but what jumped… Read More Lives touched by others
In the last few days, we have received scores of emails, text messages, cards and letters from colleagues, former choristers, friends and family from all over the country as my husband, Carl Crosier, enters hospice care. We would like to express our thanks that we travel not alone — but with the prayers, love and support… Read More With grateful hearts
No, this time we’re not getting ready to perform Bach, this week we are getting ready to listen to Bach. Carl and I are in the Pacific Northwest visiting family and friends and have been listening to Gustav Leonhardt‘s recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion while we have been driving around in the car. On… Read More Getting ready for Bach
Today after church, one of our ushers, Chuck Pearson, handed me the obituary of Gustav Leonhardt (1928-2012), as he thought I might be interested in it. Little did he know that Leonhardt had an indirect influence on the LCH music program through his many recordings. In 1971 Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt undertook a massive project… Read More Gustav Leonhardt, early music pioneer