Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op.44

I was supposed to be looking up music for my chamber group, but I got a bit sidetracked...

Here is the first movement of one of my favorite piano quintets. 

I love the dialog between cello and viola.

Weekly Waltz: Waldteufel

"Skater's Waltz"

or

"The Ice Skaters"

or 

"Les Patineurs"

How can you stay cranky while listening to this? 

Feel free to waltz around with your broom.

I won't watch,

mostly because I'll be busy waltzing with my broom. 

Cheers!

Holberg Suite, Opus 40: Praeludium

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tonight I played a game of "Name That Musical Excerpt" with my computer. It's not as easy as "Name That Movie" or "Name That Book" since I can't search Google for notation, pitch, or rhythms like I can search for words or quotes.  Silly me.

Nevertheless, I tried everything to identify the little excerpt that had been stuck in my mind (all day!). 

First I tried singing to the search bar: 

Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdah Bum-buhdahBum-buhdah:

DAHHHHHHH, dahhhhhhhh, daaaaahh duh (dahhh dooo)

dah dah daaaaaaaah daaaaaaah daaaaaaaaah duh (daaaaaah doo).

....

Fail. 

...

Then I searched for "famous orchestral pieces". Stravinsky's Rite of Spring popped up first.
....Erm...no....not exactly. At all. Nope.
"Really beautiful orchestral openings" didn't help much either.
Or,
"Opening rhythm consisting of Run-Pon-y Run-Pon-y."

...

Fail again.

...
My next search was for all the works composed by Gustav Holst.

Closer, but not quite.

...

And then I called my sister.

Me: "A.! Who composed this piece?" (repeat above Bum-buhdahs.)
A: "Ohhhhh...It sounds like----"*cshhhhhczzzzshhhhhhczzssshhh* (curse you, Finicky Connection!)
Me: "Like what??"
A: "You know, that piece by----"*cshhhhhczzzzshhhhhhczzssshhh*

Noooooooo.

Luckily, we still had the chat system.  (Curse and bless you, Computer-Technology.)

My sister suggested I try "Grieg", and she was right.

The "Praeludium" from the Holberg Suite, Opus 40. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Here are three different recordings:

the Piano version (original?),

the orchestral version,

and....saxaphones?!

It's fun to hear how the different combinations of instruments create

a unique mood for each rendition.

Enjoy!

...

 ...

 

Old Friends...

My dear friend Ellie is visiting me this week.

We spent our wee little-one days together in the New Mexican desert

learning violin, singing in choirs, and generally being very, very silly. 

 Ellie also suffers from the same kind of gastrointestinal problems that I have.

Partners in pain?

 (Circa 2008?)

~*~*~*~

We both tried being music majors (at different schools),

quit our attempt,

and are now re-attempting the arts again. 

(She's in theater and I'm in music.)

We used to improvise opera during long car rides.

Actually, we still do! 

Ellie is one of those sorts of people who can catch on and join in when I hum the first few measures of the Overture to Candide or Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

We had a jolly time making cymbal clashing noises.

(Go listen: Here and Here)

 

~*~*~*~

When I am with Ellie, I remember why I love music so much. 

We can enjoy music without the pressure of being perfect performers.

We can joke about violinists being divas,

because we have both played violin,

and I'm sure we have both been divas.

(We would love to eat bon bons from a silver tray. At least I would...)

Yesterday we sat on the drive way and talked about babies,

because girls sometimes need to talk about babies. 

Then we came inside and ate a late night snack.

 

~*~*~*~

Thank you, New Mexico and the M. Family, for sharing your daughter with me!

I promise that we will have fun. :)

 

Wheeeeeee!

Have you ever experienced the immense relief and bliss that accompanies a decision well made? (Or in my case, finding a solution that works tremendously better than the current option.)

It's the kind of feeling that makes you want to jump about and run around and sing sing sing.

Hurrrrrrrrahhhh!!!

YES YES YES!

YIPEEEEEEEEE!!!

Whew!

Laaaadeeeedaaaaa!

Try this!

"I fixed the faucet!!!"

"I found my lost sock!!!!" (I wish!)

I HAVE TIME TO FINISH SCHOOL! 

I don't have to finish now,

at the school where I began,

with the same programs and majors.

I HAVE TIME TO BAKE COOKIES!!

I HAVE TIME TO BUILD A GARDEN BOX!!

Hooorahhoorahhorraaaaahhhhhooplahhoooorah!!!

Yes...

I'm a silly goose. 

But Sousa Marches are the best, so hopefully the piece is adequate payment for the abundance of exclamation marks and caps.

!!!!!

In Honor of The "American Sound"

~*~*~*~*~

What forms the American musical ethos?

Hint: It has nothing to do with Rebecca Black's "Friday". May good American music have nothing to do with this...song.

Amen.

Wikipedia, I ask you this: Must "Americana Music" be synonymous with "Country Music"? 

What makes the music of Aaron Copland sound so distinctively "American"?

Again, what is the "American" sound?

Brass? Why so much brass?

Sometimes Wikipedia is helpful: ...Don't kill me.

"The open, slowly changing harmonies of many of his [Copland's] works are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. ~*cough*courtesy of wikipedia*cough* 

Do you want to witness the vast American landscape? Try road-tripping across America. 

In fact, why not do it twice? 

You might appreciate Copland more if you do. ;-) 

You'll also appreciate fresh vegetables more than you ever thought you would. 

(But don't try to drive through Texas and New Mexico in one day. Bad, bad, bad idea. Never again.)

~*~*~*~*~*~

 In honor of today:

(please excuse the Space images.  I picked this recording because the of the sound quality. However, watch this video if you have time. James Levine! His epic conducting face.) 

Fanfare for the Common Man

(Composed by Aaron Copland)

Apparently this piece was inspired by a speech about "The Century of the Common Man" given by former vice president Henry A. Wallace. You can read the excerpt here if you are interested. I especially suggest it to all you Johnson House Sophomores. Yet whether or not you agree with his arguments, please, please spend some time listening to Aaron Copland's music. :D

In fact, go out and buy a CD that includes his Appalachian Spring*. Wake up early in the morning, pour yourself a cup of tea (toaster waffles are suggested, too), and listen to the entirety of this piece.

(*It's funny that Copland did not write this ballet/piece with the title in mind. In fact, the title came after the piece was composed. However it's hard not to think of Spring (the season) or springs (water) when listening to the piece. Why? Maybe the power of suggestion is too strong. Hmm.)

Also,
when you need a pick me up in your day, skip the drink and instead listen to Leonard Bernstein's Overture to Candide.

 
Oh, why not watch it now?

Conducted by the Bernstein himself!

(Fine, fine. Have the drink, too.)

Who Put The Bomp...?

Being the recovering perfectionist/type A/achievement driven Asian that I am, (ha), I sometimes feel the need to "CLEAN ALL THE THINGS" (courtesy of Hyperbole and a Half!). However, the "recovering" part of me finds daily dance parties in the kitchen a necessity. So what happens when you combine dancing + cleaning + bad biomechanics + one unfortunate-"the-dishrack's-too-high"-reach via tippy toes?

You'll wind up with some mean ol' Metatarsalgia.

So much for Ballet this summer. :-P

Ah well.

Now I have time to...
...READ ALL THE BOOKS.

Oh wait.
There I go again!
 ...

While my sister drove me to In-N-Out for luncheon (isn't my sister the best?), we listened to the radio and discovered this Doo-wop jem:

Alright, you probably think it's a weird nonsensical song. Hang in there, though. My sister and I thought it was strange the first time we heard it, too. Especially this part:

When my baby heard
"Bomp bah bah bomp "
"Bah bomp bah bomp bah bomp bomp"
Every word went right into her heart...

 Seems unbelievable that any girl/baby/pretty mama would fall for a guy when she heard "rama lama ding dong"...But maybe that's the point?

My sister guessed that the song pokes fun at the way Doo-wop music inserts nonsensical wording after heartfelt declarations. Whoever wrote the Wiki article seems to agree.
Either way, I was glad to learn that the song wasn't meant to be taken too seriously. ;-)

Silly old me! 

Ah well.

Even though I can't dance or clean all the things right now, I did try to figure out "Who put the ram
/ In the rama lama ding dong?".

Hmm.

The Edsels?

Enjoy!

If you're washing dishes in 90 degree weather,

Amuse yourself.

Practice singing harmony.

Enjoy the pitchy fiddle!

(My apologies for the rather not-so-pleasant blue screen with white lyrics. 

However I didn't feel comfortable posting the original music video

even though the Old Crow Medicine Show cover is my favorite. Their sound is a bit heavy and scratchy, rather similar to the way hot and smoggy California afternoons feel. Scratchy from all of the flies? I don't know.)

So turn away from your computer screen,

and commence dishwashing!

:)

Or you can sit on the front porch and drink a Fat Tire (if you're my sister). 

Many thanks to Han and Dr. Guy for the introduction (to Wagon Wheel, not Fat Tire). 

Oh wait!

It's summer! 

Why are you washing dishes in the afternoon?

Fry some pancakes or something.