Wesley Madrigals and ChoralNet
For twenty years, the manuscript for Alice's composition based on texts of Charles Wesley has languished in a drawer. Wesley Madrigals sets nine little-known hymns for a cappella choir. It has rarely been performed, and although we recorded it several years ago, that disc was never released. So the opportunity to make it available on the Internet seemed irresistible. ChoralNet, with its broad readership and ability to sell both written and recorded versions of the music, seemed like the perfect sponsor. It's a first attempt for both of us to establish a viable site for choral publication and dissemination. Please go to www.choralnet.org and find "ChoralNet presents: Alice Parker." See if you like what you hear and let us know!
Also on ChoralNet you will find podcasts of interviews with Alice by Philip Copeland. They discuss the Wesley Madrigals project, Alice's book The Anatomy of Melody, her early years working with Robert Shaw, publishing, and more. To hear them, go to the "Multimedia" link on the ChoralNet website.
About Our Recordings
In July, Alice led a performance of her Songs for Eve at the Mohawk Trail Concerts in Charlemont, MA, with vocal and string quartets. This extraordinary setting of poems by Archibald MacLeish prompted the following response from a listener: "I read the poetry in advance and didn't see why it was poetry. When the music began, it all came together and was an unforgettable experience."
Another letter from a friend: "I want you to know that I played your Lullabies CD -- and my black lab puppy promptly laid down and went to sleep. So your CD has now been 'lab tested'."
We're delighted that so many of you are enjoying our new Family Reunion release. This collection of songs from the early-American rural tradition seems to awaken the same spirit that informs Alice's SINGS -- as in the following note, from a participant in a Senior Symposium program: "We enjoyed with you a hearty, heartfelt song time this afternoon. From where I sat, I could see (and hear) the glow of attenders, bringing out to meet you their fondness for an area of life so often left to "professionals".
Wrestling with the Magnificat
Editorial
Every now and then I get a commission which forces me to re-examine the whole basis of my beliefs. I didn't see this coming when I chose the Magnificat text in response to a request for a Christmas piece. . . I thought I'd never set it, and it was time to take a look at it. . .
Actually I did set it, years ago, as part of a cantata originally called Advent: Three Views, which used a unison high-school choir to sing the words of prophecy from Isaiah, a unison children's choir to sing the Magnificat in an English chant version, and an adult choir to sing the hymn-tune Dundee with words which look forward to the Second Coming. Under its new title, The King Shall Come, it is available from Cantate/ Can # 1037.
And by way of further preparation, a small study group I led had focused on several versions of the Magnificat text (King James and other Bible translations, including Hannah's early version from I Samuel 2:10-; metrical hymn versions by Isaac Watts and others, etc.) as we studied the towering J. S. Bach work.
But I hadn't anticipated the questions that immediately presented themselves. Should I set the Latin? I love the language of the traditional chant, and am not so taken with the various English versions. But...no one I know speaks Latin, so that would be for me a conversation with the past. Should I make a new English version? Why should I add yet another to what's available now? Should I search among contemporary poets for a different take on the text? A prolonged search ended in the conviction that indeed I must make my own version, but that I couldn't start with the idea of a translation. I must start from the beginning.
So I read the Bible again, and tried to imagine Mary's emotions as she begins her song. Well, first of all, she's not alone -- she's just met with Elizabeth, who is also pregnant with a completely unexpected child. So it's a duet between two women, one young, one old, who know and love each other. Perhaps this is the first time that either of them could rejoice in a wonderfully human way at finding themselves 'with child', and embrace the delight of nurturing this new life within. Mary's song is in response to Elizabeth's "Blessed art thou among women" -- so I gave Elizabeth some of Hannah's words, and Mary some of the familiar verses from Luke I:46-. I did not try to include the whole text: I couldn't imagine that Mary, at this point, would say that "all generations shall call me blessed". How could she know that?
It was clear that in both the Old and New Testament versions, the words move from thankful praise to celebrating the God of Justice who created all life. Hannah is even more specific than Mary in the social justice issues she names. My second movement exchanges several from both lists -- and then ends with a kind of summing-up, a benediction.
I wanted the work to be for chorus with some instrumental accompaniment. Mary's words would be sung by all sopranos; Elizabeth's by all altos. But what to do with the tenors and basses? And how can we involve the listeners? I don't know of any 'participatory' Magnificat.
Hardest of all: how do I begin? Bach's setting is so incredibly right in its up-rushing of joy -- there's no way to compete with it! Besides -- there's no good English equivalent of "Magnificat". Could I begin with that word? I began to envision a congregational hymn that would quote Latin phrases within an English structure. . . And finally I got:
"Magnificat," we sing in cheerful praise;
"Anima mea Dominum", our voices raise.
Of course it took several weeks to get three four-line verses that were right, and meantime I couldn't begin writing the music until the text was complete. But finally it all came together, with the men joining in the hymn which frames the women's duets, and in the extended polyphonic Magnificats which close each verse. For the first performance, the accompaniment is piano -- I'll hope eventually to score it for string orchestra.
Alice Parker
THE 2008 MELODIOUS ACCORD FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Hawley, MA
Study with
Alice Parker
For adventurous musicians who wish to expand their horizons:
January 15-18, 2008 Score Study in New York City
Three days of intensive Score Study in Manhattan. There is reasonable housing available, and time to explore the city's cultural attractions.
May 30-June 2, 2008 Melody Studies
Explore what happens when we sing with and for each other. Based on Alice's book, The Anatomy of Melody.
July 13-20, 2008 Teaching Melody through Song Leading
An in-depth study of song leading, including intensive melodic analysis, repertoire, planning SINGS and hands-on practice in leading both small and large groups.
October 19-26, 2008 Composers Workshop
For those wishing to share their work with a small, non-judgmental group. The focus is on setting texts and writing for voices, through daily assignments and discussions.
For further information, contact Kay Holt at 413-536-1753 or kay@aliceparker.com
Recent Publications
Newly released from Selah Publishing Company are the three short anthems for mixed choir and organ included in An Easter Triptych. Setting characteristically brief and brilliant poems by Emily Dickinson, the titles include "He is alive", "Unto Me?", and "While it is alive".
THE VIEW FROM HERE
Leaving.
Yes, October in Massachusetts brings 'the color' -- the brilliant turning of the leaves from green to rainbow colors from red through deepest orange to bright yellow. It's taken all month, with its height at about the third week. This is two weeks later than expected, and may be due to the warm temperatures we've been having. In any case, the reflection into the studio from the brightness outside has been subtly different every day, and I've relished it.
But now the leaves themselves are leaving, and the bare bones of the trees and the hills are showing through. It means I can look through the branches that surround the house to see the curving slopes beyond, and my sight is both impoverished of color and rewarded with line as a result. Instead of the nearby multiplicities of green and fluttering shapes, there are more elemental forms: rocks, ditches and boles. We've had two good frosts this week, with another forecast for tomorrow night, so the lawn is the same dull rust as the forest bed, and the last blooms have disappeared.
The light is leaving, too. I can track the path of the sun from south to north by when and where it rises above the hills opposite: right now, it doesn't brighten my kitchen until 9:00 a.m. And twilight comes at 4:30 -- so the days are short, indeed.
My niece has helped me to transplant a couple of small evergreens into barrels by the doors; these will get decorated with lights to help ward off the early darkness. We've moved the plants indoors, which means making space for them by moving other objects to winter storage. There are candles and lanterns nearby ready for lighting, the winter coats and sweaters are close at hand, and the quilts and comforters are already warming the beds.
The whole atmosphere is of waiting, of hunkering down, of turning inward. The wood fire at night comforts eyes, nose, ears and body at once, and with a cup of tea and a good book supplies a balance to all the outside activities of the warmer months. The soup pot simmers on the stove, and I ponder all the unfinished jobs I see around me and try to decide which to tackle next. There's always something at hand to pique my interest, but I find myself mostly surrendering to the season, embracing quiet, darkness and simplicity.
Alice Parker
Fellowship Programs, 2007
An enthusiastic group of musicians from all across the country came for the three Fellowship Programs offered this year. All of the groups shared intensive programs of work together, as well as meals, evening activities, and singing in the Church Choir on Sunday mornings.
The first group met from June 15-18 for Melody Studies. Participants were Nicholas DeMaison, CA; Mark Filbert, CO; Phyllis Harris, TX; Esther Haskell, MA; Matthew Hoch, GA; Michael Orzechowski, NY; Daniel Shaw, NY; and Deborah Skydell, NY. In our three days we sang all kinds of melodies and talked about how they are constructed, how they communicate, and how to share them with others.
In July 15-22, a lively group of Song Leaders assembled, including Beth-Neville Evans, VA; Laurie Mueller, PA; Jeffrey Nelson, MA; Carolyn Parmenter, LA; Beverly Phelps, MA; Monica Rossman, NC; and Beverly Simpson, CT. They were on their feet practicing their craft much of the week, and had a chance to demonstrate their abilities in an Open SING which was much enjoyed by all. Some of their comments: I discovered that this is really important work -- and it's fun! ... My ear is getting more skillful... Look for the dance! ... A perfect setting, fine food, new friends and wonderful music... Improvising has never felt more natural or more rewarding.
From October 14-21, the seven Composers were Rachel Bagby, VA; Lynn Shaw Bailey, TX; Timothy Brown, CO; Kevin Hackett, MA; Shawn Kirchner, CA; Robert McNulty, NY; and Deborah Skydell, NY (again!). Their comments included: The week is a feast for body, craft and soul... It gets you 'out of your box' and challenges you to listen for the beautiful shaping of melody and text. . . There's always a way to be more musical, more sensitive to the text, more organic, more natural... I will never look at a text or a line of music in quite the same way again... I am back in touch with the natural inflections of speech... A stimulating experience...
Come SING with us in New York City
Join us for the annual Melodious Accord Spirituals in New York SING.
Sunday, January 20, 2008 2:30 p.m. Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church 7 West 55th Street, NYC
Browse the catalog | The News Stand
E-mail to Alice Parker |
Alice Parker's Home Page
© 2007 MELODIOUS ACCORD, INC.
All rights reserved. To obtain permission to reprint any part of this newsletter, send requests in writing to 96 Middle Rd, Hawley, MA 01339.
The Melodious Accord Newsletter is published three times a year, reaching 4000 musicians in the United States and Canada.
Send address changes, deletions, name changes, etc. to Kay Holt, 34 Ashfield Lane, South Hadley, MA 01075; (413) 536-1753 phone and fax; e-mail:newsletter@melodiousaccord.org.