Christmas Ho! and Opus 201 Codetta

Failed Business Model #47: Nyet-flix (”We have no movies”)

Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

Probably my favorite exchange in Independence Day:

“I’m not Jewish.”

— “Nobody’s Perfect.”

With the Redeemer concert behind us and rehearsals for King’s Chapel not beginning until the 27^th, this is the perfect "pocket" for me to dust off Christmas scores for consideration at Redeemer/First. (The conversation on the name of the new entity, the one united congregation, is about to begin.) Since losing the job at Holy Trinity, and my subsequent failure to find some other similar position, I had not much thought of my folio of musica sacra, so I am grateful even for the possibility of the pieces finding a voice here. While I am raring to pursue the work of both Aaron’s Uneasy Sleep and the Simple Music, getting new, unfamiliar music to the organist & al. as early as possible is de rigueur, so let the sleighbells ring, as it were.

 I am enormously pleased that Eric thinks so well of I Look from Afar. But then, it was probably my nerviest writing for brass quintet to date. Indeed, my setting is so great a musical distance from the chaste Palestrina Antiphon whereby I came to know the text, that I think it rather baffled my friend Mark when I showed it to him. Timpani will not be practical in the present case, so I was thinking of dropping the timp. line from the score entirely, but on cooler consideration, that measure were too extreme. Mark the timp. part optional, and I'll see if I need to add anything to make up for its possible absence. Overall, I think this will be a lightish task.

Rather more work is involved in reclaiming the Opus 61 Reflections upon a French Carol (clarinet, bassoon, trumpet & organ.) All I had was a peculiarly illegible PDF file. No knowing at this point what its story is, but I had the thought of printing hard copy to see if I cannot manage to decrypt it. We shall see.

I sent four of the Opus 201 duets which I thought best suited to recorders to Greta and Josh, who returned to me with notes. Thus even after I thought I was done, I made suitable modifications, and sent the revised scores around.

It looks like we’ve got an April 2026 date at King’s Chapel (the 21^st.) and my friend Dennis Bathory-Kitsz is going to write us a piece.