| Concert: "Fair Ladies and Fine Gents" | Robert Howard | January 28, 2012 |
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You are invited to an evening of vocal fun and romance. Join the Belleville Philharmonic Chorale for a cabaret concert called Fair Ladies and Fine Gents.
The program will include:
Welcome Here - Shaker Tune - arr. de Cormier
My Bonnie Lass She Smileth - Thomas Morley
My Bonnie ... |
| Comment: Re: Banning Sinful Lifestyles from the workplace | Robert Howard | November 10, 2011 |
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Although I am not gay myself, I have many valued friends and colleagues who are and I am enraged on their behalf. The hateful persecutions that are still inflicted on gay people include harassment, financial discrimination, assault and murder. A large proportion of teen suicides and adult su... |
| Comment: Re: The State of ACDA - Looking Ahead | Robert Howard | October 17, 2011 |
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I don't know if it would cure your glazed eyes but you could order up a new paradigm instead of a strategic plan.
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| Comment: Re: Copyrighting the Dead Sea Scrolls | Robert Howard | October 2, 2011 |
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I suggest that the Dead Sea Scrolls be set to music by Jerry Garcia.
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| Comment: Re: Organist dismissed for criticizing Rutter on Facebook | Robert Howard | September 27, 2011 |
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We are in rehearsal for This is the Day. I find it a light and pleasant piece and the Chorale is quite fond of it. Mr. Rutter was asked to compose a piece for a pair of very prestigious clients who were well pleased with it. So the piece is exactly what is was intended to be - no more, no le... |
| Comment: Re: Rutter "This is the Day" at the Royal Wedding- publisher? | Robert Howard | August 12, 2011 |
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This is the day is published by Collegium Musicum Publications Cambridge and is handled by Hinshaw The order number is HMC2319.
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| Concert: From "Sea to Shining Sea" and Music of Jackson Berkey | Robert Howard | May 3, 2011 |
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The Jefferson College Chamber Choir and Community Chorale with members of the Belleville Philharmonic Chorale directed by Robert Charles Howard and accompanied by pianist Carrie Smith will present a concert of American music on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre on the Hil... |
| Concert: "Some Enchanted Evening" | Robert Howard | February 17, 2011 |
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The Belleville Philharmonic Chorale will present a cabaret style program called 'Some Enchanted Evening" on Friday, February 25th and Saturday, February 26th at Philharmonic Hall, 116 N. Jackson in Belleville Illinois. Each concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. The musical selections include a rich ... |
| Concert: Messiah, Part 1 and other hoilday music | Robert Howard | November 28, 2010 |
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The combined choruses of Jefferson College and a professional orchestra will present a free holiday program on December 5th at 3:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre on the Jefferson College's Hillsboro campus, 100 Viking Drive, Hillsboro MO.
Here is the complete program.
Joy to the Wo... |
| Comment: Re: Bach's Cantata No. 140 - No. 4 Chorale - piano/vocal score | Robert Howard | October 21, 2010 |
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John,
I suspect what Clare meant was an accompaniment that is playable. The published reduction includes just about everything in the orchestra score - multiple layers of crossed voices with stems going every way but sideways. A pianist can get Carpel Tunnel syndrome just by looki... |
| Comment: Re: O Nata Lux English translation | Robert Howard | September 29, 2010 |
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The translation I have has:
"Mercifully deem us worthy"
where you have
"with loving-kindness deign to receive"
I saw three YouTube versions of various settings the showed the translation you asked about. Why don't you write to the people who submitted the videos to ask where th... |
| Comment: Re: Christmas program ideas | Robert Howard | September 29, 2010 |
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If your choir is large enough to divide, I have just completed an arrangement of Joy to the World for double chorus that is designed to highlight the carol's origins in Handel's Messiah - specifically the introduction of Comfort Ye and the opening of Lift up your heads. Can be done with piano,... |
| Comment: Re: Christmas with Strings | Robert Howard | September 25, 2010 |
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You could to Christmas in the New World by William Grant still. If you could add oboe, you could do Kuhnau's Es ist ein Kind gebornen (formerly known and published as Bach Cantata No. 142) or a real Bach piece, Wachet auf.
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| Comment: Re: What we cannot control | Robert Howard | June 17, 2010 |
| Those of Spartan mentality tend regard an understanding leader as weak and are always ready to step in to fill the "hostility vacuum" that they imagine exists. |
| Comment: Re: Christmas works around theme of 'light' | Robert Howard | June 11, 2010 |
| Chris,
I have a 20 minute cantata called Radiance of the Light. It has 10 movements. The text is in english and the vocal forces call for SATB chorus, with 1 movement for each for SSA and TTBB. There are two brief choruses for 2 part children's chorus. There are solo parts for Gabriel (... |
| Comment: Re: Madrigal Sets for Christmas | Robert Howard | June 8, 2010 |
| Great suggestions! Thank you. |
| Comment: Re: The 12 Things Good Choir Directors Believe | Robert Howard | June 7, 2010 |
| Wonderful!
I am copying this into a Word file and will keep a copy in my choral folder for reference.
Thanks so much for sharing this! |
| Forum message: Madrigal Sets for Christmas | Robert Howard | June 7, 2010 |
| Greetings,
I am looking for a set of Christmas/Seasonal madrigals or chamber choir pieces to place in the first half of a multi choir concert betweeen Fissinger's I Saw Three Ships and Whitaker's Lux Aurumque. The second half of the concert is Messiah, Part I + Hallelujah Chorus.
Thanks for... |
| Comment: Re: Calling All Composers | Robert Howard | May 19, 2010 |
| Clay,
Cheers to you for standing up for living composers!!
I have three works to offer you:
1. Dream Catchers - A three movement work for SATB flute and piano. The text are Native American chants an prayers. The second movement is in two parts; the first part is TTBB and the second pa... |
| Comment: Re: The War on Pronouns, cont'd | Robert Howard | May 13, 2010 |
| OH, Oh! The Inclusive Language Police are on patrol again. May God(dess) have mercy on us all! |
| Comment: Re: Strong Female Conductors | Robert Howard | May 13, 2010 |
| Kathleen,
Women have held prominent conducting positions in the US for at least half a century. A large number of university and high school choral programs are led by women conductors of distinction. Here is a partial list of women conductors who enjoy national and international acclaim... |
| Comment: Re: New ACDA Logo | Robert Howard | May 9, 2010 |
| I always thought the old logo was a bunny sipping a dacquiri through a straw. |
| Concert: Missa in Tempore Belli | Robert Howard | April 29, 2010 |
| The Belleville Philharmonic Chorale and Orchestra will join with the Choirs of Jefferson College for two performances of Haydn's Missa in tempore bell conducted by Robert Charles Howard
There will be a concert in May 2nd at 3:00 p.m. at St. Paul United Church of Christ located at 115 W. B Street ... |
| Comment: Re: What is better - under rehearsed or over prepared? | Robert Howard | April 26, 2010 |
| One of the givens in live performance is that no one can know for sure what is going to happen. I like it when the rehearsals bring a concert to a point where it is poised to jump forward. I think the old adage that a good dress rehearsal can foretell a weak performance has some tr... |
| Comment: Re: Resources/Ideas to counter a cost benefit analysis mentality? | Robert Howard | April 25, 2010 |
| A marketing professor who had worked with community performing ensembles suggested to our orchestra board that the "Stockholder" mentality is inadequate for the purpose of the arts in society. He advanced the notion of the "Stakeholder" model instead. The Stakeholder model asks the question, "to... |
| Comment: Re: How do I help a singer who consistently sings sharp? | Robert Howard | April 24, 2010 |
| Here are a few assorted (sordid?) thoughts on the subject.
1. The individual needs vocal training and much good advice is offered above. I suggest that a singer who is consistently sharp be taught to sing on the low edge of the pitch and a singer who sings consistently flat learn to sing on the... |
| Comment: Re: Distraction of the day: Seventy-six trombones | Robert Howard | April 5, 2010 |
| I love this video because for all it's theatrical energy and whimsy the choral sound is always perfectly formed. |
| Comment: Re: Not enough "Christe" | Robert Howard | April 1, 2010 |
| Here is a count of Christe Eleison statements in all the other Haydn Masses that I could find on CPDL. If two or more voices present Christe at the same time I counted it as one statement. It is a little tricky to tally them in contrapuntal textures. Fragmentary statements occur in a few cases.
... |
| Comment: Re: Not enough "Christe" | Robert Howard | April 1, 2010 |
| Hi Liz,
I sure have enjoyed your posts! The edition we are using is G Schirmer ed. by Michael Miller. Every edition and recording I have seen and heard has the text, Kyrie Eleison at C. I was hoping to get to see the edition of the complete works of Haydn soon. |
| Comment: Re: Not enough "Christe" | Robert Howard | March 31, 2010 |
| Thank you. |
| Comment: Re: Not enough "Christe" | Robert Howard | March 31, 2010 |
| Thank you. I have seen many Kyrie movements with many more than three statements of Kyrie and Christe; I had just never experienced one with fewer than than three Christe's before. I don't plan to change the text without a better reason than a hunch. |
| Forum message: Not enough "Christe" | Robert Howard | March 30, 2010 |
| Ok, here is where I stick my neck out and duck for cover.
In the Kyrie movement of Haydn's Missa in tempore belli there are only one and half statements of the text, "Christe Eleison."
For liturgical and structural reasons I suspect that the text printed for the alto solo at letter C might b... |
| Comment: Re: What is common sense anyway? | Robert Howard | March 29, 2010 |
| I heard an interview on NPR with a man who had written a book on what he called the "hidden mind." His ideas went further than a vague lip free service to the realm of the subconcious. He talked about valuable and specific information that is sent and received that bypasses the verbal process.... |
| Comment: Re: Iowa Stubborn | Robert Howard | March 27, 2010 |
| I have always wondered about Marian, who seems to be a straight shooter, latching on to Harold Hill who is a garden variety fake (another smart woman making a foolish choice?).
Nonetheless Harold's "think system" is not entirely without merit. If you "think" about pitch, rhythm phrasing and ... |
| Comment: Re: Many Shades of Joy? | Robert Howard | March 22, 2010 |
| Good to know. Thanks! |
| Comment: Re: Many Shades of Joy? | Robert Howard | March 21, 2010 |
| Gerald Finzi - My Spirit Sang All Day (Oh my Joy) |
| Comment: Re: Repertoire ideas re water, rivers, etc | Robert Howard | March 20, 2010 |
| Flow Gently Sweet Afton - arranged by Daniel McDavitt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcsgmJxAc7g
Shall we Gather at the River - arranged by Aaron Copland |
| Comment: Re: What's wrong with jazz, show tunes, pop, etc in choir? | Robert Howard | March 17, 2010 |
| I have programmed quite a bit of popular and jazz arrangements and have often experienced style and blend difficulties. I wonder if others have had similar experiences. The singers come in with a lot of listening background and "know" how this music is supposed to sound but each in their own way... |
| Comment: Re: Need advice on the proper pronunciation of a word in a piece for a competition, thx! =) | Robert Howard | March 16, 2010 |
| Too much detonation on the T in lightning might cause the word to be mistaken for lightening. |
| Comment: Re: Does a bad rehearsal equal a great concert? | Robert Howard | March 14, 2010 |
| The complete text of the post poses this question., "What are rehearsals for?" One suggested response was that rehearsals are where you find out all the ways to get it wrong so you can put all of that behind you.
In a way that resembles Michelangelo's answer to how he sculpted David. He said a... |
| Comment: Re: Stage fright | Robert Howard | March 9, 2010 |
| Liz, (via Allen)
Thank you so much for this amazingly perceptive analysis and suggestion. We were doing a challenging program last Sunday and I decided to do my best to use the pre-concert warm to instill calm and confidence rather than rev them up to snuff. It worked. I tried it again in r... |
| Comment: Re: Five Greatest Things About Polyphony | Robert Howard | February 25, 2010 |
| Perhaps all that is needed is a couple of qualifying adjectives eg., Italian Renaissance Polyphony. |
| Comment: Re: Music gives stroke victims ability to speak | Robert Howard | February 25, 2010 |
| I know of an example of this application of music that occured in Missouri. A teenager was brutally beaten by an intruder while babysitting and suffered serious left brain functioning. Her father rejected their doctor's prognosis that her ability to speak was irreparably destroyed. He and his ... |
| Comment: Re: State With The Best Choral Programs | Robert Howard | February 18, 2010 |
| I think it's the wrong question. Why not just ask what we can do to seek out and tell more of the truth through our art and seek out people with good ideas who can teach us how to do it better? Come to think of it, isn't that why we have ACDA and Choralnet? |
| Comment: Re: Audible Pronunciation | Robert Howard | February 17, 2010 |
| Interesting discussion. Awhile back we had a discussion about pronouncing Latin in French dialect. I was aching to find a French priest to pronounce the text of one of our concert pieces. |
| Comment: Re: can a pagan be a choral conductor? | Robert Howard | February 12, 2010 |
| Amy,
I think that many church members, myself included, as well as clergy of many different faiths respect and encourage the profession of beliefs contrary to their own. Fear of or arrogance toward those who are different from ourselves can be a painfully destructive force. I hope that you are ... |
| Comment: Re: Do I have to use a pattern? | Robert Howard | February 11, 2010 |
| It's really all about clarity. Give the musicians what they need to do their work! Orchestra musicians will tell you that above all they want a clear "one" that is positioned where they can find it.
I agree with John, "there is no case against patterns." I think managing patterns and other ge... |
| Comment: Re: Music is NOT the Universal Language | Robert Howard | February 10, 2010 |
| I agree that the notion of musical universality needs serious upgrading. Certainly we experience music as communal and spiritual across the board and the word, "harmony", resonates far beyond it's musical definition. When we tune and blend we establish a bond that is experienced no other way but... |
| Comment: Re: The Band Industry is Killing Music Education | Robert Howard | February 9, 2010 |
| If you were assigned to teach a high school American Literature class would you prefer to assign:
1. Bambi or To Kill a Mocking bird?
2. Lassie Come Home or Othello?
Assuming that you choose the latter work in each list, why would any director assign a band, orchestra or chorus to play or s... |
| Comment: Re: Concert length work, prefer English with some ensemble | Robert Howard | February 5, 2010 |
| I have composed a 45 minute cantata called Journey of Discovery on the subject of Lewis and Clark. It is scored for full orchestra but has been performed in a scaled down instrumentation consisting of about 18 players. |
