| Comment: Re: Dress rehearsal | Jerome Hoberman | May 18, 2012 |
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Allen Simon writes (in part):
"I always find dress rehearsal to be much more stressful than performances. That's the real deadline for knowing your score cold..."
I find this comment disturbing, even tragic. The deadline for knowing the score cold is the beginning of the first rehe... |
| Comment: Re: Sight reading v other vocal abilities | Jerome Hoberman | April 29, 2012 |
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Ron Pearson asks about balancing sight-reading ability vs. particular vocal qualities in listening to auditions.
Since the question is, "how do *you* balance" [emphasis mine], I'll answer it as asked without taking it as an invitation to pontificate.
I would always take the proficien... |
| Comment: Re: Chichester psalms percussion | Jerome Hoberman | April 27, 2012 |
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Bass drum, snare drum, 3 bongos, crash & suspended cymbals, triangle. 1 player.
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
Music Director/Conductor, The Hong Kong Bach Choir & Orchestra
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| Comment: Re: re Bernstein's Chichester Psalms | Jerome Hoberman | April 16, 2012 |
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Perhaps my question was not clear enough. I'm not seeking justification for using a female soloist -- with boys, countertenors and sopranos all readily available in Hong Kong, we're performing Chichester Psalms next month with a countertenor; in the past I've used a mezzo-soprano.
I'm sim... |
| Comment: Re: re Bernstein's Chichester Psalms | Jerome Hoberman | April 15, 2012 |
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But he didn't specify a boy; he specified either a boy or a countertenor. This would seem to contradict the argument that he preferred a particular sound, since that of a boy and that of a countertenor are obviously different. The either/or direction supports an argument having to do with the ... |
| Forum message: re Bernstein's Chichester Psalms | Jerome Hoberman | April 15, 2012 |
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LB specified that the Chichester Psalms 2nd-mvt solo be sung by a boy or a countertenor, but under no circumstances by a woman. I have read conjecture that this is to suggest the voice of the young David (the Biblical David) himself, or that it is an expression of LB's homophilia.
The tho... |
| Comment: Re: Protocol for acknowledging applause/taking bows | Jerome Hoberman | March 4, 2012 |
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Mary Jane Phelan asks an important question regarding bows protocol, one too rarely considered -- and one that, other than the performance of the music itself, frequently separates serious professional aspiration from amateurish fumbling, from the audience's point of view.
A professional or... |
| Comment: Re: The Traits of a True Mentor | Jerome Hoberman | February 21, 2012 |
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An interesting article, which makes an interesting contrast.
But in Tim Sharp's comment I think we have an example of language inflation: "teacher" becoming "mentor." A more traditional meaning of "mentor" is a senior figure who opens doors for a junior colleague or student, helping to st... |
| Comment: Re: pronounciation of "Jubilate Deo" by the Brits | Jerome Hoberman | November 28, 2011 |
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Justin Smith asks about the pronunciation of the "J" in "Jubilate Deo" by "the Brits."
Well, first of all, there are a lot of "Brits," and not every one pronounces everything identically to every other one. Imagine if you had written, instead of "the Brits," "the Smiths."
But yes... |
| Comment: Re: Schubert's greatest choral work? | Jerome Hoberman | November 23, 2011 |
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For study and quiet enjoyment, the Ab Mass. For performance, the Eb.
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| Concert: 2 Great Masses in Hong Kong | Jerome Hoberman | November 17, 2011 |
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2 Great Masses
The Hong Kong Bach Choir & Orchestra
Jerome Hoberman, conductor
Programme
Antonín Dvořák Serenade in D minor, op 44
Igor Stravinsky Mass
Anton Bruckner ... |
| Comment: Re: Editions of Brahms Requiem | Jerome Hoberman | November 3, 2011 |
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Evan Wichman asks about editions of the Brahms deutsches Requiem.
The Dover is a reprint of the Breitkopf, which is the standard edition; I assume same as Kalmus and Luck's. Dover is inexpensive and high quality, though, and should last longer -- my copy has served me well for around 15 y... |
| Comment: Re: Messiah-Vowel on "Purify" | Jerome Hoberman | October 27, 2011 |
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Lucy Hudson Stembridge writes of separating gold from dross, but makes a perhaps significant error.
It's not the dross that's weak and the pure gold that's strong. Gold, in its pure, 24 karat state, is too weak to use; it must be adulterated with stronger metals, most commonly down to 18 ... |
| Comment: Re: Holocaust Cantata- what to pair with it? | Jerome Hoberman | October 15, 2011 |
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Of course the greatest of great Shoah-related musical works is Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw."
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
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| Forum message: urgent Schnittke query | Jerome Hoberman | October 2, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
I'm hoping one of you can answer my question about a detail in the piano part of Schnittke's Requiem.
The last chord of the Credo has a B-flat major, 1st inversion chord with added Cs on the bottom, middle and top, fff, with a pedal indication, the instruction "gliss. a corde" a... |
| Comment: Re: Why ChoralNet is not "taking off" | Jerome Hoberman | September 22, 2011 |
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I notice that the new "Choral Buzz" (which seems to have generated something like 140 messages that appeared in my in-box between this afternoon and tonight) claims,
"ChoralBuzz will come to you daily with small bits of inspiration, some education, a little news, listening-directed concert perf... |
| Comment: Re: Debussy 2eme Chanson de Charles d'Orléans | Jerome Hoberman | September 16, 2011 |
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Oxford Univ. Press publishes a critical edition (by John Rutter). Your "Edition A" is correct, but I would still recommend the Oxford for its far easier legibility and authority.
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
Music Director/Conductor, The Hong Kong Bach Choir & Orchestra
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| Comment: Re: Opera Choruses for Women's Choir | Jerome Hoberman | September 16, 2011 |
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The first of the Two Choruses from Antony and Cleopatra (Barber) is for women.
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
Music Director/Conductor, The Hong Kong Bach Choir & Orchestra
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| Comment: Re: modal choral pieces | Jerome Hoberman | September 11, 2011 |
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Jeff Reynolds writes, in part:
"Why not get on CPDL, the king of modal music websites?... Once you open cpdl's pandora's box of great Renaissance music, you can wade..."
I respond:
If it's a pandora's box, shouldn't the reader be afraid to open it, lest s/he release all of the (musical)... |
| Comment: Re: Enhanced Reverb | Jerome Hoberman | September 3, 2011 |
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I believe that such electronic enhancement was one of the modifications of the (former) New York State Theater in Lincoln Center that has since been removed in the most recent revamp, because it was felt to be unsuccessful in that setting. Someone who really knows -- as opposed to my vague sense... |
| Comment: Re: Music for Woodwinds and Choir | Jerome Hoberman | September 2, 2011 |
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I notice that Bruckner's E-minor Mass and Brahms' Begraebnisbesang were suggested. Both involve brass in a big way and, last I heard, brass aren't woodwinds.
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
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| Comment: Re: Faure Requiem Orchestration | Jerome Hoberman | August 12, 2011 |
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Catherine Campbell-Nesbit asks if the string parts are available in CPDL, because she's "hoping to do the SSA version of Faure Requiem... and would love to use the six strings and organ."
Oh -- sorry. I was referring to the Faure Requiem, which is SATB. He didn't write a version for SSA... |
| Comment: Re: Faure Requiem Orchestration | Jerome Hoberman | August 11, 2011 |
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Matthew Koller asks about "the 'smallest' amount of strings needed."
Of course it depends on the size of the choir, but the smallest *number* of strings needed is six -- one violin, two each violas and cellos, one bass (the bass divisi isn't essential).
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberma... |
| Comment: Re: Faure Requiem Orchestration | Jerome Hoberman | August 8, 2011 |
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Strings with organ is possible. And if all you have for an "organ" is a synthesizer, then use it. If you can add two horns it will provide a good contrasting color, but it can work without.
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
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| Comment: Re: Need good Hanukkah music | Jerome Hoberman | August 5, 2011 |
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Bruce Rockwell recommends John Leavitt's "Ose Shalom."
It's a pretty, inoffensive tune, but there's nothing about it that pertains in particular to Hanukah. The text is from the daily service, which means three times daily, but since the longer texts to which it is the conclusion (among t... |
| Comment: Re: Perfect Pitch | Jerome Hoberman | August 1, 2011 |
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John Howell writes:
"...The normal bell distribution of vocal ranges doesn't get repealed just because a particular language happens to be tonal."
I respond:
While I don't have a bell-curve fetish, I do respect empirical evidence. And since the Handover of Hong Kong to China... |
| Comment: Re: Singing with an English "accent" | Jerome Hoberman | August 1, 2011 |
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Alexa Doebele asks, "if anyone in ChoralNet-land has his/her choir shade vowels toward an English accent when singing music by English composers, and if you do, how well this works. I'd also be curious to hear opinions on the matter."
I've lived and worked in Hong Kong for twenty years. ... |
| Comment: Re: looking for more composers that sound like Eric Whitacre | Jerome Hoberman | June 13, 2011 |
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Brandon Hall writes:
"I love Whitacres [sic] free floating style, generall [sic] a capella [sic] (not to exclude his exquisite rhthmic sequences in some pieces such as With a Lily in Your Hand, and Leonardo), coloristic nuance, cluster chords, exciting build up passages, incredible text pai... |
| Forum message: Beethoven 9 go-withs | Jerome Hoberman | June 6, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
For a concert a bit down the road, we're looking for a first-half piece to pair with Beethoven 9.
The design problem is that local funding agencies won't support something as popular as the Beethoven, so we need something new, exciting and different; also something t... |
| Comment: Re: Curious about your “process” for choosing repertoire | Jerome Hoberman | June 3, 2011 |
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I don't find it frustrating or (more-than-acceptably) stressful at all -- program -building is among the most enjoyable parts of my working life.
My programs are normally sketched out around three years in advance. The process typically begins with a list of pieces I'm dying to do, major ... |
| Comment: Re: Mozart Requiem editions | Jerome Hoberman | May 30, 2011 |
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Thomas Kim writes:
"As far as I can tell, the Beyer is a rental-only title."
Not so. Kunzelmann's full score and parts available for purchase (I own a set).
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
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| Comment: Re: Negro Spirituals in "White" Churches | Jerome Hoberman | May 22, 2011 |
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Betsy Wagner wrote about the use of the term "negro."
This is the first comment I've read or heard that suggests that the so-called N-word -- a vile epithet -- is "negro" as opposed to a certain six-letter derivation from it.
Although the terms that groups use to refer to themselves ... |
| Comment: Re: Verdi Requiem - full score edition? | Jerome Hoberman | April 23, 2011 |
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In response to David Schildkret's response ("it corrects many mistakes... in the traditional editions") to my suggestion that while the critical edition should be considered for performance, for basic study purposes a reprint edition such as Dover would do fine:
Without disagreeing with Dr.... |
| Comment: Re: Term for 'guest' conductor | Jerome Hoberman | April 22, 2011 |
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Why not list any of them as "Conductor"? It's nice, it's descriptive, and it's professional sounding -- especially in this situation.
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| Comment: Re: Verdi Requiem - full score edition? | Jerome Hoberman | April 22, 2011 |
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David Rosen's is part of the complete critical edition of Verdi under the overall editorship of Philip Gossett, published by Univ of Chicago Press and Ricordi. For Verdi as for Rossini, Gossett's the man. Having studied with David Rosen, I can report that he's a meticulous scholar for whom eve... |
| Comment: Re: looking for Kadosh / Kaddish / Kiddush | Jerome Hoberman | April 20, 2011 |
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You might check with the Milken Foundation's Archive for American Jewish Music, in New York. It published a 50-CD set (distributed by Naxos) that includes several complete or partial settings of the Shabbat service (Friday evening, not Saturday morning) commissioned by the Park Avenue Synagogue ... |
| Comment: Re: Best settings of quality texts | Jerome Hoberman | April 20, 2011 |
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I realize that the request, in the end, was for relatively short pieces, but just in case anyone's building a collection of these, the finest setting of the finest text I know is Sessions' "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." There's also a pretty good one by Hindemith.
Jerome Hobe... |
| Comment: Re: Mozart Requiem editions | Jerome Hoberman | April 17, 2011 |
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Allen Simon wrote about the Beyer edition (published by Kunzelmann):
"...the orchestration has been completely redone..."
To clarify: The orchestration hasn't been "completely" redone, but it has been adjusted in places. And it's not so much that the orchestration is lighter per se... |
| Forum message: Schuetz edition query | Jerome Hoberman | April 13, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
Yet another query about editions.
I'm looking for "Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen" from the Schuetz "Psalmen Davids," in a reliably scholarly edition with a realized organ continuo part. Do any of you know of one you can recommend and, if you do, would you mind ... |
| Comment: Re: Purcell edition query | Jerome Hoberman | April 12, 2011 |
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Thanks to Richard Mix for suggesting the score that's available on CPDL. It's the version I'm looking for, but it doesn't have a realized continuo part, which makes it harder to hire among the relatively few high-quality organists in Hong Kong experienced in working successfully with a conductor... |
| Forum message: Purcell edition query | Jerome Hoberman | April 11, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
I'm seeking a good edition, for 4 voices and organ, of the LONG version of Purcell's "Man That is Born of a Woman" -- the full anthem, not the short version that forms the first part of the Funeral Music for Queen Mary.
Many thanks for your leads.
Jerome Hober... |
| Comment: Re: Quips for the Choral Rehearsal | Jerome Hoberman | April 1, 2011 |
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John Rommereim writes:
"We don't need to tie ourselves in knots about this sort of thing, and I certainly wouldn't want to suggest that there's anything wrong generally with addressing choral sections by their gender, but in this choir, out of consideration to that student, I no longer addr... |
| Comment: Re: Teaching Ascending and Descending? | Jerome Hoberman | March 18, 2011 |
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Before someone can do something meaningful, s/he has to understand what it is s/he is supposed to do.
This may sound like a stupid question, but are you certain that your students know what it means to "go up," "go down," and "stay the same?" If they don't, they won't have a language with... |
| Comment: Re: "mourning" repertoire | Jerome Hoberman | March 14, 2011 |
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Frankly, I would hope that no one responds to this query with specific suggestions, since the theme is so common and obvious that a plurality of works might fit it (anything from a Requiem, for example). Do your own research, develop your own taste and don't rely on those of others. Look at lo... |
| Comment: Re: Seeking program-change suggestions | Jerome Hoberman | February 25, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
Many thanks to all of you who responded to my request for suggestions. The combination of replies headed me in very productive directions. In the end, I've proposed the Alfred Schnittke Requiem -- his polystylism fits my notion of "transformation" and will mesh well wit... |
| Forum message: Seeking program-change suggestions | Jerome Hoberman | February 17, 2011 |
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Dear Colleagues,
I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with suggestions for an urgently needed change to an upcoming fall program whose theme must be adhered to.
The theme is "Transformations." The underlying concept is the contrast between modernism -- a sort of Hegelian p... |
| Comment: Re: Lefthanded and conducting | Jerome Hoberman | February 8, 2011 |
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Can't give you advise, but I can give advice.
As a left-handed person myself, I've never understood why this question should ever come up as one a lefty should ask rather than one everyone should ask, since keyboard and string instruments, at least, require one to be more-or-less equally ad... |
| Comment: Re: Music of Three Faiths | Jerome Hoberman | February 5, 2011 |
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Ethan Sperry writes, concerning the absence of liturgical choral music in Islamic ritual:
"This is also true in the Orthodox Jewish liturgy - unison chanting only in worship."
I respond:
This is absolutely not true. There is a long tradition in normative (or Orthodox) Judais... |
| Comment: Re: Bach St. Matthew: First Chorus | Jerome Hoberman | February 2, 2011 |
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My memory (though it may be incorrect after all this time) from having performed it under Robert Fountain's direction was that he had the two choirs do exactly as you propose, reserving only a small body of sopranos for the chorale melody. The NBA (not *that* NBA!), at least, would seem to sanct... |
| Comment: Re: Music of Three Faiths | Jerome Hoberman | February 1, 2011 |
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Larry Smith writes, "There is no Islamic music. Music is not allowed in Islamic worship."
I ask: Isn't there music used in some Sufi rituals, and in rites such as those of the "whirling dervishes?" (Rumi being a Sufi poet...)
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