Free Downloads of Excerpts from Back Issues*
Jane Carlberg and friends at the Raphael Trio Chamber Music Workshop
"Bartok and the Lost Canyon Trail*"
by Jane Carlberg, December 2004
Several months ago, I had the good fortune to be in Texas for a week of hiking with my husband in the Big Bend National Park. The following weekend I was in Maine with some musical colleagues working on a Bartok string quartet. At first glance, these two experiences would seem to have little in common: one is mostly physical, the other intellectual; one deals with nature, the other with art; one fairly concrete, the other abstract. However, as I reflect on both, I begin to see that they are related in many more ways than one would expect. . . .
"Great Honk! *"
by Ted Rust, October 2004
Zaneeta: It’s indecent to meet boys at the footbridge!
Tommy Djilas:First thing after supper?
Zaneeta: All right! Yee Gods!
Tommy Djilas: Great Honk!
The Music Man, Meredith Willson (1902-1984)
To my knowledge, Meredith Willson, author of The Music Man, never defined this memorably weird exclamation, but to me it expresses as well as any the joy of really belting out good music with a good group. It is an exultant feeling of physical resonance among the ensemble, the hall and the audience. I remember feeling it at a Boston Symphony performance of Beethovenās Ode to Joyin my youth,
singing the ćHallelujah Chorusä of Handelās Messiah in college, playing second oboe in Dvorakās Serenade for Winds a few years ago at Chico, and most recently and unexpectedly, in a mere trio.
Updated December 26, 2007
© 2007 by Edgar Rust
"The Seisiun: A Beginner's Guide*"
by Stan Engel, June, 2004
If you’ve ever stumbled into a traditional Irish music session, or seisiun, you may wonder why that fiddler went to the bar halfway through a number, or how everyone knew what to play next, when all the piper
said was “Hup.” The answers are below.
A session is primarily for players. In times when everyone played, in the long cold winters before Pop Idol (the British TV talent search show), it was the hub of
village culture. The pleasure it now gives listeners is a bonus. For me, the least formal sessions are best. You meet
somewhere, and off you go. . .
"Life-Long Serenade: Nurturing a Love of Music in Children*"
by Alyce Chiles, August 2004
As parents and music lovers, we naturally want to instill a life-long love of music in our children. There are several things we can do to foster that love. From the day you bring baby home, sing lullabies while you gently rock your little one to sleep. Sing happy songs while changing diapers, feeding, and snuggling. They will come to associate this music with the bond that develops between baby and parent. And you don’t have to be a vocal virtuoso or even be able to carry a tune. Babies don’t care. They love to hear mom or dad make music. As they get older, children automatically include rhythm in their play. Just watch! Bang-bang-boom . . .
"Hearing Loss and the Musician*"
by Ted Rust, November 1990
Let us put aside our stereotype of old Beethoven, isolated and embittered in his deafness. Music has a clarity which makes it singularly accessible to the hearing-impaired. Music-making can be a continuing source of delight and social interaction, even for those who have great difficulty following ordinary speech. . . . Indeed, a survey of retired professional musicians found that while a majority of them had hearing problems, NONE had retired for that reason. . . .
"Family Music on the Road *"
by Aunt Stanbury, September 2007
. . . Paula, and I, and later a third sister, Mary, added when I was fifteen, sang together in the car and elsewhere as soon as we could sing at all. Our family’s version of “Sweetly Sings the Donkey” figured prominently. We also sang “Three Blind Mice,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and another round with the text: “Why shouldn’t my goose/Sell as well as thy goose/When I paid for my goose/ Twice as much as thou?” Paula often couldn’t resist an exaggerated fermata on the highest note, on the last occurrence of “goose,” which of course train-wrecked the performance. . .
*if your browser does not automatically display or download pdf files, right-click (windows) or ctrl-click (mac) on the link to choose a destination