autumn

Sink into autumn with my listening playlist, full of autumn inspired music from the world of classical music.

What’s your favourite season? I know a lot of people would say autumn (or ‘fall’ in the US). Would it surprise you to I love every season and the changes between them?… sad to see the previous season go, and to welcome the return of the new season like an old friend.

There are many depictions of the seasons in art and music, so I thought I would add a few here and link it to a youtube playlist for you to explore more.

Feel free to add your favourite pieces in the comments section below if I’ve missed something out! You’ll see I’ve included a range of instruments/emsembles/styles/periods and I hope a few that you enjoy exploring for the first time as I have.

1 Chant d’automne, Faure

Sung by soprano Mary Bevan, accompanied by Joseph Middleton

2 Four Seasons, Autumn, 3rd Movement Allegro, Vivaldi

Played by Voices of Music, with solo baroque violin from Carla Moore

3 ‘October - Autumn Song’ from The Seasons, Tchaikovsky

Solo piano Olga Scheps

4 ‘Now the Leaves are Falling Fast’, from On This Island, Benjamin Britten

Sung by Peter Pears, Accompanied by Benjamin Britten

5 ‘September’ from Das Jahr, Fanny Hensel (Fanny Mendelssohn)

Solo piano Diana Sahakyan

6 ‘The Fall of the Leaf’, Imogen Holst

Solo cello Amily Airhart

7 ‘September’ from Vier Letzte Lieder, Richard Strauss

Sung by Renee Fleming, at the Proms, in 2001

8 The Seasons: 1. Autumn, Thea Musgrave

Solo clarinet Concerto played by Victoria Soames Samek, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Thea Musgrave

9 Pensee D’automne, Massenet

Sung by Huguette Tourangeau, Accompanied by Richard Bonynge

10 Autumn Gardens, Einojuhani Rautavaara

Played by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy

Choir

Whilst singing as a soloist is always enjoyable with many benefits to us - today I’m exploring and celebrating group singing and why you should consider searching for your nearest choir and joining!

When new pupils come to me for lessons I like to chat to them about their previous experiences in music. Many have sung before, some have had lessons, but ALL of them will have some prior experience of group singing or singing in a choir.

Many pupils tell me of wonderful memories in choral societies or as a child - but unfortunately there are often some negative school experiences that have put people off. I am here today to tell you not to let that experience get in the way of a very warm and fulfilling pastime that has many benefits to you as a singer, and as a human being.

Firstly, I encourage ALL my pupils to take part in group activities like theatre, choirs, A Capella groups, or school activities. It’s an easy way to add regular singing to your life, while learning vocal technique, muscianship skills, and new repertoire/music styles.

Secondly, singing with a group of people with similar interests as you is a wonderful bonding experience. Many new friendships and relationships are made at choir rehearsals. Remember that you may have to do a little research to find the right choir for you - but once you have found it you may be a member there for some time! It’s worth the research time.

Some Benefits of group singing:

• helps forge social bonds

• is effective for bonding large groups

• excercises the brain

• beneficial for improving breathing, posture and muscle tension

• reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the Immunoglobin A antibody, helping us sustain a healthy immune system

• is universally accessible - anyone can sing! (yes, really!!!)

• is cognitively stimulating and helps with memory

• it’s cheap! We all have a voice in our body waiting to go, without any investment needed

Sometimes I have pupils asking for help to build their skills for choir auditions or to help them sing with more ease at choir - and I am always happy to help you with this. This doesn’t have to mean long-term lessons, get in touch with me or your local singing teacher to discuss your goals.

As always, comment below if you have any thoughts on this subject, and follow me on social media for more quotes and information about singing and performing.

reset

“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

— Dolly Parton

January is a month of making changes, so why not take the time to assess your business as a musician or in the field you work in, and decide what you want to take forward, and what you can let go of.

Goals and Rewards

• Make a list of your goals for the year

  How brave do you feel? Maybe this list has some simple easy goals and also some amazing and difficult goals, aim big!

  Performances, work on languages, new repertoire, new genre you have not yet explored, working with new people, new teaching jobs/pupils, changing your support/additional job that helps you fund your music goals.

• Make a list of rewards for reaching those goals

  We know we all work better when there is a reward - be that money, travel/holidays, listening to a favourite piece of music after a hard day, or maybe purchasing that expensive score you have wanted for a while (yeah, this is my weakness… they might be a particular shade of blue… and start with a B)

  When you are self-employed, build in your work ‘bonus’ to your work plan.

• Add detail of the stages you will go through to reach your goals

  Don’t just make a list of big goals, plan how you will get there. Some goals will be easy to reach in one stage, some might be a long term project with many stages to tick off along the way.

Assess your Success

What went right last year?

• What are you proud of?

  It’s time, you have permission to pat yourself firmly on the back, and hold your own personal awards ceremony! Best of all, it’s all about you. List all your achievements and thoroughly asses what you have to be proud of - include financial, emotional, and mental achievements

• What will you try to replicate?

Update Ways of Working

What takes more time than it should?

• What could you use to improve your work-flow?

  Are your accounts taking ages? are you slow on social media? Are you keeping track efficiently of pupils and payments? Are there any tools like apps or software that would save you time? Remember time is money and effort - often spending money is worth it if your life is easier or you are taking less time to do tasks you don’t enjoy.

• What can be done more efficiently

  Is your teaching scheduled neatly together or taking up random times in your week? Would your commute be easier/quicker if done at a different time if you worked different hours? Could you use fewer paid childcare hours if you moved your work schedule/teaching?

Tidy

Tidy and sort :

• Concert/audition/teaching clothes

  Sell/post/give away/donate what is no longer suitable or does not fit

• Music

  It’s easier to find if it is stored in a system you find easy to use.

• Desk

• Computer Files

  Keep old files/photos in folders for their year, and make a new folder for the current files

• CV

• Website

• Your Home

Training

• What training did you undertake last year?

• What training will you plan for this year?

• Where are your weak points and how will you work towards making them your strong points?

Plan

• Set out your diary and plan in holidays

  It’s very easy to fail to take a break if you get offered work - but it is not good for us or our friends/family. Make sure it goes in the diary even if it can be moved. Schedule work like social media to automatically load while you are taking a break.

• Find gaps and decide where new projects would fit in

• Know when you are free to take on training

Hobbies

• Can you schedule holiday days around work travel to include your hobbies?

• Decide on new hobbies or when you are free to learn/do something, particularly if this is a seasonal thing

• Buy/plan to buy that new book or piece of sports equipment

Wind up Old Projects

• Make a to-do list of old unfinished goals.

  Sweep up all the old half finished things into one list. Plan what you need to do to finish them all off, and how you will do that.

• If you are choosing to stop something, plan your exit and work towards it

  If you plan to change jobs, or finish certain teaching jobs, plan how you will step back and when, build in a change-over time if you are handing a job to someone else.

Let there be Light!

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

- Sir Frances Bacon

Welcome to a blog post with a bit of a difference! For this month, I have chosen the subject of light as a contrast to last months dark and spooky themes.

Music (being noise) does not directly contain light, but I am going to make a list of music that seeks to examine, describe, and explain light in some way. Click on the link below to take you to the youtube playlist on my youtube channel where you can listen/watch the excerpts back to back.

Here in the blog there will be short explanations and listening notes you can choose to follow along with, or not, as you feel like it.

As ever, feel free to comment and let me know your favourite pieces about light. Have I missed anything out you think should have been included?

Rusalka’s Song to the Moon, Dvorák

Rusalka is a water nymph, singing to the moon which is reflecting in the pool of water. She asks the moon to send her love to the human Prince who hunts around the lake, who she has fallen in love with. The music is full of shimmering ripples and dark forboding, as this story won’t end well.

Lux Aeterna, Ligeti

It won’t surprise you to find that several pieces in this selection about light are from the latin mass. This, however, is one of the more modern and perhaps the most challenging piece I’ve chosen, written in 1968.

Featuring a 16-part choir, this setting was used in Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. The words are:

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis

Translated as: "May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity, for thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them."

The music is written to be very close harmony cluster chords and dissonance, so many have a mixed response. Some people find it very unsettling, others find it relaxing. What about you?

In splendour bright is rising now the sun, The Creation, Haydn

Here is a sunrise, written to illustrate the creation as depicted in Genesis. The chords build to a radiant burst of sunshine where there once was nothing. Short and sweet, but very dramatic when seen live!

Lux Aurumque, for Wind Ensemble, Eric Whitacre

Eric Whatacre is a living composer who has become a celebrity in music circles for his beautiful choral music. Here I’ve chosen a wind ensemble version of this choral piece, as it really demonstrates the beauty of his writing to describe the golden light of the title. I also think the wind arrangement is very peaceful and atmospheric for our playlist, a mid point to reflect.

Lux Aeterna, Requiem, Verdi

Now that you’ve heard some very modern interpretation of Lux Aeterna, here is Verdi’s version performed in 1874.

The requiem includes some huge music scored for a large orchestra and large choir, but here the music is much more quiet and intimate, the soloists are partly unaccompanied, all eyes are on them as they sing of angels and the light shining, with twinkling woodwind.

Four Sea Interludes: no 3 Moonlight, Britten

We started with the moon, we had a little sunshine in the middle, and now we are ending with the moon again.

the Four Sea Interludes are taken from the opera Peter Grimes, first performed in 1945. The story follows the life of an unfortunate fisherman from a small fishing village. Several of his young apprentices go missing, drowned. The village people decide Peter is in some way to blame.

Written to cover the scene changes, the sea interludes describe the light, energy, and brooding of the sea, one of my favourite pieces of music.

Listen to the full playlist on Youtube by clicking on the link.

I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring some pieces of music about light - which is your favourite? Have I missed out something? As ever, write me a comment, and see you again next month.