Astoria's Harpsichordist

Diane Hubbard Obituary

2009-10-04T19:01:00.003-04:00

I just read the obituary of Diane Hubbard, widow of harpsichord builder Frank Hubbard. She died the afternoon of September 22 of this year, from cancer. She was 71.

She sounds like she was a fascinating woman. Very business savvy (a lot more than her husband), running the business for 25 years after her husband died, and gaining the respect of those she worked with. Apparently she was very proper in public, and I liked the description of her in Peru, observing Machu Picchu wearing a hair scarf and white gloves.

At the time of taking the helm of their business, there weren't ~~many~~ really any women in a similar position; all the women involved were musicians (not a bad thing).

Has much changed since the 70s? In my experience, there still aren't many women builders, though there are now more technicians and those on the business side of things. But it's still a fraction of the number of men in the same position. I would like to see more women builders, frankly. I'll have to do some more research, frankly, before I can talk a little more in depth on this subject. But I'm glad the subject has presented itself to me.

RIP, Diane Hubbard.

Photo (c) boston.com

Replacing Harpsichord Strings

2009-10-01T14:00:00.003-04:00

Woo-ee, replacing harpsichord strings is probably one of my least favorite things to do on the instrument. The sound of a breaking string strikes fear in my heart and jarrs the ears. In fact, I heard the sound of a breaking string on a video today and it almost gave me a heart attack.

On the harpsichord list, there has been a discussion about old style pins vs. zither pins. I am very much a fan of old style pins and find them easier to deal with when it comes to replacing strings. Oh, I can handle both, but I feel clumsier with zither pins (which used to be ubiquitous, but are not so much these days). I am comfortable with old style pins that have holes or not, thanks to quality instruction early on. I do remember the first time I tried to change a string (before I was taught how) and it was a nightmare - horrible! Glad I was finally taught how to do it right.

Are you curious how to change a string on an old style pin? Well, here is an instructional video to assist you in learning how! YouTube user hpschdnu (AKA Carey Beebe from Australia) has posted a number of instructional videos on the elements of harpsichord upkeep. Very helpful! Many thanks.

I'm Back

2009-09-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

I've decided to re-ignite this blog.

Since I posted last... I took some time off, got a regular job, and am going to return to playing the harpsichord this fall/winter. It has been an interesting and illuminating time away from the instrument. I hope to share some of what I've learned, here.

Meanwhile, my harpsichord is sitting on its side in the back bedroom. It may stay there for another month, we'll see.

I've left up any musically-relevant posts, so a lot of what you are seeing is quite old. It's fun to look back, though.

Published!

2006-12-06T14:24:00.001-05:00

The current issue of Harpsichord & Fortepiano magazine contains a review I wrote for them, on pages 53-54, of two lovely discs of Scarlatti Sonatas. It is nice to see my writing in print on paper! Sadly, the issue is not available online. But if you have received it, check it out!

Auracle Internet Jam

2006-12-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Got an email about this today. I am intrigued.

INTERNET JAM:

Max Neuhaus has long been a pioneer of network sound art, and he has now created Auracle, one of the largest, most impressive examples of it.

The Art Gallery of Knoxville is presentng an exhibition of Neuhaus' works, and this evening's opening recepton will include an Auracle internet jam.

What is Auracle? Neuhaus explains: "Auracle is a networked sound instrument, controlled by the voice. It is played and heard over the internet. Anyone can use it by simply launching it in their web browser ... "

http://www.auracle.org
http://www.arts-electric.org/articles/050103.neuhaus.html

Exhibition of works by Max Neuhaus
Opening Party and Auracle Internet Jam: Friday, December 1, 6-11pm
Join online at Auracle.org
Friday, December 1 - Saturday, December 23
The Art Gallery of Knoxville, 317 N Gay Street, Knoxville, TN

http://www.theartgalleryofknoxville.com

Music for Lunch, Around the Corner

2006-10-04T17:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday around 1:30pm I had the pleasure of attending a concert at the Church of the Transfiguration ("the Little Church Around the Corner"). My colleague and friend Amy Bartram, with lutenist Ekko Jennings, performed a handful of 17th century English ballads. Some familiar to me, some new discoveries, they sang and played them beautifully. Amy's voice is light and clear, and goes perfectly with the lute. I enjoyed her historical commentary on the genre of songs and the various tidbits regarding specific songs. I especially liked the story behind England's Joy, set to the tune of Hey Boys up go we. The song has to do with the abolition of the Chimney Tax. Apparently at that time in the 17th century, homes with chimneys, or hearths, were taxed (why, I don't know), and if you couldn't or wouldn't pay that tax, the tax collector could take your belongings, like dishes, pewter, etc. People would run and hide their serving-ware when they saw the tax collector coming. So, there was much celebrating it seems when the tax was repealed. Sounds like a dumb tax to me.

Her compressing of Greensleeves both in tempo and by eliminating so many choruses of "Greensleves was all my joy..." was a great choice and I think better clarified the message of the song. Not just a pretty song to the memory of an ex-lover, it was a list of things he'd given her to "win her love," and when she said "not interested" he got mad and whined about it. I had forgotten that he gave her not just jewelry and dresses, but horses, too!

A beautful gem of a song I'd never heard was the very last one, Love Will find Out the Way. It's a beautiful tune, and I love all the animal references about two-thirds of the way through:

You may train the eagle
To stoop to your fist;
Or you may inveigle
The Phoenix of the east;
The lioness, you may move her
To give over her prey;
But you'll ne'er stop a lover
He will find out the way.

If the earth it should part him,
He would gallop it o'er;
If the seas should o'erthwart him,
He would swim to the shore;
Should his Love become a swallow,
Through the air to stray,
Love will lend wings to follow,
And will find out the way.

I'd seen concert annoucements for a while now of Amy and Ekko's collaborative performances, but hadn't made it to a concert of their's until yesterday. I enjoyed very much Ekko's delicate approach to her lute solos. I'm really glad I got to hear her and hope to hear her again soon.

Additionally, I got a chance to see Mark Mangini, director of the Greenwich Village Singers, with whom I played last May. I also was able to speak with Claudia Dumschat, the Director of the concert series, and it looks like there's a good chance I'll be on the series in the spring. So, watch for me!

Trinity Church Archive

2006-10-04T10:38:00.000-04:00

As you can see from the archive list of this blog, there were no posts in May '06. That's because my life was (a good kind of) crazy full of performing and rehearsing for numerous concerts. That month I performed with my colleague and friend Sang Joon Park at Trinity Church Wall Street's Concerts at One series. It was a great concert experience and I feel I played well. We played well. I've been meaning to post the link to that concert, which is stored in their archives there. So, here you go. Enjoy!

The Phantom Accordion

2006-09-28T14:57:00.000-04:00

Throughout the day while I've been working at home, I've been hearing some noodling on the accordion. I'm sure it's not a recording, because the music I'm hearing isn't a song or a piece, just snippets of melodies. I've gone to look for where it's coming from but I haven't been able to track it down. I thought perhaps this accordionist was practicing in the basement, but it doesn't seem to be the case. At least I don't find the accordion annoying as so many do. It's a nice sound addition to the street. We have a lot of musicians living on this street, besides us. The guys downstairs, the electric guitarist up the street, apparently a cellist a few doors down, and now the accordion. I hope this person stays for a while and continues on with the noodling.

Harpsichord Finds Itself in the Pop Realm Again

2006-09-20T21:48:00.001-04:00

Natasha Khan.

Compared to Bjork, no less!

Who doesn't love the harpsichord?!?

My Long-Time Interest

2006-09-06T14:08:00.000-04:00

One of the aspects of the harpsichord that continues to intrigue me is its use in the popular music (folk to pop, rock to jazz) realm. Case in point [Direct link]:

I often wonder what non-classical musicians and artists find so fascinating about the harpsichord, to the point of using it seriously in their work. I mean, I know what's cool and fun and interesting about it. I have toyed for sometime with researching and collecting enough info on the harpsichord in popular music to write a book on the subject someday. So, you may read more about this potential project as the year progresses. If anyone has suggestions or observations, please share. And enjoy this fun video of Björk singing Venus as a Boy with Guy Sigsworth at the harpsichord.

Exciting Bach News

2006-09-06T11:48:00.000-04:00

I love it when this happens:

Previously unknown Bach work discovered

The article has been picked up by numerous news outlets (including FOX news, ha!). Basically, a previously unknown Bach work for soprano and keyboard (or string) accompaniment was discovered in Weimar, in a set of 18th century German birthday cards. The piece was composed for a German duke's birthday, when Bach was 28. It is a strophic aria, the only one of Bach's output. Wolff legitimizes it as real with his verbal stamp of approval, Baerenreiter plans to publish it, and John Elliot Gardner plans to record it. I find the comment at the bottom about copyright to be a bit amusing. It's an excting time for Bach appreciators, what with this new music and the manuscripts in the Kovner gift to Juliard.

I am looking forward to hearing it! And playing it at some point.

Being Noticed

2006-08-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

While taking a break while running this morning, a woman came up to me and said "What is on your shirt? Is that a piano?" I had just happened to have worn my John Phillips Harpsichords t-shirt, which features images from Diderot's Encyclopèdie. I told the woman I am a harpsichordist, and that the images on my shirt were of harpsichords. She said "Oh, wow! That shirt is beautiful! Bye!" Was nice to have someone notice the harpsichords. John makes amazing instruments, and I'd love to have one.

The Harpsichord and Politics

2006-07-08T11:21:00.000-04:00

Always funny when the harpsichord is referenced outside its natural habitat:

AN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS

06.26.2006

Dear Congress,

What an insult! Congress will hold public forums on illegal immigration starting next week in cities across the borderlands--and none of the hate parties will happen in Orange County, California. The snub is like denying Bach his harpsichord, the Republican Party their FOX News Channel. No national platform for Orange County keeps the rest of the nation from tuning in to our local pastime--immigrant-bashing.

BTW, this comes from the "Ask a Mexican" column from the OC Weekly (reproduced on the Huffington Post website).

Recent Adventures

2006-07-07T20:46:00.000-04:00

Recently, I traveled to northern New Hampshire and Mohonk Mountain House in NY. We (TR and myself) were in Lancaster, NH for the FSP Porcupine Festival and I was at Mohonk to play a concert with the Neue Bach Band. NBB served as an reunion of sorts with a friend from undergrad days (long time ago). Some pictures:

New Hampshire Mountains from the campsite where the PorcFest was being held

NH Mountains and Trees from other side of the campsite.

The gorgeous water behind Mohonk Mountain House.

The gorgeous mountains the Mountain House overlooks.

My compensation for the Mohonk gig was an overnight and meals for myself and a guest sometime within the coming year. It's an incredible place and definitely worth a second trip. We will have fun picking a date!

The Quality of Light, Among Other Things

2006-04-18T22:20:00.000-04:00

Today was a beautiful day in New York City, sunny and warm. The quality of light was almost like that in California - clear and bright but not glary. Everything looked fresh. When I was planning my move to New York, one of the things I despaired about leaving behind was that amazing quality of light that you get in Mediterranean climates such as California's. Every once in a while out here, the light is almost the same. It's never identical, though, but close enough to make me feel a little homesick. I had a mad craving for iced rose garden tea, too, which fortunately I can get close to home.

Midtown's Bryant Park was particularly lovely today, what with all the trees budding and sprouting leaves. I love this time of year in the east.

Musically today, I came across this interesting site having to do with a piece of software called The Shape of Song. Created by digital artist Martin Wattenberg, it basically displays a piece of music in the shape of a series of transluscent arches, and repetition plays a big part in creating the arches. Variations from Bach's Goldberg Variations are particularly beautiful. I also enjoyed the rendering of Pachelbel's Canon. There are 648 pieces in the midi library and you can see the shapes for all of them, here.

Recorders Galore

2006-03-29T20:13:00.000-05:00

Monday night I attended a concert of recorder music played by 3 great recorder virtuosi, Rachel Begley, Daphna Mor, and Reine-Marie Verhagen. Rachel and Daphna live here in the NY area and Reine-Marie is from The Netherlands. They played a concert of canons and counterpoint that spanned six centuries. Very interesting selection of repertoire played beautifully. I especialy liked the earlier music played on the earlier recorders. Ever since I heard the sound of the Renaissance recorder, I've loved it, and prefer its sound to the later, baroque recorder; but honestly, both sound lovely. I've also heard the early recorder referred to as the Ganassi recorder, no doubt named after Silvestro Ganassi who wrote La Fontegara, a recorder tutorial from the 16th century.

I was particularly impressed by the piece Ah Robin, gentle Robin by William Cornish (c1468-c.1523). The live acoustics paired with the thoughtful playing made for a sort of halo effect in the sound. Everything reverberated and the sound hung in the air at times...it was just beautiful. The ensemble's intonation was really good, too.

It was nice to see Rachel, with whom I am going to do some Medieval music with in the near future. It was also good to see Reine-Marie, who I first met at the SFEMS Baroque Workshop years ago, and more recently saw again at the Amherst Early Music Festival, where I was the assistant to the Director of the Baroque Academy for a few years (2002-2004), as well as doing some accompanying and teaching. I enjoyed my time assisting the faculty during those three summers, and Reine-Marie was particularly nice. She asked if I would be back this year, and I couldn't say one way or another whether that would be the case. I would like to go back again at some point, especially if I could teach or coach chamber music.

A few comments on the church, the Church of Our Lady of Peace on E. 62nd: what a wonderful space! Everything sounded great, really nice acoustics. Very pretty inside, too.

Ducks All Around

2006-03-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

It started with this:

I think it's pretty clever photoshopping. Love the toupée, which is something I thought I'd never say. My housemate and I both cackled with delight when we saw it.

It then got me thinking of two other ducks, the first one being harpsichord related: Big Duck's Harpsichord Miscellaney. He links to two useful things, the Harpsichord Listserv and the Princeton Early Keyboard Center, a place I've been meaning to go to.

The second one is the Big Duck on Long Island. In all my years on Long Island, I never made it out east to see it; perhaps someday I will. "Duck carols," who knew!

News of the Weird

2006-03-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

Speaking of organs...never did I expect to see both the colon and the harpsichord together in an article, not to mention compared to each other.

The Biggest Organ Around

2006-03-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

Today on metafilter, I learned about The Great Stalacpipe Organ, the worlds largest musical instrument. It lives deep inside the Luray Caverns in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Througout the 3.5 acres of caves are rubber tipped mallets that tap the stalactites producing the required tone indicated by the 4 manual console. It was invented by Mr. LeIand W. Sprinkle, who was primarily a mathematician at the Pentagon. Truly amazing!

Happy Birthday, Bach!

2006-03-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

A truly great composer that I have had a tricky relationship with over the years. However, that doesn't really matter right now - Bach was a super composer and I recognize that. I'm studying and re-exploring his Goldberg Variations right now.
1685-1750

My Recent Adventures

2006-03-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

First things, first: sometimes, arranging for moving a harpsichord can be a royal pain. It was a bit touch-and-go Sunday night and Monday in trying to arrange for transporting my instrument for my performance last night, but thankfully my car service guy Tony was avaliable for both the move there and back. It seems I am successfully building a client relationship with him and his minivan, as last night instead of a quiet drive, he talked to me non-stop about various things, the most prominent subject being food in Astoria/LIC/Sunnyside/Jackson Heights. Tierras Colombianas on Broadway got high marks for tastiness and huge portion size, as did a small arepa restaurant -- the famed Arepa Lady, I belive -- on 79th and Roosevelt, and then there was Pio Pio. He also spoke with pride about the food in Ecuador, where he is from ("The fruits taste strong because they are full of so many vitamins!"). He also recommended that if I ever visit the Galapagos Islands, I take a boat, not a plane. So, I'm grateful to Tony for being available to help me move the harpsichord, and I'm also thankful that my friend Jim was able to help me get the instrument out of my apartment at the beginning of the whole process.

Last night I needed to move my instrument to Manhattan to play for the Elan Awards, produced by the Women's Studio Center in LIC. It was a lovely event at the National Arts Club in the Gramercy Park neighborhood, which is a lovely neighborhood; the building that houses the National Arts Club, the Tilden Mansion, is gorgeous, too. They were honoring feminist/"femmagist" artist Miriam Schapiro (who I got to meet last night). She was a real pioneer in bringing attention to women artists, and was the founder of two art movements, the Feminist Art Movement and Pattern and Decoration. Her work with textiles merging with high art was really important. I learned that she did some collage work, too, and it reminds me of my friend Jean Sirius, an artist in Oakland, CA who also has done extensive work in collage. Schapiro's work will be on exhibit at the Flomenhaft Gallery in Chelsea from March 30 to May 30; I'm going to go check it out. There's also an interview with her in the book that I was given last night, Lives and Works: Talks with Women Artists. It looks fascinating and I look forward to reading it.

In the end, I felt really honored to have been asked to be a part of this event, and be able to share the music of Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and the harpsichord with everyone. People loved the music and one woman was really excited to hear the music of an 18th century woman, as she has been immersed in the writings of 18th century women. People wanted to hear more, and that's alwasy a nice thing to hear. I look forward to playing a more extended concert of music by women for the harpsichord at the Women's Studio Center in the near future.

Saturday night I attended a concert of the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble, here in Astoria. New music in Astoria! It was a good concert, and I was particularly impressed with the playing of the clarinetist, Thomas Piercy. He had a wonderful sound, and was really musical. I think the first piece he played, a clarinet solo called Three Entities for Clarinet by Silas Huff, was my favorite, followed the Seven Epigrams by David Fetherolf, for violin, clarinet, and percussion. The piece Echo N Jag by B. Allen Schulz, for viola, cello, and prepared piano, was also good, but throughout the piece I kept thinking that the piano part could easily work on harpsichord, what with the kinds of sounds the prepared piano was making, and the sharp rhythms throughout. Perhaps I will contact him and make this suggestion. I wish I had been able to meet Silas, but it just wasn't meant to be, as I was exhausted from a pretty stressful week. Another time, though.

On a blog-related subject, this week I discovered the our Google Overlords have a beta blog search, where you can "find blogs on your favorite topic." It works like the news feature, where you can sort results by both relevence and date. If you type in "harpsichord" into the blogsearch, this blog shows up at the top as most relevant to the term. Hot dog!

Tuning Organs and Lost Dogs

2006-03-18T17:12:00.000-05:00

Today I went over to Ed Brewer's house in NJ to learn to tune and work with a large portative organ that he rents out regularly. It is quite a different beast from the Klops I usually work with, mostly because the pipes are positioned in awkward ways from a tuning perspective, but I enjoy the challenge. Expanding my tuning abilities, especially with chamber organs, is just what I need. And it will be a source of extra, albeit intermittent, income. I'll go back in a month or so and work with the 4' and the metal pipes, the way in which they are tuned will be a new technique for me.

While talking with Ed, I learned that we know some of the same people from my time in Los Angeles - oboist Allan Vogel and organist/harpsichordist Owen Burdick. He knows them from their time in NY, though. I am constantly reminded how small the world really is.

Tonight I'm going to go see the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble. They'll be performing six new works by New York composers. For months I've been trying to meet Silas Huff, the director of this and the Astoria Symphony, and it looks like this will the to opportunity. It will be good to hear new music in Astoria!

Harpsichord: Burning Part 3

2006-03-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I emailed Bill Thompson and he was very forthcoming about his intentions with this piece. It was no art prank and the use of fire was out of respect for the instrument, which was destined for the scrap heap before he rescued it. There were some amazing pictures taken, and the one I found particularly striking showed all the strings flaring out of the instrument after they had popped out. It was a rather beautiful image. Still, some will object to the instrument having been burned. I think that's quite alright; everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I say.

Bill wrote this about the event, which I liked:

"It was truly, honestly, beautiful. I've never seen anything quite like it. I think on the web, or in words, it must sound like a random, violent act or at best an art prank. But it was stunning in its beauty. Several people, several non-artists, even today have remarked on it. It's indescribable."

For those curious, the instrument was a German Sperrhake Passau.

Harpsichord: Burning Part 2

2006-03-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

Yep, he burned it alright.
(image hosted on Bill Thompson's website)
According to the press release following the burning/performance, Bill Thompson said, "It was very beautiful to see and surpassed all my expectations." He recorded the instrument burning, attaching mikes to it so that he could record the sound of the flames consuming the instrument, which he rescued from a scrap heap. It's hard to tell what kind of an instrument he used (A slabside Zuckerman? An old Neupert?). Perhaps I'll email him and ask.

Bill Thompson is going to make a DVD of the event from the video footage, audio recordings, and photos friends took.

In Need of Some Inspiration

2006-03-14T16:09:00.000-05:00

Bill Moyers: Do you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?

Joseph Campbell: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.