An Evening of Sacred Music

This coming event on Friday, October 12th, is a much larger recital than our typical evening of parlor music! The choir at St. Paul Cathedral, under the direction of Mr. Donald Fellows, and associate organist Kenneth Danchik, will present an hour-long concert of my music! The concert begins at 8:00 and the admission is FREE!  There will be a reception with food and drink after the performance. The address for the Cathedral is: 108 North Dithridge St, Pgh. Pa. 15213. For you local people it is at the corner of 5th Ave. and Craig St. in Oakland.  Please come and bring your friends. Take a peek at the program listed below:

Program notes from the composer:
AT THE LAMB'S HIGH FEAST WE SING
We begin tonight's concert with a prelude for organ. It is based on a wonderful Easter hymn from the 16th century. Written in the style of the Chorale Prelude, you will hear segments of the melody alternating with my own original material. Eventually, an entire verse prevails and brings the prelude to a conclusion. The organist is Kenneth Danchik.

A BOY WAS BORN
We next hear two works written for the Christmas season. The first of these is a motet for a Capella choir. The motet is a polyphonic musical setting for choir, usually sacred in content. The text comes from the 16th century. This is one of the numbers the choir recorded for their Christmas CD.

A BABE IS BORN
This second work is much different in style, and employs an organ accompaniment. The text is taken from an English text from the 15th century.


DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED
I wrote this tune for my mother a few weeks before she passed away. It includes wonderful words from the Gospel of John that would serve us all well.


EVENING AND MORNING
I found this beautiful text from P. Gerhardt that was written way back in 1666. I decided to set it to music, enhancing the work by including two violins. The violinists are Donna Deeney and Sarah Greenwald.


REJOICE IN THE LORD
In March of 2011 I decided to write a piece of music to celebrate my 66th birthday. Why not? I don't know any other composers who would do that for me! So I chose this text from Philippians because it sounded so comforting.


AVE MARIA
No one in my life has inspired me more in my quest to produce sacred music than my mother. We celebrate the Blessed Mother with this next piece, but I also dedicate it to all the women here this evening.

TE DEUM
This is an organ work that was premiered here in July by concert organist, Adam Brakel. The work takes several themes from the Gregorian chant, Te Deum, and weaves an eight-minute expression of wonderment TO GOD! Tonight's organist is Ken Danchik on our majestic Beckerath organ.

SALVE MATER
The sax is sometimes wrongly maligned as a profane instrument, but tonight there should be no doubt as to it's capability to sing like an angel. I've separated our two performers so as to create an antiphonal effect in this holy space. With Mr.Curtis Johnson on one side of the church, and Mr. Keith Bertoluzzi on the other, with Don Fellows on the organ, I hope you will enjoy my arrangement of this beautiful Gregorian chant for two alto saxophones, Salve Mater.

QUARANT'ORE
This work is dedicated to Don Fellows, but it's inspiration comes from memories long past. Way back around 1955 I was an altar boy. One of my first experiences was a 40-hours devotion. I remember lots of priests, the older altar boys swinging things around that made a lot of pleasant smoke, and lots of little girls dropping flower petals in the aisle as we processed around the church.  But most of all, I remembered the music.  the priests sang most of the time, but we got to answer them once in a while with Latin phrases the nuns taught us. Over the next few years I grew to love the Litany of the Saints, but my favorite hymn was the Pange Lingua. Maybe it was my favorite because it meant the end of the ceremony.  Nevertheless, I threw all these musical memories together in a work for organ for Don to premier.  See if you can pick out the responses to the Litany that are intertwined throughout the work. I'm sure you will pick up on the Pange Lingua toward the end of the piece.  I hope you enjoy....Quarant 'ore. (Forty Hours of Prayer)

CRUCIFIXUS
For the past several years we have performed this work here at the Cathedral during Good Friday services. Originally, it served as the climatic point in my cantata entitled "The Prince." Listen for the ending as the women sing the final section of the Requium mass, "In Paradisum."

CONFIRMATIO
It's been a long time since my 4th grade confirmation. However, the tunes the sisters of Charity hammered into our brains have never left me. For months we prepared a glorious version of Ecce Sacerdos that opens this organ work.  I can still see the bishop and his entourage marching up to the altar.  We had to learn a second piece with a lot of Latin words: Veni Creator Spiritus.  The third piece we sang was a favorite that we already knew, Come Holy Ghost. Listen for variations on these hymns as Ken Danchik plays this organ fantasy on Confirmation.

BENEDICTION
This work saved my marriage! The night before my wife's birthday I realized I had forgotten to buy her a present. I promptly wrote and dedicated this short benediction and presented it to her the next day. I think she was expecting jewery, but happily accepted this musical gift. Please accept this music blessing as we end tonights performance.


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Parlor Music in October

We have a nice program planned for our October music party. Yana Tyoulkova is preparing for a piano recital at WVU in November, so she is happy to preview some of it for us. A little Bach, a work by Kapusta, and a Sonata by Chopin will open our program. Terry and I will play a movement from Debussy's Petite Suite. Donna will play "Berceuse" by Godard. Curtis may play Apres un Reve by Gabriel Faure. Curtis or Keith, or maybe both will play Ken Danchik's arrangements of several works by Chopin for flute and keyboard, Rick Duffy may sing the Toreador song from Carmen if he can find a long stemmed rose, Mariann and I may play a Polka, and Don will celebrate TGIF as he takes up where he left of as a two-fisted drinker! The theme for the evening is French and Polish! See you on Friday, Oct. 21st at 8:00. No Czernia please!!!

More Parlor Music!

Circle the date on your calender: Friday, December 17th at 8:00
The theme is French and anything Christmas. Yana Tyulkova and
I plan to play Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker. Mariann
and I may play the Sugar Plum Fairy. Curtis Johnson will play The
Bozza Aria for sax and piano, as well as a movement from Eccles
Sonata. There will be a sing-a-long, including an arrangement of
the French carol, Ding Dong Merrily On High, and we'll have to
throw in the Hallelujah Chorus, along with who knows what!!
Hope you can join us for an evening that will really get you in
the Holiday spirit. Don't forget to bring something good to eat
or drink. I'm not sure who will be here given such a busy time
with lots of other parties going on, but I'm sure whoever shows
up will enjoy the evening.
Any questions email me at robertgfarrell@gmail.com

An Evening of American Classical music

Circle the date: Friday, November 19th for the next music party at the Farrell's. It's been hard trying to find a time when all the performers can make it, but now we have a date. You can expect to hear four pieces by Aaron Copland for piano and violin:

Billy & His Sweetheart (from Billy the Kid)
The Little Horses (from Old American Songs)
Ching-a-ring chaw (from Old American Songs)
Hoe-Down (from Rodeo)

An "Arabesque" for two violins and piano written by me ( in my younger years.)

Three preludes by Dave Brubeck

In honor of Don and Doug's new cats, I'll play "Kitten On The Keys" by Zez Comfrey

Some Sousa, Joplin (Scott, not Janis) and perhaps an arrangement of "Laura" by Marian McPartland, and who knows what else.

If you've never been to one of our music parties, we ask all to bring either a bottle of wine, dessert, or some good food to compliment the nationalities of the composers. This time it's AMERICAN! That should be easy. No hot dogs please. No Thunderbird, please.

We meet at 8:00 to eat and socialize for an hour before the music begins. Then dessert and coffee afterward. If anyone needs directions, email me at robertgfarrell@gmail.com We'd like to invite more of our friends, but we have to keep the number under 20, so please RSVP by either phone or email.

The only thing that will cancel the party is 24 inches of snow!

An Evening of Music from France and Italy

I hope to have several new guests at our next evening of parlor music. For 30 years I taught music with these three guys. The fellow in the front is Del Dowden. He directed the Jr. High Band. The man next to me is Keith Bertoluzzi. He directed the Jr. High Chorus. The fellow on the right is Dave Beswarick. He directed the string program at East Allegheny. We are all retired now, but all still involved in music making. In fact, Keith plans to bring his alto sax and play three numbers by French composers: Faure and Ravel. If Sena Jane Thompson doesn't have her baby before the recital, she plans to play Vivaldi's "Spring" from the Four Seasons. Doug and Donna have something planned that they have been working on. Mariann and I will play a duet version of Bizet's overture to CARMEN. Although I haven't told him yet, Don and I will perform the Can-Can....I mean, we will play it, not dance it! For any of you who have never been to one of these affairs, bring either food or wine that matches the music theme, which is French and Italian. All this is scheduled for:

Saturday, April 24th at 8:00

The theme is French and Italian, so the food and wine should be outstanding!

Music from the British Isles

Ellie and I are working on a duet that may not be quite ready for performance by March 20th. However, we will have plenty of other music ready for our enjoyment on that first day of Spring! Circle the date on your calender, Saturday, March 20 at 8:00. I plan to make some Shepherd's Pie, so good luck coming up with a tasty dish. Same with the wine! I'll have some Guinness here. Please, no haigus!

Music should be fun. Some possibilities are:

Corrente by Handel

The Holy Boy by John Ireland

Gigue and Tambourin by Elisabetta de Gambarini (yes, she's English)

Percy Grainger's arrangement of "Irish Tune from County Derry"

Nocturne in E minor by John Field

Prelude #6 by York Bowen

Music for violin which includes: The Ashgrove, Greensleeves, music by Elgar, and some Irish fiddle music! Duffy may bring his pipes and tin whistle (let's hope he wears underwear this time if he wears his kilt), and my son may sing: the Kerry Dance if we can get him to drink enough Guinness. And if I drink enough Guinness I'll play the cello. Or, you can all pay me NOT to play the cello! Or pay Duffy not to play his pipes! In any case, let me know if you can make it when I get back from Florida in early March.

email: farrell39@comcast.net

An Evening of Music from Russia and Eastern Europe

Circle Friday, December 18th on your calander for an evening of music
from Russia and Eastern Europe.

For those new to our recitals, we try to compliment our composers with food from their countries. Right now, I'm thinking beets...cabbage....saurkraut.............turnips....Vodka................................Duck blood soup......perogies.....halushki.......stuffed caggage rolls... and capuska! We all seem to come up with wonderful things to eat and drink. If you can't cook, bring a bottle of wine! Cheese balls and crackers are always welcomed. Listed below are a few of the potential compositions you might hear:

Two Mazurkas....one by Chopin, and one by Mikhail Glinka

Arabesque by Anton Arensky

Prelude by Dmitri Kabalevsky

Four pieces for piano and violin by Shostakovich

Roumanian Folk Dances for violin and piano by Bela Bartok

An art song by Rimsky Korsakov - "The Rose Has Charmed The Nightingale."

Slavonic Dance No. 2 by Antonin Dvorak

Tango by Biljana Krstic

A few selections from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky

A duet of Sleigh Ride and Jingle Bells

Several Czech, Croatian, and Polish Carols

FOOD NEWS! I just heard from my sister Annie who will be bringing several people from the Beaver Falls area. she plans to bring stuffed cabbage! Her friend, Carolyn, whose family is from Croatia, emailed that she already knows what she is bringing. It's something her grandmother made called mlince, fried sweet donuts. Marie said that she has her mother's recipe for haluski, made with cabbage and dumplings, rather than noodles. Marie also plays piano and plans to perform something.