Hi everyone! It's been a while. Sorry I've never posted, or haven't in a long time...I've been so busy that I keep forgetting about it. Anyway, it's that time of year again. I am playing a couple things this semester with the NIU Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm sorry it's such late notice...I was thinking that the performance was next week instead of this week.
The first concert I am playing on is THIS WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20TH, 2010 at 8:00PM CENTRAL TIME (7pm mountain, and 9pm eastern). And, like the others before, it will be WEBCAST LIVE (see link on the right column of my blog), which means you can watch (or just listen) online in HD!! (In case you are new to the webcast, they recommend that you get the latest updates in Adobe Reader and Flash Player, especially if you experience problems. Links to do that are on the Webcast page, I believe)
So tell all your friends and family, it's going to be an awesome performance....especially because I am in it!
There is only one piece on this concert, because it is very long:
Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
- for Choir and Orchestra
This is a very beautiful piece by Brahms. Personally, I think Brahms is one of the most expressive composers of the 19th c.
Program Notes:
Brahms’ text seeks to comfort the living who must deal
with and accept death. Just 33 years old when he completed the bulk of A
German Requiem, Brahms already had a very personal perspective on mourning.
The requiem had begun to gestate in Brahms’ mind a decade earlier, in response
to the untimely and protracted death of his close friend and mentor, Robert
Schumann: And there can be little doubt that the death of Brahms’ mother
in February 1865, spurred him on to complete the work.
A German Requiem, however, is not simply a memorial to the composer’s mother
or mentor, but a message of hope for us all. Brahms took great pains
putting together his text, piecing together fragments from throughout the Bible
to create a tapestry of solace.
The musical form is a tightly wrought edifice, a seven movement arch with the
music of brightest comfort at its center. The first and last movements
echo each other in conveying blessings, first upon the mourners, finally upon
the dead. The second and sixth movements are the darkest (and longest).
The third and fifth movements feature soloists in meditations, the baritone
seeking hope, the soprano bestowing it. Nestled in the middle is the
shortest movement, the gorgeous chorus of tranquility, “How Lovely Is Thy
Dwelling Place.”
For complete notes about this piece, visit the below link (or google for other sites):
For the chorale text and translation, visit this link:
Harp in the Requiem
~There are two harpists in this piece: myself and Annie, a senior harpist at NIU. Although we only play on Movements I, II, and the very end of VII, the piece is well worth listening to in its entirety, even if you are not specifically watching it. It is great background music as well. It is very beautiful and the choir does a very good job considering the magnitude of the piece. The harp parts are also very exposed...so you should be able to hear us for most of our playing. In addition there are 2 solo parts that I play. The first is at the very end of Mvt. I, the second is at the very end of the piece, in Mvt. VII. I think that's cool because it ends the way it started, and ends with the harp. :)
~P.S. Oh, and for those who were wondering, the header photo on my blog was indeed taken by me. =) For those who only get my email, you should click on the link to my actual blog page (michelleheuer.blogspot.com)...it looks way cooler up there. You will actually have to do that anyway to find the link for the live webcast. And you can comment on my posts if you like as well (when I finally have time to post anyway...)