Writers Forum, Kuwait dedicated an evening to bid farewell to Mrs. Gobind Rani Sethi and her husband Dr. Sarvan Kumar Sethi, a scientist and a professor in the Kuwait University on 29 May 2015 at the residence of Mrs. Tajwer Sultana. The couple decided to leave Kuwait for good and to settle in Vancouver close to their children.
Mrs. Gobind Rani has been an active member of the Writers' Forum for last nine years. She is an established and well acclaimed Hindi poet and is particularly known for the use of simple language and metaphors in her poetry to deal with the complex subjects such as patriotism, abolition of Child Labour, unsatisfactory social and economic conditions in Indian society. In her poetry, her zeal for the abolition of child labour and unsatisfactory social and economic condition of the labours in India is deeply reflected in her book Kavita Kalash.
The evening was presided over by Umesh Sharma, President of the Forum and Dr. Sarvan Sethi was the chief guest. Tajwer Sultana, the General Secretary of the forum conducted the proceeding in an incredibly awesome manner. The program began with warm welcome and best wishes by members to Mrs. Sethi and Dr. Sethi for their future endeavors after which Dr Mirza Umer Beg, a well known story writer and previous President of the forum presented the plaque of honor to Mrs. Gobind Rani Sethi on the behalf of the Writers' Forum.
He stated that the Writers' Forum is going to miss Mrs. Gobind Rani Sethi, as a member of integrity, simplicity and high stature. Mr. Syed Qamar Minto and Mr. Rajesh Verlerkar recited their poems written in the honour of Mrs. Sethi. Other members expressed their mixed feelings of happiness and sadness on this occasion including Dr. Navniit Gandhi, Mr. Sunil Sonsi, Ms. Shahjahan Jaffery, Mr. Aamir Diwan, Mr. Aamir Kidwai, Mr. Aftab Alam, Mr. Afroz Alam, Ms. Humaira Roshi, Mr. Nazar Kadapawi, Mr. Shakeel Jamshedpuri, Mr. Kamal Ansari, Mr. Ravin Singh. As a matter of fact, the whole atmosphere was highly charged with emotions related to the departure of this endeared Sethi family.
Mrs. Gobind Rani extended her thanks to every member individually and expressed herself how close she feels to the forum. She also shared the story how she joined the forum which became a platform to inspire her to complete her first book Kavita Kalash.
Towards the conclusion of the program, the chief guest Dr. Sarvan K. Sethi presented his views about the Writers Forum. He said he learned more from the Writers Forum in his life than his academic and professional achievements. He emphasized that the power of pen is immense and urged the writers and poets of the forum to change the mind set of politicians and rich people in India for the socio-economic developments in India. He also mentioned his future plan of writing a book on his experiences in Kuwait.
Mr. Umesh Sharma in his presidential note, highlighted contributions made by Mrs. Sethi and appreciated her efforts of writing on child labour, farmers and other social issues. Mr. Sharma lauded the contribution of Dr. Sethi to the Forum by his presence in monthly meetings and other activities. He stated that Dr. Sethi reversed the common phrase 'Behind every successful man there is a woman'. Finally, Mr. Sharma asked all members of the Writers Forum to extend their cooperation and support to accomplish objectives outlined by the General Secretary, Mrs. Tajwer Sultana and thanked all the members for their active participation. A new member Mr. Dhiraj Sharma was welcomed to the Writers Forum on this occasion.


Identity, business to consumer content managed website, video.
Internationally renowned British jewellery designer.
To redesign the identity and create a bold website to align with business objectives.
Refined logotype and new symbol designed to reflect the precision and flair of David Fowkes's creations. A portfolio website that showcases the stunning jewellery, entices enquiries and most importantly tells the brand story.
Letterforms were redrawn, adjusted and spaced for alignment. This work was based upon the original David Fowkes wordmark.
Wordmark set in Futura with Cormorant Garamond SC Light.
A hallmark product stamp was also developed with each element aligned and spaced accordingly.
Core colour swatches for David Fowkes. A set of supporting colors were also put forward.
Invitations to view a pre-release menswear collection.
Editorial artwork supplied for various industry publications.


With more than two-thirds of all agricultural plants dependent on insect pollinators, primarily bees, to produce seed, effective pollinator management is important to organic seed producers, especially in light of increasing pressures from two key challenges.
Undesirable outcrossing can occur when wind or pollinators transport pollen from an outside source into a seed crop field. This can produce a number of different results for organic seed producers; if two organic varieties are crossed, the result may be a new, undesirable variety, even if organic. However, when the movement occurs between an organic seed crop and a genetically modified seed crop, the result might be a seed crop with the genetically modified trait.
A wealth of practical organic farming information has been gathered over the years by farmers and researchers all over the country, and is shared through a variety of methods. One storehouse of knowledge is The Natural Farmer (TNF), which is the quarterly journal of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), a 5,000-strong membership organization with chapters in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire.


text:
Q: single list to dictionary I have this list:
single = ['key1', 'value1', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']

What's the best way to create a dictionary from this?
Thanks.

A: Similar to SilentGhost's solution, without building temporary lists:
>>> from itertools import izip
>>> single = ['key1', 'value1', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']
>>> si = iter(single)
>>> dict(izip(si, si))
{'key3': 'value3', 'key2': 'value2', 'key1': 'value1'}

A: This is the simplest I guess. You will see more wizardry in solution here using list comprehension etc
dictObj = {}
for x in range(0, len(single), 2):
    dictObj[single[x]] = single[x+1]

Output:
>>> single = ['key1', 'value1', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']
>>> dictObj = {}
>>> for x in range(0, len(single), 2):
...     dictObj[single[x]] = single[x+1]
...
>>>
>>> dictObj
{'key3': 'value3', 'key2': 'value2', 'key1': 'value1'}
>>>

A: >>> single = ['key1', 'value1', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']
>>> dict(zip(single[::2], single[1::2]))
{'key3': 'value3', 'key2': 'value2', 'key1': 'value1'}

A: L = ['key1', 'value1', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']
d = dict(L[n:n+2] for n in xrange(0, len(L), 2))

A: >>> single = ['key', 'value', 'key2', 'value2', 'key3', 'value3']
>>> dict(zip(*[iter(single)]*2))
{'key3': 'value3', 'key2': 'value2', 'key': 'value'}

Probably not the most readable version though ;)

A: You haven't specified any criteria for "best". If you want understandability, simplicity, easily modified to check for duplicates and odd number of inputs, works with any iterable (in case you can't find out the length in advance), NO EXTRA MEMORY USED, ... try this:
def load_dict(iterable):
    d = {}
    pair = False
    for item in iterable:
        if pair:
            # insert duplicate check here
            d[key] = item
        else:
            key = item
        pair = not pair
    if pair:
        grumble_about_odd_length(key)
    return d

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Trudeau's Win by the Numbers
Over the past year, there have been thousands of articles written about Justin Trudeau, his father, and his leadership campaign. Since it hasn't been a big secret he was going to come out on top, we've also seen thousands of articles about what his win means.
So rather than rehash what has already been written, allow me to provide the cold hard numbers behind his victory.
NUMBER OF VOTES: 104,552
That's more than voted in the most recent NDP (65,108) or Conservative (97,397) leadership races – indeed, it might very well be the most Canadians to ever vote directly for the leader in a federal leadership race. I say "federal", because, despite what was claimed earlier today, the 2006 Alberta PC leadership race drew 144,289 votes.
Either way, I wouldn't read too much into this. Both the BC and Alberta Liberals had high turnout leadership races in 2011, and it doesn't appear to have translated to general public support. But at the very least, Justin Trudeau now has a lot of semi-engaged Liberals to draw from for donations and volunteers.
TRUDEAU'S FIRST BALLOT SUPPORT: 80.1%
It's difficult to compare this total to delegated conventions – especially delegated conventions from the good old days. But, for fun, Trudeau's first ballot support ranks behind Martin (94%), is comparable to Pearson (78%), and is decidedly ahead of St. Laurent (69%), Chretien (57%), Turner (46%), King (36%), the other Trudeau (32%), and Dion (18%). Trudeau performed slightly better than Stephen Harper, who received 69% of the votes and 56% of the points (after they were weighted by riding) in 2004.
WAS IT INEVITABLE?
Trudeau's crushing triumph certainly makes it look inevitable in hindsight. Maybe it was, but we've seen "can't miss" candidates miss before.
If you look at the Intrade stock for a Trudeau victory, it ranged from 75% to 91%, showing that at least some people were willing to bet against him. Back in December, I asked readers of this blog to offer their predictions on the race, and while every entry except one had Trudeau winning, he was only given an average score of 41% on the first ballot. Remember, these are people who follow politics closely.
Even a few days ago, my poll of readers predicted an average first ballot figure of 65%, and only one-in-ten thought he'd crack 80%.
Of course, the support was always there, even if we didn't all see it. But speaking as someone who was convinced to vote for Trudeau based on his performance during this race, I think the candidate and the campaign deserve a certain amount of credit for the magnitude of his victory.
ABOUT THOSE POWER RANKINGS
Here are my final Power Rankings, with each metric converted to a percentage:
Total $ Donors Endorsement Media Facebook Twitter Power Rank
Justin Trudeau 63% 68% 90% 77% 84% 91% 78% (+3)
Joyce Murray 13% 16% 8% 7% 2% 3% 9% (–)
Martha Hall Findlay 11% 9% 1% 7% 10% 4% 6% (-1)
Martin Cauchon 9% 2% 1% 4% 3% 1% 4% (–)
Karen McCrimmon 2% 2% 0% 3% 0% 0% 1.7% (–)
Deborah Coyne 2% 3% 0% 2% 1% 1% 1.5% (-1)
Even though these power rankings weren't intended to predict first ballot support, they came within 2 percentage points for every candidate:
Power Rank Actual
Justin Trudeau 78% 80%
Joyce Murray 9% 10%
Martha Hall Findlay 6% 6%
Martin Cauchon 4% 3%
Deborah Coyne 1% 1%
Karen McCrimmon 2% 1%
I'm sure some of that is luck, but this is definitely an exercise I plan to continue on future leadership races.
Posted on April 14, 2013 by CalgaryGrit	in --- 2013 LPC Leadership Race, Featured Posts, Fun with Numb3rs
15 Responses to Trudeau's Win by the Numbers
Dan F April 14, 2013
Future leadership races? I'm hoping we don't have another one for a long time.
CalgaryGrit April 14, 2013
There are always provincial races and, if idle media speculation is to be believed, perhaps even a CPC race in the near future…
Luke April 14, 2013
I should point out that my 'guess' at Trudeau not winning was not really genuine. But the answers needed some diversity!
However, I did believe that another win was distinctly possible, as I was undecided for most of the race and naively figured it was well and truly possible that many others were as well.
bluegreenblogger April 14, 2013
For me the surprise was just how poorly JM did. I will want to dig through the numbers carefully, Joyce`s campaign was very important due the to means that were employed to make her a contender. The rest of the race is what it is, but Murray was something brand new that needs to be thoroughly understood. My questions will relate to turnout from her Leadnow and FairVote supporters. We will have to disentangle the randomised (and hence inefficient) distribution of her supporters from the raw numbers of votes. I for one am very interested in motivation of soft support, and that should actually be THE BURNING QUESTION for Liberals. How do we motivate, and GOTV supporters who have a less than solid connection to the Liberal Party.
The riding-by-riding vote totals have been released on the LPC site. It will be interesting to see how Joyce's strength breaks down by region/riding.
If someone finds an Excel file of the data out there, I'd be glad to do a bit of analysis on it.
Sean C. April 14, 2013
At least one of those two kids is laying the groundwork for the 2053 leadership race.
There was some footage of Ella-Grace picking her nose during Justin's speech yesterday – if she does run in 2053, you can bet that will find its way into a CPC attack ad.
Grant April 15, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk-UwQYrAnk&list=UUXQ8ScjVXoqwp9kzZ7B0OEw&index=1
Neil April 15, 2013
Picking at nits here, but I always wondered why your power rank put McCrimmon above Coyne. Coyne was ahead or tied in everything except Media and that includes social media, did you over weight traditional media mentions? I would have thought donors was at least equal to media.
I always assumed Coyne would finish ahead of McCrimmon, but the math kept showing them essentially tied.
The formula has 30% for fundraising, with the bulk of that is on total $ raised rather than total number of donors, and McCrimmon raised more dough than Coyne. Social media was only worth 10% in the formula.
In the end, we're dealing with tenths of percentage points between the two of them.
Fred April 15, 2013
A new leader for the famous LPC.
Reminds me of the sign in the gift shop . . . "You break it, you have bought it"
Pingback: Justin Trudeau: Too Sexy For His Shirt, Too Sexy For Canada? | Calgary Grit
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Jordan April 15, 2013
Hall Findlay ended up being a big disappointment.
Robert V April 15, 2013
Congratulations Dan, you are really on to something with your power rankings.
You're the Canadian Nate Silver – when's your book coming out?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Classical music: Two noteworthy baroque concerts by Just Bach and the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble are on tap this Wednesday afternoon and Saturday night
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just "Like" it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
Fans of Baroque music have two noteworthy events this week to look forward to.
Both concerts feature period instruments and historically informed performance practices.
WEDNESDAY AT NOON
This coming Wednesday, Oct. 16, from noon to 12:30 p.m. at Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, the second FREE Just Bach concert of the semester will take place.
The concerts by Just Bach (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) are now a regular feature of the Music at Midday at Luther Memorial Church.
Organist Mark Brampton Smith opens the program with a brief Fantasia on the melody of "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (Christ Lay in Death's Bonds). That tune will reappear at the very end of the program, in the final chorale of Cantata 158.
The next piece on the program was also written for solo organ, but will be heard in an arrangement for violin, viola, cello and organ. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote six organ trio sonatas, apparently for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann.
The C Minor Sonata, the second in the set, is full of fiery drama in the outer movements, framing a dreamy, peaceful Largo.
UW-Madison baritone Paul Rowe will lead the chorale sing-along, a beloved audience-participation feature of these programs.
The program closes with Cantata 158, "Der Friede sei mit dir" (Peace Be with You), with solo bass-baritone Jake Elfner. Elisheva Pront provides the luminous "cantus firmus" (an existing melody used in a polyphonic composition) in the second movement, which also features a beautiful violin solo played by Kangwon Kim. The Cantata ends with a chorale on the tune of "Christ lag in Todesbanden."
You may bring your lunch and beverage.
The concert is FREE and open to the public, with a goodwill offering collected.
Other Just Bach concerts this fall, all Wednesdays at Noon, are: Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.
Performers this week are: Jake Elfner, bass-baritone; Elisheva Pront, soprano; Kangwon Kim, violin; Leanne League, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; James Waldo, cello; and Mark Brampton Smith, organ.
For more information, go to: https://justbach.org or https://www.facebook.com/JustBachSeries/
This Saturday night, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street in Madison, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) will perform a concert of varied chamber music.
Performers include: Mimmi Fulmer, UW-Madison soprano; Nathan Giblierano, baroque violin; Eric Miller, viola da gamba and baroque cello; Chelsie Propst, soprano; Charlie Rasmussen, viola da gamba and baroque cello; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
Tickets are at the door only: $20 for the public, $10 students. After the concert, a reception will be held at 2422 Kendall Ave, second floor.
The program is:
Henry Purcell: Three Fantasias
Giacomo Carissimi: "Scrivete, occhi dolente" (Write, Sore Eyes)
George Frideric Handel: Violin Sonata, HWV 372 (heard in an animated graphic depiction the YouTube video at the bottom)
Claudio Monteverdi: "Baci soave e cari" (Soft and Dear Kisses)
Luzzasco Luzzaschi: "O dolcezze amarissime" (O Bitter Sweetness)
Martin Berteau: Trio for violoncellos
Giulio Caccini: Excerpts from "La liberazione di Ruggiero" (The Liberation of Ruggiero)
For more information, go to: www.wisconsinbaroque.org
Tags: #AntonTenWolde, #BachCantata, #BaritoneSinger, #BaroqueMusic, #BassBaritone, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChelsiePropst, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #ConsueloSañudo, #ElishevaPront, #EricMiller, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GiacomoCarissimi, #GiulioCaccini, #HarpsichordMusic, #HenryPurcell, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JakeElfner, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #JustBach, #KangwonKim, #LeanneLeague, #LutherMemorialChurch, #LuzzascoLuzzaschi, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MartinBerteau, #MaxYount, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MimmiFulmer, #MusicatMidday, #Musicfaculty, #NathanGiblierano, #OrganMusic, #PaulRowe, #PeriodInstruments, #PolyphonicMusic, #SaturdayNight, #SingAlong, #SopranoSinger, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #TheEar, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VioladaGamba, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #ViolinSonata, #VocalMusic, #WandererFantasy", #WilhelmFriedemannBach, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #YouTubevideo, afternoon, Anton TenWolde, arrangement, Arts, audience, Bach, baritone, Baroque, Baroque music, bass-baritone, beloved, beverage, blog, bonds, Caccini, Cantata, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, Chelsie Propst, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claudio Monteverdi, composer, Concert, conductor, Consuelo Sañudo, dear, death, depiction, door, drama, dream, dreamy, Early music, Elisheva Pront, ensemble, Episcopalian, Eric Miller, event, Facebook, Facebook page, fan, Fantasia, fantasy, father, forward, free, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Carissimi, graphic, Handel, harpsichord, help, Henry Purcell, historically informed performance practices, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Elfner, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johh W. Barker, Just Bach, kisses, Leanne League, liberation, like, link, lunch, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Madison, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, Martin Berteau, Max Yount, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, Mezzo-soprano, Mimmi Fulmer, Monteverdi, movements, Music, Music at Midday, music faculty, Nathan Giblierano, night, noon, noteworthy, offering, organ, organist, Paul Rowe, peace, peaceful, performer, period instruments, polyphonic, polyphony, post, posting, program, public, Purcell, reception, Saturday, semester, share, sing, sing-along, soft, solo, son, Sonata, soprano, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, students, tag, The Ear, tickets, trio, trio sonata, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, violist, vocal music, Wednesday, week, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Early Music Festival will present a Grand Tour of musical styles to mark its success after 20 years. The "tour" starts this Saturday, July 6, and runs through Saturday, July 13. Part 1 of 2
A big anniversary deserves a big celebration – and that is exactly what the organizers of this year's Madison Early Music Festival (below, the All-Festival Concert in 2018) have come up with.
Co-artistic director Cheryl Bensman-Rowe recently wrote about the festival in a Q&A interview for this blog. Here is Part 1 of 2:
This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the Madison Early Music Festival. Can you briefly summarize the progress of the festival over all those years and how you – through audience size, participants, media coverage – measure the success it has achieved?
How successful is this year's festival compared to the beginning festival and to others in terms of enrollment, budgets and performers? How does this of MEMF's reach nationally or even internationally compare to previous years?
What can you say about where the festival will go in the coming years?
As the 20th Madison Early Music Festival approaches, we have looked back at how far we have come from 1999 when we were a little festival of 60 participants and faculty. We have grown to our current size of 140 faculty members and participants — fellow lovers of early music.
Last year, we had the largest group of participants when 120 students enrolled. MEMF now attracts students of all ages, from 18 to 91, amateurs and professionals, from all over North America and Europe.
Our success is due to the help and support of many individuals and outside organizations. We could not manage MEMF without the amazing staff at the Division of the Arts at UW-Madison. They help with everything from printed materials, website design and management, social media, grant writing, fundraising, proofreading and on-site assistance at all of our events and more.
Paul and I (below) work with Sarah Marty, the Program Director of MEMF, who keeps things organized and running smoothly throughout the year.
Also, we are grateful to our dedicated MEMF Board, donations from many individuals, grants, and the generosity of William Wartmann, who created an endowment for the festival, and after his death left an additional $400,000 for our endowment. It takes a village!
Not only have we become an important part of the summer music scene in Madison, but we have contributed to the national and international early music community. The 2019 concert series will be featuring artists from California to New York, Indiana to Massachusetts, and from Leipzig, Germany.
We hope to have many old and new audience members join us for this exciting celebration of our 20th year. For future seasons our motto is "To infinity and beyond!" as we continue to build on our past successes.
What is new and what is the same in terms of format, students, faculty members and performers?
This year we have a new program, the Advanced Voice Intensive, which provides an opportunity for auditioned advanced singers who are interested in a capella vocal music from the Renaissance – singing sacred polyphony and madrigals to improve their skills as ensemble singers.
Twenty singers from all over the country will be joining the inaugural program to rehearse and perform music from Italy, England and Germany.
At the end of the week they will sing in a masterclass with the vocal ensemble Calmus (below) on Thursday, July 11, at 11:30 a.m. in Morphy Recital Hall. On Saturday, July 13, they will perform in a FREE concert with the popular Advanced Loud Band ensemble in Morphy Recital Hall.
Here's the link for all the information about MEMF: https://memf.wisc.edu/
All concerts include a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m. and the concerts in Mils Hall begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $90 for an all-event pass; each individual concert is $22, for students $12. Tickets are available for purchase online and by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787) with a $4 service fee, or in person at the Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office @ Memorial Union.
We also have two Fringe Concerts this year featuring new vocal ensembles from Wisconsin. On Monday, July 8, at 7 p.m. at Pres House, Schola Cantorum of Eau Claire (below), a 12-voice ensemble directed by UW-Madison graduate Jerry Hui, will perform "Mystery and Mirth: A Spanish Christmas."
And on Wednesday, July 10, at 7 p.m. at Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, the Milwaukee-based Aperi Animam (below) perform "Libera Nos," a program of sacred vocal music.
The Fringe Concerts are FREE with donations accepted at the door.
Why was the theme of "The Grand Tour" chosen for the festival? What is the origin of the conceit, and what major composers and works will be highlighted?
We decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary by choosing a theme that would be broader than previous years and portray what people might experience when they are 20 years old – traveling abroad on a gap year.
We were also inspired by Englishman Thomas Coryat, aka "The First Tourist." He published his travelogue Crudities in 1611, an amusing and thorough account of his five months of travel throughout Europe. This tradition of the Grand Tour of Europe continued through the 17th and 18th centuries, especially when wealthy young aristocrats finished their formal schooling.
Several of the concert programs this summer feature quotes from different travelogues, including Coryat's, as an organizational concept. If you search all over Europe, you find an American at Versailles learning courtly manners, and a fictional Englishman, born in 1620, sending postcards from the Grand Tour.
We will also have a stop at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris with the silent film version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and a musical tour of sacred vocal music and madrigals. This theme allowed us to include music from many different time periods from all over Europe — a rich Grand Tour of musical offerings!
The opening concert on this Saturday, July 6, features Dark Horse Consort returning to Madison with Wanderlust, their newly created program for MEMF's Grand Tour theme. The program follows the misadventures of an English gentleman as he embarks on a continental Grand Tour adventure in search of love and fulfillment.
Our hero's travelogue includes springtime consort songs by Alfonso Ferrabosco and William Byrd; Erasmus Widmann's beguiling German dances dedicated to women; the wooing songs of the Italian gondolier; and sultry Spanish airs.
On Sunday, July 7, Alchymy Viols (below) performs "American at Versailles," an original ballet masque of French baroque music, dance and drama written and choreographed by Sarah Edgar, featuring Carrie Henneman Shaw, soprano; Sarah Edgar, director and dancer; and guest soprano Paulina Francisco. The American on the Grand Tour encounters the exotic world of French baroque manners, dress, dance and love.
TOMORROW: Part 2 explores the rest of the festival next week, including a rare book exhibit and the All-Festival finale on Saturday night
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #AlchymyViols, #AlfonsoFerrabosco, #AperiAnimam, #ArtisticDirector, #BandMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CarrieHennemanShaw, #ChamberMusic, #CherylBensman-Rowe, #ChristianChurch, #DarkHorseConsort, #EauClaire, #EndowmentFund, #EnglishMusic, #ErasmusWidmann, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FelixMendelssohn, #FrenchDance, #FrenchMusic, #GapYear, #Germandances, #GermanMusic, #GrantWriting, #ItalianMusic, #JerryHui, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeipzigGermany, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemorialUnion, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicalStyle, #NorthAmerica, #NotreDamedeParis, #PaulinaFrancisco, #PaulRowe, #PolyphonicMusic, #PresHouse, #ProfessionalMusician, #Proofreading, #RenaissanceMadrigal, #RenaissanceMusic, #RenaissancePolyphony, #SacredMusic, #SarahEdgar, #SarahMarty, #ScolaCantorum, #SilentFilm, #SocialMedia, #TheHunchbackofNotreDame, #ThomasCoryat, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WesternEurope, #WilliamByrd, #WilliamWartmann, a cappella, advanced, airs, Alchymy Viols, Alfonso Ferrabosco, amateur, American, anniversary, Aperi Animam, aristocrats, Artistic director, Arts, assistance, audience, ballet, band, Baroque, Baroque music, beyond, big, blog, Book, box office, budget, California, Campus, Carrie Henemann Shaw, cathedral, celebrate, celebration, Chamber music, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, choral music, choreograph, Christian, Christmas, church, Classical music, community, composer, concept, Concert, continental, country, coverage', dance, dancer, Dark Horse Consort, death, design, donation, door, drama, dress, Early music, Eau Claire, endowment, England, Englishman, enrollment, ensemble, Erasmus Widmann, Europe, event, exhibit, exotic, experience, Facebook, faculty, Felix Mendelssohn, festival, film, finale, forward, free, French, fringe, fulfillment, Fundraising, future, gap year, gentleman, German dances, Germany, gondolier, grand, grant, guest, help, important, inaugural, Indiana, individuals, infinity, intensive, international, interview, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Hui, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leipzig, like, link, little, loud, Love, lover, lovers, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, management, manners, masque, Massachusetts, masterclass, material, Mead Witter School of Music, media, MEMF, Memorial Union, Milwaukee, mirth, motto, movie, Music, musical, mystery, national, new, North America, Notre Dame, old, online, organization, outside, part, participant, Paul Rowe, Paulina Francisco, People, performer, polyphony, postcard, Pres House, printed, professional, progress, Q&A, rare, reader, Renaissance, sacred, Sarah Edgar, Sarah Marty, scene, school, schooling, Scola Cantorum, share, silent film, sing, singer, Singing, size, skill, social media, song, soprano, Spanish, springtime, Student, style, subscriber, success, summer, support, tag, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, theme, Thomas Coryat, ticket, time, tour, tourist, travel, traveling, travelogue, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Arts Institute, Versailles, village, Viol, Violin, vocal, vocal music, voice, wanderlust, wealthy, Website, William Byrd, William Wartmann, Wisconsin, women, woo, written, wrote, years
Classical music: The talented new director of the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble sets the acclaimed and still impressive group on a new path with mixed results and hopeful expectations
The Isthmus Vocal Ensemble (IVE, below) is a well-established part of Madison's musical summers. It offers dedicated choral singers a chance for intensive rehearsal preparation of highly accomplished choral music, and has delivered some truly memorable events over the years.
Of its concerts this year, I caught the second performance on Sunday afternoon. The choir itself doesn't need to be shown off by now, but it was the choir's chance to show off its new conductor in his first appearance here.
Michael McGaghie (below) is that new conductor. He is very plainly a brilliant choral technician who knows how to make a choir sound wonderful. (For more about McGaghie, who is the Director of Choral Activities at Macalester Collge in St. Paul and who leads the Harvard Glee Club Alumni Chorus in Cambridge, Mass., go to: https://www.isthmusvocalensemble.org/artisticdirector/)
That he did throughout the program. The IVE — 69 singers strong — certainly responded with an infectious enthusiasm that was also communicated to the large audience that filled the Christ Presbyterian Church. The concert was certainly a feast of great choral singing.
But what about the music?
To begin with, the actual music amounted to no more than about an hour's worth. McGaghie planned the program as a progress of emotional moods, and he introduced each piece himself.
But what were the contents? McGaghie largely turned his back on the centuries of great choral music, the kind that his predecessor Scott MacPherson explored so ambitiously.
There were, at the beginning, two examples of that, motets by Thomas Tallis of the 16th century and Heinrich Schütz of the 17th century.
There was also an interesting nugget from the Russian composer and conductor Nikolai Golovanov (below), an early work of his (1917), setting the Lord's Prayer (Otche naš) In a style departing from the previous two centuries of great Russian Orthodox choral writing.
Beyond those, however, the remaining nine items in the program — and the encore — were entirely by recent composers, mostly living and mostly American. These were his introductory calling cards, and so they invite scrutiny.
Ours is not an age of great, idiomatic choral writing, and composers go their own ways variously. Many of them rely upon a kind of chordal declamation with little sense of line or full-bodied texture.
Some pieces I don't think I would want to hear again, and a couple I would not have wanted to hear even the first time.
An example of the latter is a piece about sirens and sailors by Chinese-American Chen Yi (below top), a collage of weird choral sounds but no musical content recognizable to any but Chinese ears.
Another was a loudly trashy adaptation of a Civil Rights "freedom song" by Jeffrey Douma (below bottom), plus the gesture to multicultural triviality in a Philippine folksong arrangement.
Three of the items came with piano accompaniment. In The Whole Sea in Motion by Dale Trumbore (below top) — which uses a text from Anne Brontë — the piano gave an underlying ripple to support declamatory, non-linear writing.
In Eternity by Donald Martino (below), the pleasantly lyrical choral writing really didn't need the piano at all. And that part was much too prominent against Morten Lauridsen's nicely polyphonic, and quite self-sufficient, choral texture in "Sure on This Shining Night" that treated James Agee's famous poem. (You can hear the Lauridsen work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
There were certainly some among these contemporary items that I found quite enjoyable.
In Ophelia, a setting the account of that woman's death in Hamlet, Jocelyn Hagen (below top) was overly concerned with story-telling, but the work certainly contained some lovely writing. O Radiant Dawn by Scottish master James MacMillan (below bottom) was a beautifully sonorous tribute to Catholic liturgical tradition.
What does this conducting debut point to for the future?
McGaghie can create the most splendid choral beauty — though often at the sacrifice of clear diction. On the basis of this program, it looks like he could now focus the IVE on lots of short contemporary pieces, rather than on the vast traditional literature.
We will have to see.
Tags: #Americancomposers, #AmericanRecordGuide, #AnneBrontë, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CambridgeMassachusetts, #ChenYi, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ChristPresbyterianChurch, #CivilRights, #DaleTrumbore, #DonaldMartino, #EmeritusProfessor, #GleeClub, #HarvardUniversity, #HeinrichSchütz, #IsthmusNewspaper, #IsthmusVocalEnsemble, #JamesAgee, #JamesMacMillan, #JeffreyDouma, #JesusChrist, #JocelynHagen, #JohnW.Barker, #Lord'sPrayer, #MacalesterCollege, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MedievalHistory, #MichaelMcGaghie, #MortenLauridsen, #MusicCritic, #NikolaiGolovanov, #PianoAccompaniment, #PolyphonicMusic, #RomanCatholicism, #RussianComposer, #ScottMacPherson, #St.PaulMinnesota, #ThomasTallis, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WilliamShakespeare, #WORT-FM89.9, 16th century, 17th century, accompaniment, alumni, American Record Guide, Anne Brontë, arrangement, Arts, Baroque, beauty, brilliant, Chen Yi, Chinese, Chinese-American, Choir, choral, choral music, chordal, Christ, Christ Presbyterian Church, church, civil rights, Classical music, classicalmusic, collage, composer, Concert, conductor, Dale Trumbore, declamation, director, Donald Martino, Early music, earlymusic, emeritus, emotion, emotional, enthusiasm, event, famous, feast, folk song, folksong, gesture, Glee Club, Hamlet, Harvard, Heinrich Schütz, History, infectious, Isthmus, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, Jacob Stockinger, James Agee, James MacMillan, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jocelyn Hagen, John W. Barker, lecture, liturgical, Lord, Lord's Prayer, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Medieval, MEMF, memorable, Michael McGaghie, Morten Lauridsen, motet, multicultural, Music, Nikolai Golovanov, Ophelia, Philippine, photo, Piano, piece, plan, poem, Poetry, polyphonic, polyphony, prayer, Presbyterian, professor, program, recent, rehearsal, Roman Catholicism, Russian, Scotland, Scott MacPherson, Scottish, sea, Shakespeare, singer, Singing, St. Paul, summer, Thomas Tallis, tribute, triviality, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The Mendota Consort's outstanding concert of music by the early Baroque master Johann Schein left one wanting more of both the music and the singers
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. He also took the performance photographs.
The Mendota Consort is to some extent a spin-off of the Madison Early Music Festival, first in 2017 and now this year.
Its membership has been shifting, though the versatile Jerry Hui has been a cornerstone, and the drive for its continuity has been the work of Maya Webne-Behrman.
The group's concert at Luther Memorial Church on last Saturday night was the last of three performances given around the state. There are plans for several concerts in the season ahead, around the country, despite the members' diverse and far-flung individual residences.
The group performing this latest program are five singers. As shown in the photograph below, they are (from left): sopranos Webne-Behrman and Chelsie Propst; bass Matt Chastain, alto Hui, and tenor Drew Ivarson.
Their program for these current concerts was devoted to selections from the collection Fontana d'Israel, or Israel's Brünnlein, published in 1623 by Johann Hermann Schein (below, 1586-1630), one of the important composers of the early German Baroque, and a distant predecessor of Johann Sebastian Bach in his position in Leipzig.
The collection's title is conventionally translated as the "Fountain of Israel" but might also be rendered as "Israel's Wellspring." It consists of 26 relatively short pieces setting texts that the composer selected from various books of the Old Testament, texts with messages both personal and communal between Jehovah and His Chosen People.
These five-voice pieces — with optional basso seguentefor organ — might readily be construed as choral works in the post-Renaissance polyphonic style. But that would be a mistake, for the publication's long subtitle stipulates that these are "in a special, graceful Italian manner." In other words, they are madrigals, not motets. (You can hear a sample in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
They show a German composer learning particularly from Claudio Monteverdi, constantly using his early trick of turning the five-voice writing into exchanges between two "trios," consisting of Soprano-Soprano-Alto against Alto-Tenor-Bass, with the alto voice singing in both. (So Jerry Hui never got any rest!)
The clever part-writing deserves to be heard with absolute clarity. And that is what these five singers gave us, with admirably precise German diction as well. They performed only nine selections from the full 26, effectively only one hour's worth of music, but demanding the most disciplined part-singing, which can be very tiring for the vocalists.
This seemingly short program left one craving more, but it was a beautiful treasure in itself. It makes one hope earnestly for the Mendota Consort to continue to flourish and mature — and to return to Madison as soon as possible.
Tags: #AmericanRecordGuide, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #Baroquesinging, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BooksoftheBIble, #ChelsiePropst, #ChristianChurch, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #EmeritusProfessor, #GermanBaroque, #GermanLanguage, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JerryHui, #JohannHermannSchein, #JohannSchein, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #LutheranChurch, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MedievalHistory, #MendotaConsort, #MusicReview, #OldTestament, #Part-Writing, #StateOfWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, alto, American Record Guide, Arts, Bach, Baroque, bass, beautiful, blog, books, Classical music, classicalmusic, communal, composer, Concert, critic, diction, diverse, Early music, emeritus professor, German, guest, History, Israel, Isthmus, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Hui, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, lecture, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, mature, Medieval, MEMF, Mendota Consort, message, messages, Monteverdi, motet, Music, personal, photograph, polyphony, post, precise, precision, professor, Renaissance, review, Schein, soprano, state, tenor, texts, treasure, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The Mendota Consort gives a FREE performance of motets by Johann Schein in Madison this Saturday night. Performances in Eau Claire and Milwaukee are tonight and Friday night
ALERT: The superb Willy Street Chamber Players are back from a week of free and Community Connect concerts. They resume their regular summer series this Friday at 6 p.m. in Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street. The guest artist is UW-Madison saxophonist Les Thimmig who will play six arias from the opera "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin. A rarely heard String Quintet by Alexander Glazunov ends the program. Tickets are $15.
The last concert is next Friday, July 27, and features flute, clarinet and piano soloists in music by Luigi Boccherini, Sergei Prokofiev, Andrew Norman and Johann Strauss/Arnold Schoenberg. For more information, go to:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/07/05/classical-music-you-know-brahms-but-who-are-caroline-shaw-colin-jacobsen-and-michael-kelley-the-willy-street-chamber-players-will-show-you-this-friday-night/
The Ear has been asked to post the following announcement:
The early music vocal ensemble The Mendota Consort (below) invites you to an evening of madrigals from Israelsbrünnlein, a collection by the 17th-century composer Johann Schein. (Editor's note: You can hear an excerpt in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Vocalists who are dedicated to Renaissance polyphony, The Mendota Consort will present a story of ancient Israel though dramatic 1623 treatments by Schein (below) of sacred texts.
Admission is free with donations kindly accepted.
The Madison performance is this Saturday night, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church (below), 1021 University Ave.
Other performances are:
Tonight, Thursday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Edward's Montessori School, 1129 Bellevue Ave., in Eau Claire.
Friday night, July 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 818 East Juneau Ave., in Milwaukee.
You can learn more and follow the group on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TheMendotaConsort/
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Classical music: How did a reformation in religion and a revolution in printing change music? The 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) offers answers and samples this week. Part 2 of 2
Starting this Saturday and running through the following Saturday, the 19th annual Madison Early Music Festival will explore the profound effects that the Lutheran Reformation and the invention of printing had on Renaissance and Baroque music of the time.
The festival is called "A Cabinet of Curiosities: A Journey to Lübeck." For a complete listing of programs, lectures, concerts and workshops, with information about tickets, go to: https://memf.wisc.edu
Soprano Cheryl Bensman Rowe — who directs the festival with UW Arts Institute's Sarah Marty and her husband and UW-Madison baritone Paul Rowe — recently agreed to do a Q&A with The Ear about the upcoming festival. Here is Part 2 of 2. And, if you missed the beginning, here is a link to Part 1:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/07/02/classical-music-this-saturday-the-19th-annual-madison-early-music-festival-memf-starts-a-week-long-exploration-how-the-500thanniversary-of-the-lutheran-reformation-in-changed-western-music-part-1/
How does early north German music differ from its counterparts in, say, Italy, France, Germany and England. What is the historical origin and aesthetic importance of the music from that era in that part of the world?
One of the biggest changes during the Reformation in Germany began with sacred music and the far-reaching changes in the way it served the church. The music of mass, motet, psalm and hymn heard in the great urban cathedrals, cloistered chapels and royal palace churches of Catholicism represented the "otherness" of the divine, a God unreachable by the untutored masses.
Written in an intellectual language which required years of rigorous training to learn and understand, it was only the disciplined, practiced choir boys and men who could perform this sacred polyphony in all its wonder and glory.
Luther sought to traverse this divide. Though he held the existing music of sacred polyphony in high esteem, he felt that music could be used to even greater effect in furthering the education and religious commitment of the people.
Luther (below) chose the hymn form as the principle means to his musical aims. A prolific hymnodist himself, he authored hymns such as the famous "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God") several settings of which begin the All-Festival concert, attempted to connect existing high art with folk music in a style that would appeal to all classes, clergy and laity, men, women and children. His texts were in the German vernacular in order to convey messages that would be understood by all in a way that the Latin of preexisting hymns were not.
The culmination of those first 100 years of reformed musical development and the composers whose works will be performed throughout the week at MEMF, launched the reformed hymnody of Luther (below) and his followers into the stratosphere of such giants as Heinrich Schütz, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach (all the Bachs for that matter) and on, a trail that continues to the present day.
What music and composers of that era have been most neglected and least neglected by historians and performers? Does rediscovery of works and composers play a special role this year?
Throughout the week we will be featuring compositions from the Choir Library from the Marienkirche in Lübeck (below) is a collection of music that Lübeck scholar and Buxtehude biographer Kerala Snyder catalogued and reconstructed.
The collection ended up in Vienna in the 19th century, and is a comprehensive data base that includes compositions by German and Italian composers, including Heinrich Schütz, Hermann Schein, Palestrina – the list starts with Agazzari and ends with Zucchini.
Besides the Choir Library compositions, audiences will have an opportunity to hear works of Buxtehude that have never been performed in Madison.
Can you tell us about the program and performers for the All-Festival concert on Saturday, July 14?
The All-Festival Concert (below) includes all of our workshop participants and faculty. We work together to prepare the concert all week and it is truly a MEMF community project. The music will be drawn from settings and compositions based on Lutheran chorales such as Ein Feste Burg and from the Choir Library of the Marienkirche.
The concert concludes with Buxtehude's Missa Brevis and concludes with his grand motet, Benedicam Dominum in omne tempore, written for six contrasting choirs, which Buxtehude surely composed to match the structural design of the Marienkirche. (You can hear the Kyrie from Buxtehude's "Missa Brevis" in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Are there other sessions — guest lectures, certain performers, particular works — that you especially recommend for the general public?
All the planning that goes into each festival leads me to encourage the general public to attend everything. The concert series, lectures and workshop have so much to offer.
Special events include a dance with a live band drawn from the MEMF Faculty with dance instruction by Peggy Murray, Tanzen und Springen,at Memorial Union in the Grand Hall on Thursday night.
The lecture series features some well-known Madison scholars — John W. Barker and J. Michael Allsen, plus Michael Alan Anderson (below top), director of Schola Antiqua and professor of musicology, and Jost Hermand (below bottom), Professor Emeritus at the UW-Madison.
There will be a special exhibit created for MEMF in the lobby of Memorial Library by Jeanette Casey, the Head of the Mills Music Library and Lisa Wettleson of Special Collections at Memorial Library.
This curated display reflects the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The exhibit will be in the lobby of Memorial Library and open to the public through Thursday, July 19, 2018, with a special talk about the exhibit during the festival on Monday, July 9, at 11:30 a.m. This wonderful partnership allows the library to display rarely seen original and facsimile publications, some dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries within the context of the MEMF theme.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Martin Luther, who was a great lover of music, said: "The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them…. In summa, next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits…"
Join us to hear what Luther was talking about! Get your tickets for the concert series! Attend the lectures! Take some classes! You'll find a link for all the information about MEMF at www.madisonearlymusic.org
Tags: #AMightyFortressIsOurGod, #ArtsInstitute, #BaroqueMusic, #BritishMusic, #CabinetofCuriosities, #CatholicReligion, #ChoirBoy, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianMusic, #ChristianReligion, #DataBase, #DietrichBuxtehude, #EinFesteBurg, #EmeritusProfessor, #FrenchMusic, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GermanComposers, #GermanMusic, #GiovannidePalestrina, #GrandHall, #HeinrichSchütz, #HermannSchein, #ItalianComposers, #ItalianMusic, #J.MIchaelAllsen, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #JostHermand, #KeralaSnyder, #LatinLanguage, #LübeckGermany, #LutheranReformation, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonWisconsin, #MartinLuther, #MemorialLibrary, #MichaelAlanAnderson, #MillsMusicLibrary, #MissaBrevis, #MusicFestival, #PeggyMurray, #ProtestantReformation, #ProtestantReligion, #RareBooks, #RenaissanceMusic, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #RomanCatholicReligion, #SacredMusic, #ScholaAntiqua, #SecularMusic, #SpecialCollection, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViennaAustria, #WesternCulture, #WesternMusic, #WesternReligion, #WordofGod, #YouTubevideo, aesthetic, Agazzari, anniversary, Arts, Bach, baritone, Baroque, base, beginning, biographer, biography, Book, books, cabinet, cathedral, Cello, Chamber music, chapel, children, Choir, choral music, church, class, classes, Classical music, composer, Composition, Concert, dance, data, data base, divien, Early music, earlymusic, Education, emeritus, England, era, esthetic, exhibit, festival, France, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, God, Heinrich Schütz, historian, historical, History, hymn, invention, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Jost Hermand, journey, Kerala Snyder, Kyrie, laity, Latin, lecture, library, lover, Lubeck, Madison, Marienkirche, mass, masses, Memorial Library, men, Mills Music Library, motet, Music, musicology, palace, Palestrina, part, Peggy Murray, People, performer, polyphony, premiere, printing, professor, program, psalm, Religion, royal, Schien, Schola Antiqua, scholar, Sonata, soprano, St. Mary, time, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, urban, vernacular, video, Vienna, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, women, word, work, works, workshop, YouTube, Zucchini
Classical music: The King's Singers will mark 50 years when they perform Saturday night at the Wisconsin Union Theater
The acclaimed a cappella singing group The King's Singers (below) will be marking its 50th anniversary when it performs the annual Fan Taylor Concert – named to honor the first director of the Wisconsin Union Theater – on this Saturday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall.
Tickets are $25-$45 general admission, $20 for youths and $10 for UW students. For more information, including the complete program, background, audio-video samples and how to purchase tickets, go to https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/the-kings-singers/. You can also phone 608-265-ARTS (2787) or go in person. See locations and hours here.
Celebrating their Golden Anniversary this year, The King's Singers are widely acclaimed for the quality of their singing and diverse repertoire, which includes over 200 commissioned works from the world's leading composers.
The commissioned arrangements come from a breadth of musical genres: jazz standards to pop chart hits, medieval motets to Renaissance madrigals, and new scores by young composers.
The upcoming concert is part of their 50th anniversary world tour, and the program showcases their signature blend, purity of tone, and diversity of repertoire, with selections ranging from Renaissance polyphony to brand new commissions celebrating the 50th anniversary.
This love of diversity has always fuelled The King's Singers' commitment to creating new music. A panoply of commissioned works by many of the greatest composers of our times – including Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, John Rutter, Toru Takemitsu, Sir John Tavener and Eric Whitacre – sits alongside countless bespoke arrangements in the group's extensive repertoire.
One of these is called "To Stand in This House" by Nico Muhly (below), which sets various texts by scholars who originated at King's College, Cambridge, where The Kings Singers were founded.
The program, GOLD, charts a journey through the music that has defined The King's Singers so far, from Renaissance polyphony to art song to, naturally, close harmony favorites.
The group also looks toward the future with several commissions for the 50th season from composers and arrangers with who they have ties, including, in addition to Nico Muhly's work, "We Are" by composer/conductor Bob Chilcott, himself a former member of The King's Singers; and "Quintessentially" by Joanna and Alexander L'Estrange (below), which humorously tells the story of The King's Singers' past 50 years.
The King's Singers was founded in 1968 at King's College in Cambridge, England. They continually wow audiences across the globe in over 125 concerts a year. The group has won two Grammy awards and was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame for its vocal artistry and excellence. (You hear a sample from the group's new anniversary album, "Gold," in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Madison concert is presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater's Performing Arts Committee.
This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. WORT-FM 89.9 is the media sponsor.
Tags: #AlexanderL'Estrange, #CambridgeEngland, #EricWhitacre, #FanTaylor, #GoldenAnniversary, #GrammophonMagazine, #GyorgyLigeti, #JoannaL'Estrange, #JohnRutter, #JohnTavener, #King'sCollege, #LucianoBerio, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #NicoMuhly, #PerformingArts, #RenaissanceMadrigal, #RenaissancePolyphony, #StateOfWisconsin, #TheKing'sSingers, #ToruTakemitsu, #UnitedKingdom, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, a cappella, anniversary, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Berio, Britain, choral music, Classical music, commission, Early music, earlymusic, England, Eric Whitacre, future, genre, golden anniversary, great, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, John Rutter, John Tavener, L'Estrange, Ligeti, Madison, madrigal, Medieval, motet, Mozart, Music, National Endowment for the Arts, New Music, polyphony, pop, pops, popular music, purity, Renaissance, repertoire, scholar, singer, singers, Singing, song, text, The King's Singers, tone, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: Are we hearing more Brahms? If so, why?
The Ear got to thinking about concerts, recordings and Wisconsin Public Radio programs over the past year and the ones coming up this season.
And it seems like there was a lot of music by Johannes Brahms (below), often given multiple performances – the "German" Requiem, the symphonies and concertos, the solo piano music, the string quintets and sextets, and the piano trios and other chamber music with piano.
This season alone, in Madison we will hear three performances of the famous Piano Quintet. Two of them will be in the usual version at the Wisconsin Union Theater (the Takacs Quartet with pianist Garrick Ohlsson) and at Farley's House of Pianos (the Pro Arte Quartet with pianist Alon Goldstein), and, recently, the earlier two-piano version at Farley's by Robert Plano and Paola Del Negro. (You can hear the gorgeous slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Now it is true that Brahms is one of the standard composers who never really go out of fashion, especially for the way he combined the craft and polyphony of Classicism with a Romantic sensibility. Not for nothing was he lumped in with Bach and Beethoven.
Also true is that Brahms is often described as "autumnal" and fits the concert season.
But not everyone loves Brahms. The British composer Benjamin Britten hated his music and the American crime writer James Ellroy also can't stand Brahms.
Still, it seems to The Ear that we are hearing more than the usual amount of Brahms.
And if that is true, he wonders, why is it the case? Why does Brahms appeal so?
Is there something in Brahms that matches the times we live in?
Or perhaps something that reassures and consoles us about the times we live in?
Anyway, do you think we are hearing more Brahms?
And if you do, what do you think explains it?
Finally, if you like Brahms what is your favorite piece by Brahms?
Tell us in COMMENTS and provide a link to an audio or video clip is possible
Tags: Alon Goldstein, Arts, Audio, Autumn, Bach, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, British, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Classicism, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, console, Craft, English, Farley's House of Pianos, Garrick Ohlsson, German Requiem, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Orchestra, Piano, polyphony, Pro Arte Quartet, program, Quartet, quintet, Radio, reassure, Romanticism, sensibility, sextet, solo, strings, symphony, Takacs Quartet, trio, UK, United Kingdom, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, visual, vocal music, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
Classical music: This year's Token Creek Chamber Music Festival will explore "Necessary Music" by Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Ravel, Harbison and other composers from Aug. 26 through Sept 3
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about an annual event that puts on a lot of MUST-HEAR programs:
TOKEN CREEK, WIS. – In what way, and for whom, is a certain kind of music necessary?
Certainly the presenters of a chamber music festival would be presumptuous to offer a program as a sort of prescription for listeners. And at Token Creek we won't.
So often the music we need arrives by chance, and we did not even know we needed it until it appears. And other times we know exactly what we are missing. And so we offer this year's programs of pieces that feed the soul.
Saturday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m., Program I: Continuo
Some works of art are so rich that they sustain a lifetime of inquiry and encounters, each time revealing fresh new insights only possible through sustained engagement, pieces so resilient they admit multiple interpretations, approaches, nuances, shadings.
We open the season with music of Johann Sebastian Bach (below), pieces we've played before and some we have not, music that continues to compel for the very reason that it can never be fully plumbed, music that rewards over and over again. In a concert dominated by Bach, the requirement of the other pieces is really only that they offer sufficient originality and integrity not to be dwarfed or rendered ephemeral by his authority.
Flutist Dawn Lawler (below top), cellist Sara Sitzer (below second) and pianist Jeffrey Stanek (below third join the artistic directors composer-pianist John and violinist Rose Mary Harbison (below bottom) for this opening program.
BACH Sonata in E minor for violin and continuo, BWV 1023
HAYDN Trio in F major for flute, cello and piano XV:17
BACH Two Fugues, from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
HARBISON Mark the Date, for flute and piano (pre-premiere)
BACH Sonata in G major for violin and continuo, BWV 1021
BACH Three-Voice Ricercar, from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
BACH Sonata in C minor, from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Program II: Schubert
A sequel to last year's all-Schubert program, which offered Die Schöne Müllerin and the "Trout" Quintet, this season we offer two late masterworks by Schubert (below): the song cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song) and the solo piano set of six Moments Musicaux (Musical Moments).
In structure, ingenuity and invention these two large works offer an eloquent counterpoint and complement to one another. We are pleased to welcome back pianist Ya-Fei Chuang (below top), and to introduce tenor Charles Blandy (below middle) with pianist Linda Osborn (below bottom).
SCHUBERT Andante, from Sonata in C for Piano Four Hands ("Grand Duo"), D.812
SCHUBERT Moments Musicaux, D.780
SCHUBERT Schwanengesang, D.957
Saturday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 3, at 4 p.m. Program III: Waltz
This program explores the familiar form of the waltz as an unexpectedly flexible and diverse musical type, with uncommon approaches from a wide variety of composers from Schubert through Sur.
We conclude the season with Schumann's splendid Piano Quartet, whose third movement offers one of the greatest of slow waltzes of all time. (You can hear it performed by the Faure Quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We are pleased to introduce violist Becky Menghini (below top) and cellist Kyle Price (below bottom).
FRITZ KREISLER Three Old Viennese Melodies for Violin and Piano
DONALD SUR Berceuse for Violin and Piano
SCHUBERT Waltz Sequence
RAVEL Valses nobles et sentimentales
GEORGE CRUMB Sonata for Solo Cello
SCHUMANN Quartet in E-flat for Piano and Strings, Op. 47
The Token Creek Festival has been called a gem, a treasure nestled in the heart of Wisconsin cornfields, a late-summer fixture just outside of Madison.
Now in its 28th season, the Festival has become known for its artistic excellence, diverse and imaginative programming, a deep engagement with the audience, and a surprising, enchanting and intimate performance venue in a comfortable refurbished barn.
The 2017 festival offers five events to close the summer concert season, Aug. 26–Sept. 3.
Performances take place at the Festival Barn (below), on Highway 19 near the hamlet of Token Creek (10 minutes north of Madison, near Sun Prairie) with ample parking available.
The charmingly rustic venue—indoors and air-conditioned with modern comforts—is invitingly small, and early reservations are recommended.
Concert tickets are $32 (students $12). Reservations can be secured in several ways:
Online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/token-creek-chamber-music-festival-2017-necessary-music-tickets-36091343179
Website: www.tokencreekfestival.org (a link to our online ticketing, or a printable order form)
Phone: 608-241-2525 (voicemail only, please leave a message)
Email: info@tokencreekfestival.org
U.S. mail: P.O. Box 5201, Madison WI, 53705
More information about the Token Creek Festival and all events and artists can be found at the website, www.tokencreekfestival.org or by calling 608-241-2525.
Tags: Art of Fugue, Arts, authority, Bach, barn, Baroque, Berceuse, Cello, Chamber music, chance, Charles Blandy, Classical music, composer, continuo, cornfield, coutnerpoint, Dawn Lawler, Die Schoene Muellerin, Donald Sur, enchanting, encounters, farm, Faure, Faure Quartet, flute, Franz Schubert, fresh, Fritz Kreisler, fugue, George Crumb, Haydn, inquiry', insight, integrity, interpretation, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, Kreisler, Kyle Price, late, lifetime, Linda Osborn, lullaby, Madison, masterwork, melody, Menghini, Moments Musicaux, Music, musical, musical offering, need, new, nuance, offering, originality, Piano, Piano Quartet, polyphony, prescription, program, Ravel, reservations, ricercar, rustic, Schumann, Schwanengesang, Season, sequel, shading, small, solo, Sonata, summer, Sun Prairie, Sur, Swan Song, tenor, ticket, Token Creek, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, trio, Trout, Trout Quintet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valses nobles et sentimentales, video, Vienna, Viennese, Viola, Violin, voice, Waltz, Wisconsin, Ya-Fei Chuang, YouTube


text:
New Government Commercial Organisation to employ "hundreds" of senior commercial staff on better pay and terms
Written by Matt Foster on 21 June 2016 in News
Exclusive: Documents seen by CSW confirm that commercial staff are set to get higher base pay and work directly for the centre of government – if they're deemed up to the job. Read on for full details of the major reorganisation of civil service commercial now underway
Hundreds of senior commercial specialists in the civil service are to be directly employed by a crack new team in the Cabinet Office and loaned back to departments, CSW can confirm, as the government seeks to improve the recruitment and development of staff with the skills needed to help Whitehall hold its own with private sector suppliers.
According to the latest figures, central government spent more than £40bn with third party suppliers in 2014-15, and some £15bn-worth of large government contracts are set to expire over the next five financial years, presenting a major procurement challenge for the civil service's 4,000 commercial staff.
Meanwhile, both the National Audit Office spending watchdog and MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have repeatedly highlighted concerns over the government's commercial capability, and civil service chief executive John Manzoni has admitted that the organisation has allowed its skills to "atrophy" in recent years.
Cabinet Office must "raise its game" in challenging departments over commercial performance – public accounts committee
National Audit Office: "systematic and deep rooted" issues still hamper Whitehall's commercial capability
John Manzoni interview: "Guiding people through change always takes longer than you think; it's always harder than you think"
Documents seen by CSW confirm that a major shake-up of the government's commercial operations is now under way, centred around the establishment of a new unit called the "Government Commercial Organisation" – first hinted at in Treasury minutes published last month – which will employ senior commercial staff on enhanced pay and terms and send them out into departments as and when they are needed.
According to the documents, GCO will act as "the single employer of several hundred commercial specialists for departments in central government", directly employing all senior commercial staff at Grade 6 and above, drawing up their contracts, managing their performance and treating them as an "entire cohort with targeted learning and development opportunities".
Commercial staff will not, however, be automatically transferred to this new team, instead having to gain accreditation through a recently-established Assessment and Development Centre (ADC).
A dedicated "Accredit" team in the GCO – led by the Cabinet Office's Beth Pavey – will, the document says, "provide rigorous, objective and consistent assessment of the capability of each participant", with senior commercial specialists invited to attend a one-day assessment day with the ADC to put their skills to the test.
Commercial staff at Grade 6 or higher who gain ADC accreditation will then be offered "the option of taking new terms and conditions in the GCO", the document says, promising that those terms have "been benchmarked to ensure they will be attractive".
A separate document says details of the new reward offer are "still under development", but says there is agreement "in principle" to offer "higher base pay, a higher level of performance related pay and new defined contribution pension arrangements".
Accredited senior specialists will then be deployed into departments "for extended periods" of between one and five years, with GCO promising to work with departments to ensure specialists are "matched with the areas of greatest need and opportunity", and pledging to maintain a central database of specialists across Whitehall to try and improve the civil service's patchy record on succession planning.
The document describes GCO as being modelled on the lines of a professional services firm, which can then called on by departments when needed – and it says the new organisation will also have a dedicated "Attract" team focused on recruitment and retention.
That team – led by Cabinet Office deputy director Marcus Luke – will focus on ensuring "the career prospects of staff who join or stay in government are optimised", the document promises, as well as working to ensure proper induction in areas including public procurement and government accounting for staff drafted in from outside Whitehall.
A "Talent" team, led by Flora Huskisson, will meanwhile aim to "significantly strengthen" the career prospects for commercial staff, with "periodic moves across government and secondments" helping to ensure that there are sufficient opportunities for promotion within the civil service.
"Staff will have a regular opportunity to discuss their learning needs" – Government Commercial Function
And a "Teach" team will oversee training, including a dedicated "Commercial Curriculum" aimed not just at centrally-employed commercial specialists but also "generalists who need to be commercially aware", senior civil servants "who need further commercial training" and offering commercial training to Fast Streamers and apprentices.
Professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) are working with GCO to draw up this curriculum, and the organisation says it "will undertake regular reviews of skills gaps and develop new solutions to meet learning needs".
"New products will be consulted on and developed by a new Academic Board consisting of professional institutes, industry, academia and commercial professionals from departments," it adds. "Staff will have a regular opportunity to discuss their learning needs with one of our learning consultants."
Accountability and funding
The new model represents a major reorganisation of the government's commercial profession, and the documents seen by CSW seek to address a number of potential concerns among departmental staff about the changes, including on how accountability will work and how the new model will be funded.
On accountability, the Cabinet Office says staff in the GCO will "still work to the department's permanent secretary", with accountability for their roles "unchanged" during the period of their deployment in a department.
"The GCO provides departments with greater insight and access to the capability it requires and opportunities to share best practice and knowledge across the function. This will ultimately lead to better commercial outcomes across government" – Government Commercial Function
And it seeks to rebut the charge that the new structure will reduce the autonomy of departments in favour of greater interference from the centre of government.
"Departments remain responsible for their commercial decisions and outcomes," the document says. "Commercial Specialists from the GCO will be deployed to departments, operating in the department, for the department in line with the departmental objectives.
"The GCO provides departments with greater insight and access to the capability it requires and opportunities to share best practice and knowledge across the function. This will ultimately lead to better commercial outcomes across government."
A prospectus for the GCO says work "is still continuing to determine the best funding model" for the new organisation, which has received initial 2016/17 funding from the centre of government to cover set-up costs.
But while the details are still to be ironed out, the document says "the intention is that, in steady state, recharging departments will wholly finance the GCO".
The GCO says it will measure its success through improved staff engagement scores among commercial staff; a higher ratio of "permanent accredited staff" to posts requiring specialists; and cutting "reliance on consultants/interims".
CSW understands that the process of moving civil servants into the GCO will take place over the next 12-18 months.
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Cross-Government Efficiency
Procurement & Commercial
Matt Foster is CSW's deputy editor. He tweets as @CSWDepEd
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Susan (not verified)
Submitted on 21 June, 2016 - 19:54
GCO? Sounds awfully like OGC (Office of Government Commerce) and history repeating itself. A word of caution. Tell them to ensure they have a fail safe logo this time round.
Anonymous (not verified)
Is there any news about which departments will be taking part? Surely those with significant number of their own commercial staff would be likely not to submit to Cabinet Office dominance in this fashion
Adrian (not verified)
Submitted on 12 July, 2016 - 12:04
In my experience, it is not the poor quality of commercial staff placing the contracts that is the root cause of poor contracts in the public sector, but rather than requirements staff who draw up the statement of requirements in the first place, and who clearly don;t have a clue. Commercial staff try to educate and help them as best we can, but the old adage of "Rubbish in, Rubbish out" comes to mind. So blaiming the commercial staff is perhaps not the answer - the main focus should be on upskilling the requirements managers and project managers who define the requirements in the first place. We merely buy whatever we are asked to buy.
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'Below the radar' has become a short-hand term for small community groups who are either not registered with the Charity Commission or other regulatory bodies and/or lack a regular, substantial annual income. Much of the existing research into the third sector has focused on formal, larger, organisations leaving gaps in the knowledge base around the nature and function of small groups and more informal activities which happen at a community level.
This TSRC Working Paper is based on interviews with representatives from national community sector organisations, development agencies, members of policy fora and academics with a background in community based research. It explores the scale, scope and functions of 'below the radar' activity in the Third Sector, why people become active within their community and the factors which both help and hinder community based action. Finally the paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of 'below the radar' action, issues of accountability. It asks the question – are there features that make more informal community organisation and activity distinctive?