Greetings everyone,
I trust that you have settled into the rhythm that January and the new year are bringing. Despite all the rainfall, it is heartening to notice the light returning and every day getting ever so slightly longer. I love the subtle shifts in my own and in neighboring gardens with buds yearning to be noticed. I am finding too that there is a slight shift in folks’ ease in making casual conversation with strangers again, which gives me great pleasure. It is all about the small daily pleasures after all, is it not? Speaking of pleasures, I am still humming the lovely pieces from our last meeting and reflecting on how enjoyable it is to hear you in person again — something that I do not take for granted.
For our February session, I’ve chosen some beautiful works spanning various eras by several composers that I think will make for a nice evening. We’ll start with the simple yet stunning three-part canon O Virgo Splendens from 1370, then work our way through Fulvio Caldini’s haunting Christe Eleison from 2017, and then Lance Eccles’ interesting rendition of Kyrie Eleison published in 2004. All sizes of recorders welcome as well as viols, and we will continue to offer our hybrid in-person/Zoom session in the sanctuary of Maple Leaf Lutheran Church. Help setting up is always appreciated and please remember to let me know (vickiboeckman@comcast.net) no later than Wednesday, February 1, if you intend to participate in person, and what size or sizes of recorders you prefer. Pdfs of the music and Zoom link will magically appear in your inboxes no later than Monday, January 30.
If you want to participate in the Back Room Gang (led this month by Sally Mitchell), please also email Laura Townsend (beginbaroque@gmail.com).
I look forward to seeing you soon.
P.S. Spoiler alert! For the March meeting, you will have the pleasure of being led by Peter Seibert again as he shares some of his arrangements of viol and vocal music by the inimitable William Byrd. Be on the lookout for Peter’s splendid article about Byrd in the Spring edition of the American Recorder magazine!