Days to go: 871 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 129:

VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST

Word made flesh, we welcome You.
Come to dwell among us here.
Alleluia, Alleluia.

15th cent.

Days to go: 872 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 128:

...waiting for permission...

Days to go: 873 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 127:

THERE IS NO ROSE OF SUCH VIRTUE

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.

For in that rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.

By that rose we may well see
There be one God in Persons three;
Pares forma.

The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis, gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gaudeamus.

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.

Alleluia, res miranda,
Pares forma, gaudeamus,
Transeamus, transeamus.

(Set by Benjamin Britten)

Days to go: 874 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 126:

THE GLORY

Without any rhyme
without any reason
my heart lifts to light
in this bleak season

Believer and wanderer
caught by salvation
stumbler and blunderer
into creation

In this cold blight
where marrow is frozen
it is God's time
my heart has chosen

In paradox and story
parable and laughter
find I the glory
here in hereafter

(Madeleine D'Engle)

Days to go: 875 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 125:

CRANHAM

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him -- give my heart.
Give my heart.

(Christina Rossetti set by Gustav Holst)

Days to go: 876 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 124:

PIE JESU

Pie Jesu, Domine;
Dona eis requiem,
Dona eis requiem.

Sempiternam requiem.

(Text set by Gabriel Faure)

Days to go: 877 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 123: A poll conducted among INFOCUS magazine readers had established "waka" as the proper pronunciation for the angle-bracket characters <, though some readers held out resolutely for "norkies."

WAKA WAKA BANG SPLAT

<>!*"#
^"'$$-
!*=@$_
%*<>~#4
&[]../
|{,,SYSTEM HALTED

The poem can be appreciated only by reading it aloud, to wit:

Waka waka bang splat tick tick hash,
Caret quote back-tick dollar dollar dash,
Bang splat equal at dollar underscore,
Percent splat waka waka tilde number four,
Ampersand bracket bracket dot dot slash,
Vertical-bar curly-bracket comma comma CRASH.

(Fred Bremmer, Steve Kroese)

Days to go: 878 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 122: A delightful day at Donn Zver's in Troy today enjoying some comfort food with friends. Cinnamon salmon -- what a treat! Sharing one piece of birthday cake three ways seems just about right.

No practicing done today. Tomorrow will be very busy: get up VERY early, work on the online course, pick up an appetizer, go to St. Leo's, prep and play, go out for brunch at the Fish & Chip place with the family. Wonder who will be there?

Go to Jim's to trim the tree (put the appetizer together), enjoy some of Jim's famous Oven Stew for dinner, visit with friends and relatives I haven't seen for a while, work on the course some more (just more frantically), post a poem on the blog, work on the course some more...

Maybe I can come up with some kind of computer poem tomorrow.

Days to go: 879 -- Pieces to go: 9.75

Day 121: This morning after seeing my nurse and printing off my course materials, I had a decision to make. Shall I work on my next course assignment or go see "Megamind"? Two equally-weighted options, in my opinion!

Well, using an unusual form of avoidance to avoid doing my coursework, I stopped off at St. Patrick's to practice. I relearned Variation VIII and played everything I knew twice. Eight variations still to learn. There was a man hidden in the shadows (very dark in the church; no overhead lights were on).

Not realizing there was anyone in the church I registered the Bach appropriately and let 'er rip! When I finished, he spoke out and thanked me for playing the beautiful music. I had trouble trying to figure out where he was sitting and it took some squinting around in the dark to find him. Creepy.

The upside: Mary Lou, Elaine, Helene and a woman I don't know were in the kitchen making sandwiches for the Bazaar tomorrow. I've been wondering about the secret of Helene's egg salad sandwiches for years. I told her I thought it was curry. Apparently not -- it is green onion. She insisted I have one, and I munched my way back to the Sanctuary.

I think I will ask my nephew to go with me to see "Megamind," and as for online course work -- byte me!

Days to go: 880 -- Pieces: 9.75

Day 120: Well, finally! Down to "Pieces to go: 9.75"! On Sunday I played part of the Passacaglia as a recessional. It was a lovely service all around, because...

My new choir sang its first choir piece (separate from the congregation), a trumpet player sounded Last Post and Reveille, the Assembly fairly shouted "O Canada" and the "somber music" that Fr. Charles wanted as an organ recessional ended up being the first few variations of the Bach Passacaglia.

At breakfast at the Fish and Chip place after Mass, a choir member reported that the choir had received a compliment! One of the other diners said that "the choir sounded good today." I was really glad. We all can go very far on a little bit of encouragement.

I guess I should mention that I stacked the deck when it came to the hymns. "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" always are sung out well. I wonder how we'll do with this Sunday's "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"...

Oh, I almost forgot. The Passacaglia was perfect. More comfortable under my fingers than anything else I played all morning. Hooray for Dupre and his reps!!!

Days to go: 881 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 119:

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

(Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD)

Days to go: 882 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 118: The real "Bucket List" movie was on tv tonight. Too many familiar medical things made this quite a sad show this time around.

Our Remembrance Day tribute went very nicely at the 5:00 Mass, thanks to Paul the trumpet player. I chickened out at the end and played the Holst "O God, Beyond All Praising" instead of Bach.

Much work due for the aq course, so that takes care of my Sunday afternoon and evening.

I have turned back the clocks and I hope my musicians have, too. Otherwise they will either be really late for the 9:00 or really early for the 11:00 Mass.

The poem tomorrow should not be too surprising.

Days to go: 883 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 117: Looked up "The Last Post" and "Reveille" today just in case. Two trumpeters will cover three masses this weekend as part of our Remembrance Day tribute.

Had a delicious salad dressing last night which I thought consisted totally of pureed garlic. I asked about it and was reassured to hear that it also contained anchovies and mustard! No matter -- we ate every bit of romaine. I wanted to lick the bowl.

Had a tasty lemon curd muffin from Village Grocer this morning. Just outstanding.

Made a crockpot stew with extra turnips and lots of sweet onions. And dumplings. A nice winter evening meal.

Hmmm, I wonder if there's anything in the fridge...

Not a good day for music.

Days to go: 884 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 116: Delicious supper tonight with musical friends old and new. They are so alive, so vital. I feel like a pale wisp of a ghost among them. But that's ok. The promise of better days to come.

We talked about Marcel Dupre and his 16-rep method. Must get back into that! Muscle memory training. Like musical weightlifting.

My generous old friend who sent me music last week started in the music program at Western the same year I did. He had Larry Cortner (of blessed memory) as his organ teacher. It will be fun to meet up with this old friend and catch up after 41 years!

I called another old friend to find out if she could send me a picture (for the Memorial Concert) of her brother who died almost 15 years ago. Will was a student of Larry Cortner's. Will's daughter is the composer Sarah Quartel.

God bless all you old and new friends.

Days to go: 885 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 115: Oh, well. Tomorrow is another day.

Hey, old friend! Thanks for the poem!

: )

Days to go: 886 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 114: I am going to play part of the passacaglia at our Remembrance Day observance at St. Leo's. It will make a suitable somber postlude after the Last Post and Reveille.

Today I practiced at St. Patrick's for the first time in a long while. It was a pleasure to play the Letourneau, and the Franck sounds beautiful on it.

There's a YouTube video you should watch about a wonderful 106 year-old pianist. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlccsLr48

Hmmm, I don't think you can actually link from blogspot... anyway, the l after the Q is the letter, I am pretty sure. Or it may be the number 1. It is worth the follow up.

Man, am I tired. Goodnight!

Days to go: 887 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 113: Well, this is getting ridiculous. I am just not getting any practicing done. And tonight I am really tired from choir practice, so now is probably not the best time to fret about it. Tomorrow is another day.

Yesterday the retirement celebration went very well with "What A Wonderful World" being especially well received. After I played the Toccata a small boy peered around the organ console at me -- I think he was just checking to see if I was really a witch!

I really am one, but that's another story!

I expected no one at choir tonight but to my surprise they were all there! They can sing in parts, so that is good to know for future planning. We started some new music for Advent and Christmas and this Sunday they are going to sing something on their own, sort of.

It is a good start and I am pleased.

Days to go: 888 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 112;

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Oh yeah!

(Robert Thiele, George David)

Days to go:889 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 111: No practicing, but a lot of playing. "What a Wonderful World" and the Toccata in d minor both sound good. They are ready to play at the 11:00 Mass. Have a happy retirement, Janice and Dave.

Days to go: 890 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 110: Very, very tired right now, but I AM ready for the weekend! I'm playing for two Masses (5:00 and 11:00) and parishioners will hear both "What a Wonderful World" and the Toccata.Thanks once again to my old friend and my two other newer friends (about eleven years now, but who's counting?) for sending me all the scores.

Hmmm, I know what the problem is (why I am so tired): NO COFFEE!! I'm trying to cut down -- not so easy when you live across the street from Tim Hortons'. And too much work on the guidance course today. We had to write a virtual role play with a partner and the computer challenges alone were staggering. But we finished, and guess what? The university portal, where we submit our assignments, is down for maintenance. Sigh.

All best and envious wishes to Susan A., who is in Hawaii at this very moment. A whole week in the sun at Waikiki! Hope you are having a great time, Susan!

Days to go: 891 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 109: Well, my mysterious old friend was at it again today! The administrator at the church called to say that another piece of music had been sent to the office: "What A Wonderful World"! So now I have both pieces ready to be played this Sunday.

Thank you, old friend. I must admit that I listened and listened to your phone message but I cannot place your voice. It really is a mystery!

But thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for finding and sending the music to me. How very kind of you!

Also interesting is the fact that I now have four other copies of "WAWW": 3 different versions from Bill and 1 copy that Suz actually went to a music store to purchase. So that is FIVE in all.

What wonderful friends I have. Oh, YEAH!!!

Days to go: 892 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 108: I returned to St. Leo's after lunch today to find a very welcome surprise in the church office. It was a fax -- the complete Bach Toccata and fugue in d minor. Yes, THAT one. Very clean copy. Someone went through a great deal of trouble to fax the whole piece -- many pages, reduced in size, I think, to fit standard paper. The cover page was signed, "From an old friend."

And why? Because I had complained, on this blog yesterday, of termites eating my copy of the T & F. I didn't recognise the email address, although, come to think of it, I guess I could send a message of thanks back that way. Hmmm.

So anyway, I had a great time playing the Toccata over and over on our beautifully "rebuilt" organ -- Bryant did a wonderful job! The sound echoes around and around St. Leo's as if in a great cathedral. I am now able to play the Toccata up to tempo, but only part of the fugue so far. Hey, I'm NOT Brennan Szafron!

Thank you, mysterious old friend, for your thoughtful, generous gift. Peace and joy to you.

Days to go: 893 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 107: Got home from choir practice last night still wearing my organ shoes and wondering where my music was -- I had left it behind at St. Leo's. So: no practicing today.

This Sunday being Hallowe'en I want to play THE Toccata in d minor as a postlude, but I think termites ate my score -- am still looking for it.

I also want to play "What a Wonderful World" because it is the choir director's favourite song (he is retiring and Sunday is his last day). You'd think that would be an easy piece of sheet music to buy but nooooooooooo...

He might have to settle for one of those musical cards with a chip that plays the song when you open the card. I would just have to white-out "have a happy birthday" and change it to "have a happy retirement" instead. I saw the card at the mall today.

I had gone to get my watch fixed and guess what -- a Yogen-Fruz was there instead. What could I do? I had one. It was delicious!

Days to go: 894 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 106: I think I have finally achieved some insight into my ongoing problem with work, and it is inspired by a Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales: "Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone...for your part, work diligently, but gently. I say 'gently' because a tense diligence is harmful both to our heart and to our task and is not really diligence, but overeagerness and anxiety."

It is the overeagerness and anxiety I hate, not the work itself. Lightbulb!

The rehab counsellor from OTIP came over and we worked on my return-to-work plan. Donna is in favour of a gradual building-up of -- ooh, she used a really good word that I can't remember, but meaning "strength" -- which would mean 1/3 work starting in February, then full-time work in September.

In the meantime, I am going to do volunteer work, like driving for the Canadian Cancer Society starting on Fridays. (It will cost a bundle getting the car up to snuff, but my birthday is coming soon -- send $$$! I'm not proud!) This is in addition to the volunteer work I do now with St. Leo's and a few other things, like preparing for the LLC Concert in May.

I wonder what my work life will be like now that I am becoming aware of the benefits of "gentle diligence?" Has to be better than "agitated avoidance." God bless us every one!

Days to go: 895 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 105:

PORTIA

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.
It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

(William Shakespeare)

Days to go: 896 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 104: Some very good news from the University of Western Ontario! The Dean has approved our request to hold a Memorial Concert for Dr. Larry Cortner. It will be held on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at 3:00 in Studio 18 at the Faculty of Music. Anyone who wants can perform, especially former students!

If you wish to perform, you can reach me through this blog or email trudeolford@hotmail.com. If you have any more ideas about what we can do, you can let us know, too. Also, please email me with memories and stories about LLC so that I can incorporate them into the Memorial Concert programme.

There will be a reception afterward. I also hope to get into the UWO concert archives and play recordings of LLC's recitals. I also thought it would be nice to find a really good picture of him, enlarge and frame it, and donate it to the Faculty of Music to put on the wall either in the lobby or down in the organ studio.

You can also contact Paul Merritt at First-St. Andrews in London, Ontario. Paul will be the mc and must play, too -- he is such a fantastic performer! I intend to play the Franck Priere, one of Dr. Cortner's signature pieces -- I'm using his own score, too, with all his fingering, pedalling and interpretive markings. It would be really great if we had at least five people to play.

Gabriel Kney will be working on repairs for the Casavant organ in the studio, so it will be in tip-top shape! Everyone I can think of will be invited, and the concert will be open to the public. Please spread the word!

Days to go: 897 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 103: I played through the Franck Priere today and also got some work done on Variation VIII of the Passacaglia. It feels good to be practicing again. Just like dieting, exercising and meditating -- the hardest part is the maintenance. Then again, maybe all I needed was something different to focus on for a while.

There is a wonderfully chromatic passage starting on page 24 of the Durand edition of the Franck. I think this is the most difficult part of the piece, so I will start there. It will involve going back to the stretching exercises I learned from Joachim Segger. I just barely managed to play all of the notes without arpeggiating and it will be quite tricky playing that passage up to tempo.

Tomorrow my nephew and I are headed back to the GTA. It has been a very good trip. Both my sisters are now at home in Kap, and happy to be settled in for the winter after several months away.

Days to go: 898 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 102: Well, I still consider this Thursday, because it is around 3:18 a.m. and I cannot get to sleep. My room here at my sister's has a tv in it, and I usually fall asleep during "Criminal Minds" (!) but not tonight. It was a really creepy episode, too. Or maybe it's all the coffee I've had today.

My course partner and I got an A+ on the lesson we submitted! I think I mentioned that assignment-- I was in the car on HWY 11 scribbling away at my part of the lesson plan. We got to my nephew's, only to find that his internet was down. So he drove me across the Ottawa River into Temiskaming, QC, to the internet cafe there. A wonderful setup! Like a really upscale Tim Horton's.

I spent two hours typing and editing as fast as I could, with large gulps of pumpkin-spiced latte and bites of raspberry white chocolate scone to keep me going. I finished everything within five minutes of the time my nephew came back to pick me up. Over at his place, I phoned my course partner in Toronto to ask if she had received my part of the assignment. Oh, no! She hadn't looked at it all day because her sister had a baby! But she sent it to the instructor before midnight anyway and voila! A+!!!

So with odds like that why am I having such trouble practicing these days?

Days to go: 899 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 101: No practicing today.

Days to go: 900 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 100: No practicing today.

Days to go: 901 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 99: Learned Variation VII today of the Bach on the piano I played as a child. It is pretty out of tune, but still has a nice tone and really quite a good action. I think my sister was a little weirded out to hear the reps but I explained to her that it was just drill. She was watching "Y&R" and I was playing quite softly.

My other triumph today was getting an article I needed for my course from the U of T library without having my student number, library barcode, or pin with me (they are on my desk down south.) Have no idea how I got in. It took an hour and many repetitions of Douglas Adams' mantra from "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy:" DON'T PANIC!!!

It is cold. Light flurries are expected. Looks way too much like winter up here!

Days to go: 902 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 98:

HIGH SCHOOL SONG

We're from Kapuskasing, Kapuskasing High!
"Quisque pro omnibus!" May she never die!
We're from Kapuskasing, loyal and true;
We will fight to do what's right, and honour you!

The Blue and Gold--
are colours we are proud to hold!
Let's give a cheer--
for all the other schools to hear!

We will her praises sing,
proud as can be to let our voices ring!
So give a shout! for Kapuskasing,
Or folks will never guess...

We're from Kapuskasing High School:
K!
H!
S!

(Composer unknown)

Days to go: 903 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 97: No practice today. Could be, though. I am Home -- up in Kapuskasing at my sister's place. My Mom's piano is downstairs in the basement. Piano hasn't been tuned for years. It'll sound really honky-tonk when I play Bach.

There are no leaves on the trees and snow is expected any second now. A bear walked up my brother's driveway the other night, headed for the crabapple tree in his yard.

A boy I remember from high school, Joey Finley, died last week after a six-year battle with cancer. I can't believe it. Joey was in the high school choir under Dave Wittick the same time I was. After high school he went on in finance, and became interested in fund-raising. When he was in treatment he started a triathlon that raised 3.5 million dollars for Princess Margaret Hospital, the third largest funraiser and the largest third party fundraiser for the hospital. His picture on the website is just how I remember him.

http://www.joesteam.ca

Days to go: 904 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 96: No practice today.

Days to go: 905 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 95: No practice today.

Days to go: 906 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 94: no practice today

Days to go: 907 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 93: Some practicing done today. A great visit with Denise, whose daughter just started university. How I envy her -- the adventure for her is just beginning!

Days to go: 908 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 92: Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Columbus Day!

Days to go: 909 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 91:

[EXAMEN]

Dear Lord,

So far today, Lord, I've done all right.

I haven't gossiped,
haven't lost my temper,
haven't been greedy,
grumpy,
nasty,
selfish,
nor over-indulgent.

And I'm very thankful to You for that.

But -- in a few minutes, Lord,
I'm probably going to need a lot more help
because I'm going to get out of bed!

Amen.

(Anon)

Days to go: 910 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 90: No practicing today, either. Not a good trend.

Days to go: 911 --Pieces to go: 10

Day 89: No practicing yesterday.

Days to go: 912 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 88: No practicing yesterday.

Days to go: 913 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 87: I am on the computer in St. Leo's church office as the organ technician is repairing the organ in the sanctuary. He is going to hook up the speaker now residing temporarily in the confessional (!) and fix all kinds of things. So this weekend (Thanksgiving) I'll be blasting them out -- I mean, making a joyful noise -- with the Karg-Elert Nun danket.

I brought along the Bach and will practice later on before heading back home where many hours will be devoted to my online guidance aq course. It is good to be driving again and eating normal food, too. Mmmmm, broccoli slaw with sesame Asian dressing!

Days to go: 914 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 86: Mostly slept, no practicing done.

Days to go: 915 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 85: I paid for my busy weekend by needing to sleep most of the day. Then out to St. Leo's for choir practice. I brought the Bach with me but did not have time to practice since prep for the choir rehearsal took so long. So, 14 days and counting to finish learning all those variations.

In his message, Bill said, "I always felt the [St. Pat's choir] was a small church within the parish." I thought about that all the way to St. Leo's. You know, it made a big difference in my attitude and behaviour before, during, and after practice.

It helped me to stay calm through the storm (more like a hurricane!) when I quite innocently said that Fr. Charles wanted us not to announce the hymns now that we have two nice new hymn boards. Eventually we will be able do it as he envisions it, of course. He has such faith in the potential of all people to grow and change!

Later in the practice when it would have been so easy to jump in and "fix" things, I just waited quietly and smiled as the conductor and the cantor worked things out. Sometimes it is good not to be so invested in having things totally my way. (Not right away, anyway!)

Felt quite weird (in a good way) on the drive all the way home.

Graced.

Days to go: 916 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 84:

[MY FRIENDS]

My only sketch, profile, of Heaven is a large blue sky...
larger than the biggest I have seen in June --
and in it are my friends -- every one of them.

(Emily Dickensen)

Note from Trude: a few days ago I posted an entry from a non-internet blog I wrote from August 2008 to August 2009. Then I removed it. But not before someone saw it! This morning I read Bill's blog response on email and decided to repost the entry due to his encouragement. I will put it in verse form in keeping with Sunday's blog format. Thank you, Bill, my friend. Here is is:

A YEAR OF ...

I believe in the prayer of the community.

One of the smartest things I ever did
was to return to St. Pat's Choir around Easter.

Members have been an amazing spiritual
and practical support,
especially during that bout of renal failure
that almost sent me to my reward a few weeks ago.

Kay M. actually offered me one of her kidneys!

The teachers at BA have been no slouches either,
that's for sure.

"Surrounded as with a shield...".

I am convinced that the people in my life
really do love me,and --
I thank you for this gift of answered prayer,
Lord.

(July, 2009)

Days to go: 917 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 83: Sleep, cottage roll and cabbage, and a beautiful liturgy at St. Leo's ... thanks, Susans.

What would we do without our friends?

Kay drove me to the hospital yesterday for the last radiation treatment. I am so grateful to all my drivers and look forward to driving again in a few weeks, and perhaps becoming a CCS driver myself.

No practice today.

... chicken soup from Hilda, ecard from Viki, phone call from Marion, ride to church from Rosemary and Susan and Rob, promised visit from Denise, gift certificates from Joan and the choir ...

What, indeed?

... coffee and conversation with Fr. Charles, email from Mary and Hugh and Anne and Peter and Donna, check-in with Norman and Mado, "behind-the-scenes" progress report from Paul, "hi" from Shelly, book club invite from Zonia ...

Days to go: 918 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 82: After much sociological research, Andrew Greeley stated that what most people most want in their priest is a "hopeful, holy man who smiles" (quoted by Archbishop Timothy Dolan).

Today saw the installation of Fr. George Smith as superior general of the Congregation of St. Basil.

I knew him long ago as president of St. Joseph's College in Edmonton, where I was music co-ordinator.

He is hopeful and holy. He smiles, too. I like him.

God bless him!

Days to go: 919 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 81: It's Choir Night in Canada and I have nothing to do tonight except eat and practice! (My personal Choir Night at St. Leo's is Monday.)

Oops, there's the doorbell. I'm going to ignore it, since it probably is just that water heater guy wanting to sign me up again. Apparently I am the only one in the whole subdivision who is keeping my old one.

19 days to go to learn the notes of the Bach. I can do it. I just don't think the whole piece will actually be performance-ready for a long time. It needs time to ripen and mature.

Ha! So do I!

"Nothing worthwhile ever happens in a hurry -- so be patient!" (Anon)

Days to go: 920 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 80: A play-through this morning to see where I am with the Bach. There is still lots to do in the remaining 20 days. Nothing like a deadline to focus one's attention!

Fr. Charles called about a special Mass this Saturday which will include Altar Server Awards. It will involve the Bishop and several parishes together at St. Leo's.

I thought it might be fun to play "The Lord Is My Shepherd" at the preparation of the gifts. This version of the psalm is the theme song from "The Vicar of Dibley." The choir school sang it at their closing Liturgy last June and it was just lovely. So I emailed Peter to see if he would snag me a copy.

It is an attractive musical setting and I hope people recognize the tune with a smile and sing it in their heads when they hear it played. (I remember playing "Jerusalem My Destiny" once and people were actually humming along...it was neat!)

Today around 4:00 I came home from treatment ready for a short nap and now it is 11:34. I am still sleepy, but am feeling much better than I expected to at this stage.

Days to go: 921 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 79: No practicing today, either. But encouraging news from UWO re the Studio 18 organ -- it will be undergoing significant repairs. And: only 3 more radiation sessions for me. :-)

Days to go: 922 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 78: No practicing today.

Days to go: 923 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 77:

DEAR LORD AND FATHER OF MANKIND

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!

With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm.

(John Greenleaf Whittier)

Days to go: 924 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 76: Finished the manual parts for Variation V just now and can add the pedal part when I practice at the church. I started this variation on Day 62, so that gives some indication of all the rehearsal time I've missed.

Maybe if I broke it down into four reps at a time, no matter what, then spread each mini-set out over the day...

Twenty-three days until I start the Franck Priere!

"The trouble with life is that there are so many last minute details and so few last minutes." (Anon.)

Tomorrow, a text about resting that doesn't have a single "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" in it.

Days to go: 925 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 75: Yes, I know I promised, but -- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Days to go: 926 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 74: Tomo machine up, Trude WANTS to sleep all day, thanks God for gravol. More later, I promise.

Zzzzzz.

Days to go: 927 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 73: Tomo machine down, Trude sleeps all day. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Days to go:928 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 72: Improvised my first psalm accompaniment last Sunday. Rosemary said it was good. It may not have been brillig, but at least it wasn't slithy.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Days to go: 929 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 71: "The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me!" (Nichol Williamson)

Days to go: 930 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 70:

JABBERWOCKY

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought,

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh, Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

(Lewis Carroll)

Days to go: 931 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 69: No practice to log. Headed to Shoppers' for some more gravol and diet ginger ale.

Here are some hints for tomorrow's poem, with thanks to Mrs. St. James, my grade four teacher, and Billy Thiffault, fellow student, in whose voice I hear verse five.

Need another hint? Here's that verse five in Latin:

Vorpali, semed atque iterum collectus in ictum,
Persnicuit gladio persnacuitque puer:
Deinde galumphatus, spernens informe cadaver,
Horrendum monstri rettulit ipse caput.

Geeky enough for you? No? Here's the title in Klingon, then:

ja'Pu'vawQoY

Days to go: 932 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 68: Well, 4 reps are better than no reps.

Side-effects are picking up momentum now. Fortunately, only 9 fractions left. No motivation and very, very tired. What a difference a week makes.

I did complete the paper work for Guidance Part 2, Fall Session with OISE, so that is done. Given my energy crisis these days, full online seems the way to go.

Will switch the postlude for Sunday at St. Leo's. I love the Karg-Elert and it sounds wonderful in that church, but the double pedal and some "Tootsie Rolls" make it somewhat physically taxing for me at the moment. I will play Mouret instead (aka "Theme From Masterpiece Theatre") and add some inegale just to keep it interesting.

We will be having the organ fine-tuned soon, and that will be super! Thanks, Gordon and Bryant!

Days to go: 933 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 67: Thought I'd try practicing a bit later on, but you know what Yoda says: "Do or do not, there is no try."

I need to practice, at least for St. Leo's on Sunday. That Karg-Elert won't play itself, you know! (This is a reference to that silly chain-saw commercial on tv...).

But at this point, I am considering asking Susan and Rob for a ride out to Brooklin on Sunday morning. Not sure I have the concentration for driving. Thankfully I have only ten treatments left at the 'Brook.

On a happy note: I am going to ask Fr. Charles if I can write a music blog for the church bulletin (Blog = Bulletin log). It won't be as personally focused as this practice blog, but people might enjoy it, and I might be able to do a little consciousness-raising. (Yow, how's that for a seventies term? Groovy!)

Days to go:934 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 66: No practice today. "I love deadlines. I especially love the swooshing sound they make as they go flying by." (Douglas Adams)

Days to go: 935 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 65: Can't get this earworm out of my head: "Re-joice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice!" And especially, "Be careful for nothing, but in all pra-yer, and sup-pli-ca-ti-on, let your pe-ti-ti-ons be manifest, unto G-d with giving of thanks. With giv-i-ing of THANKS!"

Singing respectfully about the peace of G-d: "Zzzzzzzzzz." (I actually fell asleep in the TOMO machine today.)

Thank you, kind and loving friends, for your continuing prayers and good thoughts sent my way. Back atcha!

"And the peace of G-d, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesu, in Christ Jesu. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa-a-a-men!"

(Anon)

Days to go: 936 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 64: Yesterday both attempts at improvising short passages were "successful" according to my present severely limited definition of success, which is: NOT obviously stumbling in front of the poor captive assembly. I closed my eyes and listened for the first, and that helped. For the second, I was watching a procession so that I could time the ending, and that also worked. Qua'pla!

Fr. Charles wrote a nice note on music for the bulletin...

Music is anything but background sound to the liturgy of the Church. It assists and enhances personal and congregational prayer; it moves us to greater and deeper contemplation of the mysteries of God; it can be a conduit through which our God speaks to and moves our hearts; it reflects God's power, love, mercy, tenderness and presence and can inspire joy, praise, conviction, thanksgiving and self-examination.

Days to go: 937 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 63:

JERUSALEM

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Til we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

(Words: William Blake, Music: C.H.H. Parry)

Days to go: 938 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 62: Have started Variation V of the Passagaclia at last! Several hours were spent at St. Leo's getting ready for tomorrow. I will really have to watch it -- in my desire to do excellent work, elements of "job creep" can easily slip in.

Met Barbara, who was in the kitchen prepping sausages and making two different sauces for the pancakes at the Welcome Back breakfast tomorrow. She is bringing in an old CBW II Choir edition for us to use, so that makes a total of two! 100% better than yesterday at this time! :-)

Perhaps it would be best to begin work with the Passacaglia each day, otherwise all the details involved in preparing music for liturgy can easily take over and practicing the LIST gets edged out. Right now, it is important for me to conserve energy where possible.

Perhaps, for the church work, I will set aside a period of time each day instead of trying to do everything in just two sessions a week. Might have to work from home more, too -- can't see driving all the way to Brooklin each day, especially with my "chariot" (my 1997 Toyota Corolla) starting to feel its age. Me, too!

Tomorrow: a stirring hymn I've always liked, speaking of chariots...

Days to go:939 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 61: I have just two speeds today: slow and off. Finished Variation IV at last, though! I am finding it too much to go through the entire learning process for a whole variation at one sitting. I think I will try doing all the reps for the manual parts at home (over several short practice sessions), then just adding pedal at the church.

Many exhausting medical matters to deal with today, but two very pleasant things also happened. I got up early to watch the beautiful sunrise from the park down the street, inspired by some photos sent by Henry Meredith of a dawn rainbow he and Nema saw yesterday. And then there was coffee with Susan and Suz, with considerable catching up accomplished.

I'm using wedding repertoire for preludes and postludes at St. Leo's right now. Light, pleasant, and under my fingers -- except for the Pachelbel Canon, which is more or less under my feet at times. My poor old copy, inherited from Ron Kingham a lifetime ago, is in tatters. Little bits of Pachelbel fall off and flutter to the floor as I attempt to turn the pages...

Enough slow. Time for off. Nighty-nite!

Days to go: 940 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 60: Today after treatment I went right out to St. Leo's to practice. I played the Fugue through slightly under tempo and was happy to find no technical difficulties whatsoever. Gotta love that Dupre system of learning music, at present helping me to assimilate Variation IV.

The organ at St. Leo's was a gift from Holy Family Church in Whitby. It is a pre-digital Allen instrument with two manuals and full pedal board. It has been well-cared for: all of the keys, stops and pistons work and there is a transposer, which I have decided to set a tone lower for Sunday liturgies permanently.

Some of the upperwork is a bit intense for my taste and some of the stops have a vibration which I think is more due to the speakers rather than anything in the console, but I could be wrong about this. What do you think, Gordon? (I may be in touch with you later when I know the organ better.)

I spent the evening having tea with Rosemary, sometime visitor at St. Leo's and organist emeritus of St. Patrick's. We toasted the good old days, and sent good thoughts out to all church musicians, past, present and future, on this holy night -- that is to say, "Choir Night in Canada!"

(Cue OLD "Hockey Night in Canada" theme: dut-Dut-dut-Dah-Dah-DAAAAHHH!)

Days to go: 941 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 59: Tired. Srsly!

Days to go: 942 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 58: I just came from St. Pat's, where I caught up on all the variations which I had learned on the piano. I added the pedal to each of them, and then began to learn Variation IV. After 16 reps of the Left Hand, I was done in, and came home. Nap time!

Sunday's work at St. Leo's went well -- perhaps not as gracefully as I might like, but good for a first time. I think this coming Sunday I will play with my eyes closed while improvising, considering I experienced a few seconds of "centipede trouble" during the Eucharistic Prayer improvisation last Sunday. (The trumpet descant went well, though, and I have already thought of some ways to make it better.)

"Centipede trouble." Here is the whole quotation. "I'm afraid of coaching, of writers' magazines, of books on how to write. They give me centipede trouble -- you know the yarn about the centipede who was asked how he managed all his feet? He tried to answer, stopped to think about it, and was never able to walk another step." (Robert Heinlein to his editor Lurton Blassingame, quoted in Grumbles.)

Days to go: 943 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 57: Happy Labour-less Day!

Days to go: 944 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 56:

THE TEACHER CAME TO OUR SCHOOL

The Teacher was coming to our school.
We all had our say:

He will teach Industrial Arts
for He was a carpenter;

He will teach English
for He taught in parables;

He will teach Special Education
for He was always on the side of the underdog;

He will teach Science and Math
for He is the Master of the laws of nature;

He will teach in Arts
for He is the Lord of the Dance;

He will teach Family Studies
for He is the host of the Heavenly Banquet;

He will teach Modern Languages
for He understands every tongue;

He will teach Business
for His justice is sorely needed;

He will teach Phys Ed
for He has unbounded strength;

He will teach Geography and History
for He has traveled every land and lived all of time;

He will teach Law
for He confounded the Scribes and the Pharisees;

He will teach Guidance
for He is the Light of the World;

He will be a Secretary
for He knows all our words;

He will be a Custodian
because He came to serve;

He will be an Administrator
for He is the Master Teacher.

At last the Dean of Religion knowingly said,
"He undoubtedly will be in our department,
for what greater vocation can there be than to
teach love?"

But on the day the Teacher came,
He came to sit in a chair facing the board, late,
chewing gum and out of uniform.

(Les Miller, YCDSB)

Days to go: 945 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 55: Spent most of this evening at St. Leo's preparing for tomorrow, my first Sunday "on the job," as it were. My pastor, Fr. Charles, wanted to practice singing the Eucharistic Prayer with the organ. What a gift, at this stage, to come across this marvellous person, a priest who loves music!

There was a pleasant surprise waiting for me on email when I got home a few minutes ago. Anthony wrote! He writes so well. Always encouraging, he wrote, "Hope you get a chance to just play in the world of G-d's sonorities." Lovely. I wonder if he enjoys poetry, too?

Anyway, I will get the chance "to just play the world of G-d's sonorites" tomorrow as Fr. Charles prays during Mass. He wants a bit of musical backup as he speaks. What better time and place to begin my public improvising -- surrounded by grace.

Actually, I'll be playing a little trumpet descant (without a net!) for one of the hymns tomorrow. It worked well in rehearsal...

Tomorrow: a poem for teachers by a master teacher -- and a very sweet man.

Days to go: 946 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 54: Over to St. Pat's for a quick practice of Bach and music for Sunday. I played just 8 reps of the Bach (Variation I only) and then decided to get through my prelude and postlude while the getting was good. Then home for a nap before I ended up taking it on the organ bench!

I found out that the picture I have been using in visualisation is not supposed to represent the Sacred Heart, but is actually called "The Divine Mercy" and seems to have an almost cult-like following. There is a "Divine Mercy Chaplet", a "Divine Mercy Novena", and even a "Divine Mercy Lapel Pin". Knowing all this makes the whole thing a bit -- unsettling.

Back to the music: I may have to be content with doing most practicing at home over the next little while. It takes up lots and lots of energy interacting with people at the church now. And I ran a red light and drove up on a curb today at the 'Brook. Time to slow way, way down. Think adagio rather than allegro...

Days to go: 947 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 53: Just back from St. Leo's. So-o-o-o-o-o tired. Zzzzzzzz...

Days to go: 948 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 52: I learned Variation III at home in the air conditioning -- oops, I mean on the piano. The three-part manual "sinfonia" above the passacaglia theme was so technically interwoven that I couldn't separate out the Left Hand. So I just played the variation HT 32 times.

Before you ask, no, I don't have OCD. I just find Dupre's method effective and efficient, and I believe it saves time in the long run.

Today Karen, my CAREpath nurse, asked if I had ever tried any visualisation (I guess as an aid to relaxing). I didn't mention the air practicing, but I did tell her about the Sacred Heart picture at St. Patrick's and St. Leo's, and how I imagined the rays -- red (for Jesus?) and blue (for Mary?) -- shining, like gentle sunbeams, from His heart into my body during radiation treatment.

This visualisation is quite comforting when I am inside the TOMO machine. Instead of listening to the machine I sing a verse of Silent Night in my head: "...Love's pure light....radiant beams...". A bit ridiculous, maybe, but it helps.

"Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous." (Mother Angelica, EWTN)

Days to go: 949 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 51: At home today I learned Variations I and II without pedal. When I am at the church I will add in the pedal part: two straightforward statements of the Passacaglia theme. Little by little the piece is being "burned" (to use George Fung's totally suitable expression) into my fingers.

Tempo. When I first play a piece, it is as close to the imagined end product that I can make it -- like a sight-reading session. As for fingering, I play a short passage up to tempo and then write the fingering and pedalling in; not for every note, but for more complex pattern changes, and usually the beginning of each measure. After dividing the piece into sections (most times according to structure, but sometimes quite arbitrarily -- a line, or a few bars, perhaps) I slow down the tempo to at least 1/4.

Each section is then slowly repeated as musically as possible. Richard Troeger, a man who doesn't need to play ANYTHING slowly, once told me that, okay, it is fine to practice slowly, just be sure ALWAYS to practice musically, adjusting your interpretation to the tempo.

Slow sectional practice predominates, although sometimes an occasional up-to-tempo "sprint" lets me see how the piece is progressing. Sometimes I work a piece up to tempo in increments with the help of a metronome.

Rarely will I practice over-tempo -- the "faster than a speeding bullet" phase. Most of the time I play only as fast as I can control. Not as much fun, but helpful later. I think dicipline during the learning stage makes it possible to forget about technique during the performance stage, focusing on the music and, most importantly, just letting the music play itself freely through you and the organ.

Days to go: 950 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 50: Well, here we are, exactly half way through the number of days set aside for learning this piece! Many variations to go, but the one I learned today (Var. XI) is now solid.

My CCAC nurse, Paula, insisted I go right home and rest after my appointment this morning and before heading out to the 'Brook for treatment later this afternoon. That was the plan, anyway! (I guess I looked pretty ill.)

A block away from Markville Toyota my front left tire blew. So $202.11 later, I have a new tire, an oil change, and a new right brake light. But no rest yet.

Tomorrow I will talk about "tempo" in practicing, because right now my cool basement is calling me to go have a little snooze for a while. (I'm too cheap to turn on the AC.)

"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)

Days to go: 951 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 49:

HOPE

'Hope' is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words.
And never stops -- at all.

(Emily Dickinson)

Days to go: 952 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 48: Having done all the shopping and prep for Barb's birthday celebration this afternoon, I will see now how much of the manual variation can be learned on the piano before Susan gets here for coffee.

My practice plan for this (and most) variations: play once through slowly. Play the Left Hand 16 time varying each repetition (rhythm, articulation, touch, register, etc.). Then play the RH 16 times, as above. Then play hands together as above except playing with one hand silent, crossed hands, etc. This is to keep the material fresh while keeping the actual fingering and notes the same for every rep.

It is a disaster, of course, if you learn a mistake! Then you are into multiples of 16 to correct it. (This is also how to correct an uncertain area of a previously learned piece once the "knot" has been figured out -- multiples.)

If learning a variation with pedals, learn the pedal part first and then use various combinations of pedal alone, LH and pedal, RH and pedal, HT and pedal, etc.

After my 4th year undergraduate recital, JSM told me, as we had a lesson in the Kney practice room at UWO, that I would probably never reach the same level of performance ever again. So far he is correct: a completely memorized program with most parts note-perfect is something I have not attempted since.

Tomorrow: a kind of tweet!

Days to go: 953 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 47: No practicing today. I am completely tired. Tomorrow I will work on the remaining manuals-only variation. "One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done." (Marie Curie)

Good night!

Days to go: 954 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 46: Completed another variation today and found that the 8' gambe is very easy on the ears. No 16' pedal. One of the wedding coordinators brought in her 3-year-old grandaughter so I helped her play "Twinkle, Twinkle" on full organ. I am sure they appreciated it in the office...

Paul wanted to vacuum the church today, so it was an interesting lesson in the art of concentration for me. I remember when it was Reg's job to vacuum the church. He would start it up just about every time I would come in to practice, and sing along.

It happened all the time, as if the organ ignition were connected to the "on" switch of the vacuum cleaner. I finally figured out that he just really enjoyed the music and wanted to be there in the church while it was going on.

It is a pleasure to start a variation -- a slow, halting first reading transforms, through the practicing process, into a graceful, fluent musical statement. Magic!

Days to go: 955 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 45: A short practice session at the church today. I finished yesterday's variation (the triplet sixteenth-note one) and played once through all the variations I knew and also the Fugue.

I have changed the practice registration from 8' flute to 8' gambe. It is easier to hear if parts are out of alignment or if runs are even. Tomorrow I will practice without the 16' in the pedal and couple the 8' gambe to the pedal. This should clear things up even more.

Playing on a full registration reveals problem areas very quickly -- it is just too much fun to stop and fix them! I've marked them, though, and will re-learn them, making them stronger than ever.

Today some parts of both variations and fugue flowed beautifully and I was surprised to be feeling quite happy as I played. I wonder if this is anything like C.S.Lewis's feeling of being "surprised by joy?"

Days to go: 956 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 44: Here is the link for Bach's T & F in d:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o&pz=OC2D8D43D3EB330B7playnext=1&index=30

If the link doesn't work you could always just search: youtube Bach Toccata and Fugue, I guess.

Did not quite finish the Variation of the Day today, since the church was really busy, and I'm too tired to finish it now. But I did play the whole Fugue through on appropriate registration again today, and it was even better than yesterday, probably because I played the Fugue first, right after the warmup, instead of after I had practiced a variation.

After consultation, I've decided to return to the original idea of this blog, which was to keep track of my practicing -- a simple "plog", or practice log. Let me close with a quotation from John Wayne: "Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much."

Days to go: 957 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 43: Today I played the Fugue all the way through, full-out on a bright, clear registration. It was lots of fun to do this -- just loved it! For the BIG FINISH (after the fermata), I thought I would kick open the crescendo pedal, which had the unexpected effect of reversing the couplers, so the BIG FINISH was NOT so big!

Also, I learned another variation: #16. I find, having played over all the variations that I have practiced so far, that the notes stay in the fingers quite well, as long as I concentrate and avoid practicing mechanically during the initial learning process. That means changing something about the rep each time.

A friend sent a youTube video of Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor played both aurally and graphically. If I can figure out how to do it, I will link it to this blog. It looks like chant notation to me.

Still waiting for the Gerre Hancock book on improvisation to arrive...

Days to go: 958 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 42:

HIGH FLIGHT

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew --
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

(John Gillespie Magee)

Days to go: 959 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 41: Have just finished Variation 13 of the Bach -- a lovely, intricate variation with original (?) slur markings. That makes #13, #14 and #15 learned here at home on my piano.

Amused myself by accessing my radiation history charts on the 'Brook's MyChart webpage, then looked up all the terms I didn't know. Gertrude Stein had a point: "Considering how dangerous everything is, nothing is really very frightening."

Actually, another really interesting website having nothing to do with me (!) is:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100720.html

... which puts up real pictures each day of sky-science related things like nebulae and galaxies and spectacular sunsets and lightning storms. (Did you miss the Perseids again this year? Alas, so did I.)

Tomorrow: a poem I've loved since I was a kid.

Days to go: 960 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 40: Just completed another variation in the Bach: miles to go before I sleep...

Wondering about lolcats (pictures of cats with funny captions)? Go to:

http://www.icanhascheezburger.com

Rly!

Had coffee with Peter today in "his" cafe, the cafe on the ground floor of his building. Peter has a condo on the 26th floor, with a marvellous view of the lake from two vantage points.

We enjoyed each other's company and remembered "the good old days" at St. Peter's Cathedral-Basilica in London, Ontario, where he was cantor and I was organist.

Well, you know what? THESE are the good old days! Or will be, a few years from now.

Days to go: 961 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 39: Got the OISE transcript for my summer course today: A+. Thanks, Dianne, for a great aq!

Went to the 'Brook for treatment #2 and am now back home and really tired. In two weeks I will need to access the CCS's Volunteer Ride program as I expect I will be too tired to drive.

Am too tired now. Might wake up later this evening and write some more. No brainz now, sowwy.

(Imagine picture of tineez lolcat with huge eyes HERE...)

Days to go: 962 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 38: Keys to the Kingdom, continued...

Ron let me borrow the extra-extra organ keys from the safe, but they didn't fit the console, so here we are, twelve hours later, and no practicing done today. Sigh!

I wonder if political savvy can be reverse-inherited? The younger generation seems to have more luck at this than I do.

Must be because I am a product (or by-product, if you will) of the sixties and seventies, where being "honest and natural" and "letting it all hang out" were expected behaviours, along with "encounter groups...".

A few years ago at a PD day we were asked to get into small groups and discuss some topic involving feelings. Well, after I spilled my guts -- excuse me, I mean "shared" -- in great detail, thinking it appropriate, I noticed some discomfort in my group of mostly younger teachers, who proceeded to speak about their feelings without actually appearing to have any.

Times have changed. I wish I could. I felt exposed and embarrassed, and I still do!

Days to go: 963 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 37: Planned to stop by St. Leo's this morning. It was locked. Note to self: the church is closed on Tuesdays. So I drove on to Bowmanville and air-practiced the passacaglia theme (a short pedal solo) when I got there, while watching "The Young and the Restless" with my sisters.

And I wonder why I have trouble air-practicing?

Lots of details to look after at the 'Brook tomorrow as radiation starts. It really helps to have been through it already. I also feel a strong need for personal space this time around. I don't really understand this feeling right now but I will go with it anyway.

It is kind of weird, but I didn't feel right missing my "fix" of practicing today. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. But then again, as Seneca said, "One should count each day a separate life."

Days to go: 964 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 36: EXCELLENT NEWS this afternoon from Dr. I. Ackerman, Radiologist Extraordinaire: the CT-PET scan showed NOTHING NEW!!! This is fantastic! So I will start radiation down at the 'Brook in a few days and will continue with it until well into September. Nun danket alle Gott!

Went to the church to practice and guess what? The keys to the organ weren't in the office, as they usually are. There was a funeral this morning and the organist probably slipped them into his pocket by mistake instead of turning them in.

So I went home and learned variation XV, one of four variations of the Passacaglia for manuals only. It will be fun to play the whole Fugue from beginning to end tomorrow without stopping.

Oh, and I tried to "play" a cadenza combining "Phantom of the Opera" with "Feller From Fortune." It kind of works if you play "Feller" in the minor mode and don't listen too carefully...

I am aware that people have been lighting candles and sending good thoughts and praying for me this past week. Thank you.

Days to go: 965 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 35:

HYMN

At morn -- at noon -- at twilight dim --
Maria! Thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe -- in good and ill --
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the Hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee;
Now, when storms of Fate o'ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my Future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine!

(Edgar Allan Poe)

Days to go: 966 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 34: Went out to Sibbald Point (near Sutton on Lake Simcoe) very early this morning and watched the geese play in the water. It was refreshing and breezy and I happily splashed along the shore in my bare feet. Sat on a picnic table right by the beach and enjoyed the quiet and a Tim's.

Then people seemed to arrive all at once -- lots of kids wanting to swim and many adults laden with picnic baskets. Pretty soon I left. Wouldn't want to inadvertently cause anyone to develop super powers, my being radioactive and all.

Came home and learned THE LAST LINE! of the Bach. It is nice to be done. It is like building the frame of a cabinet -- now on to adding the doors and shelves and panels. BTW, Tibor's big cupboard at the church is finished already and looks like it has always been there. He has even matched the trim on the doors to the confessional.

After finishing the "work," I "played" a bit. Since I was practicing at home on the piano, I decided to see if I could improvise some "jazz." I put the word "jazz" in quotation marks because what I produced at first was pretty funny (and not in a good way!) Who knows? Maybe when I am more skilled at this I'll play in a piano bar. Or on Fr. Charles' piano. I wonder if he can set his grand player piano to karaoke?

Tomorrow: a poem by an unlikely author. Here's a hint: "Nevermore!"

Days to go: 967 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 33: Short post today. I'm on my way over to the church to learn the second-last line of Bach and to "play" a bit before heading down to the 'Brook for the CT-PET scan. It is a long procedure and I'm not sure how I will feel when it is finished, so better to practice now and sleep later!

Anyway, I have lots of water packed and my iPod (since reading is not allowed). And I will be radioactive for a while, so it will be a very quiet weekend at home. I thought of going over to hear Deacon Mike's homily --

http://www.itinerantpreacher.org

-- at the 12:30 Mass on Sunday but I can't take the chance around crowds. Just call me "Fallout Girl" (with apologies to Bart Simpson!).

Wouldn't it be something if, when the doctors got the results, they said, "Nothing wrong with THESE nodes. What were we THINKING?"

Days to go: 968 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 32: The most amazing thing happened yesterday. As you might remember, I decided to focus on "improvisation" in my new church job at St. Leo's. So, as soon as I finished posting my blog, I did a bing search: organ improvisation how-to. Near the bottom of the first page of websites was this one:

http://www.amlamortpipeorgan.com

So I went to the site. Reader, you have to check this out! Anthony Mark LaMort has done a spectacular service here. I went immediately to his "Improvisation Blog" and listened to him play. Yes, I knew right away: this is how I wanted to play. It is like Eric all over again. (Eric Hauser designed the Letourneau that I practice on and is a gifted improviser.)

Then I read Mr. LaMort's bio and realized that his website is going to keep me extremely busy for a long time. It is so very interesting! We share an influence: Paul Martin Maki, who gave a masterclass (in which I played the Franck B Minor Choral) at the University of Western Ontario years ago. I believe Maki was a friend of Larry Cortner, of blessed memory.

I went no further in my bing search, took a BIG chance, and emailed Mr. LaMort. HE WROTE BACK!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? He wrote many, many helpful suggestions as to how I could get started improvising. My goodness, he writes well. I hope he writes articles. I hope he writes books! He suggested that I just "play," to start, as a child plays.

So today after finishing the 3rd last line of Bach, I put the music score firmly aside. What sounds would I use to begin? Those of you who know me personally would say, "celestes with the swell box closed," but you would be wrong, wrong, wrong!!! I pulled out all the pedal stops, including the 32', and the glorious great trumpet!!! I played a great big fanfare!!! I used double pedal!!! I even did a huge two-armed gliss up and down the keyboard!!!

("This is not Trude talking, you are thinking...). I tried to remember what Anthony did and imitated registration and patterns. Was it ever fun!!! I can hardly wait to go back and do it again!

You'll notice that Anthony and I are on a first-name basis now. That is his little tiny picture under "followers," there on the right of your screen.

How can I thank you, Anthony? I will be forever in your debt for your generosity of spirit and your kindness. St. Leo's will be, too, as I grow in skill, thanks to you.

Days to go: 969 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 31: Only 3 lines to go on the Bach, and these are manuals only. I have been playing the lines in context, so practice time has increased exponentially, but it is so pleasant and peaceful. "Soothing music," Richard called it this morning.

Tibor and Richard and another guy were building a big cupboard to house all the gear belonging to the Contemporary Choir. The equipment had previously all been crammed into the left confessional, as I recall.

Well, doesn't Tibor send Reg out for coffee and donuts for us all, and we all sat down and had a coffee break together, even the teen who is working off his community service by straightening out all the hymnbooks in the pews. (Great idea, that -- someone's a genius!)

Then Elaine (Tibor's wife, who sings in the Senior Choir) came in with lunch for the work crew: BBQ chicken sandwiches and beer. I tell you, it must have been just like this back in the days of building the old medieval cathedrals -- the good wife (the "wench?") bringing in "fyne fayr" for all the hardworking craftsmen.

It was so good to see them all -- it has been a very long time. All in all, a productive, enjoyable practice session with lots of social time thrown in. Also, I was able to identify which aspect of the church job I want to focus in on first: the skill I have always admired so much in others -- improvisation.

No, the angel wasn't there today...but the peace she brought remains.

Days to go: 970 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 30: My apologies for being such an emo kid yesterday. And, further on in that vein: this morning I woke up and the Sword of Damocles was still there -- that Sword that suddenly appeared over my head as I was wheeling out of the church parking lot after the meeting with TPTB at St. Leo's last night.

Suz was such a great help as we tried to sort out my craziness at T&T's over coffee. Then I went over to the church: another line of Bach learned. Only FOUR lines of the fugue to go. While at the church I took time to brainstorm my anxiety about the church job on a mindmap.

It was an EPIC mindmap. No wonder I am scared to death. It is as if my hidden self (evil twin?) is saying: "All those things you said you'd do in a church job if you ever had time? Well, guess what? You are out of time. THIS IS IT! You have to do it all NOW!"

Thanks be to God, a Holy One came over and told me to start playing again. She said, "it is like the angels talking."

This sweet lady had kissed the new picture of the Sacred Heart over by the Tabernacle as she was leaving and stopped by to tell me that she follows Mass on tv every morning. "Mass is too early at St. Pat's," she says.

Then she comes over to visit the Blessed Sacrament for a while, where she prays for peace, especially peace for the sick and dying. Wow.

C.S. Lewis's Screwtape would say that this woman fairly reeks of holiness. I personally think she was an angel herself. Wonder if I'll ever see her again?

Honestly, you can't make stuff like this up!!!

If Rosemary were not so busy with the Miller Family Golf Tournament I would go over to her place and talk about all this. "Obi-wan," I would say...

Days to go: 971 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 29: One more line of Bach learned and it is only lunchtime. Woo hoo! AND the air conditioner was on in the church. Bonus! Maybe I will learn another line on the piano at home this afternoon.

Big night tonight: meeting with TPTB at St. Leo's. It has taken me a lifetime to learn that these ministries always end at the cross, and I am filled with trepidation. Great word, that.

It is not that I don't have a lot to offer; I do. I guess it is -- and it shames me to admit this -- that I wish to make sure the work is worth the inevitable suffering, as if that were possible (to "make sure", that is). Hugh Timmons taught me a great thing: to go for the best, highest quality music. Better to suffer for that, rather than its opposite, I suppose -- since the suffering is inevitable.

Ah, church music: the triumph of hope over experience...

Jerusalem, my destiny!

Days to go: 972 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 28:

AUGURIES OF INNOCENCE

Man was made for Joys and Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy and Woe are woven fine
A clothing for the Soul divine
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

(William Blake)

Days to go: 973 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 27: I WON THE LOTTERY!!! Ok, I needed a few more zeros, but $10 is $10. I called Suz to see if she wanted to go for coffee. (My treat!)

I think I have won the lottery, in a way. Being on LTD means that most basic living expenses are covered, and, in fact, I am not allowed to get paid for any outside work. This is why I am able to volunteer at St. Leo's. It was originally just an offer to fill in as a sub-organist from time to time, but is rapidly turning into more than that.

I do feel a responsibility to the organ profession to be paid a just "commensurate with education and experience" wage (as the job ads say), and when I return to full time teaching and am seeking out a new church position I will probably negotiate for just that.

In the meantime, I accept presents.

A gift certificate to Red Lobster would be nice. Then I could take my sisters out for a special supper to celebrate the completion of Marion's herceptin and a NED scan for her, as determined up in Sudbury this week.

I would say that Marion won the lottery this time!

Days to go: 974 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 26: Another line of Bach learned. That's way lotsa many notes so far. Bit by bit the fugue is coming together. Susan said she would be interested in hearing the final product on the Letourneau so happily that is another goal to work toward (-- um, towards which to work?).

A very pleasant lunch today with Susan and Harry, then some relaxing on the deck. I feel so blessed to have such generous, caring friends. They had just returned from vacation and were doing what all teachers do in the summer: clean out the garage, paint the house, etc. Afterwards I went over to Nella's to get my hair done, and I must admit, I DO look b-you-tee-full!

It was nice to hear from Dianne (Guidance Part 1 course instructor) via email: it has been a week since the course finished. It seems like a year. I plan to take Part 2 online through OSCA starting in September.

Found out when my CT-PET scan is: next Friday! Friday, August 13, 2010!! FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, that is!!! I am not superstitious, no, not at all.

Oooooo.

:-)

Days to go: 975 -- Pieces to go :10

Day 25: When Julie (Julie and Julia, inspirational movie for this blog) burned the Boeuf Bourgnignon the night before Judith Jones came over for supper, did she give up? No, she did not.

Did she whine, "epic fail!" and throw a temper tantrum on the kitchen floor? No, she did not.

(That was for the lobster dinner, if I remember correctly.)

So am I going to give up air practicing so easily? No, I am not.

Tennis players, football players, all kinds of sports people visualize perfect plays: this virtual practice acts like actual practice and they play a better game. I can experiment with this. I DO want to be able to practice without a keyboard.

In the meantime, it was good to be back at the church practicing for real this afternoon. Another line learned.

Days to go: 976 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 24: Air practicing: EPIC FAIL!!!

Days to go: 977 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 23: This will be a short post because I still have to air practice. I'm on nephew Jim's computer, listening to some Bach from Iceberg Radio:

http://www.icebergradio.com

After discussion with TPTB (the very nice powers that be, I might add) at OTIP, it looks like no school for me in September but yes to volunteer work instead. For now. I am relieved. I have medical appointments lined up already and I just don't think it is the best thing for my grade niners to have subs at irregular times their first few weeks at school. So they will have one LTO instead, which will be better for them.

That Bach I'm listening to is so wonderful...I could just get lost in it. I remember so clearly Dr. Regula Qureshi playing a Bach chaconne on the cello in St. Joseph's Chapel (U of AB) at the blessing of the school year a long time ago. It was beyond classy.

Right, ONWARD, to air practice the exposition of the fugue. Hmmmm, I wonder if that Mike's hard pomegranate lemonade I just drank will have any effect on my concentration?

Nah.

Days to go: 978 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 22: Was inspired today by the story of Marie-Eve Chainey, who is a champion high-jump competitor from my hometown, Kapuskasing. She has been battling kidney disease for nine years.

Three years ago she was unable to walk and lacked the strength to wash her hair, and now she is back in competition. She undergoes nocturnal hemodialysis six nights a week for eight or nine hours while she sleeps.

"Nine long years, 800 blood transfusions and a stunning comeback to elite sport," reads the headline on the front page of the Toronto Star. Makes me embarrassed to be whining about my little kidney stent...

Back to practicing tomorrow -- more like air practicing, since I am at my nephew Jim's without a keyboard most of this week. I wonder if I should just buy a little keyboard and keep it in the car. "Have keyboard, will travel!"

Days to go: 979 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 21:

PIED BEAUTY

Glory be to God for dappled things--
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced--fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

(Gerard Manley Hopkins)

Days to go: 980 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 20: At this moment (10:39 am) Duo Majoya is setting up for their last concert in the series, which starts at 11:15. "Break a leg," as they say in the theatre world. Hey, Reader, you still have 36 minutes to catch the concert. Get going!!!

I just sent a card to John McIntosh to see if he would like to hear the Bach P&F when it is finished. It would be great to see him and Diane, and to visit Goderich, the "prettiest little town," I think their motto is.

Headed for Bowmanville in a few minutes, where we will celebrate my sister Cathy's birthday. I went to pick up some sweet corn at the Markham farmers' market to add to the feast.

Happy long weekend, everyone!

Days to go: 981 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 19: What a pleasure to hear Marnie and Joachim today in Stratford! They played so well, as always -- a light, sparkly lunchtime program. (I heard the car horn but not the dog barking in the Hakim.) They haven't aged a day, and looked great in their matching purple-themed outfits. Tomorrow it will be red-and-white, for Kobie Kloppers' "Musical Memoirs of A Canadian Organist" among other Canadian works.

Go if you can! You will really enjoy Duo Majoya. Let's see: Ma = Marnie, Jo = Joachim, and then there's Ya. Hmmmm...for fun, I guess, because then you have the word "joy" -- !

http://www.majoya.com/upcoming events

We went out for lunch afterwards with Paul Chappel and his dad. So nice to feel part of the organ biz again. Marnie thinks I need some lighter works to go along with all the big heavy pieces listed on this blog. She suggested one of the Bach concertos. Would be fun! Especially the entire G major, which I remember Chris New playing faster than humanly possible years ago in Edmonton. It was exciting! Like going down a steep hill with no brakes! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Stopped by the church on the way home and learned another line of Bach, but I was THINKING "Ragtime," you can bet.

Days to go: 982 -- Pieces to go:10

Day 18: Well, I guess I'll have to buy a new metronome after all because the ceiling fan over the organ console doesn't skritch anymore. Spent a peaceful session learning another line of Bach. (Unsteadily, haha! NOT!)

Since this was the last day of the course I will be able to practice in the mornings from now on -- except for tomorrow morning, when I go to to hear Marnie and Joachim, who are playing organ duets as part of the lunchtime summer music concert series in Stratford. It will be fun to see them again.

Nothing too unexpected at the 'Brook today. I didn't see Dr. Nam; he sent one of his minions instead. She was a nice minion, though, and answered all my questions. Discussion about surgery will be put off until October, after the results of the radiation treatments are known.

CA still sux.

Days to go: 983 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 17: The church was really busy today so I came home, jacked up the AC, and will practice in comfort at my grand piano. After Star Trek.

With piano practice you can add weight to the touch and drive the notes into those fingers all the more powerfully, especially if you start at quarter tempo. Well, this has worked for me in the past, anyway, especially with Messiaen.

Today the wiki for our class was up and operational. It is quite fascinating. All our presentations will soon be on it. You can see for yourself at:

http://www.guidanceaq-2010.wikispaces.com

Try to identify which quotation I put up, haha!

If I make a wiki for Larry Cortner, people from all over will be able to type in their tributes and memories, and it will be on the www forever! More on that later...

Something new in the medical department. One of my doctors wants a PET scan, so my radiation treatment, scheduled to begin next week, may be delayed. I've never had a PET scan, but Dr. Ackerman is so sweet and caring that whatever she wants to do is fine with me!

Days to go: 984 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 16: Yay! I passed my skills test today and we didn't even have to do open-ended questions!

We did have to do a "reflecting" statement (a paraphrase) though. "Sooooooooooooooo, you feel frustrated because you studied open-ended questions and they weren't on the assessment...".

I must say the food for this course has been outstanding. Did you know that you can make a fruit dip out of cream cheese and marshmallow fluff and it is AMAZING?

Completed another line of Bach today -- am almost a third through the fugue now. I started learning from the end of the piece to make sure the last bit could play itself, so to speak, if I were to get tired come performance time.

I remember the first surprising time I ever got tired during a performance situation. It was at the end of an Easter Vigil and luckily for me the conductor decided to do an encore of one of the choral hymn arrangements as a postlude instead of the organ piece I had prepared. I was certainly glad of the church hall coffee that night. (Wished I'd had it a bit sooner, like around the time of the homily.)

Why don't we have Starbucks like those megachurches in the States? Then again, up here, in the Great White North, it would more likely be Timmies! :-)

Days to go: 985 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 15: Finished another line of Bach and found out more about the mystery of Mary at the church today. Also ran into Kay, who was organizing the choir music and getting it prepared for use in September. She is so meticulous about this sometimes overwhelming task.

Tomorrow we have an evaluation of counselling skills at the course, which, BTW, is almost finished -- three days to go. My nemesis, the open ended question:
"Soooooooooo, how's THAT workin' for ya?"

Suz says to finish the blog right now and go to bed. So I will, and I will leave you with this little gem, which I hereby dedicate to Dianne, AQ instructor par excellence! Here goes--

"I have a room full of mirrors in my house. Sometimes I go there to reflect." (Kevin Bartini) HAHAHAHAHA!

Days to go: 986 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 14

THE CALL

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
And such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart;
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.

(George Herbert)
set by Ralph Vaughan Williams
in "Five Mystical Songs"

Days to go: 987 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 13: We were talking today about this coming April being the fifth anniversary of Larry Cortner's death. A memorial concert/get-together in Studio 18 at UWO would be a good way for his former students to celebrate his life.

I know what I would play: the Franck Priere, one of LLC's signature pieces. I have his own score with his own markings. I can think of lots of people who might attend -- not only old students, but people from his church and some of the faculty.

Denise, for sure, and Pam. I wonder if Trish and Terry would come? And Jeanette? Where are Corinne and Nancy? Paul would go for this. Maybe JSM and Dianne would come. And Derek, too.

It is not very long ago that we were so proud of LLC for winning St. Albans. And the fun we had making jokes about "Larry Who?", 'way back in the Silverwood Building.

Good times.

Days to go: 988 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 12: One step at a time for the Bach. Today I noticed that I was playing in time to the constant skritch, skritch, skritch of the ceiling fan just above the console. Well, I can't find any of my metronomes anyway, so this will make a good substitute.

Susan was away so I talked with Lois about Mary. Lois (pastoral associate) made some good points and we'll follow up on it next week.

In order to get the 10 pieces learned in 1000 days I am going to have to accomplish more each day. More "butt on the bench" time, as we used to say when I was an undergraduate. I put the score of the Durufle on the piano at home so that I could at least work out fingering and maybe do some of the manual reps.

I'm afraid that I will be competing with Yvonne's mom next door, who likes to listen to Elvis CDs. Yow! It's like having The King right there in the same room with you. And it's always, "Blue Hawaii..."

Days to go: 989 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 11: A strange thing happened today. I was happily packing up after some productive (mostly silent) work on the Bach and the lady who had been praying over by the Tabernacle met up with me at the door. She asked me for a ride home, since she was feeling very tired -- too tired to walk home.

I suggested she sit on the little bench just outside the front door and I went to my car and threw about a month's worth of Tim Horton's wrappers and coffee cups into the back seat so she would have a place to sit. (Yeah, I know, ewww!)

On the way to her house she told me that she was very very sad and she would have to move away from her big empty house and she was all alone and very lonely. She has a son in Stouffville but she doesn't drive. Her name is Mary.

After I dropped her off I went back to the church office to see if Susan Tuck knew anything about Mary's situation, but Susan had left for the day. I will talk to her tomorrow when I go in to practice. I think the church has an organized ministry to the elderly --or, at least, I think it did at one time.

I got home in time to watch the end of one of my favourite Star Trek Voyager eps, "Equinox, Pt.1". Wasn't concentrating on it much, though.

WWJD?

(What Would Janeway Do?)

Days to go: 990 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 10: Got a lot done on the Bach today AND did the group presentation this morning for the course, so I feel like it is the last day of school. Five more days for the course and it will be! Tomorrow we are working on campus at the OISE computer lab, so it wil be different. Cooler, I hope.

The Bach is just lovely -- we will hold off on the "glorious" until I can play it up to tempo with the proper registration. After yet another intense day at the course it was soothing and quite relaxing to practice on the quietest of 8' flutes. NOT a day that would win the "Excellence in Innovative Practicing" award, though! I just did the reps, made some changes in fingering, and varied the rhythms a bit. When the course is finished I'll start practicing in the morning and see if that jazzes things up a little in the energy department.

Susan asked me tonight if I really had to go back to school in September. It was such an unexpected question that it totally threw me. I had been so set on returning full time that it was a big deal for me to agree to part time yesterday at the doctor's office. I hadn't even considered staying off entirely.

By September I will be over halfway through radiation treatments.

As the students would say, "CA sux!" OMG, they are right!

Days to go: 991 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 9: Back from the 'Brook and haven't quite made it to the church. I'm at Suz's once again. We have just had some tea and little wafer cookies. More later.

Hi, I'm back. Didn't make it to the church. This makes 3 days now that I haven't practiced, and I'm not really making much progress. A friend of mine says that research has shown that when you train, you should train alternating strenuous workouts with gentler sessions. You should not miss more than 2 consecutive days or you will lose the benefits of what you have built up.

This means I MUST practice tomorrow. STRENUOUSLY!

I noticed tonight when getting into my pj's that I have little red Sharpie marks all over my trunk from the radiation sim today where they did the tiny tattoos.

No, the tattoos don't say, "Trude loves sushi" in Japanese.

But those little red Sharpie marks. It is as if a (very odd) teacher has snuck in and evaluated my body. So now I have rubrics on my skin, haha!

Tomorrow, Bach and Durufle. And it will be glorious!

Days to go: 992 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 8: Happy Monday to all. A short post today. No playing -- the shoes and the scores stayed in the car. I am at Suz's using her wonderful computer to clean up an assignment for class. I think my computer is sick, and I hope it is not affecting anyone else's!

My nurse refused to change my tubing tonight -- she thinks there is big time infection. So that is another thing to check out at the 'Brook tomorrow. Interventional Radiology, here I come! Ick. They will want to change the site of the stent. Double ick!

Then it is off to radiation planning to take pictures and tattoo me once again. I asked for a rose last time and got some teeny little dots. This time I'll ask for some obscure Japanese symbol -- hey, why not? I love sushi. That's what it will say in beautiful, flowing calligraphy: "Trude loves sushi!"

I miss my Bach. And I have to get home to bed as soon as possible. Goodnight, Moon!

Days to go: 993 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 7:

THE HOMECOMING

The spirit, newly freed from earth,
is all amazed at the surprise
of her belonging: suddenly
as native to eternity
to see herself, to realize
the heritage that lets her be
at home where all this glory lies.

By naught foretold could she have guessed
such welcome home: the robe, the ring,
music and endless banqueting;
these people hers; this place of rest
known, as of long remembering
herself a child of God and pressed
with warm endearments to His breast.

(Jessica Powers)

Days to go: 994 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 6: Today was silent fugue day again! A lady came over to the organ as she was leaving the church and we had a brief talk about her recent trip to Great Britain, where she and her husband had visited many cathedrals and listened to many Sung Evensongs. (I wanted to tell her all about my studies at the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon, but this didn't seem to be the time). She had a lot to say, and I was delighted -- especially when she said to me, "Well, whenever you see ME in here, please keep playing and don't turn the sound off. We all need a little Bach in our lives." :-)

I showed the priest the little organ log book that Ron Blackmore asked me to put in the drawer on the right-hand side of the console to help the organ service person. I am pretty sure this organ service person is the Leslie Smith who was at UWO during my 4th year. It would be good to catch up with him, and also ask him the million or so questions I have about the Letourneau.

Dear Reg, the custodian, came in to chat, noticed the dust on the console, and went off to get his swiffer. He dusted the entire console right then and there. We talked about the best way to clean the dirt off the keys and get the fingerprint smears off the music rack. No Windex allowed! I'll ask Leslie when he comes to service the organ.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I will not practice. But I will post a lovely poem by a mystic!

Days to go: 995 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 5: First day without practicing. I really miss it, after only 4 days of consistent work. I would go downstairs to the piano, but it is almost 11 pm and I wouldn't want to disturb the neighbours. Maybe I should get a digital keyboard and put it in the basement where it is cool...

Today was a very sleepy day and I am having a little trouble with my kidney stent. My nurse said that if it doesn't clear by tomorrow, it's "the 'Brook" for me (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre). I am ok with that, but it sure is going to cut into my practice time.

A friend suggested I download the organ works onto my iPod so that I can learn them faster. That is an excellent idea and I will get my own personal computer guru right on it. Daryl Sutton, student violinist extraordinaire, loaded it last time, with the most wonderful music. How did he know that I love ABBA? Especially, "No-no-no-no-no-no-Knowing Me, No-no-no-no-Knowing You," for all you Dibley fans!

We had a fun Christmas in July at Tara & Dany's earlier this evening. There were 7 very little, very happy children there. Santa Claus even came! It was so cute, and EVERYONE was taking pictures. Soon I will find out how to post pictures on this blog. Then you will be sorry! Merry Christmas in July!

Days to go: 996 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 4: Oooooh, so hot and so tired! We had a very intense day of classes today, and it took me THREE HOURS!!! to get home. The joys of driving across Toronto downtown at evening rush hour. At least now it looks like it is going to rain -- I really enjoy the rain, sometimes.

Played the Bach, manuals only, home on the piano. And soon I will go to bed.

I am really wondering about that fermata. It just cries out for a cadenza, and I know just the man to write it: the undisputed King of Improv, Joachim Segger! I think I may have heard a cadenza there before, maybe when Marnie played the work?

Interesting conundrum. My interpretation will likely sound both conservative and Romantic, and I am tempted to make up a cadenza that will please the property manager at St. Pat's, Ron Blackmore. He wants to hear Phantom of the Opera. I can see just playing the top chromatic line a little -- not the open fifths, that would be too obvious!

But, then again, a crisp Baroque cadenza on a tracker organ would be super, especially if I played the Pass. and Fugue REALLY FAST! It might be exciting. Then again, it might not be, just as karaoke music is lots of fun -- for the singer, that is!

Tomorrow is "Christmas in July" at Tara and Dany's. If this were truly Christmas Eve I would be up to my armpits in Willcocks choral settings and chorales from the Christmas Oratorio . Those were the days!

Days to go: 997 -- Pieces to go: 10

Day 3: Trude and the Holy Ones, Part 3: I was working on the Durufle and pushed "cancel" as a man came into the church. Soon I heard a large, friendly voice from 'way over by the Tabernacle: "You aren't stopping on MY account, are you?" Why, yes, as a matter of fact...

Later we had a lovely conversation in the lobby. "Jake the Snake," from Kenya, enjoys listening to the organ and is retired from Bell. In his words, he has been blessed with four children and now looks after his grandson. I hope he brings the toddler over to the church one day when I am practicing. (Have to start 'em early in the organ biz!) Jake is a sweet man and yes, IMHO, definitely one of the true Holy Ones.

Rick Vander Woude from Calgary suggested I practice early in the morning and late in the evening -- just like we used to do on the organ at Convocation Hall at the University of Alberta when we were both there as students in the 1990's. I remember darkness -- morning AND night -- and lots of snow. Rick played the Reger piece I will be learning, and is famous for his subtitle for Bach's Trio Sonata #6: "The Mother Of All Trio Sonatas." (You had to be there...).

Thanks for that neat pic of your family, Rick! You are one lucky man!

Hey, I have a gig thanks to this blog -- my first one! George Fung, of Holy Rosary (a Basilian parish in Toronto), will allow me to play the Bach as a postlude at his church this fall. Just the fugue, that is, as a kind of short-term goal for me, not to mention the pleasure of playing his beautiful Casavant in the gorgeous acoustic of that old church. When the "Pieces" counter, above, reaches 9.5, you'll know I've played it. We are looking at late September or early October and everyone's invited.

Thanks, George! How about if I play the postlude at all your Masses and then we can all go to lunch? I'm buying! McDonald's, anyone? :-)