And All That Jazz

 

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. While Tomoko focused on classical compositions when she performed and taught, she appreciated a wide variety of music and musicians, including those associated with jazz. Two individuals stand out in terms of Tomoko’s Conservatory association with jazz: a colleague and a student.

Beulah Forbes-Woodard

When Tomoko started teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, there was only one other non-Caucasian faculty member: a Black woman Beulah Forbes-Woodard, whose specialty was jazz music. Born in Ellensburg (in central Washington state), Beulah Forbes grew up in a musical family. Her father played ragtime music for silent forms, and all of Beulah’s siblings worked in music or the theater.  

Beulah studied classical music at the Conservatory, and she was their first African American graduate. Upon her graduation, Beulah was asked to join the Conservatory as a teacher, thus becoming the Conservatory’s first Black faculty member. When she retired from the Conservatory after teaching there for almost fifty years, the Conservatory awarded her a doctorate of music. She also taught at the University of San Francisco and Lone Mountain College.  

An accomplished pianist, she played professionally with well-known musicians, headlining performances in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Beulah also performed the first jazz concert at the Conservatory, which led to jazz being incorporated into the curriculum. 

George Duke

One of Tomoko’s students, George Duke, became a jazz musician. If you have heard of The Mothers of Invention, then you know of George Duke – and that he became a famous jazz musician. George joined the rebirth of this rock band in 1970 as their keyboardist and vocalist.  

Thinking back to this musician, Tomoko remarks, “Maybe because his jazz influence or upbringing, he was very down to earth, not like many classical musician divas.” She concludes, “There is a big difference between the classical world and non-classical musicians. The latter are more easygoing. I also found that out when I was recording at Skywalker.” Her comments reflect George’s own feelings in that he switched from classical music to jazz because it was more freeing for him, and it allowed him to improvise.  

Catholic Patron Saints of Music

 

Tomoko converted to Catholicism in college. One of the unique features of that religion is its famous saints. Several of those saints have special meaning for musicians.

Saint Cecilia is the most famous patroness of musicians. According to legend, she heard heavenly music as she was being wed to a pagan. She told her husband-to-be that she was already betrothed to an angel. When he asked to see that angel, he actually did – and was converted.

Saint Gregory lends his name to Gregorian chant. Why? Because this 6^th century Pope created this kind of monophonic music to accompany liturgical texts.  

Saint Dunstan restored monastic life in 9^th century England, and served as a minute of state to kings. Later in life he taught in Canterbury’s Cathedral school and wrote hymns.

Saint Hildegard Von Bingen, a German who lived in the 12^th century, is considered one of the most prolific and respected composer of liturgical music. She also wrote the musical morality play “Ordo Virtutum.”

Tomoko and many other musicians may have felt the guidance of these saints as they performed and taught music.

The Challenges and Joys of Piano Accompanying

 One of the first jobs Tomoko had as a piano performer was accompanying other musicians, especially singers. She did this at her high school and at a Catholic church as a college student. Tomoko has also performed any times as a member of a musicians’ group throughout her career.

One thing she learned quickly is that being an accompanist takes more than playing the piano well. Here are some aspects to consider – and appreciate.

One way to start is to accompany yourself. Interestingly, singing while you play the piano can help you play better. Typically, soloists sing the melody line, which usually aligns with the treble clef staff notes on traditional sheet music. The piano part tends to play the melody as part of a chord using the right hand. The left hand then plays the base line, which includes the chord roots. Those chords support the melody so it helps you to coordinate those two aspects of music.

Learning how to accompany yourself singing can help you accompany others. As a good test of how well you know the piano piece, trying singing along as you play. This exercise helps you pay attention to both your playing and the other musician’s music. Another good step is practicing the piano piece to a recording and backing track of the music, aiming to play the piece simultaneously without error. This step can help you gain more self-confidence when you practice playing with the musician(s) themselves. This “reality check” is most useful while the other players are honing their parts because you can get a sense of their style and habits (especially how they handle mistakes). If you are lucky enough, you might be invited to the musician’s own lessons with the teacher so that everyone can be literally on the same page.

As an accompanist for other musician, the key point is that you need to coordinate with them. That means knowing their part as well as yours – and how the two fit together. It means actively listening and playing simultaneously, rather like mirroring another person’s action simultaneously. You need to be at the same point, not ahead and not behind. And if the musician changes the beat or skips a note, you need to adjust immediately to support that person seamlessly to cover their tracks. You might even need to transpose the music to another key during the performance.

To add to the challenge, accompanists usually get their music after the other musicians, so that means less time to practice. Sometimes accompanists get no prep time but have to sight-read the music for the first time while they are accompanying the musician during the performance. Even if you get the piece a bit before the performance, you may find that piece difficult to play, in which case you may need to drop some of the complexity yourself, making it simpler with fewer flourishes to keep up the tempo and still support and align with the musician’s part. Just think of it as a realistic arrangement.

By now you can see how important piano accompanists can be; they can make or break a performance. Friendships have been formed – and broken – because of the accompaniment experience. It is no surprise that the job can be daunting, but the experience can also really hone your own performance – and make you more appreciative of musicians.  Including Tomoko.

 

Hand It to Handel

 

George Frideric Handel was born on February, 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany. One of the most prolific composers, several later composers have created variations of Handel’s works:

• ·       Beethoven’s 12 Variations in G major is based on Handels’ Judas Maccabaeus.
• ·       Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Opus 24 is based on Handels’ second harpsichord suite.
• ·       Philippe Gaubert’s Petite Marche for flute and piano is based on Handel’s Trio Sonata Opus 5, No. 2 fourth movement.
• ·       Luis Gianneo composed Variations on a Theme by Handel for piano.
• ·       Arnold Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quarter and Orchestra in B-flat major is based on Handel’s Concerto Grosso Opus 6/7.
• ·       Percy Grainger composed Variations on Handel’s ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’. Later, he reworded the first part of that piece to create Handel in the Strand, including a piano version.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Handel has been greatly flattered.

Early Anthem Time

 

Anthems are usually associated with national anthems such as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” 

It usually represents a group, a country, or a movement. An anthem can also be a sacred song. When Tomoko played for Catholic services, she included anthems in her repertoire.

Church-based anthems go back as far as the 16^th century, and they were quite popular with the advent of the Reformation. Most of the lyrics are drawn from the Bible. English composers developed two kinds of anthem: a “full” anthem that was sung by an entire choir, and a “verse” anthem in which verses were sung by soloists and the chorus was sung by the whole choir. Some of the earliest famous English composers (all lived before 1700) of religious anthems follow.

 Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) wrote mainly English High Renaissance choral music. He composed and played the organ for Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Although a Roman Catholic, we wrote anthems for both Catholics and the Church of England. He was one of the first composers to write anthems set to English words.

 William Byrd (1543-1623) was taught by Thomas Tallis, and both of them had a monopoly on printing music within England. Byrd composed in several forms: sacred and secular vocals, consort music, and keyboard pieces. He is considered one of the great Renaissance composers.

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) is known for writing pieces for the virginal and the organ. He built upon Byrd’s madrigal forms as well as composed full and verse anthems. He was one of the youngest contributors to the first printed collection of English keyboard music. His most famous verse anthem is “This is the Record of John.”

 Henry Purcell (1659-1695) composed Baroque music. Besides being considered one of the best English opera composers, he is also known for writing sacred music. He wrote his first anthem, “Lord Who Can Tell,” at age 19. Two of his best anthems were written for King James II coronation.

Ringing in the New Year with January-born Piano Composers

 Several classical composers started their lives at the beginning of a year: January. As a good first example is one of Tomoko’s favorite harpsichord and fortepiano composers: Mozart, who was born on January 27, 1756 in Vienna.  Here are some more famous January piano composers.

Franz Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria. Although he died early, at age 31, Schubert composed more than 600 secular vocal works and with many piano pieces. Tomoko performed one of his famous works: Trout Quintet.

Giovani Battista Draghi was born on January 4, 1710, om Jesi, Italy. He too died early: at age 26, from tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the greatest composers of the early 18^th century. Known for his Baroque pieces, the most famous is his Stabat Mater. Draghi was also an accomplished organist.

Alexander Scriabin was born on January 6, 1872, in Moscow. He was largely influenced by Chopin and is associated with late Romanticism and Russian symbolism. In turn, he influenced Stravinsky and Prokofiev. During his life, Scriabin was known as a controversial professional pianist besides being a composer. Scriabin’s ten sonatas for piano have become increasingly acclaimed.  

Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899, in Paris. Among his compositions were solo piano works, the most famous one being the Trois Mouvements Perpetuels suite. His Organ Concerto is also well known. Under Satie’s mentorship, Poulenc was part of Les Six: six young neoclassic composers. He started playing the piano at age six, and was influenced by Schubert and Stravinsky.

Frederick Delius was born on January 29, 1862, in Bradford, England. While he taught violin, he took more delight in improvising on the piano. Like Scriabin, Delius was first influenced by Chopin. While he lived in Florida to manage his family’s orange plantation, he began composing, having been influence by African-American music there. He was not successful in agriculture but he was promoted by several conductors. The Delius Society continues to promote him, and sponsors an annual Delius Prize competition for young musicians.