First Church Music exam coming up. I don't have a strong sense of the emphasis yet - we'll review Wednesday, maybe it'll be clearer then.

The text, "The Story of Christian Music," by Andrew Wilson-Dickson, is a pleasant read, but not really designed as a text. The author's biases show - he refers to Ecclesiasticus as "apocryphal", accurate in some faith traditions, but accepted by Rome as part of the canon. And later on, he seems to have gotten Thomas Dorsey, the "father of gospel music", confused with jazz trombonist / bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Though his biographical info about Dorsey seems accurate enough, simply referring to him as "Tommy" (repeatedly) really helps blow his credibility. He's a Brit, so I guess we should give him a break...

Some things are worth cross-posting

Just got a call - I'm a grandpa again!!! My son and his wife were expecting a baby girl at the end of October, but she's here already!!! Lauren is 7lbs., 4 oz., so best guess is the docs were 6-7 weeks off in their calculations. Mom and daughter are resting comfortably.

I'll try to get pics...

It's September 11th

This song (hi-fi/broadband --- lo-fi/dialup) was written in part as a response to the 9/11 massacre. Recording is not yet in final form - bass is too heavy, guitar sound is weak, drums are, um, weaker - but you get the idea.

Music copyright Jay Ricketts, 2001. All rights reserved.
Performance copyright Jay Ricketts and Caroline Muylaert, 2003. All rights reserved.

Back

Blogger's user DB got messed up, couldn't log in for nearly a week.

Didja miss me? ;)

And speaking of back to school:

Grandson Wesley's first day today! Here's a pic from this morning right before he left.



Mom & Dad report that he went enthusiastically, Dad had to actually hold him back so he could take him in. Unlike him, when he had his first day at KinderCare... Boy, do I remember THAT day! Hee hee.

This Semester

Chorale, Organ, Church Music.

For chorale, we're singing a Respighi piece - very challenging. Sounds like the rest will be Christmas Carols, but all the music's not in yet.

Organ pieces this term: I'll finish the Couperin Mass of the Parishes pieces, then on to Bach's P&F in Dm, A Peeters partita on a Lutheran chorale (forget title), and Proulx's Fantasia on O'Carroll & Walker's Celtic Alleluia. This last piece is from Concordia's Jubilate series - very nicely done.

Church Music text was a shocker - $25. I thought it was a rule that all college texts had to be at least $75!!! ;)