tilting at bass mutes

This weekend the CPO performs Don Quixote, the Strauss tone poem that is really more like a tone-novel. It's hard to think of another piece of symphonic music that ties together so many stories, characters, and conversations -- all while maintaining a fairly straightforward theme and variations structure, though with some odd twists.

Among the odd things in the bass part of Don Quixote is the indication on page 1 that the section should put on mutes. The mutes remain on through two pages of loud, melodic bass lines, covering a wide register. You would think he made a mistake, as we're asked to play fff (basically as loud as humanly possible), but he repeats the instruction, two more times: mit dampfer, meaning keep the mutes on!

Unlike brass mutes, bass mutes often won't cut the sound a great deal. What they do is to alter and impede the vibrations of the bridge, and so they have a greater effect on the color of the instrument. When played softly, as they most commonly are, mutes give the bass a somewhat subdued, veiled tone. When a bass is played loudly with a mute, however, there's an almost comical quality of struggle and tension, like a duck squawking madly. During loud playing, the vibration of the bridge may actually dislodge a wood mute and send it flying off the instrument. More often, we use rubber mutes which stay on the bridge a little better, but won't change the sound as much.

I think that Strauss was looking for that quality of hapless squawking, the orchestrational equivalent of tilting at windmills -- and so I'm a bit disappointed when we ignore the mute indication and just play it normally. Sure, it's a strange and senseless think to demand, and only the most perceptive and informed listeners will notice the difference -- and yet it's a brilliant way of depicting a strange, senseless person who makes a habit of struggling against inanimate objects. (Which would be a fairly accurate description of bass players in general...)

The concert tonight features a fantastic soloist, our own principal cellist Phil Hansen. Tickets may still be available, check out the CPO website for more information!

recital this Sunday

I'm performing a recital this coming Sunday, which happens to also be International Women's Day and daylight savings time day. So if you decide to come, set your watches forward first, and try to bring some women with you!

Here's my poster:


and the program will be:

Duo no. 1 in G major, trans. for viola and double bass / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• I. Allegro
• II. Adagio
• III. Rondo: Allegro

Megan Singer, viola; Matt Heller, double bass


Papageno Variations, for bass and piano after W.A. Mozart / Milton Barnes

Matt Heller, double bass; Cody Obst, piano


Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (Trout Quintet) / Franz Schubert

• I. Allegro vivace
• II. Andante
• III. Scherzo: Presto
• IV. Theme and variations: Andantino, Allegretto
• V. Allegro giusto

Adriana Lebedovich, violin; Megan Singer, viola; Ingunn Benediktsson, cello; Matt Heller, double bass; Cody Obst, piano

armchair audition critic

I seem to have abandoned my blog at just the moment when my main subject -- preparing and taking orchestral auditions -- may be on the verge of hipness. I'm referring, of course, to the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project, and the recent flurry of interest in the brave souls who decided to post their audition videos online.

One of them happens to be my friend, violinist Donovan Seidle. To watch Donovan's video, surf over to the YouTube Symphony audition site and then search for:

Navonod3542

I won't tell you how to vote, since the blogosphere is a democratic place, after all. However, if you do happen to vote for Donovan, and he gets chosen for the orchestra, there's a chance he might let me post an infamous recording of a contrabassoon audition -- I start to crack up just thinking about it, and so it would be a great thrill to have it here.

For me, watching YouTube auditions is fascinating and at the same time frustrating. There is such a variety of musicians, pieces, and recording conditions, at first I wasn't sure how I would begin to judge them. It quickly becomes easy to eliminate people, however, either for poor intonation, or for flawed rhythm. Even in these finalist videos, most I watched had noticeable rhythmic problems -- dotted rhythms were swung, long notes were shortened, etc.

It seems as though these problems would be easy to fix. If I wanted to be a prick, I could message those people right now, point out the problems, and improve their audition chances immeasurably. If someone doesn't notice it themselves though, I wonder if anything I can say will help them much. Oh well.

Tonight's CPO concert features Natalie MacMaster, who is noticeably pregnant but still dancing and fiddling up a storm. The program features several arrangements of Cape Breton fiddling tunes, with a helping of fruitcake on the side in the form of Rudolph, a Christmas medley, and the Londonderry Air, 'Danny Boy'.

I wasn't aware of just how big a scene fiddling is in Canada -- there are Irish bars here in Calgary where you can go hear traditional fiddlers jam every week, and several CPO violinists are experienced fiddlers as well. The bass parts to these tunes can be spectacularly boring, with the same three-chord progression repeated dozens of times, but the better arrangements will usually have some clever variations and a nifty modulation or two. This morning's rehearsal was largely spent getting the balance and levels right, since fiddling over a live orchestra takes a certain degree of amplification.

schedule for Dec. 8 - 14

This week, the CPO delivers crossover holiday cheer with celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster, singer Steve Bell, and the Traditional Christmas program; while the Bach Society presents an Advent Concert of Bach (Wilhelm Friedemann, also Johann Sebastian), Telemann, and Schütz. See below for details, and follow the links for ticket info.

Christmas with Natalie MacMaster
Pierre Simard, conductor
Natalie MacMaster, fiddle

Tuesday, December 9th at 8 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall


Steve Bell's Christmas
Rei Hotoda, conductor
Steve Bell, vocalist

Wednesday, December 10th at 8 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall

A Traditional Christmas
Pierre Simard, conductor
Allan Monk, baritone
Calgary Girls Choir

Friday, December 12th at 7 pm
Saturday, December 13th at 2 pm and 7 pm
Grace Presbyterian Church


Advent Concert
Calgary Bach Festival Society Chorus and Orchestra
Terry Riley, conductor

Mystery Sonata No. 1 "Annunciation" - Heinrich von Biber
Sei gegrüsset, Maria (Ave Maria) - Heinrich Schütz
Magnificat in G - Georg Phillip Telemann
Adagio and Fugue in D Minor, Fk 65 - Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Cantata BWV 36 "Schwingt freudig euch empor" - Johann Sebastian Bach

Sunday, December 14th at 3 pm
Scarboro United Church


Monday, Dec. 8
7:30-10 pm rehearsal: Bach Society

Tuesday, Dec. 9
10-12:30 rehearsal: Natalie MacMaster
8 pm concert: Christmas with Natalie MacMaster

Wednesday, Dec. 10
10:30-1 rehearsal: Steve Bell
8 pm concert: Steve Bell's Christmas

Thursday, Dec. 11
7-9:30 pm rehearsal: Traditional Christmas

Friday, Dec. 12
10-12:30 rehearsal: Traditional Christmas
7 pm concert: Traditional Christmas

Saturday, Dec. 13
9-12 rehearsal: Bach Society Advent Concert
2 pm concert: Traditional Christmas
7 pm concert: Traditional Christmas

Sunday, Dec. 14
3 pm concert: Bach Society Advent Concert

schedule for Nov. 24-30

The Ultimate Beethoven Festival
Roberto Minczuk, conductor

Symphony #4 and "The Fifth"

Symphony no. 4 in B-flat major, op. 60
Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67

Thursday, Nov. 27 at 8 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Symphony #6 and "The Pastoral"

Symphony no. 6 in F major "Pastoral", op. 68
Symphony no. 7 in A major, op. 82

Friday, Nov. 28 at 8 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ode to Joy: Symphony #8 and #9

Symphony no. 8 in F major, op. 93
Symphony no. 9 in D minor, op. 125

Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8 pm
Jack Singer Concert Hall

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Calgary Bach Festival Society
Advent Concert
Terry Edwards, conductor

Heinrich Biber: Mystery Sonata No. 1 "Annunciation"
Heinrich Schuetz: Sei gegruesset, Maria (Ave Maria)
Georg Phillip Telemann: Magnificat in G
W. F. Bach: Adagio and Fugue in d minor, Fk65
J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 36 "Schwingt freudig euch empor"

Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 pm
Scarboro United Church

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, Nov. 24
7:30-10 pm rehearsal (CBFS Advent Concert)

Tuesday, Nov. 25
10-12:30 rehearsal (Beethoven 5 and 6)
7:30-10 pm rehearsal (CBFS Advent Concert)

Wednesday, Nov. 26
10-12:30 rehearsal (Beethoven 5 and 8)
7-9 pm rehearsal (Beethoven 9)

Thursday, Nov. 27
10-12:30 rehearsal (Beethoven 5 and 4)
8 pm concert: Beethoven 4 and "The Fifth"

Friday, Nov. 28
10:30-1 rehearsal (Beethoven 6 and 7)
8 pm concert: Beethoven 7 and "The Pastoral"

Saturday, Nov. 29
10:30-1 rehearsal (Beethoven 8 and 9)
8 pm concert: Ode to Joy

if it bleeds, it leads

An article in the Calgary Herald today, "Bleeding for Beethoven", includes some quotes from a phone interview I did with the reporter, Bob Clark:

For 31-year-old bass player Matt Heller, meditation will be part of the prescription.

"Think of the beginning of the Fifth Symphony. It's like never has there been a more strongly accented rest than that "Ba-Ba-Ba--Bum!"--where you have to feel that music so deeply in your body, in order to play it with the conviction it really deserves."

When I was talking to Bob on the phone, I did make a very emphatic eighth rest before saying "Ba-Ba-Ba--Bum!", though he doesn't seem to have transcribed that pause into the published quote. Oh, well.

The rest of the article is very amusing as well, especially Michael Hope's theories about Beethoven and psychotherapy:

"In terms of the physical preparation, the hardest thing about it is the fact that, well, Beethoven was a tormented guy," says Hope. "It was a pre-Freudian era before there was any kind of therapy, and he had to get all his frustrations and emotions out on the page--which has resulted in music that is really highly strung."

And that, in turn, Hope says, "is taxing for musicians, because it's passionate, and it's intense--all the time."

I suppose that music was an essential therapeutic tool, back in the pre-prozac era, along with lobotomies, literature, nature, rest, alcohol, leeches, and tight clothing, not necessarily in that order.

The print version of the article has another section with pictures and more quotes by musicians, myself included.