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Notes from a Composer
“Speakeasy” Selections
Category Archives: Beginnings
The Belligerent Homophobe Who Ruined Rocketman For Us
The three or four loud sneezes that erupted behind us during the 20 minutes of previews were a warning shot that all would not turn out alright for us during this screening of “Rocketman” in midtown Manhattan. But the … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Cinema Scope, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Notes in the News
Tagged 2016 election, Arrival, Ben Wishaw, bigot, Braveheart, Cloud Atlas, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Ed Elder, Elton John, Gay, homophobia, James D'Arcy, LGBTQ, love scene, MAGA, movie, Pride, Rocketman, Taran Egerton, Trump, Trumpian
1 Comment
The Knight Marries the Prince
A Kindergarten Original Blesses a Quaker Wedding Friday morning I heard a wedding song I realized I would have to sing that night at an actual wedding. Class K-1 at the Brooklyn Children’s School was the third kindergarten … Continue reading
A logo for FREDRICK BYERS
I’ve been producing theater with my husband Ed as “Fredrick Byers Productions” for some time now, since 2002 I believe. Now that we are producing a short film I thought it was about time I realize my vision for … Continue reading
HAPPY SONGS FOR DARK TIMES #2: Miss Marple, Tatu, and the Chipper Harpsichord
Theme from Miss Marple – Ron Goodwin and his Orchestra A while back I promised there would be a series of Happy Tunes for Dark Times to highlight what I consider sure fire musical mood boosters. What with ever escalation Twitter … Continue reading
Composing “Divertissement in the Snow”
“You should compose a piece for the family to play at Christmas”, my husband Ed said to me a few weeks ago (actually it was November 10, I have documented evidence, I’ll get to that later, not that it really … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works
Tagged Carols, Christmas, composer, composing, divertissement, Ed Elder, family, heterophony, holidays, Keep it simple stupid, Mark Twain, night, obligato, Schweineterzen, Snow, soprano, Steve Hepner, Viola, violin, winter
1 Comment
NAZI LEGACY ALIVE AND WELL IN AN AUSTRIAN CEMETERY
I came upon a plaque on the church wall in the cemetery at the edge of the Austrian ski resort town of Kitzbühel that profoundly disturbed me. The chiseled marble commemorates a soldier who died in World War II. There … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Notes in the News, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Adah Gleich, Austria, Berlin, cemetery, churchyard, Confederate, Fatherland, Germany, grave, Heimat, Heldentod, Holocaust, Homeland, Karl Prieler, Kitzbühel, memorials, Monika Skowronski, Nazi, Propaganda, Schindler's List, Stahnsdorf, Stolpersteine, Tirol, Vaterland, Vergangenheitsbewältigung, World War 1, World War 2
2 Comments
SONGS to RING IN the NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE
Remember the good old days of daily nightmares of nuclear armageddon? They’re back! Yippee! So let’s replay some golden oldies of the atomic age! Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News
Tagged Alphaville, apocalypse, armageddon, Atomic, Blondie, Bomb, Breathing, Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, Dear Leader, Dr. Strangelove, Forever Young, John Oliver, Kate Bush, Last Week Tonight, North Korea, Nuclear, Please Don't Nuke Us, Prokofiev, Russians, So Long Mom, Sting, Tom Lehrer, Ultravox, War, We Will All Go Together, We'll Meet Again, Weird Al Jankovic
2 Comments
The Birthday Evocation Born in a Memorial Service
It’s Ed’s birthday today. Happy Birthday, Love. And as is tradition now in our relationship, I will gift Ed another viola/piano duet I compose for the occasion, each one called “Evocation”. This year my husband will receive Evocation … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works
Tagged 15th Street, Alzheimers, chamber music, chamber piece, duet, Evocation, Evocation XXIV, Friends of Friend, KenKen, Meeting House, memorial, New York Times, piano, Quaker, service, Vince Buscemi, Viola
1 Comment
In Which I Complete the 30 DAY SONG CHALLENGE
Fun on Twitter. Last month I took on the #30daysongchallenge. Here are the complete results, lightly annotated: No kidding. Kurt Weill’s haunting masterpiece. The subject of one of this blog’s most widely read pieces: Speak Low, Phoenix, Speak Low… … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Melodies Linger On, Musicabilia
Tagged #30daysongchallenge, Beyoncé, Brazil, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Charlene, Cyndi Lauper, Dschinghis Khan, Ella Fitzgerald, Gangsta's Paradise, I'm So Excited, Ian McKellen, Kate Bush, Kurt Weill, Linda Ronstadt, Love and Anger, Miss Marple, Neil Young, NPR, Philadelphia, Scissor Sisters, She Bop, Speak Low, Tears for Fears, The Beatles, Tue Colors, Wind of Change, Witches, Yes Sir I Can Boogie
1 Comment
50 WAYS TO BE 50 – Guess Who Turns a Half Century Today (cough)?
Might as well have some fun with it…. As my mother said, you can’t avoid turning 50 if you want to live… 4. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon 9 … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Melodies Linger On
Tagged 50, 50 Cent, 50 Shades of Grey, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, 50 Words for Snow, birthday, Dollar, Euro, fifty, gif, half dollar, Kate Bush, Paul Simon, States
3 Comments
The Passing of The Oriole’s Song
The Last Question I do not remember what my father said when we last spoke. But my mother remembers … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Literary Lyricism
Tagged 1930, BJ Elder, bombing raid, china, Dave Elder, EastBridge, girlhood, Hunan, Kendal, Meeting, memoir, memorial, poetry, Quaker, The Oriole's Song, wartime, World War 2, Yuan River, Yuanling
5 Comments
The “Grande Dame” is Back in the Opera
“You are like a circus-horse. As soon as you hear the music, you start dancing.” That’s the loving joke my father used to make about my mother, most likely in German amongst their Berlin friends, since “Zirkuspferd” (circus-horse) is a … Continue reading
