Remembering My Grandfather: Hollywood Lament

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

My grandfather, Robert Charles Grotius (1924-2003), was a tremendous man.  A WWII Veteran with a Master's Degree in education, an historian, political commentator, devoted father, committed Catholic, lifelong teacher and learner, he absorbed information like a sponge absorbs water.  He'd impersonate the great actors - and sometimes actresses - of the Golden Age of Hollywood, softshoe around the house, and then open a big book of evolutionary biology of political history while drinking a Natural Light or Milwaukee's Best.

Just after he died, my mom told me that she'd been thinking of a song that he used to love, "Hollywood and the Stars," by Elmer Bernstein.  It was used as the opening theme for a 1963 NBC documentary series and was frequently played on the Oscars.  Since I was coordinating the music for his funeral, I wrote an original piece entitled "Hollywood Lament" in his memory.  The piece includes a quotation of Bernstein's piece in a few places and ends with a quotation from the famous "I'll Be Seeing You," a song my grandfather and grandmother (a former USO performer) used to sing together.

Here's the piece, performed by members of the Boston College University Wind Ensemble and featuring pianist Adam Birnbaum.  I'm guest conducting.  The song itself begins at 4:20, after an introduction from Sebastian Boniauto, the composition mentor I mention in my "Ave Maria" post, and me.

Miss you, Papa!  

Here's "Hollywood Lament."

The Vocal Ranges of the Greatest Singers (and Rachelle Ferrell): My Take!

On Monday, Ryan Kristobak of HuffPost covered Concert Hotels' chart, "The Vocal Ranges of the World's Greatest Singers."  This list is pretty neat (and pretty long, so scroll all the way down!).

Those of you familiar with their music probably won't be too surprised to find Axl Rose and Mariah Carey at the top of the list.  Axl's scream and Mariah's "whistle register" are legendary.

In his commentary on the chart, Kristobak rightly notes, "...it is important to remember that it represents the recorded vocal range of each of these artists, not necessarily their actual range," but he doesn't explain this statement. What he means is that - as any Karaoke Idol knows - there are parts of people's vocal ranges that are reachable but not sustainable (and reasons not to sing "Don't Stop Believin'").

In these extremes, singers can "hit the notes," but they can't sustain long passages. Even if they could, it'd sound something like this:

So, although she's not the only one who had it (cue Minnie Riperton), Mariah's signature whistle register makes her the literal envy of other singers, as Kelly Rowland indicates here:

Kristobak also (again rightly) notes that while range is important, there's a lot more to being a "great singer" than having a wide range. "Tone, creativity in melody composition, lyrics and dynamic abilities," as well as "a great band or composition" also make a singer a great singer.

While that's definitely true, it comes as no surprise that pop-country's T-Swift and country's L-Bryan are the last two on the list. The heavily studio-shopped music they release work(s)well with a small range; but voices like Steven Tyler, XTina, my namesake Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury, Tina Turner, Bono, Beyoncé, Steve Winwood, and so on don't gel with the heavy effects of 2000's pop. That's what makes them great.

As for the other traits Kristobak mentions, you can't - in my opinion - beat (my #1 pick in bold):

1. The tone of Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Bono, Beyoncé, Adele, and Annie Lennox (something about Britain is going on here). 
2. The melodic creativity of Prince, Xtina, Thom Yorke, Freddie Mercury, Bono, Lana Del Rey, and Dolly Parton. 
3. The lyrics of Steven Tyler/Aerosmith, David Bowie, Paul McCartney/John Lennon/The Beatles, Thom Yorke/Radiohead, Freddie Mercury/Queen, Bono/U2, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger/The Rolling Stones, and NOT Katy Perry (see this post for my explanation).
4. The dynamic abilities of Mariah Carey, Xtina, Freddie Mercury, Bono, and Annie Lennox. 

Yeah, I know I put Bono on all four lists.  So sue me! I think he belongs there. Do you?

And while I'm asking questions, what do you think of my picks? Have I picked the Greatest of the Greats in each category, or is there something I've missed? What do you think? Check it out, comment, and share!

And speaking of range - last but certainly not least - check out these performances of "Bye, Bye, Blackbird" and "I Can Explain" by experimental jazz singer Rachelle Ferrell.  She's got it all, and more.

And keep singing, folks.  

There's a Karaoke Idol inside each of us, just begging to get out.

For He is Coming: An Advent Anthem

I love Advent.  And today, I'm declaring it ADVENT IN MAY!  And a few years ago, inspired by the spirit of the season, I wrote this choral anthem, entitled "For He Is Coming." The words are drawn from various parts of the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation and the Book of the Prophet Micah.

Wait for the Lord, who is coming

He is the first and last, the living one

Who is, who was, and who is to come

And he shall be peace

Wait for the Lord, who is coming

Wait.

This video is from the St. Mary Choir's 2010 concert in the Basilica of St. Ignatius of Rome, near the Pantheon.  That concert was one of the highlights - if not the highlight - of my time at St. Mary.

Please like, comment, and share if you like what you hear!

You can find more of my compositions over on my YouTube Channel.  

For more of the St. Mary Choir's concert, you can visit their YouTube Channel.

And just for fun, here are some photos from the choir's Rome concert!

Why Did Beyoncé's Sister Solange Knowles Attack Jay-Z in an Elevator? Top 10 Reasons

This morning, I posted the third volume of my three-part Fierce-Off between Beyonce and J-Lo. (Part 1 and Part 2 are here, as well!)

But this.  This is amazing.

I'm not sure what just happened.  But when the time came for Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Solange Knowles (Beyoncé's sister) to leave the Met Gala - one of the classiest events of the year - Solange decided to get "physical" with Jay-Z, and not in the way that made Olivia Newton John famous (oh, how sweet she was in her Grease days...).

Nope, Solange tries to beat the crap out of Jay-Z.  In an elevator.  Check it out here:

What?

I say, what?!

It boggles the mind.  And Bey just stands there.  

Did she agree with Solange?  Did she think it was funny?

I don't have an explanation, but I thought I'd offer a few thoughts.

Here are my Top 10 Reasons Why Solange Knowles Attacked Jay-Z in an Elevator.

10.  Jay-Z confused Solange with her other sister, Matilda.
9.  After a night at the Met gala, Solange couldn't wait to show off her martial arts skills.
8.  Jay-Z told her Kelly and Michelle have a bigger shot at fame than she does.
7.  Solange was showing Jay-Z her latest dance moves.
6.  One word:  Global Warming.
5.  Jay-Z told Solange she wasn't ready for his jelly.
4.  Jay-Z told Solange the real reason she got invited:  Jay-Z.
3.  Jay-Z interrupted Solange's conversation with Anna Wintour by saying, "Excuse me, Solange, I need my curtains back."
2.  Jay-Z boarded the elevator before Beyoncé.  And nobody boards the elevator before Queen Bey.
1.  He married Beyoncé.

Imagining the Triduum in Song: Triduum 2004

In the spring of 2004, my college voice teacher and liturgical music mentor, Michael Burgo, offered me the chance to compose, arrange, and direct music for Noon Mass on Easter Sunday at St. Ignatius Church, which sits on the corner of Boston College's campus.  Mike is the Director of Music there.

I was thrilled by the opportunity, and I really can't express just how formative an experience this was and just how grateful I am for the opportunity Mike afforded me.

He also makes fantastic kibbi (really, it was the best I've ever had).

As part of the Mass, I composed for the first time a musical reflection on the Triduum, which was played by a small wind ensemble I put together for the celebration (N.B. with limited rehearsal, so there are a couple of performance glitches along the way).

After that year, I continued the practice of composing one such piece every year until 2010, when I came to Fordham and no longer had a market for such works.

These reflections intend to lead the listener through the warmth and light Holy Thursday and the horror and injustice of Good Friday to the glory of Easter Sunday.  In this version, I used Middle Eastern musical motifs for Holy Thursday, a slow, somber chorale, for Good Friday, and a bit of pomp for the Resurrection event of Easter.  Although the performance isn't 100% on-target, and although this is much less mature than the 2007-2010 versions to come, it's enough to convey the message of the piece.

Unfortunately, I don't have recordings of all the pieces, like the ones from 2005 and 2006 that I wrote while working on Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota.  But the ones I have, I'll post - and I hope you enjoy them all!

Stay tuned for more, and please share/+1 if you like what you hear!

Fierce-Off: Vol. 3 | Who's Better? Beyoncé vs. J-Lo: Most Recent Hit | "I Luh Ya Like XO"

This little trip through the careers of our two divas-in-question comes to an end here in the present day, with two of their more recent releases.

First, we have Beyoncé's "XO," an arena anthem celebrating her fans (at least that's what she told us at her concert!).  The piece builds to its anthemic climax, in which Queen Bey proclaims, "I love ya like XO!"

Then, we have J-Lo's...ahem...different take on love:  "I Luh Ya Papi," from her forthcoming album A.K.A.  Actually, I really dig what J-Lo's video is about:  picking apart the male construction of female beauty and objectification of women found in most music videos.  She does it by a massive role reversal, putting scantily clad men in the positions that women usually occupy and "dancing up on them" while she and her two friends, sip drinks on yachts - you know, typical music video stuff.  So, given these two videos, I ask you once again:

Who's the fiercest of them all?

Comment, share, and tell the world what you think!

By a narrow margin, I'm going to hand round three to Beyoncé.  Although I think J-Lo's song is really catchy and the video is great as a quasi-feminist reaction to male privilege in the music industry, Beyoncé's vocals and natural grace win me over every time.  Plus, if you haven't heard the rest of, Beyoncé, the self-titled album "XO" comes from, you should check it out.  Something tells me that despite her great efforts here, J-Lo's A.K.A. simply isn't going to match the fierce we see here.

So Beyoncé wins 2-1.  Did I make the right call, or should J-Lo wear the crown?  Tell the world what you think:  who's the fiercest of them all?

In case you haven't already, check out Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here.

Fierce-Off: Vol. 2 | Who's Better? Beyoncé vs. J-Lo: LIVE | "A Tribute and a Medley"

If you can't do it live, you shouldn't do it at all.

If you ask me, more pop musicians these days could take that motto to heart.  I'm tired of people with supposed "music careers" humiliating themselves in front of audiences.  Really, really tired of it.

But anyway, as I said in Vol. 1, two that can "do it live" (thanks, Bill O'Reilly) are J-Lo and Beyoncé.  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about this until I saw J-Lo perform on the AMAs last year and until I saw Beyoncé live in concert last winter (her Super Bowl performance is basically that show, in a nutshell).  Check them out and once again decide:

Who's the fiercest of them all?

Is it J-Lo, with her tribute to Celia Cruz - which includes some pretty incredible singing and dancing - or Beyoncé's walk down memory lane, featuring Kelly and Michelle from Destiny's Child (or Jonette and Britanica from Gemini's Twin, if you're Ana Gasteyer and Maya Rudolph)?

You decide.  Leave a comment to tell the world what you think!

To my mind, J-Lo takes this round by a decent margin.  Yes, there's (a little) nostalgia (I guess) in seeing Destiny's Child together again, and Beyoncé has great moves and sounds great live - largely because of her amazing all-female band and backup singers, "The Mamas" - but J-Lo blows the roof off the venue with this performance.  

She looks great (how about those costume changes?), sounds great, dances brilliantly, has great backup singers and dancers, and thrills her audience.  Listen closely - you can hear them cheering throughout, and JT and T-Swift's reactions at the end say it all:  JT is proud of his fellow 90's pop star, and T-Swift and Friends can't believe that there are performers like J-Lo out there; it's so unlike what they do!

But what do you think?  Agree?  Disagree?  Tell the world who's the fiercest of them all.

Fierce-Off: Vol. 1 | Who's Better? Beyoncé vs. J-Lo: First Single | "You Can't Base It On the Booty"

Pop has given us a bumper crop of divas.  From Ella and Aretha to the present day, we've heard voices wail and seen bodies groove like no tomorrow.  But if you ask me, only a few of these ladies really shine.  Two that do are Beyoncé and J-Lo (that's Jennifer Lopez).

In this 3-part series, we'll take a look at these two divas' first singles, live performances, and most recent releases.  Check out these videos and decide:

Who's the fiercest of them all?  

Keep in mind that a lot changed between 1999, when J-Lo released "If You Had My Love," and 2003, when Beyoncé released "Crazy In Love."  But check out the performances, the dance, the vocals, whatever you like - and tell the world what makes your pick the best - the fiercest of them all.

One thing's for sure, though.  When it comes to these two, you can't base it on the booty.

Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" (2003)

Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love" (1999)

Although as a pubescent teenage boy, I was (like her...uh...voyeur) obsessed with J-Lo's style and moves - especially in the dance break - I think Beyoncé's combination of vocals, style, dance, and runway strut win her the day.

Do you agree?  Disagree?  Tell the world what you think!

Check out Vol. 2 here.

Giacomo Leopardi's Poem "L'Infinito"

On my birthday in 2004, weeks before my graduation from Boston College, two of my fellow music ministers from St. Ignatius Church in Boston got together with me to record this musical setting of Giacomo Leopardi's "L'Infinito" (1819).

With this setting, I sought to give voice to the poem's haunting images in the way that only music can do.  Thanks to my mentor, Susan Michalczyk, for introducing me to the work of Leopardi. Text is below the video.

And below the text is a surprise worth scrolling down for!

---

"L'Infinito"

Michelle Abadia, Soprano

Stephanie Pile, Piano

"L'Infinito" (1819)

Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle,

e questa siepe, che da tanta parte

dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude.

Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati

spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani

silenzi, e profondissima quiete

io nel pensier mi fingo; ove per poco

il cor non si spaura. E come il vento

odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello

infinito silenzio a questa voce

vo comparando: e mi sovvien l’eterno,

e le morte stagioni, e la presente

e viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa

immensità s’annega il pensier mio:

e il naufragar m’è dolce in questo mare.

---

English Translation:

Always dear to me was this solitary hill

and this hedge, which, from so many parts

of the far horizon, the sight excludes.

But sitting and gazing endless

spaces beyond it, and inhuman

silences, and the deepest quiet,

I fake myself in my thoughts; where almost

my heart scares. As the wind

I hear rustling through these trees, I, that

infinite silence, to this voice

keep comparing: and I feel the eternal,

the dead seasons, the present,

and living one, and the sound of her. So in this

immensity drown my own thoughts:

and sinking in this sea is sweet to me.

---

And now, just for fun, check this out.  Best version of "Happy Birthday" I've ever heard!  Thanks, Michelle and Steph!

Doors and Windows: A Poem

"Doors and Windows"

Is there ever a moment
When doors aren't opening or closing
And windows aren't
Cracked
At the hand of a mother
Letting some fresh air in
Or by a stray baseball
Flying just enough off course
Just enough off course
To remind us of the fragility
Of each moment
Which is there
Then gone
Just as the doorknob turns
To let in another ghost
Or another guest
Another
Whose presence graces us
And haunts us
Whose being-with-us challenges us
To pick the lock
With the clicking of metal on metal
As the clock ticks
Click, click, click
And open another door

The Last Batch of Wedding Music from Scratch

Greetings, listeners!

Here they are:  the two remaining movements of "Six Festive Hymns," which were composed - by some mathematical magic - for three different weddings.

The third movement, "Love's Rejoicing," was commissioned by Monisha and Michael Barnhill, friends of mine from Evansville.  It's a playful, soulful tune written in a jazz idiom, a little bit (but I can't claim too much) á la Gershwin with hints of Jeff Barry and Ja'net Dubois' "Movin' On Up," the famous theme from The Jeffersons.  You can listen to it here, as performed by Rachel Long Arrington, Flute, Jonathan Dowell, Violin, and Dennis Russell, Oboe.

The fourth movement, "Wedding Hymn," exists in two versions, which I arranged for two different weddings.  The first was for organ, and was played at the wedding of my aunt, Barbara Schutz Hopf, and her husband, Ron.  A few months later, I adapted the piece for a string quartet and later for a small chamber ensemble (as heard here) for my cousin Erin Hunt Ferguson and her husband, Tom.

Rachel Arrington, Flute; Dennis Russell, Oboe

Jonathan Dowell, Violin; Sarah Bielish Moor, Cello

Lorraine Fader, F Horn; MaryAnne Matthews, Classical Guitar

Jamie Morris and Maria Russell Morris, Percussion

And just in case you haven't heard the theme from The Jeffersons lately (or ever, if you're not from Earth), you can listen to it, too!  Keep movin' on up, people!

COMING UP on Take the Middle Way

Happy Thursday, everyone!

So, this is kind of a "meta" post.  Not a post, really, but a post about posting.  Or a post about posts to come.  Last night, I drew up a schedule for regular posts on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

But that's not all.  These days have names!


Starting next week, you can look forward every week to:

• Music Mondays:  Posts and stories of original music.
• Variety Tuesdays:  Videos, reviews, poetry, and theology posts.
• Theology Thursdays:  Theological reflections, ideas, and more!

And now, just so this post has a little content, here are some photos I took around my hometown of Evansville, IN, last fall.  Enjoy!

-Paul

Don't be skinny!

Altar and window at St. Mary, Evansville, IN.

Cross and organ at St. Mary.

St. Mary Catholic Church:  My Old Stomping Grounds.

Historic row houses in downtown Evansville, IN.

The Linden Lane street sign in Evansville, IN.

A frog in the pavement.

A view of the historic St. Joseph Catholic Church, Jasper, IN. 

Light on the pavement outside St. Joe Church, Jasper, IN.