My Musical Musings Blog | betsyleebaileymusic.com - The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey

'Tis the Season...wait...Pre-Season?

10/14/2023

Already the stores are setting out Christmas items...decorations, gift ideas, clothes, candy. Playing non-stop Christmas music in the store will be next. All weeks before Halloween or even Thanksgiving.

This is not such a new phenomenon for musicians, though. We tend to write, arrange, and start practicing Christmas music in July!

Since I am not currently directing a choir, I decided to do a different project in this Christmas "pre-season." I've been working on adding more offerings on my YouTube Channel. A few years ago, I recorded seven of The Mark Hayes Vocal Collection: 10 Christmas Songs. He is a prolific master arranger, composer, clinician, choral conductor, and pianist. The score folio came with a CD of the master himself playing the piano accompaniments. There is nothing quite like singing with the composer himself indicating the exact interpretations.

When I first sang through these pieces with the CD accompaniment, I marveled how "in sync" I felt. It was as though he knew how to anticipate the length of time I needed to extend the phrases and even the time I needed to take a breath. It made me feel like he was following me.

For vocal students and performers, these pieces are excellent repertoire. Perhaps these recordings will help the student learn them easier. For my other followers, I created visuals to help tell the stories of these beautiful Christmas songs.

(Click on the images and it will take you to YouTube to play the videos.)

Too Dramatic for Worship Service?

5/17/2023

When is a song -- solo, small ensemble, or choral piece -- deemed too dramatic or long for Sacrament Meeting?

I noticed a thread going around about this question. They were talking about having a professional singer sing "O Divine Redeemer" by Charles Gounod for Stake Conference. There was an opinion that it was too long and too dramatic for use in that service even though it was expressly requested by the Stake President.

Years ago, I sang that piece at least once a year for some worship service or another. Always by request. I think nowadays that the "public" is used to very simple Christian "pop" songs that don't take too much preparation or ability to perform. On the other hand, "O Divine Redeemer" takes a lot of skill and musicianship not to mention a voice with an expanded range to be able to sing it well. If done well, it is beautiful and powerful. If done poorly, it is very painful to listen to.

Yes, that piece is dramatic and yes it is over 3:00 minutes long. Yet, if it is sung well, it is a masterful sermon and testimony served with gorgeous music! Too bad that we have fewer and fewer trained singers and accompanists who could pull off a good performance of such a magnificent piece.

As far as it being too dramatic for Conference goes, it doesn't seem any more dramatic than singing "Master the Tempest is Raging," "I Stand All Amazed," or "I Know that My Redeemer Lives."

As far as it being too long? It isn't longer than singing "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" -- all 7 verses, or even shortened to only 4 verses.

I for one, would rather hear a beautiful rendition of "O Divine Redeemer" than any number of the Christian "pop" songs we hear so often, usually done poorly.

Another dramatic hymn we sing regularly is "The Lord Is My Light." This has been a favorite hymn of mine since the day I heard my uncle John Thompson give a testimony about it, then sing it. He was visiting our ward one Sunday while I was in high school. He had the most marvelous heroic tenor voice. This arrangement is a salute to my wonderful uncle John who always said that some of the most powerful sermons are taught through sacred songs and hymns.

Come, Sing to the Lord

4/9/2023

On this Easter day of joy and gladness, here is a vocal duet singing praises for the Savior's Atonement and victory over death and the grave. May we give thanks for His gift of salvation!

"Come Sing to the Lord" is a vocal duet for Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano (or Alto) with lyrics taken from Psalm 98 "Come sing to the Lord a new song" and Alma 5:19 "I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord.
O sing unto the Lord a new song.
Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord!
For He hath done marvelous things. (Repeat)

With His right hand and his holy arm
He hath gotten the victory, the victory!
The Lord hath made known His salvation.
With His right hand and his holy arm
He hath gotten the victory, the victory!

Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord.
O sing unto the Lord a new song.
Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord!
For He hath done marvelous things.

Have ye received of His mercy?
Have ye received of His redeeming love?
Oh, have ye engraven His image in your countenance
And also you heart?

With His right hand and his holy arm
He hath gotten the victory, the victory!
The Lord hath made known His salvation.
With His right hand and his holy arm
He hath gotten the victory, the victory!

Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord.
O sing unto the Lord a new song.
Come sing to the Lord, come sing to the Lord!
For He hath done marvelous things.

Text taken from Psalm 98 and Alma 5:19

Tried and True Planning Strategies

3/20/2023

What do you say about a special program that was well-prepared and the actor/singers gave good performances, but the concert was still lacking? As an audience member, I wanted to give appropriate applause to show the performers that I appreciated their efforts. However, I could not bring myself to give the show a standing ovation.

There seemed to be two major problems. The first was that the individual songs went on too long! Each one was over 4, maybe over 5 minutes. The second problem was that all of the songs used many of the same musical ideas. Those few rippling flute lines and other motives were nice in the first song, but quickly got old by the later songs. And those same accompaniment figures and chord progressions were very reminiscent of the love themes from 1990's soap operas and movies. They just seemed out of place for a sacred program performed in a chapel even when the subject matter included love stories from the scriptures.

Our directors used to tell us during Tabernacle Choir rehearsals that planning a Music and the Spoken Word program, whether you believed it or not, was SHOW BUSINESS. All of the elements had to fit in the proscribed time period and follow accepted norms. However, there always needed to be elements of surprise to keep the audience engaged.

People really have short attention spans. They need to have VARIETY as well as FAMILIARITY. They like what they know and they only stay engaged for the amount of time they expect. Even the best prepared and executed performances can suffer if they stray from certain expectations. Who knows when the audience will decide to lose interest?

So, how does a director or composer put together a pleasing show? According to sources I respect, they should always remember the 2-3 minute attention span limit. Plan VARIETY into the program --- periods of new material followed by familiar material, vary TEMPO, MOOD, ACCOMPANIMENT and MELODIC IDEAS while not straying too far from what is known and expected. This is a tried and true programming strategy.

Some songs CAN go on for more than 3 minutes and still provide enough VARIETY to stay interesting. RONDO, for example, is a song form where one section comes back between other melodic adventures.

"O That I Were an Angel" is a Sacred song in RONDO form. The text is from Alma 29:1-9 and are the words that Alma the Younger spoke as he shared his desire to cry repentance to every people. The repeating Rondo section contains the following text and is used to tie the other sections to the whole:

O, that I were an angel that I might have the wish of mine heart,
O, that I were an angel that I might have the wish of mine heart.
That I might go forth to preach with the trump of God,
With a voice to shake the whole earth!
With a voice to cry repentance to every people, every people!
O, that I were an angel that I might have the wish of mine heart.

Rounding the Bases to Home Plate

2/27/2023

During my music classes in college, we were taught that a good composition opens in Tonic and ends in Tonic be it either in a Major or Minor tonality. Sure, after that opening, the chord progression takes off on adventures but always comes back to Tonic. In fact, we were taught that these chordal adventures were like rounding the bases in a Baseball game. And in order to emphasize that we are coming into Home Plate, the Dominant 7th chord is employed right before the last chord.

We were told that rounding those bases and coming into a strong finish at Home Plate gives the audience great satisfaction. These Western notions of TONALITY and what makes up a pleasing composition, especially a SONG, over many centuries, have been very well entrenched.

And then we were told that all of these ideas could be thrown out for EFFECT if we wanted to make the audience feel uneasy, uncomfortable, or upset, or many other emotions.

Experimental Music is just what it says it is. Composers in this arena turn many of the entrenched procedures upside down, inside out, and any which way. Norms are thrown out the window. And much of the music is meant to be improvised by the performer on the spot. I listened to one such composer perform and then explain some of his sacred compositions. He said that this was how heard and felt the texts and how they came to him in musical form. Some were quite beautiful, but I would have appreciated the music better if it had had more predictable structures and singable melodies, and some repetitions that reinforce the message.

Call me old school, but I like to have STRUCTURE that I can count on. I think there is plenty of room for improvisation and experimentation, but I like the idea of eventually coming HOME.

Sometimes composers of experimental music, especially those who set scriptural TEXTS believe that the texts should remain unaltered and never be repeated such as in Baroque or Classical music. They say that melismas or repeating of phrases for poetic reasons just slow down the action and disrupt the flow of thought.

On this point, I have to disagree. I think that repetition for poetic reasons is very good. Some repetition helps with PATTERN and RHYME schemes as well as providing additional EMPHASIS for important points. (And besides these, for a singer, the melismas are such fun to sing!)

Give me a tune that gets into my mind and won't go away any day! I love melodies and chord progressions that take me around the bases and let me slide into Home Plate! So satisfying!

Here is an original setting of the scriptural text found in Isaiah 52:8-10, Mosiah 12:22-24 and 3 Nephi 16:18-20 complete with structure, repetitions, poetic alterations of text, and even a few melismas. "Break Forth Into Joy."

Allowing for Different Tastes

6/20/2022

"How do you like your yams?"

When I was growing up, the only way I was ever served yams was candied. I really didn't like them. They looked great with all the toasted marshmallows on top, but they were too sweet for my little taste buds. Then one day I was invited for supper at the neighbor's house. They were having yams and at first I was worried because I had only had candied yams. But what a revelation! They served their yams roasted with just a little butter and salt and pepper. Wow! I loved them served that way.

I honestly did not know there were CHOICES in how yams were cooked. From that point on, I knew which method I would choose. (Can you tell that I am not a very adventurous cook or eater?) And then recently, my son-in-law served up one of his signature dishes --- "stuffed yam burritos." This consists of a roasted yam stuffed with a type of pico de gallo salsa with lots of vegetables. Who knew there was yet another choice for serving yams? Probably many others, too.

Although I am not a very adventurous cook or eater, I do understand that people have differing TASTE PREFERENCES. It is the same thing in MUSIC. People have very different preferences, in what they listen to on a daily basis to even what they prefer in Sacred Music.

In daily listening Music, I have a wide and varied palate. Because I have studied and performed many types of music, I have an appreciation for many styles. I guess I choose music to listen to according to my mood. But, then again, I have almost constant music playing in my head, so I mainly need to have something different like a podcast or talk radio on to cancel out the music.

In Sacred Music, though, I do have particular preferences. I lean to more classical styles in Sacred Music because I have found that they have brought me the most reverent and sacred experiences. Besides, I love the VARIETY. To my ears, a lot of contemporary popular sacred songs start sounding the same pretty quickly. Give me arrangements that sound like they have been influenced by Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms and I'll be happy.

"Come Sing to the Lord" - original Sacred Duet for Soprano and Mezzo

He Is Risen

4/15/2022

The glorious message at Easter time is that Christ, the Lord, died to save us all and that He has indeed risen from the grave, overcoming death and pain. His Atonement provides the way for us to return to live with Him someday, resurrected and forgiven of our sins and short-comings.

How wonderful to know that as we repent and forsake our sins, we can partake of these marvelous blessings!

Singing the wonderful, powerful songs and hymns of Easter provide such joy for singers like me. I enjoy singing the poignant messages as well as the triumphant anthems. Some of my favorites are found in Handel's Messiah. "Since By Man Came Death," "Surely He Has Bourne Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows," "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth," "Hallelujah," "Worthy Is the Lamb."

I have had the great opportunity of singing and recording with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square. But I have also felt the majesty and power of the Spirit testifying to the truthfulness of these messages while singing with other groups, both smaller and larger, professional and amateur groups. Even when the group is small, and not so accomplished, the Spirit can testify and bear witness. It is a glorious thing.

Here are some pieces I composed for Easter for my own choirs and soloists. We enjoyed singing them. Hope you will, too.

"An Easter Anthem Medley" featuring "He Is Risen" and "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" for Mixed SATB Choir, antiphonal chorus, and Organ

"Come Unto Him" for Mixed SATB Choir with piano or for Woodwind Quintet

"Beautiful Savior" for SSA, SATB, or for Flute Quartet

"The Bread of Life" for TTBB and Piano

"Come Sing to the Lord" Duet for Soprano and Mezzo and Piano

Special Musical Numbers

5/20/2021

Many Ward meetings are now opening up to congregational singing and even musical numbers. No larger ensembles or choirs yet, but perhaps they will be coming soon. I have heard that the Primaries in some Wards have been given the go ahead to plan a Sacrament Meeting program with singing for the Fall. Now that is showing confidence in our future!

Mostly, the musical numbers in our Ward have not been sung. They have been organ, piano or instrumental solos or duets. Just having extra music to me is lovely. A couple of weeks ago, a man was actually allowed to sing for the special musical number. What a treat! Because of traffic on my website, I suspect that many Wards are now allowing vocal solos. Hopefully the singers who have downloaded some of my solos and duets are happily singing them in their meetings.

The most popular titles for vocalists this spring have been Duets: "Lead Kindly Light," "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," and "Come Sing to the Lord," "Did You Think to Pray," and "O, That I Were and Angel."

My pandemic project has been to create Easy Piano Duets of Hymns. The Primo part is easy enough for a beginner piano student and the Secondo part is for the teacher or a more advanced player. They are flexible enough that the melody parts in the Primo part could be played in octaves by a more advanced student.

The most popular Piano Hymn Duets this spring have been "Come Follow Me," "Hope of Israel," and "Did You Think to Pray."

Four new Piano Hymn Duets are coming soon.

Studying the Words of Alma

8/3/2020

If there is one Prophet/Writer in the Book of Mormon that I would especially like to meet, it would be Alma the Younger. Even in translation, his powerful spiritual insights are delivered in a particularly poetic style. (Perfect for inspiring songs!) Since we have been studying the words of Alma during July and August (2020), it has reminded me of the great privilege I had to create sacred songs from three of his passages.

"Counsel With the Lord in all Thy Doings" Alma 37:37 (solo)
"Counsel with the Lord in All Thy Doings" Alma 37:37 (SATB)

I really, really do not like giving talks in Church. I would much prefer singing my testimony. One Father's Day, years ago now, I just couldn't convince the Bishop to give the assigned talk to someone else. As I was researching to find ideas for the talk, I read the account by Alma where he was giving counsel to his son. Here was a father hoping that his words would inspire his son to be faithful, to sincerely pray always, and to dedicate his life to serving the Lord. What a beautiful message for Father's Day! So I wrote a song and had my daughter and her friends sing it. (I still had to give the talk, but I felt better about it.)

"O, That I Were an Angel" Alma 29:1-9 (solo)
"O, That I Were an Angel" Alma 29:1-9 (duet)

Back in the early 2000's, I sang in a community choral society choir. The conductor was very kind to indulge me every time I asked him questions about composing. He was very supportive of my efforts and even complimented me saying that I had quite a flair for "melodic drama." He especially liked this piece.

At the time, my youngest child had also started school, and that left my days wide open. I decided to start writing sacred solo songs for myself to sing, and while I was at it, I decided I should write some songs that my vocal students might like. One of these students was a young tenor who got a mission call while he was taking lessons from me. I decided to write this piece for him to sing for his Mission Farewell. He really did the song justice with his heroic tenor voice.

A few years later, a Baritone friend from the Tabernacle Choir asked if I would create a duet version for us to sing together. So, I did that, too.

"How Exquisite Was My Joy" Alma 36 (solo)

The entire chapter of Alma 36 is written in chiasmus. That is an ancient poetic writing style that uses inverted parallelism to emphasis the most important phrase at the center of the passage. A friend from the Tabernacle Choir, Barbara Cramer, invited me to try writing a solo for her to sing at the 50th Anniversary Jubilee of the Discovery of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon. Her brother Jack Welch had made the discovery while he was on his mission years ago and would give the keynote address.

She gave me a few phrases from the scriptures to concentrate on in the chiastic form ABCDDCBA. But, I really couldn't wrap my head around trying to write music in a strict chiastic form. Did the melody and accompaniment have to stick to the form and the inverted parallelisms?

Anyway, I decided that the scriptural phrases would stay in the chiastic outline, but the music would not stay strictly in those patterns. After all, I had to build up to not only the climax in the center, but save a little something for the ending.

Creating these songs was spiritually moving and testimony-building for me. I realize how fervent Alma's testimony of Jesus Christ was and how he wants us all to believe and put our trust in the Lord. All I can say is Amen.

Cantique de Noel by Adolphe Adam

8/24/2019

Last week at BYU Education Week I attended a very informative and entertaining class called "More Than One Hit Wonders." The instructor, Dr. Jaren Hinckley, gave a lecture each day on four different composers who are remembered nowadays, sadly, only for their biggest hit. But, after hearing about their prolific output and the influence they were on other composers, it is true that we should remember them for more than just their most famous composition. One lecture was about the French composer Adolphe Adam (1803-1856). He explained that Adam wrote many, many works primarily for theater. Many people know his ballet "Giselle," that is still performed today. He also composed many operas and "vaudeville" productions. The "vaudeville" of his day would be equivalent to what we in America would call Musical Theater, meaning that unlike opera, lines were spoken not sung. Adam was also a very influential teacher to other famous composers such as Leo Delibes.

However, Adolphe Adam is most remembered for his "Cantique de Noel." I did not know the story of how he came to write this song. In a nutshell, this is the gist of the story. In 1847, in southern France, there was a church that had an organ needing refurbishing. The organ was to be ready for debut on Christmas Eve. So the priests asked a soprano in town to ask her friend, a renowned musician, to ask Adophe Adam, his friend, to write a new piece for the midnight mass. Adam was known as the "go to" composer who could take commissions and fulfill them in a timely manner. If you needed an opera in a few months, you'd call Adolphe Adam. A ballet in three weeks? No problem. Call Adolphe Adam.

And so, they did just that. They asked Adolphe Adam to create a beautiful Christmas cantique or song for their special celebration. It was so well received, that soon it was being sung not just as a solo, but by many other groups in nearby towns in France. Within a few years, it was being translated and sung in other countries and even made its way across the pond. In America, we sing it as "O Holy Night."

What was so entertaining in Dr. Hinckley's class was how he showed clips of how singers over the years have "made it their own." (Singers tend to do that, whether it is a good idea or not.) He explained how many singers have taken great liberties with the music, especially the ending. He showed renditions by singers known in quite differing genres - opera, pop, rock, hip hop, and even country. He played a montage of singers holding the high note fermata in progressively higher and higher keys until he got to the show down between operatic powerhouse Luciano Pavarotti and pop diva Mariah Carey singing an unbelievably high note.

As funny as that was to see so many simply outrageous performances, it was sad, too. Unfortunately, this cantique has become so ubiquitous that many performers make it ridiculous. Dr. Hinckley hoped that by sharing his story, Adolphe Adam and his music might be remembered and get the respect they deserve. I enjoyed how in closing the lecture, Dr. Hinckley played "Cantique de Noel" performed by a church choir who indeed performed it with respect and deep spiritual conviction. Those are the performances I enjoy the most!

The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey copyright 2020