Here, for the upcoming season, is a setting of a poem by Robert Herrick, Christmas Ceremonies, sung by the Old Stone Singers. Quite a different mood entirely.

Here's his obituary.

I see his website hasn't been updated yet. And this hasn't hit the Gaylord Music Library obituary page yet.

I don't know if "DN" is Daryl Nanes, his nephew....if so, I am sorry for your loss. But really, "hatefulness?" I re-read this, and the only bit that could be construed as ad hominem is my crack about short-bus special. The rest is entirely about the music. And if you're going to represent yourself as a composer, particularly with the excessive puffery of Nanes' approach to self-promotion, you should expect that people will judge your music, one way or the other. He may indeed have been a perfectly delightful man. But he sucked as a composer. So did Thomas Fawick, another entrepreneur/musician (from Cleveland), but Fawick stuck to salon pieces, and didn't have the budget or modern media to hawk his pieces.

Now Richard Nanes belongs to the ages. I predict that the ages will forget him, but I could be wrong. We remember Florence Foster Jenkins, Silas G. Pratt ("The Wagner of America"), Bulwer-Lytton, and various other panache-filled figures.

Now, I set some Poe. I don't know if Poe was a mighty poet, or if these are just mighty po' songs. But here are all 3 of the Three Mighty Poe Songs from 1997, as sung by Mr. White with Paul Gothard at the piano:
To Helen
Eulalie
Eldorado

And finally, here are Three Songs for Bain (1994), which are meditations on death by Watts, Millay, and Whitman, written in memory of my teacher Bain Murray, and sung here by Andrew White (it might have been Paul Gothard on piano again...I forget which performance this was.)

I. After Psalm 90 (Watts)
II. In the Grave No Flower (Millay)
III. Whispers of Heavenly Death (Whitman)

First, a setting of Psalm 23. The flutist here is Allison Ballard, in her high school years. She later went on to become a student at Case (and circ assistant at Kulas Library).

Next, while we're being religious, here is Adoration of the Shepherds, sung by Andrew White. The poem is by Akron-area poet Brooke Horvath. I found out later that there's a whole cycle of these...I could create my own Marienleben.

Now, a nice little love song, Be Still As You Are Beautiful, sung by Allie Laurie.

The going gets weird with the next two. Lost Mistress with Sisters is a rare setting of one of my own poems, which happens more rarely nowadays since I'm a retired poet (and no longer a hormonally-deranged young man). That's Allie Laurie too. Then we have The Defiled Sanctuary, text by Blake, sung by Andrew White. The only other composer I know of who set this was Havergal Brian, and Andy thinks my setting is better.

So first we have my piece for brass quintet Chasmalim, which is published by Hoyt Editions (maybe still). The Chasmalim are the order of angels assigned to the sephirah Chesed. They correspond to the planet Jupiter and are in charge of good humor. This is by the Parergon Brass Quintet

While we're onto Joviality (and Hoyt Editions) here are the 3 movements of my Terzetto Joviale, played by the Mariah Wind Trio.
I. Sonata & Allegro
II. Duets & Choruses
III. Promenade & Fugue

And next, while we're doing stupid light pieces for winds, how about Picnic Music? This is the original recorder version, not the subsequent flute quartet. It was recorded by me and a bunch of buds, so don't expect Amsterdam Loeki Stardust, 'kay?
I. (no title)
II. Cage is Dead
III. Reel: the Humours of Tremont

I. In Monte Oliveti
III. Ecce vidimus eum
VII. Eram quasi agnus innocens

Here's the same thing from the back:

Closeup of those cole crops:

Here's the potatoes and sweet corn in back (not so pretty):

"I got some Golden Comets real cheap at the auction!" Uh, because they're boys? 'sawright...they're just waiting to be meat:

And here's a tragedy: the hen duck was murdered. Hubby has been hanging put near the chickens, just for companionship. So sad...

Last, I was going to bring you a photo of my favorite farm hand, but she vetoed it because it makes her nose look big. And she wonders why I never take pictures of her...

Mein morken gaf, (3 part version) on shawms and sackbut.

Fortuna desperata (shawms and sackbut)

Laultro jour (anon., Bologna Q16), on recorders

Ile fantazies de Joskin, by (who else) Josquin des Pres. Recorders.

II and III are segue, but separate tracks on my CD, so imagine the break isn't here.

I've not heard a note of his music, which has been described as "post-modern atonality" and "a colourless gouache of synthetic sub-Birtwistle". George Loomis of the International Herald Tribune wasn't easy on his skills in the one non-negotiable of opera:

The chief fault of "Richard III" lies in its text setting. Proponents of opera in English — "Richard III" was written in English and performed with Flemish supertitles — argue that if only singers enunciate clearly and conductors keep the orchestra under control, words will come through. But Battistelli stacks the deck against them with heavy, though interesting orchestration, and angular vocal writing with long note values doesn't help.

But the real issue here is plot. This being opera, we need a concrete love interest. Perhaps Battistelli could cast the prima donna as the goddess Gaia, and the lead tenor (or countertenor!) could sacrifice himself to her by being buried alive in a huge compost pile.

The conductor, Martin Kessler, made an interesting comment to me that might be useful to any of you composer types out there: even though the piece was really too hard for them, in another sense it was perfect for the group, because everyone got to play a lot and everyone had something meaningful to do, so it was fun for an amateur orchestra to play. So if one wrote an easier piece with the same characteristics, it could find a niche. That sort of describes the Still Afro-American. I've never been a big fan of the content of that piece, but it sounds; the scoring is solid, colorful and effective, and nothing gets in the way of anything else. I just wish he'd done more with the banjo.

The Plain Dealer had a nice promo piece for the concert in yesterday's paper. My name got mentioned, but otherwise it was Eric Dina (guest conductor for the Still) and Still all the way.I wish that had had a bigger impact on the demographic of the audience.

Here's Marty Kessler, talking to an orchestra member during the post-touchup/pre-concert nosh.

I took a picture of the orchestra seated before playing, but it didn't turn out...underexposed, and no amount of dial fiddling could make it presentable. And I didn't think to outfit my wife with the camera for any "victorious composer taking his bows" shots...which probably would also have been underexposed.

In Knoxville, Marian Vogel's diction was as crisp as her tone was clear, and I got my usual weepy self with that piece. They began the 2nd half with an unannounced selection: Happy Birthday for a member of the 1st violins who had turned 90 that day.

The next logical step is to program an orchestra of robots to do an authentic performance of Wellingtons Sieg.