Videos

Simple Song from Mass

by Marcy

Most of my musical energy has been focused on church music lately, as I continue with the pipe organ and choir. The dulcimer will again be part of our late Christmas Eve mass, with one or two solos and two songs accompanying the choir.

Meanwhile, our choir director Mary Pat had invited me to sing this Leonard Bernstein song, which I hadn’t heard before. The more I’ve worked on it, the more I’ve come to like it both musically and lyrically. With thanks to Mary Pat for her accompaniment and help preparing the song, and to Pat Pearish for recording:

Light for Winter video

by Marcy

Couldn’t make the performance? Or just want to see it again? Here it is in the form of a YouTube playlist.

Dulcimer

The Storm / One Wintry Night (Jerry Read Smith)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (trad) / Carolan’s Welcome (O’Carolan)
Winter East and Kensington (Marcy Prochaska)
Come Before Winter (Jim Taylor)

Organ
Verso (Zipoli)
Now all the woods are sleeping (Bach)
Kyrie (Frescobaldi)
Hyfrydol, aka Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Prichard)

Dulcimer and horn*
Two preludes (Bach) (just dulcimer)
Arioso (Bach)
Bourree (Bach)
Tres Libre (Barboteu) (just horn)

Voices**
Chtíc, Aby Spal (Michna)
Hard to Get (Rich Mullins)
Sanctus and Agnus Dei (Marcy Prochaska)

Dulcimer
Easter Thursday (trad) (with horn)
Third Street Market (Marcy Prochaska)
What Child Is This? (trad) / Menuet (Quantz)

*Olivia Martinez
**Xénia Czifrík; Mary Pat Glaub, Michael Wraight, John Sherck

Concert videos, part i

by Marcy

My friend and harp-playing colleague Beth Pare’s husband Paul graciously agreed to film the concert yesterday. Please excuse the fuzz and buzz — the video was taken by a point-and-shoot digital camera from all the way across the room.

Scandinavian Walking Tunes

Polska efter Höök-Olle

Marenje

And here’s a video of the Masanga Marimba Ensemble covering the original by Mhuri Yekwa Muchena.

Slip Jig from Style, by Denis Carey

Easter Thursday

by Marcy

I am gaining confidence in “good enough” tuning — sometimes what doesn’t sound perfect to me right in playing position sounds just fine via a video, or if I’m on the other side of the dulcimer or a little further away.

I would want to be more exact in tuning for a CD, or for an important event like a concert or wedding ceremony. But for background music, especially outside, this tuning is good enough.

Easter Thursday is an English country dance tune, in 3/2 meter. The middle section is what I play if someone else is playing melody, but it sounds rather nice on its own as well.

A trio version is available on my Christmas CD, What Child Is This, with Craig Higgins on guitar and Jerry Drumheller on fiddle.

Sheep May Safely Graze

by Marcy

Tomorrow morning I am playing at the South Bend Farmers Market, outside, on probation. If approved, I might get to play there regularly, and inside.

I thought I would need to tune the beastie this afternoon, and didn’t get around to it before my student arrived. I noticed that it sounded fine as she played it, so I figured it would be fine for tomorrow as well. Whew! It’s always nice to avoid a tuning, especially when I’ve been doing a lot of work with my hands and don’t want to stress them. (I have hypermobility and not much strength, so they’re prone to injury; hence my special ergonomic hammers.)

Anyway, I rejoiced by practicing the obligato for Sheep May Safely Graze, and then decided to try recording it. I wasn’t able to get an errorless recording, but here it is anyway. Oh, and I’m sorry it’s rather quiet — I forgot how weak my camera’s mic is!

(I can’t play the obligato and the melody at the same time; check out this one to hear the melody sung beautifully.)