Christmas Services

Kehaulani

I did a chamber music program for the patients in a hospital here in Munich . .

Bless you. When in Germany, I used to perform regularly for folks at a reginal (RheinlandPfalz) home for the severely handicapped. They can use the help.

Bob Pixley

This past Saturday evening, I played the Christmas carol concert I mentioned in an earlier post. Our group had a couple trombones, a couple baritones, a couple clarinets, a couple saxes, a bassoon, an oboe, a tuba, and exactly one cornet - me. We played rapid-fire (maybe 15 seconds between songs) Christmas carols for 30 minutes straight, took a 30 minute break, and did it again. I was a little worried about making it through the whole thing with nearly constant playing and no one else playing the part, but things went well. I played my Bach 184 cornet with a Connstellation 5C-W mouthpiece, the largest Connstellation mouthpiece made. Man, that mouthpiece really suits me and the Bach - it has a beautiful cornet tone with great intonation and endurance. I was pleased.

OldSchoolEuph

@Bob-Pixley
If it were any normal gig, you would probably have been frustrated - but Christmas carols is just too much fun, isnt it? And there is nothing better when the spotlight is on than knowing you have great equipment. If I were alone on a cornet in that setting, next to my Stratodyne, my next choice would be a Bach 184 I think. Glad you had a good time!

Dr GO

This just in from the Musical Director at the Lutheran Church:

Four common carols: O Come all ye faithful - Hark the Herald - Angels we have heard - Joy to the World. These are all robust and call for trumpet descants. I'd like to propose a plan something like Melody verse 1, no trumpet verse two, descant for final verse. I've descants for both B flat and C trumpets for the four above. I would also like to have two featured numbers in the prelude: Gesu Bambino, with voice on the verses and trumpet on the refrain and the coda. Second number: O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel)

So it seems the Christmas Program is coming together.

Kehaulani

Medical Director?

OldSchoolEuph

@Dr-GO said in Christmas Services:

This just in from the Medical Director at the Lutheran Church:

Four common carols: O Come all ye faithful - Hark the Herald - Angels we have heard - Joy to the World. These are all robust and call for trumpet descants. I'd like to propose a plan something like Melody verse 1, no trumpet verse two, descant for final verse. I've descants for both B flat and C trumpets for the four above. I would also like to have two featured numbers in the prelude: Gesu Bambino, with voice on the verses and trumpet on the refrain and the coda. Second number: O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel)

So it seems the Christmas Program is coming together.

Hark the Herald: I do this one straight, with just the ascending lines into accented spots on the last verse (and quietly playing bass line during the verse we skip - hey, I'm a euphonium player at heart and by training after all)

Angels we have heard....: Just an ascending run into the last refrain with a Hollywood flourish at the end for me.

Joy to the world: OK, this one has those wonderful ascending bass lines - if you add them in. Our trombone (my 83 year old mother, a pro English horn/oboist who returned to bone for the first time since college a few years ago and practices a couple hours a day for fun) nails those. I add in a last verse adaptation of the Canadian Brass medley version with some of the low brass runs from the London Brass recording brought up an octave. (best on a fanfare trumpet)

Oh Come all ye Faithful is my favorite. I have my own semi-descant part for the opening verse of 4 in this hymnal. Verse 3 is the Wilcox arrangement with trumpet on the descant, and verse 4 is the Wilcox again with tutti organ and simple fanfares inserted on trumpet.

As for prelims, I am hoping we will be doing the Lovelace Concertato on Adeste Fidelis (had a heck of a time finding a copy), though with the new organ still in a thousand pieces and a teen-age french horn that keeps missing the few rehearsals - I don't know. I played that last in 1981 when just starting high school with other high school players, one of whom is now Principle Trumpet of the Empire Brass. He and I split the voicing on Gesu similar to what was suggested only Trumpet to Euphonium.

Comeback

My community band’s holiday concert was yesterday evening. I was concerned about attendance since there are many holiday concerts this week. No worries! People were lined up outside the hall’s doors anxious to get inside. All fourteen numbers were received with enthusiastic applause and cheers - very cool!

I have not yet been wholly satisfied with my efforts during our concerts but am getting closer. My confidence is improving. The fourteen trumpeters in our section did not uniformly accurately count rests so timely entrances could be made. There were a couple times when it seemed I was the only one playing, which caused a little self doubt. But by the end of the concert, I simply counted and played and paid little attention to whether anyone else came along.

I used my Getzen Severinsen with a Bach 3C, along with several mutes. The Sev and 3C worked just fine, but interestingly for me, the light weight of my outfit seemed to not necessarily work to my advantage during the performance. I got a little jittery on some exposed parts which I could detect in subtle unintended horn movements. I am practicing now with my heavier LeBlanc 707 Sonic in order to see if the weight makes any difference.

Jim

Dr GO

@Kehaulani said in Christmas Services:

Medical Director?

Thanks Kehaulani. Correction made. Hard to get the day gig off the mind.

@Kehaulani said in Christmas Services:

Medical Director?

Bob Pixley

@OldSchoolEuph said in Christmas Services:

@Bob-Pixley
If it were any normal gig, you would probably have been frustrated - but Christmas carols is just too much fun, isnt it? And there is nothing better when the spotlight is on than knowing you have great equipment. If I were alone on a cornet in that setting, next to my Stratodyne, my next choice would be a Bach 184 I think. Glad you had a good time!

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Part of the fun was being the only cornet (or trumpet) player and being able to embellish the simple arrangements here and there as I felt was appropriate. I used to be friends with the local SA commander, and played at various Red Kettles around town this season, me on cornet and him on baritone. I really enjoyed it, but he transferred and I haven't done anything similar the past couple years, so this past weekend was a treat.

Dr GO

Just received these Descant Trumpet parts for several Christmas Carols for the Lutheran performance. I am posting them hear to save time for any members from having to do a lengthy internet search. Enjoy:

Vulgano Brother

Looks about time for you to learn piccolo trumpet. Come by, bring beer and your script pad and I'll give you a lesson.

OldSchoolEuph

Just a heads-up for those lucky enough to play in really big settings: I was at a Christmas concert last night, just enjoying the sounds of brass in a stone cathedral style room with ornately carved timber Gothic roof vaults. It was a packed house. As a low brass player, the end of the Roger Harvey Festive Cheer medley is a real treat for a low brass player (or listener in this case). But, while the Gothic architecture is a megaphone for low frequencies, packed seats suck up all the highs. The crowning moment at the end of that low brass tour-d'force is the pic part coming in on top - but it was nowhere to be heard. You have to adjust ensemble balance so that it sounds top heavy in the group if you have a huge hall and a packed floor. Oops.

Dr GO

@Vulgano-Brother said in Christmas Services:

Looks about time for you to learn piccolo trumpet. Come by, bring beer and your script pad and I'll give you a lesson.

Update. Not needing the picc. The silver and gold Harrelson with the Gold Jettone Studio B copy mouthpiece sounds really great on the descant trumpet parts. I have rehearsed all the ones posted to the point that I can now get all of them right. Took me one day to accomplish this.

Now my task is to rehearse them to the point I cannot get them wrong. Hopefully I will be there by Wednesday when I rehearse with the choir and organist. Definitely within a week when I play for the Little Baby Jesus.

Dr GO

@Vulgano-Brother said in Christmas Services:

Come by, bring beer and your script pad...

How about I still come by with the beer and script pad? By the way, can I still write for controlled substances in your state with an Ohio license? If not, can you bring a pocket trumpet inserted in the cake when you visit me in my cell?

Bob Pixley

Finished a near 3 hour rehearsal last night. Another one on coming up on Wednesday (dress rehearsal), and then a show on Thursday night, one on Friday night, three on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday. I've played this event for many years, always on 2nd part. I was "promoted" to 1st part this year, and about 80% of it is above the staff. I had to revert to using the old Bach 10-1/2C that I used to play to survive this. After that, I won't touch a trumpet until 2020...lol

2018 LCT small.jpg

fels

Our Brass Quintet played for and Advent function (Lutheran Women) and for the Stratton Home (assisted living). Same program for both - namely mostly Dean Mounts arrangements. Last Saturday. Each was about an hour long.

GeorgeB

@Bob-Pixley
Though I have not had to resort to using it yet, I still have my 1953 Bach 10.5C mp just in case I need it to help me survive a performance .

Bob Pixley

@GeorgeB said in Christmas Services:

@Bob-Pixley
Though I have not had to resort to using it yet, I still have my 1953 Bach 10.5C mp just in case I need it to help me survive a performance .

I normally play a Bach 1-1/2C, but it became apparent I didn't have the chops to make it through that many performances playing 1st part on it. I played 1st chair in a community band for many years back in the late '70s and early '80s , and the 10-1/2C was what I used back then. I was pleasantly surprised that I still had a pretty nice sound on it and it wasn't a big deal to switch over. Different horses for different courses, I suppose.

I see you have a Conn 5A Victor. How do you like it? I used to have one and I thought it was a terrific cornet. A little heavy and the valves were a little bouncy, but it sure did play well and had a relatively easy upper register.

GeorgeB

@Bob-Pixley

Yeah I love the 5A, but as you said, a bit heavy and the valves are a bit bouncy. But man, what sound.

As for the 10.5C, I used it as my main mouthpiece for 12 years in the 50s and 60s. Just didn't work for me when I started playing again in 2016 after a 50 year hiatus. But it has been a help when for some of the tougher band gigs where there is a lot of above the staff stuff.

Dr GO

This just found, an incredible online link to a very comprehensive Christmas Music Song Book:
https://sheets-piano.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Merry-Christmas-Songbook.pdf