Unintentional Irony

On our way back home from Thanksgiving, we happened to drive through a small town. This unusual gift shop caught my eye. Outside were a number of signs. One sternly proclaimed that all the goods were American Made.

 OK, a lot of people feel strongly about that. No problem here. Other signs advertised Military Supplies and Tactical and Hunting Supplies.

I don't have a problem with hunting -- especially after having four different collisions with deer in as many vehicles. I'm not quite sure what "tactical supplies" might be (tackle?), but still, no worries.

But it was the other signs admonishing the reader to Put the Christ in Christmas that  I found interesting. Because one was right next to the sign for Military Supplies.


See, Christ had very strong opinions about using weapons, even in self-defense.

Here's what happened when armed soldiers came to arrest him:

Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus and took him. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." 

 - Matthew 26: 50-52 


The story -- with Jesus' admonishment -- is also told in Luke and John.

So, to me anyway, selling military supplies seems somewhat incompatible with the notion of  putting Christ into Christmas. I mean, if you feel that strongly about  the Prince of Peace...

CCC 06 - Michael Daugherty

American composer Michael Daugherty is the featured artist this time for the Consonant Classical Challenge.

Daugherty's gained a great deal of acclaim for his orchestral work, the Metropolis Symphony. It's an exciting and accessible composition, and you don't have to know a lot of the Superman mythos to enjoy it. Here's the first movement, Lex Luthor. It starts out with a trio of police whistles -- appropriate accompaniment for a master criminal! What follows is music that's mischievous rather than malevolent, as befitting a Golden Age comic book villain.  Listen to the masterful orchestration, too -- this is a score that would be right at home in a feature film.



Daugherty's long been fascinated with pop culture, and his music uses a vocabulary that many non-classical listeners could readily understand. At the same time, Daugherty's compositions are meticulously constructed and has plenty of substance in it for the serious classical music listener.

A partial listing of his compositions will give you a good idea of how thoroughly Daugherty is emeshed in the elements and icons that are as familiar to audiences today as Greek mythology was to 17th Century audiences:Route 66, Bay of Pigs for classical guitar and string orchestra; Spaghetti Western for English Horn and Orchestra; the opera "Jackie O," Shaken Not Stirred for percussion and electric bass, Dead Elvis for bassoon and chamber orchestra, and the work below, Desi.



Michael Daugherty injects an element of fun in many of his compositions, but this isn't novelty music. His compositions are very much written for audiences here and now, and should have great appeal both to classical and non-classical audiences. And they're works that should hold up well in the future, too.

Fun, appealing, relevant, and well written. Why don't more orchestras lighten up and program Daugherty's music? I don't know either.

Recommended Recordings;

Daugherty: Metropolis Symphony

Michael Daugherty: Philadelphia Stories; UFO

Daugherty: Route 66; Ghost Ranch; Sunset Strip; Time Machine

Thanksgiving Transient Traditions

Some of my ancestors. Their Thanksgiving traditions
changed over time, too.

It's common to think of Thanksgiving in terms of family traditions, but I'm often struck with how transient those traditions are.

As a young child, we always went to Grandma's house, and the menu was always the same. But as my mother took over the cooking, there was a subtle shift. Mom's rolls were delicious, but they didn't quite taste like Grandma's. And the supporting cast changed, too. The neighbors on either side of Grandma always came to dinner, but eventually they aged and moved away (or passed on).

After Grandma died, the Thanksgiving table became smaller, until my sister and I were married and our spouses were part of the gathering. But that also changed things. Because my wife and I alternated between her family home and mine for the holidays -- so sometimes we weren't there. And when my Mom could no longer put on Thanksgiving, we started having my parents over to our house for the meal. A different menu again, based on my wife's family traditions.

When Mom passed on, my Dad would either come down for Thanksgiving, or more often just go to a restaurant with my sister (who was now divorced), while we usually went to my wife's family. As for our children, well, they sometimes join us and other times spend the holiday with their own friends.

One tradition remained -- we always took a photo of everyone gathered around the table. And I realize now that we could probably date those photos by where they were taken, who's in the photo, and what's on the table.

Thanksgiving is a traditional time for family, but it's not an immutable one. The mix of relatives (and food) will resemble those of holidays past, but also have something new, as time continues to change us all.

Minimally Successful

There were two things I wanted to accomplish as a young man:

1) Have my music performed and recorded professionally.

2) Have my creative writings published professionally.

Well, as of today both those things happened -- but I have to say if there's a way to accomplish these goals in the smallest way possible, I managed to do it.

The music
As a classical composer, I've written over forty works, including a symphony, some smaller pieces for string orchestra, two string quartets, several collections of short piano pieces, and some chamber music as well. And some of it has been performed by professional ensembles.

But only one of my compositions has been recorded professionally. It's an early work of mine entitled "Three Etudes," Op. 2. They are three very short (each one is under a minute) little pieces for piano, written primarily as a composition exercise. The etudes were originally recorded by Robert Ian Winstin for the ERM label, and appeared on his release Piano Art. Very nice, but it's out of print.

Pianist Leanne Rees really liked the etudes, or at least the third one. She performed it in concert for a while, and was kind enough to include it on her album Women Composers & the Men In Their Lives released on Fleur de Son.

The writing
As readers of this blog know, I write continually. Professionally, I write articles, reviews, and other technical copy. I enjoy it, but it's not creative writing. Yes, I've written six novels, but they're definitely not ready for prime time.

But I do participate in the #operaplot contest, and have placed in the finals two years running. And that earned me my second goal. Because the contest winners were published as part of the Best Music Writing 2011 by Dacapo Press. Which means that I am now a published author (I got paid, and I'll get a copy of the book, so there).

So there it is.

I've now technically accomplished both my goals with a one-minute piano piece and a 140-character tweet.

Somehow, I don't have the feeling of accomplishment I thought I would....

A brush with greatness

 I've been commenting on the changes in Dick Tracy recently, and I actually received a comment on one of my posts -- from Mike Curtis, the writer for the strip!

It's one of the things I like about the Internet. It's possible to communicate directly with some of the folks you admire, more so then in the olden days of pen and paper letters. Through Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter I've had interesting conversations with authors, broadcasters, composers, and performers whose works I admire.

Mike Curtis may not be a household name (Chester Gould probably wasn't either), but I'm still flattered that the writer of a major comic strip would read -- and take the time to comment -- on my post.