tag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=13Latest News2023-08-31T11:39:39-04:00Paul Cienniwafalsetag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/72662732023-08-31T11:39:39-04:002023-10-16T10:44:30-04:00Organ Improvisations<p>I improvise a lot every Sunday, but I don't often look back and listen. These two improvisations came from Sunday, August 27, 2023, and I like them!</p><div class="video-container size_l justify_center" style=""><iframe data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="6sffqngQIHM" data-video-thumb-url="" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sffqngQIHM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div><p> </p><div class="video-container size_l justify_center" style=""><iframe data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="m8scsEbzYIM" data-video-thumb-url="" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m8scsEbzYIM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/69398622022-04-04T09:37:53-04:002022-07-08T11:32:55-04:00Audience art<p>Audience member Dan Sniezak created these images from yesterday's Art of Fugue performance!</p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/9baa242d0d958de509af6c4c4784aaa435b105ee/original/img-2063.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/e7b37b989c7e38cb2ffe0480923be0a5a07059a3/original/img-2062.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/69398602022-04-04T09:36:03-04:002022-04-04T09:36:03-04:00The Phelps Mansion Hosts Performance By 2 Harpsichordists<p><a contents="WICZ Fox 40On Sunday, April 3rd the Phelps Mansion in Binghamton hosted a performance by 2 harpsichordists. The concert was part of their 2022 concert series.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wicz.com/story/46207762/the-phelps-mansion-hosts-performance-by-2-harpsichordists" target="_blank">WICZ Fox 40</a></p>
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<p><a contents="WICZ Fox 40On Sunday, April 3rd the Phelps Mansion in Binghamton hosted a performance by 2 harpsichordists. The concert was part of their 2022 concert series.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.wicz.com/story/46207762/the-phelps-mansion-hosts-performance-by-2-harpsichordists" target="_blank">On Sunday, April 3rd the Phelps Mansion in Binghamton hosted a performance by 2 harpsichordists. The concert was part of their 2022 concert series. </a></p>
<p>Michael Bahmann and Paul Cienniwa performed "The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080" </p>
<p>This being one of the few concerts performed at the mansion since the COVID shutdowns, the show runners emphasized the importance of continuing to support local art and humanities through trying times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/69367502022-03-31T08:53:07-04:002022-03-31T08:53:07-04:00Harpsicord concert at Phelps<p><a contents="BINGHAMTON, NY – The executive director of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to his roots as a musician by giving a recital this weekend.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/harpsicord-concert-at-phelps/" target="_blank">BINGHAMTON, NY – The executive director of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to his roots as a musician by giving a recital this weekend. </a></p>
<p>Paul Cienniwa is joining his longtime collaborator Michael Bahmann to perform Bach’s The Art of the Fugue. </p>
<p>They will be performing the piece on 2 harpsicords that belong to Cienniwa.</p>
<p>Harpsicords predate pianos and are different in that the strings are plucked rather than be struck as they are in a piano. </p>
<p>Cienniwa says The Art of Fugue was Bach’s final composition. </p>
<p>“Bach covers the whole range of human emotions with a minimum of material. He takes this fugue subject and then develops it and expands it, giving it all the possibilities that an 18th century composer could have had and then some. But, it’s a different kind of virtuosity, a virtuosity of emotion of being able to make the instrument sing,” says Cienniwa. </p>
<p>The concert is this Sunday at 3 P-M at the Phelps Mansion Museum on Court Street in Binghamton. </p>
<p>Tickets are $20. </p>
<p>More information at PhelpsMansion.org.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/69350052022-03-29T12:28:32-04:002022-03-29T12:28:32-04:00Bach's Art of Fugue: WSKG interview<p>Harpsichordists Paul Cienniwa and Michael Bahmann perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Art of the Fugue in the Ballroom of the Phelps Mansion Museum on Sunday, April 3. Paul Cienniwa joins us to talk about the mysteries of this unfinished work. <a contents="Click here to listen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://wskg.org/one-of-j-s-bach-major-works-performed-by-a-harpsichord-duo/" target="_blank">Click here to listen</a>.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/66494432021-06-04T09:08:32-04:002021-06-04T09:08:32-04:00Philharmonic plans return to Forum and busy summer season<p><a contents="Philharmonic plans return to Forum and busy summer season&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://broomearts.org/philharmonic-plans-return-to-forum-and-busy-summer-season/" target="_blank">Philharmonic plans return to Forum and busy summer season </a></p>
<p>By George Basler </p>
<p>After more than a year’s absence, the Binghamton Philharmonic will return to the Broome County Forum Theatre on June 19 for two concerts of Baroque music. </p>
<p>And Paul Cienniwa, the orchestra’s executive director, is excited for both the musicians and the community. For the musicians, the program is a chance to be together again after a long time apart; for the community it “is one of the steps to get back to normal, and we feel great to be part of it,” he said. </p>
<p>The concerts will also mark the beginning of a busy summer for the BPO that will feature “pop up” concerts in the community and the first ever Summer Chamber Music Festival. </p>
<p>A return to home </p>
<p>The June 19 concerts, entitled “Back to Baroque,” will conclude a challenging 2020-21 season. COVID-19 restrictions forced the BPO to cancel concerts set for The Forum. Instead, it worked to keep live music alive by holding a series of “Social Gathering Concerts” at various locations in the community. The performances featured a limited number of musicians and small audiences. </p>
<p>COVID-19 is impacting the June 19 event as well. The Philharmonic had originally planned to conclude its season with a performance of Beethoven’s massive “Ninth Symphony” with a large chorus and full orchestra, but the pandemic made planning a program of that size unfeasible, Cienniwa said. </p>
<p>In its place, the orchestra will perform a Baroque program with a smaller ensemble of 12 string players and a harpsichordist. The program had originally been scheduled for at St. Patrick’s Church in Binghamton last fall but was canceled because of the pandemic. Conducted by the Philharmonic’s Music Director, Daniel Hege, the concert will include Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3,” Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto,” Vivaldi Sinfonias and more, Cienniwa said. </p>
<p>There will be two performances at 6 and 8 p.m. Seating will be limited to 250 patrons per performance. Tickets must be pre-purchased, and all attendees must wear masks. </p>
<p>“While we have to follow certain limitations of COVID-19 safety measures, such as smaller audience and ensemble size, we are still very pleased to end our season with live music in our beloved concert hall,” Cienniwa said. </p>
<p>For more information or to order tickets, call 723-3931 or visit www.binghamtonphilharmonic.org. Tickets are $50/$35/$20. </p>
<p>A busy summer </p>
<p>After the Baroque concerts, BPO will pivot to its summer programs. </p>
<p>The orchestra is planning to replicate its “Concerts in Every Corner” program from last year, Cienniwa said. That program featured “pop up” performances by Philharmonic musicians at different spots in the community. Unlike last year, the orchestra will announce the locations in advance. The concerts begin July 7 and will last through August. </p>
<p>In addition, BPO is planning its initial Summer Chamber Music Series in Binghamton and Greene. The series “presents an opportunity for us to engage areas of our community that we don’t normally reach,” Cienniwa said. </p>
<p>The series will start July 17 and 18 with free outdoor concerts featuring the Binghamton Philharmonic Brass Quintet. The quintet will perform “Music from the Americas,” an eclectic concert of works from two hemispheres, including pieces from Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Argentina. </p>
<p>The July 17 concert will be at 5 p.m. at the NoMa Community Center, 85 Walnut St, Binghamton (rain venue: Salvation Temple Church, 80 Main St.). The program will be repeated at 3 p.m. July 18 at the 1810 Juliand House, 2 E Juliand St., Greene (rain venue: Immaculate Conception Church, 1180 NY-206, Greene). </p>
<p>The chamber music series will continue with two ticketed events in August, Cienniwa said: </p>
<p>The Trio Pastoral Woodwind Ensemble will perform a concert celebrating female composers at 5 p.m. Aug 14 at the Salvation Temple Church and at 3 p.m. Aug. 15 at Zion Episcopal Church, 10 Chenango St., Greene. General admission tickets are $25 for either program. <br>Cellist Michael Newman and Friends will perform the works of Clara Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Darius Milhaud, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Peter Schickele at 5 p.m. Aug. 21 at Centenary-Chenango Street United Methodist Church, 438 Chenango St., Binghamton, and at 3 p.m. Aug. 22 at Greene High School, 40 S. Canal St., Greene. General admission tickets are $25. </p>
<p>For more information on the series, visit www.binghamtonphilharmonic.org or call the BPO box office at 723-3931. </p>
<p>Coming soon </p>
<p>COVID, in one way, was beneficial for BPO because it gave the orchestra time to assess its role in the community, Cienniwa said. “We want to reach out to parts of the community we’re not reaching,” he added. </p>
<p>To do this, the BPO is planning an educational outreach effort to include school music lessons and working with underprivileged children, he said. The Philharmonic is also scheduling a festival in January 2022 honoring its founder, the late Fritz Wallenberg. The Wallenberg Festival will feature performances by the Binghamton Community Orchestra and the Binghamton Youth Symphony, as well as the Philharmonic. </p>
<p>And beginning Sept. 25, with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, the Philharmonic will be back at The Forum for a full season. </p>
<p>While it has been a challenging year, Cienniwa is optimistic for the future. “We’re coming out of this with much stronger Philharmonic,” he said.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/65357782021-01-31T15:34:59-05:002021-05-03T08:59:58-04:00Encounter: TV interview<p>Back in December, I interviewed with Rev. Jeff Kellam for Encounter, a local TV show put on the the Broome County Council of Churches. Jeff gave me much opportunity to talk about of the the COVID-related goings on at the Binghamton Philharmonic. I'm quite happy with how it turned out!</p>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="TWtfSjVqr5A" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/TWtfSjVqr5A/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TWtfSjVqr5A?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/64684622020-11-02T10:27:30-05:002020-11-02T10:27:30-05:00Coping with COVID: BPO scrambles to preserve season<p>Coping with COVID: BPO scrambles to preserve season </p>
<p><a contents="https://broomearts.org/coping-with-covid-bpo-scrambles-to-preserve-season/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://broomearts.org/coping-with-covid-bpo-scrambles-to-preserve-season/" target="_blank">https://broomearts.org/coping-with-covid-bpo-scrambles-to-preserve-season/</a></p>
<p>By George Basler </p>
<p>The Binghamton Philharmonic’s 2020-21 season began with a whimper when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of a BPO Beethoven Cycle concert, set for Nov. 14 at the The Forum in Binghamton. </p>
<p>Now, the orchestra’s annual Home for the Holidays concert, scheduled for Dec. 12, is in jeopardy, and concerts planned for winter and spring are in limbo. </p>
<p>But that doesn’t mean the orchestra is throwing in the towel for the season, Executive Director Paul Cienniwa said earlier this month. Instead, he and other staffers are working on alternative plans to keep bringing live music to the community, even as they deal with frustrations and disappointments of a very tough year. </p>
<p>“We decided we can’t tell the future,” Cienniwa said. “Rather than call off the season, we choose a more optimistic route.” </p>
<p>This “optimistic route” involves scheduling a series of “Social Gathering Concerts” for smaller audiences throughout the season. </p>
<p>The first two programs were set for Oct. 10 and Oct. 24 at the Double Tree in downtown Binghamton. Philharmonic principal cellist Hakan Tayga was scheduled to perform Oct. 10 while concertmaster Uli Speth and principal pianist Tomoko Kanamaru were set for Oct. 24 (this Saturday). Attendance was to be limited to 45 persons for each concert. </p>
<p>Again, however, COVID-19, has scrambled these plans. The Oct. 10 concert, which was sold out, has been postponed until Nov. 14 after a rise in the number of COVID-9 cases led state officials to declare part of Broome County “a yellow zone.” The designation limited attendance at social gatherings to no more than 25 persons. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Philharmonic has moved Saturday’s concert to the Family Life Church, 157 Clark St., Vestal, which is outside the yellow zone. The event will begin at 7 p.m. </p>
<p>The BPO then plans to continue the Social Gathering Concerts into next year “to keep in touch with our audience,” Cienniwa said. The next one is being planned for Dec. 5 at Temple Concord, 9 Riverside Drive, Binghamton. </p>
<p>In addition, the Philharmonic is continuing work on a project to digitize 20 years of tape recordings of performances conducted by Fritz Wallenberg, the founder of the Philharmonic’s predecessor, the Binghamton Symphony. The work is being done in partnership with Newclear Studios of Windsor. Once digitized, the Philharmonic will share the recordings with local radio for broadcast and upload them to the Philharmonic’s website and its YouTube channel for free public access, the orchestra’s newsletter says. </p>
<p>Even as they continue to operate, however, Philharmonic officials are conscious of the bottom line. For that reason, they rejected the idea of streaming concerts on-line. The price tag for such concerts — including costs for rehearsals and recording the event — is around $30,000, Cienniwa said. That is too high for the Philharmonic to break even. </p>
<p>COVID-19 also forced the Philharmonic to cancel three “soft opening” concerts in September and October. </p>
<p>The concerts, planned for two local churches, were intended to replace the opening night concert at The Forum. This plan unraveled, however, when a state COVID representative advised the Philharmonic that churches could not hold large-scale events that were not church-related. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, officials still hope to salvage some of the concerts originally planned for The Forum this season, Cienniwa said. These include “Tapestry of New York” in January, an appearance by Cherish the Ladies in March, “The Music of ‘Star Wars'” in May and a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in June. </p>
<p>The Philharmonic could stage these concerts at a minimum of 25 percent capacity if the state and county give the go-ahead, Cienniwa said. One plan to do this, and still break even, is to separate each concert into two smaller performances with different audiences. </p>
<p>“There is no reason that the Philharmonic cannot make it through the pandemic,” Cienniwa said. </p>
<p>As for the future, Cienniwa sees the next two seasons as “recovery years” for the Philharmonic. COVID-19 has forced the orchestra to take stock and look at new ways to reach out to the community, he said. </p>
<p>This was on display over the summer when the Philharmonic produced “Concerts in Every Corner,” a series of nearly 20 “pop up” solo concerts at community centers, nursing homes and school lunch pickup sites. The concerts were a success, drawing collective audience of more than 500 persons, Cienniwa said. Money from the federal Payroll Protection Program supported the series. </p>
<p>Staffers are now planning a series of three chamber music concerts for next summer. Each concert would be performed in Binghamton and a rural area of the county, Cienniwa said. One, featuring a brass quintet, would be a free outdoor concert. </p>
<p>“The pandemic has forced us to look outside what we were,” Cienniwa said. “And that’s been beneficial.”</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/64515312020-10-08T09:53:36-04:002020-10-08T09:55:24-04:00Some NY arts institutions have seen 40% decreases in income. What they're doing to survive.<p><em>Excerpted from <a contents="Democrat & Chronicle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/10/08/some-ny-arts-institutions-have-seen-40-decreases-income-what-theyre-doing-survive/3622397001/" target="_blank">Democrat & Chronicle</a>:</em></p>
<p>The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra planned to hold three concerts in churches in the fall, but were later told by the state that the church’s exemption to re-open did not apply to non-religious activities. But they learned from a local state COVID rep they could hold a social gathering with 50 or fewer people. </p>
<p>So, the Philharmonic dreamed up “Social gathering concerts,” which will be held at the Binghamton Doubletree inside a ballroom that seats over 1,000.</p>
<p>Two concerts have been announced so far, with the first scheduled for Oct. 10, as long as the local COVID-19 numbers allow it to happen. It was sold out in about two days, and will feature BPO’s principal cellist Hakan Tayga performing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and György Ligeti. </p>
<p>Guests must wear masks, and all tickets are pre-sale only to help with contract tracing if needed. The concerts will be a 50-minute program with no intermission.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/64510722020-10-07T15:35:45-04:002020-10-07T15:36:44-04:00Interview on WBDY<p>Binghamton's WBDY interviewed me about the Binghamton Philharmonic's Wallenberg Legacy. This fun interview got me talking about some of the BPO's future projects, including an exciting one based on Rod Serling's "Walking Distance."</p>
<p> <iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/906368752&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;">
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/wbdy-lp" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="WBDY-LP 99.5FM">WBDY-LP 99.5FM</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/wbdy-lp/brh-binghamton-philharmonic-orchestra-the-wallenberg-legacy-project" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="BRH: Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra & The Wallenberg Legacy Project">BRH: Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra & The Wallenberg Legacy Project</a>
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<p> </p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/62453362020-03-11T12:56:51-04:002020-03-12T09:00:05-04:00Binghamton Philharmonic appoints new executive director<p> </p>
<p><a contents="Binghamton, NY " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/news/up-to-the-minute/binghamton-philharmonic-appoints-new-executive-director/" target="_blank">Binghamton, NY </a>– The Binghamton Philharmonic announces the hiring of new full-time Executive Director, Paul Cienniwa. Effective, April 16th, 2020, Mr. Cienniwa will replace acting director Andrea Carey, who is relocating to Pennsylvania. Mr. Cienniwa holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Yale University and was most recently the Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul’s in Delray Beach, Florida. He brings an extensive background in music administration, performance and instruction to the Binghamton Philharmonic. Current Operations manager, Abby Cleveland has been promoted to the role of Assistant Executive Director. </p>
<p>Daniel Norton, BPO Board President added: “The BPO couldn’t be more excited about Mr. Cienniwa’s hiring. Mr. Cienniwa has the experience and expertise needed to harness the awesome power of live music and employ it toward building an even more vibrant Greater Binghamton community. Simply put, he is the right person at the right time for the BPO. Adding to our excitement is Ms. Cleveland’s promotion to the position of Assistant Executive Director. She has been, and will continue to be, essential to our success as an organization.” </p>
<p>“I must express the board’s gratitude to our Executive Director Search Committee for the critical role it played in bringing Mr. Cienniwa to the BPO. The chairs of that committee, Corinne Farrell and Frank Lettera, also deserve our congratulations for a successful search.” </p>
<p>“On behalf of the board of directors for the BPO, I would also like to thank our Interim Executive Director, Andrea Carey, whose efforts left the BPO in an even stronger position than it was in when she assumed that role last summer. We wish her the best of luck in Pennsylvania and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for her.” </p>
<p>The Binghamton Philharmonic is Broome County’s only professional symphony orchestra, dedicated to building community through the power of live music by providing our region with performances of live music by artists of incomparable talent and making great music accessible to all through innovative, engaging and affordable programming within and beyond the concert hall. </p>
<p>For questions and more information, contact the Binghamton Philharmonic at 723-3931.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/57711152019-05-28T14:37:16-04:002019-10-15T11:55:14-04:00Telemann review in American Record Guide<p>American Record Guide<br>May/June 2019<br>Telemann: <em>Violin Sonatas</em><br>Dorian Komanoff Bandy; Paul Cienniwa, hpsi<br>Whaling City 108--80 minutes</p>
<p>This is the second recording I have encountered of Telemann's unusual 1715 publication of sonatas for violin and harpsichord. The first was made by Valerio Losito and Federico Del Sordo and released by Brilliant (S/O 2017).</p>
<p>These are stylistically interesting works, marked by Telemann's immersion in French styles. <span class="font_large"><strong>The performances here are alert and stylish</strong></span>, just a bit broader than the predecessors. For all that, this new recording makes space to add to the 1715 set a sonata that survives only in manuscript, marked by some stylistic foibles.</p>
<p>Komanoff Bandy uses a vibratoless technique that has its piercing moments, but his playing is certainly expert. It is also favored over the harpsichord in the balances.</p>
<p>The booklet notes by Bandy comment extensively on the styles and compositional techniques in these sontats.</p>
<p>Both recordings have their merits, but<span class="font_large"><strong> I prefer this new one</strong></span>.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">BARKER</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/57678362019-05-25T09:43:44-04:002019-05-25T09:45:03-04:00Jubilate Youth Choir<p>One of the things that excited me about taking the position at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, FL was the opportunity to create a youth music program from scratch. There was <em>nothing</em> in place! Now at the end of my second year, I can happily say that we have a robust Royal School of Church Music-affiliated program with ten young choristers. The choristers follow the RSCM "Voice for LIfe" curriculum, and this year's <strong>Jubliate Youth Choir</strong> has representatives from the White Level and the Light Blue Level. (Our youth music program also includes a pre-reading <strong>Cherub Choir </strong>and <strong>The Illumineers,</strong> a jazz-oriented praise band made up of teenage instrumentalists.)</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/ed351e374a61c6facd65f6431cedbd73a0e3b170/original/formal.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/3bfd8cc029564cfcf942d539e9e3fd4d67e2a1bb/original/casual.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/f7ea80429928959d1c7f1fce5a4af9d67b1e0c78/original/vertical.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/57358362019-04-29T07:06:22-04:002019-04-29T07:06:22-04:00Gorecki Harpsichord Concerto with the Amernet String Quaret<p>I had great fun playing Henryk Górecki’s cheeky <em>Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings, Op. 40</em> at yesterday's <a contents="Music at St. Paul's" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.maspconcerts.org" target="_blank">Music at St. Paul's</a> concert. <a contents="Click here to watch a video of the performance" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSFVNbk1W-I&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Click here to watch a video of the performance</a>.</p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XSFVNbk1W-I" width="560"></iframe></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/56853282019-03-19T09:33:16-04:002019-03-19T09:33:16-04:00Miami concert in review<p><a contents="MAX EMANUEL CENCIC ALUMBRÓ LA NOCHE DE&nbsp;WYNWOODSebastian Spreng in el Nuovo Herald" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.elnuevoherald.com/entretenimiento/musica/article228085394.html" target="_blank">MAX EMANUEL CENCIC ALUMBRÓ LA NOCHE DE WYNWOOD</a></p>
<p><a contents="MAX EMANUEL CENCIC ALUMBRÓ LA NOCHE DE&nbsp;WYNWOODSebastian Spreng in el Nuovo Herald" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.elnuevoherald.com/entretenimiento/musica/article228085394.html" target="_blank">Sebastian Spreng in el Nuovo Herald</a></p>
<p>Sucedió otra vez. Uno de esos pequeños milagros musicales que de vez en cuando suceden en Miami sin demasiado aviso y que, dicho sea de paso, deberían suceder mas a menudo. Otra vez gracias al tesón y buenas artes del Dr. Marvin Sackner, devoto patrocinador de la música temprana, una de sus conocidas pasiones. El año pasado trajo a su admirada Vivica Genaux y esta temporada se dio el gusto con otro de sus ídolos, Max Emanuel Cencic, uno de los máximos contratenores de este tiempo y una de las figuras mas notables del movimiento historicista. </p>
<p>La presentación marcó la culminación del ciclo de conciertos Musimelange que se lleva a cabo en las instalaciones del M Building en pleno barrio de Wynwood, ya en su octava temporada. Un emprendimiento diferente dirigido por la violinista francesa Anne Chicheportiche que en la galería de arte y adjacencias del predio combina veladas de cámara matizados con preludios y postdatas gourmets que incluyen creaciones culinarias artesanales. </p>
<p>En este marco peculiar y enmarcado por la eficacia del equipo musical estable conformado por su instrumentista creadora más la violinista Claudia Cagnassone, el violista Richard Fleischmann y el contrabajista Juan Pablo Peña a los que se sumó el clavecinista Paul Cienniwa que tuvo a su cargo el intermezzo musical con la Chacona en sol menor de Louis Couperin y Les barricades mysterieuses de su famoso sobrino Francois Couperin “El grande”. </p>
<p>Mas allá de las competentes lecturas de los dos Couperin y de la Folia, la popular sonata para violín de Arcangelo Corelli, fue la actuación de Cencic el lógico centro de atención de la noche con público que rebalsó la capacidad del recinto y debió ser ubicado en las galerías mirando al jardín, lo que en instancias provocó excesiva intromisión de ruidos externos, algo a tener en cuenta para la próxima. </p>
<p>Bastaron cinco grandes arias para confirmar su bien ganada fama. Cencic, prodigio vocal croata que fuera líder de los Niños Cantores de Viena – donde aún reside – posteriormente desarrolló una extraordinaria carrera primero como sopranista y luego como contratenor, la cuerda en la que terminó de consagrarse y que incluye actuaciones en la Opera de Viena, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona, Salzburgo, entre otros sin olvidar teatros barrocos como el de Versailles o el recientemente remozado de Bayreuth (no el del festival wagneriano sino el Margrave donde se filmó Farinelli) que tuvo el honor de reinaugurar en abril del 2018 como protagonista y director de la ópera Siro de Hasse. </p>
<p>Como eximio integrante del movimiento de período, Cencic investiga y revela obras ignotas, tesoros entre cientos de composiciones a exhumar que revitalizadas emergen lozanas en su voz en la tesitura de mezzosoprano de agilidad. Así lo demostró con las cuatro arias del alemán Johann Adolf Hasse y su maestro – y luego rival – el napolitano Nicola Pórpora, cuyo discípulos fueron los célebres castrati Caffarelli y Farinelli. Música de duelistas, allí donde las cortes de Napoles, Venecia y Roma se trenzaban en competiciones artisticas singurales con Dresde y Viena, caldo de cultivo de talentos, innovaciones y feroces rivalidades entre compositores, maestros de canto y cantantes, a menudo encarnados en un solo artista. </p>
<p>Cencic abordó dos arias filigranadas del Tito vespasiano del compositor hamburgués para pasar a Porpora con espectaculares Nume che reggi il mare y Quando s’oscura il cielo, abundantes en coloratura, trinos, roulades y en la última un hipnótico sostenuto de elegancia sin vuelta de hoja. Impresiona la capacidad del cantante de infundir colores que reflejan diferentes estados anímicos, asi como de convencer emoción en ornamentos que de otro modo podrían sonar mecánicos. Su liquidez sonora cautivó, Cencic coronó su actuación con Se fiera belva de Rodelinda de Handel, otra vertiginosa demostración de virtuosismo con paleta de mezzosoprano y agudos tan lustrosos como contundentes. No por nada el programa se llamó Farinelli, el espiritu del gran Carlo Broschi pareció posarse brevemente en la cálida noche de Wynwood.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/56733992019-03-08T10:30:52-05:002019-03-08T10:30:52-05:00Bach Cantata 111 in Delray Beach<p>My Chancel Choir at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, FL sang an excellent service of Choral Evensong on March 3. Included in that service was Bach's Cantata 111. </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/APQSijB1e98?start=2366" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/56733832019-03-08T10:22:41-05:002019-03-08T10:24:21-05:00Telemann CD reviewed in The Diapason<p>March 2019 * Larry Palmer</p>
<p><strong>Telemann Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord</strong></p>
<p>Totally unfamiliar music by the most prolific baroque composer Georg Friedrich Telemann (1681-1767) fills a recent compact disc featuring <strong>violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy</strong> and <strong>harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa</strong> (Whaling City Sound, WCS 108). Originally published in Frankfort-am-Main in 1715, these six four-movement works, each comprising alternating slow-fast-slow-fast movements, were composed with the burgeoning amateur house music musician in mind. A seventh sonata of similar style and length that has survived only in the composer's manuscript preserved in the Dresden State Library receives its world premiere recording to fill ou the program.</p>
<p>In disc and numerical order the sonatas are in G Minor, D Major, B Minor, G Major, A Minor, and A Major; the extra seventh sonata is in F-sharp Minor. Each composition bears the TWV (Telemann Werke Verzeichnis ["work catalogue"] number 41, followed by an indication of its individual key (in German style: g, D, h, G, a A, fis).</p>
<p>I had met the harpsichordist during a long-ago Boston Early Music Festival visit. He has recently relocated to the warmer climes of Florida where (now Dr. ) Paul Cienniwa is music director of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray. Thus it was not difficult to locate an email address for this fine artist. I especially wanted to learn who had built the harpsichord used for this recording and to ascertain whether the works were being played from a realized score or from the more probably two-line original engraving. It turned out to be the latter, which <span class="font_large"><strong>made my admiration for such beautiful collaborative musicianship ascend even several units higher. Especially an elegant solo harpsichord introduction to the "Cantabile" of the <em>B-minor Sonata </em>had moved me deeply, and I appreciate the sensitive musical realization of the figured bass throughout.</strong></span> It also pleased me that Cienniwa lists among his musical mentors Jerome Butera, a longtime editor of The Diapason and currently the magazine's sales director.) File that in your "Small World" folder, please.)</p>
<p>The fine-sounding instrument, it turned out, is a sing-manual 2 x 8 example inspired by the unique 181 Vaudry harpsichord (and instrument that our readers encountered briefly last month through the illustration for Jane Clark's article on François Couperin). It was built in 2008 by Kevin Spindler. For those who might wish to acquire this music, violinist Bandy suggests IMSLP for downloading (https://imslp.org), or even better, a facsimile of the 1715 edition published by Anne Fuzeau Productions. With such <span class="font_large"><strong>a fine example of the collaborative harpsichord line</strong></span> for consultation, on might not be so reluctant to realize that figured bass.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/56451152019-02-15T13:31:14-05:002019-02-15T13:31:14-05:00More good words on Telemann CD: "Very much recommended!"<p><a contents="Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Paul Cienniwa: Telemann, Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord&nbsp;Posted on&nbsp;February 12, 2019&nbsp;by&nbsp;John Marks" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thetannhausergate.com/index.php/2019/02/12/dorian-komanoff-bandy-and-paul-cienniwa-telemann-sonatas-for-violin-and-harpsichord/" target="_blank"><strong>Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Paul Cienniwa: Telemann, Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord </strong></a></p>
<p><a contents="Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Paul Cienniwa: Telemann, Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord&nbsp;Posted on&nbsp;February 12, 2019&nbsp;by&nbsp;John Marks" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thetannhausergate.com/index.php/2019/02/12/dorian-komanoff-bandy-and-paul-cienniwa-telemann-sonatas-for-violin-and-harpsichord/" target="_blank">Posted on February 12, 2019 by John Marks</a> </p>
<p><a contents="Click here for the full review." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thetannhausergate.com/index.php/2019/02/12/dorian-komanoff-bandy-and-paul-cienniwa-telemann-sonatas-for-violin-and-harpsichord/" target="_blank">Click here for the full review.</a></p>
<p>This new release by Dorian Komanoff Bandy, Baroque violin, and Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord, therefore is “authentic” in its forces (no cello); its complement of instruments (a Baroque violin circa 1750, perhaps from Innsbruck, with modern copies of Baroque bows, and a harpsichord made in 2008 by Kevin Spindler); and its period-correct pitch (Concert “A” is at 415 Hz). </p>
<p>The recording was made at Boston’s NPR affiliate station WGBH-FM’s studio in native 24-bit 96-kHz PCM, with microphones by Schoeps (CMC6-MK5); Sennheiser (MKH800); and Neumann (KM130). The sound is very well-judged in terms of a natural recording perspective, so that the articulation sounds of both instruments do not obscure the essential musical line. In other words, not distressingly and fatiguingly on top of you—there is some welcome breathing room, some personal space for the players and for the listener. </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Both players are confidently at ease in this music. </strong></span>The informative and persuasive liner notes (by the violinist) go into detail on the six sonatas from 1715 (each one distinct in its own way), as well as the world-premiere recording of the Sonata in F-sharp minor, which the liner notes characterize as experimental. The F-sharp minor sonata exists only in manuscript form, and, interestingly, was signed with a pseudonym (“George Melante”), which in a way is a phonetic anagram of “Telemann.” </p>
<p>The liner notes also make the point that the six sonatas are more virtuosic in terms of compositional invention than in instrumental technique. That may be the case; but, these works do not lack for technical challenges. </p>
<p>Komanoff Bandy’s playing is free-spirited, by turns sprightly or melancholy. He produces a very attractive tone, and his execution is free of the exaggerated dynamic swoops and pitch slides that bedevil some “H.I.P.” violin performances. <span class="font_large"><strong>Cienniwa is an ideal sonata partner. His touch is firm but not overbearing, so his sound is never clangy. </strong></span></p>
<p>I certainly hope that it is not The Kiss of Death for me to state that overall, the word that I find most apt to describe this inventive music and these committed performances is “charming.” But “intimate” is a good word too. “Congenial” is also good. I’d wager that this CD (or the hi-res downloads) would be enjoyable as the sole focus of attention, or as accompaniment to other activities, such reading, or entertaining friends. </p>
<p>Those in search of a fresh perspective on a well-known but actually rather neglected composer, or even those who only want a little stress-free musical vacation, should buy the CD or the download, or stream the music from Tidal. Very much recommended!</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/56231372019-02-01T10:29:59-05:002019-02-01T10:29:59-05:00Telemann CD featured in Strings Magazine<p>While not a review, Strings Magazine featured a nice profile of my violinist/collaborator Dorian Komanoff Bandy with a good discussion of the source materials for our October 2018 CD release. <a contents="Click here to read it" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://stringsmagazine.com/violinist-dorian-komanoff-bandy-on-georg-philipp-telemann/" target="_blank">Click here to read it</a>.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/55763502019-01-01T10:26:13-05:002020-07-03T08:19:14-04:00St. Paul’s music director bids 2018 farewell with ‘Goldberg Variations’<p><strong>St. Paul’s music director bids 2018 farewell with ‘Goldberg Variations’ </strong></p>
<p><strong>December 29, 2018 By <a contents="Greg Stepanich for Palm Beach Arts Paper" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://palmbeachartspaper.com/st-pauls-music-director-bids-2018-farewell-with-goldberg-variations/" target="_blank">Greg Stepanich for Palm Beach Arts Paper</a></strong></p>
<p>It’s said that the insomniac Count Hermann von Keyserling, an ambassador from Russia to the royal court of Saxony, commissioned the work by Johann Sebastian Bach we know now as the Goldberg Variations as a sonic sleep aid to be played for him by one of the court’s musicians, Johann Goldberg. </p>
<p>Although this monumental set of variations was out of the cultural mainstream for two centuries after it was published in 1741, it came back with a thrilling vengeance in 1955, when the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould created one of the classics of recorded sound with his still awe-inspiring traversal of this remarkable work. Since then it’s become a mystical touchstone of the keyboard performer’s art, with the great American pianist Simone Dinnerstein, for one, breaking out of her Brooklyn obscurity to inaugurate a major career in 2007 with this same piece. </p>
<p>But despite its status as a piano landmark, the work originally was written for a two-manual harpsichord, and that’s the way it will be heard Monday afternoon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, when church music director Paul Cienniwa presents the piece as a coda to the year 2018. The performance will be followed, fittingly enough, with a champagne toast to 2019. </p>
<p>“It’s the pianists who make this the Holy Grail. [The variations] don’t belong on the piano, and that makes them very hard. It’s that 19th-century aesthetic of making everything really hard, and then they play them too fast anyway,” said Cienniwa, discussing the work a few weeks ago in the music room at St. Paul’s. “I’ve been surprised, as I’ve been coming back to the ‘Goldbergs,’ how slowly I’m playing them. They’re probably not that slow, but in my mind I’m asking ‘Is this OK? I’m really playing some of these movements slowly.’” </p>
<p>There is a good deal of hand crossing in the piece between the two harpsichord keyboards, but it’s still easier to play on the instrument it was written for than it is on the piano, he said. “The challenge … is how to keep these movements varied,” he said, in part because the theme and subsequent 30 variations are almost all in the same key (G major), and that’s something that contemporary ears are less used to than listeners of the early 18th century. </p>
<p>“So the challenge of the pacing is to be conscious. It’s something … that I’m becoming more and more aware of as I get away from the practicing mode and getting ready for the performance, and that is: How do I make these movements different?” Cienniwa said. “One thing I’m finding as I’m playing is that I want each variation to stand on its own. I don’t know if it needs to be a continuous thread from movement to movement.” </p>
<p>In March, Cienniwa was joined by harpsichordist Michael Bahmann for a performance of Bach’s final, incomplete work, The Art of the Fugue, at St. Paul’s, and notes that in the same calendar year he’s tackled two large, serious Bach works in concert. But he’s not interested in adding more mystique to Monday’s concert. </p>
<p>“I wish I could dispel the myth of the ‘Goldbergs’ and just let people hear it as a nice piece of music,” he said. </p>
<p>Cienniwa (a Polish name, pronounced SIN-a-wah) hails from the suburban Chicago cities of Niles and Evanston — and is particularly happy to have found a Boca Raton eatery that sells Chicago-style hot dogs — after moving here last year to take the position of director of music ministries at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, succeeding Keith Paulson-Thorp, who retired. </p>
<p>In his teens, he played guitar in a punk band and keyboards in an Irish-music ensemble, but by the time the harpsichord came into his life, he was majoring in piano at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music. While home for the Christmas holiday in 1991, he and his brother were listening to some harpsichord music, and he suddenly realized that the ancient instrument was the one he wanted to pursue. </p>
<p>After studying at DePaul University and then Yale, where he earned a doctorate in harpsichord in 2003, Cienniwa embarked on a career of performing, recording and teaching in the greater Boston area. He served as chorus master of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, founded Newport Baroque and was most recently the music minister for the First Church in Boston, which dates to 1630. His recordings include Bach and contemporary music; his most recent one, released earlier this year on the Whaling City Sound label, is an engaging collaboration with Baroque violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy in sonatas by Georg Philipp Telemann, pieces Cienniwa calls “top-shelf.” </p>
<p>Cienniwa, 46, has made some changes in the St. Paul’s music series in addition to its mix of performers: he requires all of them to include something written in the past 50 years, and has added pre-concert lectures half an hour before the music starts. He also has inaugurated a youth music program, which St. Paul’s didn’t have, and which is now affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music. And he has added choral evensong programs to its chancel choir activities, moving away from its previous incarnation as a concert choir. </p>
<p>“For me, that sort of pulls the whole thing together, it ties in the church and the performing end, but all within the means and the abilities that we have,” he said, noting that in March, the choral evensong event will include a Bach cantata. </p>
<p>“I think the word for me coming into this position has been about refinement; it wasn’t broken or anything, but I thought there were areas that could use refinement and enhancement and improvement,” Cienniwa said. “You must have youth music programs, you must have choral evensongs. This is an Episcopal church.” </p>
<p>Married to a teacher in the Palm Beach County School District, Cienniwa has returned to some part of his youth by playing his guitar for children ages 3 and 4 in the St. Paul’s day school. “I do that with them every week, and they’re hilarious,” he said. “It’s just weird some times to think, I have a doctorate from Yale … and here I am playing guitar for 3-year-olds, and it’s so much more fun than almost anything else.” </p>
<p>But in the overall scheme of things, Cienniwa is following in the footsteps of Bach, who was required to teach school at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig as well as crank out weekly cantatas for church services during his nearly 30 years in the post. </p>
<p>“The goal of being a musician, or a well-tempered musician in the spirit of Bach, is to be able to do anything; you need something written, arranged, whatever,” he said. “My model for all of this is ‘What would Bach do?’ … I do look at Bach as being the model, the Kapellmeister within the community.” </p>
<p><em>Paul Cienniwa performs the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) of Johann Sebastian Bach at 4 p.m. Monday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 131 Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Tickets: $20 at the door. Visit www.maspconcerts.org for more information.</em></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/55318332018-11-29T09:15:53-05:002018-11-29T09:15:53-05:00Telemann CD in review<p><a contents="The Whole Note: Strings Attached December 2018-January 2019" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/booksrecords2/classicalabeyond/28617-strings-attached-december-2018-january-2019" target="_blank">The Whole Note: Strings Attached December 2018-January 2019</a><br>by Terry Robbins</p>
<p>Georg Philipp Telemann was not only one of the most prolific composers in musical history but also one of the most cosmopolitan. Some idea of the wide range of national styles and idioms he incorporated in his music can be discerned from Telemann Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, a new CD featuring Baroque violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa (Whaling City Sound WCS 108 whalingcitysound.com). </p>
<p>The six sonatas from 1715 were written specifically for violin and harpsichord – no cello continuo here, as in some recordings – and although they all have the same slow/fast/slow/fast four-movement format they are wide-ranging in idiom and expression. In addition there is a world premiere recording of the unpublished Sonata in F-sharp Minor, a fascinating piece described by Bandy as “a strange convention-defying work” that “seems more an unfinished experiment than a polished piece of music.” His excellent and insightful booklet notes refer to these sonatas as truly distinct, each one unique, daring and extraordinary in its own way. </p>
<p>Bandy plays with a minimum of vibrato, which allows his excellent definition, clarity and agility to be displayed to best advantage. <strong><span class="font_large">Cienniwa’s playing provides a stylish accompaniment, the harpsichord never too percussive or prominent.</span></strong></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/55166652018-11-16T13:44:04-05:002018-11-16T13:44:48-05:00A very nice review!<p><span class="font_regular"><a contents="Infodad.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://transcentury.blogspot.com/2018/11/powers-of-smaller-scale.html?m=1" target="_blank">Infodad.com</a></span></p>
<p><em><span class="font_regular">INFODAD, we rank everything we review with plus signs, on a scale from one (+) [disappointing] to four (++++) [definitely worth considering]. We mostly review (+++) or better items. Very rarely, we give an exceptional item a fifth plus. We are independent reviewers and, as parents, want to help families learn which books, music, and computer-related items we and our children love...or hate. INFODAD is a service of TransCentury Communications, Inc., Fort Myers, Florida, infodad@gmail.com. </span></em></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">November 15, 2018 </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">(++++) POWERS OF THE SMALLER-SCALE </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Telemann: Sonatas Nos. 1-6 for Violin and Harpsichord, TWV 41; Sonata in F-sharp minor, TWV 41:fis2. Dorian Komanoff Bandy, baroque violin; Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord. Whaling City Sound. $15. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"> Large-ensemble works, for chamber or full orchestra, garner much of their power from the massing of instruments and the effects made possible by unison or carefully balanced playing of groups set against one another. The communicative potency of chamber music, from duets up to sub-chamber-orchestra ensembles, lies elsewhere: it comes from interplay between and among instruments, and frequently from the clarity of line made possible when only a few musicians, or only a couple of them, are, in effect, conversing without words. </span><strong><span class="font_large">This conversational element is especially apparent in works such as the six Telemann violin-and-harpsichord sonatas of 1715 heard in a splendid new performance on the Whaling City Sound label. Superlatives abound here, from the enormously involving playing of Dorian Komanoff Bandy – who fully evokes the emotional undercurrent of the sonatas without ever deviating from Baroque appropriateness – to the beautifully nuanced and rhythmically sure harpsichord support provided by Paul Cienniwa. </span></strong><span class="font_regular">Six-sonata groupings were commonplace in Telemann’s time, and the key variations among the sonatas had specific musical functions as well as emotive ones. The sequence here is G minor, D major, B minor, G major, A minor, and A major – and even for listeners unfamiliar with Baroque attitudes toward and expectations of keys, the perfect minor-major balance will come through clearly as establishing an explicit form of communication and involvement between the performers and, through them, with the audience. It is important to remember that works like these were written not for public display but for noble household members to perform themselves, or for small groups of invited guests to enjoy in a salon. Thus, the sequence of movements – slow-fast-slow-fast in all six sonatas – provided an easy-to-grasp kind of background, while the specific ways in which a composer used the standardized arrangement of movements allowed considerable creativity and a series of delights and unexpected turns of phrase. Telemann handled this balance of the expected and the innovative masterfully – in many ways he was a highly intuitive composer. In this series, Nos. 2, 5 and 6 are dance-focused, all three starting with an Allemande: Largoand continuing with Corrente: Vivace, Sarabanda, and Giga. Nos. 1, 3 and 4 simply provide tempo indications for the movements and are structured somewhat more formally, or at least less danceably – but these sonatas are packed with clever and often unexpected elements, such as the harpsichord solo that opens No. 3. </span><span class="font_large"><strong>Bandy and Cienniwa have a comfort level with this music that is altogether extraordinary, and they have been blessed with an exceptionally well-thought-out sonic environment, in which microphone placement and overall aural ambience contribute mightily to the very impressive effect of their playing. </strong></span><span class="font_regular">And the recording offers an exceptional bonus in the form of a world première recording of a kind of “study score,” or perhaps simply a failed attempt, involving an F-sharp minor sonata. This has three slow or slow-ish movements in sequence (Largo, Andante, Adagio), and a second movement so short that Bandy and Cienniwa have to play it twice to get it to two-minute length. It has a third movement that is longer than all but one of the movements in the TWV 41 sequence, but that meanders strangely and is almost themeless. And it has a finale, Un poco presto, that veers from straitlaced to rustic and back and then simply disappears. Heard after the six completed TWV 41 sonatas, this TWV 41:fis2 evokes new respect for the care and polish with which Telemann wrote the works that he finished. Whatever this F-sharp minor piece may have been, or may have been intended to become, it is here a showcase for the quality of the remainder of the music on this CD and for the elegance and beauty of Telemann’s violin-and-harpsichord sonatas as Bandy and Cienniwa present them.</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/55147952018-11-15T10:27:10-05:002018-11-15T10:27:10-05:00An excellent review!<p><span class="font_large"><strong><a contents="Classical Music Sentinel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/telemann.html" target="_blank">Classical Music Sentinel</a></strong></span></p>
<p>GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN - Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord - Dorian Komanoff Bandy (Violin) - Paul Cienniwa (Harpsichord) - 687606010826 - Released: October 2018 - Whaling City Sound WCS108 </p>
<p>Sonata no. 1 in G minor, TWV 41:g1 <br>Sonata no. 2 in D major, TWV 41:D1 <br>Sonata no. 3 in B minor, TWV 41:h1 <br>Sonata no. 4 in G major, TWV 41:G1 <br>Sonata no. 5 in A minor, TWV 41:a1 <br>Sonata no. 6 in A major, TWV 41:A1 <br>Sonata in F-sharp minor, TWV 41:fis2 (World Première Recording) </p>
<p>German musician and composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was an exact contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach (born only 4 years later), held many important posts throughout the country as Kapellmeister and Konzertmeister, and equally as prolific as his counterpart, wrote operas, oratorios, multiple church cantatas, music for ceremonial occasions, orchestral works and an abundance of chamber music, which includes these Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord from 1715. And yet performances or recordings of his music have always been greatly outnumbered by Bach, and I personally fail to understand the reason why, other than shifting and influential public opinion and tastes. Although to me it feels as if his focus when writing music was, somewhat like Vivaldi, on the instrument's potential and the musician's capabilities, rather than innovation and expansion of the music itself. </p>
<p>This new recording comes to us from an unusual provenance. It is on a small independent label based in Dartmouth Massachusetts, called Whaling City Sound, and this particular release is part of their Balaena Chamber Series of which there seems to be only three so far, since the label's specialty is jazz. But whatever the source this is a welcome release since very few recordings of these intimate works by Telemann are available today. Violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandylends the proper level of expressive weight to the slow movements and technical élan to the faster movements, and a general sylvan charm to everything as a whole. <span class="font_large"><strong>Harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa's tempos are always impeccably in sync with Bandy's rubato, and the dynamic balance between the two could not be better, with the baroque violin slightly closer. And I'm not sure if there are various editions of these pieces, but I've noticed that Cienniwa's playing is far less ornamented than some which is a good thing, as too many embellishments at the keyboard draw focus away from the violin. </strong></span>And the inclusion of the Sonata in F-sharp minor, unpublished in his lifetime, should entice the diehard Baroque collectors out there to give this recording a listen. The booklet notes specify that "its title page is signed George Melante,Telemann's nearly-anagrammatic pseudonym". Keeping in mind that harmony and tonality were still works in progress at the time, was it possibly discarded because Telemann had started experimenting with different modes and keys, and didn't quite like the F-sharp minor results? </p>
<p>Recorded, mixed and mastered in high-resolution at WGBH Studios in Boston, the audio sits you at just the right distance from the instruments, and projects a tight soundstage. </p>
<p>Jean-Yves Duperron - November 2018</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/54667442018-10-12T10:52:04-04:002018-10-12T10:52:04-04:00New Release: Telemann Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, Frankfurt, 1715<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/d87e98a903a274ec624d3e9756bfdcb22dd59285/original/telemanncd.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Telemann <br>Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord <br>Frankfurt, 1715 <br>Dorian Komanoff Bandy & Paul Cienniwa </span></p>
<p>Telemann (1681-1767) was one of music’s great mavericks, an aesthete with a restless mind and cosmopolitan tastes. During his nearly seven-decade career, he sampled every conceivable genre, idiom, and national style, and incorporated a dizzying number of them into his music. </p>
<p>The Violin Sonatas of 1715 are so wide-ranging in both idiom and expression that, heard together, they constitute a microcosm of Telemann’s art. Other recordings of these works often include cello. These pieces, however, were written specifically for the duo instruments — just harpsichord and violin, performed brilliantly here by Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord and Dorian Komanoff Bandy, violin. In making this unique recording, Cienniwa and Bandy didn’t think of them as six individual pieces, but a single big piece with 24 movements. </p>
<p>The Sonata in F sharp minor is a real rarity and this is its world premiere recording. Unpublished in his lifetime, the manuscript is signed as George Melante, a nearly-anagrammatic pseudonym. </p>
<p>Comparing the seven works on this recording, it is clear that Telemann had no simple schema, no formula that would produce a single piece of music over and over. These are seven truly distinct sonatas: each unique, daring, and extraordinary in its own way.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/53959982018-08-21T14:57:36-04:002018-08-21T14:57:36-04:00Karl Henning's Op. 116<p><span class="font_large">On August 19, 2018, I performed Karl Henning's Plotting (y is the new x), Op. 116 with excellent violinist Mei Mei Luo. The performance was recorded for YouTube, and <a contents="you can view it here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kobv4P_m_Do&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">you can view it here</a>:</span></p>
<p><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Kobv4P_m_Do" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Kobv4P_m_Do/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kobv4P_m_Do?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/51276042018-03-14T08:53:05-04:002018-03-14T08:53:05-04:00Palm Beach Symphony gives glorious concert at Bethesda<p><a contents="By Mark Aliapoulios - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/entertainment/music/palm-beach-symphony-gives-glorious-concert-bethesda/JGgeKt4HtxgDyWEPVlRqVK/" target="_blank">By Mark Aliapoulios - Special to the Palm Beach Daily News</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Posted: 4:01 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, 2018 </p>
<p>The Palm Beach Symphony’s performance Monday night was vibrant and glorious. </p>
<p>Maestro Ramón Tebar led the orchestra in two major works by George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi before a sold-out audience at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach. The beautiful cathedral was the perfect setting to not only hear but also see this first-rate performance by the symphony. </p>
<p>The Rev. James Harlan gave a warm welcome to the audience and then Tebar took the stage and immediately electrified the room with the opening notes of Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 110, written by Handel in 1770 while he was living in Italy. The work is a large-scale piece for five vocal soloists, five-part chorus, strings and continuo. </p>
<p>The tempos were sprightly, the articulation of the orchestra immaculate and the maestro shaped each phrase with ease and elegance as though creating each movement in the moment. Nothing sounded stale or matter of fact. </p>
<p>The chamber choir was prepared by Patricia Fleitas, professor and chair of vocal and choral activities at Florida Atlantic University. The soloists were not named in the program, but of note was the baritone featured in movement six, Dominus a dextris tuis. The dynamic range of the orchestra was stunning, moving from fortissimo to pianissimo instantly and as one. The play out at the end of movement four, luravit Dominus, was breathtaking. In addition to the elegance of style and dynamic palette, the orchestral counterpoint was always clean and brilliant. </p>
<p>After intermission was Vivaldi’s iconic work, Gloria in D Major, RV 589. The chorus swelled to a larger group and Tebar again set a vibrant, electrifying tempo to begin the work. His vision for the overall shape of these two pieces was fresh, and the connections and pauses really told a story. The orchestra played as one for him at all times. </p>
<p>Occasionally the tempos seemed to push the singers, made up of college students and local community chorus members, just a bit. The overall choral sound and intonation was much improved in this work and many of the contrapuntal entrances sounded like one voice. The soloists were the same as for the Handel but often used a heavier vibrato and overly darkened tonal color than is customary for this style of music. Movement six, Dominus Deus, for solo soprano, oboe and continuo was simply beautiful. Robert Weiner plays the oboe with a deep, rich sonority that is special. </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>The continuo playing by Claudio Jaffé on cello and Paul Cienniwa on harpsichord was stunning and formed the foundation of so much of the program. </strong></span>The Gloria also featured brief moments of exciting playing by Nikola Nikolovski on piccolo trumpet sounding like an extension of the upper strings. </p>
<p>All in all, this was a concert of passion and great music making by the Palm Beach Symphony.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/51054302018-03-01T10:45:21-05:002018-03-01T10:45:21-05:00St. Paul’s marks 30 years of music<p><a contents="by&nbsp;The Coastal Star" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://thecoastalstar.com/m/blogpost?id=2331112%3ABlogPost%3A204649" target="_blank">by The Coastal Star</a> </p>
<p>Paul Cienniwa will play Bach’s Art of the Fugue on the harpsichord at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Photo provided </p>
<p>By Janis Fontaine </p>
<p>Music at St. Paul’s will celebrate its 30th season with a performance of J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue and an anniversary gala reception at 3 p.m. March 18 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. <br>Paul Cienniwa and Michael Bahmann will perform with harpsichords. A reception will follow. <br>“Music is an outreach,” Cienniwa said. “It’s a gateway drug to bring people to church. Music can touch people who aren’t religious. It’s a spiritual experience.” <br>Tickets are $20 (suggested donation) at the door. Admission is free for ages 18 and younger. For more information, call 276-4541 or visit <a contents="www.stpaulsdelray.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stpaulsdelray.org" target="_blank">www.stpaulsdelray.org</a>.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/48852182017-10-10T12:55:30-04:002017-10-10T12:55:55-04:00The X Commandments<p><span class="font_large">In late summer, I created an edition of "The X Commandments," John Farmer's 1592 setting of a versified Ten Commandments that appeared in "The Whole Booke of Psalmes, With Their Wonted Tunes, As They Are Sung In Churches, Composed Into Foure Parts" of 1592. The edition now appears at the Choral Public Domain Library <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/The_X_Commandments_(John_Farmer)" target="_blank">here</a>. You can access my other CPDL publications <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Paul_Cienniwa_editions" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/48038772017-08-05T15:32:43-04:002017-08-05T15:32:43-04:00Former student performance<p><span class="font_large">A former high school student from the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School studied Brahms' Second Rhapsody with me this past spring. This YouTube video is of her playing it at Eastman a few weeks ago:</span></p>
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<p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="-AQhh-M4shg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/-AQhh-M4shg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-AQhh-M4shg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Fabulous!</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/47479952017-06-17T08:29:17-04:002017-06-17T08:29:17-04:00A nice mention from Charleston Classical Guitar<p><span class="font_large">Writer Chadwick Becks gave a nice mention of <a contents="By Heart" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Cienniwa/e/B00QTWM7YK" target="_blank"><em>By Heart</em></a> on the <a contents="Charleston Classical Guitar blog" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.charlestonclassicalguitar.org/blog/2017/5/31/the-reverse-overlap-memorization-method-for-music" target="_blank">Charleston Classical Guitar blog</a>:</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>FYI: If you would like an interesting read about playing "from the heart," then you might want to pick up <a contents="By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Art-Memorizing-Music/dp/1496180690/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1496265441&sr=8-1&keywords=memorizing+music&linkCode=sl1&tag=arothenec-20&linkId=1cbea5fc40636ac7b40467ff8ba9c083" target="_blank">By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music</a>. It is both practical and personal. The author, Paul Cienniwa, is a harpsichord player but don't let that turn you away. His thoughts on memorization are for everyone learning to play music from memory.</em></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Thank you, Mr. Becks. I'm glad you find my book helpful!</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/46962342017-05-04T07:39:39-04:002017-05-04T07:39:39-04:00Finding Faith: Music brought organist to God — and Delray Beach<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="Finding Faith: Music brought organist to God — and Delray Beach&nbsp;by&nbsp;The Coastal Star&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://thecoastalstar.com/m/blogpost?id=2331112%3ABlogPost%3A189782" target="_blank">Finding Faith: Music brought organist to God — and Delray Beach </a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="Finding Faith: Music brought organist to God — and Delray Beach&nbsp;by&nbsp;The Coastal Star&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://thecoastalstar.com/m/blogpost?id=2331112%3ABlogPost%3A189782" target="_blank">by The Coastal Star </a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Paul Cienniwa, who starts June 1 as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s music ministry director, says ‘music can touch people who aren’t religious. It’s a spiritual experience.’ </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">By Janis Fontaine </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> Never underestimate the power of music. Paul Cienniwa’s skills as an organist brought him to the church: Playing organ paid his bills when he was a struggling student and, in fact, organ-playing paid a lot better than the minimum wage he made in a sheet music store. <br> Music also brought Cienniwa to God. “The music converted me,” said the newly hired director of music ministry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach. <br> But first, music brought Cienniwa east. Born and raised in a suburb of Chicago, Cienniwa earned a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University before moving to New Haven, Conn., to attend the Yale School of Music. He earned a master of music degree in 1997, master of musical arts in 1998 and, finally, a doctorate of musical arts from Yale in 2003. <br> Now, after two decades in New England, Cienniwa is on the move again and he is thrilled. The position at St. Paul’s seems tailor-made for the gregarious Cienniwa, who starts work June 1. <br> “It’s overwhelming and wonderful and I can’t wait,” he said by phone from Fall River, Mass. <br> Cienniwa’s career in New England sometimes had him in the car for four hours a day, with his hand in pies in Boston, Providence and places in between. <br> He had been serving as chorus master of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, directing the chorus at Framingham State University, lecturing at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and teaching piano at the Music School of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. <br> He also played organ and harpsichord regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. He performed on a weekly radio show at WERS 88.9 FM in Boston. <br> Cienniwa and his wife, Jacqueline Maillet, a middle school music teacher, were ready for a change. But Cienniwa said potential employers were often intimidated by his full plate. Until he met the leadership at St. Paul’s. “They got it,” Cienniwa said. <br> But there was one more hurdle. Cienniwa’s wife of just three years had three adult children and a grandchild living in New England, and he didn’t want to ask her to leave them. He didn’t have to. She told him, “Go for it. It’s perfect for you.” <br> She will join him here. <br> Taking on the position of music director at St. Paul’s is like taking on a mantle. <br> Cienniwa is following a legacy left by Dr. Keith Paulson-Thorp, who served as the director of music ministry for more than 10 years and expanded the popular concert series originally founded by Stuart Gardner. <br> Thorp introduced jazz concerts and klezmer, which brought more people to the church, and founded La Camerata del Re, a consortium of South Florida musicians who perform with instruments authentic to the time period of each piece. <br> Now Cienniwa will add his flavor to the program. <br> “I plan to move quite slowly,” he said. “Music is an outreach. It’s a gateway drug to bring people to church. Music can touch people who aren’t religious. It’s a spiritual experience.” <br> One thing he does plan to do is start a children’s choir. “It’s the No. 1 thing I want to do,” he said. “I want to engage children in the religious experience. And if I can get kids and carry them through their teenage years, what a wonderful thing.” </span></p>
<hr><p><span class="font_large">Hear Cienniwa play at St. Paul’s Church <br>Paul Cienniwa will perform his first South Florida concert, French Sweets on harpsichord, at 3 p.m. June 11 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The program will include suites by Francois Couperin, Johann Sebastian Bach and Jean- Philippe Rameau. <br>Cienniwa is looking forward to his first performance here. “My duty to the art is to be as good as I possibly can and leave the rest up to the audience,” he said. <br>Tickets: $15 at the door, $18 for preferred seating, $5 for students. <br>Info: Call 278-6003 or visit <a contents="www.stpaulsdelray.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stpaulsdelray.org" target="_blank">www.stpaulsdelray.org</a>.</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/46669792017-04-11T15:52:56-04:002017-04-11T15:52:56-04:00Playing Bach in Boston<span class="font_large">Last week, I played a short Bach program for <a contents="Emmanuel Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/" target="_blank">Emmanuel Music</a>'s Lindsey Chapel Series in the stunning chapel. Photographer <a contents="Steve Dunwell" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stevedunwell.com/" target="_blank">Steve Dunwell</a> was there to document the pre-concert excitement: <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/b244e388ee69118f7c01f429acc8f307a3faefc3/original/emmanuel-music-2.jpg?1491940336" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/46557632017-04-03T08:59:45-04:002017-04-03T09:02:51-04:00Couperin's Kyrie<span class="font_large"><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">Back in the very early 2000's, I arranged the first Kyrie couplet from François Couperin's organ "Mass for the Convents." My arrangement, originally for organ alone, is a verbatim setting of Couperin's excellent part-writing with the addition of the text "Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison." Many years later, I am pleased with how well the arrangement sounds, as evidenced by my choir's <a contents="performance yesterday morning" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/1vtmT0gXBr4" target="_blank">performance yesterday morning</a>:<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="1vtmT0gXBr4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/1vtmT0gXBr4/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1vtmT0gXBr4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span><br><br>My setting was published by Thorpe Music Publishing Company a few years ago. <a contents="Click here for more information" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.thorpemusic.com/couprn01.html" target="_blank">Click here for more information</a>.</span><br> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/45845832017-02-12T13:25:00-05:002017-02-17T09:22:51-05:00Leaving New England<span class="font_large">I will be leaving New England to begin a new position as Director of Music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, Florida. The position begins on June 1, so I will be moving at the end of May. (My wife Jackie will join me in late June.)<br><br>For more information: see <a contents="http://stpaulsdelray.org/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://stpaulsdelray.org/" target="_blank">http://stpaulsdelray.org/</a></span><br> <hr><span class="font_large">The following is a comment from Stephen Kendrick, the senior minister at First Church in Boston:</span><br> <p>February 16, 2017<br><br><strong>A salute to Paul </strong></p>
<p>You may have heard Music committee co-chair Carolyn Henderson's announcement last Sunday (since it was snowing, you might have heard it on WERS) that Dr. Paul Cienniwa, our Director of Music, will be, after 12 years with us, leaving in late May to take a full time music position in Del Ray Beach, Florida. </p>
<p>Although all of us were saddened to hear this, I should add that few among us could have been much surprised--Paul's talent and renown among fellow musicians made him a wonderful candidate for churches all over the country, and the enticement of a full time position instead of having to travel far and wide to put together several musical jobs made his choice very understandable--and we wish him a very fond and affectionate farewell--though thank goodness we have another three months of his talent to savor! </p>
<p>Paul had to travel from his home in Fall River over these twelve years, in snow, sleet and rain, and he showed amazing dedication during that time. He forged a strong and happy bond with our choir--though he also kept very high standards and worked for excellence. It is a sad truth that fewer and fewer people are being trained to do church music at the level Paul was at Yale--so to have someone of his caliber for so long was a treat for us, and a great Sunday to Sunday benefit. Plus, he really is one of best harpsichordists in America, and we will really miss that special skill as well. The staff, in addition, will miss his 'charming' sense of humor, and his rare willingness to sit with us and look at the totality of the church program. That was a first for me. </p>
<p>Having said all this,I want to hastily add that, while replacing Paul will be an imposing challenge, that we have some terrific things going for us. Paul put together one of the most solid committees in our church, and I have great confidence that the search committee formed out of the Music committee will be strong. If you have comments or concerns as we go forward, please speak to Carolyn or Nigel Harvey. We have Robert Winkley, extraordinary pianist and member of the choir for more than 35 years (and Bill Thorpe as long!), as well composer and music professor Larry Bell. We have the loving guidance of the whole Collins family as inspiration as well... </p>
<p>Music at First Church has always been strong and deep and lovely, and I make a commitment to you that I will support this heritage with all enthusiasm. I know there are a whole host of fellow members who love this music just as much, and will be looking hard and long for someone to step into Paul's shoes. In the mean time, enjoy Paul's presence among us, and wish him and Jackie well on their sun-filled new adventure. </p>
<p>Rev. Stephen Kendrick</p><br> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/45308302016-12-30T10:49:08-05:002016-12-30T10:49:08-05:00A very nice book review<span class="font_large">New Zealand logger Mike Crowl wrote a very nice blog post about my book, <a contents="By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Art-Memorizing-Music/dp/1496180690/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><em>By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music</em></a>. He writes, "This has been the most helpful book I've come across in a long time, in terms not only of memorising music but also of memorising text such as poems and sections of Scripture, something I've done for a long time." (He spells "memorize" the British way, of course.)<br><br>For the complete post, visit: <a contents="http://mikecrowlsscribblepad.blogspot.com/2016/12/memorizing-music.html?m=0" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://mikecrowlsscribblepad.blogspot.com/2016/12/memorizing-music.html?m=0" target="_blank">http://mikecrowlsscribblepad.blogspot.com/2016/12/memorizing-music.html?m=0</a></span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/44675442016-11-15T09:14:06-05:002016-11-15T09:14:06-05:00Messiah community singalong<p><span class="font_large">I will be leading a community singalong Messiah in New Bedford, MA on Sunday, November 27 at 4pm. This charity event will be made up of singers from across the community, and you are cordially invited to come sing or just listen--all in support of local charities. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For more details, including an electronic signup form, click here: <a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/event/1721575/327327984/handel-s-messiah-community-singalong" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/event/1721575/327327984/handel-s-messiah-community-singalong" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/event/1721575/327327984/handel-s-messiah-community-singalong</a> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You'll also find a press release below. Please help to get the word out! </span></p>
<p>===========<br> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Messiah Community Singalong </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sunday, November 27, 2016, 4pm </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">$10 donation (18 and under FREE) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Christian Fellowship Center is handicapped accessible </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For more information, visit www.cfc818.org </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">SOUTHCOAST’S BELOVED MESSIAH TRADITION RETURNS THIS THANKSGIVING! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH at 4PM, The singing and listening public is enthusiastically invited to attend a Messiah Community Singalong at Christian Fellowship Center (822 Church St., New Bedford, MA). Featuring the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, along with the Hallelujah Chorus and Christmas carols, the chorus will be directed by Dr. Paul Cienniwa and accompanied by pianist Eric Mazonson. Soloists are soprano Christine Teeters, mezzo-soprano Fiona McArdle, tenor Ethan Bremner, and baritone James Liu. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">All those who wish to sing the Messiah are encouraged to bring their score and arrive by 3:30pm for a warmup. As this is a city-wide charity event, a $10 donation and at least one canned good or food pantry item is asked of everyone. (Children 18 and under are free.) Food and money will be collected at the door to benefit New Bedford’s Salvation Army, Mobile Ministries, and the United Way Food Pantry. Rental scores will be available for $5. Interested singers should contact Hilare Moniz: Messiah4nb@gmail.com. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dr. Cienniwa says, “It’s been a couple of years since the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra has programmed Messiah. Having led the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Chorus through Messiah rehearsals for several seasons, I had been receiving inquiries about when Messiah would be sung again. Then when soprano Hilare Moniz contacted me to see about programming Messiah at her church, I knew that nothing would get in our way--even a rehearsal schedule! This Messiah will be completely unrehearsed and is fully intended to be a fun, no-stress way for singers (and the audience) to enjoy this festive music at the end of Thanksgiving weekend. What a great way to start the holiday season!” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Organizer Hilare Moniz adds, “We hope to make this community event an annual event. With the proceeds going to area charities, this will truly be a Messiah for the City of New Bedford!”</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/44340782016-10-24T09:28:34-04:002016-10-24T09:28:34-04:00Singalong with Automne!<span class="font_large">Towards the end of the summer, I was asked to participate in a demo recording for <a contents="Les Enfants d'Orphée" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.lesenfantsdorphee.com/" target="_blank"><em>Les Enfants d'Orphée</em></a>. Little did I know that it was a video demo! The end result is here: </span><span class="font_regular"><a contents="https://youtu.be/oG2-NO8FaGA" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/oG2-NO8FaGA" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">https://youtu.be/oG2-NO8FaGA</span></a></span><br><span class="font_large"> <br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="oG2-NO8FaGA" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/oG2-NO8FaGA/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oG2-NO8FaGA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br>(Feel free to follow the subtitles and sing along.)</span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/43447122016-08-27T08:41:12-04:002016-08-27T08:41:12-04:00Editing Telemann<span class="font_large">Back in June, baroque violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy and I recorded Telemann for a new CD to be released on Whaling City Sound. I blogged about that then (<a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/preparing-to-record-telemann" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/preparing-to-record-telemann" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/preparing-to-record-telemann</a>), and now Dorian has blogged about the editing process. You can read his post here: <a contents="http://unflaggingsource.blogspot.com/2016/08/diary-of-recording-telemann-violin.html" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://unflaggingsource.blogspot.com/2016/08/diary-of-recording-telemann-violin.html" target="_blank">http://unflaggingsource.blogspot.com/2016/08/diary-of-recording-telemann-violin.html</a></span><br> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/43003272016-07-29T07:53:04-04:002021-08-24T09:10:35-04:00Old songs presented in a new way is an ALLISON treat<p><a contents="SouthCoast Today" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/entertainmentlife/20160728/old-songs-presented-in-new-way-is-allison-treat" target="_blank">SouthCoast Today </a><br>Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 2:01 AM </p>
<p>LITTLE COMPTON — ALLISON will perform music from their debut CD, “Volume One,” featuring songs of Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Graham Nash, and more on Aug. 4 at St. Andrews by-the-Sea in Little Compton. </p>
<p>ALLISON is the creation of mezzo-soprano Allison Messier and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa. </p>
<p>"Because we are both classically trained musicians, we also offer music of the Elizabethan and baroque periods," Messier said, adding, "The songs, famous and familiar, are presented in such an original way it’s as if they’re being heard for the first time. </p>
<p>The concert is open to the public. Tickets are $20. For more information and tickets, call 401-635-2452 or visit www.standrewslc.org/concerts.html. Andrews by-the-Sea is located at 182 Willow Ave.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/42466702016-06-24T11:01:10-04:002016-06-24T11:01:10-04:00Musical Chairs<span class="font_large">Those who keep up with my news will remember that I was hired as Director of the Collegiate Chorale at Stonehill College back in 2014, just in time to start teaching the 2015 spring semester (<a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/paul-cienniwa-appointed-director-of-the-collegiate-chorale-at-stonehill-college" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/paul-cienniwa-appointed-director-of-the-collegiate-chorale-at-stonehill-college" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/paul-cienniwa-appointed-director-of-the-collegiate-chorale-at-stonehill-college</a>).<br><br>On a different note, in February I started teaching private piano one day a week at the <a contents="Music School of the Rhode Island Philharmonic" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://riphil.org/MusicSchool/Overview/tabid/209/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Music School of the Rhode Island Philharmonic</a>. The last time I had a studio of pianists was around 1997, when I was a graduate student at Yale. Twenty years later, I find that I really enjoy the teaching. I have enjoyed it so much that, starting in September, I will be teaching four days a week. I can't say enough good things about the Music School. (I just served as a coach for their summer chamber music camp for children and adults. What a wonderful experience!)<br><br>As a result, I have left Stonehill College to develop my private teaching studio. It's still June, but I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the fall!</span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/42311632016-06-15T10:13:24-04:002016-06-15T10:13:24-04:00Preparing to record Telemann<span class="font_large">Last week, Dorian Komanoff Bandy and I gave a preview performance of the Telemann sonatas that we will be recording at WGBH studios this week. Some of the sonatas made it to YouTube:<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="xCb0_mnouBg" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/xCb0_mnouBg/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xCb0_mnouBg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Sonata No. 2 <br><a contents="https://youtu.be/xCb0_mnouBg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/xCb0_mnouBg" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/xCb0_mnouBg<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="N6hHEZzj3wE" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/N6hHEZzj3wE/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N6hHEZzj3wE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></a><br><br>Sonata No. 3 </span>
<p><a contents="https://youtu.be/N6hHEZzj3wE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/N6hHEZzj3wE" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">https://youtu.be/N6hHEZzj3wE</span></a></p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GO3NP8LdbjY" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/GO3NP8LdbjY/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GO3NP8LdbjY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Sonata No. 5 </span>
<p><a contents="https://youtu.be/GO3NP8LdbjY" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/GO3NP8LdbjY" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">https://youtu.be/GO3NP8LdbjY</span></a></p>
<p> </p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/41668602016-05-05T10:38:51-04:002016-05-05T10:38:51-04:00The Candy StoreSinger/songwriter Peter Neuendorffer is a member of the congregation at First Church in Boston. He has played for services on occasion, and his song "The Candy Store" has always struck me as something I'd like to set for choir.<br><br>I rarely compose music, and I sat on this project for a long time. I finally got around to it this spring, and the end result is below. I am happy to say that Peter was able to attend the service when it was sung.<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="zOq3Zf6RGcQ" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/zOq3Zf6RGcQ/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zOq3Zf6RGcQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br> <p>For the full text and a link to Peter's original song, click this link and the "show more" area of YouTube:<br><a contents="https://youtu.be/zOq3Zf6RGcQ" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/zOq3Zf6RGcQ" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zOq3Zf6RGcQ</a></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/41451892016-04-20T08:33:28-04:002016-04-20T08:33:28-04:00Performers Who Listened To Their Audience<p><a contents="By Paul Bubluski | Newport Mercury | April 19, 2016&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.newportri.com/newportmercury/arts/performers-who-listened-to-their-audience/article_905daba2-01f6-5186-8222-d4bf92f9a4ef.html" target="_blank">By Paul Bubluski | Newport Mercury | April 19, 2016 </a></p>
<p>Boasting over 40-years of combined performing experience, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which career-musicians Allison Messier and Paul Cienniwa would be caught off guard onstage. That is, however, exactly what happened during the duo’s June 2015 recital at Little Compton’s St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. </p>
<p>After performing classical and baroque music together for about four years, Cienniwa, of Fall River, Massachusetts, was thrilled when Messier, a Little Compton resident, suggested trying out a few contemporary songs for the performance. Drifting from the classical music they had practiced for years, Messier sang the songs of beloved musicians such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Instantly, the subdued classical fans who typically graced their audiences transformed. </p>
<p>“Our audience actually sang along,” laughed Cienniwa, recalling the performance. “That doesn’t happen in classical music. In classical music everyone is telling everyone else to be quiet. So, when they started singing? We found it hilarious!” </p>
<p>Along with singing came dancing and, soon, song recommendations. </p>
<p>“People actually had suggestions for us,” said Messier. “They were coming up to the stage saying, ‘You need to do this song!’ and they were so excited about it! It was scary at first, performing songs that people know and love. In classical music, I’m often the only one in the room that can sing these songs. But the buzz in the room of people actually knowing the songs we were playing was amazing.” Inspired by the reaction, the classically trained pair decided to build on excitement and, with that, ALLISON was born. </p>
<p>In November, the pair headed to Overclock Studios in Middleboro, Massachusetts, to record “ALLISON: Volume One.” The 11-track album, released in February, features the works of some of music’s most celebrated songwriters, including Young, Mitchell, Billy Joel and Graham Nash. </p>
<p>Messier’s masterful vocal talent bursts from the songs, spotlighting the equally masterful words of legendary lyricists. Bounced along the delicately plucked strings of Cienniwa’s harpsichord, the sound is uniquely ALLISON. The songs, famous and familiar, are presented in such an original way it’s as if they’re being heard for the first time. Refusing to drift entirely from their classical background, however, “ALLISON: Volume One” also features two classical numbers, which blend seamlessly into the collection, shaped by ALLISON’s newfound liberated approach to playing classical music. </p>
<p>“On ‘Come Away, Come Sweet Love,’ we started doing things with tempo that we never would’ve done before,” explained Cienniwa. </p>
<p>“We broke it out of its glass case,” added Messier. </p>
<p>After completing much of the album’s production work on their own, Messier and Cienniwa turned over the reins to a local artist and fellow musician for the album’s artwork. </p>
<p>“I completely trusted our graphic designer, Atticus Allen. We gave him all of the text we needed and Atticus went to town.” </p>
<p>The trust paid off and, in the end, “ALLISON: Volume One” appears capable of sliding seamlessly into the dusty crates of any vintage record store beside the works of the legendary songwriters which grace its credits. Citrus orange lettering pops from the cover, contrasted against twisting streams of green flora. At the center, Messier and Cienniwa stand side-by-side, framed in a hollowed-out orange window and donning psychedelic floral shirts fittingly reminiscent of the flower-power ’60s. “The inside of the album is amazing too,” said Messier. “It’s psychedelic. He did an amazing job.” </p>
<p>Recently, Cienniwa and Messier’s schedules have been crammed with their classical gigs. On Saturday, April 23, however, the newly formed duo is scheduled to make their Newport debut at the Edward King House Senior Center. </p>
<p>“It’ll be nice to cross the bridge,” said Cienniwa. “This will be our first time playing on the island, and Newport has such a great folk history. It’s nice to sort of get involved with that a little bit. We never would’ve thought we’d be saying anything like that a year ago.” </p>
<p>“We hope people come out to the show and like the music,” Messier said of the Edward King show. With live performances featuring an even wider array of songs beyond those on the album, ALLISON’s horizons continue to expand along with their fan base, opening the duo’s eyes to even further creative exploration. </p>
<p>“We haven’t had time for an official release party at this point,” said Cienniwa, “but as the weather gets warmer we’d like to squeeze that in. Also, with this album being called “Volume 1,” you can imagine there’s a Volume 2 coming down the pipe. We expect that to be out in December. We’ve been in the classical box so long that it never occurred to us to write our own songs, but that also may be something we get around to.”</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/41248972016-04-07T10:46:26-04:002016-04-07T10:46:26-04:00Folk rock and classical fare find a match<p><a contents="MANCHESTER" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160407/NEWHAMPSHIRE0105/160409530&template=mobileart" target="_blank">MANCHESTER</a> — Think Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Graham Nash-meets-Elizabethan composers. Mezzo-soprano Allison Messier teams up with harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa in a CD-release concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Derryfield School Performing Arts Auditorium, 2108 River Road. </p>
<p>The duo – collectively known as ALLISON – aptly named its debut recording “Volume One.” </p>
<p>“Last summer we gave a recital in Rhode Island,” Messier said. “For that program, we performed a lot of music by people like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Harry Chapin, but I never expected such overwhelming support from the audience. It was a big risk for us to go pioneering into a new genre that was outside of our classical comfort zone. </p>
<p>“All of the feedback we got from audience members was about how much they loved hearing us in that repertoire,” she added. “It’s so very satisfying to feel a room full of people completely engaged in our music making and even singing along.” </p>
<p>Cienniwa said the seemingly unlikely mix of genres is freeing. </p>
<p>“Unlike a classical ensemble, where we always feel the need to come up with new repertoire, ALLISON allows us to function like a rock band, performing sets of songs that people will want to hear time and time again,” he said. “Of course, the use of harpsichord in these songs adds a psychedelic quality that fits really well with the music.” </p>
<p>Tickets are $20 and are available at 674-2308 or by visiting <a contents="weareallison.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.weareallison.com" target="_blank">weareallison.com</a>.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/41210052016-04-05T07:19:23-04:002016-04-05T12:00:33-04:00Paul Cienniwa on SoundCloudI don't really use SoundCloud for audio uploads. (I tend to use YouTube: <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa</a>) <br><br>When SoundCloud came up in a Google search, however, I saw that I was on a number of different recordings. It's quite a diverse list: <span class="font_regular"><a contents="https://soundcloud.com/search?q=paul%20cienniwa" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/search?q=paul%20cienniwa" style="font-size: 1.4em;" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/search?q=paul%20cienniwa</a></span><br><br>I'm particularly excited about this one, recorded about five years ago (<a contents="https://soundcloud.com/toddmerrell/merrell-cienniwa-excerpt" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/toddmerrell/merrell-cienniwa-excerpt" style="font-size: 1.4em;" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/toddmerrell/merrell-cienniwa-excerpt</a><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">):</span><br><br><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/111726149&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/41012622016-03-23T09:26:20-04:002016-03-23T09:26:20-04:00'Twice the Fun'--outstanding in every respect<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular"><a contents="EastBayRI.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://eastbayri.com/stories/twice-the-fun-outstanding-in-every-respect,20146" target="_blank">EastBayRI.com</a><br><br>by Jonathan F. Babbitt<br><br>LITTLE COMPTON--On Sunday afternoon the 6th of March, Little Compton was treated to a program, as beautifully executed as it was creatively conceived. Performers Paul Cienniwa (organist and choirmaster at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Boston) and Michael Bahmann (director of music at United Congregational Church of Little Compton) offered "Twice the Fun: Music for Two Fortepianos" in the Sanctuary of United Congregational Church, and the Musica Maris presentation was outstanding in every respect.<br><br>Repertoire consisted of works by Wilhelm Friedmann Bach (1710-1784), W. A. Mozart (1756-1791), and Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831). The repertoire selection demonstrated the transition of keyboard composition from the earlier artistic qualities inherent to the harpsichord to the forshadowing of the scope of the modern piano that was to come.<br><br>The opening Bach Sonata was expertly presented, with a sense of relaxation that allowed the florid writing to expand and fill the space with calm. The Mozart Fugue in C Minor that followed was wonderfully nuanced, yet carried out the critical task of presenting the fugal theme (in this case, inverted, retrograde, augmented and then combinations of all three) with clarity and precision. Both players proved equal to the task, and their musical compatibility shone through every note.<br><br>Ignaz Pleyel, one-time organist at the Cathedral in Strasbourg, had the misfortune to be caught in the crossfire of the French Revolution. Despite some rather significant personal setbacks (he was Queen Marie Antoinette's personal musician), his compositions look forward to the developments of both the Romantic period musically in terms of stylistic development, and the Industrial period technically in terms of piano construction. Cienniwa and Bahmann took the material in hand in masterful fashion, and further took the audience on a wild ride as they chuckled their way through the Presto movement, allowing all to be part of their private amusement.<br><br>The closing Mozart Sonata was nothing short of breathtaking. Both tempo and accuracy were stunning; the effect in the sun-dappled space was intoxicating and invigorating, and the audience was left eager for more of the sound of these two "baby pianos."<br><br>The virtuosity of these two players was eclipsed only by the sheer beauty and sound of the venue itself. The United Congregational Church of Little Compton is a space that has, for more than 250 years, given life and breath to song and sound in every possible permutation. This was one of the best.</span></div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/40781682016-03-08T13:17:21-05:002016-03-08T13:17:21-05:00Little Compton’s ’Allison’ releases first CD — baroque meets rock<p><a contents="EastBayRI, March 8, 2016" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.eastbayri.com/news/little-comptons-allison-releases-first-cd-baroque-meets-rock/" target="_blank">EastBayRI, March 8, 2016</a></p>
<p>Under the name of “Allison,” Little Compton resident Allison Messier and Fall River resident Paul Cienniwa have released their debut CD, “Allidson: Volume One.” The recording is a collection of songs by Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Phil Ochs, Neil Young, Billy Joel, and Graham Nash, along with baroque songs by John Dowland and Henry Purcell. </p>
<p>Why the baroque songs? Because Alisson is a duo made up of a classically trained mezzo-soprano and a harpsichordist. </p>
<p>“As classical musicians, we usually only perform classical music. But as Allison we have the freedom to explore music of other genres,” says mezzo-soprano Messier. “I’m used to performing baroque music with harpsichord, but with Allison the harpsichord becomes a whole new thing — sort of a cross between a guitar and a psychedelic keyboard.” </p>
<p>Harpsichordist Cienniwa adds, “We are basically chamber musicians looking outside of the usual realm of chamber music — and this makes for an entirely new listening experience. The songs we perform are now heard in an entirely different light.” </p>
<p>The album is available in CD and mp3 format. Visit www.WeAreALLISON.com for more information.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/40671102016-03-01T07:05:25-05:002018-06-22T09:18:38-04:00ALLISON's debut album now available!ALLISON: Volume One, featuring songs of Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, John Dowland, Phil Ochs, Neil Young, Billy Joel, Henry Purcell, and Graham Nash, is now available. <a contents="Click here for purchasing options" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.weareallison.com/shop/" target="_blank">Click here for purchasing options</a>.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/3958cffe0e06404dc45573cd4a78048cc0229482/medium/allison-print-web-cover-small.png?0" class="size_m justify_left border_" />Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/40182412016-02-01T10:33:46-05:002016-02-07T16:59:29-05:00So Nat, A Sonata<span class="font_large">Yesterday at First Church in Boston, 'cellist Leo Eguchi and I performed Ellie Miller's <em>So Nat, A Sonata</em>: </span>
<p><a contents="https://youtu.be/Y8U9I34mVuM" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/Y8U9I34mVuM" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">https://youtu.be/Y8U9I34mVuM</span></a></p><br><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Y8U9I34mVuM" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/Y8U9I34mVuM/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y8U9I34mVuM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br><br>Ellie is also the composer of the <em>It's Elementary</em>, profiled here: </span><a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/tribute-to-sandy-hook-victims-set-to-obama-s-words" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/tribute-to-sandy-hook-victims-set-to-obama-s-words" style="font-size: 1.4em;" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/news/blog/tribute-to-sandy-hook-victims-set-to-obama-s-words</a><br><br><span class="font_large">Also in that same service (a service dedicated to musician-members of the church) was the premiere of Mary Collin's Bittersweet [Autumn]: </span><a contents="https://youtu.be/DcRVIvxNczM" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/oOhKt5nzG_0" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">https://youtu.be/DcRVIvxNczM</span></a><br><br><br> <iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="oOhKt5nzG_0" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/oOhKt5nzG_0/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oOhKt5nzG_0?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/40018952016-01-22T06:15:29-05:002016-01-22T06:15:29-05:00Via Spector and serendipity, the harpsichord invaded pop<p><a contents="By Matthew Guerrieri BOSTON GLOBE CORRESPONDENT&nbsp;&nbsp;JANUARY 22, 2016&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2016/01/21/via-spector-and-serendipity-harpsichord-invaded-pop/gZDq2y9nf2IbvOKIOJx82O/story.html" target="_blank">By Matthew Guerrieri BOSTON GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JANUARY 22, 2016 </a></p>
<p>On Jan. 24, ALLISON — mezzo-soprano Allison Messier and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa — performs at Quincy’s Thomas Crane Public Library. The duo’s raison d’être, re-interpreting rock and popular repertoire with Baroque sensibility, puts an old spin on newer music, but also a new spin on a less-old but rich tradition: pop music borrowing classical trappings. The harpsichord’s pop history, in particular, is a diverting tangle of aesthetics, opportunity, and technology. </p>
<p>The harpsichord gained pop prominence in the 1960s, an era of lush, heavily-produced studio wizardry. The famous, notorious Phil Spector’s studio-engineered amalgamations — the so-called Wall of Sound — grafted the harpsichord’s metallic pluck onto massed pianos and organs. But soon, the instrument came to the fore, starring in the Righteous Brothers’ Spector-produced “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” or the Beach Boys’ “When I Grow Up (to Be a Man),” or The Mamas & the Papas’ “Monday Monday.” </p>
<p>It spawned its own intricate, wistful genre: Baroque pop. The style’s quintessence, The Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renée,” was anchored by Michael Brown’s elegantly jangling harpsichord. Across the Atlantic, it bridged the passage from rock into psychedelica for numerous groups: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, the Kinks. </p>
<p>But harpsichords had already been hanging around studios, available for experimentation. Consider the legendary RCA Studio B in Nashville, built in 1957 at the behest of producer and guitarist Chet Atkins, and soon after home to a harpsichord, which twanged its way onto country and country-pop records — a particularly florid example being Norro Wilson’s rollicking playing on John D. Loudermilk’s 1961 “Language of Love.” (Serendipity was occasionally imposed: A harpsichord only chimed through the Yardbirds’ “For Your Love” after organist Brian Auger arrived at a recording studio to find no organ.) </p>
<p>The harpsichord was hardly the only unusual instrument to grace pop records, but it was perhaps the most enduring. One possible reason: The timbre’s suitability to then-dominant forms of musical consumption. The treble-heavy pop soundscape, all monoaural recordings and AM radio, flattered the harpsichord’s stinging buzz. As early as the 1940s, Artie Shaw, the restlessly innovative jazz clarinetist, had Johnny Guarnieri play harpsichord in small groups, the sharp contrast making 78-rpm fidelity into a virtue. The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson would, as his producing genius flowered, use the harpsichord as a featured player; but already in 1963, it honed the backing track of “I Get Around,” giving the song a subtle cut and thrust among its radio competition. Such is the harpsichord’s soft-spoken strength, the ear — like the eye — drawn to any bright point. MATTHEW GUERRIERI </p>
<p>ALLISON performs Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. at the Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington St., Quincy. Free admission; 617-376-1316.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39834372016-01-11T08:30:20-05:002016-01-11T08:30:20-05:00Paul Cienniwa featured on the "Secrets of Organ Playing" podcast<p><a contents="http://www.organduo.lt/podcast/sop-podcast-24-paul-cienniwa-on-the-art-of-memorizing-music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.organduo.lt/podcast/sop-podcast-24-paul-cienniwa-on-the-art-of-memorizing-music" target="_blank">http://www.organduo.lt/podcast/sop-podcast-24-paul-cienniwa-on-the-art-of-memorizing-music</a><br><br> </p><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/240186776&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39671762015-12-23T07:26:22-05:002015-12-23T07:26:22-05:00ALLISON interviewed on QATV<p><a contents="https://youtu.be/o8gj_7OtjDU" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/o8gj_7OtjDU" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/o8gj_7OtjDU</a><br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o8gj_7OtjDU" width="420"></iframe></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39645522015-12-15T07:28:31-05:002015-12-15T07:30:04-05:00Tribute to Sandy Hook victims set to Obama’s words<h1> </h1>
<p>By <a data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stratfordstar.com/author/stratford-star/" target="_blank" title="View all posts by Stratford Star">Stratford Star</a> on December 14, 2015</p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-IarXnG27Tk" width="560"></iframe>
<p> </p>
<p>Former Newtown resident Eleanor Miller composed a piece to pay tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings on Dec. 14, 2012. It uses text extracted and edited from remarks delivered by President Barack Obama at Newtown High School on Dec. 16, 2012.</p>
<p>Governor Dannel P. Malloy has directed U.S. and Connecticut flags to fly at half-staff on Monday, Dec. 14, from sunrise to sunset in honor of the 20 children and six adults who were killed three years ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.</p>
<p>Soprano Carola Emrich-Fisher and pianist Paul Cienniwa performed “It’s Elementary” at First Church in Boston on Dec. 14, 2014.</p>
<p>‘It’s Elementary’</p>
<p>“Can we truly say as a nation that we meet our obligations? Can we<br>honestly say that we’re doing our best to keep our children safe from harm? Can we claim as a nation that we’re all together letting them know that they are loved and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re doing enough to give all the children the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness?</p>
<p>If we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is no. We’re not doing enough and we will have to change. We can’t tolerate this any more. These tragedies must end. To end them we must change. There is no excuse for inaction. We can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, another town from this grief then surely we have an obligation to try.</p>
<p>Why are we here? What gives our lives meaning? What gives our acts purpose? Our time here is fleeting. There’s only one thing we can be sure of – that is the love we have for our children.</p>
<p>It’s elementary my dear world.”</p>
<p>(Barack Obama/emiller)</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39549542015-12-08T07:55:00-05:002015-12-08T07:55:00-05:00"By Heart" reviewed in The Diapason<span class="font_large"><a contents="By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Art-Memorizing-Music/dp/1496180690/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><em>By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music</em></a>, by Paul Cienniwa, reviewed December 2015, The Diapason<br><br>"...the skills and techniques [the author] describes in memorizing are important for all performers, regardless of their instrument. Cienniwa writes in a direct, conversational style. This book...will serve as a guide to thoughtful performers, whether they play from memory or a score."--Sarah Mahler Kraaz, The Diapason</span><br> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39375532015-11-27T09:37:41-05:002016-02-19T13:38:31-05:00The Choir of First Church in Boston knocks it out of the park!I'm in the midst of the best choral year I've seen in my ten years at First Church in Boston. This particular piece is a bit out of the scope of our regular repertoire, but it's sung so well, particularly by soloist Christine Teeters, that it deserves a posting in this website! Voila:<br><br><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/csydUENAHrY" width="560"></iframe><br><br><a contents="https://youtu.be/csydUENAHrY" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/csydUENAHrY" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/csydUENAHrY</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39239442015-11-11T08:07:12-05:002015-11-11T08:08:13-05:00Warming up the choir<img src="https://photovan.smugmug.com/NBSO/Oct-2015/i-73HF9LK/0/X3/choir1-X3.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="choir1" /><br>This photo was taken from the pre-concert warmup for Mendelssohn's <em>Elijah</em> with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra in October 2015.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39239432015-11-11T07:57:27-05:002015-11-11T08:19:04-05:00Posted at the BMint<span class="font_large">The Boston Musical Intelligencer recently published my article on François Couperin and the Brahms connection: <a contents="http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/10/30/kroll-couperin/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/10/30/kroll-couperin/" target="_blank">http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/10/30/kroll-couperin/</a><br><br>Just this week, Mary Collins wrote an article summarizing the "future of classical music" panel that I moderated at First Church in Boston: <a contents="http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/11/10/classical-future/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/11/10/classical-future/" target="_blank">http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/11/10/classical-future/</a> </span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39051802015-10-27T16:21:24-04:002015-10-27T16:21:24-04:00A rather funny reviewIn his review, "<a contents="NEW BEDFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Choral Societies augment Mendelssohn's last oratorio" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://marion.wickedlocal.com/article/20151027/NEWS/151029338/?Start=2" target="_blank">NEW BEDFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Choral Societies augment Mendelssohn's last oratorio</a>," critic Benjamin Dunham writes:<br> <div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Together with Teresa Coffman, Paul Cienniwa shared the duty of preparing the combined choruses, whose singing, whether in tutti or in assignments for women’s and men’s voices, provided a rich tapestry of vocal moods. Cienniwa also played Zeiterion’s theater organ in an accompanying role. If anyone could make this organ, so appropriate for silent movies, sound right in a work like “Elijah,” it would be Cienniwa. Evidently, no one can.</em><br><br>Well, at least I'm in good company!</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/39033262015-10-20T07:20:19-04:002015-10-20T07:20:19-04:00Review: NBSO offers a well-balanced 'Elijah'<div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;"><a contents="New Bedford Standard-Times" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20151019/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/151019404/-1/NEBULLETIN" target="_blank"><span style="color:#000000;">New Bedford Standard-Times</span></a><br><br><span style="color:#000000;">By Keith Powers<br>Contributing writer</span></span></div><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 2:55 PM </span></span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.9px;"> <blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;">Choosing balance over power, maestro David MacKenzie and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra continued the ensemble’s centenary anniversary season Sunday afternoon at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;">Mendelssohn’s sweeping oratorio “Elijah” offers the choice. With extensive instrumentation, a vast chorus — in this case, combined choristers from Rhode Island College, Greater New Bedford Choral Society, and Sippican Choral Society — and four prominent soloists, performances of “Elijah” can be stormy and breathtaking.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;">But they can also be insightful, interrogatory. Mendelssohn’s rich score, sensitively exploring musical possibilities from each scene in the libretto, can turn the hundreds onstage into a intimate ensemble. That’s the path MacKenzie followed.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;">The long pause he asked for during the repeated “Baal, We Cry to Thee,” with the chorus responding over alternating horns and winds. A brief, highly accented cello figure, before Elijah’s lament “It Is Enough.” A gorgeous melody articulated by the oboe (Laura Shamu), then picked up in the strings, in Elijah’s tender aria “For the mountains shall depart.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; padding-top: 10px !important;"><font color="#000000">...</font></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span class="font_large">The choruses, prepared expertly by Teresa Coffman from RIC and the NBSO’s own chorus master, Paul Cienniwa, may not have overpowered anyone, but sang with enthusiasm and skill.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;"><span style="color:#000000;">...<br><br>The instrumentalists from the NBSO performed alertly under MacKenzie’s baton, all the while working carefully not to overwhelm the singers. Lima did the heavy lifting, particularly a long section toward the climax of Part I, as Elijah confronts the Baal worshippers. Multiple arias and extended give-and-take with the chorus and his fellow soloists had Lima singing his best, and interacting smartly with his stage-mates.</span></blockquote>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/38626732015-09-20T13:52:29-04:002015-09-24T08:58:59-04:00Music at First Church in Boston<header style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12.5px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; color: rgb(70, 70, 70); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><div class="header new" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;"><h1 class="main-hed" itemprop="headline" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 4.6em; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.04348; font-family: 'Miller Headline Bold', 'Times New Roman', Times, Georgia, serif; background: transparent;">In Gibbons’s ‘Cries,’ a social portrait, and a subtle warning<br><br><span class="font_small"><b class="author" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin: 0px 5px 0.25em 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; border-width: 0px 1px 0px 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); outline: 0px; font-size: 1.09091em; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; letter-spacing: 0px; display: inline; background: transparent;">By Matthew Guerrieri</b></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-size: 1.2rem; letter-spacing: 0.1em; line-height: 1.3; text-transform: uppercase; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; background-color: transparent;"> Boston GLOBE CORRESPONDENT </span><time datetime="2015-09-19 22:00" itemprop="datePublished" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); letter-spacing: 0.1em; text-transform: uppercase; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; display: inline; background: transparent;">SEPTEMBER 19, 2015</time>
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<div class="article-body minheight" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.625; min-height: 1200px; float: left; width: 800.797px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><div class="article-text hide-on" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 20px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; clear: both; position: relative; overflow: hidden; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-out; height: auto; background: transparent;">
<figure class="figure" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px 21.75px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; clear: right; float: right; width: 326.406px; background: transparent;"><img src="https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_371w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/09/17/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/ba-obj-12153-0001-pub-print-lg.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /><figcaption class="figcaption" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 0.75em; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; line-height: 1.58333; font-weight: bold; background: transparent;"><p class="credit" style="margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 10px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; background: transparent;">YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART</p>
<p itemprop="description caption" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">"Any Kitchen Stuff.”</p></figcaption></figure>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">Today, First Church in Boston offers a special service marking Boston Charter Day (which was officially celebrated on Sept. 7), commemorating the 1630 formal creation of what was then the town of Boston. The service’s music re-creates something of what Boston’s first English settlers left behind, by means of works by a who’s who of Jacobean composers: Henry Purcell, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons. And the music of the last — both parts of Gibbons’s “Cries of London” — is especially vivid: a stylized soundscape of a teeming 17th-century city.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">Gibbons’s work, for viols and voices, was an elaborate, polished exemplar of an entire genre of works collecting and interweaving cries and songs of London’s peddlers and beggars. (Nor was London the only metropolis ringing with such appeals; witness both Clément Janequin’s and Jean Servin’s 16th-century “Cris des Paris.”) Beginning with the nightwatchman’s call marking 3 o’clock in the morning, Gibbons laces the score with an entire day’s worth of calls: vendors selling fish, fruits, ink, lace, and clothing; a ratcatcher plying his trade; a man in search of a lost horse; a chimney sweep; a patient begging on behalf of the mad inmates of Bedlam. At the end the watchman returns, heralding midnight.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">In an added layer of stylization, Gibbons structured his “Cries” as an “In Nomine” — a free-flowing, plainchant-derived variation form popular among 16th- and 17th-century English composers. (The theme came from a plainchant-based mass by John Taverner, specifically the part of the Benedictus featuring the words “in nomine Domini” — in the name of the Lord.) Gibbons keeps the structure intact: The second treble viol plays the “In Nomine” theme in long tones, only giving way to the voices when a given cry coincides with the chant melody.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">Its origin aside, the “In Nomine” genre was primarily secular. (One of its earliest practitioners, Christopher Tye, composed examples of especial playfulness, including one — appropriately subtitled “Crye” — instrumentally mimicking the type of calls Gibbons cataloged.) But perhaps Gibbons borrowed the form to give his “Cries” a poignant undercurrent. Peddlers and vendors were street people, indigent and marginalized. In the poetry, music, and engravings that preserved their cries and costumes, they were transformed into objects of fascination and amusement — but also warning. Gibbons, in yoking them to the name of the divine, may have been subtly reiterating a sobering reminder: There, but for the grace of God, go I.<ld></ld></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;"> </p>
<p id="U8135317865980S" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;"><i class="i" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; background: transparent;">First Church in Boston offers a nondenominational Charter Day Sabbath Service featuring music by Purcell, Weelkes, and Gibbons on Sunday at 11 a.m., simulcast on WERS-FM (88.9). <a class="a" href="http://www.firstchurchboston.org/" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color 0.1s linear, background-color 0.1s linear; background: transparent;">www.firstchurchboston.org</a></i></p>
</div></div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/38450912015-09-07T08:52:57-04:002020-11-02T10:28:02-05:00A most excellent book review!<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:2.4;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">Paul Cienniwa. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music. </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">Reviewed by Mark Kroll<br><a contents="EMAg, The Magazine of Early Music America" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/magazine/" target="_blank">EMAg, The Magazine of Early Music America</a></span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:2.4;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">Playing from memory can be the elephant in the room, the “Waterloo” for many performers. I’ve used more than enough clichéd, I’ll ask a few questions. Who is to blame for starting a practice that is now standard, at least among pianists? And memorization is so difficult and potentially traumatic, why do it at all? Perhaps more important: if we must play from memory, how do you learn to do it? These questions are answered in Paul Cienniwa’s excellent book in fewer than 100 pages and with a healthy sense of humor.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> </span></span><br><br><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">I am in complete agreement with just about everything Cienniwa says, such as his admission that “by playing with music, I had never truly learned my programs.” Indeed, playing a concert with the scores in front of you is not performing, it is reading. Equally true is Cienniwa’s rule that the harpsichordist “should be able to write out every memorized piece away from the instrument.” Great idea, but just try this with Bach’s six-part Ricercar<span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> </span>from The Musical Offering!</span></span><br><br><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">The book is divided into six sections. Cienniwa asks and answers questions such as “Why Should You Memorize?” and “Why Shouldn’t<span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> </span>You Memorize?” He discusses the three major components of memory (i.e., tactile, aural, and visual) and makes the excellent suggestions to maintain a practice log, use a metronome, and keep a timer to avoid distractions from “email, phone calls, or writing a book about memorization.” To avoid other factors that have a negative impact on performing from memory, he cautions against hanging out backstage and bantering with stage hands before a concert and “agreeing to a lecture recital,” which is really a completely different skill. Cienniwa also urges the player to eat bananas for “their stress-reducing properties,” maintain a consistent fingering, and practice away from the instrument. I really like this last bit of advice. Not only is it useful, but also some of my best performances have been on my kitchen tabletop. </span></span><br><br><span id="docs-internal-guid-525c9bd9-a7db-da28-1179-51b05d3e6e41"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">Three appendices summarize this material in a user-friendly format. At the outset, in Appendix 1, Cienniwa offers some of the reasons people, including “the world’s greatest harpsichordists,” don’t play from memory, explaining that “the best excuse of all is that we don’t have to. This is a great excuse, and I’ve used it so many times that I even recommend it!” Cienniwa concludes, however, that students should be required to play from memory, because “we don’t have to is no longer an excuse” for the next generations of harpsichordists. So just do it, and maybe start by memorizing this book.</span></span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/38423512015-09-04T07:55:56-04:002023-08-08T11:00:40-04:00French ornamentation<p><span class="text-big">Yesterday I received an email from someone who shared the same piano teacher when I was an undergraduate. She wrote, "Could you recommend a book on musical ornamentation in Rameau and Couperin?"</span><br><br><span class="text-big">I replied:</span><br> </p><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">Although quite a few books have been published on this, there's never has been much need to. Both Couperin and Rameau followed D'Anglebert's ornamentation table--and that's the same one that Bach followed.</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">Rameau's table fits onto one page. (See p. 13 of this PDF): <a class="no-pjax" href="https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/8/89/IMSLP348041-PMLP18869-Rameau_-_Premier_Livre_(BW).pdf" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/8/89/IMSLP348041-PMLP18869-Rameau_-_Premier_Livre_(BW).pdf</a>
</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">Couperin's can be found on a few pages. See p. 19 (i.e., p. 23 in the PDF) here: <a class="no-pjax" href="http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/2/21/IMSLP302585-PMLP09374-Couperin_-_L'art_de_toucher_le_clavecin_-1716-.pdf" target="_blank">http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/2/21/IMSLP302585-PMLP09374-Couperin_-_L'art_de_toucher_le_clavecin_-1716-.pdf</a>
</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">D'Anglebert's table is very easy to follow. See PDF p. 6 here: <a class="no-pjax" href="https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/c/ce/IMSLP296306-PMLP43812-d'Anglebert_-_Pieces_de_Clavecin,_avec_la_maniere_de_les_Jouer,_Livre_Premier_-1689-.pdf" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/c/ce/IMSLP296306-PMLP43812-d'Anglebert_-_Pieces_de_Clavecin,_avec_la_maniere_de_les_Jouer,_Livre_Premier_-1689-.pdf</a>
</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">If the French and 17th-century curlycues are driving you nuts, Alfred publishes a modern edition of Couperin's <i>L'art de toucher le clavecin</i>, and that might be the most instructive for you. (It's cheap, too.) All in all, just remember that what applies to Bach pretty much applies to the French, so if you are doing Bach right (e.g., trills from the upper auxiliary), you should be well on your way.</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">Above all in French music, I suggest slower ornaments with minimal repercussions. No doorbells! For a trill (<i>tremblement</i>), four notes will do, and for a mordent (<i>pincé</i>), three notes will do.</div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;"> </div><div style="color:rgb(33, 33, 33);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:20px;">Let me know if you have any other questions. This is so second nature to me that it's nice to have to think about it for once!</div><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><script>
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</script>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/38233742015-08-18T08:24:24-04:002015-08-18T08:25:50-04:00By Heart (book review)<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><a contents="Memorizing Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://memorisingmusic.com/2015/08/15/by-heart-book-review/" target="_blank">Memorizing Music</a> (blog), Caroline Wright, August 15, 2015<br><br>Earlier this year, I received a copy of “<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">By Heart: the Art of Memorising Music</em>” by harpsichordist and blogger <a href="http://www.paulcienniwa.com/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(116, 51, 153); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;" target="_blank">Paul Cienniwa. </a>Published in 2014, this little gem is exactly the kind of book I had been searching for when I started this blog back at the start of 2013!</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The book provides some clear guidance as to how to approach the daunting task of memorising a piece, from nothing to performance. Cienniwa’s personal perspective on this topic is fascinating – he stopped memorising in college, when he switched from piano to harpsichord, and actively decided to start again nearly 20 years later. This experience has resulted some very clear and sensible recommendations for memorisation:</p>
<ul style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px 1.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: square; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> <li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Mental practice</strong> away from the instrument is hugely valuable, and should account for perhaps as much as half of a musician’s practice time.</li> <li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Create musical landmarks</strong> in a piece that can act as personal rehearsal marks. Memorising and practicing starting from any of these ‘<a href="http://memorisingmusic.com/2013/03/13/chunking-for-improved-memory/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(116, 51, 153); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">chunks’</a> is crucial for accurate and efficient memorising that is robust to little slips in performance.</li> <li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Use a practice log</strong> <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">and timer</strong> to plan your work and make most efficient use of time. This includes time spent on different pieces, specific slow practice or memorising goals, as well as time spent at or away from the instrument.</li> <li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Be patient!</strong> Memorising a piece securely takes time, and is a fruitless activity if rushed.</li>
</ul>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The book is very short and can be read in under an hour, which is great for those wishing to get straight into memorising, though I would have like to have read more about the scientific side of memorisation (surprise, surprise!). But that’s not really what the book’s about. Cienniwa touches on <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">different types of memory – tactile, visual and aural</strong> – and although he mentions the value of understanding the form and harmonic structure of a piece, <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">cognitive</strong> <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">memory</strong> is not specifically included on the list. For me, this type of fact-based, logical memory (harmonic progressions, for example) is important for having a mental framework upon which to hang the other types of memory, and for dealing with memory slips. But ultimately it is the layering of different types of memory that is probably most important.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Like me, Cienniwa believes that “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">if a piece is not memorised, it is not learned</strong>.” He takes a hard-line approach to memorisation, stating that “I should be able to write out every memorised piece away from the instrument”. This is really a very high bar to set! I have <a href="http://memorisingmusic.com/2013/03/17/can-you-write-out-a-score-from-memory/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(116, 51, 153); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">tried this approach before</a>, but I doubt many memorisers could make this claim for most of the pieces they play from memory. But the idea is laudable, and highlights the point that true memorisation is not just about getting a piece “in the fingers”, but about really knowing every note, every phrase, every dynamic and every section of a piece inside out. Only when this goal is realised can we be confident that a piece is secure enough to perform from memory.</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/38233722015-08-18T08:22:56-04:002015-08-18T08:22:56-04:00First Church Awarded 2015 Gian Lyman Silbiger Grant<p style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Tinos; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><a contents="Beacon Hill Times" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://beaconhilltimes.com/2015/08/14/first-church-awarded-2015-gian-lyman-silbiger-grant/" target="_blank">Beacon Hill Times</a>, August 14, 2015<br><br>Through the collaboration of violist da Gamba Carol Lewis and music director Dr. Paul Cienniwa, First Church in Boston, located at 66 Marlborough St., has been awarded the 2015 Gian Lyman Silbiger Grant of the Viola da Gamba Society of New England (www.vdgsne.org). The award fosters the performance of music for viols and voices around New England and encourages further exploration of the viol and its music.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Tinos; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">As recipient of the award, First Church in Boston will present music of Gibbons, Purcell and Weelkes during the service on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 11 a.m.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Tinos; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Performers will include violists da gamba Mai-Lan Broekman, Janet Hass, Paul Johnson, Carol Lewis, and Alice Mroszczyk; the orbo player Olav Chris Henriksen; and the Choir of First Church in Boston under the direction of Dr. Paul Cienniwa. The service is open to the public and will also be broadcast live on Boston’s WERS radio and streamed on the Internet (<a href="http://www.firstchurchboston.org/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(204, 0, 0); outline: none;">www.firstchurchboston.org</a>).</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/37911002015-07-25T08:58:48-04:002015-07-25T09:01:00-04:00New folk duo's debut show set at Westport Point<p style="word-wrap: break-word; margin-top: 0px; color: rgba(28, 28, 28, 0.901961); font-family: Lato; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.400000005960465px; line-height: 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150724/SPECIAL/150729704" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(251, 9, 9);" target="_blank">SouthCoast Today, July 24, 2015</a></p>
<p id="yui_3_17_2_7_1437828652866_2563" style="word-wrap: break-word; color: rgba(28, 28, 28, 0.901961); font-family: Lato; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.400000005960465px; line-height: 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">On Thursday, July 30 at 6:30pm at the Paquachuck Inn (2056 Main Rd., Westport, MA), mezzo-soprano Allison Messier and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa will give their debut concert as ALLISON, a new ensemble dedicated to the art of the contemporary folk song.</span></p>
<p id="yui_3_17_2_7_1437828652866_2570" style="word-wrap: break-word; color: rgba(28, 28, 28, 0.901961); font-family: Lato; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.400000005960465px; line-height: 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_7_1437828652866_2569" style="font-size: 16px;">Messier says, “Last month we gave a recital at St. Andrews by-the-Sea in Little Compton. For that program, we performed a lot of music by people like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, and Harry Chapin, but </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">I never expected such overwhelming support from the audience. It was a big risk for us to go pioneering into a new genre that was outside of our classical comfort zone. After such a fantastic turnout, however, I feel encouraged and supported in continuing to sing this music. All of the feedback we got from audience members was about how much they loved hearing us in that repertoire. Many people were absolutely moved emotionally. That is why we formed ALLISON. We want to have fun exploring music that we know our audience is deeply connected to. It's so very satisfying to feel a room full of people completely engaged in our music making and even singing along.”</span></p>
<p style="word-wrap: break-word; color: rgba(28, 28, 28, 0.901961); font-family: Lato; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.400000005960465px; line-height: 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">So what exactly is ALLISON? “It’s still just Allison and me,” explains Cienniwa, “however, unlike a classical ensemble where we always feel the need to come up with new repertoire, ALLISON allows us to function like a rock band, performing sets of songs that people will want to hear time and time again. Of course, the use of harpsichord in these songs adds a psychedelic quality that fits really well with the music.” Messier adds, “In the classical world, it’s not typical to perform favorites more than once in a season. ALLISON is very freeing for us, and we think that our audiences will love it too!”</span></p>
<p style="word-wrap: break-word; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgba(28, 28, 28, 0.901961); font-family: Lato; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.400000005960465px; line-height: 31.5px; text-align: justify;"><br><span style="font-size: 16px;">The concert is open to the public. Tickets are $20. Seating is very limited, so advance ticket purchases are encouraged. For more information and tickets, call 617-466-9042 or visit <a contents="http://www.WeAreALLISON.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.WeAreALLISON.com" target="_blank">http://www.WeAreALLISON.com</a>.</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/37854972015-07-21T09:42:02-04:002017-01-13T14:36:41-05:00Introducing ALLISON<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/37995e842a0d0e5d982bef0cdcabc9ca8e450c2f/large/allison-page-002.jpg?1437486045" class="size_l justify_center border_none" alt="" /><div style="text-align: center;"><a contents="www.WeAreALLISON.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.weareallison.com" style="font-size: 2em; text-align: center;" target="_blank">www.WeAreALLISON.com</a></div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/37503722015-06-22T13:27:11-04:002017-01-13T14:36:41-05:00In memoriam: Roger Goodman<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/59bc5306bd98e5744d492da2f39f1c71770e0088/medium/roger.jpg?1434994002" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" />Over the weekend, I learned that my first harpsichord teacher, Roger Goodman, died from AIDS-related renal failure. I studied with Roger in Chicago from 1991 till I left Chicago for Boston in 1995.<br><br>Roger was a controversial figure in his approach to spirituality and sexuality, and those two elements were strongly apparent in his marvelous music making. As a 19-year-old trying to find my place in the world and in the world of music, I came to Roger as a discouraged pianist, wary of the ego-driven repertoire of the 19th-century. Roger opened up a world of possibility in which I could make music a part of my whole person.<br><br>Roger often said that "a teacher is a self-destructing mechanism," meaning that a student would eventually need to move on. In spite of his advice, Roger was very upset when I left his studio in 1995, and we didn't communicate till about 2009. When we reconnected, I found a wizened older man with a depth of experience (much of it coming from his AIDS-related suffering) that, had he still been playing the harpsichord, would have made for profoundly transcendent music.<br><br>A <a contents="New York Times review" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/11/arts/music-roger-goodman.html" target="_blank">New York Times review</a> from 1982 begins, "The affection with which Roger Goodman played the harpsichord..." Roger's approach to the harpsichord might best be described as affectionate. Yes, it was spiritual, and it was sexual. (He sometimes quoted a colleague who had said that Roger played from the hips.) Above all, Roger's playing was affectionate. Indeed, Roger himself was affectionate: a lover of creation; a lover of men; a lover of music; a lover of the harpsichord. He was a wonderful mentor, an inspiring teacher, and, for me, the man who brought me to the harpsichord.<br><br>Thank you, Roger. Requiescat in pace.<br> <hr><div align="center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">OBITUARY of ROGER GOODMAN</span></b>
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<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Roger Goodman, M.Mus., M.Div. was born in New York City in 1946. He was the son of Florence and Gerald Goodman. Roger attended Oberlin College and Trinity College of Music in London for his undergraduate degree (B.Mus) and attended Northwestern University for his M.Mus. He earned the M.Div., specializing in Queer Theology of the body, at Chicago Theological Seminary; and was trained in spiritual direction by a Benedictine abbot at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in the 1980’s. Roger was active during the Civil Rights Movement and protests over the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. Yet he slowly grew away from these movements because of the heterosexism politic. Mr. Goodman is also a Veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion, the watershed event for the contemporary LGBTQ movement in June, 1969. After being an international concert harpsichordist, teacher, and recording artist, performing in such venues as Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center in NYC, Carnegie Recital Hall in NYC, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN, and Orchestra Hall in Chicago as well as four appearances on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series broadcast live over WFMT-Chicago. He retired from music in 2010 after 40 years of devoted and dedicated work. Upon his retirement, he began the completion of his published book <i>Thoughts of a Tribal Elder: One Queerman’s Journey from the Ashes Risen.</i> a book of essays on ‘Queer topics such as politics, spirituality, rituals, symbol, sexual; mysticism, mythology, the arts, coming out, the politics and spirituality of HIV/AIDS, and his own journey of recovery from addiction, as well as his poetry. Because of his addictions to drugs and sex he became HIV+ in the early 1980s and was diagnosed with AIDS in 1995 at which time he came near to death during a 10-day coma, but miraculously came back from death. He often said that the reason he came back was because he had important transformational work to do with Queer people everywhere. Part of this transformation work was performing benefit concerts for various AIDS service organizations in Chicago: the AIDS Pastoral Care Network, The AIDS Alternative Health Project, Open Hands of Chicago, and Grocery Land Free Pantry. <i>Thoughts of a Tribal Elder</i> is a major part of that great work, as was his performing and teaching during which time he touched the lives of countless thousands of people. From 1987 through 2010, Roger was in a thriving private practice as a Spiritual Director doing chaplaincy work in the death rooms in two hospitals in Chicago with his Queer brothers dying during the AIDS genocide in the 1980’s and 90’s. Roger lived with a number of HIV-related illnesses, two of them being terminal. He lived in Chicago where he is survived by his beloved partner, Jerry Scholle; his much-loved brother, Len (Susan) of Santa Fe, NM; and his two nephews, Joshua and Eli and their families. Roger will be greatly missed by countless thousands of people both Gay and straight whose lives he touched with a profound grace, especially his CMA family of recovering addicts: Matt K., Will B., Rudy M., Gregg G., John L., Todd B., Daniel R. and Christopher M. His ashes are interred in the Cremation Garden within Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois. No flowers please, but donations to AIDS Foundation of Chicago, <a href="http://www.aidschicago.org/page/donate" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(63, 81, 181); z-index: 0; position: relative;" target="_blank">http://www.aidschicago.org/<wbr></wbr>page/donate</a>.</span></font></div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/37318852015-06-06T18:39:02-04:002015-06-06T18:39:02-04:00'From Popular Songs to Art Songs' concert at St. Andrews-by-the-Sea<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;">
<a contents="The Herald News,&nbsp;Posted May. 21, 2015 at 12:21 PM" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20150521/NEWS/150528885" target="_blank">The Herald News, <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Posted May. 21, 2015 at 12:21 PM</span></a><br><br>LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. — On Saturday, June 13 at 6:30 at St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, mezzo-soprano Allison Messier and harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa will collaborate on a program that elevates many of today’s folk and pop classics to the art songs of the Elizabethan era. From Popular Songs to Art Songs will feature music of singer/songwriters Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Neil Young interspersed with 17th century hits by baroque icons like John Dowland and Henry Purcell. This family-friendly concert will keep you humming your favorite tunes while also introducing some new “old” music.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;">“When we started working on this program,” Messier said, “we, as classically trained musicians, were intimidated by taking on such popular music. It’s much easier for us to recreate music of earlier times than it is for us to take on people like Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens.”</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); padding-top: 10px !important;">Cienniwa adds, “When we finally got together to rehearse, however, two things became apparent. First, the words of the songs, as sung by Allison, took on entirely new meanings. Second, the harpsichord added a tonal color to the music that was unexpected, unique, and very cool.”</blockquote>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/36594892015-04-15T14:03:05-04:002015-04-15T14:03:05-04:00Vivaldi at First Church in BostonLast Sunday, the Choir of First Church in Boston performed Vivaldi's <em>Gloria</em> under my direction during the service. An audio recording of the performance is now on YouTube:<a contents="&nbsp;https://youtu.be/uTAjcfOjRnA" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/uTAjcfOjRnA" target="_blank"> https://youtu.be/uTAjcfOjRnA</a><br><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uTAjcfOjRnA" width="420"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/36568352015-04-14T07:29:12-04:002015-04-21T10:04:49-04:00"Getting Paid...the Right Way" in The American OrganistThe May 2015 issue of <em>The American Organist</em> includes my article on appropriate compensation practices for churches. You can find a proof of the article here: <a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/files/184351/Getting%20Paid%20TAO" data-link-label="Getting Paid TAO" data-link-type="file" href="/files/184351/Getting%20Paid%20TAO" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/files/184351/Getting%20Paid%20TAO</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/36496702015-04-09T14:49:06-04:002015-04-09T14:53:30-04:00Karl Henning: Plotting (y is the new x), Op.116About a year ago, violinist EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks and I premiered a work by Karl Henning. What a great piece! There are three sections: Introduction, Passacaglia, and Toccata. The video (below) highlights them quite clearly. Give it a listen!<br><br><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2vKGfppo0o8" width="560"></iframe><br><br>I think it's time to play this piece again...Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/34821172015-01-23T07:36:32-05:002015-01-24T09:20:18-05:00Paul Cienniwa appointed director of the Collegiate Chorale at Stonehill CollegePaul Cienniwa, DMA, has been appointed director of the Collegiate Chorale at <span class="il">Stonehill</span> College, a liberal arts college in Easton, MA, founded by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. <span style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;">He</span><span style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> will continue</span><span style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> as Chorus Master of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, choral director at Framingham State University, and director of music at First Church in Boston, where the professional First Church Choir can be heard weekly on WERS (88.9 FM) Boston.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"> For more information, visit </span><a contents="http://www.stonehill.edu/directory/paul-cienniwa/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stonehill.edu/directory/paul-cienniwa/%E2%80%8B" target="_blank">http://www.stonehill.edu/directory/paul-cienniwa/</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/34558362015-01-07T13:55:17-05:002015-01-07T13:55:17-05:00Exploring the Dark Side of Bach<a contents="From the Taunton Daily Gazette" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20150107/ENTERTAINMENT/150107858/11188/ENTERTAINMENT/?Start=1" target="_blank">From the Taunton Daily Gazette</a>:<br><br>Dorian Komanoff Bandy and harpsichordist and Fall River resident Paul Cienniwa will present the second part of their recital-series “Bach Explored.” <br><br>Posted Jan. 7, 2015 @ 12:15 pm<br>Updated at 12:24 PM <br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"> <blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">NEW BEDFORD — On Wednesday, Jan. 28, violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy and harpsichordist and Fall River resident Paul Cienniwa will present the second part of their recital-series “Bach Explored.” Each program focused on a different aesthetic facet of Bach’s musical language, surveying its roots in music of his contemporaries and forebears.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">They started in October with “Bach the Dionysian,” and continue on Jan. 28, with “Dark Visions.” The second program probes the deepest reaches of human expression, from the musical ars moriendi to violinistic depictions of grief and despair.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Finally, “Bach the Apollonian” on Wednesday, April 8, closes the series on an exalted note, with grand, heavenly sonatas by two generations of composers. The featured composers are: Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Georg Friedrich Händel, Johann Christian Hertel, Johann Mattheson, Jacobus Nozemann, Johann Georg Pisendel, Johannes Schenck, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Jakob Walther, and Johann Paul Westhoff.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Bach’s works for violin and harpsichord are the only sonatas of their vintage to have entered the standard repertoire. Despite modern-day popularity, they were composed as humble essays in an already rich and thriving tradition — a tradition stretching back three generations before Bach’s birth. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the violin sonata was Germany’s primary outlet for instrumental experimentation, expression, and virtuosity, and its exponents redefined the violin’s technical and musical boundaries.</blockquote><br><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">IF YOU GO</span>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Bach Explored</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">WHO: Dorian Komanoff Bandy, baroque violin, with Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">WHAT: A series of concerts surveying the roots of Bach’s musical language</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">WHERE: New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks!, 608 Pleasant St., New Bedford</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">WHEN: 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 28 and April 8</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">COST: $20 suggested donation</blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">MORE INFO: Call 617-466-9042 or visit <a href="http://www.tauntongazette.com/apps/pbcsedit.dll/paulcienniwa.com/itinerary" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">paulcienniwa.com/itinerary</a>.</blockquote>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/34450292014-12-30T10:32:34-05:002018-07-27T10:27:41-04:00RIP Richard Rephann, my teacher, friend, and mentor<div class="captioned justify_left"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/8a236b01c575d1d037e764bf359bed49550afa3c/medium/rtr-pc.jpg?1419952898" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" /><p class="caption">photo credit: Harold Shapiro</p></div><br>Last night, I learned that Richard Rephann passed away yesterday morning. I studied harpsichord with Richard at Yale from 1995-1998. From 1998-2003, when I was a DMA candidate, Richard took on an advisory role.<br><br>Richard's wife, Susan Thompson, wrote to tell me the news, sending this photo, one that I had never seen before. In it, Richard and I were preparing a performance on matching <a contents="Taskin epinettes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://musical-instruments.squarespace.com/music-at-hand/13a-b-epinettes" target="_blank">Taskin epinettes</a>. Susan wrote, "What a great picture! Here you are blessed with the better of the two épinettes..."<br><br>In my response to Susan, I wrote, "I didn't already have a copy of the photo you sent. It's a really good one, and I look forward to hanging it in my office. That photo does such an excellent job of summarizing my admiration for Richard! I know that he and I shared a special relationship--and I am sure that many of his students felt that way, too. Not a practicing day goes by when I don't reflect on what he taught me, and I know that my playing will always be touched by his vision."<br><br>I continued, "That's not to say that, post-Yale, I have always found myself in agreement with his teaching, but it is to say that his teaching was foundational, creating a sounding board against which to set any and all of my interpretive ideas. I think that's exactly what a teacher should be for a student.<br><br>"But Richard was much more than that to me. Both he and you brought me up in my mid-20's at Yale, and then, post-Yale, you both were very supportive friends in that difficult time of "now what do I do with my life." Richard taught me to love a good martini (either gin or vodka), and he created my palate of post-concert steak and salad, excellent cheese, and, of course, extraordinary wine. He was a teacher in all things."<br><br>There's so much more I can say about Richard. He could be a complete grouch, and his reputation in that way is legendary. When he liked a student, however, he didn't stop giving, and I am grateful to have been liked by Richard. He was like a father to me, and I loved him for it.<br><br>Richard once said to me that, if one could have just one or two people in life to call friends, one was a lucky person. He then called me a friend. What a great gift!<br><br>Thank you, Richard. You were indeed a friend.<br> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/34137312014-12-18T07:43:19-05:002023-12-10T12:08:18-05:00A review from many years ago...<em>Back in 1991, I worked with Chicago poet Michele Fitzsimmons to create a theater piece based on her poetry. My piano/keyboard accompaniment was improvised to her picturesque poems. The following review was in the<a contents=" Chicago Tribune" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-06-08/entertainment/9102200983_1_war-euphoria-lips-poetry" target="_blank"> Chicago Tribune</a>.</em><br><br><strong>Poetry Takes A Seductive, Feisty Turn In A Poet`s `Sirens`</strong><br><br>June 08, 1991 By Sid Smith, Entertainment writer.<br><br>Poetry has been on a frisky roll in this city for some years, mostly in the form of live recitations in high-speed meets at select clubs and watering spots.<br><br>One of the movement`s more seductive practitioners, Michele Fitzsimmons, is offering a one-woman show performing her poems in what amounts to a cabaret in verse. Titled ``Sirens`` and now at Live Bait Theatre, it`s just one more instance of a curious comeback of an art form abandoned only to resurface with newfound fun and topicality, bringing forth a new group of interesting young artists in the process.<p>Fitzsimmons` appeal begins on that most mundane but memorable of levels: sex. Hers is a deliberately erotic poetry, sly, slinky, unabashedly smooth. Her whole act on the surface is a satiny come-on to the audience, from her curvaceous moves and appearance to her sexy black evening wear.<br><br>All but the curved finger and moist lips of a nightclub chanteuse are on view; Fitzsimmons` recitations are often smoky, nearly-sung bistro ballads. But ``Sirens,`` subtitled ``A Chronicle of Love, Sex, Death and War,`` only looks sexy; underneath it is a pensive, personal, cheeky look at love and modern times, complete with a nasty putdown of George Bush and an unequivocal slap at Persian Gulf war euphoria: "We were on the winning side, and it was truly entertaining, Our wars were now fun.``<br><br>Throughout there`s a feisty, feminist sense of identity and sexual awakening, in the dozen or so pieces that move smoothly one from the next, often without even a title or introduction.<br><br><strong>Backed by spartan, evocative accompaniment by Paul Cienniwa, whose music helps underscore the edgy, arid, itchy core to Fitzsimmons` writing, ``Sirens`` is an engaging, though modest, outing of a budding revival.</strong></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/33777362014-12-09T09:40:51-05:002014-12-10T10:31:22-05:00By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music now available!<span class="font_regular"><span class="font_large">My book, By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music, is now available in print and Kindle editions! <a contents="Click here to visit my author page at Amazon" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcienniwa" target="_blank">Click here to visit my author page at Amazon</a>.<br><br>====================================</span></span><br><br>By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music<div> </div>Authored by Paul Cienniwa, Foreword by Larry Thomas Bell FAAR
<div> </div><img src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/vYFH8mcJK1NNy5WF5_gawTGfh33iWfl0i00GeDs89jrmO0Jhb5TM5EKxgLqiA3bcvFMB2iG6t0T0PsBy7vON5FdAwlokw53NWu34envZC5uYwyAafgJ5k64y3LWmsJ_sd2ayvYMBMN1QulHwViQ4=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.createspace.com/Img/T470/T58/T79/BookCoverImage.jpg?random=0.8336344483894294" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><div dir="ltr"><div aria-label="Download attachment " data-tooltip="Download" data-tooltip-class="a1V" id=":1z8" role="button" style="margin-left:8px;" tabindex="0"><div> </div></div></div>
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<div>List Price: <strong>$12.95</strong>
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<strong>6" x 9" </strong>(15.24 x 22.86 cm) <br>Black & White on Cream paper<br>112 pages</div>
<div>ISBN-13: 978-1496180698<br>ISBN-10: 1496180690 <br>BISAC: Music / Instruction & Study / Techniques</div>
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<div> </div>By Heart: the Art of Memorizing Music takes its readers from personal anecdote to practical skills for becoming a successful memorizing musician. If you are new to memorization, this book will give you the skills and techniques to get started with the process. You will carry those skills and techniques for the rest of your life. Even if you already have a solid memorization practice, this book will inspire some new or different approaches while also reinforcing your own convictions. <br> <br>Many of the techniques presented are good for any type of practice, even for the non-memorizing musician. Therefore, this book is also a useful foundational study of how to practice.</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/32745662014-11-10T07:30:42-05:002017-01-13T14:36:40-05:00CBS Boston: Boston’s Best Upcoming Classical Music Performances<span class="font_large"><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/top-lists/bostons-best-upcoming-classical-music-performances-2/" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/8e271675d1f37531c91b681a003b0c73767e7a60/medium/cbs.png?1415622419" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></a></span><br><br><br><a contents="November 10, 2014" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/top-lists/bostons-best-upcoming-classical-music-performances-2/" target="_blank">November 10, 2014</a><br><span class="font_regular">Classical music has been a staple of Boston entertainment and culture for hundreds of years. In fact, it is now more so than ever. So many talented professionals and accessible institutions offer up classical music in the city so anyone in the area can enjoy anything from church music to the great operas. Enjoy some holiday entertainment or take in a concert in one of the oldest cities in the country.</span>
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<span class="font_regular"><img src="https://cbsboston.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dorian-bandy3.jpg?w=300" class="size_orig justify_right border_" alt="Dorian Komanoff Bandy publicity photo (Photo credit: Bryce Vickmark vickmark.com)" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; background: transparent;" width="300" /></span>
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<br><span class="font_regular"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: medium; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Bach Explored Concert 2: Dark Visions</strong></span><br>First Church Boston<br>66 Marlborough St.<br>Boston, MA 02116<br>(617) 267-6730<br>www.doriankomanoffbandy.com</span>
<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 20px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; background: transparent;"><span class="font_regular">Date: Jan. 29, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.<br><br><span class="font_large"><span style="background-color: transparent;">First Church Boston has some of the best acoustics in town and plays host to numerous music events. Of course, it also has music for times of worship. <strong>The second in the Bach Explored concerts at First Church Boston features Dorian Komanoff Bandy on violin and Paul Cienniwa on harpsichord.</strong> This recital focuses on some of the composer’s darker works exploring emotions such as loss and mourning.</span></span></span></p>
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</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/32718252014-11-07T17:00:21-05:002014-11-07T17:00:21-05:00American Guild of Organists 2014 National Convention service in reviewThe November 2014 issue of <a contents="The Diapason" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.thediapason.com/" target="_blank">The Diapason</a> includes a review of one of the two services that I led at First Church in Boston for the 2014 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. The review neglects to mention that I am the Director of Music at First Church. Among the comments:
<ul> <li>"the service...[was] certainly [a] convention highlight...model of liturgical music"</li> <li>"The choral music [directed by Paul Cienniwa] for this service was beautifully done, much of it <em>a cappella</em> by a small and obviously very professional choir."</li> <li>"Perhaps most thrilling of all, though, was the postlude [played by Paul Cienniwa], from the <em>Liturgical Suite for Organ</em>, op. 69, by Larry Thomas Bell."</li> <li>"The entire service was planned and executed with intelligence and care."</li>
</ul>Hey, not bad!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/32464212014-10-23T08:01:47-04:002014-11-14T08:18:37-05:00Bach concerto performance with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra in review<span class="font_regular"><em><a contents="published in the Standard Times (New Bedford):" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141023/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/141029798/0/SEARCH" target="_blank">published in the Standard Times (New Bedford):</a></em><br><br>The second gem was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Cembalo No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055. For this segment the battery of wind and percussion players left the stage, leaving two dozen string players and one harpsichord, played by Paul Cienniwa, known locally for his mastery of his instrument and for his musical leadership of the NBSO Chorus. Before the concert, I put a similar question to Cienniwa, and he was quick to respond that the Larghetto (middle) movement of the Bach Concert No. 4 was unbelievable beautiful for its extremely long musical lines which weave so deftly when played at the proper tempo. He added that the outer movements were lovely, too, but that the middle movement stands out as an example of why Bach was so popular among 19th-century listeners who were beginning to become attracted to a more romantic style.<br><br><strong>Cienniwa's performance of the three concise movements (Allegro-Larghetto-Allegro) was flawless.</strong> Maestro Mackenzie was able to mold the many strings to balance the subtly soft-plucked keyboard instrument through passages when one, then many, were meant to predominate. During this moment, a serendipitous shifting of clouds bought a shaft of warm, sweet evening light onto the stage - a coincidence which was not lost on the performers. From my vantage point I could not see a music holder on the keyboard, which led me to conclude that Cienniwa was playing from memory throughout. Afterwards I asked him if I were correct; his answer was “Oh, of course, with Bach there should be no other way.”</span><br><br> <em>The full recorded performance is on YouTube:</em><br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8lVqzGBbcYQ?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/32406152014-10-20T07:52:24-04:002017-01-13T14:36:40-05:00Paul Cienniwa at the Portland Early Music Festival, October 25, 2014<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/6c9c713c4a6e4bd499e7d7e9816edaa21c6d466b/original/festivalposter2014-page-001.jpg?1413805903" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/32356772014-10-16T13:41:46-04:002014-10-16T13:42:24-04:00'Entrancing Showpieces' features Cienniwa<span class="font_regular">On Sunday afternoon, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra presents "Entrancing Showpieces" at St. Julie Billiart Church in North Dartmouth. The concert opens with Alberto Ginastera's "Variaciones Concertantes," which features demanding solos from many of the orchestra's principal players. Featured guest artist harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa will then treat concertgoers to the elegance and profundity of Bach's Concerto No. 4 for Harpsichord. Cienniwa has a burgeoning career as a soloist, recording artist and ensemble player. He is chorus master of the NBSO, directs the chorus at Framingham State university, teaches at UMass Dartmouth, and serves as music director at First Church in Boston. The concert program closes with the energy, creativity, power and beauty of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. You won't want to miss a chance to experience this masterpiece up close and personal.</span><br> <blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">4 p.m. Sunday, 494 Slocum Road, Dartmouth. Tickets are $40, students $10; available through the Z box office at (508) 994-2900. The church is fully handicap accessible.</em></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">- See more at: <a contents="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141016/ENTERTAIN/410160334/101103/ENTERTAINMENT#sthash.gAfZslgS.dpuf" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141016/ENTERTAIN/410160334/101103/ENTERTAINMENT#sthash.gAfZslgS.dpuf" target="_blank">http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141016/ENTERTAIN/410160334/101103/ENTERTAINMENT#sthash.gAfZslgS.dpuf</a></span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/31466552014-08-20T16:26:11-04:002014-08-20T16:26:55-04:00BACH EXPLOREDThis October, baroque violinist Dorian Komanoff Bandy and I will be embarking on a three-concert series entitled "Bach Explored," with concerts in Boston and New Bedford. (For more information on the venues and dates, see: <a contents="http://paulcienniwa.com/itinerary" data-link-label="Itinerary" data-link-type="page" href="/itinerary" target="_blank">http://paulcienniwa.com/itinerary</a>)<br><br>As part of the runup to the series, Dorian has been writing short articles about the music on the program. You can visit his blog here: <a contents="http://www.doriankomanoffbandy.com/bachexplored.html" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.doriankomanoffbandy.com/bachexplored.html" target="_blank">http://www.doriankomanoffbandy.com/bachexplored.html</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/30630972014-07-08T08:56:38-04:002014-07-08T08:56:38-04:00Portland Early Music Festival seeks funding<a contents="This October, I'm playing at the Portland Early Music Festival" data-link-label="Itinerary" data-link-type="page" href="/itinerary" target="_blank">This October, I'm playing at the Portland Early Music Festival</a>. Like so many ventures, they're seeking to raise money through crowdsourcing. That means that you can contribute to make it happen! For more information, click here: <a contents="http://igg.me/at/portlandearlymusicfestival/x" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://igg.me/at/portlandearlymusicfestival/x" target="_blank">http://igg.me/at/portlandearlymusicfestival/x</a><br><br><br><br> <iframe frameborder="0" height="445px" scrolling="no" src="https://www.indiegogo.com/project/portland-maine-early-music-festival-2014/embedded" width="222px"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/30023752014-06-09T08:00:43-04:002017-02-04T00:26:21-05:00Harpsichordized!I've been experimenting with taking non-classical music and transcribing it for harpsichord. There's more to come!<br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUz6N_YYb-nK14BoA3C_tH5a" width="560"></iframe><br><br><a contents="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUz6N_YYb-nK14BoA3C_tH5a" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="%E2%80%8Bhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUz6N_YYb-nK14BoA3C_tH5a" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUz6N_YYb-nK14BoA3C_tH5a</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/29512722014-05-16T10:04:07-04:002014-05-16T10:04:07-04:00YouTube playlist: Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en miMy complete performance of Jean-Philippe Rameau's <em>Pièces de clavecin en mi </em>(1724) is now available on YouTube. Enjoy!<br><br> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUwUVcIn6IBGMe8UFPe489if" width="560"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/29203972014-05-05T10:46:21-04:002014-05-05T10:46:21-04:00New artist representation!Paul Cienniwa is now represented by Jarvis-Lundt early music artists. <a contents="Click here for more information" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.jarvis-lundt.com/" target="_blank">Click here for more information</a>.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/29104052014-04-30T14:59:25-04:002017-01-13T14:36:40-05:00Rare harpsichord recital links music and scholarship<i>From the archives:<br><br>February 1998</i><br><br><a contents="Rare harpsichord recital links music and scholarship" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxv/2.13.98/ae/harp.html" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">Rare harpsichord recital links music and scholarship</span></a>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><i>By Justin Urcis for the Yale Herald</i></p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">For some musicians, a recital demands more preparation than practice. When a rare instrument like the harpsichord is involved, even a certain amount of research is even required for the performance. After the harpsichord was gradually displaced by the piano in the 18th century, it remained in a state of neglect for over a hundred years--until it was rediscovered in the 20th century. To understand their instrument, harpsichordists must travel back in time several centuries; they must become historians, combining musicianship and scholarship in their art.</p>
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<td align="right" width="180"><font size="-2">COURTESY YALE COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS</font></td> </tr>
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<td width="180"><font size="-1">Ferrucio Busoni at the harpsichord. The 'Busoni Sonatina' was written for this very harpsichord, which is now in the Yale Collection. Paul Cienniwa will perform on an instrument which incorporates features of this model.</font></td> </tr>
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<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Given the background research they require, solo harpsichord recitals are understandably rare. Nevertheless, Paul Cienniwa, MUS '98, will present a harpsichord recital on Thurs., Feb. 19 in Sprague Hall. Cienniwa, a Fulbright finalist planning to study the harpsichord in Amsterdam next year, enjoys taking advantage of Yale's resources and rediscovering early music.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Cienniwa will perform on a 20-year-old instrument that combines features of older harpsichords, a mix which provides the performer with the flexibility to perform 16th and 20th century music side by side. Although Sprague might seem like a large venue for such an intimate instrument, Cienniwa claims that the harpsichord sounds wonderful in the resonant hall. He explained that unlike the piano, "the harpsichord is about timbre, not volume. The experience of listening to the harpsichord could be compared to the aural sensation generated from `world music,' where one is completely enveloped in a sound-world."</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">The concert will begin with a sonata by C.P.E. Bach, followed by two preludes and fugues from J.S. Bach's <i>Well-Tempered Clavier</i>, including the E major from the second book. According to Cienniwa, "the fugue is reminiscent of 16th-century counterpoint. It sounds like a Kyrie or Agnus Dei from Josquin. Playing it is like leading a choir." This reference to the 16th century will be followed by to John Bull's <i>Walsingham</i>, 30 variations on a popular song. In terms of length, technical demands, and vision, the piece is not dissimilar to Bach's monumental <i>Goldberg <br>Variations</i>.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">The second half of the concert will consist of the severe, yet surreal,<i>Busoni Sonatina</i>. Filled with Debussy-like harmonies, the piece displays Busoni as a musical pioneer who sought to find a new language with the use of an old instrument. The program concludes with J.S. Bach's first Partita. Many listeners are accustomed to hearing Busoni's arrangements of Bach on the piano; this concert provides an opportunity for them to hear Busoni next to Bach on the harpsichord.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Historical investigation of a piece of music often produces new interpretations of it. Cienniwa cites the Gigue of J.S. Bach's first Partita, a piece which he will perform at his recital, as a prime example. He feels that many performers play the piece much too quickly, as most modern editions of the Partita are based on an edition made by the 19th-century pianist Carl Czerny. Czerny assigns the triplet figures that run throughout the movement to the right hand, which allows the pianist to swiftly negotiate the difficult figures with ease. The rapid eighth notes become part of the texture, rather than part of the Gigue rhythm, and the movement becomes more extroverted and showy.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">After examining a facsimile of the first edition at a Yale library, however, Cienniwa saw that Czerny's arrangement distorted the meaning of the work. The facsimile clearly indicates that the left hand should take the triplets. The implications of this discovery are immense: the Gigue is played far more slowly, with greater attention to the dance rhythm than to virtuoso display. The result is startling to anyone familiar with the piece.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Yale has much to offer harpsichordists: a music conservatory, a library system that contains authentic musical documents, and one of the finest collections of historical keyboard instruments in the world.</p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">"Fortunately, we can find out exactly what Bach, Rameau or Couperin said about how to play their music," Cienniwa said. There is no reason to trust anything other than the sources. We want to get as close to truth as possible," Yet he is puzzled that many musicians do not push themselves to discover new interpretations. "Today there is such a concern with what other people do. Not enough people trust their musicianship. We do not need to rely on recordings to understand a piece of music. We should trust our own intellect and instincts."</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/25915402014-02-16T16:57:58-05:002017-01-13T14:36:39-05:00Featured in the Boston Globe<h1 class="main-hed" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 4.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.04347826; font-family: 'Miller Headline Bold', 'Times New Roman', Times, Georgia, serif;"><span class="font_small">William Byrd’s endearing — and enduring — song lives on</span></h1>
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<h2 class="author" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.09090909em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; display: inline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: none;">By Matthew Guerrieri</h2> | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
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<content><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">On Feb. 20 at First Church Boston, harpsichordist (and First Church music director) Paul Cienniwa performs William Byrd’s “Will Yow Walke the Woods Soe Wylde,” a variation set that first appeared in 1591 (in the important collection “My Ladye Nevells Booke”). The theme itself was already well-known, the beneficiary of one of the oldest forms of advertisement: Somebody famous liked it.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The celebrity was Henry VIII, himself an enthusiastic musician. According to John Hooker’s contemporary biography of Peter Carew (1514?-1575), an adventurer who, with guile and luck, navigated the tricky political landscape of 16th-century Britain, “Carew having a pleasant voice, [Henry VIII] would very often use him to sing with him certain songs . . . ‘By the bank I lay’; and ‘As I walked in the wood so wild.’ ”</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The song’s popularity persisted into Elizabeth’s reign. John Dowland quoted it in his song “Can She Excuse My Wrongs.” If, as legend has it, the words were written by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex — a onetime favorite of Elizabeth I who later fell out of favor (and was eventually executed) — the quote would have reminded listeners of Devereux’s estate (and periodic exile) in the woods north of London. By the time Byrd’s variations appeared (as well as Orlando Gibbons’s — both were set down in the early-17th-century “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book”), the tune was a standard.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span class="span" id="U73480078393TwC" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none;">That web — Henry and Carew, Dowland and Essex, Byrd (inset)</span> and Gibbons — earned the song a small share of immortality. One dividend on that share was paid by James Joyce, in a famous passage in his most musical novel, “Finnegans Wake”: a paean to Isobel Porter, the youngest daughter of the book’s ostensible protagonist. “Isobel, she is so pretty, truth to tell,” Joyce wrote, “wildwood’s eyes and primarose hair, quietly, all the woods so wild, in mauves of moss and daphnedews.” In a letter, Joyce admitted that the reference to the old song was deliberate, and that, in fact, the entire section was composed to mimic the song’s rhythms.</p>
<p id="skip-target" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">In 1942, John Cage adapted the passage for “The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs,” for soprano and a pianist — who, instead of playing the keys, drums on the piano’s lid and case with fingertips and knuckles. The chant-like melody and dryly percussive accompaniment are a world away from Byrd’s floridness. But, underneath the line “all the woods so wild,” Cage drops in a single beat of tripping, triple-time dotted dance, just like the original.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">MATTHEW GUERRIERI</p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.125em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><i class="i" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none;">Paul Cienniwa performs music of Byrd and Couperin Feb. 20 at 12:15 p.m. at First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough St. (Donations accepted; <a class="a" href="http://www.firstchurchboston.org/;" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); -webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear, background-color 0.1s linear; transition: color 0.1s linear, background-color 0.1s linear;">www.firstchurchboston.org;</a> 617-267-6730).</i></p></content><tagline><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; list-style: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Matthew Guerrieri can be reached at <a class="a" href="mailto:matthewguerrieri@gmail.com" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); -webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear, background-color 0.1s linear; transition: color 0.1s linear, background-color 0.1s linear;">matthewguerrieri@gmail.com</a>.</em></tagline>
</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/25658612014-02-12T07:34:03-05:002014-02-12T07:34:03-05:00Review: NBSO offers another dazzler<div class="bylineText" style="margin-top: 5px;"><span class="font_regular"><span class="by">SouthCoastToday.com<br>By Laurie Robertson-Lorant</span></span></div>
<div class="bylineExtra"><span class="font_regular">Contributing writer</span></div>
<div class="bylineDate" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><span class="font_regular">February 12, 2014 12:00 AM</span></div>
<p class="articleGraf" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.35em;"><span class="font_regular"><span style="line-height: 1.35em;">The first half of Saturday's program featured Suite #2 from Manuel de Falla's spirited ballet score "The Three-Cornered Hat," and Joaquin Rodrigo's soulful Concierto de Aranjuez — two works whose flirtations with the sexy harmonic minor evoke the exotic cross-cultural currents of Al Andalus. There the Spaniards, gypsies, Greeks, Moors and Jews mingled their musical DNA despite their precarious, and often deadly, proximity.</span>What could be more welcome on a cold winter night in Massachusetts than a warm dose of "Spanish Soul" administered by Dr. David MacKenzie and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra?</span></p>
<p class="articleGraf" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.35em;"><span class="font_regular">After the intermission, the orchestra played Saint-Saens' great Symphony No. 3, the "Organ Symphony,"<span class="font_large"> with harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa</span> at the keyboard and pedals of the mighty 1923 Wurlitzer orchestra organ and one or two pianos in the orchestra itself.</span></p>
<p class="articleGraf" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.35em;"><span class="font_regular">The symphony's two movements break naturally into a classic four-movement structure. In the opening segment, the majestic orchestral line in the strings contrasts with the agitated, broken chords in the woodwinds. Next, lyrical passages give way to songlike motifs and arpeggios by the violins, and the organ makes a subdued entrance, which grounds the temporal strivings of the orchestra in the eternal. In the second segment, strong dotted rhythms drive the scherzo, which soon morphs into a fugue. Then after a recapitulation of the opening theme, which shows the composer's versatility with classical forms and contrasts, a fugal duet between the violins and violas is joined by the winds and brasses, then a phalanx of cellos.</span></p>
<p class="articleGraf" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.35em;"><span class="font_regular">The second movement, or third segment, opens with a powerful chord from the organ and subsequent "discussion" between various sections of the orchestra, followed by a thrilling finale wherein majestic hymn-like chords alternative with a fanfare from the brass and another huge fugue, as though Saint-Saens is trying to hang onto the counterpoint of Bach and Mozart while venturing into the revolutionary territory of his friend Franz Liszt. I especially like the way Saint-Saens gave the tuba, trombone and percussion instruments a crucial role in the fourth segment's fugue and inverted fugue before the tympani announces the resolution of all tensions and struggles with a flourish, bringing this brilliantly composed and brilliantly performed symphony to its close and we excited listeners to our feet applauding this magnificent concert.</span></p>
<p class="articleGraf" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.35em;"><span class="font_regular">A last word: In the audience were some 100 people who had taken the NBSO up on its offer of two free tickets to anyone who had not previously attended. I am sure those "newbies" — to use Maestro MacKenzie's word — will be back for more great music.</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/25535332014-02-10T14:00:34-05:002014-02-10T14:12:34-05:00Early Music Thursdays resumes<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Music of First Church Boston announces </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early Music Thursdays</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursdays, 12:15-12:45pm, February 13, 20 and 27; April 24; May 1 and 8</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">donations accepted</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First Church in Boston is handicapped accessible</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For more information, visit</span><a data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://firstchurchboston.org/early-music-thursdays-0" style="text-decoration:none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.firstchurchboston.org</span></a></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About the series...</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boston has long been known for its important role in the modern harpsichord revival and in the world of "early music." First Church in Boston continues this revival with a series of Thursday harpsichord recitals and concerts on period instruments. All concerts are free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged to support the programming. Concerts are on Thursdays from February 13-27 and April 24-May 8.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For an up-to-date listing of performers, see below or visit <a contents="www.firstchurchboston.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://firstchurchboston.org/early-music-thursdays-0" target="_blank">www.firstchurchboston.org</a>.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About First Church in Boston...</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> First Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist congregation founded in 1630 by John Winthrop’s original Puritan settlement in Boston. The current building, designed by architect Paul Rudolph, is an excellent acoustic space ideal for chamber music. For more information, visit <a contents="www.firstchurchboston.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://firstchurchboston.org/early-music-thursdays-0" target="_blank">www.firstchurchboston.org</a>.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Performance Roster:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">February 13</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tracy Cowart, mezzo-soprano; Sarah Paysnick, flute; Akiko Enoki Sato, harpsichord</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thomas-Louis Bourgeois: L'Amour musicien, cantata françoise a voice seule avec simphonie</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">February 20</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul Cienniwa, harpsichordist</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Byrd: Will Yow Walke the Woods Soe Wylde</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Couperin: 17ème Ordre, Le Tic-Toc-Choc, Les Barricades Mystérieuses</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">February 27</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grand Harmonie: </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarah Paysnick, flute; Kristin Olson, oboe; Thomas Carroll, clarinet; Yoni Kahn, horn; Elizabeth Hardy, bassoon</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reicha: Wind Quintet in E-flat, Op. 88, No. 2</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">April 24</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jory Vinikour, harpsichordist</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bach: </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ouverture nach Französischer Art, BWV 831</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mel Powell: Recitative and Toccata Percossa (1953)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May 1</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul Cienniwa, harpsichordist</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rameau: Suite in e minor (1724)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May 8</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Charles Sherman, harpsichordist</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scarlatti: Six Sonatas (K. 69, 469, 84, 296, 44, 56)</span></p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/25397002014-02-07T12:36:41-05:002014-02-07T12:36:41-05:00A brief organ tour at First Church in Boston<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NhXAPKU0_E8" width="560"></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/24743402014-01-27T14:04:38-05:002014-01-27T14:05:17-05:00Breakfast with Paul: In MemoriumA number of readers have enjoyed my <em>Breakfast with Paul</em> blog with the Fall River <em>Herald News</em>. The online version of the newspaper recently underwent some changes, and, consequently, all of my previous posts disappeared. Also, the new blog writer does not allow for video embedding. If you were a regular reader, you know that embedded videos were a big part of my "guides to classical music." <br><br>Thus, I've discontinued writing for the <em>Herald News</em>. In the meantime, I'll be spending more time on getting <a contents="my book project" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.internalizingmusic.blogspot.com" target="_blank">my book project</a> together.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/22655872013-12-20T11:30:49-05:002013-12-20T11:30:49-05:00Website updateAfter much delay, I've finally rebuilt my website. Enjoy!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/10615642013-07-03T09:13:12-04:002017-01-13T14:36:39-05:00Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place in review<div class="wrapper">
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<div id="site-title">The original, with reviews of other CD's, is here: <a href="http://www.lafolia.com/pieces-de-clavecin-7/" target="_new">http://www.lafolia.com/pieces-de-clavecin-7/</a><br><br>
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<p><img src="//www.lafolia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/wcs_059-200x200.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="wcs_059" height="200" style="border: 1px solid black;" width="200" /><img src="//www.lafolia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/harmonianmundi_hmc902143-200x200.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="harmonianmundi_hmc902143" height="200" style="border: 1px solid black;" width="200" /></p>
<p>“<b>Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place</b>.” Var comps. Var pieces. Paul Cienniwa (hpsi). <b>Whaling City Sound WCS 059</b> (1 CD) </p>
<p>“<b>…pour passer la mélancolie</b>.” Var comps. Var pieces. Andreas Staier (hpsi). <b>Harmonia Mundi HMC 902143</b> (1 CD) </p>
<p>Presented on a 1966 William Dowd, Cienniwa’s program groups 16 generally slow and meditative <b><i>pièces</i></b>, intentionally avoiding minor-mode melancholy. The title’s “thin place” limns a perceived border between the ordinary and spiritual. One <b><i>pièce</i></b> is contemporary, Larry Thomas Bell’s <b>Sarabande</b> from <b>Partita No. 1</b>, <b>Op. 97</b> (2009), and there’s a transcription of the <b>Andante</b> from Bach’s <b>Sonata No. 2 </b>for solo violin. The Couperins take pride of place with four <b>Préludes</b> from <b><i>L’art du toucher le clavecin</i></b> and two of Louis’<b><i> pièces</i></b>. <b><i>La Sylvia</i></b> and <b><i>La Du Vaucel</i></b> represent the Forqueray dynasty. For Rameau we get the <b>Allemande</b> from the 1728 <b>Suite in A</b>, and, like Chassot, Cienniwa closes with an expansive <b><i>Les Soupirs</i></b>. From outside France come Sweelinck’s <b><i>O lux beata trinitas</i></b>, Byrd’s <b><i>Ave verum corpus</i></b>, and a D major <b>Allemande</b> from Froberger. Cienniwa seems more at home in the French works. As always, I wish for more Rameau. The <b>BWV 1003 </b>transcription’s rubato feels out of place in passages violinists perform strictly.</p>
<p>Staier plays an anonymous 17th-century French instrument, restored at this century’s start. Its hazy resonance dulls attacks. Composers include Froberger, D’Anglebert, J.C.F. Fischer, L. Couperin, Clérambault and Georg Muffat. I admit not focusing until Couperin’s <b>F major</b> <b>Suite</b> with the <b><i>Tombeau de M. de Blancrocher</i></b> and wandering away again. Kim’s D’Anglebert is more riveting and majestic. As far as collections go, whether moody or otherwise, Cienniwa’s program makes more sense. Staier’s set will sit, forgotten, on a shelf.</p>
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</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/8648172013-06-03T07:00:00-04:002020-01-24T08:36:54-05:00A review from my past life...In the early 90's, I played with <a href="http://www.baaltinne.com/" target="_new">Baal Tinne</a>, a Chicago-based Irish semi-traditional band. I came upon <a href="http://celticmusicfan.com/2013/06/01/baal-tinne-the-haunting/" target="_new">this review</a> yesterday of an album we released in 1994. If I'm not mistaken, the recording came out in cassette and CD. Now, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunting/dp/B001F6L3HM" target="_new">you can download it</a>. We're gonna party like it's 1994!<br><br><a href="http://celticmusicfan.com/2013/06/01/baal-tinne-the-haunting/" target="_new">The Celtic Music Fan, June 1, 2013</a><br><br>
Band: Baal Tinne<br>
Album: The Haunting<br>
Musicians in the album:<br>
Noel Rice<br>
Cathleen Rice-Halliburton<br>
Matt Sundstrom<br>
Paul Cienniwa<br><br>
Year of release: 1994<br><br>
Style: Contemporary instrumental/New Age/Traditional Irish<br><br>
Tracks:<br><br>
1. The Long Note / One Horned Sheep<br>
2. The Dawn / Morning Dew / Speed the Plough<br>
3. Gan Anim<br>
4. The Thatchers Are Here / Old Joe’s Jig / Allistrum’s March<br>
5. Toss the Feathers / Jenny’s Chickens<br>
6. The Haunting<br>
7. Waves / Farewell To Connaught / McFadden’s Handsome Daughter<br>
8. The Providence Reel / The Month of January<br>
9. Limericks Lamentation / Daddy When You Die / The Merry Blacksmith<br>
10. Killarney Boys of Pleasure / The Fyket<br><br>
From the start of the thundering crystal clear piano of Paul Cienniwa, Baal Tinne aims to do what every musicians want: to transport the listeners into another world where the note is king. The haunting flute of Noel Rice takes us back into the times when New Age music was new and everyone was captivated. The fiddling of Cathleen Rice creates a balance between Traditional Irish and avant-garde instrumental music. And yes, Matt Sundstrom contributes a folk vibe into The Haunting which thanks to Ceolwind Productions, this is my introduction into the quintet’s music.<br><br>
The group’s name suggests the relationship to Celtic celebration especially the feast of fires which is celebrated during the month of May. The atmosphere of the entire album is that of the changing of the mood brought about by the seasons. The tracks shimmer with authenticity and magic. For a truly stunning listening experience, I suggest the use of headphones. There is something intimate about The Haunting that makes you turn the lights off and light candles.<br><br>
I miss this sound because it reminds me of groups like Nightnoise and The Secret Garden. Back in the days when Celtic music was not just about technical skills, energy and tradition but also the beauty of the moods and atmosphere that musicians brought to the music. The classical and jazz influences are undeniable which can be found in tracks like The Long Note, The Dawn, Gab Ainm, The Haunting and Waves. Killarney Boys of Pleasure showcases the group’s love for folk and traditional tunes. I love their interpretation of Toss the Feathers because of the arrangement and the clarity of each instrument.<br><br>
Don’t miss the hymn like Limerick’s Lamentation which I think is one of the most memorable and tunes in The Haunting. Take note of the low pizzicato when the tune starts to catch tempo at 2:30.<br type="_moz"><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/8579842013-06-01T06:15:59-04:002013-06-01T06:15:59-04:00Podcast: Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton PineWhen I was in Chicago in April to rehearse the Bach <i>Violin Sonatas</i> with Rachel Barton Pine for this month's Boston Early Music Festival, we recorded a podcast for her "Violin Adventures" series. The topic was "To Memorize or Not To Memorize, That is the Question."<br><br>
Click here to listen to the podcast: <a href="http://rachelbartonpine.libsyn.com/episode-75-to-memorize-or-not-to-memorize-that-is-the-question" target="_new">http://rachelbartonpine.libsyn.com/episode-75-to-memorize-or-not-to-memorize-that-is-the-question</a><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/7001142013-05-08T09:16:27-04:002013-05-08T09:16:27-04:00KRCB interviewIn advance of my performances last week in Sonama County, CA, I was interviewed on KRCB Radio's <i>Curtain Call</i>, a weeky show presented by Charles Sepos--who, I was really happy to learn, had studied harpsichord with Eiji Hashimoto at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. How fortuitous! <br><br>
Click here to listen to the interview: <a href="http://media.krcb.org/podcasts/curtain_call/Curtain_Call_20130503.mp3" target="_new">http://media.krcb.org/podcasts/curtain_call/Curtain_Call_20130503.mp3<br></a><br>
(I start at about 15', following a strange juxtaposition with <i>Young Frankenstein--the musical</i>!)<br type="_moz"><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/3554702013-03-09T08:30:00-05:002017-01-13T14:36:39-05:00Pictured on the cover of the 2013 Early Music America Directory of Members<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/596412cf272d09fbd3d2544bc3c65000df7a1cd5/large/EMA-2013.jpg?1375901855" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="648" width="500" /> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/3492992013-03-07T05:04:23-05:002013-03-07T05:04:23-05:00Cienniwa chooses French works for Sunday recital<a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/" target="_new">The New Bedford Standard-Times</a><br>
March 07, 2013 12:00 AM<br><br>
At 3 p.m. Sunday, Paul Cienniwa, a favorite local musician and choral conductor, will be the featured recitalist in the Music at St. Anthony's program.<br><br>
Complimentary tea and refreshments will be served after the recital at a reception to meet the organist in the church hall. Freewill donations are collected during the event, and patrons are encouraged to "Adopt an Organ Part" to help the fundraising.<br><br>
For the first time in the recital series, a limited number of seats in the organ loft will be offered for a $25 donation to the fund. Although there are four flights of stairs to the loft, the climb will be well worth it to be able to view a master at his craft.<br><br>
Cienniwa plans a program specifically to use the special features of this organ. He plans to start with Liebermann's evocative and spooky "De Profundis," then incorporate French baroque (some of his all-time favorite periods in music), with works by Correte and Dandrieu, allowing him to explore this instrument's French accent. He will include the small chancel instrument — engaging it as the "echo" in Sweelink's "Fantasia," and conclude the program with a final French work, by the Alsatian Boellmann, the Toccata from a four-movement suite.<br><br>
A resident of Fall River, Cienniwa leads an active life in Southeastern Massachusetts and the Boston/Providence regions as an organist, harpsichordist, and conductor. He recently rehearsed the New Bedford Symphony Chorus for its December 2012 concert, and accompanied in the symphony on harpsichord at St. Anthony's.<br><br>
The March 10 recital is part of the fundraising series for the restoration of the now 100-year-old Casavant Pipe organ.<br><br>
For more information, call the rectory at (508) 993-1691.<br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/3338532013-02-28T09:34:08-05:002013-02-28T09:34:08-05:00Assumption College recital in reviewHarpsichordist Paul Cienniwa pays Assumption a visit<br>
by Matt Doherty, Staff Writer<br><a href="http://www.leprovoc.com/harpsichordist-paul-cienniwa-pays-assumption-a-visit-1.3001359#.US-vvjA4SSo" target="_new">Le Provocateur<br></a>February 28, 2013<br><br>
A once silent room quickly filled with applause as harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa approached the front of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit Community Room. He stood poised in a navy blazer and collared white shirt as he introduced the first piece he would play for the anticipated crowd. He then proceeded to sit down at the 20th century harpsichord, close his eyes, and let his fingers fill the room with the music of Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti’s “Sonata in C major.”<br><br>
Cienniwa has a flourishing career as a soloist, recording artist and ensemble player. His recording with Grammy Award-winning uilleann piper Jerry O’Sullivan was called “drop dead gorgeous” and named one of the top ten Irish traditional albums of 2010 by The Irish Echo. He is also featured on a two-CD set of music by composer Larry Thomas Bell titled “In a Garden of Dreamers” (Albany Records). Cienniwa has also appeared on various radio stations across the country and leads an active musical life in southeastern Massachusetts.<br><br>
He has been awarded Belgian American Educational Foundation and Fulbright grants and his musicological articles and reviews have appeared in American and European journals, including Early Music, Ad Parnassum and Early Music America. As an educator, he has taught at the Yale University School of Music, Salve Regina University and Mount Ida College. He continues to teach at UMass-Dartmouth and Framingham State University.<br><br>
The Assumption College HumanArts Series held the concert on February 15. Cienniwa played three different pieces of classical music, capturing sounds that were both fast and slow with various harmonic changes that kept each listener intrigued.<br><br>
“It’s an unusual sonata in Scarlatti’s works,” Cienniwa said before his first performance. “Scarlatti’s [works] tend to be one speed throughout the whole piece but this one starts out slow and moves along getting faster.”<br><br>
He sat upright in his chair before the harpsichord and slowly let his fingers dance along the keyboard. As the tempo sped up and his hands moved quicker, he simply closed his eyes and played the complex melodies without breaking a sweat.<br><br>
“That’s great stuff; I should’ve ended with it,” he laughed after finishing the fast paced Sonata.<br><br>
Before playing J.S. Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor,” Cienniwa took a brief moment to explain the next bit of music.<br><br>
“The next piece, the ‘Fugue,’ is probably the most familiar piece; it was sung by the Count on Sesame Street,” he laughed.<br><br>
As he finished playing the rhythmic piece, he mentioned how great it is for people to hear this music live on a harpsichord.<br><br>
“Especially this piece which is played so frequently by pianists,” he says. “I don’t want to say it is the instrument for which it was intended, but it’s something much more close in the harpsichord.”<br><br>
Cienniwa is very fond of the final piece of the performance, “Suite no. 7 in G minor.” It contains six movements that all have such unique rhythms and sounds. Cienniwa explained how this 20-minute piece of music first captured his interest before sitting down again to play.<br><br>
“I originally learned the Suite because I liked the last movement so much; the pasacaille,” he said. “It’s a really fun movement to play and it ends the entire Suite.”<br><br>
Each movement has a distinct sound that differs from the rest. It begins with a series of chords and as Cienniwa progresses through the piece, it pleasantly surprised the listener from how different each movement sounds as it moves to the next. From the jumpy andante to the guitar-like sarabande, the audience is exposed to the wonderful variety that this piece has to offer.<br><br>
As he got up and took his final bow, the crowd gave a loud round of applause. Although the concert was short, it was impactful.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/3093122013-02-13T03:15:57-05:002013-02-13T03:15:57-05:00Haydn's The Creation (New Bedford Symphony Orchestra/Providence Singers) in reviewNBSO, Providence Singers give sublime performance<br>
by Laurie Robertson-Lorant, contributing writer<br><a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/" target="_new">The New Bedford Standard-Times</a><br>
February 13, 2013<br><br>
On Monday evening, as outside the auditorium the blizzard-blasted world of the past weekend was slowly melting away, inside the Zeiterion Theatre, the wonderful world of Haydn's "Creation" came to vibrant life in a marvelous performance by the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Providence Singers and soloists Matthew Anderson, Paul Guttry and Teresa Wakim, all under the inspired direction of Maestro David MacKenzie. The three soloists were outstanding, as were the Providence Singers, and the orchestra once again displayed its energy and superb musicianship, with <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>special notice going to the horns and woodwinds, harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa and principal cellist Leo Eguchi for his ravishing solo</b></span>.<br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2977082013-02-04T03:55:44-05:002017-02-01T20:17:51-05:00The Choir of First Church in Boston in Concert<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KZEq3Ro7mXU?list=PLZb_tUWMfpUxCOSiJoE76gNbBK84tYFlc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2922282013-01-29T07:55:00-05:002013-01-29T07:55:00-05:00"Choir Steps Out"<b>Choir Steps Out<br></b><i><b>by Joyce Painter Rice for <a href="http://classical-scene.com/2013/01/29/steps-out/" target="_new">The Boston Musical Intelligencer</a></b></i><br><br>
Heretofore relegated to singing only at Sunday morning services, the Choir of First Church in Boston, composed of twelve professional singers, presented its first full concert on Sunday afternoon under conductor Paul Cienniwa, now in his seventh year as music director. This was a celebratory event, underwritten by the church’s Collins Family Memorial Concert Fund.<br><br>
Cienniwa introduced each work on the program, often humorously citing the choir’s past associations. In keeping with the festive nature of the afternoon, the program included each singer’s biography: there are composers, numerous opera and lieder singers, solo concert artists, choral conductors, oratorio society soloists and a pianist.<br><br>
Sung a cappella, except for the last work, the program opened with the tour de force Three Songs for Chorus by Philip Glass. First Church Choir beautifully handled Glass’s minimalist, repetitive figures, which were prominent though not overwhelming in these songs. This was perhaps the finest ensemble singing of the concert. Glass’s three songs were commissioned by the Québec Festival in 1984, and they are his only a cappella writing for choir. The texts are poems by three different North American poets: Leonard Cohen’s “There Are Some Men”, Raymond Lévesque’s “Quand les Hommes Vivront d’Amour”, and Octavio Paz’s“Pierre de Soleil”.<br><br>
Schubert’s setting of the 92nd Psalm, “Lied für den Sabbath” D. 952 for baritone solo and chorus followed, with choir member William Thorpe as baritone soloist in the cantor’s role. Understandably, the choir was not as secure with the Hebrew text as they were with the two French songs by Glass, and more Schubertian expressiveness, lingering and longing would have been desirable.<br><br>
Continuing with a 1963 arrangement by Parker/Shaw of the African-American spiritual Sometimes I Feel (like a Moanin’ Dove), mezzo-soprano Christina English soloed in the pensive, emotional lead with tonal warmth and richness. There is a stylistic connection between this piece and the Glass Three Songs in how sections of the choir often create sound environments by repeating chords and words in the background.<br><br>
Acclaimed composer and teacher of composition, Larry Thomas Bell was present for the concert premiere of his Emersonia, Op. 113, composed for the First Church choir to poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The Rhodora”, “Two Rivers”, “Give all to Love” and “Concord Hymn”. With straightforwardness, often word-painting the text (including simultaneous melisma in all parts), the effective use of “lead and follow” between sections of the choir and a chordal style that sometimes bears similarities to Anglican chant, these pieces deserve to become standards in the choral repertoire.<br><br>
Another well-known Boston composer, Karl Henning (who also sang in the concert), was represented with the concert premiere of his Love is the Spirit of this Church, Op. 85, No. 3. Henning used a contrapuntal, Renaissance motet style for this familiar text recited weekly in many Unitarian-Universalist churches. The style became strikingly but gently homophonic on the words “together in peace” and the conclusion was an extended, contrapuntal “Amen”.<br><br>
Palestrina’s Isti sunt detoured us to the Italian Renaissance and conveyed a quiet timelessness that was a joy to hear.<br><br>
Paul Cienniwa himself composed the next piece, Late October, to a text by Maya Angelou, and it too was a concert premiere, featuring chant-like chords, sometimes in speech rhythm, and often reveling in a rich texture which seemed to have expanded harmony to six or eight parts.<br><br>
Leaves of Grass, Op. 100, by Paul Creston (1906-1985), with words from Walt Whitman, concluded the program. Composed in 1970, Leaves of Grass paired well with Bell’s new work, Emersonia. Indeed, Emerson had a high regard for Whitman, who was sixteen years his junior, and as transcendentalists, both had connections with Boston Unitarianism; furthermore, Emerson’s father was minister of First Church from 1799-1811. In the performance, Bob Winkley played the often-elaborate piano accompaniment in this five-section work. James Liu was the fine baritone soloist in the second movement, extolling the magnificent wonders of nature and creation; and Larry Thomas Bell was the reader in the third, a lament about war with chorus in the background. The fourth movement was a sweet ode to the Earth and the fifth, a jubilant song of personal strength and exultation.<br><br>
Your reviewer wishes to muse a bit about First Church and acoustic aspects of this concert. Paul Randolph, who also was architect for the Jewett Art Center of Wellesley College and the Government Service Center in Boston, designed the current structure, which replaces the 1867 Ware and Van Brundt church that burned in 1968, leaving only the tower and East facade. I first attended organ recitals at First Church when it was new, and it remains a compelling, challenging structure to me personally. Once inside, having decided with no little uncertainty which door to enter, one next questions how to find the sanctuary. There is humor, quest and reward here—perhaps mirroring life. Upon entering the sanctuary one sees a panoply of walls, balconies and ceilings at jaunty angles and elevations, giving much to contemplate.<br><br>
In this a cappella concert, it would have been an additional treat had the choir sung from some of these different locations. From whatever position, the choir’s sound would seemingly have been clearer had they all faced the same direction, rather than standing in a half circle.<br><br>
Another musing after Sunday’s concert is that this close-knit, spirited choir could refine its forte sound to be as beautiful as its piano sound, exercising care not to “over” sing, and giving special attention to the tone as the group crescendos. Since First Church uses recording and video media extensively, this choir has a marvelous opportunity to explore together their sound in this landmark building.<br><br>
The audience expressed its sincere appreciation for this excellent “first” concert and your reviewer repeats the thank you to First Church members, their choir and Paul Cienniwa. May this concert become an annual event!<br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2818172013-01-16T06:38:10-05:002022-04-19T09:07:07-04:00"Harpsichord was the electric guitar of the 17th century"<b>Harpsichord was the electric guitar of the 17th century</b><br>
By TERESA SANTOSKI Staff Writer, <a href="http://www.encorebuzz.com/eb/home/" target="_new">Encore Buzz</a> in <a href="http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/" target="_new">The Nashua Telegraph</a><br><br>
Teenage rebellion never really goes away – it just manifests itself differently as we grow older.<br><br>
Simply ask Paul Cienniwa, who played thrash guitar with a punk band during his teen years and has since settled down with a perhaps even more unconventional instrument: the harpsichord.<br><br>
Cienniwa will give a free concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Amherst Town Library at 14 Main St.<br><br>
For more information, visit www.amherst.lib.nh.us or call 673-2288. To hear Cienniwa’s music, visit www.paulcienniwa.com.<br><br>
“I have a consistent rebellious streak,” said Cienniwa, a resident of Fall River, Mass. “If I were really traditional, I’d be playing the piano.”<br><br>
Classical music and punk are similar, he explained, in that both are niches within the music world. Historically considered mainstream, classical music has become even more of a niche in recent years.<br><br>
“It’s harder to find today, radio and live performances of classical music, than it is to find anything else,” Cienniwa said.<br><br>
And the harpsichord?<br><br>
“The harpsichord is a niche within that niche,” he said, describing the instrument as being on the fringes of the classical music scene.<br><br>
Although Cienniwa started piano lessons when he was 6, it wasn’t until his high school years, when he was preparing to go to college to study music, that he began to take a more active interest in classical music.<br><br>
At that time, Cienniwa would often blast his favorite rock ’n’ roll and punk songs while he was driving. It wasn’t long before his studies brought an even more eclectic playlist to his car’s sound system.<br><br>
“To be even more rebellious, why not blast Wagner?” he said.<br><br>
His rebellion took a different turn when, two years into his college piano program, he laid hands on a harpsichord for the first time.<br><br>
“I just loved the sound and the feel of the instrument,” Cienniwa said, adding that in terms of the quality of its sound, the harpsichord has some similarity to the electric guitar.<br><br>
The discovery of the harpsichord led to a difficult period, he recalled. He was experiencing a measure of success with the piano and didn’t want to fully devote himself to the harpsichord.<br><br>
“If you really want to do it well, it’s hard to do both at the same time,” he said.<br><br>
A decision had to be made, and Cienniwa chose to take the road less traveled.<br><br>
“That was the break with the piano, and I’ve never looked back,” he said.<br><br>
Cienniwa does still play the piano from time to time, as well as the pipe organ. Both instruments are sometimes necessary in his roles as the music director of First Church in Boston and chorus master for the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, among numerous other musical activities.<br><br>
The harpsichord is his main instrument, however.<br><br>
The program for his library concert will feature “the three greatest composers born in 1685,” Cienniwa said – Bach, Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, who is best known for his 555 keyboard sonatas.<br><br>
Although the composers are all from the same era, “There’s a whole lot of variety in the program,” Cienniwa said. “The only similarity is that they’re all being played on the same instrument.”<br><br>
Cienniwa’s concerts often include him taking the harpsichord apart and explaining the inner workings of the instrument at the request of the audience.<br><br>
“Most people don’t really know how they work,” he said. “Unlike a piano, the strings are plucked.”<br><br>
Cienniwa hopes people will attend the concert even if they’re unsure as to whether they like the harpsichord.<br><br>
Because it’s an unfamiliar instrument, he said, people will hear the harpsichord once and assume that’s how it’s supposed to sound. If they find the sound unappealing, they might not take into account that they may have heard a subpar performance or a poor-quality harpsichord.<br><br>
“To diminish it based on one bad experience, or no experience at all, would be unfortunate,” Cienniwa said. “It’s so rare today that people can hear this music live.”<br><br>
His inner rebel once again reared its head as he joked, “Stop being so conservative and come have a good time.”<br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2691732012-12-20T06:20:00-05:002012-12-20T06:20:00-05:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" featured in Yale Alumni Magazine<a href="http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3595" target="_new"><b>Yale Alumni Magazine</b></a>, Vol LXXVI, No 3, Jan/Feb 2013<b><br><br></b>"Harpsichordist Cienniwa defines a “thin place” as the “threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual.” The delicate, plucked tones of this instrument, Cienniwa’s sure but understated execution of works by Bach, Rameau, Couperin, and Bell, and the recording’s venue—the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Massachusetts—all combine to transport the listener to that meditative and soothing locale. Listen to it by the fireside on a dark winter’s night."<b><br></b>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2606752012-12-03T10:05:00-05:002012-12-03T10:05:00-05:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" reviewed in Early Music America<a href="http://earlymusic.org/" target="_new">Early Music America</a>, Vol. 18, No. 4, Winter 2012<br>
by Lance Hulme<br><br>
A "thin place" is an ancient Celtic spiritual concept currently enjoying revival within Catholic and Protestant Christianity. Thin places are where the dividing line between the earthly and the divine seems to diminish, allowing for healing presence. Music has always been a means of spiritual communion, and, with such practices as the Taizé liturgy in France, is also receiving renewed emphasis as a thin place in the contemplative life.<br><br>
Yale-trained harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa presents slower, meditative works from a variety of composers as his personal thin place. I strongly suspect that the performance of these works is for him a form of spiritual meditation and that Cienniwa is giving us a glimpse into a very personal space. In our present culture, coarsened by irony and incessant competition, I find this rather gutsy.<br><br>
His choice of works spans the Renaissance to the late Baroque, and includes selections from Byrd, Sweelinck, Froberger, Couperin (François and Louis), Rameau, Bach, and others. The one outlier is a new Saraband by Larry Thomas Bell (b. 1952), whose use of hanging dissonances and ninth-chords creates a poignant frisson in among the older masters. The choices are eclectic and personal without becoming a grab-bag, and a steady arc of rhapsodic contemplation connects each work. Cienniwa displays a fine clarity of line and phrasing, and he shapes each work well. The harpsichord is somewhat closely recorded; I agree with his suggestion to listen to the recording at a rather low volume.<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/755702012-11-28T10:06:02-05:002012-11-28T10:06:02-05:00NBSO Messiah in review<a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121128/ENTERTAIN/211280302" target="_new">published in the Standard-Times (New Bedford)</a><br><br><b>NBSO, singers launch season on wave of glorious music</b><br type="_moz"><i>by Laurie Robertson-Lorant, contributing writer<br><br></i>On Sunday, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra brought the Thanksgiving weekend to a glorious close with a performance of George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" (Part I and the "Hallelujah Chorus") and Franz Schubert's less well-known "Magnificat in C," a spirited celebration of the Annunciation written in 1815.<br><br>
Both pieces featured singers from no less than six local choruses — Mastersingers by the Sea, Sine Nomine Choral Ensemble, The Greater New Bedford Choral Society, The Greater Tiverton Community Chorus, The Sippican Choral Society and The South Coast Community Chorale — and four brilliant young soloists: soprano Kristen Watson, alto Deborah Rentz-Moore, tenor Matthew Anderson and bass Andrew Garland, all of whom sang even the most demanding coloratura runs and trills beautifully.<br><br>
One of the delights of solo singing is the ease with which a soloist can produce subtle variations of dynamics as well as variations of vocal tone and phrasing. Anderson delivered the opening recitative, "Comfort Ye" and the aria "Every valley shall be exalted" with exquisitely modulated vocal tones and perfect clarity of diction, and when he reached the aria's highest notes, he sounded like the angel Gabriel himself. I only wish Handel had written more arias for this outstanding tenor soloist.<br type="_moz"><br>
The other three soloists sang their much larger allotment of recitatives and arias very beautifully, with alto Rentz-Moore executing the daring slide and ethereal trills demanded by the first aria very gracefully and soprano Watson reaching celestial heights with cloudlike softness and no shrillness. Bass Garland's warm, resonant voice effortlessly brought out the drama inherent in the aria "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Although at times it was difficult to understand all of the words sung by these three soloists, the words of soprano Watson's recitative "There were shepherds abiding in the field" were perfectly clear, as were the words of alto Rentz-Moore's "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened" and the alto portion of the aria "He shall feed his flock." The soprano portion of the same aria featured lovely bell-like trills.<br><br>
Concertmaster Jesse Holstein played the trills Handel wrote for "Glory to God" with spirited sweetness, and the chorus made Handel's opera-inspired arias sound loving and reverent, not portentous. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Flawless throughout the performance, the chorus triumphed in "For Unto Us A Child is Born," which was by far the most dramatic and exuberant aria in the entire oratorio. When they sang the word "Wonderful!" it sparkled, and when they sang "And the government shall be upon his shoulders" with proper attention to the dotted rhythm that made the ascending notes seem to be climbing a steep cliff, I couldn't help thinking how the Sisyphean nature of earthly governments (think "fiscal cliff") contrasts with the promised heavenly governance Handel celebrates in this hymn to the Christ Child.</b></span><br><br>
Following a tradition said to date back to the first performance of the oratorio in London, when King George II suddenly rose to his feet as the opening bars of the "Hallelujah Chorus" were played, the audience in New Bedford's gorgeous St. Anthony's "cathedral" rose and remained standing for a sing-along performance of the familiar chorus. Dr. MacKenzie conducted facing the audience and clearly enjoying our enthusiasm for the piece. Although I couldn't tell how many other audience members were singing in addition to my friend and myself, I am sure Sunday's concertgoers were delighted and moved by the performance and very appreciative of St. Anthony's Church, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its dedication this week.<br><br><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Fortunately, we don't need to wait a year to be thankful for the talent and hard work of the orchestra and chorus and the talent, hard work and inspired leadership of Music Director MacKenzie and Chorus Master Paul Cienniwa, who is also a master harpsichordist. Overall, this was a performance that made the almost too-familiar "Messiah" sound fresh and new, thanks to the superb musicianship of the conductor, the instrumentalists and the singers.</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br></span><br><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2530002012-11-17T04:30:00-05:002012-11-17T04:30:00-05:00Featured on WGBH's Baroque in BostonI just learned that my new CD, "<a href="./shop.cfm" target="_new">Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place</a>," will be featured on the Sunday, November 18 edition of Baroque in Boston, airing from 7-11am. <a href="http://www.wgbh.org/995/index.cfm" target="_new">Click here for the Classical New England page</a>, with information on channels and streaming. <a href="http://www.wgbh.org/995/boston_early_music_channel.cfm" target="_new">Click here for more information on the program</a>. <br><br>
And speaking of radio, I'll also be live on <a href="http://wers.org/" target="_new">WERS 88.9</a> at 11am, as I am every Sunday with the weekly service and choir of <a href="http://www.firstchurchbostonmusic.org/home.cfm" target="_new">First Church in Boston</a>.<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2471402012-11-06T07:36:22-05:002012-11-06T07:36:22-05:00Cienniwa Named Chorus Master<i><b>News from the </b></i><a href="http://www.nbsymphony.org/" target="_new"><i><b>New Bedford Symphony Orchestra</b></i></a><br><br>
Paul Cienniwa has been named NBSO Chorus Master for the 2012-13 season. He will be working extensively with local choral groups in preparation for the NBSO's upcoming "Handel's Messiah" concert which will be performed at St. Anthony's Church on November 25 at 3:00pm. In addition to his Chorus Master duties, Cienniwa recently performed to rave reviews as harpsichord soloist on Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 at the NBSO's "A Concert of Concertos" at Wickenden Chapel.<br><br>
This year, the NBSO's 4th annual performance of the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah will also feature Schubert's majestic Magnificat. The NBSO Chorus is made up of over 125 members from area choirs, including Mastersingers by the Sea (David MacKenzie, director), Sine Nomine choral ensemble (Paul Cienniwa, director), the Greater New Bedford Choral Society (Gerald Dyck, director), the Greater Tiverton Community Chorus (Beth Armstrong, director), the South Coast Community Chorus (Frank Wilhelm, director), the Sippican Choral Society (Brian Roderick, director), and the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir (David Touchette, director).<br><br>
A resident of Fall River, Massachusetts, Cienniwa leads an active musical life in southeastern Massachusetts and the Boston/Providence regions as a conductor and soloist. He is director of Sine Nomine choral ensemble and choral director at Framingham State University. As organist and conductor, he is music director at First Church in Boston, where he leads the fully professional First Church Choir and can be heard weekly on WERS (88.9 FM) Boston. As a harpsichordist, Cienniwa has a burgeoning career as a soloist, recording artist, and ensemble player. He performs extensively and has been cited by the Huffington Post for his "inner sense of creative flow, fueled by an abundance of musical imagination and desire."<br><br>
Cienniwa started his undergraduate studies as a pianist in the studio of Michael Ruiz at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and completed his bachelor's degree at DePaul University. In 2003, he was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University. He been awarded Belgian American Educational Foundation and Fulbright grants, and his musicological articles and reviews have appeared in American and European journals, including Early Music, Ad Parnassum and Early Music America. He has taught at the Yale University School of Music, Salve Regina University, and Mount Ida College. He continues to teach at UMass-Dartmouth and Framingham State University.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2456982012-11-03T04:20:00-04:002012-11-03T04:20:00-04:00Concert preview of Sine Nomine choral ensemble's "Saint Hildegard" in the Standard-Times<a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/" target="_new">published in the Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA)</a><b><br><br>
Sine Nomine concerts will honor St. Hildegard</b><br><i>by Keith Powers, contributing writer</i><br><br>
She was a composer. An author. An herbalist. A lexicographer. Something of a community organizer. A mystic, and a visionary. And now she's a saint.<br><br>
Hildegard von Bingen lived a thousand years ago, but thanks to dozens of recordings from groups like Kronos Quartet, Sequentia and Anonymous 4, coupled with multiple new-age interpretations of her simple but provocative vocal lines, this Renaissance woman — who actually lived about eight centuries before the Renaissance — is a musical superstar. And with the October decree from Pope Benedict XVI making it official, she is now a saint.<br><br>
The Fall River-based choral group Sine Nomine, led by Paul Cienniwa, will celebrate Hildegard's sainthood in the most appropriate fashion next weekend with a program that includes her own compositions, music throughout the years that was inspired by her music, and contemporary compositions and improvisations.<br><br>
"I knew right away I didn't want to do just Hildegard's music," says Cienniwa, talking about preparing the concert celebration. "It's extremely hard to perform by a soloist or small ensemble, since the music is monophonic (a single vocal line sung in unison) and without accompaniment.<br><br>
"So we came up with the idea of using some of her music, but also some of the music from around her, and music inspired by her."<br><br>
Besides Saint Hildegard's compositions, the program includes alto sax improvisations in her style by Marcus Monteiro, a new work, "O virtus Sapientiae," by Sine Nomine choir member Jennifer Charleson (as well as Charleson's arrangement of a work with the same name by Hildegard, sung by soprano Eva Toma), and medieval works by Willaert and Gabrieli.<br><br>
"Hildegard was a medieval person but a Renaissance woman," Cienniwa says. "She started her own monastery. She wrote several mystical books, invented her own alphabet, and created a kind of herbology as well. More importantly to us, she was a female composer who was recognized as a composer. Even much later on, you had Clara Schumann, who was a concert pianist and great composer, but she had to publish her music under her husband's name. Hildegard was able to create her music freely because of the love of education in that female monastic community."<br><br>
Hildegard's "resurrection" as a composer of note after a thousand years had mainly to do with two things: the advent of feminist scholarship, and the burgeoning popularity of chant and medieval music in general.<br><br>
"Her music was copied down and carried on, so it wasn't lost," Cienniwa says. "Because of female led musicology, more and more topics have been reached out to and studied. But it's not just about musicology; her music has a general mystical and very spiritual aura to it, and you can get lost in it. And even though she wrote in the chant style, polyphony was developing, and that's why I included some later works that were influenced by her.<br><br>
"And the notion of sainthood — well, the labyrinthine ways of the Vatican are impossible to figure out," he says. "It appears that there were four other times in history when they tried to make her a saint, and to make it even more confusing she was actually called a saint back in the 16th century. Now it's official. We don't care that much about that, especially for someone who was so important in the musical world. But now we can pay homage to Saint Hildegard."<br><br><a href="http://sinenominechoir.org/code/calendar_SN.html" target="_new">Click here for more information and tickets.</a><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2423752012-10-29T05:45:00-04:002012-10-29T05:45:00-04:00Brandenburg 5 with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra in review<a href="http://m.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121028/LIFE/210280358&template=wapart" target="_new"><i>published in the Standard-Times (New Bedford)</i><br></a><br><b>NBSO Offers Sparkling Concertos<br></b><i>by Keith Powers, contributing writer</i><b><br></b><br>
In a cleverly programmed concert with historical underpinnings, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra offered a series of concertos Saturday evening in Wickenden Chapel at Tabor Academy in Marion.<br><br>
Maestro David MacKenzie included music of J.S. Bach, Boccherini, Corelli and Stravinsky, each with a unique relationship to the concerto form. The works alternately pitted individual soloists, duos and small sections against the larger ensemble, culminating in Stravinsky's "Pulcinella Suite," a more modern work drawn out of the composer's love for Baroque forms.<br><br>
Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5" is a hybrid, at once using the harpsichord as a continuo instrument — holding down the basic rhythm for the rest of the group — but then letting it emerge spectacularly as a soloist. <b><span style="font-size: medium; ">Paul Cienniwa sat at the double manual harpsichord, elaborating the extensive solo cadenza in the first movement with graceful phrasing.<br></span></b><br>
He was not the only soloist: the Fifth also features individual excursions for violin (concertmaster Jesse Holstein) and flute (Tim Macri). That duo played with insight as well, especially in an unaccompanied section that opens the second movement. Their playing was precise, alert to each other's phrases, all carefully articulated; it was troubled somewhat by dead air between those phrases, and a tempo that might have been charged more vigorously.<br><br>
The most traditional concerto on the program showcased the talents of cellist Jonah Ellsworth. A first year student at the prestigious Curtis School of Music, the 18-year-old already has garnered several competition awards. He played Boccherini's "Concerto No. 9 in B-flat," a work of considerable difficulty both in its original version and in the composite created by German cellist Friedrich Grutzmacher in the late 19th century, which Ellsworth performed. The work makes technical demands in its scope of attack — it covers nearly the entire range and all the fingering positions of the instrument — as well as in its two extensive cadenzas, in the first movement "Allegro moderato" and in the concluding "Rondo."<br><br>
Ellsworth has the gift: his playing was decisive and attentive to his stage-mates, and, especially in the second cadenza, with its insistent triplet figure and multiple double stops, he showed sophisticated technique. He may wish for a few pitches back, but the overall reading was alert and well conceived.<br><br>
Maestro MacKenzie was sharp to mold the attack, unifying soloist and ensemble, especially in alternating phrases. After intermission, Corelli's "Concerto grosso in D, Op. 6, No. 4," taken from the well known set of twelve in that opus, showed off the earliest version of the form. The concerto grosso pits a small ensemble of soloists (in this case, duo violins, cello and harpsichord) against the ensemble. Corelli was an early innovator for the violin, and even though the fingerings in this concerto are simple, the melodies are infectious.<br><br>
The final movement, with a tremolo figure reminiscent of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," had a particularly driving energy. There were two Stravinskys, both geniuses. The first: the young composer steeped in Russian folklore, who created new trends with works like "Firebird" and "Rite of Spring."<br><br>
The second, on display here, explored his love for Baroque forms, creating equally wonderful works like the ballet "Pulcinella." From the score of that ballet Stravinsky derived several orchestral works, including his "Pulcinella Suite," eight movements of great orchestral complexity. Stravinsky did not deconstruct the early forms that he used: his movements are all affectionately genuine, the early forms intact, but with invigorated orchestration and harmonies freshened for the modern ear.<br><br>
Everyone onstage gets thoroughly involved, and as such the work presented the most difficulties and the most rewards. Solo sections abound: Holstein figured boldly in many, as did Macri, trombonist Zachary Guiles, and most distinctly oboist Laura Shamu, whose "Serenata" duet with Holstein was exquisite. Instead of building in intensity, it mellows to a muted, breathtaking climax. There were multiple soft entrances and muddied passages, but the overall reading was energized.<br><br>
The sound in the Chapel, which was generally unforgiving for soloists playing against the orchestra, seemed more generous to the constant variety that the suite offered. <br type="_moz"><br><br><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2388652012-10-23T12:00:00-04:002012-10-23T12:00:00-04:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" gets fantastic review in UHF Magazine!Harpsichord Music For a Thin Place<br>
Paul Cienniwa<br>
Balaena WCS 059<br>
reviewed by Gerard Rejskind, Fall 2012<br><a href="http://www.uhfmag.com/Issue92/UHF92.pdf" target="_new">http://www.uhfmag.com/Issue92/UHF92.pdf</a> (pp. 70-71)<br><br>
There’s no mystery why the harpsichord fell out of favor in the late 18th Century and was replaced by the piano. The harpsichord produces sound by strumming its strings, rather like a guitar, and it lacked the loudness to compete with the ever larger orchestras in the new and bigger concert halls. It had another disadvantage too. Unlike the organ, whose repertoire it was expected to play, the harpsichord plays each note at the same volume, narrowing its range of emotional expression. Though Bach played and wrote for the harpsichord (or “the keyboard,” which could mean organ or harpsichord), the great pianist Glenn Gould argued that he would have preferred the piano had he had access to it.<br><br>
And yet there is something special about the sound of the harpsichord, even to our ears so jaded by the infinite variety of electronic instruments. Unlike the piano, the harpsichord produces notes with a discreet fundamental tone, which is however rich in harmonics. It cannot be confused with any other instrument. That very richness, however, make it challenging to record, and to reproduce. Pretty much any reproduction system has difficulty with higher frequencies, and that goes double for digital. Few instruments other than the modern flute have such harmonics, and they’re a challenge. The result is that many harpsichord recordings are difficult to listen to for long, because they trigger major listener fatigue.<br><br><span style="font-size: larger; "><b>This recording is a major exception.</b></span><br><br>
To capture at once the delicacy and the richness of the instrument, engineer Walter Klimasewski used a single pair of Schoeps CMC 64 microphones, with neither equalization nor compression. Avoidingcompression and volume limiting usually means leaving plenty of headroom, but in fact there is a lot of volume on this CD. All the bits are used, yet there is no trace of overload.<br><br>
Why the odd title? Paul Cienniwa says that the “thin place” is the threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual. “It is my desire,” he says, “to bring my audience to a thin place through the beautiful stately elegance of the harpsichord’s most introspective repertoire.” <br><br>
The pieces he has chosen are mostly French (the Couperins, both Louis and François) Rameau, and Forqueray, as well as Sweelinck, Byrd and Bach. I’ve heard some of this music sound rather deadly, especially that of Louis Couperin. <span style="font-size: larger; "><b>Cienniwa gives it life, not by accelerating the tempo, but because he has a feel for its innate beauty. No listener fatigue here. Not many music lovers, even lovers of the Baroque and the Renaissance, have large collections of music for solo harpsichord, but this fine recording belongs in the collection of those who just love music.</b></span><br><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2385862012-10-23T06:49:10-04:002017-02-01T19:16:31-05:00Another concert preview on YouTubeThe New Bedford Symphony hosts a regular series of concert previews titled "Classical Coffee." This is the second one in a series promoting this weekend's Brandenburg V performances (among other things). <a href="http://youtu.be/sduyPowNepw" target="_new">http://youtu.be/sduyPowNepw</a><br><br type="_moz"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sduyPowNepw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2378612012-10-22T10:00:00-04:002017-02-01T19:15:51-05:00Concert preview on YouTubeThe New Bedford Symphony hosts a regular series of concert previews titled "Classical Coffee." This is the first one in a series promoting this weekend's Brandenburg V performances (among other things).<br><br><br type="_moz"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcRTO0rTQpY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2179932012-09-21T12:50:00-04:002017-02-01T18:55:19-05:00Paul Cienniwa performs J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in c minor, BWV 847 (WTC I)<iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xMBgWrvjiLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br><a href="http://youtu.be/xMBgWrvjiLo" target="_new">click here</a><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2124092012-09-11T03:10:00-04:002012-09-11T03:10:00-04:00First Church in Boston's Early Music Thursdays featured in the Boston Musical IntelligencerThe concert series I direct is featured in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. <a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2012/09/10/lunchtime/">Click here to read</a>.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/2028392012-08-21T11:45:00-04:002012-08-21T11:45:00-04:00Sine Nomine in RI Local magazineRI Local magazine published an excellent article about <a target="_new" href="http://sinenominechoir.org/">Sine Nomine</a> choral ensemble and our upcoming programming for the fall. <a href="/files/70024/Sine-August-2012.pdf" target="_new">Click here to read it!</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1994512012-08-13T10:26:39-04:002012-08-13T10:26:39-04:00Reviews archiveAs I revise some content on this website, I'm archiving all performance and recording reviews here:<br><br>
July 17, 2012: <a target="_new" href="http://audaud.com/2012/07/harpsichord-music-for-a-thin-place-paul-cienniwa-whaling-city-sound/">Audiophile Audition</a> <br><a target="_new" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=2289255">Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place</a> (CD review)<br><br>
April 27, 2012: <a target="_new" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/haiku-reviews-from-louis-_n_1458883.html#s911816">The Huffington Post</a><br><a target="_new" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=2036397">Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place</a> (CD review)<br><br>
April 18, 2012: <a target="_new" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120418/ENTERTAIN/204180310/-1/LIFE">The Standard-Times</a><br><a href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=1992560">Humor distinguishes NBSO concert<br></a><br>
March 12, 2012: Notes on the Arts<br><a target="_new" href="http://notesonthearts.com/2012/03/12/mastersingers-by-the-sea-present-winter-a-season-of-remembering/">Mastersingers by the Sea Present “Winter: A Season of Remembering”</a><br><br>
January 18, 2012: The Boston Musical Intelligencer<br><a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2012/01/18/bells-60th/">Songs Ring in Bell's 60th</a><br><br>
December 16, 2011: The Boston Musical Intelligencer<br><a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2011/12/16/10480/">Noondays at First Church</a><br><br>
December 2, 2011: The Gatepost<br><a target="_new" href="http://thegatepost.com/2011/12/02/fsu-chorus-performs-holiday-songs/">FSU Chorus performs holiday songs</a><br><br>
July 28, 2011: The South Coast Insider<br><a target="_new" href="http://southcoastmags.com/2011/07/lots-of-music-coming-from-the-nbso/">"one of the finest harpsichordists I have ever worked with"--Dr. David MacKenzie, New Bedford Symphony</a><br><br>
May 19, 2011: The Boston Musical Intelligencer<br><a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2011/05/19/four-harpsichord-first-church/">Four Harpsichord Concerts at First Church</a><br><br>
May 6, 2011: The Gatepost<br><a target="_new" href="http://www.thegatepost.com/online/?p=2264">Singing in Spring</a><br><br>
January 12, 2010: The Irish Echo<br><a href="./irishecho.cfm">Top Ten Traditional Albums of 2010 (O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell, Vol. 2)</a><br><br>
December 25, 2010: The Listening Room<br><a target="_new" href="http://avivashir.blogspot.com/2010/12/iestro-armonica-heloise-degruillier-on.html">I'Estro Armonica: Héloïse Degruillier on recorder, Paul Cienniwa on harpsichord </a><br><br>
November 11, 2010: <a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2010/11/11/harpsichord-concerts-for-lunch/">The Boston Musical Intelligencer</a><br>
Harpsichord Concerts for Lunch<br><br>
August 12, 2010: Classical Voice of New England<br><a target="_new" href="http://www.cvneweng.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=738:venticordi-creates-aesthetic-aura-with-contemporary-sound&catid=90:reviews-maine&Itemid=26">VentiCordi Creates Aesthetic Aura with Contemporary Sound </a><br><br>
June 8, 2010: <a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2010/06/08/unusual-arrangement/">The Boston Musical Intelligencer</a><br>
Unusual Arrangement by String Quartet, Harpsichord Effective in Bach Concerto <br><br>
April 2010: <a target="_new" href="http://www.newportseen.com/archived-news/newport-goes-for-baroque/">Newport Seen</a><br>
Newport Goes for Baroque...Music, That Is<br><br>
March 31, 2010: <a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2010/03/31/refurbishment-of-first-church-harpsichord-celebrated-with-cienniwa-recital/">The Boston Musical Intelligencer</a><br>
Refurbishment of First Church Harpsichord Celebrated with Cienniwa Recital<br><br>
March 16, 2010: <a target="_new" href="http://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind1003&L=PIPORG-L&P=R14613">PIPORG-L</a><br>
Noon Hour Recital at King's Chapel<br type="_moz"><br>
December 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://www.thegatepost.com/fscchorus.html">The Gatepost</a><br>
FSC Chorus Brings Early Holiday Cheer with Concert<br><br>
November 2009: <a href="./stradnov09.cfm">The Strad</a><br>
Bach: Viola da gamba Sonatas<br><br>
November 12, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0911&L=PIPORG-L&P=R8689&D=1&H=0&O=D&T=0">PIPORG-L</a><br>
MIT Chapel Recital Series<br><br>
September 23, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/news/opinions/letters/x2024000094/Royall-House-concert-a-success">Medford Transcript</a><br>
audience member letter<br><br>
September 21, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://www.kbaq.org/music/cdreviews/20090726">Radio KBAQ CD of the Week</a><br>
Bach Sonatas for Viola da Gamba<br><br>
July 24, 2009:<a target="_new" href="http://www.projo.com/music/content/lb_kingfest_07-24-09_AMF4UBA_v10.20a2f7f.html"> Providence Journal</a><br>
An Engaging Beginning in Kingston<br><br>
June 13, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://sohothedog.blogspot.com/2009/06/periodic-groups.html">Soho the Dog</a><br>
Periodic groups<br><br>
February 17, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://www.i-newswire.com/goprint254869.html">i-newswire.com</a><br>
Boston Opera Collaborative Scores Big Success with Handel's Alcina<br><br>
February 15, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2009/02/15/fine-singers-clever-orchestration-in-handels-alcina-from-boston-opera-collaborative/">The Boston Musical Intelligencer</a><br>
Fine Singers, Clever Orchestration, in Handel's Alcina<br><br>
February 13, 2009: <a target="_new" href="http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=music&sc2=reviews&sc3=performance&id=86370">EDGE Boston</a><br>
Alcina<br><br>
January 23, 2007: <a target="_new" href="http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-07/01-23-07/04living.htm">South Coast Today</a><br>
Chamber Music Society Plumbs the Beauty of the Baroque<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1986292012-08-10T08:55:00-04:002017-02-01T18:32:12-05:00Poulenc concerto performance now on YouTube<p>Two of the movements from <a target="_new" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=1992560">my performance last season</a> of Francis Poulenc's <i>Concert champêtre</i> with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra are now on YouTube as audio files. Enjoy!<br><br><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5hSQd6gySKU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lFWDfm3xZSQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</p>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/707902012-07-18T12:35:49-04:002012-07-18T12:35:49-04:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" CD gets a FOUR STAR review in Audiophile Audition<a target="_new" href="http://audaud.com/2012/07/harpsichord-music-for-a-thin-place-paul-cienniwa-whaling-city-sound/">Audiophile Audition</a><br><i><br>
A thoughtful program of 16 quieter, non-hackneyed and not melancholy harpsichord pieces.<br><br></i>Published on July 17, 2012<br><br>
“Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place” – Paul Cienniwa – Whaling City Sound WCS 059, 66:00 [Distr. by Allegro] (5/8/12) ****:<br><br>
This is a beautifully-recorded program of 16 more meditative and less familiar pieces for the harpsichord, which keyboardist Cienniwa envisions as being at the threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual—what he calls A Thin Place. His intent was to elevate the selections from the musical to a more spiritual place, and he made a special effort to favor pieces in major keys instead of minor, and avoided the more elegiac aspects.<br><br>
Composers represented include Bach, Byrd, Couperin, Forqueray, Froberger, Rameau, Sweelinck and Bell. Mr. Cienniwa is organist, conductor and music director of Boston’s First Church and has a Dr. of Music Arts degree from Yale. The harpsichord is an authentic copy built in 1966 by the famed harpsichord builder William Dowd, and the recording was carefully miced with a pair of Schoeps mics and recorded directly to 96K/24bit with no gimmicks. The venue was an acoustically appropriate church in Massachusetts.<br><br>
The various pieces seem to fit together like a glove even though they come from greatly disparate composers; I was struck by a couple of them and might be looking up the sheet music online to play on my harpsichord. The sonics are very precise and clean, not exaggerated as in some harpsichord recordings or annoying in the amount of mechanical noise transmitted. My only slight disappointment was that since the sonics are so exceptional it cannot be heard at the original 96K/24bit on a DVD instead of a standard CD.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1628392012-05-01T06:01:00-04:002012-05-01T06:01:00-04:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" CD reviewed in the Huffington Post<a target="_new" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/haiku-reviews-from-louis-_n_1458883.html#s911816">Huffington Post</a><br><br>
Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place: Music by the Couperins, Bach, Rameau, Sweelinck, Byrd Forqueray, Froberger and Larry Bell <br>
Paul Cienniwa <br>
Whaling City Sound WCS 059, 66 mins. <br><br>
Listened at the right time of day, in the right mood, this is like the early music beauty that so many of us fell in love with when we were young. Paul Cienniwa, who is music director at First Church of Boston, is young and obviously deeply in love with this string of contemplative beauties. As he notes on his website, this is music of meditation. The sequencing of the 16 tracks is what makes this mix so extraordinary. These types of miscellaneous CDs are usually grouped by composer, the early ones first. The most common alternative is either adding at the end or interspersing in a conceptualized way music by contemporary composers. Cienniwa adopts another mode, based on his inner sense of creative flow, fueled by an abundance of musical imagination and desire. Performed on a lovely, gentle William Dowd harpsichord of 1966, the equally lovely, gentle recording was made at St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church in Swansea, a Massachusetts town founded as early as 1662. Cienniwa is less insistent on even articulation than he is in the inevitably of rhythm and sense of tone, thereby lulling you into hearing harmonic patterns that the composer is going to subtly shade and interrupt. The one contemporary work, a Sarabande by Larry Thomas Bell, bridges Rameau and Sweelinck by crystallizing their music in modern, angular terms, and then making slight adjustments. It's music that Bach would have listened to carefully. After a bewitching sequence of Sweelinck, Byrd and Louis Couperin, Cienniwa reveals just how radical and free Bach's Fantasy BWV 797 was when he wrote it. It is a dizzying experience in a very quiet meditative place. Then, after Francois Couperin shares his concern for the sins he has committed, Froberger and Rameau welcome back the living with teasing reminders of how pleasant life is meant to be. "A thin place," Cienniwa writes, "is the threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual ... my greatest desire is to bring my audience to a thin place through the beautiful stately elegance of the harpsichord's most introspective repertoire." <br><br>
By Laurence VittesPaul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1585362012-04-18T04:20:00-04:002012-04-18T04:20:00-04:00Poulenc concerto performance with the New Bedford Symphony in review<a target="_new" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120418/ENTERTAIN/204180310/-1/LIFE"><i>published in The Standard-Times (New Bedford):</i><br></a><br>
French composer Francis Poulenc's Concerto Champetre (Country Concerto) for Harpsichord, is a rarely performed work and an absolute delight. A balanced collaboration between a harpsichord (lightly amplified) and a full modern orchestra, this concerto is witty, elegant and well-crafted, with echoes of Couperin and J.S. Bach comfortably sharing the stage with tunes derived from cabarets and circus tunes. Poulenc, whose mission was to return French music to its roots, was a member of Les Six. Along with Darius Milhaud and others, he championed less formal music and admired Dadaists Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie and the unpretentious, forthrightly seductive Sprechgesang (recitative) style of singer Maurice Chevalier.<br><br><span style="font-size: medium"><b>Poulenc's harpsichord concerto, brilliantly played by Paul Cienniwa</b></span>, wearing a frock coat, soft cravat and shirt with a stiff pointed collar, is a charming, humorous and beautiful piece of music. It begins with a solemn and authoritative entrance by the French horn, stern brasses and a tympani, against which the harpsichord, undaunted, introduces a playful, delicate theme in major and minor keys and cadenza-like jeux d'esprit, first in a sinuous oriental style, then with a martial beat.<br><br>
The Andante evokes a typical French summer outdoor dance accompanied by good food and flowing wine as the harpsichord and orchestra assume a dance-like dialogue. In the third movement, Presto, the harpsichord pays homage to the sparkling inventions of J.S. Bach, and as the movement draws to an end, the soloist lifts his hands and plays two chords that mimic a pianist's approach to a romantic cadenza, but after two strong chords, the harpsichord falls silent, as if meditating on the unheard music of the spheres. <span style="font-size: medium"><b>Cienniwa's playing was exquisite — no drama, no posturing — just consummate artistry and a superb performance of a marvelous concerto.</b></span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1517992012-03-27T09:20:20-04:002012-03-27T09:20:20-04:00Paul Cienniwa, Jeffrey Cohan, Sarah Mahler Kraaz, & Timothy Tikker join Concert Artist Cooperative<a target="_new" href="http://www.concertartistcooperative.com/"><span style="font-size: larger; ">Concert Artist Cooperative</span></a><span style="font-size: larger; ">, beginning its twenty-fifth year of operation in April, welcomes harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa, flutist Jeffrey Cohan, organist/historian Sarah Mahler Kraaz, and organist/composer/improviser Timothy Tikker to its roster of soloists and ensembles from around the world. <br><br>
Dr. Cienniwa is the music director of First Church Boston. Mr. Cohan is the artistic director of three long-running USA festivals. Dr. Kraaz is the professor of music/organist at Ripon College in Wisconsin. Mr. Tikker is the organist at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. <br><br>
For more information, visit: <a target="_new" href="http://www.concertartistcooperative.com/">http://www.concertartistcooperative.com</a><br type="_moz"><br></span><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1509312012-03-24T07:15:14-04:002012-03-24T07:15:14-04:00News and Review<span style="font-size: larger; ">This morning, I was pleased to see a nice comment in the </span><a target="_new" href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120324/ENTERTAIN/203240307"><span style="font-size: larger; ">New Bedford Standard Times</span></a><span style="font-size: larger; ">. It seems that the New Bedford Art Museum will continue its concert series "after the success of the Paul Cienniwa concert." That's great to hear!<br><br>
And earlier this month, my concert with the Mastersingers by the Sea was reviewed in here: </span><a target="_new" href="http://notesonthearts.com/2012/03/12/mastersingers-by-the-sea-present-winter-a-season-of-remembering/"><span style="font-size: larger; ">Notes on the Arts</span></a><span style="font-size: larger; ">.</span><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1398862012-02-13T05:45:00-05:002017-01-13T14:36:36-05:00Performing in Portland, ME<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/0aa706ebaacde973422021fcd9a3afe1cb1825b0/medium/001.JPG?1375901855" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" height="224" width="300" /><span style="font-size: larger; ">The beautiful chapel at the </span><a target="_new" href="http://cathedralofstluke.episcopalmaine.org"><span style="font-size: larger; ">Cathedral Church of St. Luke</span></a><span style="font-size: larger; "> in Portland, ME was the site for yesterday's recital. What a beautiful place to play! Special thanks to </span><a target="_new" href="http://baroquelute.com/home"><span style="font-size: larger; ">Timothy Burris</span></a><span style="font-size: larger; ">, Tim Neil Johnson, Albert Melton and the Early Music in the Chapel series.<br type="_moz"></span><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1379302012-02-06T10:10:32-05:002012-02-06T10:10:32-05:00Paul Cienniwa featured in the February issue of SOCO MagazineSoCo Magazine published an excellent article about me and my work in their February edition. <a target="_new" href="http://issuu.com/soco/docs/feb12?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=55">Click here to read the article.</a> I am quite taken by how much the writer retained from the interview. Fortunately, I didn't say anything too unprintable!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1352192012-01-21T08:16:45-05:002012-01-21T08:16:45-05:00Neither rain, nor snow ... stops harpsichordist from appointed recital, at least online<a target="_new" href="http://news.providencejournal.com/arts-entertainment/2012/01/harpsichordist-paul-cienniwa-was-to.html">From the Providence Journal Arts blog</a>:<br><br>
Harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa was to perform a program of French baroque music this afternoon at St. Columba's in Middletown. If you had planned to head out to it, be advised, today's snow has changed those plans.<br><br>
But the show will go on ... on the Internet.<br><br>
Starting at 3 p.m. (the time of the planned St. Columba's concert), Cienniwa will perform the recital live from his home and stream it on the web . You can tune in as early as 2:30 as he tunes up and gets ready.<br><br>
A program for the recital is also posted on the web.<br type="_moz"><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1351902012-01-21T05:35:00-05:002012-01-21T05:35:00-05:00Weather update on today's performanceToday's performance at St. Columba's in Middletown, RI has been cancelled due to the snow storm. However, the show will go on! <br><br>
At 3pm (ET), I will perform the program from the comfort of my home with a live stream broadcast here: <a target="_new" href="http://www.blogtv.com/people/pcienniwa">http://www.blogtv.com/people/pcienniwa<br></a>Tune in as early as 2:30 as I tune the instrument and get things ready for the performance.<br><br>
To view the concert program, <a target="_new" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/14Bnwsj4-Z5E8zCU12CHudr-ry3cDn94cbemW4EKvhkI/edit">click here</a>. <br><br>
I can't promise the best audio (or video) for the performance, but I encourage you to tune in--if only for a few minutes--to support live music on the internet!<br type="_moz"><br>
And, finally, my solo CD Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place is now available! Those of you who pre-ordered it might even have it in today's mail, just in time to enjoy it with a sip of wine while watching the falling snow. If you were planning on attending today's concert, please <a href="./shop.cfm">consider purchasing the CD</a> instead and, meanwhile, enjoy today's live broadcast. <br><br><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1350302012-01-20T06:46:33-05:002012-01-20T06:46:33-05:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" is now available!I just recieved copies of my new CD--hot off the presses! <a href="./shop.cfm">Click here to order yours today</a>. $15 and free shipping in the US.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1303842011-12-26T13:30:00-05:002016-02-07T16:55:52-05:00Why I Do What I DoDecember 26, 2011<br><br>As a somewhat moody musician, I often ask myself why I am a musician. It’s not always the most pleasant thing, and it isn’t the most lucrative. The majority of society doesn’t get it, and it takes an awful lot of work to get some intangible returns.<br><br>On my way home from playing the Christmas Day service at First Church in Boston, I was thinking about how fortunate I’ve been. So many of the things in my life seem to have come as a gift. I don’t come from money, but I am very lucky to have parents who let me explore my interests. Things which advanced my musical career seem to have fallen in my lap. My first stereo, which I never could have afforded new, was a highly discounted floor model; I started my undergraduate career with a full scholarship, allowing me to use saved money to buy a very good practice piano; I found my first harpsichord in the<i> Chicago Reader</i> for only $500 (I talked the owner down to $400); I received a partial scholarship to Yale for graduate school, reducing my student loans and making Yale the least expensive choice among my graduate school options; I purchased my 1966 Dowd harpsichord at a very low price.<br><br>While I don’t come from money, these fortunes have made me ask, “Why me?” I’m certainly not God’s gift to music, and, while I’ve orchestrated some of the good things in my life, I couldn’t have come up with so much good fortune on my own. Why me?<br><br>So, I was cruising home from the Christmas Day service, and I decided to finish an exceptionally lengthy podcast of <i>The Moth</i>, a weekly broadcast by a non-profit dedicated to the art of story telling. The final brief story was about Mother Teresa. (I was about to paraphrase the story here, but I found it in Anne Bogart’s book <u><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DegV-i5Pw6cAC%26lpg%3DPA43%26ots%3DuiqRhMK9SD%26dq%3Dmorgan%2520jenness%2520mother%2520teresa%26pg%3DPP1%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dmorgan%2520jenness%2520mother%2520teresa%26f%3Dfalse" target="_new">And Then, You Act: Making Art in an Unpredictable World</a></u>.)<br> <div style="text-align: justify; "><i>"My friend Morgan Jenness admired Mother Teresa, now Blessed Mother Teresa, and at difficult personal junctures, the mere thought of her provided inspiration. Although now a playwright's agent, Morgan worked for many years with the legendary producer Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City. One day, feeling especially depressed about her sense of uselessness in the world, Morgan heard that Mother Teresa would be in Manhattan. She dropped everything and headed to the Indian Embassy in the hope that she might appear. Standing outside the embassy, Mother Teresa did emerge, surrounded by an entourage, and Morgan managed to capture her attention. She stopped, turned, looked at Morgan right in the eyes and asked, 'What can I do for you?' In the midst of her surprise and awe, Morgan described her work in the theatre and how she had lost all her will as she did not see any usefulness in it and then and there declared her determination to go to India and be of use. Mother Teresa spoke sternly, 'There are many famines. In my country there is a famine of the body. In your country there is a famine of the spirit. And that is what you must feed.'"</i></div><br>I’m lucky I didn’t swerve off the road when I heard that! Just moments ago, I had been reflecting on my good fortune--”Why me?”--, and now I had found the answer to why I am a musician.<br><br>It’s been some months since I finished recording my album, “Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place.” In my program notes, I write:<br> <div style="text-align: justify; ">
<i>"A thin place is the threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual. While usually considered a physical location, music, for me, can also be a thin place. In this spirit, it is my greatest desire to bring my audience to a thin place through the beautiful stately elegance of the harpsichord’s most introspective repertoire.<br><br>"This recording contains some of my most favorite slow, meditative harpsichord pieces. I was careful to select contemplative works over melancholy ones, favoring major keys over minor keys and avoiding lamentations and tombeaux. In choosing a venue for the recording, I had two criteria: The space had to be good acoustically, and it had to be a thin place where I could feel a sense of prayer and peace.<br><br>"From the selection of repertoire to its preparation to the recording venue itself, I have sought to make this recording within a prayerful, meditative context. It is my hope that this CD will touch you and move you to crave other meditative experiences while also encouraging you to seek out harpsichord recitals and recordings."</i><br> </div>Why do I do what I do?<br><br><b>In my country, there is a famine of spirit. And this is what I must feed.</b>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1301262011-12-24T03:33:59-05:002011-12-24T03:33:59-05:00Bach Cantata performance in review<a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2011/12/16/10480/">Click here to read the Boston Musical Intelligencer review</a>.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1257492011-11-29T09:25:00-05:002017-02-01T16:33:26-05:00Larry Thomas Bell's "Baroque Concerto" now on YouTubeThe Boston Early Music Festival fringe performance of Bell's triple concerto (Aldo Abreu, recorder; Sam Ou, 'cello; Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord) is now on YouTube. Aside from the occassional spicy intonation, this was a nice reprise of the <a target="_new" href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=623709">debut performance at Jordan Hall</a> in January 2011. Amusingly, <a target="_new" href="http://www.americanrecorder.org/membership/pubs/magazine/2011/sep11/BEMFforWWW_MonTues.pdf">American Recorder magazine said</a> about this performance that, "it was often necessary to look at harpsichordist Cienniwa to see if he was playing at all." I assure you that I WAS playing in spite of myself and the obviously audible harpsichord in the video!<br><br><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SQ0uCPS5dFE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1240762011-11-18T11:35:00-05:002011-11-18T11:35:00-05:00Website update: publicationsI've added a new page to my website. "<a href="./print.cfm">Print</a>" includes links to recent publications, including some PDFs of published articles. Enjoy!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1220032011-11-06T16:10:00-05:002017-01-13T14:36:35-05:00Couperin edition just released!<img src="//www.thorpemusic.com/images/couprn01.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" />Based on the “<i>Premier couplet du Kyrie</i>,” the first movement of Couperin’s <i>Mass for the Convents</i>, I've added the words of the <i>Kyrie eleison</i> to Couperin's organ writing in a practical edition for SATB choir.<br><br><a target="_new" href="http://www.thorpemusic.com/couprn01.html">Click here for more information</a>.<br><br>
To request a sample copy, <a href="./contact.cfm">click here</a>.<br type="_moz"><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1196002011-10-21T11:20:00-04:002017-01-13T14:36:35-05:00Release date: November 1, 2011<div style="text-align: center; "> <a target="_new" href="http://www.amazon.com/Larry-Bell-Dreamers-Thomas-Gregg/dp/B005WOAAKO/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1319224519&sr=1-1"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/0aa706ebaacde973422021fcd9a3afe1cb1825b0/original/001.JPG?1375901855" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="393" width="400" /></a>
</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1131902011-09-07T05:45:00-04:002011-09-07T05:45:00-04:00"O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell, Vol. 2" featured on WGBH's "A Celtic Sojourn"<span style="font-size: medium; ">Last month, </span><a href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=777713"><span style="font-size: medium; ">my recording with uilleann piper Jerry O'Sullivan and baroque cellist Audrey Sabattier Cienniwa</span></a><span style="font-size: medium; "> was featured on Boston public radio's <i>A Celtic Sojourn</i>!<br><br></span><a target="_new" href="http://www.wgbh.org/programs/A-Celtic-Sojourn-224/episodes/Irish-Baroque-862011-30819"><span style="font-size: medium; ">Click here to listen to the (very long) broadcast</span></a><span style="font-size: medium; ">. The bit on O'Farrell begins around the 123' mark, but, oddly, you won't hear any of the recording. <a href="./shop.cfm">Click here to hear excerpts from the CD.</a></span><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1129992011-09-06T04:05:00-04:002011-09-06T04:05:00-04:00Article on memorization at the harpsichord<a target="_new" href="http://thediapason.com/"><span style="font-size: medium; ">The Diapason</span></a><span style="font-size: medium; "> recently published my article on memorization. </span><a target="_new" href="http://thediapason.com/articles/webDiap0911p24-25.pdf"><span style="font-size: medium; ">Click here to read a PDF of the article</span></a><span style="font-size: medium; ">. Enjoy the photos!</span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1118232011-08-29T10:54:55-04:002011-08-29T10:54:55-04:00"Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place" update<span style="font-size: medium; ">The </span><a href="http://paulcienniwa.com/news.cfm?feature=1610364&postid=1219051"><span style="font-size: medium; ">recording project</span></a><span style="font-size: medium; "> is soon to be underway! I've settled some very important issues, including recording site, engineer and production assistant.<br><br>
The recording will take place in a thin place: St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Swansea, MA. Walter Klimasewski of <a target="_new" href="http://www.promusica-recordings.com/">Pro Musica Recordings</a> is the engineer, and <a target="_new" href="http://www.elizabethgracesoprano.com/">Elizabeth Grace</a> is the production assistant. We begin recording on September 7 and hope to wrap up by September 9. <br><br>
I couldn't be more pleased!<br type="_moz"><br></span><br type="_moz"><br>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1108022011-08-22T12:05:00-04:002017-01-13T14:36:35-05:00Forthcoming spring 2012...<div style="text-align: center; ">
<span style="font-size: medium; ">New Recording!<br><span style="font-size: large; "><b><i>Harpsichord Music for a Thin Place</i></b></span><i><br></i><br><i>"A musical transport to the threshold between the ordinary and the spiritual... to the point where the ordinary becomes spiritual and the spiritual becomes ordinary."</i><br><br><br>
This recording, to be released in spring of 2012 on Whaling City Sound,<br>
includes works by Bach, Bell, Byrd, F. Couperin, L. Couperin, Forqueray, Froberger, Rameau and Sweelinck.<br></span><span style="font-size: medium; "><br><br><a href="./shop.cfm"> Click here to order your CD <u>now</u>! Your CD will come autographed with free shipping</a>.<br></span><br>
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</div>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1071702011-07-29T13:15:00-04:002011-07-29T13:15:00-04:00NBSO preview<a target="_new" href="http://southcoastmags.com/2011/07/lots-of-music-coming-from-the-nbso/">This article</a> includes a nice preview of the New Bedford Symphony's 2011-2012 season, including some words on my upcoming performance. <a target="_new" href="http://southcoastmags.com/2011/07/lots-of-music-coming-from-the-nbso/">Click here!</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1059742011-07-18T09:10:11-04:002011-07-18T09:10:11-04:00New Recording coming soon...I just learned that a two-CD set of music by Larry Thomas Bell will be coming out on Albany records before Christmas 2011. The release includes a number of works which either feature or include harpsichord (played by yours truly). The CD title "In a Garden of Dreamers" is from Bell's song cycle which makes up a good part of the recording.<br><br>
I'll be posting more information once the CDs come out.Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1055482011-07-13T04:35:26-04:002011-07-13T04:35:26-04:002011-2012 Season<a href="./itinerary.cfm">I just posted some of my concerts</a> for the upcoming season. It's going to be a busy year!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/1002962011-05-20T06:20:00-04:002011-05-20T06:20:00-04:00Harpsichord Duo in review<a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2011/05/19/four-harpsichord-first-church/">Click here to read a review of my two-harpsichord recital with Michael Sponseller.</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/999072011-05-18T10:35:00-04:002017-02-01T15:50:26-05:00Music of Larry Thomas Bell<div style="text-align: left; ">Below are some rehearsal videos of a dress rehearsal for the May 19 concert of music by <a target="_new" href="http://www.larrybellmusic.com/">Larry Thomas Bell</a>. These are some unique works! <br><br>
The Cello Suite, for cello and harpsichord figured bass, is the only contemporary work I've played which exclusively uses the baroque practice of improvised figured bass. Playing this type of notation in a contemporary medium is challenging. <a target="_new" href="http://necmusic.edu/faculty/sam-ou?lid=8&sid=2">Sam Ou</a> is the fantastic cellist.<br>
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The other work, The Echolocations of Cellos, is the concluding movement of a large setting of the poems on the seasons of the year. This is the most unusual ensemble I've played in: voices, guitar, harp, piano and harpscihord. What fun!<br><br><iframe width="480" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MuMq-SnN70A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/986352011-04-29T10:35:00-04:002011-04-29T10:35:00-04:00Interview in the South Coast InsiderIn spite of a funny typo (and a funny headline as well), it's a nice interview!<br><a target="_new" href="http://issuu.com/coastalmags/docs/sci_may11/44?mode=window&printButtonEnabled=false&backgroundColor=%23222222">Click here to read it.</a><br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/967552011-04-06T04:50:27-04:002017-02-01T15:45:38-05:00Bach: Sonata No. 6 for Violin & Harpsichord<br><br><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w7qY6pGLJFw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/931562011-02-19T04:45:00-05:002011-02-19T04:45:00-05:00O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell, Vol. 2: One of the Top Ten Irish traditional albums of 2010!The <a target="_new" href="http://irishecho.com/">Irish Echo</a>, the largest circulation Irish American weekly newspaper, picked O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell, Vol. 2 as one if its top ten albums of last year.<br><br>
"A drop-dead gorgeous recording."<br><br><a href="./irishecho.cfm">Click here for the review.</a><br><br><a href="./shop.cfm"> Click here to listen to excerpts from the album and to purchase it!</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/926312011-02-11T11:15:00-05:002017-02-01T15:40:00-05:00Complete Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord with baroque violinist Rachel Barton PineMany of you have asked for a recording of our November 2010 performance on WFMT in Chicago. That's now available as <a target="_new" href="http://www.wfmt.com/main.taf?p=3,2,1,4">a donor premium from WFMT</a>. You can find videos of the performance at <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa?feature=mhum">my YouTube page</a>.<br><br><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgqxRCN_7_E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/925742011-02-10T10:50:00-05:002011-02-10T10:50:00-05:00Television interview on QATVIn advance of our February 26, 2011 <a href="./itinerary.cfm">concert</a> at the Thomas Crane Public Library, recorder player Heloise Degrugillier and I were interviewed on QATV. <a target="_new" href="http://www.qatv.org/videoclip/ATL_2011Feb_CATC_PC_HD">Click here to watch the interview!</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/913972011-01-25T06:20:00-05:002017-02-01T15:37:49-05:00Some improvisation of a different kindIn early January, sound artist <a target="_new" href="http://www.toddmerrell.com">Todd Merrell</a> and I met to begin a series of collaborations exploring electronic sound and the harpsichord. <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPOPY701J4">Click here to see a YouTube video of our first meeting.</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/900772010-12-28T04:15:00-05:002010-12-28T04:15:00-05:00Latest Review!Latest and, alas, late: <a target="_new" href="http://avivashir.blogspot.com/2010/12/iestro-armonica-heloise-degruillier-on.html">I'Estro Armonica: Héloïse Degruillier on recorder, Paul Cienniwa on harpsichord</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/888512010-12-07T07:55:00-05:002017-01-13T14:36:34-05:00January 24, 2011 @ Jordan Hall, Boston<a href="/files/33361/JH%20Concert%20flier.jpeg"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/15280/649f550cc1b9d801c3ee26638ce648ac7a9999cf/medium/JH-Concert-flier.jpeg?1375901855" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="382" width="300" /></a> Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/550562010-11-12T09:05:00-05:002010-11-12T09:05:00-05:00Latest Review!<a target="_new" href="http://classical-scene.com/2010/11/11/harpsichord-concerts-for-lunch/">Harpsichord Concerts for Lunch</a> (Boston Musical Intelligencer)Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/875022010-10-25T11:58:03-04:002017-02-01T15:31:14-05:00New performance videosI've just uploaded some performance videos to <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa?feature=mhum">my YouTube page</a>. You'll find a second <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ1ZINEbcF8">Catskills performance with Jerry O'Sullivan</a> and also a number of arias and duos from my recent recital with <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtwiVoLuAGM">Hilary Anne Walker</a> and James Onsted. Enjoy!Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/867402010-10-18T05:47:33-04:002022-02-17T07:46:09-05:00Piping Hot!I just came across this <a target="_new" href="http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/from_the_hob/pipers-gather-in-east-durham-105027754.html">nice review</a> of the <a href="./shop.cfm">O'Farrell CD</a> under the heading "<b>Piping Hot CDs</b>": <br><br>
"Yonkers piper Jerry O’Sullivan released another exploration into the music of an 18th century piper named O’Farrell (no verifiable first name exists) this summer in the Catskills entitled O’Sullivan Meets O’Farrell: Volume II. <br><br>
"For this follow up recording, O’Sullivan wanted to choose O’Farrell selections that were more suited to accompaniment with harpsichord and cello as they may have been in Baroque period of the 18th century. He was fortunate to find Paul and Audrey Cienniwa in Boston, who played the harpsichord and cello respectively, and who could play the musical scores written for them by Kevin O’Brien to go along with O’Sullivan’s piping. <br><br>
"The album is organized in four suites according to various keys. Paul Cienniwa brought his harpsichord to Catskills for the official launch at the Weldon House back in July. The recording follows Volume I, and both of them reflect a thoughtful musician whose research back several centuries to rescue some of the obscure music of a successful but little known piper of the day deserves a lot of credit. <br><br>
"For piping students, O’Sullivan’s efforts are invaluable in outlining the evolution of their instrument in Irish music."<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/855742010-09-29T06:10:00-04:002017-02-01T15:28:10-05:00October News<span style="font-size: small; ">With memories of summer fading fast, I invite you to enjoy videos from my summer performances. You'll find these on </span><span style="font-size: medium; "><a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/pcienniwa"><span style="font-size: small; ">my YouTube channel</span></a><span style="font-size: small; ">, along with links to other performance videos.<br><br>
In October, I have two performances as I make way for a busy November. On Sunday, October 10, I'll be performing a program of Monteverdi, Strozzi, Purcell and Bach with mezzo-soprano Hilary Anne Walker and tenor James Onsted at First Church in Boston. </span><a target="_new" href="http://www.firstchurchbostonmusic.org/vocalrecitals.cfm"><span style="font-size: small; ">Click here for more information.</span></a><span style="font-size: small; "> And on Sunday, October 24, I'll be playing organ for the New Bedford Symphony/Providence Singers performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. </span><a target="_new" href="http://www.providencesingers.org/index.php"><span style="font-size: small; ">Click here for more information.</span></a><span style="font-size: small; "> <br><br>
I hope to see you at these and future concerts! </span><a href="./itinerary.cfm"><span style="font-size: small; ">Click here to see my upcoming performances</span></a></span><span style="font-size: small; ">.</span>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/836442010-08-26T06:48:37-04:002017-02-01T15:26:01-05:00Back from the CatskillsIn July, I had the pleasure of joining up with uilleann piper <a target="_new" href="http://www.jerryosullivan.com/">Jerry O'Sullivan</a> once again to perform in the Catskills for a <a href="./shop.cfm">record-release</a> concert. A tiny part of the concert was captured on this video:<br><br><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/t3_RbkpYLL4?fs=1&hl=en_US">
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<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/835092010-08-24T05:17:03-04:002017-02-01T15:25:52-05:00Recording music of Larry Thomas BellLast night was the final of four recording sessions of music by<a target="_new" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.larrybellmusic.com%2FC.V..htm&ei=58NzTOvQL8P98AaS9OTxCA&usg=AFQjCNEUK29Kom_FJBkrkYzbu-Fzb6VxZg&sig2=o3Ewlgm-C2-WFIK5o2koXg"> Larry Thomas Bell</a>. (This is for two CD projects reportedly for <a target="_new" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.albanyrecords.com%2F&ei=ZcVzTIVEgbzyBpqx_fUI&usg=AFQjCNH1nWBBpNFWk9Nd3SkkD12csFYi1w&sig2=xjjdnZP8v8AEHfSWeOzadw">Albany Records</a>.)<br><br>
In June, I recorded Bell's <a target="_new" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXgX8-sRC_M">Partita #1</a> and a set of songs with <a target="_new" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philiplima.com%2F&ei=JcVzTMCWM4P_8AbngMGPCQ&usg=AFQjCNElMv1dE4Uq8a0x0K1E0eg4zoSyeg&sig2=UkY5uzC9-84Yj2wdJSitjA">Phil Lima</a>. Last Sunday, I recorded Partita #2, and last night was the Serenade with <a target="_new" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CB8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAldo_Abreu&ei=OcVzTOybBMGB8gbdxNXyCA&usg=AFQjCNE_6h84WKMKSxH0oeDcGwFHnYejjQ&sig2=8tVeEKFOGGKdCZ6uyHPIAw">Aldo Abreau</a>, recorder, and <a target="_new" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.necmusic.edu%2Ffaculty%2Fsam-ou%3Flid%3D8%26sid%3D2&ei=UsVzTITeAoL88AaFwe3xCA&usg=AFQjCNFO7H3c5j4wtAgFJicBoRiwwrB28Q&sig2=KiQz3ihZx7MZZbTlkvf7XA">Sam Ou</a>, cello. I hope to post videos of the Partita #2 and Serenade sessions soon, but, for now, I leave you with some videos of a rehearsal back in May.<br><br><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/xOyo5q1fsvE?fs=1&hl=en_US">
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<br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/833182010-08-20T05:20:00-04:002017-02-01T15:25:42-05:00Manuel De Falla Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin & CelloI'm just back from the <a target="_new" href="http://www.venticordi.com">VentiCordi</a> Festival in Kennebunk, Maine. One of my favorite audience members was able to run my iPhone video camera for the performance. Unfortunately, all of the performers didn't fit into the recording window. It's not a perfect performance, but I'm still pleased with it. At VentiCordi, I had the pleasure of playing with some very good musicians: Timothy Macri, flute; Kathleen McNerney, oboe; Thomas Hill, clarinet; Dean Stein, violin; Katherine Cherbas, cello.<br><br><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/hB5qCuVIQRE?fs=1&hl=en_US">
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<embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/hB5qCuVIQRE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <br type="_moz">Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/821012010-07-29T16:00:00-04:002010-07-29T16:00:00-04:00November '09 Review in The StradLast December, I was playing Messiah with the Providence Singers, and the continuo cellist mentioned that she had seen a good review of the <a href="./shop.cfm">Bach Viola da gamba Sonatas CD</a> in The Strad. I finally got around to seeing that magazine, and the review is quite good. <a href="./stradnov09.cfm">Click here to read it!</a>Paul Cienniwatag:paulcienniwa.com,2005:Post/820812010-07-29T10:45:00-04:002010-07-29T10:45:00-04:00O'Sullivan Meets O'Farrell, Vol. 2 arrives!Back in 2008, Grammy Award winning uillean piper Jerry O'Sullivan appeared on the Newport Baroque concert series. During that marvelous weekend, Jerry recorded a CD with Audrey Sabattier-Cienniwa and me on basso continuo. That CD has finally been released. Go to my <a href="./shop.cfm">shop</a> to purchase the recording!Paul Cienniwa