ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 3
Here’s “Da entstünde ein Engel” (“There Appeared an Angel”) by the unpredictable Robert Moran. You may recall that I featured Bob’s most recent recording, which highlights his arrangement of the medieval mystery play, “Game of the Antichrist,” a few weeks back on “The Lost Chord.”
This one is taken from a text by Meister Eckhart. It’s performed by Munich’s Chrismos Ensemble.
Today’s the day!
As a preamble to tonight’s rebroadcast of “The Lost Chord” (“The Most Dangerous Game,” at 6 p.m. ET), I will be on the air live for two hours, beginning at 4, to present some of my favorites from “Lost Chords” past.
Don’t forget, we are in the middle of a pledge drive, so I’ll be joined, I believe, by Alice Weiss and Michael Kownacky. Things have really been cooking the past couple of days, so there is every possibility we’ll be skiing an avalanche as we near an early end to the campaign. The focus, after all, is on raising money.
For the two hour “pre-Game,” I’ll be playing a mix of contemporary composers, vintage recordings, and light music classics of yore. If we’re lucky, apropos to World Series time, we may even get to hear George Kleinsinger’s “Brooklyn Baseball Cantata,” with Robert Merrill.
In addition, I will be offering as a special thank you gift signed copies of Robert Moran’s new album, “Game of the Antichrist,” released yesterday on the innova Recordings label – just in time for Hallowe’en. Stay tuned, then, for an interview with Moran and to listen to the title piece at 6:00.
If “the Antichrist” isn’t your thing (it’s an adaptation of a medieval mystery play, incorporating bar piano, alphorn and giant puppets), there’s always the station mug, the tote bag and the Cantus CD, “Harvest Home,” that I hope will entice you.
This will be my first live air shift since June. It would be nice if everyone supported the station under any circumstances, but if you do call or pledge online, feel free to put in a good word for me and my shows (though sometimes that information gets lost as the phone volunteers struggle to keep up).
One way or another, I hope you will help keep the station healthy by pledging your support at http://www.wwfm.org, or 1-888-232-1212.
Thank you!
PHOTOS: Join me for the Yankees and other Antichrists this afternoon on The Classical Network
WWFM has begun its Fall Membership Campaign, on a harvest theme. I hope you will support the station, and that when you do, you will put in the good word for me and my shows. Also, please make sure that the phone volunteers take the information!
I will be there live on Wednesday, from 4 to 6 p.m. ET, followed by a rebroadcast of last night’s “The Lost Chord,” from 6 to 7. During the two-hour preamble, I will be playing past “Lost Chord” favorites and offering as a special thank you gift autographed copies of Robert Moran’s new album, “Game of the Antichrist.” (Of course, you can always opt for the tote bag or the station mug.)
This will be the first time I have been on the air, in a live capacity, since June. Thankfully, the station is still carrying “The Lost Chord” and “Picture Perfect,” made possible through member contributions from listeners just like you.
You can make a pledge at http://www.wwfm.org, or by calling 1-888-232-1212.
Thank you for your support!
Whenever I interview composer Robert Moran, I’m reminded of Andre Gregory’s description of “the beehive” in “My Dinner with Andre.” Only more ribald.
Anyone who has followed Bob’s career is familiar with his merry prankster ethos. He’s written works for harpsichord and electric frying pan, and any number of performance art pieces, including one which involves people walking around a financial district in giant paper bags. Here it is – like just about everything else, it seems – on YouTube:
“For 39 minutes, 100,000 persons were tripping together.” Groovy.
Bob’s new album, “Game of the Antichrist” is being released this week – just in time for Hallowe’en – on the innova Recordings label. It is the featured work tonight on “The Lost Chord” (more information about that below).
Robert Moran was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1937. He studied composition with Hans Erich Apostel in Vienna, then earned his Masters Degree at Mills College under Darius Milhaud and Luciano Berio.
He himself has taught at a number of institutions, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Portland State University. He’s been composer-in-residence to the city of West Berlin; at the Buffalo, NY, Center for the Performing Arts; and Northwestern University.
Early in his career, he gained notoriety for his compositions on a grand scale, incorporating entire cities (San Francisco; Bethlehem, PA; Graz, Austria; Hartford, CT) – their automobiles, airplanes, skyscrapers, radio and television stations, marching bands, dancers, theatrical groups and tens of thousands of performers.
He collaborated on the opera, “The Juniper Tree,” with Phillip Glass, and has composed many other works for the stage, including “Desert of Roses,” after Beauty and the Beast, for Houston Grand Opera, and “Alice,” after “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” for the Scottish Ballet.
Lest I give you the impression that Bob is all flash and no substance, I assure you he can turn around and write absolutely gorgeous music. Portions of “Desert of Roses” are so beautiful my heart could break. He also composed a lovely piece for youth chorus to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the “Trinity Requiem,” on a commission from Trinity Wall Street, the co-called “Ground Zero” church in lower Manhattan. You can sample that on YouTube, as well.
This deserves to be repertory.
Bob’s works have been performed by the San Francisco Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, The Greater Trenton Symphony, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania Ballet.
“Game of the Antichrist” is a choral/theatrical adaptation of a 12th century mystery play. It’s scored for vocal soloists, chorus, children’s chorus, winds (including recorders), brass, Alphorn, bar piano, synthesizer, harp, organ and percussion. If memory serves, I think there’s even a glass harmonica in there. Oh yeah, and puppets. Giant puppets.
Since the 1980s, Moran has made his home in Philadelphia. We had an opportunity to chat there, at his townhouse, last week, where he filled me in on some of the background to his new piece. Although I’ve edited the conversation to keep it within FCC standards (I hope), Bob still has his moments. You can listen in to his expurgated insights, as Bob is my guest tonight on “The Lost Chord.”
The program is slated to air at 10 ET. Because of the recent schedule change, the show will now repeat during the dinner hour, 6 ET, on Wednesday, smack dab in the middle of our autumn pledge drive! If that doesn’t cost me my job, nothing will. So please be generous with your support on Wednesday. To further scandalize the phone volunteers, you can even say you are pledging in honor of “the Antichrist.”
I’ve been invited to do a live preamble on Wednesday, from 4 to 6, to talk up the show and play some of my “Lost Chord” favorites from years past. Bob has generously signed and contributed ten copies of “Antichrist,” which I’ll be offering as thank you gifts exclusively during those two hours.
You can listen and make your contributions here: http://www.wwfm.org; or call Wednesday, between 4 and 6, at 1-888-232-1212. Thank you for your support!
“Game of the Antichrist” on Innova: http://www.innova.mu/albums/robert-moran/game-antichrist
You can see the giant puppets here: http://www.innova.mu/sites/www.innova.mu/files/album/files/251_itunes_booklet.pdf
More about Bob: http://robertmorancomposer.com/
PHOTO: Would you trust this man?
Aaron Copland (92) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (120) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (185) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (100) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (135) Opera (198) Philadelphia Orchestra (88) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (106) Radio (87) Ralph Vaughan Williams (85) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)