Musical Monday: Chopin Nocturne No. 21 in C# Minor

So for this week's Musical Monday I'd like to go back into June. Starting on Monday the twenty-third and lasting until Friday I went to Piano Week at the University of West Florida. It is a piano camp they have during the summer. Throughout the week we had different classes and Friday night we had a recital playing what we had learned that week.

This is Nocturne No. 21 in C# Minor by Chopin. I don't want to be one of those people who is always dissing their own work, but I feel compelled to mention that I played it a bit too fast I think. Also the dynamics could have been better but I am pleased with it. There actually is this one part that I am really glad I got through it without a complete wreck. I was in danger of that the day before. Chopin never actually published this nocturne himself as it was published posthumously. (I wanted to post videos of some of the others playing but this one gave me so much trouble I don't think I will try.)

Here is our schedule for the week:

10:00 Musicianship

11:00 Collaborative Piano

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Theory

2:00-4:00 Practice time and individual lessons

5:00-6:00 Piano Painting

Miya and me! We have the same teacher so I am sure I'll be seeing more of her around.

Musical Monday; Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire

Because yesterday was Pentecost here is a video of my favorite Pentecost hymn. It too, like many of the hymns I play, has origins that date way back. The hymnal says this was based on the song Veni, Creator Spritus, meaning "Come Creator Spirit". It is believed to be written by a man named Rhabanus Maurus in the 9th century.

Lyrics
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire;
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost Thy sev'nfold gifts impart.

Musical Monday, Gymnopedie

This week's feature, Gymnopedie No. 1  by Eric Satie, is a song that is very hard to conquer. I have only played this song beautifully, the way it was intended, once. It is not a complicated song by any means and not difficult to play, but it is very difficult to feel. There are many recordings of this online and I guess I'll add mine to the hodge podge now. It's not the best, but hey, you asked for my music.

Below, is a blog post that I wrote about this song but never published for some reason.

Musical Monday

I have been getting many requests to post some of my piano playing online, I have also had some people comment that I have not been keeping up with my blog lately. Well here I give you a solution to both of those at once. I'd like to introduce to you Musical Monday. I plan on posting a video of me playing the piano every Monday, or as many as I can, along with a quick look into our everyday life. I confess it often seems its the everyday life that overwhelms me far more than any of that craziness ever did.

Now, take note that when I recorded the following video I was experimenting with different interpretations of this song. The one shown here is not my favorite but alas, it is the only one I have. So, if it seems a bit wonky to you, please bear with me.

 

Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands  - This is an ancient Easter hymn with it origins dating back into the early 11th century. The tune has evolved over the years. I was driving to piano lessons one day and I heard this song on the radio. The melody was much different but the essentials were the same, the words too were slightly different. It was interesting to hear the differences and similarities between the two versions. I of course am playing the modern version of it. Below are the words.