March 5 - On Beyond

For Theory class, Igor Stravinsky does it again -- harmonically, theoretically -- in the boffo big chords and twisted melody (A: Re Me Do Re Me Do Re Me Do Me Sol Fi) of


The Firebird (1909): Infernal Dance of King Kashchei and



the beyond mere major-key Finale, the final system of this transposed version (of two excerpts) as dictation --

Discounting drone (pedal) bass, with bass line mirror solfege of C: Do Ra Re Fi Re Ra Do

and chords I bII6 II6 #IVB II6 bII6 I.



Performances of Mike Stubblefield's intriguing second composition on guitar and piano, with flamencoesque flourishes and 3+3+3+3+2+2 rhythms, plus L.A. Stories: Part 2. Business As Usual: IIC. Information Wanted



which will be performed Monday, March 10, at Boxcar Theatre in San Francisco (info at markalburgerevents.blogspot.com).

Home to prepare for publication the fourth page of "I've Done Another Bad Thing" from Mice and Men: Act 5, Scene 1.

February 14 - One Final Question. Love Is?

Love! [Love!] That precious word is like a fiery coal,
It burns my lips, strikes terror to my soul.


No answer?

Yeah, well, Tom Rakewell didn't have an answer, either. Nor Igor Stravinsky nor W.H. Auden / Chester Kallman. Probably not William Hogarth (1697-1764), either, as panel three (The Orgy[!]) from The Rake's Progress (1732) would attest. Perhaps Baude Cordier (the valentine music, above, 1380-1440) came closer.

Gotta go. Will post some or all of the rest of 12 Preludes and Fugues ("Topical") (recordings finished early this morning) here tonight. In the meantime, some of them are over at markalburgerworks.blogspot.com, buried down there somewhere as Op. 60.


O.K., back. Been to school via Stonewind (a quarried hill, the only eminence of any kind to the east of the 680 Solano corridor -- the slope of Diablo in Contra Costa County looming in the left distance) for Quiz 5, full triads in bass clef, with examples from the Renaissance, including music by Josquin, Festa,


Henry VIII, Thomas Morley, and Monteverdi (OK, so moving into Baroque).

After class, Doug sets up an ethernet cable, and the sound and light show can now be at full operation, with 5 cables to the laptop (sound, visuals, power, iPod, internet) -- the ability to project markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com -- audio, text, visuals -- at whatever magnification desired. We've come a long way in 30 years of teaching....


Then moving on to Alameda County, through the Caldecott, with distant views of the Golden Gate,



SF, and the Bay.


Over the Richmond Bridge to Mt. Tamalpais and Marin,


To Red Hill in San Anselmo, checking and renewing the post box. Then home, with views of the Big Rock Ridge,


cows grazing peacefully on a slope just east of the freeway,


with more pastoralism in Sonoma, including an old barn directly to the north of a traffic jam


and shadows on the west slope of Sears Point Hill.


Yes, this last photo the best by far -- helps to be in stationary traffic, and to make a judicious crop to eliminate a foreground car, wires, etc.

Flowers and chocolates and evening out at the local tropical joint with Harriet. We stop at the library on the way back for videos, CDs, and book (singular... well, it is a library, after all) -- high tech checkout and rather impressive collection these days....

And now, as threatened, one (probably all that can be mustered at this hour, as the process for posting audio is not nearly as easy as for photos) of the fugues -- IXb. Rather Have an Earthquake, with "radio" sound effects....