The Choral Contrarians

Richard and Eric gather round the old fireplace to chat about a variety of things, including reading a wonderful note from Swedish composer Mattias Sjöberg. High-back chairs and a roaring fire is a wonderful time to reminisce and celebrate hygge during the dark, winter season.

Eric and Richard ask the question no one is asking (and maybe for good reason): Is there an intersection between the concept of liminal space and choral music? They discuss this fairly defined aesthetic phenomena and posit if any aspect of it can be seen in the light of music performance. Oh, and they rank their favorite solfege syllables. Just riveting in every way.

Richard and Eric dive deep into an article in The Critic, entitled "Have I Seen the Future of Music; On a performance in three dimensions for all five senses," by Norman Lebrecht. The article largely reviews pianist Yuja Wang's recent collaboration with renowned English artist David Hockney. The author posits that, through the use of technology and three-dimensional

Richard and Eric, after struggling to come up with topics for the pocast, resort to asking ChatGPT for help. They review and analyze what offerings AI provides, which leads to a much larger discussion of how AI might intersect the fine arts, most specifically choral music. It is an interesting deep dive into the digital sea.

Richard and Eric look into a quote about art and music that has been making the rounds of social media recently. Formally attributed to postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, it reads: “Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.” Why does the statement illicit a strong response from those in the fine arts? What could it actually mean, or

Richard and Eric have returned from the proverbial grave!They catch up a bit and then briefly tackle the difficult task of creating a discernible ethic an ensemble can utilize and rally around on a practical level. They look specifically to a recent movie: "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" directed by Peter Baynton and Charlie Mackesy (adapted from a book of the

Richard and Eric take a look at perfection within the context of our choral experiences. What actually is perfection as it relates to choral rehearsal and performance? Is it an attainable goal, or is it actually a shadowy, distant mountain in which the closer we get to it, the farther away it becomes? How do our individual contexts play a role in our conception of perfection? Can w

Richard and Eric make a grand (well, not-so-grand) return to the airwaves after a long hiatus! They once again, effortlessly, reach the pinnacles of podcasting mediocrity as they catch up a bit and discuss some of the challenges and victories of making music this fall.

With churchwarden pipe in hand, Richard joins Eric in the library by a tended fire to discuss the year and perhaps what the future may hold for those in the choral profession.

Eric and Richard are like or as a couple of professors talking about using words in a way that is like or as similes and metaphors are used. How can a conductor use similes and metaphors in the context of a rehearsal setting? Is it useful? What are potential issues that can arise if used incorrectly or too much? Join the guys deep in the mine and go spelunking for ways metaphors ca