Tuesday, February 16, 2010

February 16 - Blazing


The rain is over and gone, at least temporarilly, and the temperature warms to 70 (seemingly the first time this year, defining summer, from a certain perspective), mid-day in Pleasant Hill, but first we have to get there, through Lagoon Valley to



Cordelia Junction, past



Long Barn, the Chinese Wall,



and



Eden,



beyond the



Benicia Bridge, in the realm of



Mt. Diablo, following



Route 24's Pleasant Hill Road Interchange, adjacent to



Rheem Hill, initially towards



St.



Mary's



Dante Hall (with a stray balloon).



It's the first Music Session for the Perceiving the Performing Arts course, with Amanda assisting re internet access, Jia ever-helpful, and Rebecca at a drama conference in Nevada. All apparently goes well (in introductory material up to notation), then to



Diablo Valley for G Modes (Major, Mixolydian, Dorian, and Minor), a double dictation / board harmony on Thomas of Celano's Dies Irae (keyboard-solfege for the week, larger intervals against an added drone) and the Orkney Islands Hymn to St. Magnus (harmony in major and minor thirds), plus the G Mix Latin Lyric Song of the Ass (Orientis Partibus, and its G Major Survival as Aye, Said the Donkey) and fine student compositions.



Lunch at China Garden, returning for evening Music



Literature, with music from Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) all the way to Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) -- the ethernet is down, so we proceed apace on iTunes -- popping in on



Owen's orchestra during break, and preparing for



next week.



Out afterwards with Owen and Doug to local



night spot then home for more Psalms -- respectively page 32 of Vespers: II. 109, composition, and 4 of Psalm 7, score preparation).