Category: Ad Hoc

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I don’t know why, but I felt compelled to write a poem about county courthouses.

Courthouse

Wood, brick, stone

Polished brass and gold leaf

Flags and charters and plaques

The hopes of the pioneers

The curses of Manifest Destiny

The records of a people

Crossing from “unorganized territory”

Into plats and plots and plans

Governance made tangible

Offices of old, renewed and reordered

Birth, marriage, death

Land, voting, taxes

Writs and torts

Redress of grievances

“We have, Your Honor”

Maintained lawn

Civil War cannon

Eponym’s statue

Seat of administration

Temple of self-governance

Edifice of America

WF

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By now the world has learned of the death of the great composer, songwriter, and pianist Burt Bacharach. He studied with, among others, Darius Milhaud, and elevated the pop song in so many different ways.

Since we haven’t done a Theory Thursday in a while, I thought it would be cool to talk about what makes Bacharach’s work so…well, cool.

In a lot of pop music – and in a lot of non-pop music – there are certain structural and tonal expectations. Two of the most common ones are:
1. Phrases (complete musical ideas ending with some kind of closure) are four measures in length
2. The most important relationship when defining a key is the dominant-tonic relationship (V-I).

Let’s listen to the song “Always Something There To Remind Me,” one of my favorite Bacharach tunes (co-written with the legendary Hal David). First up, the demo version from Miss Dionne Warwick:


Pretty cool, huh? Now let’s listen to the version I first heard in the 1980s, the synth-pop cover by the band Naked Eyes:

What jumps at you is the phrase structure. Instead of nice four-bar phrases, Bacharach gives us a verse with a phrase structure of five-five-three.

Example 1: The opening phrase, five measures long.

The asymmetry, coupled with the ending ii half-diminished chord (not a chord normally associated with the end of a phrase, though Robert Schumann uses one to great effect at the end of a phrase in “Widmung,” the opening song of the op. 25 collection), adds musical interest. Things are off-kilter. A romance is no more, but there’s always something there to remind you. Bacharach thwarts the first of the two expectations listed above.

The other expectation is thwarted as well; there’s not a V-I until you get to almost the end of the chorus, with “I was born to love you, but I will never be free.” Listen again. There’s not a root-position dominant The piece is clearly in a key (Naked Eyes uses D, so I shall use that as my reference point), but the V-I – the defining tonal relationship – is only barely present. You can go almost the entire form of the tune before you hit a V-I.

One last little bit: Naked Eyes’ version takes the descending chromatic line from the soprano in the original down to the bass. This doesn’t actually change anything harmonically, but it does add the dimension of possible reference to the lament bass, or a descending chromatic bass line used as the basis for a lament or sad song. (Purcell’s “When I am laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas is the go-to model.) Some websites list the second chord as A/C#, but as I hear it there’s not enough there to think in terms of it being a dominant, and even if you could hear it that way, it’s an inversion with strong chromatic linear motion, which goes a long way toward undercutting the idea of it being a V.

Example 2. The opening phrase as performed by Naked Eyes.

Bacharach was a titan for so many reasons, but for me it’s because he thwarted expectations, and in doing so created tiny masterpieces. May his memory be a blessing, and may he rest well.

WF

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  1. This article by Matt Reed has me thinking quite a bit about what credentials should mean versus what they actually mean. Are the distinctions between the PhD, the DMA, the DME, and the EdD so uniformly pronounced anymore? Do we do people a disservice when we make a big stink about that sort of thing? I am proud of my PhD, but I chose that over the DMA precisely because 26-year-old me viewed it as the Acme, the apex of academia. Nearly-50-year-old me isn’t nearly as impressed.
  2. We’re having some work done on the house. Nothing huge, just adding a shower to our first floor bathroom. Still, it’s been interesting to watch that process. I have zero aptitude for home improvement, and yet now I’m thinking, “Are there any projects I could do?” (Answer: No. My skills lie elsewhere, and Dad, much as he could have used an extra set of hands, was keen enough to recognize that me doing farm work and mechanical work was a bad idea. I have the fine motor skills of eggplant. Besides, David and Brad were good at it.)
  3. I am looking forward to this semester in the classroom, even as it is going to be busy and I have all my assessment and coordinator duties as well. Work on The Why and How of Music Theory continues apace (I have chapters 8 and 9 on my work computer, and need to knock out 10 and 11 before Spring Break), and that has been fun to distill 25 years of teaching and an imaginative curriculum into one document. I’ll also be teaching Intellectual Foundations of Western Music, which I love because there’s just so much richness in the topic, and for the first time I’ll be using Ed Nowacki’s Greek and Latin Music Theory: Principles and Challenges as the text. Ed was one of my professors at CCM, and is one of my favorite human beings. I’ll also be teaching Choral Arranging and Analysis of Popular Music, as well as a couple of composition students.
  4. I get to bust out the alto trombone with the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra! Brad asked me to do Enigma on it, and it will definitely be appearing when we do Beethoven 9 in May. Maybe I’ll try to attend the Pokorny Institute again. I am enjoying performing, especially in an ensemble. Maybe next year I’ll do that solo recital, but only after I’ve finished the opera…
  5. Speaking of which, I was able to write about 3 1/2 minutes last week. I need to make sure in the midst of all this, I carve out time to make this happen. Now that SMT is done, I don’t have any large research project on the table, so back to composing.
  6. “It’s all right to talk about ‘long white robes over yonder,’ in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It’s all right to talk about ‘streets flowing with milk and honey,’ but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can’t eat three square meals a day. It’s all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God’s preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 3, 1968, Memphis, TN (his last public appearance)

WF

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So here we are in Anno Domini 2023. I turn 50 in 53 days.

I like seeing expiration dates on food products. It’s a sign of hope, of a future.

Last year was professionally one of the best I’ve ever had, with three solid premiere performances (including one in Australia, so yay for “international reputation for full professor”) and the SMT presentation. Work on the opera continues, though not at the pace I would like. Gonna sit with that and with my textbook quite a lot over the next two weeks before classes start up again. I am proud of the work we’re doing in music – and the work we’re doing on assessment – at UMN Morris.

Of course, last year we suffered a tremendous loss as well, with the passage (on the one-year anniversary of my own mother’s death) of my mother-in-law, Lauretta Beck Philhower (May 26, 1951 – June 17, 2022). We spent the holidays with Amanda’s dad and with my dad, and I’m grateful for the chance to still have both of them in my life. Dad will be 88 in four days. Expect some kind of tribute.

I do not know what the future holds. If I did, I would build Biff Tannen’s Pleasure Paradise. All I know is that I must and shall keep learning and keep doing. I encourage all of you to do the same. Cynicism is no way to approach life.

Be well in 2023. Let’s meet back here on January 1, 2024 and talk about how it went.

WF

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Welp, it’s been a summer.

I mentioned a “family health” thing a couple of posts ago. On June 17, exactly one year after we lost my mother, my mother-in-law Lauretta Beck Philhower died. She was only 71, and her loss has been a gut punch. Lauretta was a kind soul with a great laugh and a love of good music. We miss her terribly.

Then there was some reshuffling at work, and now I find myself running the assessment program for the entire institution. That’s fine. My predecessor did a bang-up job of creating mechanisms, so all I need to do for right now is top off the fluids and keep the tires inflated. This does move me into an even-larger administrative role. Be careful what you wish for, kids.

Also, I’m recovering, as the Covid finally caught me last week. Made it 2 1/2 years. Since I’m double-vaxxed and boosted, it was just a really bad cold for me. Still, 0/10, would not recommend. This meant I had to bail on playing in my first pit orchestra in nearly two decades. My guess is, the mute changes were so involved they wore me out, which weakened my immune system.

Long story short, the opera isn’t done yet. That’s OK. I have no performances scheduled. I hope to get back to work on it some this week. I can tell you that Acts I and III are finished, and if I’m being honest, the ending is beautiful – everything I would want. This is primarily due to Dave Cole’s libretto, but I’m going to allow myself a little brag and say the music is awesome as well.

The Australian performance of Triple Double had to be postponed for one month, but it happened last week. You can watch it here – it’s the second piece on the program, but do watch the whole thing, as Kara Williams and her accomplices play a variety of excellent pieces by a variety of excellent composers. This performance is easily one of the top three performances of my music in terms of quality. I was honored and humbled to sit in my living room Wednesday night and listen. My beloved, not one for effusive praise, said, “that was really good.” Check it out.

I have started opening some channels for a performance opportunity (well, the playing of a recording) that would be out of this world. More on that if it develops into something. Suffice it to say that growing up in Pinhook, Indiana (pop. 19) you don’t expect to hear your music at essentially the Antipodes of Pinhook. So once I’ve been heard in Australia, what else is there? (I’m still working on Asia, Africa, South America, and yes, even Antarctica.)

Also, I saw Antipodes of Pinhook at H.O.R.D.E. in 1996.

Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Let’s see what’s next together.

WF

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As you might imagine, the current situation means that some performances will be cancelled or postponed. As I hear of them, I will let you know, via here and/or via Twitter.

If you want some theory videos, I put together a few a while back. You can check out my work-related YouTube channel for those. Some are just kinda silly fun, like Pierrot’s Boogie Woogie. If they’re helpful to you and your classes, let me know.

We’ll get through it. Be safe, be courageous, be yourself.

WF

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So far, we’re fine. No reports of the disease in Stevens County.

Instruction at UMM is going to be online only for a couple of weeks after Spring Break, and probably longer than that.

Be safe, avoid large groups, wash your hands, and elect people who respect expertise.

And hey, maybe this will be my excuse to do more with this website. But I wouldn’t count on it.

WF

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Why do I do what I do? Why is my life this weird potpourri of music, science, literature, politics, and surrealism?

My Credo:

I believe every human being should have – by virtue of being born human – access to knowledge, culture, and history.

I believe culture should be available to everyone, be they rich or poor.

I believe arts and humanities are a necessary component of education, from pre-K to PhD and not excluding the trades. Why can’t a bricklayer like poetry, a garment worker music, a farmer literature, a bookkeeper sculpture? By saying cultural pursuits are only for people from specific classes and castes, we deny the basic humanity and the need to create – to endure – of billions.

I believe we should govern ourselves by hope, not fear.

I believe in the transformative power of the humanities.

I believe in the human race, even when the human race does not believe in itself.

I believe if we do not kill ourselves in the cradle, we will go to the stars.

I believe that’s enough for now.

WF

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And so here it is, December 31, 2014, approximately 8:11pm as I start writing this.

Professionally, this year was as good as I have experienced. FOUR major premieres (Minnesota Movements, the short opera Bedtime Story, Tenebrae, and the first in the Urban Legends series), more performances of Rational Exuberance, and an article on Morton Gould’s West Point Symphony accepted for publication. One of my works was selected for a performance in Plymouth, IN, and not only did Amanda and I get to attend the performance, both my parents and her parents (along with an aunt and a cousin) were able to attend as well. I go up for tenure/promotion this next academic year, and all signs point to success in that endeavor. I was able to organize my research plan and my compositional output (the aforementioned Urban Legends series), and I really feel like I am at the top of my game.

Personally, however…

The polar vortex hit on January 6. Two days later, our beloved Dachshund Julie suffered what was most likely a pretty severe stroke. The little girl held on for a couple of months, but on March 10 a decision was made and that night, with Amanda by her side, she left us. Similarly, our cranky old Hep Cat suffered kidney failure in mid-October (more on the timing of that in a moment), and – true to his spirit – left us on November 11 in the vet’s office while she was preparing to do what needed to be done. (We refer to this as Hep’s last middle finger to the world – “You can’t fire me! I quit!”) The hole in our hearts has not yet healed, nor is it likely to. Julie and Hep were family, and now our family is smaller.

The reason we had to leave town in mid-October, when Hep suffered the beginnings of his final illness, was because of another loss. Jay Flippin, the greatest total musician I have ever known, lost his battle with liver cancer on October 16. Dick Cheney still breathes air and Jay Flippin is dead – it makes you angry. Jay was and is who I want to be when I grow up. A true polymath, he spoke several languages and was as at ease discussing theology, science, and history as he was behind a piano. There are very few people for whom this is true, but in Jay’s case it is true: This world is better because Jay Flippin was in it.

My beloved wife had some health scares as well; to respect her wishes, I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say there were long stretches of existence on pins and needles. She is fine now, thankfully.

November brought a loss of a different kind; a good public servant named Jay McNamar was voted out of office and replaced with a decidedly less good public servant. Jay was (technically, as of this writing, still is) my state rep, and I’m glad he got to serve. My anger over this and other events (like Ferguson and Eric Garner) led me to say some pretty heated things, and at least three family members have severed their relationships with me. But I must and do stand behind what I say.

I didn’t blog much, but four posts seemed to resonate.
On Academia
Against Cynicism
A New Birth of Freedom
Man on the Moon

I don’t know how much more blogging I’ll do, but I don’t think I’m done yet. I have some plans to make my web presence (something I should have more of as a composer) stronger, and blogging might fit into that. I don’t want to spam everyone, though.

Also, a lot of people on Facebook want me to be Secretary of Education, so I got that going for me.

So now it’s 8:45pm CT. 3 hours and 15 minutes to go in 2014. Here’s hoping 2015 continues what 2014 started professionally, and wipes the slate clean from the personal annus horribilis. Good luck to one and all in 2015, and let’s leave everything a little better than we found it.

WF

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Continuing with the twin themes of Richard Nixon and resentment as a political tool, here are two links which have been on my mind recently.

This link considers prejudice against Appalachians in academia, and this link examines Sauk Centre, MN, Sinclair Lewis’s hometown and the model for Gopher Prairie in Main Street.

The first article makes me think – what happens when someone willingly embraces the stereotypes of that group, and then uses those stereotypes as a marker of culture? Do the stereotypes become self-generating at that point? Is it a matter of “You think I’m a redneck? I’ll show you a redneck!” There is a natural human response of wagon-circling when a member of your tribe is attacked, to be sure, and I suspect there’s some of that at work here. But it can go to far, and ideology can obscure reality. (Read that link, by the way. It is outstanding.) Sinclair Lewis hit on this when he wrote Main Street. In an insular community, outsiders – or more specifically, ideas promulgated by outsiders – are rarely accepted or even tolerated. I found this out earlier this year when my hometown was in the news for less than good reasons. Even though it was home in a technical sense, I never felt like I belonged there, much in the same way that Lewis never felt like he belonged in Sauk Centre. Yet, that is where his ashes are buried, and it is not beyond the pale of possibility that my earthly remains will at least in part end up back home as well. I have felt the resentment of those who accepted things as they were, and I have also nurtured strong resentments myself at those same people. I love my family, and I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything, but Bedford is not home. It is simply where I am from. (Short form: having a non-majority temperament or views in a small town is tough. I doubt I’m alone in this.)

This politics of resentment is how Nixon captured the White House in 1968. He was careful enough to not be openly resentful in the way that George Wallace was (and arguably having Wallace in the race, instead of splitting the Right, allowed Nixon to use better code language and secure his position as the “Center”), but he still tapped into that. His language throughout his term in office (“Silent Majority,” the constant allusions to a giant conspiracy during Watergate) sent dog-whistles to the resentful base. And as we saw in yesterday’s post, he came by this honestly and at an early age.

I get Nixon. But for differences on political issues, I could be Nixon. In many cases, so could you. And that is why, as much of a populist as I am on economic issues, I have to keep it in check. Because when unchecked, it turns a President who was truly masterful at many aspects of foreign policy* into a punchline, a paranoiac, and a cautionary tale.

This has been a rather rambling excursion into my brain. I hope it resonated with at least some people.

*I propose that Nixon did what he did domestically (EPA, price/wage controls, Keynesian economic policy, etc.) to keep the heat off his foreign policy, making him the mirror of LBJ (who was hawkish in Vietnam to keep his opponents on his side, allowing him to pass his domestic policies).

WF

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Maybe not actually random, but any connecting threads may not be immediately obvious (and may be present only inside my head).

(1) Why are those of us in academia going along with this? We saturate the market, and those of us who are both good enough and lucky enough (and make no mistake, both are in play) to get the ever-elusive tenure-track gigs are still afraid to rock the boat until we’re given that imprimatur. So, why don’t those of us who are tenured agitate more? Oh, wait, we do…but even tenure isn’t enough to keep us from getting canned if The Powers That Be decree it so.

We can honor the memory of Prof. Vojtko by fighting – all of us, tenured and non-tenured, full-time and part-time, faculty and admin – for more full-time lines, honest and real tenure processes and protections, and a recommitting to the ideals of fairness, honest discussion, and academic freedom that made our universities the envy of the world.

(2) Why is Nelson Riddle so good as an arranger? (Mostly rhetorical.) His charts always work.

(3) Which of these (warning: link is a .pdf) papers would you like to know more about? I’m going there (flight and registration done today, working on a cheaper hotel in walking distance) and will report back.

(4) Why isn’t the fact that, y’know, the chemical weapons are likely coming out of Syria touted as more of a Good Thing?

(5) Haven’t I said enough?

WF

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One of my treasured memories is a great weekend Jawa Girl and I spent in Boston shortly before moving back to Cincinnati in 2007. We walked the Freedom Trail, had some great food and shopping at Quincy Market, enjoyed some pastries from the North End, and watched everyone celebrate a Red Sox no-hitter. It’s a great city with a lot to offer. We have good friends who grew up there, and good friends who live close by. And what a rich musical and academic history!

So yeah, the events of yesterday hurt.

I am not going to hazard a guess as to who was responsible (though you’d better believe I have some ideas). Our first priority now must be to bind the wounds of the injured, soothe the souls of the hurting, and memorialize those who were killed. Justice will come, and it will roll down like a mighty river, but it will come properly. We must not lash out blindly. We did that once, and it didn’t work.

Rather, let us devote our energies to love. Love beats hate every time. Let us love one another. As W. H. Auden said in “September 1, 1939,” we must love one another or die.

WF