text:
Mémoires personnels
Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others
De Stacy Horn
Enregistrer pour plus tardEnregistrer Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others pour plus tard
Note : 3 sur 5 étoiles3/5 (89 évaluations)
Workman eBooks
"In this one-of-a-kind celebration of singing with others, I'd call her pitch nearly perfect."—The Atlantic
For Stacy Horn, regardless of what is going on in the world or her life, singing in an amateur choir—the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York—never fails to take her to a place where hope reigns and everything good is possible. She's not particularly religious, and her voice is not exceptional (so she says), but like the 32.5 million other chorus members throughout this country, singing makes her happy. Horn brings us along as she sings some of the greatest music humanity has ever produced, delves into the dramatic stories of conductors and composers, unearths the fascinating history of group singing, and explores remarkable discoveries from the new science of singing, including all the unexpected health benefits. Imperfect Harmony is the story of one woman who has found joy and strength in the weekly ritual of singing and in the irresistible power of song.
Stacy Horn, a contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered, is the author of The Restless Sleep, Waiting for My Cats to Die: A Memoir, and Cyberville. She lives in New York City.
Mary Hartnett
Wendy W. Williams
Adrienne Brodeur
En rapport avec Imperfect Harmony
En lire plus de Stacy Horn
Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory
Auteur Stacy Horn
Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
Waiting for My Cats to Die: A Morbid Memoir
The Choral Challenge: Practical Paths to Solving Problems
Auteur Michael Kemp
Vocal Physiology And The Teaching Of Singing
Auteur David D. Slater
Basic Singing Technique
Auteur Minoas
On Studying Singing
Auteur Sergius Kagen
The Musician's Breath: The Role of Breathing in Human Expression
Auteur James Jordan
In Their Own Words: Canadian Choral Conductors
Auteur Holly Higgins Jonas
The Conductor as Leader: Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium
Auteur Ramona M. Wis
Vocal Rescue: Rediscover the Beauty, Power and Freedom in Your Singing
Auteur Lois Alba
The Psychology of Singing
Auteur David C. Taylor
The Choir that Couldn't Sing
Auteur Bob Reed
Mentoring in the Ensemble Arts: Helping Others Find Their Voice
Auteur Timothy Sharp
The Choir Member's Companion
Auteur Ginger G. Wyrick
The Singing Class
Auteur Herbert Wiseman
Choral Technique and Interpretation
Auteur Henry Coward
The Common Sense of Singing: The Commonwealth and International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Liberal Studies: Music Division
Auteur George Baker
How To Sing Better
Auteur HowExpert
Conducting Business: Unveiling the Mystery Behind the Maestro
Auteur Leonard Slatkin
Vocal Expression A Class-book of Voice Training and Interpretation
Auteur Katherine Jewell Everts
The Conductor's Companion: 100 Rehearsal Techniques, Imaginative ideas, Quotes and Facts
Auteur Hal Leonard LLC
Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing
Auteur Luisa Tetrazzini
Score Reading: A Key to the Music Experience
Auteur Michael Dickreiter
The Head Voice and Other Problems Practical Talks on Singing
Auteur D. A. (David Alva) Clippinger
Essentials in Conducting
Auteur Karl Wilson Gehrkens
Stand Up Straight and Sing!: A Memoir
Auteur Jessye Norman
Leonard Bernstein: American Original
Auteur Burton Bernstein
The Art of Teaching Music
Auteur Estelle R. Jorgensen
American Choral Directors Association
Auteur Tim Sharp
Music in the Baroque Era - From Monteverdi to Bach
Auteur Manfred F. Bukofzer
Skill Building Sequence for Choral Ensembles: Teacher's Guide for Children's Choir
Auteur Jennifer Miceli
Opera & Comedy Mix: Elizabeth Tryon Is Laughing Around The Opera World: Opera & Comedy Mix: Elizabeth Tryon Is Laughing Around The Opera World
Auteur Join Up Dots Podcast
EP95 | Studio Voice Hacks With Mary Zimmer: Level up your recording skills with acclaimed producers Joey Sturgis, Eyal Levi, and Joel Wanasek each week as they talk shop with the best producers in the business. You'll get Information, inspiration, and actionable insights in every episode.
Auteur Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast
Ep. 290 - Lindsey Simcik on Finding Your Voice: CATCH UP WITH K + L Tune in for some exciting announcements! On Sunday, January 19 at 5pm PST, K + L are hosting a . They will be giving their 5 tips on how to get your first 1,000 listens and turn it into a million! After the webinar, your PodcastPro...
Auteur Almost 30
Diane Legro: The Speaker Singing Success: For 15 years she has taught Broadway, classical and cabaret singers to fully express their artistry, and to voice their spirit.
Auteur 11:11 Talk Radio
The Magic of BTS - and the History of Boy Bands: We look at the triumph of BTS, and how they fit in with the long history of boy bands
Auteur Rolling Stone Music Now
143: Aaron Anastasi - The Voice of Your Dreams: If you ask, most people will say their biggest challenge is themselves. What may not be clear is the real impact the voices of limitation can have on us. Many unwittingly act or live in a way that is more aligned with their limiting beliefs versus...
Auteur Creative Warriors
Big Music Sunday: Big Music Sunday -- Complete delivered by Dr. Mark Sumner, Choir Director December 8, 2013 at 11:00 am
Auteur Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco
Danny Meyer - Creating Gigs and Lubricating the Scene: Gigging in the Industry
Auteur Unfake It Till You Make It
The Power of Your Inner Voice - In Conversation with Holland Andrews
Auteur Embodied Astrology with Renee Sills
245. Boston Children's Chorus, Ten Years In
Auteur The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Hollywood Life: Aaron Anastasi is living the Hollywood Life He is a ,musician and actor who since the age of 13 has worked towards getting the dream he craves. And now with his self published book flying off the shelves, he shares his journey to fulfilment.
Episode 100: Music: This week's podcast episode discusses Mason's purpose for music in her curriculum feast. before the "non-musical" teachers ignore this subject for school, let us carefully explore why so much music training, appreciation, and practice...
The Secret Sound
Auteur Sounds True: Insights at the Edge
849: Casey Erin Clark, Vital Voice Training Co-Founder
Auteur So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
367: How to Project Vocal Confidence with Allison Shapira: Speech coach and ex-opera singer Allison Shapira teaches tips and tricks for better projecting your voice. You'll Learn: How you're likely breathing wrong and what to do about it Three ways the power of your voice is reduced The key things...
Auteur How to Be Awesome at Your Job
Biohack Your Voice for Better Communication Instantly – Roger Love with Dave Asprey : 752
Auteur Bulletproof Radio
087: STRETCH YOUR FEARS! (w/ Stephen): Stephen is a singer/songwriter who has just released his first album, "Sincerely." In his own words: "My album is a story of triumph, of letting go of all the uncertainty in my head and learning to walk the path of my own heart. "Sincerely"...
Auteur Your Creative Push
Auteur Tiny Desk Concerts - Audio
101: Find your TRUE VOICE (w/ Joanna Sternberg): Joanna Sternberg is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist living in New York City. She primarily plays the double bass, but also plays electric bass, guitar, and piano. Joanna sings and writes songs, and regularly performs her original...
Trenton Woodley (Hands Like Houses): Shane sits down with his good buddy Trenton from …
Auteur Lead Singer Syndrome with Shane Told
64- Pete Holmes and Daniel Kinno: The always hilarious Pete Holmes is on the show! Pete shows off his singing voice, we take a call from Mark Wahlberg and more!
Auteur The Todd Glass Show
DocArchive (2002): A Voice From The Wilderness: John McHugh was born in 1911 in the U.K. to Irish parents. This biography traces his career in music as an operatic tenor. One of the first singers to broadcast on television, he became a household name in the 1950's. While in his nineties, he traces his life, success and struggles in music throughout the years. (First Broadcast 2003)
Auteur Documentary on One Podcast
Russell Thomas: The acclaimed operatic tenor on diversity and blackface in opera: Acclaimed operatic tenor Russell Thomas shares his perspective on why banning blackface won't get at the root issues of opera's lack of diversity.
Auteur q: The Podcast from CBC Radio
Singing In The Shower: In a rare Kvell, Darone talks about the enjoyment he gets when he hears his children singing the songs and prayers they learn at school to themselves in the shower. It is somehow the combination of their voices and realizing that it is these special songs
Auteur The JCast Network Total Feed
Big Music Sunday: 500 Years Since Reformation Began!: "500 Years Since Reformation Began" -- Complete delivered by Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 11AM
Retroist Godzilla the Animated Series Podcast: Welcome to the Retroist Godzilla the Animated Series Podcast. On today's show I talk about how the 1978 Godzilla Animated Series. I begin by talking about how my angelic singing voice got me into some social awkwardness during some school-time public s...
Auteur Retroist Podcast - A Retro Podcast
403 Listening To Smile With Composer Ian Morris: Ian Morris heals with sound. He has over 20 years experience in the creative arts field. He uses sound and frequency and healing vibes to create something he calls, Frequency Minded Music. Ian's goal with this music is to help those that struggle and fe...
Auteur Mindfulness Mode
#122 Shane Told of Silverstein: Our old freind Shane visits to talk about singing, touring and his new podcast Lead Singer Syndrome which will be out soon. Sponsors: The Fudge Shoppe: www.thefudgeshoppe.com use code: badchristian at checkout Harry's Razors:...
Auteur The BadChristian Podcast
Karaoke: What is this, amateur hour? It is when you're singing karaoke! This week we're talking all about the thing that people either really love or really hate: singing on-stage to a weird MIDI backing track while a bunch of drunk people look on. Also we solve
Auteur The Complete Guide to Everything
Auteur Tiny Desk Concerts - Video
Time Magazine International Edition
No Joy Without Singing
A FEW YEARS AGO, I BEGAN TAKING VOCAL LESSONS. LIKE many people, I was an enthusiastic, lifelong singer, at least in the privacy of my shower. But I wondered if I could actually acquire any skill in the discipline, enough that my family would stop fl
First Listen: Kelly Lee Owens, 'Kelly Lee Owens'
Stream the intoxicating debut album from the London-based singer/producer who brings a meditative songwriting style to club rhythms.
Serpentwithfeet's Songs of Supernatural Intimacy
When a song yearns for a "you," where does the listener envision the singer and their subject? Music videos might offer the fantasy of artists directly serenading their beloveds, but love songs often feel more private, more desperate, than that. They
"Our Community Choir Makes Me Glow With Pride"
No musical experience is needed to join Cheltenham Community Choir, of which I am the musical director. Anyone can apply, and there are no auditions. Of our 80 members, who range in age from 18 to 80, many cannot read music, nor would claim to be bor
What It's Like For A Deaf Person To Hear Music For The First Time
With new hearing aids, Austin Chapman is listening to music for the first time in his life, and it sounds glorious.
Disturb This Groove: What Is The Legacy Of Soul Music?
Recent questions about R&B, covers, karaoke and cultural appropriation that were ignited by an offhand comment about Bruno Mars made by Meshell Ndegeocello get a workout in the bassist's new album.
In Choir!Choir!Choir!, Song Builds Community – Even If You Can't Carry A Tune
Started in 2011, Choir!Choir!Choir! is arguably the most accessible singing group around. It is part of a wave of community choirs that has gathered force across North America.
Liz Earle Wellbeing
Humans have always sung. In fact, there is evidence that singing developed before spoken language. There is no known human culture that does not sing. Some anthropologists believe that because singing in a group is a sociable, inclusive and cooperati
Samantha Hunt On The Unbearable Flatness Of Being
"I'm interested in how mystery and wonder enter lives that are common and gray. Because no one is really common and gray."
Join a Chorale Group in Retirement to Boost Your Spirits
Marge Lynch, 78, of Bridgeville, Del., is so devoted to her chorale group that she makes a weekly trek to Annapolis, Md.--an hour and 20 minute drive each way--to participate. The singing group saved her life, she says. When her husband, Brendan, di
Baby Rose Guides Us Through The Emotional Sludge Of Love
Baby Rose's smokey voice evokes a wisdom beyond her years. That's part of what sets the rising singer's debut album, To Myself, apart from the current R&B scene.
Readers Write: Washington Town Is Choral Central, And Value Of Tiny Books Through The Ages
Washington town is choral central, says one reader I was thrilled to read the Oct. 22 Heart of the News article "How choirs build community." Until recently, I lived in a small town in western Washington where every elementary school – all three of
All Ears: Listening For The Meaning Between The Words
As the work of many experimental and pop musicians shows, sounds made by a body that don't cohere into recognizable language can still have emotional clarity.
The American Scholar
Come To The Cabaret
A HALF CENTURY AGO, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and others ensured the irrevocable and absolute triumph of rock music in American culture. In the realm of musical comedy, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, and Hello, Dolly!—embodiments
Hi-Fi Choice
Musical Fidelity M3scd
TO BE CLEAR from the start: this isn't a do-it-all player, instead being a more humble option with DAC functionality. It's handsome, with a subtly understated look and fine build quality that makes it feel far more expensive than it actually is. Musi
Of Houseflies And Drunk Dads: Ohmme Tells The Stories Behind 'Parts,' Track By Track
Two classically trained pianists pick up electric guitars and dive into uncharted musical waters. Here, Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart explain their first album as Ohmme.
Getting 'Triste' With Bryant Myers & Bad Bunny: Our Favorite Latin Songs This Week
This week, Bryant Myers and Bad Bunny dropped a sadboy jam, Dominican trio Mula made female Caribbean electro-pop, and Gilberto Rodriguez y Los Intocables premiere a new track for NPR Music.
In The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Teens Speak Up By Singing Out
The group is celebrating its 25th anniversary by commissioning new pieces of contemporary classical music — and pushing the composers who write for the ensemble to broaden their own points of view.
Here Are The Tiny Desk Contest Entries We Can't Stop Watching This Week
While you're working on your last-minute Contest entry (the deadline is this Sunday, April 14), check out these videos below to see what's caught our attention lately.
Danay Suarez's 'Preguntas' Video Weaves A Story Of Wonder
The Cuban rapper and vocalist's new video, for a song from her stunning second album, Palabras Manuales, is one of her strongest statements yet. The song features Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca.
Post Magazine
Underwater Musicians? Hong Kong To Host AquaSonic, A Concert To Remember
"It started as a simple idea: what happens if I sing under water?" says Between Music's Robert Karlsson of his partner Laila Skovmand's inspiration for "AquaSonic", an underwater concert experience in which the audience can immerse themselves without
Songs We Love: Cordovas, 'I'm The One Who Needs You Tonight'
The country-rock band is committed to the sound of brotherhood — a few voices sharing a feeling. Nowhere is that clearer than on this tender ballad.
First Listen: Lee Ann Womack, 'The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone'
The country singer's ninth albums shows why Womack is one of American roots music's foremost auteurs.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing
This month's playlist includes 10 songs by Slingshot artists: public radio's favorite new musicians of 2018.
Jamila Woods Channels The Greats To Build Her Legacy
On the opening track of Jamila Woods' "Legacy! Legacy!" (Jagjaguwar), the poet-educator-activist picks up where she left off on her extraordinary 2016 debut album. "Great greats come down," she sings, "they whisper to me quiet, 'I'm alive, I'm alive,
Sessa: "I appreciate a bit of oddness" This is a very sexual record – tell me about the themes. These feel like important subjects. You want to make the story cohesive, and these lyrics deal with this interesting meeting of sexuality and spiritua
Aldous Harding: Tiny Desk Concert
Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery.
Musical Acts Show Their Gratitude On Thanksgiving
NPR's Ari Shapiro spreads the musical appreciation around once again, in conversations with Tegan and Sara, Shabazz Palaces and more.
All.Latino Album Review: Calma Camona's '100 Vidas'
The Puerto Rican soul singer Calma Camona's new album is a strong statement of power, gender and identity.
Essais et récits
Artistes et musiciens
Biographies médicales
Biographies de femmes
Essais juridiques
Imperfect Harmony - Stacy Horn
Anthracite is the most beautiful coal in the world. A coal car of anthracite emerging from the mines looks like a mountainful of dusty but sparkling black diamonds. It is also the hardest, densest, rarest, and most expensive coal in the world. When it burns, it burns blue, and if it catches fire underground it's almost impossible to put out. An anthracite fire that began in Centralia, Pennsylvania, in 1962 continues to burn today.
On the morning of June 5, 1919, in Wilkes-Barre, ninety-two men died in one of the worst disasters in the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania. It happened quickly. The men were riding in a line of mine cars when sparks from a trolley wire or a miner's lamp ignited twenty-four kegs of black blasting powder loaded in the rear. There was a roar, read a newspaper account, and in an instant every man and boy on the train was either dead or dying. Not long after that day, while scores of miners were still being treated for burns and amputated arms and legs, thirteen local men left their jobs in and around the mines and met at the Grant Street School, christened themselves the Orpheus Glee Club, and began to sing.
All the men in the Orpheus Glee Club were either miners or sons or brothers of miners. They also were mostly Welsh; for them, singing was how they celebrated and also how they grieved. James J. Davis, a Welshman who became the Secretary of Labor two years after the disaster, said in his autobiography, I think the reason I have never cared for drink is this: the ease from mental pain that other men have sought in alcohol, I always found in song. . . . The whole land of Wales echoes with the folk songs of a people who sing because they must.
I know that need. I've been singing with the Choral Society of Grace Church in downtown New York since 1982. When I'm standing up there with the choir, looking out at a thousand faces glowing in the incandescent light, singing some of the greatest music humanity has ever produced, I believe I know what made those miners sing. It's true that I didn't climb up out of a coal mine, but I've lived half a century now and you don't live this long without knowing some of life's sorrows. As long as I'm singing, though, it's as if I'm inhabiting another reality. I become temporarily suspended in a world where everything bad is bearable, and everything good feels possible. Don't cry. Sing, a man with family fighting in Afghanistan tweeted recently. I do both.
Singing invariably and exquisitely triumphs over all my defenses; it has become a place where I still hope and still believe, and so I sometimes just lose it up there. I'll cry and cry with relief at the sheer joy of it all until vanity kicks in, when I realize my face must appear all twisted and funny because my lips are doing this weird quivering thing that I can't control. Can anyone in the audience see? Wait, damnit. Where were we? At that point I've realized that I lost my place in the music. Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit.
The director of our choir has exquisite taste in music, but he also invariably picks pieces that are described as so challenging that they are either rarely performed or attempted only by the most professional choirs. We are not a professional choir. We are a volunteer community choir. So while I'm up there sobbing and thinking life is wonderful, the rest of the choir is racing ahead, executing some ridiculously difficult run. I try not to panic, to not look like I'm panicking, but also to find a place to jump back in. Oh God, my nose is running. Where the hell are we?
In truth, I don't have a great voice. Those formidable runs we typically perform are especially demanding for me. But I practice night after night after night in order to keep up because I want to dwell in the world that singing reveals for as long and as often as I can.
This book is about that world and my almost thirty years with the Choral Society of Grace Church. It is also an eclectic history of group singing, conductors, pieces of music both famous and forgotten, the science of singing, and all the benefits that come from being in the middle of a song. Because for the past few decades, as boyfriends come and go, jobs come and go, cats live and die, a stay in a rehab when I was thirty, depression, broken engagements, and the deaths of those I love, there has always been this: The Choral Society of Grace Church. Once a week I return to one of the most beautiful churches in Manhattan, pick up whatever masterpiece we're currently working on, open my mouth, and sing. Life is hard, battles of all kinds continue to rage around us, and disappointments accumulate. But singing is the one thing in my life that never fails to take me to where disenchantment is almost nonexistent and feeling good is pretty much guaranteed.
A German Requiem
Written by Johannes Brahms during 1865–1868
Performed by the Choral Society of Grace Church most recently in the Spring, 2010
To get to Grace Church, I walk east on Eleventh Street from Seventh Avenue to Broadway. It's a lovely walk that I've taken more than a thousand times. Some city streets are gray or brown, but this particular stretch is a magical mystery tour of color, even at twilight. Nature and humanity have had a couple hundred years to settle into a luscious coexistence on these four blocks, and it's like walking through a friendly forest that has been peacefully settled by people. In the spring and summer, boxes of brilliant flowers and strange plants crowd almost every apartment window, some with leaves so large they look tropical. Clover, wood-sorrel, crab grass, and violets sprout from the sidewalk cracks that are off to the side, and there's always a sweet perfume that comes from either wisteria, pine, or honeysuckle. Steam rises from the manholes like water escaping from a pot. Branches from each side of the street reach across, forming awnings overhead whose leaves sound like hundreds of tiny drums whenever it rains. In the winter, holiday decorations pick up where nature leaves off and the color comes from tasteful wreaths hanging on the windows and doors, and garlands of pine and Christmas lights winding down the wrought iron gates, railings, and balustrades.
Rehearsals are every Tuesday evening from 7:15 to 9:30, so this is a walk I take at night, when my view is lit by the moon, street lamps, and whatever light filters out from the first-floor parlor windows. It's a very wealthy part of town and it shows. Sometimes I feel like the Little Match Girl as I pass by, forever on the outside, catching glimpses through lace curtains of the enchanting lives in these small palaces of glimmering chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and grand pianos. In one window is a small, sad painting of a gerbil with lettering that reads: In memory of Mr. Pokey, 2001–2003. In another is Paddington Bear. For as long as I can remember that bear has stood in the window, looking out, his outfit regularly changing with the seasons. It's the beginning of January now, and he's dressed in a top hat and tails, as if he's been making the holiday party rounds.
As I make my way east, it's as though a small storm has been raised whenever I hit the avenues that run perpendicular to Eleventh Street. In New York City, the cross streets are mostly residential and therefore quiet, while the avenues are commercial and loud. Crossing the thoroughfare, it suddenly becomes brighter and noisier with taxis and buses and bicycles and people. And then, just as suddenly, it's back to the protected calm of Eleventh Street. The last two blocks before I get to Grace Church are filled with antiques shops. I've never once stopped inside any of them, and I probably never will. The splendid gilded tables and French country armoires are much too grand for me. The very last block is relatively barren, the vegetation tapers off, and a parking garage takes up almost a third of the south side of the street. And then I come to Broadway.
Every time I turn that corner and look up at Grace Church, I'm no longer the Little Match Girl; instead I feel like Dorothy when she first steps out of her colorless Kansas farmhouse and into the land of Oz. The evening light hits the windows, spires, and tower of the church and makes it glow. When Walt Whitman came upon the same view, he described Broadway as a sea and Grace Church a ghostly lighthouse. For me, it's a building that casts a spell, beckoning all to come inside to join the bewitched.
PLACES, PLACES, JOHN calls out a few minutes before 7:15. We always begin exactly on time, and the one and only time choir rehearsal was ever canceled was on 9/11. John Maclay is the third director of the Choral Society of Grace Church. When organist and choirmaster Frank Smith retired in 1992, he was succeeded by Bruce McInnes, who retired in 1999. Of the three choir directors I have now sung under, John is the most obsessive and meticulous. He regularly distributes handouts with incredibly minute and fussy directions like, Diphthongs are two vowels in one. Always give precedence to the first vowel, adding the second at the last possible moment. And then he gives a precise and phonetically spelled-out example: house = HAAAAH-oos. He used to type up and print out stickers for everyone to put on the front of their music listing their name, telephone number, key dates for the rehearsals, his number and e-mail, but then he stopped. My theory is that some choir member affixed the sticker to his music folder crookedly and that one askew sticker taunted John for the rest of the season.
But John's perfectionism is why a reviewer once wrote of us, I assumed that this would be a pleasing concert, although an amateur one. I was wrong. It was magnificent. The reviewer had been going to a lot of holiday concerts that month, but none has been even close to the level of professionalism of this strictly volunteer group. He talked about our discipline and passion and then said we were amateurs in the best of all possible senses. That is all John. John and his insane attention to detail, a devotion that I'm guessing keeps him up long into the night, looking for yet another way to make us hear and appreciate some impossibly subtle nuance in whatever piece we're working on. Wake up and listen to the intervals around you, he called out to us recently.
The conductor sets the tone. It's his job to determine what the composer wanted to express and then elicit that from us, by any means necessary. You need a powerful personality up there, but not an egomaniac. If the conductor is too narcissistic, it's painful for the choir. Self-involved conductors will talk and talk and talk, usually about themselves. Yeah, yeah, you're great. Can we sing now? John goes almost too far in the other direction. It's only about the music for him. Until recently all I knew about him was that he's a lawyer, and while he was in law school he was the assistant conductor of the Harvard Glee Club, but that was about it. John has another quality that compounds the mystery. When he's up there on the conductor's platform, directing the choir, we're mesmerized. Whether he's directing our singing, telling us gossipy stories about the composers, or giving us impassioned explanations about what music means and what the composer was trying to communicate, he has our rapt attention. John has a tremendous ability to convey his enthusiasm from that protected perch, and whatever he tells us, we believe him. He always manages to take the shared pleasure of singing and amplify it. We'd miss a lot of beauty if it weren't for John Maclay. He is a substantial, commanding, and charismatic presence, from a distance.
Up close he's more restrained. He's perfectly friendly, but somehow conversations with John are always over in seconds. It could be that he's just shy. So while I can describe what he looks like up there on his stand—light hair, light eyes, a trim, handsome, youthful-looking fortyish man, always dressed in crisp, pressed white shirts—for the most part John Maclay remains an enigma.
When I asked my fellow choir members for impressions of John, soprano Christina Davis was one of the people who responded. I remember a bunch of women in the choir each sharing the moment when they first realized John was gay. It was always a very Greenwich Village rite of passage, given his elegant 1920s-style good looks and Cantabrigian intellectual brilliance to realize he was not likely to be interested in you. But, in some ways it helped to remove any romanticism (at least on a heterosexual woman's part) from one's reverence of him.
TAKE YOUR SEATS, John calls outs, less patiently now, and I start to look around for a spot. Rehearsals take place either in the church itself or in the Grace Church School gym. Tonight we're practicing in the church, where we have a choice of sitting in pews in the front or on plastic chairs farther back. Finding a seat of any kind, however, has become a delicate and sometimes dangerously fraught operation. Once, two sopranos tried to tell my friend and fellow soprano Barbara Sacharow and me to move from the seats we had taken in a pew. We saved these seats, they insisted. But saving seats was not done back then, and while they actually had left a couple of their belongings behind to mark their territory, I thought they were items forgotten from a service earlier in the day. I started to explain, but they didn't give me a chance. Move, they demanded, their faces hovering above us, angry and accusing, never once considering that it was an honest misunderstanding. They were so off-putting about it that Barbara and I both refused. The following season a tenor muttered, Bitch, when one of them walked by. I looked at him with a mix of surprise and pleasure. Oh yeah, he said. I hate her. Small victory.
Emma Berry, an alto, who chose our choir because it met on the right night and in the right location, tells the story of taking a seat nearest to the restrooms when she was pregnant. A tenor quickly approached her. I sit here usually. Uh-huh, she answered. No really. This is where I usually sit. Listen, she explained. I'm sitting here because it's near the exit and I need to be here so I can go to the bathroom easily, which I need to do about every thirty seconds. Oh for crying out loud, he said before stomping off. The person next to Emma roared with laughter, but it's true that people tend to sit in the same seats and if you show up and your regular seat is taken you feel momentarily lost.
My favorite spot is in the pews that were built specifically for the choir in 1903, where I hurry now to grab a seat. For over a century, thousands of singers have sat here, singing many of the same pieces we sing now, feeling many of the same emotions. I love taking my place in history even though that also means being surrounded by reminders that just about everything is more permanent than I am, than all of us. There's a lovely carved wooden chair next to the pew where I sit. On it is a plaque that says that the chair was put there in 1892 by someone named Julia P. Fisher (in memory of an unnamed dead sister, I later learned). No one I know remembers Julia or her sister. But it must have been a cherished spot for her, too. One hundred years from now, others will be sitting in this pew, next to that chair, probably singing the same works I'm singing and looking around just as I am now. How many of them will take a moment to think back to the living, breathing, happy chorister who used to sing here? How many will think of Julia or her sister or me?
My preferred place secured, I wait to see who's going to sit next to me and behind me. It matters. Those are the people you can hear, and a flat singer will pull you down, spoiling the fun, while a great singer with perfect pitch will pull you up, making you sound better than you would have otherwise. I look around. The evil duo is nowhere in sight. I hope that Barbara will get here in time to sit near me (I still have mixed feelings about saving seats). She has a lovely voice, and she can sight sing. Barbara can pick up a piece of music she's never seen before and sing it as if she's been singing it her whole life. I can't do that. Basically, Barbara is the kid in class whose tests I've been cheating off at every opportunity. Barbara joined the choir because her marriage had broken up and she needed to find something just for me. She'd sung in choirs through high school, college, and graduate school, and when I thought what my life was missing most, it came down to music. She worried that she'd be the only Jew singing about Jesus, but quickly discovered that beliefs and faith within the choir were all over the religious/nonreligious map. A lot of people join after recognizing a sense of something missing in their lives, it turns out. Christina Davis told me she became a member as a result of two events, 9/11 and turning thirty. Both caused her to look at all that she had sacrificed in her life, and Foremost among these losses was choral singing.
Unfortunately, Barbara is nowhere to be seen. She works as a library teacher at the Fieldston School in the Bronx, and she has to run home, have dinner, check her e-mail, and grab her water bottle before heading for choir and frequently arrives minutes before we begin.
At the moment, to my immediate right is a soprano who doesn't seem to like me and who is making a point of not talking to me while we wait for everyone to get settled. I look around for people I know. Even after all these years, I don't want to sit here not talking to anyone, looking like I have no friends. I pick up John's most recent handout and start reading to camouflage my anxiety. Then Caroline, a new soprano, sits to my left. She has a pretty voice and she's nice. Then two friends sit in front of me. I start to relax and feel happy that I'm here.
After a brief warm-up we open the piece we're going to perform in April, A German Requiem, by Johannes Brahms. Although I've done this piece twice before, it's in German and I no longer remember what the words mean. Just because this is church music, one shouldn't assume it's about something . . . churchy. One Christmas we sang a piece by the British composer Benjamin Britten that referred to a few missing children. Timothy, Mark, and John are gone, are gone, are gone, are gone, are gone, one line went. Turns out that one particularly hard winter the boys were butchered Sweeney Todd–style and salted down to eat. Famine tracks us down the lanes, Hunger holds our horses' reins. We were singing about cannibalism. Cannibalizing children, no less. I looked out at the audience when we came to that part. Are they getting this? The actual text of the piece might be vague, but the title is Nicolas and the Pickled Boys and it's printed right there in the program. The chorus ends with St. Nicolas bringing the boys back to life ( Timothy, Mark, and John, put your fleshly garments on! ) who then sing alleluia. For the performance, we had three choir boys who walked down the center aisle of the church, singing in their pure and innocent voices, without a hint of the grisly deaths they'd just suffered.
John tells us to pull out our pencils and get ready to start marking our music with his directions. If you don't have a pencil, mime the act of having a pencil. We begin. Something is up with John tonight. I didn't think it was possible for him to be more of a perfectionist, but he is having us repeat small sections over and over until he gets it where he wants it. We never quite achieve the sound he wants. "More sostenuto! More this! More that! Draw the sound out, don't push it out!" He tries having each section sing it alone, first the tenors, then the basses, the altos, the sopranos. But he is not
patsylynne
Imperfect Harmony fits right in with my life. I, too, sing in my church choir and it really is a great outlet for so many things! I also love that is has so much history and information about music in general. Horn really does take you on a journey through her own life and through the music that she sings. It really is a special book that goes beyond the simple categorization of memoir.
pennadams-1
There is real passion in Horn's writing that should be familiar to any who has ever been a part of music. Horn's love of music comes across strongly in her descriptions of her times in choirs and in the histories and background information on choral singing she provides throughout the book. These are the sections where Imperfect Harmony really shines. The more personal moments where Horn discusses her life feel lacking, in comparison. While they do an admirable job of tying the novel together and making it more than just a collection of interesting histories, they often fall flat. Ultimately, even with the book's few duller moments, the sheer joy of music that Horn manages to impart in her prose make Imperfect Harmony well worth a read.
readaholic12_1
I love memoir, I love music, and singing in my small town church choir is one of my fondest memories. Like the author I am not particularly religious, but know how spiritual group singing can be, and how it can change your life. The book is much more than a memoir, though, filled with music history, and can be a dense read. Some sections were more interesting to me than others, and it took me quite a while to finish, but I kept coming back to it. I listened to the NPR interview with the author and found it very interesting as well. The best part about this book is that it reminded me that I need to sing more often, and how satisfying singing with others can be. I recommend this book highly for music and memoir fans.
rashedchowdhury-1
This book has taught me more about choral music than I ever knew before, and for that I am grateful. I have attended a number of choral performances in several countries and have friends and relatives who sing in choirs, but have never previously understood the intricacies of both a choir singer's and a conductor's task. Stacy Horn does an admirable job of explaining these. As a historian, I also found Ms. Horn's historical overview of choral singing in the Western tradition very interesting.A weaker point of the book for me was that it contains no awareness of the existence of choral music beyond the West (or none to speak of). Much of what she said about singing in a church setting reminded me of Sufi chanting, but she did not make links like that to any non-Western tradition. I realise, of course, that the book is by and about a woman singing in a church-based choir, so the lack of references to non-Western musical traditions makes some sense. What bothers me on the level of intellectual honesty is the author's exuberant joy at singing Christian religious music combined with her professed near-absolute disbelief in the message of the words she is singing. This disbelief is not incidental to the book, but rather central to it. She keeps stressing it in chapter after chapter. Now affirming a faith with your mouth by singing the associated religion's sacred music in its place of worship while believing in your heart that the message promoted by this faith is a metaphor at best and a delusion at worst strikes me as verging on hypocrisy. And that, ultimately, is why this book, despite its many merits, made me deeply uncomfortable.
alirambles
As a choral singer, I could relate to much of what Horn described, and the research that reveals the reasons behind the phenomena that bonds singers together and to the music they sing, was fascinating. I've been sharing this book with all my singing friends.
cbl_tn
Stacy Horn's memoir about the joy of choral singing flooded me with memories of some of the happiest periods of my life. I had an outstanding choir director in high school and by my senior year I spent half of my day in the choir room, sometimes as accompanist and sometimes as singer. Horn didn't have to convince me of the beneficial aspects of music. She was preaching to the choir! (Pun intended).I was amused when Horn confessed her dismay when, after years of singing first soprano, she was assigned to the second soprano section, only to discover the joy and wonder of harmony. I experienced this in reverse. After years in the alto section, I was moved to second soprano in my junior year of college. When we sang in four parts, this meant that I had to sing the melody, and I find harmony much more interesting and enjoyable. I also loved this passage where Horn recalls singing to herself as she walks on city streets:Watching someone sing a choral piece alone is like seeing someone have a lively conversation with not just one imaginary person but a whole crowd of them. It starts off okay, you sing your part, but then you have to keep pausing while you listen in your head to what all the other parts are doing. Sing-pause-sing-pause-pause-sing.I had to laugh because I do the same thing, although not necessarily while walking in public. Something I read or hear will remind me of a phrase from a choral piece I learned by heart decades ago and I'll immediately start singing along to the recording in my head.If anything could improve the book, it would be a sound track or at least a playlist. Pieces performed by Horn's community choir provide the themes for the chapters. I'm familiar with the composers, but not many of these particular works. I found recordings of some of the pieces on YouTube. If you're looking for a special gift for someone who loves choral music, you could create your own compilation CD and give it along with a copy of the book.This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
vpfluke
I very much enjoyed reading this memoir of singing in a major choral group in New York City. A emember of my church in Manhattan also sings in the Grace Church Choral Society, so I have some familiarity with the group, although I have never made an effort to meet members in this group beyond my friend. The major chapters are centered around significan choral works the Society has sung in recent years. Except for Handel's Messiah sung by the group in 1982, the dates of of performances range 2005 - 2011. Horn has a great deal of respect for John Maclay, the director, and he is known for his perfectionism. Interspersed with the performance chapters are so-called "Recitatives" which present some history of choral singing in the U.S. An interesting history of the Orpheus Glee Club, dating to the early part of the 20th century is given, showing its growing out the Welsh Eisteddfod tradition.Early on in the book, Stacy Horn finds out that she has been 'demoted' to Second Soprano. This is crushing for her and I can understand this. I belong to a small choral group on Long Island called the Merrick Chorale. I joined when I was 59, and the hope was that I could nicely be the tenor for the group. Well, my background in choral singing was insuffcient to be Section leader/almost soloist, when my backgroud was insufficient to accomplish this. And what was worse was my inability to reach a high tenor A, and for the tenor G , I needed to be in an 'elevated' mood. So, I was relegated to the bass section. I assuaged my feelings by regarding myself as a high baritone.Horn gives a lot of perspectives on her role in the choir, as well as the music itself. She has done quite a bit of research, and reveals a fondness for working with some modern composers, such as Morten Lauridsen, the composer of "O Magnum Mysterium." This was led by the assistant conductor, Tony Bellomy, for whom she gives a nice little bio.Towards the end of the book, Stacy Horn tells of her singing with a "virtual choir" the piece by Eric Whitacre, Water Night. Basically, you practice this alone and make a tape -- a very different experience from the group singing of the Choral Society. But th anxiety was worse.I recommend this book to anyone who has some interest in classical music or gets satisfaction from doing something well together.
dr1vickie
I enjoyed this book, even though I have little musical knowledge or background. I thought it was a novel approach that I had not seen in a memoir before. The idea of a "virtual choir" was intriguing to me since it would not have been something I would ever have dreamed of trying. It made me wish I had a voice more appropriate to just singing in my car!
chgstrom
This book has chapters discussing the author's experience singing In a choral group. She discusses what she feels when singing with others. Mixed in are some interludes with history of singing in choirs. I enjoyed and related to much of what she said and for people who sing in choirs, they will understand her experiences . One disappointment was to find out that, even though her group mainly sings religious songs, she is an agnostic or atheist. When singing these songs, instead of worshipping God, she seems to worship the music. This may make it a little disappointing for members of church choirs to read.
pegmcdaniel
I won this book on a Library Thing giveaway in exchange for an honest review. If you are a music lover, you will like this book. It doesn't matter if you play an instrument, write or teach music, sing in a choral group, or just enjoy listening to music, this book has something to offer. There is so much to learn about the history of composers, the origination of choral singing, and choral music. It's extremely well researched.All singers and choral group members should read this book. The author incorporates her life and how she became interested in choral singing. It means everything to her and she does a great job of explaining why. She also addresses the interactions between the members of groups and gives lots of information regarding how much work it is to put together a concert.After reading this, I want to go to a choral concert, close my eyes, and just listen!
buchowl
A memoir of what it means to be part of an amateur choral group.Horn sings with the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York City. Hers is not a professional voice or even, in her opinion, a particularly good voice but that does not stop her from using it to sing. This is her journey to, and as part of, a choral group. She writes of her struggles in mastering the challenges of singing; not only the physical ones of voice but also the ideological ones of a secular singer coming to terms with music that, to a great extent, is religious. Included is a history of choral societies in general and those of New York in particular. Throughout Horn introduces the reader to the transformative power and magic of music and singing.My own choral experience consists of a six month stint in a church children's choir (and a barely remembered one at that) but Horn makes her experiences come alive. I cheered her on when she hits that difficult note and was sad when she was cut from an expected part. She pulls the curtain back of what it takes to run a choir, highlighting not only the singers but also the essential background personnel of choir directors/conductors, accompanists and composers. Of special interest to me was the discussion of the health benefits of singing - I felt this would be of particular use for geriatric and cardiac patients as a low cost and enjoyable activity/therapy to help with lung capacity and wellbeing. I did get somewhat bogged down in the technical explanations of music theory (my skills in this area could be described as below beginner) but while this slowed the read for me a bit it was not so much that my enjoyment of the book was unduly hampered. An interesting read and definitely one for anyone interested in the back story of music and singing. It made me want to find my own choral group home.
wcs53_1
I requested, and received, a review copy of Imperfect Harmony, but I didn't really know what to expect. I used to belong to a local community choir and it was something I mostly enjoyed, so I thought a book of someone sharing stories and anecdotes of choir experiences would be something fairly interesting to read. Although the book contained some of this, it really was a whole lot more and, in fact, turned out to be one of my most enjoyable reads so far this year.Stacy Horn has written a book well worth reading. What really came through in her writing is her passion for music. I really enjoy music as well, so I found this book a pleasure to read. The book centres around her singing experiences in the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, but around these she shares the history of many of her favourite choral pieces, along with some moments of the history of choirs, choral societies, and music in general. Intertwined among all of this we are given glimpses into her personal life and how she came to be involved in this particular amateur choir.I really enjoyed reading much of the historical stuff that she shared. It was interesting to read how at one time it was not considered respectable for women to be members of a choir or choral society. It was also very interesting to read about the history of some of the pieces the choir sings as well as the background of some of the composers. I was inspired to check out some of the pieces she mentioned that I'm not familiar with and have added some of these to my own music collection. One piece, in particular, is O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen, a composer, I have to admit, who was previously unknown to me.Horn shares how music can be a great benefit to one's life, especially in difficult times, sharing some of her own moments where this has been the case. I found myself being able to identify with some of her experiences as well.I think that one of the best things about this book is that it can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of how musical they may or my not be. I gave it 5 stars because it really was an enjoyable read and also because I learned so much in reading it. If you have even the faintest passing interest in music, I'd recommend putting this book on your reading list.
rglossne
Stacy Horn's book is a memoir, a history, and a bit of a tutorial. The world of choral singing is explored and explained, while Horn writes about its healing effect in her own life. For her, and many others, singing in a choir is a powerful way to connect with other people, with art and with the spiritual world, whether they are religious or not. I read this book with my tablet in my hand. It was wonderful to be able to find recordings of some of the works she writes about, and listen to them while reading.I am already passing this book around to some musical friends.
yells-1
What a wonderful book! I sang in choirs all throughout my childhood and even though I have long since stopped that, I love hearing choral music performed. There really is something special happening when you hear a well-rehearsed choir sing. I find sometimes memoirs get bogged down with too much personal information and not enough substance but this one had the right balance. It was a personal account but it is also a history of music and choirs. She is able to add interesting tidbits and facts into the story and have it all flow well.
anotherjoy
Stacy Horn is a wonderful writer, and makes the details and history of the Choral Society of Grace Church and her experiences there something truly captivating. She delves into a sometimes tragic but always interesting background of choral music and singing that I would never have come across on my own, and then brings those elements back to shape how she has grown and developed as a person and a choir member.The only thing that saddens and sometimes frustrates me in reading this book is atheistic lens which colors so much of outlook and introspective on these music pieces. At times it seems a little too prominent a focus on that perspective being held by herself and by others who have written or sung such "religious" pieces. I do not share her perspective on life or death in this manner, but at least the one thing we can agree upon is the universal value and language of music, and the experience of harmonizing with others to make it.I come from a polar opposite perspective, history, and activity in choir singing, but I do really enjoy reading about her experiences in her choir and how they've opened up her life.
chatterbox_1
When this book was good, it was excellent -- particularly impressive because music is something that it's hard to write about effectively. It's a personal experience, but like taste, touch and other sensations, using words to describe how it makes us feel can be a challenge, to put it mildly. In this chronicle of her experiences singing with dozens of other devoted amateurs for the Choral Society of New York's Grace Church, Stacy Horn captures the experience, telling us how it feels to create a beautiful sound and, even more importantly, to do so along with others.I wanted to read this because I love choral music, and because I know Grace Church -- having walked past it every weekend for nearly 20 years. But the experience of reading it was an uneven one: for every element I relished, there was something that disappointed. I loved Horn's idea of dividing the book into chapters that are linked to individual pieces of music she performs with the choir, and uses each of them to launch, usually very effectively, into the discussion of a particular concept or theme. Alas, I also found too much of the writing to be very pedestrian, at best. (The most annoying spots are when she assembled what others have said about whatever the topic was, as if they were lined up before her on notecards, and then tossed them into the mix, one after another, usually with a direct quotation from a book or study, and always with "x writes" or "as y wrote". I relished the segments that Horn devoted to what it's like to compose for a choir, to conduct it or to accompany it, and was particularly moved by her description of the rehearsals for a premier and then the debut of a new work. I was left deeply underwhelmed by her repeated comments about wanting to meet a man (too frequent and awkwardly inserted) and her own self-confidence issues, which too often didn't fit into the narrative flow. There also were times when I wondered about the breadth of her musical knowledge: she hadn't encountered Bernstein's 'Chichester Psalms' before the choir was asked to sing it one season; she had never heard of Ralph Vaughan Williams even after performing for several years in the choir until a new conductor takes over. That's rather astonishing, since the former piece of music is a difficult piece but a choral staple, and Vaughan Williams (not Williams, as Horn refers to him) composed extensively for the voice in general and choirs more specifically. It also astonished me that in a chapter devoted to how music performed in spring revolves around the theme of death, she seems unaware of why that is so: even as an agnostic/atheist myself, I'm aware that much choral music composed is church music, and that spring is Lent and Easter -- in other words, the crucifixion and resurrection. This is a mixed bag: a personal look at the experience of singing (which is where the highlights lie) interspersed with some interesting side notes about the experience of singing communally over time, the psychology and physiology of singing. At times I found it fascinating; at times, my reaction was 'meh'. The intended audience is clearly the layperson, but Horn does an uneven job spelling out some concepts -- what does it mean to sing flat, for instance? What is a major third or a minor third? Until about 2/3 of the way through the book, I would bet that some readers are still confusing "singing in harmony" with "singing in unison". Ultimately, Horn's personal joy in what she does and what she is writing about spills over enough into the pages to blunt the impact of the parts that don't work, in the same way that a handful of singers off-key in a large choir aren't likely to be noticed by an audience. Recommended with reservations, as this could have been so much stronger.
hohosmurf
I love this book. It's my ideal blend of memoir, history, and science. The author has a beautiful way of describing the music, and it's really interesting if you like singing. I may go back to singing myself, after being inspired by this book.
I know know more about the history of choir, I even understand their is an emotional fulfillment of sing in organized groups.
labibliophille
Imperfect Harmony is Stacy Horn's memoir about singing in an amateur choir. The choir has added depth and meaning to Horn's life. But this book is much more than that. It is also a brief history of choral singing. Horn touches on the lives of the composers of great choral music, and the history of choral singing. There are also very interesting passages on the research which has shown the benefits that music, and singing in particular, has for people.Horn sings with The Choral Society, which is associated with Grace Church in New York City. The Choral Society is one of the premiere amateur musical groups in the city. As part of her well-documented research for this book, Horn has interviews fellow choir members, as well as the choir director and the associate director. All have a unique perspective on choral singing and on The Choral Society.Grace Church is an old, established Episcopal congregation. Most interesting to me in this book is Horn's exploration of the dichotomy between her non-belief and the inspiration she receives from performing some of the most religious choral works written. I really enjoyed reading Imperfect Harmony. As an amateur musician myself, I feel that Horn did a masterful job in explaining how being part of a musical group can enhance one's own life. I play in a community band, and every year I look forward to that first e-mail with our rehearsal and performance schedule. Many thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for sending me this book!
hardlyhardy
"The melodies Verdi gives us (in Requiem) make it impossible to sing it any other way. But you don't get the full effect until all the different voice parts are singing together. The sweetness that Verdi wrote to embody such an important request as forgiveness and mercy comes from the harmony. No one voice alone can produce this sound."Stacy Horn in Imperfect HarmonyThese lines from the last page of Stacy Horn's "Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others" (Algonquin, $15.95) nicely sum up the message in her book. Singing together with other people, not alone in the shower, makes all the difference.Horn, a middle-aged New Yorker, confesses to being an atheist, yet every week she walks several blocks to sing some of the greatest choral works of Christendom with the Choral Society of Grace Church. She has been doing this for a number of years. "Singing," she writes, "is the one thing in my life that never fails to take me to where disenchantment is almost nonexistent and feeling good is pretty much guaranteed." Maybe she doesn't always believe what she's singing about, but, she says, "I believe in singing." Elsewhere she writes, "Singing is the ultimate communion."She cites research showing the benefits of singing to mind and body. She interviews other singers, as well as composers and choral leaders. Mostly, however, she writes about her own experiences and the joy she feels each time she sings with other people.Horn admits to not being among the best sopranos in her choir. She says, however, that singers don't need to be great to make great music together. As evidence of this, she points to the Virtual Choir, the brainchild of composer Eric Whitacre. Thousands of people from around the world submit videos of themselves singing one of Whitacre's compositions, and the voices are combined into some intensely beautiful music. Nobody is turned away because of an inadequate singing voice. Imperfect voices blend into perfect harmony. Check out Virtual Choir 4 video on YouTube to see for yourself.
plumcover3
This book is a winner: fascinating to those who have enjoyed participation in a choral group, or those who have only observed as audience. Personal in Ms. Horn's experiences, both stellar and effort-laden, the joy and vulnerability of a very public offering which provides a membership in a trans-formative gathering is couched with historic context and musicological fascination. I loved this. Many family members are members of various groups, and I confess, I have appreciated their efforts through the years but somehow not connected the casual shower songstress and walking singer with the stage sets. The historical framework of choral music shared here was riveting and I found myself not sure which element was keeping me so entranced, the science of music and brains, the conductors, the ensembles, the composers. Stacy Horn has written a title I will be giving again and again, without preaching, to the members of the choir.
doje-1
As a professional musician, music teacher, pianist and hopeless alto, I immediately identified with Stacy Horn's memoir about her singing experiences in volunteer community choirs, choral societies and church choirs. My husband and I just retired from 50 years of serving as church musicians functioning as organist, choir director, choir accompanist, handbell director, choir members and soloists. In addition my husband directed a volunteer community choir that presented Handel's Messiah annually since 1936. My husband directed the performance for the past 23 years. He also directed numerous other community choirs and collaborated with several area churches and a college in conducting many of the major choral works. He also sang bass in two area choral societies and one very eclectic auditioned community group. Having a career that was immersed in many of he same experiences as Horn, I found this book validating, funny, reflective and stimulating. My book is filled with yellow highlights and margin notes. It's a must read for choir and choral society singers. Directors will enjoy reading the perspective from the singers looking at the other end of the baton.
bclplyr_1
(This is a review for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program)Stacy Horn sings weekly in the Choral Society of Grace Church, a large amateur (community) choir. The book explores not only her participation in the group, but also some history - both musical and societal. I enjoyed reading about the group and its members, especially since I play in community bands and could see some similarities between the groups. I would have liked to read more about the choir members and had been expecting more of it. I felt there was generally a good mix of the other elements (musicology, history, etc.), though some parts could have been shortened a bit. For readers who are not well-versed in musical terms, I feel the author did a good job in explaining those terms so as not to leave those readers scrambling for a music dictionary.Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to listening to all the pieces Horn mentioned. Hearing how much she and the other choir members loved certain pieces (and specific parts of them) piques my interest!
madlibrarian514
While I haven't yet finished this book, I wanted to post an interim impression: this is for anyone who loves music of any kind, in any form. It is obvious that the author's connection to the music and to Grace Church is deep and filled with love. I can personally relate, as I grew up in a loft on the same block. I've always loved this church, if only from the outside. If I'd known then that an amazing choir was situated within, I would have crossed that threshold more often. I'm looking forward to finishing this and so far I'm enjoying every page.
aquariusnat
This was an interesting combo of choir singing history and memoir . The history parts held my attention more than the memoir parts . In the chapters about her personal life she sounded whiney and slightly hypocritical regarding why she joined this particular choir . But overall it was a good book .
milda8tx
Memoir and history of singing. I liked this book at first - it made me realize how much I miss singing in a chorus. But it got a little tedious and long.
larestout_1
I learned a lot from this author's experiences in this incredible choir. Although I am not a singer, I enjoy and appreciate choral music. It was a nice blend of her personal story and overall choir involvement.
ladyofthelodge
This book came to me as an Early Reviewer selection. I found the book mildly interesting, since I also have been involved with choral singing since I was a child. This book is a combination of memoir, choral singing history, and commentary on musical pieces and singing with a group. I think it would be a book of choice mainly for those who enjoy choral singing, but maybe not so much for those who do not enjoy this social activity. I would also have liked it more if I knew more information about each of the music selections that serve as titles for the chapters. Three things annoyed me: 1. The author's constant reminders that she does not believe in God, yet sings sacred music; 2. the author's contant reminders of her unhappy life, saved only by singing, and her own low self esteem; 3. the author's snobby attitude about being a soprano. I sing alto and tenor, and I get heartily sick of this "better than you" attitude among those who forget that choral singing means there are other voice parts. How sad for her to be relegated to second soprano,a life-destroying event to be sure! Give me a break, and spare me these histrionics.
samantha100_1
In the prelude of Stacy Horn's memoir, Imperfect Harmony, she writes that soon after a 1919 mining disaster in Wilkes-Barre, thirteen men formed a choir- the Orpheus Glee Club. Many of the members were Welsh and that they sang to celebrate and to grieve. They sang because they had to. She goes on to say "I know that need. I have been singing with the Choral Society of Grace Church in downtown New York since 1982." No matter what else has gone on in her life, singing has remained a source of joy.With candor and wit,she relates her personal experiences as well those of other choir members. She provides interesting details about the composers of the music the choir sings. My favorite chapter was titled Ave Maria in which author eloquently writes about what it was like to perform at the Metropolitan Museum's Medieval Sculpture Hall. This is a well researched book that provides much detail about the history of choirs and the benefits of singing.I liked this book. I found it to be informative and interesting.I received this book through Library Thing Early Reviewers and I give this review of my own free will.
ladydiarma
August 28, 2013So, I just started reading this early reader version (THANKS Librarything!) last night. Only about 50 pages into it, but Stacy Horn captured my attention right away. First, who would think that a book about choral singing would start in a coal mine? (The reason quickly becomes clear..... read the book!) I really like the way she captures the essence of choral singing for amateurs. I was always a part of church choirs and all the high school choirs I could join - loved the experience - didn't have the talent to go any further with it.The only reason I gave it 3 stars is that I am only 50 pages into it. I have a hunch I'll be back to add more stars when I get finished with the book!


text:
Q: GRUB password on KVM virtual machine I'm trying to put my virtual machines in compliance with the SCAP Security Guides. There's a rule that requires GRUB to be password protected.
After setting user and password for GRUB, my virtual machine stopped booting. virsh console <domain> doesn't show any output.
Is it even possible to use KVM virtual machines setting password for GRUB? If yes, how so?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sorry, Google Glass wearers: If you can take off your nifty futuristic visor without the help of OCP technicians, a cyborg you are not. But if you can commit to losing some of your fleshier bits, you might be able to get close. Here's a look at cybernetic enhancements, both currently available and coming soon, that will blur the line between man and machine.


text:
Q: Mysql Convert into single select query I have the following database ( with many more rows ):

There are dates and times for which I might have just Temperature, or x-Axis Vibration, or any field. Some timestamps (like the ones in this pic) have missing fields like Z-Axis Vibration
I want to fetch all this data in the following format and convert fields which are not found to 'NA'

I have tried the following query:
select entry_date, entry_time, field_name, ifnull(value, "NA") as value
from tablename
where group_name = "SL1-DSM-1" and
concat(entry_date, " ", entry_time) in
    ( select distinct(concat(entry_date, " ", entry_time))
    from tablename
    where timestamp(entry_date, entry_time) between "2019-07-22 00:00:00" and
        "2019-07-23 00:00:00" ) and
    field_name in (select distinct(field_name) from tablename where group_name =
        "SL1-DSM-1");

This is giving me the result:

Is there a way this can be achieved using a single query ? Or in minimum no. of queries so as to make it faster.
NOTE: Currently, I'm using different queries for each group and field, and compiling them into a common format, but I wanted if this could be returned my MySQL itself

A: You can generate all the rows using cross join and then fill in the missing values.  'N/A' is not a good fill in, because it is a string.  Just use NULL.
Something like this:
select entry_date, entry_time, group_name, field_name,
       t.value
from (select distinct entry_date, entry_time, group_name
      from tablename
     ) dtg cross join
     (select distinct field_name
      from tablename
     ) f left join
     tablename t
     using (entry_date, entry_time, group_name, field_name)


text:
Q: Looking for a disk-bound b-tree example Maybe my google-foo just isn't up to snuff, but I'm wanting to play with a b-tree alogrithm that is bound to disk. Since most tutorials and examples are on-memory, they assume random access memory in which changing nodes in a tree is simple enough, but other than rather I/O intensive rewriting or using memory-mapped files, I can't think of a good approach.
Theory would be fine, C# or Java would be even better.
EDIT: I apologize for the lack of clarity. I am not looking for a product or code base to use, but an example or illustrative codebase to better understand how one would go about building a disk-backed b-tree.

A: One of the fastest Key Value DB (which also contains a Key Value DB which works with B+Trees) is Tokyo Cabinet (or Kyoto Cabinet) :). I have worked with it when I was benchmarking B+Trees and the code is easy to understand. It's written in C but it has also Java bindings...
Tokyo Cabinet:
http://fallabs.com/tokyocabinet/
And Berkley DB also works with a B+Tree. However, when I was benchmarking Berkley DB, it was very slow compared to Tokyo Cabinet though...
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/berkeleydb/overview/index.html

A: Firstly, see top the 2nd,3rd,4th & 5th results from google.
Secondly, see this stackoverflow thread with very similar question.
Thirdly, if you use MSSQL as an example you can read some stuff here and visualize the pages as described here (just like cache line split it's important to minimize such splits). Also MSSQL for example imposes a size limit of the data that can be indexed which is 8k = to the page size.
Fourthly, see the answer of my question which I had to ask just be able to provide this answer here
Alternatively you can use a hex editor to view the database files and see how things are mapped but that's extreme.


The way my life is set up, without daylight savings time it is almost impossible for me to photograph recipes. I'll save you the technical banter on how the configuration of my kitchen thwarts my efforts at food photography because the good light often occurs at a time when my calling in life is schlepping kids around instead of cooking.
Instead, let's rejoice that while we lost an hour of sleep, I can now take decent food photos that will actually make you want to try a recipe.
One pot meals are my jam, and this one doesn't disappoint. The ingredients are simple and cost effective. I've served this up with crusty bread and salad, roasted potatoes and asparagus, the combinations are endless.
Season your chicken with salt and pepper to taste, or if you are like me throw in a few dashes of seasoned salt.
Photograph looks delicious. "ll surely try the recipe. We Indians too have lots of Chicken recipe. Your post feels like home, Thanks a lot.


What are Sinutab Non-Drowsy Congestion Relief Tablets?
Paracetamol is a common painkiller that helps to relieve a fever as well as pain. Pseudoephedrine is an antihistamine that works to reduce symptoms of infections and allergies.
A cold and the flu have a lot of similarities but also several differences. A cold's symptoms take longer to appear than those of the flu. The symptoms are also milder and can be treated quicker as a result. Though the symptoms themselves are similar. There are also many different types of cold, whereas there are only three types of flu.
Who are these Sinutab tablets suitable for?
If you are using any other medication, speak to a doctor or Chemist 4 U pharmacist before using these tablets.
Can someone who is pregnant or breastfeeding use these tablets?
Anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding should consult a medical professional before using Sinutab tablets.
How should Sinutab Non-Drowsy Congestion Relief Tablets be used?
They should be taken with a glass of water only. Children aged 12-15 should take one tablet every 4-6 hours, up to four times a day. Children aged 16 and over and adults can double that dosage if needed. If symptoms are still present after using, speak to a doctor or Chemist 4 U pharmacist.
If you notice a side effect, stop using and speak to a doctor or Chemist 4 U pharmacist as soon as possible. You can also record a side effect using the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme.
You do not need a prescription for Sinutab, however, you will be asked to complete a short medical questionnaire by your Chemist 4 U pharmacist before we can take your order. This includes some simple questions that all pharmacies legally are required to ask before supplying this kind of product. This helps our pharmacy team to be sure that Sinutab is the best choice for you.


text:
Harriet Tubman Collection Unveiled by National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture has acquired a collection of artifacts documenting the life and work of abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Tubman, born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore, gained international acclaim as an Underground Railroad operator, Civil War spy and suffragist. Items from the Tubman collection were unveiled today at a ceremony on Capitol Hill coinciding with the anniversary of Tubman's death March 10, 1913.
The collection includes photographs, correspondence, photo-post cards, manuscripts of speeches, souvenir programs from dedication services, household items and clothing accessories.
Among the items shedding light on the private life of Tubman are family photographs, a hymn book published in 1876 and signed in pencil by Tubman and a lace shawl (circa 1897) given to her by England's Queen Victoria. Among the photographs of Tubman's funeral March 11, 1913, is one showing her lying in state at A.M.E. Zion Church in Auburn, N.Y., and surrounded by seven members of the board of directors of the Harriet Tubman Home.
"There is something both humbling and sacred found in the personal items of such an iconic person," said Lonnie Bunch, director of NMAAHC. "It is an honor to be able to show the private side of a very public person, a woman whose very work for many years put her in service to countless others. This donation by Charles Blockson is a selfless gesture that ensures that her story will be enshrined forever within the Smithsonian Institution."
The Harriet Tubman collection is a gift to NMAAHC from Charles L. Blockson, writer, historian and former board member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He also is founder and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection of rare texts, slave narratives, art and other historically significant artifacts. The items came to him after the death of a Tubman relative.
"I inherited her belongings and for eight months I kept them with me in my bedroom, but they belong in this museum," Blockson said of the Smithsonian's African American museum. "Harriet Tubman is one of the most important women in the history of America, and her story needs to be heard by generations to come."
Blockson's family story is intertwined with Tubman's. His research shows he is the descendant of Jacob Blockson who escaped slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore with Harriet Tubman and settled in St. Catherine, Canada.
The unveiling ceremony today at the Longworth House Office Building is hosted by Rep. Robert A. Brady, (D-Pa.), chair of the Committee on House Administration.
"Several years ago, when the Committee on House Administration considered legislation to establish the National Museum of African American History and Culture, there was no centralized and dedicated collection of artifacts," Brady said. "Congress and the Smithsonian knew that the collection would have to come from the generosity of private individuals and collectors who would be willing to part with valued treasures in order to enrich the lives of all Americans. Dr. Blockson, a distinguished historian and my Philadelphia constituent, has answered the call by donating his invaluable collection of Harriet Tubman artifacts. What he has done is nothing short of noble."
The NMAAHC collection holds nearly 10,000 items ranging from fine art, historic photographs and manuscripts, to items documenting the slave trade, the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. It is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. It will be built on the National Mall on a five-acre site adjacent to the Washington Monument and is scheduled to open in 2015. For more information visit the museum at nmaahc.si.edu.
High resolution images may be downloaded from ftp.si.edu. Please contact Abigail Benson at (202) 633-9495 or bensona@.si.edufor login information.
La Fleur Paysour
paysourf@si.edu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Here you will find an overview of the Angelantoni group, its history, its Research & Innovation brilliant itinerary always guided by Social Responsibility principles.
Discover the Group companies' products: ACS environmental test chambers, ALS biomedical equipment and refrigeration systems, Kenosistec vacuum systems for thin film deposition.
Success stories and the most important projects achieved by the Angelantoni Group companies.
Angelantoni Industrie Srl
Località Cimacolle 464 06056 Massa Martana (PG) Italy
English Italian Deutch French
TESTS ON THE PRISMA SATELLITE
Angelantoni Test Technologies is proud to have contributed to the mission of PRISMA, a satellite launched to study the Earth using spectroscopic techniques, entirely designed and built in Italy for the Italian Space Agency. The ACS GALILEO Large Thermal Vacuum Chamber space simulator was used to carry out environmental tests on PRISMA's advanced hyperspectral electro-optical instrumentation, built by Leonardo and installed in the Testing Laboratory at their plant in Campi Bisenzio (Florence).
PRISMA satellite from tonight is in orbit around the Earth: ACS contribution to the mission
PRISMA is an Italian Space Agency's satellite demonstrator. National industries and many Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) contributed to its design, launch and data receipt. Using the VEGA launcher, it took off from the European base of Kourou in French Guyana at 2.50 am GMT+1, on March 23rd 2019.
PRISMA will complete the current Italian Space Agency offer of Earth Observation space segment, now primarly based on the Synthetic Aperture Radar of COSMO-SkyMed constellation. Thanks to its hyperspectral innovative optical sensor, PRISMA is able to acquire images of Earth surface to see the chemical and physical composition and provide information for several applications.
Angelantoni Test Technologies is proud to have contributed to this specific aspect of the mission, thanks to its TVC named "GALILEO Large Thermal Vacuum Chamber" installed at Leonardo's Florence premises, where environmental tests were carried out on the hyperspectral electro-optical instrumentation.
The TVC, equipped with independently themoregulated shroud, thermal plate and decontamination plate, has a useful internal volume of about 17 m3 and a temperature range of -193/+150°C. The chamber reaches the High Vacuum performance of <10-6 mbar in 3 hours.
"We expect an impulse to the research and development of Earth observation applications based on the ability of hyperspectral data to provide information on the chemical-physical characteristics of the observed areas", explained Piero Benvenuti, ASI extraordinary commissioner, in an interview with the journal Le Scienze, "Precision agriculture, study and control of vegetation, atmospheric pollution, monitoring of coastal waters, analysis of soil properties and control of urban areas are among the sectors that will benefit from the information obtained by the hyperspectral products of PRISMA".
World leader since 1952 in the design production of environmental test chambers. Innovation, flexibility and organization are the keys to its success.
ÖTZI, THE ICEMAN
One of the most important archeological discoveries of this century is certainly "Ötzi", the mummy from the Similaun glacier. The mummy is almost 5500 years old. An entire museum was established to house Ötzi in Bolzano, and here Angelantoni Industrie reproduced the climatic conditions of the Val Senales glacier.
The Angelantoni Industrie Group has been operating since 1932 in the fields of biomedical, simulated environmental testing, vacuum technology and industrial refrigeration, combining its strong vocation for innovation and technological development with its constant commitment to protecting the environment.
KENOSISTEC
TURBOALGOR
P.IVA: IT 01678030543 | © Angelantoni Industrie 2020 | All Rights Reserved
Privacy policyCookies policyLegal notesCredits