This is the 6th installment of BCS Connections & Reflections, a series of short notes, essays, and musical offerings from us to you, our supporters. Carl Lenthe, member of our bass section since 2019 (and IU Jacobs School of Music trombone professor*), writes to you and shares the video below.
Practicing musicology without a license
Greetings, one and all!
I miss singing with BCS! So many areas of life took unexpected turns as we went into seclusion in March. Beyond losing our weekly BCS singing, one of many other such areas was my low-brass orchestra repertoire class—in which I normally act as a playing coach leading sectional rehearsals. Just as we went into distance-teaching mode, I had occasion to reacquaint myself with the Brahms Requiem—a work I have always found inspiring, edifying, uplifting, and comforting. And so, I did a short series of YouTube lectures on it, from the perspective of the trombone section. I enjoyed delving into the work anew, recalling many great performances over the years. The 6-minute video I'm sharing is a broad introduction for my trombone students (risking charges of 'Practicing Musicology without a License'—in Bloomington, of all places!). After that, it gets more trombone-centric. You can follow all of that on YouTube at your own peril. I have never sung this masterpiece in a choir, and that wish is high on my list! By the way, the stuffed animals on the piano serve not only to dampen the sound, but also as a receptive audience.
- Carl Lenthe
*More about Carl:
Carl Lenthe served as principal trombonist for over 20 years in Germany with both opera and symphony orchestras—hence the ease of his German diction. Since his return to the US in 1998 he continues to perform on trombone, bass trumpet, and euphonium with top-notch orchestras all over the country, and is professor of music in trombone at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Carl is an accomplished trombone soloist and chamber musician, and sings bass with the Bloomington Chamber Singers. We are deeply grateful that he enjoys singing, too!
If you are interested in watching more, please reply to this email for the link to Carl's YouTube lectures.
