Death for 5 Voices...

...or more!

Elaine and I went to sit in on the dress rehearsal for the Chorale's a cappella concert at the Carmel Mission on Monday night. The major work is the Tenebrae of Don Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa, a Renaissance composer who was known for extreme chromaticism, and even more for killing his wife. Even though quite shocking in its day, the Tenebrae sounded right at home when sung in conjunction with Poulenc's 4 Motets in the time of Lent.

The Chorale has a wonderful sound, and it was a treat to be able to hear them in that acoustic without the sound being sucked up by 400 people! They did a very nice job with very difficult music - which is a fraction of what they have to sing for the festival. They are certainly earning their money this year. Director Andrew Megill has deftly brought disparate singers together from across the country and made them sound like they'd been singing together for years. It was a real treat.

Laughter in our mouths...

The last two weeks have been intense, with rehearsals for the Carmel Bach Festival occurring daily, and sometimes twice a day. It was very tiring, but rewarding. It is such a pleasure to make music with world class performers, and being able to sing for Maestro Bruno Weil is an amazing privilege.

The volunteer chorus (of which I am a member) is singing in Bach's Cantata 110 on Saturday evenings, a Christmas offering that opens with the text "our mouths are full of laughter because God has done great things for us."

On Sunday afternoon we are presenting the St. Matthew Passion, one of the most incredible pieces of music ever written. For me, some of the most sublime moments come in the two arias accompanied by Viola da Gamba. Joanna Blendulf is a tremendously gifted artist, and handles both of these very difficult pieces with aplomb and grace.

Our opening weekend just concluded, and the audiences were very enthusiastic. Two more weekends to go!

(Image from OMM.de)

Independence Day

We spent a wonderful Independence Day holiday. There was a Bach rehearsal from 4:30 to 7 PM the night before, and afterwards we met up with our friends Jackie and Mike at Ribera Beach for a barbecue. They have a tradition of hanging out there with a bunch of friends every July 3. It was wonderful. It was so warm that I had to take off my jacket. I can't remember the last time I could do that at the beach in Carmel. There was nobody else there - probably due to the long access staircase. Absolutely gorgeous, with clear skies and a brilliant sunset. As darkness descended, the stars shone with unusual clarity, and Venus and Jupiter stood out from the background like searchlights.

Next day we went out to Spreckels to see the little parade they have and have yet another barbecue at our friend Patty's house. The sun was out in full force, and the postage stamp size town was packed to the gills with visitors. If we hadn't been able to park in Patty's driveway, we would have had to park at least a mile away. Amazing. The parade was cute and the food was all American - hamburgers, foot long hot dogs, potato salad and apple pie. It was absolutely delicious - Patty is a waitress here in town, and one of the best. She always gets significantly more than anyone can eat, and takes whatever is left to the woman's shelter afterwards.

At 5 PM or so we attended our third barbecue in as many meals at our friend Lisa and Robin's house. This time we brought ribs marinated in beer, sage and honey, and there were grilled vegetables and chicken to boot. The fireworks at the harbor didn't start until after 9 PM so as to be visible in the dark. That was way past our bedtime, but we heard them! We haven't had such an enjoyable fourth in years.

Did I mention...?

...that my daughter was getting married?

Just in case you were wondering, the wedding was lovely at St. Joseph's, and the bride and groom enjoyed a cruise to Seward, Alaska for their honeymoon and now are safely ensconced at home in Ohio.


Proud papa with his girls



The happy couple



Comes the pretty young bride...




The first waltz

D-Day!

The rehearsal was wonderful, and the dinner at Il Pirata in Capitola delicious. It is going to be a lovely wedding!

As W.S. Gilbert noted in The Grand Duke:

Won’t it be a pretty wedding?
Will not Li(s)a look delightful?
Smiles and tears in plenty shedding –
Which in brides of course is rightful.
...
Oh, ‘twill be a pretty wedding!
Such a pretty, pretty wedding!
Such a charming, charming, charming wedding!

The Big Day minus 2 and counting...

Saturday was a Bach Festival rehearsal day, and that went well. We really like Andrew Megill, the new chorus master.

Sunday was a real treat, as both of my daughters came to visit for Father's Day. We had a lovely dinner at the Cellar Door, watched Doctor Who, and had a fun time all around. Sofia is still here, but even Lia stayed over one night. It was the best Father's Day ever!

Getting ready for Lia's wedding on Friday. Not anything really for us to do, but emotionally it is a big step!

Southern excursion

Back from our trip south. There is a new airline serving Monterey - Expressjet - and it has non-stop service to Ontario and San Diego at reasonable fares. We decided to avoid the 1000 mile round trip drive and give the new carrier a try. It was wonderful. One hour gate to gate, and very comfortable. The jets are small, but do seat about 60 people, and there is more leg room than on your average transcontinental (or intercontinental, for that matter) flight. We were able to spend more time with family and less time on the road, and were not at all fatigued from the journey.

We spent the first and last nights with my wife's mom and step-dad, with the middle night at her sister's new house in Fallbrook. It was a very pleasant trip indeed.

One of the reasons we really wanted to go was to see my wife's grandmother, who recently moved into an assisted living facility at the age of 94. Her grandfather passed away last year. The facility is very nice, and Louise has a beautiful view of the park and San Diego bay. She seems to be doing quite well, and we were fortunate enough to see her on two occasions. First, at her new abode, and second, for lunch at the Coronado Golf Course club house, which was really quite good - again, with an absolutely gorgeous view.

Dictionair o the Scots Leid!

Dictionary of the Scots Language

As they say in Scots, trés cool...

Madregalia!!

The madrigal group that I belong to (MADREGALIA!!) gave a "house" concert for friends and family yesterday at St. Mary's church. About 40 people showed up, and it was a lot of fun. We sang renaissance part songs from the sublime to the absurd from several different countries, and we finsihed off with a little cantata by Michael Praetorius on the hymn "Herr Christ der Einig Gottes Sohn." Turns out that hymn was the first one in the Lutheran tradition to focus on Christ, and the text was written by the first female Lutheran hymn writer, Elisabeth Creuziger in 1524.

The audience was very enthusiastic, and I have been receiving e-mails and telephone calls from folks telling me how much they enjoyed it. One of the members owns a harpsichord that he built from a kit, and it was the hit of the afternoon. Several people came up afterwards to see it and the viols.

Now I am completely exhausted!

Home again, home again...

Monday was our travel home day, but we spent much of it with John as our plane didn't leave until 5:30. We decided to check out a place described in the book "Weird New Jersey" that wasn't too far away. Out on Pleasant Valley road is a place known as Gravity Hill. We followed the directions in the book, but couldn't find the place where the car would supposedly roll uphill. Apparently the markers have been removed or paved over. We asked a young man working outside at "Gravity Hill Farm" and he tried to guide us, but every place we tried the car simply rolled back down the hill. Nevertheless, it was a mildly entertaining outing.

The flight back was one of the most pleasant I have experienced in a long time, as when I checked in from the house that morning I was able to change our seats to an exit row! It was really nice to be able to enjoy the flight without my knees jammed into the seat back in front of me.

The bulk of the country was hazy, but the sunset from 35,000 feet was pretty.

Make that x 3!

Sunday was the big day. John graciously provided me with a digital projector and portable DVD player for the occasion, and we even went out and bought some wireless amplified speakers so that the sound would be good. His church provided us with an old screen, and so we were set. My wife and I attended the Episcopal service at St. Matthew's in Pennington, and then drove down to Trenton.

The dinner was a lot of fun, and I talked with scads of people (and probable relations!) My presentation went well, and lots of the folks want copies of the DVD. The mayor of Hamilton Square was present, as was a Freeholder (county supervisor) of Mercer County, both of whom have Monteleone roots. There was lots of memorabilia around, including layoff notices from Roebling Steel for some of the former members. The interesting thing about those notices was that there was an actual category for describing the person's nose! Eyes: Brown, Hair: Black, Nose: Roman. I wonder what the other categories would have been...

Chambersburg x 2

That evening we had dinner at the Roman Hall in Trenton. That was probably the last time, as I've been told that it is for sale and almost certainly will not continue to be an Italian restaurant. It is very sad - most of the Italian population has moved out of Chambersburg, which was the Italian neighborhood of Trenton.

The meal was wonderful as always, even if the place was mostly empty.

Saturday morning my wife and I made our way to Hopewell to have breakfast with my cousin Ron and his wife MaryEllen. They are wonderful folks, and they brought us up to date on all the local happenings. We were there a good two hours.

Leaving my wife back at the homestead to rest and get a break from too many relatives, John and I met up with Judy, the granddaughter of the sister of my great-uncle John's wife. (That confusing enough for you?) I have just recently encountered Judy on the internet, and we have exchanged bits of genealogical information. It was nice to meet her in real life.

We took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, and I spent most of the time talking with John. For dinner, the four of us drove back down to Chambersburg for a couple of real tomato pies at DeLorenzo's on Hudson. The pizzas were wonderful - just can't get anything like it in California.

New Jersey, here we come!

Just got back from our whirlwind expedition to New Jersey for the 100th anniversary of the Monteleone Society. I was the featured speaker and presented a slideshow on DVD of my photos from the trip to Monteleone last year. I even made the Trenton Times! The author of the story was seated next to me. Nice young woman with some sort of atrophying condition that confines her to an electric wheelchair.

After taking the redeye from San Jose to Newark, we took our traditional route south along I-78, I-287 and SR-202 to Flemington, where we had our first pork roll and egg sandwich of the trip at the Shaker Cafe in Flemington. Then on down route 31 to Pennington, where we stayed with our friends John and Cary. After chatting the morning away, we drove up the Delaware River to Stockton, and had a most delightful lunch at Colligan's in the historic Stockton Inn. For those of you who remember the songs of Rodgers and Hart, that is the "small hotel with a wishing well."

Oh Beautiful!

The concert with Camerata went very well this past weekend. It consisted entirely of Americana, from the silly to sublime, and the audiences were absolutely delighted. My setting of "Idumea" was very well receieved, and several people told me it was there favorite work on the program.

My youngest daughter had just finished her second year at Berkeley, and she stayed the weekend with us, assisting at all three concerts. My eldest daughter came down for a few minutes on Friday afternoon with her fiance, mostly to be able to see my mother. She had flown out from Ohio to be with him for his graduation from Hastings on Sunday, and they had several business items to attend to with regard to their upcoming nuptials in June. Everything seems to be coming together for that.

Our oldest son flew in on Sunday, and he'll be with us for the week. He just recently returned from several months in Germany. Our younger son will graduate from San Francisco State this weekend. Unfortunately, we cannot go because we already had another commitment out of state by the time he told us the date!

Busy times...

Rehearsing

Our final concert of the season with the Camerata Singers is this weekend. The program consists of all American music, and is called "Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies." We are singing a variety of things, many in a comic vein. This will be the closest to a pop concert we have ever been. The exciting part for me is that our leader graciously agreed to include an arrangement I made of the Sacred Harp tune "Idumea," and it is sounding very good. I'll have a recording of it by the end of the weekend, and that will help in my endeavors to get it published.

We've also been doing some rehearsing with the madrigal group for a house concert in June. In addition to traditional madrigal repertoire, we are going to perform a short cantata by Michael Praetorius on the chorale "Herr Christ der Einig Gottes Sohn." Stay tuned for further developments...

Recovery

My mother has been on the upswing all week. In fact, she's up almost 20 pounds from her low about a month ago! She is in excellent spirits, and has been walking downtown every day. The visiting nurses really hate that, as they are concerned she is going to fall. No stopping her, though, and I think she would not be doing as well if she felt confined to the apartment.

The hospice nurse came today to do an evaluation. She is doing so well that she does not qualify for hospice services at this time. They are putting her in an intermediate category and maintaining a file on her. We are looking forward to working with hospice, as they will come to the house to address most of her needs.

Gobsmacked...

Last Wednesday was not a good day. My volume study to map out my prostate for the seed implantation was scheduled for 8:30 AM, so I showed up at the doctor's office at about twenty after. The door was locked, but there was activity inside, so I figured their practice was to not open the door early. My wife took the day off, so we just chatted outside - it was a lovely morning. 8:35 rolled around, and noone had opened the door yet. I tried it just to make sure, but it was still locked. Five more minutes, and nothing. I jiggled it very strongly so that it would be heard, and the receptionist came to the door.

Turns out it was the wrong doctor! I was supposed to be at the hospital with the radiation oncologist, not in the office with the urologist. What a putz! They graciously called for me to let the doctor know I was on the way, and we zoomed up to the hospital, which luckily isn't far. The doctor was still willing to see me, so I put on my robe, put my feet up in the stirrups and thought of the empire, trying to calm myself down.

When the test was done, the doctor quipped that that had just been the trial run, and that the real test would start shortly with the big probe! I meekly said "OK" while my wife started laughing.

Unfortunately, the test showed that my prostate is very slightly masked by the pubic bone, which means it would be very difficult to correctly place the implants. Consequently, the doctor told me I would need to start hormone therapy to shrink the prostate a bit so that the bone would no longer be in the way. I asked if there would be any permanent effects, and he replied "not usually."

As I thought about this during the course of the day, I started to get more and more upset. After all, hormone therapy (and its associated impotence and loss of libido) was something I had been trying to avoid. Perhaps I wanted to reconsider my course of treatment.

The appointment for the injection was the next morning, but I didn't want anything to happen without talking to the urologist first. I had not been thinking clearly enough the day before, and had come up with several questions in the meantime. The doctor graciously took me into his office, and addressed all my concerns. With a sense of relief, I got my shot of anti-testosterone. I get another one next month, and a repeat volume study in July.

Much ado...

Yesterday, the visiting nurse came late in the day, and called me over because my mom appeared to have a raging infection at the site of her IV from the stay at the hospital last week. The thermometer indicated that she had a fever of 103.4! She insisted I rush her to the emergency room. I questioned this, because it was pretty late and I didn't think she looked that bad. Nope, we had to go. It was 5 PM when we got there, and she had no fever at all. (Turns out the nurse's thermometer was broken!) Still, she had a new bump at the IV site, so they wanted to see her. After two hours in the waiting room, my wife and I couldn't take it anymore and left to get something to eat.

When we returned, she was in one of the ER rooms. They confirmed there was no fever, but wanted to run all sorts of tests, including an ultrasound. By this point it was 9 PM, and we knew it would still be hours before anything would happen. They agreed to keep her overnight, and we came home and got some sleep.

I went back this morning, and the ultrasound still hadn't been done, and she hadn't been given anything to eat yet. After talking to the doctor, I left to do some errands because it was clear this was going to be a lengthy process. Upon my return, she was undergoing the ultrasound. Her breakfast was there at her bed - it came just before they took her away, so all she got was one bite of banana. After the test, they called for someone to bring her back to her room. They put her in the hall. After half an hour and still noone had come, the tech took pity on her and brought her back. Of course, by then, all of her food was cold.

I talked with her regular doctor, who had come by when she was undergoing her test, and it was agreed that she should come home. She did have an infection, and had had an antibiotic drip, but he felt it could be controlled with pills and coming into his office for shots.

All this on a day I have to fast because I undergo my volume study on the prostate tomorrow!

Going with the flow...

On the prostate cancer front, I underwent testing this week to make sure there were no obstructions in my urinary flow. Everything was just fine, so I will be going in next week to have the measurements taken of the prostate so that a map of where to place the radioactive beads can be developed. That is done in Seattle, and once the results are back I can undergo the procedure. I don't know the time line on that, yet.

At least it is moving forward!

...but the service is terrible!

My mom has been having a real problem with swelling in her legs and arms. So much so that they have been leaking serum. It got so bad we had to put her in the hospital for a few days. Turns out she has also been having blood in the stool, and so when we got there she was quite anemic. They did a transfusion, and tried to do a colonoscopy and a GI endoscopy. She has a couple of small ulcers in the stomach, but nothing particularly significant. Unfortunately, she has a narrowing in her lower colon which prevents them from going very deep. As a result, they still don't know what is causing the internal bleeding. It seems to come and go, but they want to monitor her blood count from here on out.

She was in the new "West" wing of the hospital, and it was just gorgeous. There was faux wood paneling everywhere, the highest tech in hospital beds, a flat screen TV, and a view of the forest right outside her window. She liked that aspect of it, but complained about the "service." Basically, she wanted them to bring things for her that she wasn't allowed to have, and the hospital didn't want her walking around without assistance, so she got frustrated. We reminded her that it wasn't a hotel.

After four days, she was doing much better and was able to come home. She has finally agreed to allow helpers to come in, and they are coming every day now. Her legs are still swollen, so she hasn't been able to take her walks as she couldn't get her shoes on. This has been very frustrating for her, and she appears to be suffering a bit from depression. The doctor has prescribed medication for her in this regard, and I am hopeful it will help. She has been talking about wanting to "give up" and wanting to die. This is a bit distressing for us, as you can imagine. Still, she is going with the program. It is not in her nature to give up, despite being tired of living within her limitations.