Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
November 21, 2016:

2 KAY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, the second session is done and it was as much fun as the first and once again we wrapped two hours early. A couple of today’s songs were a bit more difficult but I made sure we had everything we need, and she was in great voice and Boswell was his usual amazing self. Engineer John Adams had it all together and Kay’s ever-lovin’ Michael Lamont was there, snapping away photos for the booklet. Here we all are – a Boswell selfie from Saturday.

15170836_10154124780595687_8609901656830479838_n

One treat was Kay’s doing my song, Simply. I didn’t suggest it or anything – she just fell in love with it hearing it at a Kritzerland show and really wanted to do it – and do it she did, beautifully, and Boswell’s accompaniment is sublime. Once again, the song choices are just so interesting and surprising. Afterwards, we all moseyed on over to Lenny’s (formerly Junior’s) for a celebration meal. I had my beloved kishka and a chicken and avocado wrap. It was all very good and we had a lot of fun merrily gabbing away. Because we’d wrapped early, I was able to get on the freeway by four-ten. The traffic in the morning had been fine, a nice fifteen minute ride. Going home on a Sunday at four – unbelievable. It had been raining but actually wasn’t the entire ride home. So, you can’t blame it on that. So, instead of a fifteen-minute ride it was a thirty-minute ride but I managed to get to the mail place before five and picked up my little speaker stands and an envelope. I came home and immediately put the speakers on the tilted stands and what a difference in the sound. Because the tweeters are now at ear level everything is more open and sweet and warm, where it had been muddy and a little dark when they were flat on the table. And because the stands have an open space between where the speaker sits and the bottom of the stand, the bass is tighter and nicer than when it was getting sucked into the table.

So, I listened to some music, of course, things I’d heard – a Sibelius symphony and some other Sibelius tone poems. I uploaded again the Maazel versions to compare with the Colin Davis – and I’m simply not a fan of the Davis and actually prefer the Maazel for sound and performance. So, I read up on more complete symphony sets and I’m going to try one more – I heard samples on Amazon and that one has great sound and the performances are closer to the way Ormandy does this stuff – so I’ll probably now get rid of the Maazel and the Davis (if anyone wants either, and I do recommend having a set of these wonderful symphonies, and I’m sure you’re nowhere near as picky as I am, just message me). Happily, all these box sets are dirt cheap via third-party sellers. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish and took a trip back to my early childhood.

Last night, I put in a Blu and Ray of the 1955 live telecast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, an opera written especially for television by Gian Carlo Menotti, first broadcast live in 1951 and then redone live for several years thereafter, always garnering great ratings. TV was a very different beast back then – better – you could actually have an original opera on network TV and people tuned in, about five million people for that first broadcast, which would be like twenty million today. I hadn’t seen or heard Amahl since back then (I know I watched at least three versions of it, probably including this one) – I remember being entranced by it back then. It was redone for TV in both the 60s and 70s but I didn’t see those and they’re not available to see now. As soon as the show began I fell asleep for about thirty minutes. Go know. Then I started it again and watched the whole thing and it was just so sweet and innocent and of its time – charming, beautifully sung, crude looking by today’s standards but that’s part of the charm and a perfect running time of forty-six minutes. The music and libretto are wonderful and the cast is really good, I thought. The kinescope is as good as kinescopes are, which is not very, but I sure enjoyed it.

Then I’d gotten the newer version of the CD, which has been remastered and has the original album art on the cover (the previous CD does too but with a stupid border around it) – I’d tried to listen to the older CD but didn’t care for the sound, and this new one does sound better to my ears, and I enjoyed the music all over again. Then I listened to two symphonies by Darius Milhaud that I found in the closet on the CPO label – don’t remember if I ever actually played them, but they are just wonderful. I love Milhaud – he’s completely unique, musically, but in a totally delightful way and these two symphonies (five and six) were just wonderful and the recording is absolutely superb. I’d heard his second symphony a few days ago but didn’t care for that recording at all, so it seems that CPO has actually done all twelve of his symphonies and they’re in a handy-dandy box so I’ll get that at some point. Then I’d found a CD of weird works by Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Weber, in that wonderful Mercury Living Presence stereo sound. It’s atonal but very movie music-ish and while it’s not my favorite they do sound marvelous and I always try to expand my mind, musically. And once I arrived home it was raining again and happily has continued all night – it’s so nice to hear rain falling and it would be nice if it continued a few days.

Today I have to be up by nine-thirty to have a ten o’clock telephonic conversation with someone in the United Kingdom. Then I have to write the Kritzerland commentary, but since we’ve done a few of the songs some of it can be taken from the previous holiday shows, so it shouldn’t take as long as usual. I’ll eat, won’t jog (unless it isn’t raining, in which case I will), hopefully pick up some packages, do some banking, and then I’ll hopefully be able to relax a bit.

The rest of the week is a few meetings and meals, Thanksgiving (have no idea about that), and then a work session of Friday for the Kritzerland show. And then we begin the Kritzerland rehearsal week. I’m hoping we can also announce a CD next week at some point. I’ll probably also start getting the mixes for Kay’s album.  Oh, and please do send you most strong excellent vibes and xylophones for both a stress-free irritation-free week and Major Miracles.  We need ’em.

Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora and the Boogie Woogie, for today is the birthday of dear reader KevinH.  So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to dear reader KevinH.  On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER KEVINH!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a telephonic conversation, eat, maybe jog, hopefully pick up packages, write some commentary, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are you all doing for Thanksgiving? Who’s cooking (and what are you making) and who’s going out to eat (like in a restaurant), and who’s visiting friends? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a really fun and wonderful 2Kay session.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved