Concert #3

Soon after we first arrived in Paris, the "sweet" sounds of my clarinet reverberated through the courtyard as I tried to get back in the habit of practicing daily. To my knowledge, no neighbor ever complained - but I did get lots of invitations to play with people the neighbors knew. Héloise, for instance, connected me with her pharmacist, Catherine, who was looking for a clarinetist with whom she could play through a collection Yiddish folk music. We got together a half-dozen times over the course of the year and ultimately decided to repay Héloise's social networking prowess with an informal concert for her, her kids, and Catherine's parents. It turned out that the concert took place during Dimi's visit, so she attended as well.

As was my habit, I recorded the concert - but unfortunately I botched the recording, such that only one and a half tracks exist. Here they are:

Luckily, Dimi took charge of the Flip Video camera during the concert, and there are lots of clips to give you a better sense of what (and how) we played. Also there's lots of footage of the kids, who were (as always) unbearably adorable, even when they got a little tired of the whole concert thing.

This is just me warming up, but I include it because, at the end, Catherine says either "He is very handsome" or "He is very good." Either way, it's all good.

Mehdi and Nahel watch attentively while Héloise prepares her iPhone for recording. Tilal dances like no one's watching, and Catherine's parents listen respectfully.

A rare, full track. We could have rehearsed more, but that would have taken all the spontaneity out of the concert. After the hesitant beginning, we make it through the whole thing unscathed and rather spiritedly.

I love the way Catherine celebrates at the end of this one.

Dimi got all meta, filming Mehdi filming us.

Nahel gives new meaning to "interpretive lap dance."

More meta filmmaking. An almost complete "track."

Drama! Tilal knocks all my music off the music stand, then cries about it.

After struggling to find the pages I needed to continue, all is resolved and we pick up where we left off.

The kids were getting bored, thus all the ambient noise and the sterner-than-usual looks from Catherine's parents. Dimi also apparently discovered a new camera angle.

The finale of our Yiddish repertoire was a canon without a satisfactory end, but we made do anyway.

Encore! An Irish folk song. I don't know why, but whatever.

The end! (This post is dedicated to Catherine, who's waited way too long to hear herself play, and to my grandfather, who eats this stuff up.)

Concert #2: Salon Edition

Yesterday marked both a national holiday and my second Parisian concert in the last month. While my first concert took place under somewhat rushed and harrowing circumstances, I had been preparing for yesterday's performance with Dominique Fournier (piano) and Anne-Chantal Carrière (soprano) since late fall. You can listen to our entire performance by clicking "play" below, or choose individual tracks by clicking "Les Sonorités du Salon." Click "download" on the player below to get the whole album in mp3 format. (If you're desperate to hear me play clarinet, skip to tracks 4-7.)

The concert took place in a private salon in the 9th arrondissement, just across the street from former residences of Chopin and Georges Sand. The salon, decorated in authentic Louis-Phillippe style, transported us to the era in which much of the music we performed was written. 

Playing chamber music is always a pleasure, but I especially enjoyed the "ethnographic" element this concert adds to my year of research. After all, I'm writing a dissertation about the period in French history that saw the last great flowering of salon culture, so I've spent a decent amount of time reading about concerts just like this one. To have participated in the planning and execution of a concert that could have easily taken place a century ago gives me a strange, almost cosmic sense of connection with the composers, performers, salon hosts, patrons, and audience members that I've been studying. It's fitting that this rich moment comes towards the end of a rewarding year.

I hope you enjoy listening to the recording. Let me know if you're interested in coming to a repeat performance of this concert, which will take place on May 30 in Longpont.

Concert Announcement

In case you're in Paris and haven't heard, Louis is performing in a concert tomorrow (April 25) with famed composer/pianist Noël Lee and up-and-coming cellist Jacob Saunders. Here's the program:

Beethoven - Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano in B-flat Major, Op. 11, 1st Movement

Noël Lee - Interstices for Clarinet and Piano

Debussy - Nocturne for Cello and Piano

Debussy - Première Rapsodie for Clarinet and Piano

(Intermission)

Brahms - Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano in A minor, Op. 114

Here's a free sample (the first movement of the Brahms), to get you hooked:

Finally, here are the deets:

Where: Rendez-vous d'Ailleurs, 109 Rue des Haies, 75020 Paris (Métro Avron or Maraichers)
When: 5 PM
Concert Length: approximately 1.5 hours
Cost: 15 euros (full), 12 euros (reduced)
Fun Level: High

Hope to see you there!

Christmas Eve Traditions

It's Christmas Eve here in Paris. Being away from family is difficult, but we're enjoying spending time with our friends Joy and Jake and creating our own holiday traditions. For example, we began the evening with a rousing game of French Monopoly.

We suspended the game to walk 10 minutes to the Église Notre-Dame de la Croix de Ménilmontant to attend the 11:00 p.m. Veillée de Noël service. The church is large, beautiful, and felt very much like a local parish (we had considered going to the other Notre Dame, but thought it might feel a bit too touristy).

The Veillée service consisted mainly of organ music, singing, and readings. We all liked it when the organist pumped up the bass, and didn't really like it when the song leader sang out of our range.

We left just in time to see the start of the midnight mass. It was cold, we're not Catholic, and hey, we had a Monopoly game to finish! Merry Christmas Eve!

Free concerts

Coming to Paris this fall? Check out these free concerts at La Madeleine, an impressive church in the 8th arrondissement.

I'm particularly looking forward to the concerts in November. Anyone want to join me?