Old First Concerts: October, 2023

Readers that follow Old First Concerts (O1C) programming at Old First Presbyterian Church probably know by now that this month’s four programs will all take place on the four weekends of the month, alternating between Sunday afternoon and Friday evening. Next month will follow a similar plan, beginning with a Friday evening concert followed by three successive Sunday matinees. All of the offerings will continue to be “hybrid,” allowing both live streaming and seating in Old First at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue. All tickets will still be sold for $25 (no reduced rate for seniors or students). Hyperlinks to the event pages (which include hyperlinks for streaming) will be attached to the date and time of the performances as follows:

Friday, October 6, 8 p.m.: I have been listening to Indian Classical Ragas since my student days. However, it has only recently been through O1C programming that I have begun to find my way through this genre. Ironically, Utsav Lal, the lead performer for this particular program, is a pianist, as well as a composer. His performances will all be based on evening raga music. However, the first of those ragas, “Alap-Jad-Jhala,” will be given a solo piano performance. It will be followed by a selection of traditional compositions with accompaniment on tabla provided by Nilan Chaudhuri. For the second half of the program, these two musicians will be joined by saxophonist George Brooks to present original compositions that blaze new paths of communication between raga music, jazz, and experimental music traditions.

Sunday, October, 8, 4 p.m.: The context will shift from Classical India to Renaissance Europe. The program will be a solo lute recital by Bay Area native Zachary Donaldson. His program will consist of “musical snapshots” from four different regions of Europe: Spain, Italy, France, and England. Spain will be represented by Luis de Milán, who seems to have lived all his life in Valencia. He is recognized as the first composer in history to publish music for the vihuela de mano. Italy will be represented by two composers. Alessandro Piccinini was born in Bologna, where he probably spent most of his life. He is best known for publishing two volumes of lute music. Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, on the other hand, was born in Rome and was known as “the German of the theorbo,” the lower-register version of the lute. Josquin des Prez, who spoke French but may have spent much of his time in Flanders, will be represented by one of his best-known chansons, “Mille regretz.” The “tour” will then conclude in England with John Dowland’s “Forlorn Hope.”

Sunday, October 15, 4 p.m.: Pianist Monica Chew will present a program of “pairings.” The first of these will couple Stacy Fahrion’s “A Foretaste” with “Homeless Wanderer” by the Ethiopian nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. (I have Sarah Cahill to thank for introducing me to the latter.) The second pairing similarly bridges geographical distance. This time the African Ali Osman (Sudanese) will be coupled with Russian Dmitri Shostakovich, the latter being presented by one of his prelude-fugue couplings. The final transcontinental pairing will match Nigerian composer Joshua Uzoigwe with Ulvi Cemal Erkin, a member of “The Turkish Five.” Chew will then conclude her program with her own “Pitter Patter.”

Sunday, October 22, 4 p.m.: This program will celebrate the release of the album Bigfoot Revelation. This is music by Cornelius Boots composed for an ensemble of five shakuhachis, which he leads. He will be performing with the Wood Prophets quartet of Kevin Chen, Karl Young, Hiromi Inaba, and Darrell Hayden. The first half of the program will be devoted to solo performances by the five participating players. The second set will consist of group performances.