team teaching at work

I met with my boss, Jen Adams, yesterday. As usual it was a good meeting. I had several things I wanted to talk to her about. One of them was the worship commission meeting on Monday evening. At that meeting, I talked more than usual. We met in the basement to discuss how to do Sunday Eucharist there while the church was being refurbished to accommodate the new organ.

Jen had arranged the chairs and set up a table so that we could think about how to do Eucharist there. She stood in front for the most part. I kept brainstorming ideas and talking about meaning much the way I do in our private meetings. I was allowing the rest of the committee to see how intentional and thoughtful Jen can be.

In our weekly meeting yesterday, she agreed with me that it was a kind of team teaching. My liturgical understandings come to the fore in this kind of a conversation. Usually I don’t do that much talking at Worship Commission. But it was good to hear that it had been effective.

performing bach trio sonatas on the organ

Yesterday I counted. I have performed over half of the 18 movements of Bach’s 6 trios for organ. This surprises me. But I’m also glad. It helps me understand that my technique on the organ is not as bad as I often think of it as being.

I played through trio 5 yesterday. I will probably work carefully through trio 6 today. These pieces make excellent etudes this way. I am regaining an appreciation of their musical value as well. Peter Williams remarks (I believe) that in these piece Bach establishes a relationship between the lines in the left and right hand that is uniquely keyboard in its design and meaning. This is in contrast to emulating instrumental writing slavishly.

I often think of the independent lines in Bach’s keyboard music as transcriptions of instrumental lines. I love hearing these piece actually performed in instrumental ensembles. Regaining an appreciation for their uniquely keyboard attributes is fun as well. I’ll have to look up that quote in which Williams makes this observation.

No time, now, though. I have to have breakfast and drive away to see Dr. Birky my shrink this morning.

Here’s what I’m listening to this morning. I love this music and the movie, Tous les matins du monde Soundtrack: