New Singers: Welcome! Be sure to pick up the separate flyer for new singers.
Returning singers: Welcome Back! If you have practice tapes from last season, please bring them in.
All: Pick up last week's notes if you weren't here.

Pronunciation: If you haven't done a 'Requiem' before, and would like some help with pronunciation, check out www.colleges.org/~music/Latin/requiem.html. There are MP3 & Real Audio files pronouncing the full text of the Requiem. (thanks Ann!)

A Grant! We've just received notice that the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission has awarded Bella Musica a grant of $2,500! Many thanks to Ronni who worked on the application. Bella was one of 61 groups awarded money this year thanks to her hard work! Grants like these and individual dontations are the backbone of Bella's continued financial health. Congratulations, Ronni!

Composer of the Week: Maurice Duruflé, born at Louviers, France in 1902, composer and organist, had many experiences that marked his musical education. At age ten his father brought him to Rouen and enrolled him in the boychoir school. His experiences singing in the great Cathedral there were to influence him throughout the rest of his life. When older, Duruflé moved to Paris and took lessons from Vierne while also acting as an assistant organist to Tournemire at Saint-Clotilde. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Gigout, and was educated in composition under Paul Dukas. In 1930, Duruflé was appointed organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont, Paris.
    In 1943 he returned to the Paris Conservatory, this time as a faculty member. During his long appointment at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, his skills as a virtuoso organist and improviser were heralded worldwide, and his classes in harmony at the Paris Conservatory were popular and admired for their concision and elegance. While the number of works he approved for publication was very small -- only 14 opera exist -- each is a highly regarded gem. Among them are a monumentally challenging work for solo organ -- the 1934 op. 5 Suite with its fiendish Toccata, and the 1960 op. 10 Four Motets on Gregorian Themes for Chorus. His works are neo-classic in style, with strong Gregorian chant influences. They are characterized by clear forms coupled with traditional counterpoint. Their beauty stems from their full, romantic harmonies.
    In 1953, at the age of 51, he married the talented composer and organist Marie-Madeleine Chevalier with whom he regularly shared the stage at St. Étienne. She accompanied him on tour to the United States in 1964, and made her first solo tour in 1974.
    When Duruflé died in Paris in 1986, all of France mourned, as did much of the world community of organists and choristers.

Sources: http://www.byu.edu/music/areas/keyboard/Organ/composers/durufle.html
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/culture/france/musique/composit/durufle.html
http://www.spectrumsingers.org/archives/1999-00/may00_notes.html

Concert Dates: Dec 7, 8 (Sat,Sun) at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Oakland.

Shameless Plugs:
    # Now available! Matthew's long-awaited CD: a live recording of two romantic masterpieces: the Schubert Sonata in A, Op. Posth.(written in the final year of Schubert's life), and the Brahms Sonata in F minor, Op. 5, dating from the composer's 20th year, his first great masterpiece. These recordings are from two different recitals at Old First Church, San Francisco: The Schubert Sonata from a 1989 recital and the Brahms from a 2002 recital. Get them while they last! (only $15), see Matthew for details.
    # UCAC & the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (2345 Channing Way -- at Dana) will be hosting the Rolling Requiem sing-a-long September 11, 8:46 AM (all time-zones are represented singing Mozart's Requiem at 8:46). Bring your own score or borrow one. Singing to begin promptly, please plan to come a little early.
    # BCCO (Arlene is the director) is working on the Mozart Mass in C Minor this season. Rehearsals are Monday nights, 7-10 at First Congregational Church in Berkeley. Visit http://www.bcco.org or call (510) 964-0665 for more information.
    # The Berkeley Broadway Singers, ( Ellen Hoffman, music director) invites new members. Rehearsals are Thursday nights, Sept 5-Nov21. For more information contact singbroadway@yahoo.com or call 510 525 7515.