The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Handbell director Brad Schultz will say good-bye to Madison with two performances of “Postcards From France” this weekend.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following notice:

Music director Brad Schultz of the Madison Area Concert Handbells (MACH) will finish his tenure with MACH by conducting “Postcards from France” in two performances this weekend.

Concerts are on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Asbury Church, 6101 University Avenue; and on Sunday, May 15, at 3 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall Stadium.

Tickets can be purchased in advance ($12 adult, $9 senior/student) at any of the advance ticket outlets (Cool Beans Coffee Café, Ward-Brodt Music, Metcalfe’s Market at Hilldale, and Orange Tree Imports) or at the door ($15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students).

After three very successful years of directing the choir, music director Brad Schultz (below) has resigned due to added responsibilities on the Luther College faculty starting next fall. Throughout his tenure, Brad has helped MACH’s ringers retain the spirit and skills which have led this auditioned choir to be recognized as one of the leading handbell groups in America.  He introduces the concert as follows:

“Maybe it was the first time you tasted a delicious French roll, or saw the Eiffel Tower. Maybe it was an exposure to music, culture, or fashion. Maybe it was in your early ventures as a reader (“In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines”), or depictions of la belle vie (the French “good life”) in the movies. We have always had a fascination with all things French; from culture to custom, from cuisine to cinema.

“There’s no denying French advancements in music, either. From the cathedral to the salon, Leonin and Pérotin to composers of chanson and popular music, France has always left a musical mark on the world.

“We invite you to join us this weekend for a celebration of all things French. Revered composers Bizet, Ravel, Debussy, Chopin and Faure will be represented, alongside pieces that remind us of French culture, landscape and architecture. We’re excited to be joined again this season by flutist Barbara Paziouros Roberts.”

Here is the complete program:

Grand Valse Brillante, Op. 18, by Frédéric Chopin,     Arranged by Ruth Artman

Jubilation by Fred Gramann

The Sunken Cathedral (La cathédrale engloutie) by Claude Debussy, Transcribed by Kevin McChesney

Pavane by Gabriel Fauré, Arranged by Albert Zabel

The Ball (from “Children’s Games”) by Georges Bizet, Arranged by Betty B. Garee

Suite for Flute & Piano, Op. 116, by Benjamin Godard: II. Idylle

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint–Saéns, Arranged by Michael R. Keller

Down the River by Jason W. Krug

Intermission

Fountains by Kevin McChesney

Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie, Arranged by Karen Roth

Pavane pour une Infante Defunte by Maurice Ravel, Transcribed by Kevin McChesney

Cathedrals by Margaret R. Tucker

Autumn Leaves (Les feuilles mortes) by Joseph Kosma, Arranged by Bank Wu

MACH rings over 6 octaves of handbells and 7 octaves of handchimes, the largest assemblage of these instruments in Wisconsin.  This fall, while the choir searches for a new director, MACH will be led by founder and former director Susan Udell, who retired from the group in 2010.

For more information about MACH, visit the website at http://www.madisonhandbells.org.