Heights Music Masters Record Graceful Album In First CD Collaboration

Howe’s Brooklyn
Heights Music Masters Record Graceful Album In First CD Collaboration
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 10-01-2008
By Sam Howe & Friends

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS HUSBAND and wife team KATHY McDONALD and PASQUALE BIANCULLI have been making music together since 1977 when they met as students at SUNY Stony Brook. With McDonald playing flute and Bianculli guitar, they have toured throughout North America, Europe and the Caribbean, started a music festival, directed a Brooklyn ensemble, and taught their trade. Now, after 24 years of marriage, the duo has paired their mastery of technique and sensitivity to record their first album together — “Hill of Slane: Psalms, Sonatas & Sojourns.”
The cleanly and masterfully produced album has both Brooklyn and Ireland at heart. Bianculli was born and raised in Greenpoint and two of the six composers, FREDERIC HAND and ARLO McKINNON JR., are Brooklynites. McDonald has lived much of her life in the borough, and the album was recorded and produced with support from another local, JOHN KILGORE, to whose generosity and flexibility with his studio the couple attribute much of their success.

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BaroQue Across the River- a hit at the GEMS Festival

from the NY TIMES...September 30, 2008 - BaroQue Across the River, a Brooklyn group, opened the concert with two elegant French cantatas — Rameau’s “Impatience” and Montéclair’s “Ariane et Bacchus” — to which Michèle Eaton brought a sumptuous tone, a keen dramatic sense and striking agility in the ornamental vocal scoring.

Kathy McDonald contributed the appealing flute obbligato in the Montéclair, and Arthur Haas, harpsichordist, and Martha McGaughey, on viola da gamba, kept the continuo parts lively and vital.




Congratulations to Kathy, Michèle, Arthur and Martha for a job well done. It was a beautiful concert and the praise was well-deserved. Suzanne Bona, the host of "Sunday Baroque", (seen here with Kathy) emceed the event and did the unimaginable - she was able to get classical musicians to talk about what they do in an intelligent and meaningful fashion!! No small feat, Suzanne!! Thanks to Ron Hatem for the great photos.



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HILL OF SLANE CD Released!!!

Our new CD has been released. It is available through CD BABY which will market the CD for us. They will also post it for Digital Distribution, so you can download one piece or the entire CD. You will also be able to buy at concerts. 

The CD comes with a booklet along with photos by myself and Richard Sutor. It was recorded by John Kilgore and mastered by Richard Price. 

We look forward to reading your comments and knowing what you think about our music.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 10, 2008

The McDonald-Bianculli Flute & Guitar Duo release Hill of Slane – Psalms, Sonatas & Sojourns

 

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – Kathleen McDonald and Pasquale Bianculli have released a CD of music for flute and guitar. It is called Hill of Slane - Psalms, Sonatas & Sojourns and features the music of J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, as well as contemporary composers Carlo Domeniconi, Frederic Hand, Arlo McKinnon, Jr., and Richard Charlton. The Hill of Slane is the legendary place in County Meath, Ireland (about 35 Miles NW of Dublin) where St. Patrick was to have lit the first Paschal Fire in the year A.D. 433.
 The “Hill” was a spiritual inspiration for composer, Arlo McKinnon, who contributed the title track.

 

The other works on this CD collection include J.S. Bach’s Sonata in E minor BWV 1034,  played on baroque flute and modern guitar, Sonata in G Major “Hamburg”, by C.P.E. Bach, Sonata, op 37, composed in 1996 by Carlo Domeniconi, Frederic Hand’s Psalm of Thanksgiving (1995), and the first commercial recording of Sonata? by Richard Charlton.

 

Pat and Kathy, long-time musical collaborators, have been married for 24 years. This is their first recording together. Music has taken them to Curaçao (International Trade Center), Rotterdam (De Douelen) as well as Paris, Quèbec, British Columbia, Italy and Jamaica. Kathy specializes in baroque flute and directs her own ensemble in Brooklyn, NY, Baroque Across the River. Besides C.W. Post, Pat also teaches privately and at the United Nations International School. The CD was recorded in New York at Kilgore Sound and Recording by John Kilgore and mastered at Candlewood Digital LLC by Richard Price.

Hill of Slane is now available from CD BABY (www.cdbaby.com),  and  soon it can be digitally downloaded from iTunes (www.iTunes.com).

BaroQue Across the River presents: Pro Musica Antiqua Oslo

THANK YOU - MERCI “A Midsummer Music Dream/ Songe d’été en musique”

To all of you!! Thanks for making our 3rd year so successful. The concerts were terrific and we all had a wonderful time. Though the weather didn't cooperate (it rained for a week!), it didn't dampen the spirit of what makes this event so special for us. 

Plans are already underway for next year. There are possibilities we will have a baroque string camp as well as a community chorus. We are growing, but not too big!!!

From Kathy, Pat and Harris, we want to thank all the people who make it possible for us to do this:

First, a very special thank you to Pauline Jobin of Moulin Bernier. Pauline is our tireless team leader who feeds us her ideas, vision and passion for the arts. We could not function without her! Merci Pauline!!

Thank you Karen Davis, Nina & Dave Krebs, Saskia Witté, Tom Heneghan & Elisabeth Auvillain and Anne Dubé.  

Also,

for Lambton: Pierrette Marseau

for St-Honoré: Jacqueline Ferland

for La Guadeloupe: Mike Roy

for Lac-Drolet: Michel Fortin

Thanks also to Claude and Cécile Goulet for their hospitality as well as Pierre Étienne Bizier and Renée Mathieu. All the folks in the venues that we play, Lambton, Lac-Drolet, La Guadeloupe, St-Honoré and of course, Courcelles. Thanks to Gina and Gilles at Auberge Andromède for always making us feel welcome; to Florendo and Pascale at the Casa Deli who keep their wonderful restaurant open all hours for us for post concert dining. Also, a very special thanks to our dear friend Gervais Lapointe. Gervais helps us with so many things, most notably translations and helping always to see that we have all that we need. 

Finally, thanks to our wonderful performers this year, Barbara Fusco, Valérie Bélanger, Dale Stuckenbruck, Laura Lessard, Kenta & Kota Nomura, Roxanne & Katherine Bilodeau. Special thanks to Jérôme Ducharme for his wonderful concert and participation in our last event. Jérôme, I still cannot believe you drove back from Montreal to be with us again. You were terrific!!

Next years dates have already been set. We will have the 4th Annual Festival from Aug. 3-9, 2009.  We look forward to many new friends and time spent making music. Check our web site for any new details: www.midsummermusiquebec.com

With Love and Peace,

Pat, Kathy and Harris

ps...Nina...thanks for the lovely photos!!!

A Music Festival Continues in Rural Quebec – featuring concerts of music for classical guitar, flute, violin and voice

Join us for our 3rd annual festival in this beautiful region. We started this festival with Harris Becker and the response to our concerts and teaching has been wonderful. The region is very special and we have made many good friends there. Here is the web site: www.midsummermusiquebec.com

 From August 4 to August 10, the farm lands, fields and forests of south-west Quebec will be awash with the sounds of music. The festival. “A Midsummer Music Dream/ Songe d’été en musique” will feature concerts of music for solo guitar, guitar with flute and voice, violin and piano.  The performers are professional musicians from New York who are regular visitors to the region. 

In addition to the concerts, festival participants can also enroll in  classes such as technique and chamber ensemble, and rock guitar. Instruction will also be given in voice, piano, violin, flute and harpsichord.

The festival will take place at the junction of the Beauce and Eastern Townships region of Quebec which is approximately 1 1/2 hour drive south from Quebec City, 1 1/2 hour drive north-east from Sherbrooke and a 1 1/2 hour drive north from the Maine border crossing. Events are taking place in the villages of Courcelles, Lambton, Lac-Drolet and La Guadeloupe. The venues are the Moulin Bernier, a museum of art and culture in Courcelles, Église St-Vital in Lambton, the Moulin at Domaine La Guadeloupe, the Maison du Granit in Lac-Drolet, which is also a museum.

Listen to Soundclips from the festival in 2007: 

DOWNLOAD A POSTER!! Midsummer Music Dream Poster

Baroque Across the River selected for GEMS 2nd annual showcase

"Baroque Across the River", an ensemble devoted to performing early music on period instruments, has been selected as one of 9 ensembles chosen to perform in the second annual showcase of New York's finest early music ensembles. The concerts are presented by GEMS, Gotham Early Music Scene and will be held at one of the city's newest concert halls, The Times Center located on 41st Street just east of 8th Avenue.

The ensemble is directed jointly by Kathleen McDonald and Michele Eaton. Their concert is scheduled for Sunday, September 28 at 4:00 PM. They will be joined by Martha McGaughey and Arthur Haas.

Visit their website:  www.baroqueacrosstheriver.com

For a full list of concerts visit the GEMSsite: www.gemsny.org/home.html

 

Welcome Visitors

Greetings Visitors!

Welcome to our blog.  I will try to keep you up to date on Kathy and I. This blog will include news, site recommendations, and all the usual blog activities....photos, videos(maybe) and sound clips. 

I will keep you posted here on the progress of our soon-to-be released CD, "Hill of Slane - Psalms, Sonatas & Sojourns. The next posting will be a self-styled press release for you to read.

To return to our web site: www.fluteandguitarduo.com