Easter Service Closer

[sashaco]

Would anyone care to suggest a bright  but not impossible to learn piece with which I could close the service at the Anglican Church in Zomba, Malawi on Easter Sunday?  There is no organ, just an old German upright.  I need not be a piece of religious origin.   Ordinarily I play a few cheeerful hymns as the congregation leaves, but I'd like to do something more for Easter. 
I can play a bit- I'm currently working on the Chopin Barcarolle and some Brahms Intermezzi. A year ago I performed  Beethoven opus 111.  These are HARD work for me to learn, though, requiring months.  I'm looking for something a bit more readable, and something for which I can get sheet music on line.

Many thanks,  Sasha Cooke

[sashaco]

110!

[john11inc]

110!

Err.  Beethoven's Op. 110?  Probably not all that "readable" in the way s/he's looking for.


First movement of Schubert's D. 894?  Long, but easy-ish, and appropriate for the occasion.


For something easier than that, maybe Mozart K. 280.

[sashaco]

Sorry, John, that was me saying I played 110, not 111, which would probably be beyond me.  Thanks for suggestions, I'll have a look.
Sasha Cooke (Mr.!)

[ramseytheii]

Would anyone care to suggest a bright  but not impossible to learn piece with which I could close the service at the Anglican Church in Zomba, Malawi on Easter Sunday?  There is no organ, just an old German upright.  I need not be a piece of religious origin.   Ordinarily I play a few cheeerful hymns as the congregation leaves, but I'd like to do something more for Easter. 
I can play a bit- I'm currently working on the Chopin Barcarolle and some Brahms Intermezzi. A year ago I performed  Beethoven opus 111.  These are HARD work for me to learn, though, requiring months.  I'm looking for something a bit more readable, and something for which I can get sheet music on line.

Many thanks,  Sasha Cooke

Fascinating!  What are you doing in Malawi?

You want something that feels celebratory and uncomplicated, perhaps the first movement of Bach's Italian Concerto; or a major-key march.  Think looking thru works of Grieg, Mendelssohn, Schumann and the like to find something like that.  If I think of anything in particular I can post.

Walter Ramsey

[timothy42b]

Purhaps that Purcell Rondeau?  It's public domain, online, and certainly comfortably easy at your skill level. 

[sashaco]

Thanks, Walter and Timothy, you understood me perfectly, level of a play and all!  I was thinking Mendelssohn's Wedding March, only NOT the wedding march!  The Italian Concerto looks just right, and I will try to print it.  The Rondeau might be even better, since it's probably familiar to many in the congregation.  I lean to the Bach, but must remember that most people love the familiar.  This is not a concert, of course.  I haven't yet found a site with the rondeau my computer will download, but I might be able to play most of it by ear.  It could probably stand some banging, which I would hesitate to do to the Bach!
I am in Malawi following my wife, who is a researcher with World Fish.  We came here believing i would teach English Lit. at the University in Zomba, but that hasn't worked out.  I had then assumed I could volunteer at a local public high school, as I have done twice in Tanzania, but Malawi is a bit rigid about things.  I am now teaching a few hours at a private high school (if you saw it you'ld never believe people pay for it!), and tutoring informally some of the kids in a tennis program run by the ITF.  The kids in the program come from the very worst schools here, and I am currently working with the Malawi tennis association in an attempt to add an educational element to the program.  I feel strongly (though I don't say so) that the program as it stands is exploitative, in that a few kids benefit through the tennis, but most are simply wasting time they could have spent on school work.  Once they grow beyond the juniors, without an education they will never have the price of a can of balls. (That would be 2 weeks earnings for most here.) Recently, through tennis, I met a professor at the University who thinks I may be able to help in the music department, so we shall see.  Was that more than you wanted to know, Walter? Sorry, without full time work I have time on my hands.   Thanks again,  Sasha

[kevinr]

Or maybe a no-too-long Bach transcription for piano.

e.g. Wachet Auf (transcr Busoni) or "Sheep May Safely Graze" (transcr Petri)?

[sashaco]

Thank you, Kevin.  Can I get those on this site? I'll check.  Wachet Auf is ordinarily for Advent, but I'm sure almost nobody would know that!  I'm thinking of something a bit more lively than Sheep May graze, but it is lovely, and if transcriptions like this exist I could use them for other services.

Though I have lost all traces of religion myself, going back to church to play has brought back years of church choir singing, and in a way that seems almost a spiritual experience for me.
I have played some Bach preludes during communion, but last week tried improvising over a cantus in Dorian mode that my counterpoint professor 30 years ago was fond of.  Bertie Wooster might have said, "The bird was hovering."  I had better keep looking for sheet music.

[ramseytheii]

Thank you, Kevin.  Can I get those on this site? I'll check.  Wachet Auf is ordinarily for Advent, but I'm sure almost nobody would know that!  I'm thinking of something a bit more lively than Sheep May graze, but it is lovely, and if transcriptions like this exist I could use them for other services.

Though I have lost all traces of religion myself, going back to church to play has brought back years of church choir singing, and in a way that seems almost a spiritual experience for me.
I have played some Bach preludes during communion, but last week tried improvising over a cantus in Dorian mode that my counterpoint professor 30 years ago was fond of.  Bertie Wooster might have said, "The bird was hovering."  I had better keep looking for sheet music.

Love the quote qua Wooster, if qua is the word I'm looking for.

Walter Ramsey

[sashaco]

Walter, That's a very Bertie turn of phrase!  Jeeves would know.

[sashaco]

The day before Easter I was playing a Diabelli duet with my 8 year old son for my parents, who are visiting Zomba, and it occurred to me it would make a fine reccessional for an Easter Service, very bright and cheery.  I think the congregation got a kick out of it, and I hope it was good for my son, and will inspire him.  I have copies of other suggestions for future use. Thanks again, all.  Sasha