Music – Sententia Garrio

Found Sound: “May The Road Rise” – 1978.

November 9, 2019August 18, 2020 Doug Leave a comment

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything. Life has been busy. But today’s ‘Found Sound’ takes us back to 1978 once again by a very special request.

The TEAC 2340SX Machine in 1978. Shiny – about a year old.

After semi-refurbishing the ol’ TEAC 2340SX 4-track Reel-to-Reel machine in 2016, I have been attempting to digitize most of the catalog of Reel-to-Reel recordings we made over the years dating back to at least 1975. I’ve counted over 40 reels of 1/4″ marvelous magnetic media that is laden with snapshots of history from many, many long hours of musical and other sounds, much of which has now been converted to binary audio data.

It’s been a time consuming process. One reason is the fact that in order to properly transfer from analog to digital, that tape has to play in ‘real time‘. A 7″ reel typically was 1800ft of tape. If it was recorded at the highest speed that most of the tape decks we had access to at the time could run, 7-1/2 IPS (Inches Per Second) you would have roughly 48 minutes of recording time. If you were recording 2-tracks (stereo) you could flip the tape over and record 2-tracks in the opposite direction. If you ran the machine at the slower speed of 3-3/4 IPS you could achieve 1hr 36min per pass. For those reels where the recording speed was 3-3/4″ IPS, I did experiment with running the capture at the higher speed and then digitally converting the sample rate down so the pitch was ‘normal’ but I found the frequency response suffered noticeably. So it was back to ‘real time’ capture for the optimal quality. I did discover one time saving trick. If the tape was recorded in stereo (2-tracks) in both directions, I could capture all 4-tracks in one pass (two tracks sounding backwards) in real time. Then I could digitally reverse the two backwards tracks without any sound degradation. That helped some.

Maxell Reel tape box with very ‘limited’ program notes.

Now the other thing to mention is that we weren’t always very good at keeping ‘session and program notes’. So for instance, despite a box having a label of “Jim O’Dell Jr. At Severn Bapt Ch” it may have no detail on the actual recording contents therein. (That one didn’t even have a recording date!) If I was ‘monitoring’ the capture running in real time, I would try to take notes on the nuggets of audio history found. But often once I was relatively sure the tape was all one speed, I’d start the capture, set the timer on my iPhone for the expected run time, and walk away to do other things until the timer sounded and I’d run back to the computer to stop the completed capture.

I’ve written in the past about the singing group I had the pleasure to work with in my younger years called “The Instruments of Peace” which accounted for quite a bit of the audio recordings over those years. Not only did we occasionally record the concerts which the group presented, but we also produced many of our own Instrumental Accompaniment tracks.

Well, a few months ago, I received a Facebook message from one of the members of the “Instruments of Peace” (IOP), Jenny:

Amy, Jenny’s sister and also a member of IOP, passed away unexpectedly in Nov 2016.

Well, I truly hoped that I could deliver something for my friend in memory of Amy. Did I remember hearing that song being sung somewhere in the archives? I think so…but on which reel and from which concert I could not remember and the lack of detailed ‘session notes’ on the back of the boxes wasn’t helping. Thank goodness I had already captured most of the reels because ‘scrubbing’ through digital audio files was SO much easier than it would have been to thread the many reels of audio tape that may possibly contain the ‘needle in the haystack’.

The first ‘find’ I came across for “May the Road Rise” was actually one of the sessions for the recording of the instrumental accompaniment track we arranged for the song. But there were NO Vocals.

I found one concert recording of the group at a church of which I cannot remember the name, but we didn’t close that concert with that ‘Irish Blessing’ song. I kept searching. Then I found a recording labeled “Instruments of Peace, Ridgecrest 1978 Student Ministries” and lo and behold — “May the Road Rise” was the last song.

I queued up the recording from the beginning and sat back to have a listen. The voices sounded sweet, the performance spot on, and it sounded so good. But you could barely hear the accompaniment — which happened to be the instrumental track that we had produced. Since it was just two tracks, there was no way to bring up the levels of just the accompaniment.

“Hmm,” I said to myself, “since you have the recordings of the original 4-track accompaniment track session — why not merge those tracks with the live recording and do a mixdown? Worth a try…”

So I pulled the 4-tracks from the instrumental session into the two-track Concert recording project. I lined up the tracks to all start at the same time and hit play.

You could now hear the instruments at the intro of the song and the voices came in and I’m tweaking levels as its playing along and then I realize the voices and the instruments are drifting farther and farther apart the longer song played. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the world of old analog recordings. Reel-to-reel machines were almost never ‘perfect’ in their playback and recording speeds. The two recordings were very close to the same speed but just slightly different, not enough to really notice even a difference in pitch but enough to know they weren’t in sync (just slightly more than a second difference over the length of the entire song).

Difference in run speed on tracks by the end of the song

So my Digital Audio Workstation recording platform called Cubase 10 is known for the amazing things it can do with audio files so certainly I should be able to synchronize these tracks that are so close. I started by attempting to calculate the time difference and then tempo-mapping and time signature/measure mapping and hitpoint detection and was getting nowhere closer to a solution. Turns out, I was making this way more complicated than it needed to be. I came across a function Cubase calls ‘AudioWarp’ and could not believe the results. In a nutshell, you basically line up the beginning of the tracks (which I had already done). You then go to the end of the song and find a distinct audio event (like the final chord) which will occur at two different points in time on the different tracks. And then you decide whether you ‘stretch’ the lagging tracks to match the longer or ‘shorten’ the longer tracks to match the shorter. Here we decided to stretch each of the four instrumental tracks. Click and drag! Boom! Repeat 3x! Done! It sounded great.

AudioWarp Magic – A +1.02 seconds stretch

Now that all the tracks lined up, we could mix it. We could now hear the instruments as well as the vocals. A little EQ here, a little noise reduction there, a touch of reverb and I was quite pleased with the result that I immediately sent to Jenny. I truly hope that it was a meaningful moment for the family at the wedding.

The final mix is presented below:

Instruments of Peace 1978 – “May the Road Rise” (Lee Turner)
(Instrumental arrangement – D. Jackson/R. Strickland)

Instruments of Peace (at the time of the recording in 1978):

Jenny Cheston	Soprano
Amy Cheston	Alto
Amy Hunter	Alto
Richard Strickland	Tenor
Tim Lester	Bass

Musicians:

Debbie Johnson (?)	Piano
John Laube	Drums
Don & Jim Harding	Trumpets
Jeff Jackson	Euphonium
Doug Jackson	12 String Guitar; Electric Bass

Found Sound: Summer of 1978

November 27, 2016May 24, 2019 Doug Leave a comment

IN LOVING MEMORY of

Amy Cheston McMonigle

I was deeply saddened to hear of the untimely passing this week of my friend Amy McMonigle and found myself reminiscing about not only singing with her in the “Instruments of Peace” but also the frequent times we called upon her instrumental talents of playing Cello for various recordings.

This edition of “FOUND SOUND” takes us to the Summer of 1978.

In my youth, I am grateful to have been a part of the Severn Baptist Church Youth Choir, “Phileos,” under the direction of Al Hunter and accompanied by his wife, Margaret. Each summer the Youth Choir would look forward to going ‘On Tour’ to present Christian music concerts at a number of churches in areas as close as the Eastern Shore of Maryland to as far away as South Carolina. We would often prepare a program that would include classical Hymns and contemporary Anthems and then often a Musical with orchestrated accompaniment background ‘tracks’. In 1978, the “Musical” was a collection of ‘Six Contemporary Psalm Settings” by Charles Buffham. But this collection had no accompaniment tracks available. My friend Richard Strickland had invested in a TEAC 4-Channel Reel-to-Reel the previous summer and I had the pleasure of engineering many hours of recordings for our musical creative efforts. This machine had the capabilities of doing overdubs and we had already become proficient in layering instruments, often playing multiple ones ourselves. I had also been dabbling with some instrumental arranging. So when Mr. Hunter said we should take a crack at creating our own tracks, we were all in!

One of the Psalm settings was a minor keyed setting of Psalm 13 called “Oh, Why?” and as we were discussing arrangements somebody commented on how good a Cello would sound with it. Rich and I looked at one another and said “We know somebody that can do that — Amy!” We knew Amy Cheston through the Baptist Student Union (BSU) and Heritage Baptist Church in Annapolis and had already tapped her Cello playing talents for another recording we had done with my Bro-in-Law, Garry O’Dell, for his song ‘The Legend of the Sanddollar.”

Cello for 'Oh, Why?" — Cello for ‘Oh, Why?’

So I scratched out a Cello part and soon after the basic rhythm tracks were done, we had Amy record it.

All in all, I think our little accompaniment track project turned out pretty well back in ’78. I can only find recordings of four of the six Psalm settings and I cannot find our ‘Master’ tape of our instrumental tracks. Oh well.

And so, here is “Oh, Why?”

Found Sound: Summer 1979

January 18, 2016May 24, 2019 Doug 1 Comment

I came across another box of Reel-to-Reel tapes in the basement a few months back. One box titled “Instruments of Peace” (Recording Session) 4-Channel caught my eye.

So this edition of Found Sound takes us back to the Summer of 1979. At that time, I was part of a singing group called “The Instruments of Peace” (IOP). Originally formed in 1977 with the encouragement of Dick Bumpass and under the auspices of the Baptist Student Union of the Annapolis area, IOP went through several iterations and I joined the group in the summer of 1978. We sang at a variety of venues and presented concerts of Christian musical styles from classical to contemporary. We arranged and recorded many of our own accompaniment tracks, but also presented a few selections a capella. One in particular was an arrangement of the Spiritual “My Lord What A Morning.”

In the summer of 1979, we decided to do a recording of some of the selections in a ‘session’ held at the Glen Burnie Baptist Church. I recall the sanctuary had pretty nice acoustics and they had just installed a custom built mixing board that was quite advanced at the time.

So, I fired up the ol’ TEAC deck, cleaned the heads, threaded the reel and prepared to transfer the session from 35 years ago to the computer. It took a couple of tries due to the TEAC acting temperamental, but it’s almost 40 years old!

I was pleasantly surprised with the sound. So I thought I’d share.

I created a lyric video, partially because I wanted to try my hand at it by learning a new technique with a program called ‘Blender’. I used some licensed stock sunrise footage and did some custom graphics.

Hope you enjoy.

The Instruments of Peace (at the time of this recording):

Jenny (Cheston) Francis – Soprano
Amy (Cheston) McMonigle – Alto
Amy (Hunter) Stoddard – Alto
Richard Strickland – Tenor
Doug Jackson – Bass

Permissions

April 11, 2013May 24, 2019 Doug 1 Comment

Looking Back – Moving Forward.

When Justin announced his plans in 2008 to resign his position at CSC and pursue his Master’s Degree it was a milestone. One of those times when you reflect on the past. His past, our past, our family’s past.

Much of his early life was documented in photo albums and boxes of snapshots taken over the years. Justin’s milestone seemed a perfect time to assemble a ‘slide show’ and I began the process of looking through hundreds of photos and scanning the ‘few’ favorites selected to share. We were looking back as he was moving forward.

We digitized some of the VHS home movies, and added selections of music that were meaningful to us through Justin’s childhood.

As the family gathered at the end of 2008 prior to Justin’s departure for South Dakota for Grad School, we played the DVD. Ahh, such memories. Everyone in the family shared a remembrance triggered by a picture they saw.

Then the tragedy of September 27, 2010. Our lives shaken by the news of Justin’s death.

As we prepared to lay him to rest, the DVD of his life story took on a new role. The work of putting together a remembrance of Justin had already been nearly completed. There was only his short time at Grad school missing. We decided not to change it all all. We just set up a DVD player for the viewings and played his story for all family and friends to see. Many asked for their own copies of the DVD to remember him or many suggested posting it on the internet so that anyone could see it.

Around the second anniversary of his passing, Terri and I revisited the thought of now retelling his whole story — life and death. I set out on the task of seeking permission to use the copyrighted material in our tribute to Justin.

One of the tracks we used was “Adoro te devote” from the 1996 Christmas Chant CD by “The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos” released by Milan Records. I found their website and an email address and dashed off my request. One down, five to go.

One of the snippets we used was from the opening credits from the Walt Disney movie “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” — one of Justin’s favorite movies as a young child. We practically wore out the VHS tape. He was our “Tigger” and would bounce around the house singing the “Tigger” song. One of my fondest memories is an audio recording of him singing his version of the song, unrecognizable as such by some, but cherished by us. I embedded this in the DVD with the Disney soundtrack as underscore. Well, searching the Disney websites I found their ‘copyright’ policy. All requests for synchronization rights (what we were asking) must be submitted in writing. Thinking our request was a bit of a longshot and prepared to pay almost any fee that they would have prescribed, I dashed off my letter in writing, signed, sealed in a #10 envelope and USPS postage applied. Two down…

I was then interrupted by a new email notification. It was from Milan Records granting our request to use the chant music. This was just a short while after I sent it on a Sunday afternoon with a moving personal note included from the Chief Operating Officer of the company.

Other requests were sent as well and I turned my attention to revising the DVD adding the last chapter. In case we did not get permission to use all of the tracks, I began my search for suitable replacement music from a couple of the production music libraries I’ve licensed.

A couple of weeks passed when I was surprised to find another email in my inbox from this time from Disney. It was a note from the Assistant to the Executive Director of Licensing granting us a ‘gratis’ license to use the Disney score.

Terri has posted the tribute video of Justin’s life on her blog ‘back of the northwind.com’.

Dusting off the “Stations of the Cross”

February 14, 2011September 6, 2020 Doug 4 Comments

In the mid-eighties, I discovered what many Roman Catholics had meditated on for hundreds of years. Especially during the liturgical season of Lent, leading up to the great feast of Easter, in a tradition attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, many meditate on the “Via Crucis” or the “Stations of the Cross.” What began with pilgrimages to Jerusalem to retrace the steps of Jesus on His “Walk to Calvary” were converted to a chapel meditation by creating sculptures or pictures of the scenes along the way.

The traditional “Stations” include:

Christ condemned to death;
the cross is laid upon him;
His first fall;
He meets His Blessed Mother;
Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross;
Christ’s face is wiped by Veronica;
His second fall;
He meets the women of Jerusalem;
His third fall;
He is stripped of His garments;
His crucifixion;
His death on the cross;
His body is taken down from the cross; and
laid in the tomb.

As I experienced my first observation of the meditation, I found myself quite moved. Having been a Christian for most of my life and having what I felt at the time was a fairly good relationship with Jesus, experiencing the “Stations” brought to life the passion of our Lord. I was walking along with Him to the Cross; I could hear the jeers and tears of those who followed Him; I saw the executioner drive the nails into his hands.

Well, that Easter came and went and life went on. My interest in the “Stations” was rekindled when one of the priests at the church we were attending published a booklet called “Mary’s Way of the Cross” in which he told the story of the “Stations” through the eyes of Jesus’ Mother — who we are told in scripture was there with Jesus at His Crucifixion. He was able to show in a beautiful way, a mother’s love for her child.

As I continued to reflect upon and study the “Stations,” I too, was inspired to “take pen in hand” (well, actually, it was an early word processing program on my new ‘Personal Computer‘) and attempt to expand some of the stories of the “Stations.” I wanted more to know what Jesus had endured for our sake. I tried to empathize with those who Jesus met along the way. What would Simon of Cyrene have been thinking when pressed into service by the Romans to carry the Cross? How about the Roman Centurion? Joseph of Arimathea? Nicodemus?

A few sketches began to take shape, but it was not until I was on an extended, multi-week training session in Rochester, NY for my former employer, Eastman Kodak, that I devoted a concentrated amount of time to writing. Upon my return, I shared my reflections with Fr. Mike Woempner, another of the priests at St. Mary’s in Annapolis at the time. He was very encouraging to me and immediately wanted me to make plans to share with the community for Lent. Well, it would be too much in such a short amount of time to put together the ‘cast’, gather musicians, rehearse the songs, etc. So what we did instead was pre-record the songs and voices and we would simply have the Narrator ‘live’ at the presentations. I had thought at the time an accompanying slide show (yes, that would have been the 35mm, 2″x2″ in the round trays type) would be an nice addition, but that did not come to fruition. Thanks to several music minister friends at the parish, we were able to get the songs recorded. I had other friends and family record the voice dialog. I was doing the final editing of the 1/4″ reel-to-reel tape just hours before the presentation. But we managed to get through it and it was well received.

I continued to revise and refine the work, when ‘life’ allowed. There have been a few parishes who have presented it over the years. I added some choral arrangements of the traditional “Stabat Mater” and “O Sacred Head” hymns as well as choral parts for the songs.

Station One from St. Peter the Apostle, Libertytown, MD — Restored “Station One” at St. Peter the Apostle, Libertytown, MD

When we moved to Carroll County, we found our new church home at St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown, MD. The church was constructed in the late 1800’s and had beautiful Mayer stained glass windows, a painted Crucifixion scene that hung above the sanctuary and some cast plaster “Stations.” I spent hours looking at, and meditating upon the sculptured “Stations.”

In 2002, I had the honor to direct the presentation of the “Stations” at St. Peter’s. We used a combination of live musicians and computer-driven instrumental accompaniment tracks. So many good friends and family shared their talents. My son, Justin played both trumpet and flute. Ryan, our youngest, handled sound effects and recording duties. My dear wife, Terri, was one of the narrators. The kind comments following were humbling.

When we suffered the loss of our church building in 2004 due to a construction accident, I was relieved to hear the Stations had survived. They were restored, accented, re-framed and installed in the new church building dedicated in 2008.

We’ve been asked to present the “Stations” on Good Friday of 2011 and so we are dusting off the music and preparing for rehearsals. I’m afraid the presentation this year will be bittersweet, though. We will dedicate this presentation in memory of Justin and in the memory of Cindy Getsinger.

“Stations of the Cross”

April 22, 2011

7:30 PM
St. Peter the Apostle Church, Libertytown, MD

Saint Cecilia, ora pro nobis