[267.2] MAKING MUSIC HISTORY
Can't say that there's much in the Live 8 line up that thrills me musically, with the exception, perhaps, of the mercurial Bjork. But the Make Poverty History cause of debt relief, trade justice and appropriate aid for the worlds' poorest nations is one I am more than happy to endorse.
"When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, we will have peace," declared Jimi Hendrix. Well, it might take a bit to get there, but there's no point not starting.
Play on.
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Saturday, July 02, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
[267.1] SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Yes, I know. NewFrontEars has been irritatingly absent in one of its periodic hiatuses occasioned by the intrusion of other aspects of life and work. I've been considering calling it a day, but music is too central to my existence and documenting it to rewarding and generative to give up straight away. I 'go freelance' from 1 July 2005, and my intention is to develop a plan (including a redesign and possibly some writing partners) around August. So don't expect much before then.... though you never know. I'll try to keep you posted.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Yes, I know. NewFrontEars has been irritatingly absent in one of its periodic hiatuses occasioned by the intrusion of other aspects of life and work. I've been considering calling it a day, but music is too central to my existence and documenting it to rewarding and generative to give up straight away. I 'go freelance' from 1 July 2005, and my intention is to develop a plan (including a redesign and possibly some writing partners) around August. So don't expect much before then.... though you never know. I'll try to keep you posted.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Sunday, February 06, 2005
[266.1] ELECTRONICS ANONYMOUS LIVE
Unfortunately I'm down in Devon, UK, at the moment, and so can't take advantage of this tip-off.... but I see that there is a live and free Electronics Anonymous performance tonight, at at the Electricity Showrooms Bar, Hoxton, London, from 5pm to midnight. It features experimental electronic music plus experimental short films. There will be live performances by Sudden Infant [Switzerland] and Filter Feeder [UK]. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the vicinity.
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Unfortunately I'm down in Devon, UK, at the moment, and so can't take advantage of this tip-off.... but I see that there is a live and free Electronics Anonymous performance tonight, at at the Electricity Showrooms Bar, Hoxton, London, from 5pm to midnight. It features experimental electronic music plus experimental short films. There will be live performances by Sudden Infant [Switzerland] and Filter Feeder [UK]. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the vicinity.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Friday, January 21, 2005
[265.1] MICHAEL TIPPETT: COMPOSER FOR OUR TIME
I am hugely looking forward to the English National Opera performance, tonight, of Michael Tippett's choral work, A Child Of Our Time. I almost wrote 'oratorio', and ineed this is the closest formal category to which it belongs. I have seen it described as 'a secular oratorio', but that isn't quite right, either.
Tippett, whose spiritual leanings were at once traditionally sceptical and romantically Jungian, was no straightforward 'believer', certainly. He respected many Christians but was rightly critical of what had been and was done in their name. And he wasn't one for metaphysics.
But by replacing the Bachian chorales with fantastically orchestrated African-American spirituals, he disclosed what faith might look like set free from its trdaitional moorings and facing up to the horrors of genocidal war. He also demonstrated a global consciousness at a time when it was far less usual, paying homage to 'those twentieth century blues' (the title of his autobiography).
Some critics remain snooty towards A Child of Our Time. We live in a cynical age. It is definitely the one work by Tippett, in his early lyrical phase, which has come close to being a 'war-horse' (sic!) of the classical tradition. But in spite of its popularity it is a tremendously powerful and coherent work - as deserving of major performance as it is of the regional repertoire.
What a fine way to mark the Tippett centenary. Well, a start, anyway. There's much more to come in 2005, and NFE will be following it closely.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
I am hugely looking forward to the English National Opera performance, tonight, of Michael Tippett's choral work, A Child Of Our Time. I almost wrote 'oratorio', and ineed this is the closest formal category to which it belongs. I have seen it described as 'a secular oratorio', but that isn't quite right, either.
Tippett, whose spiritual leanings were at once traditionally sceptical and romantically Jungian, was no straightforward 'believer', certainly. He respected many Christians but was rightly critical of what had been and was done in their name. And he wasn't one for metaphysics.
But by replacing the Bachian chorales with fantastically orchestrated African-American spirituals, he disclosed what faith might look like set free from its trdaitional moorings and facing up to the horrors of genocidal war. He also demonstrated a global consciousness at a time when it was far less usual, paying homage to 'those twentieth century blues' (the title of his autobiography).
Some critics remain snooty towards A Child of Our Time. We live in a cynical age. It is definitely the one work by Tippett, in his early lyrical phase, which has come close to being a 'war-horse' (sic!) of the classical tradition. But in spite of its popularity it is a tremendously powerful and coherent work - as deserving of major performance as it is of the regional repertoire.
What a fine way to mark the Tippett centenary. Well, a start, anyway. There's much more to come in 2005, and NFE will be following it closely.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Monday, January 17, 2005
[264.1] A DAY IN THE LIFE - SHOUT
One of the most enjoyable end-of-year concerts I sampled was the two-night residency of exotic vocal ensemble The Shout, featuring - among others - my friend Adey Grummet, the soprano, writer and conductor. They were 'classical gig of the week' in The Independent newspaper, and got this good write-up from John L. Walters in The Guardian (see below pic).
"Originally brought together as a vehicle for the compositions of Orlando Gough and Richard Chew, the Shout's 15 singers make a virtue of their divergent backgrounds. The resulting a cappella sound - broad, rich, thrilling - has meant that the ensemble has remained unclassifiable: too awkwardly multicultural for a bench at the high table of classical music; too unpredictable to become teatime TV favourites; too tuneful to be cool. They're so good it's possible to take them for granted."
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
One of the most enjoyable end-of-year concerts I sampled was the two-night residency of exotic vocal ensemble The Shout, featuring - among others - my friend Adey Grummet, the soprano, writer and conductor. They were 'classical gig of the week' in The Independent newspaper, and got this good write-up from John L. Walters in The Guardian (see below pic).
"Originally brought together as a vehicle for the compositions of Orlando Gough and Richard Chew, the Shout's 15 singers make a virtue of their divergent backgrounds. The resulting a cappella sound - broad, rich, thrilling - has meant that the ensemble has remained unclassifiable: too awkwardly multicultural for a bench at the high table of classical music; too unpredictable to become teatime TV favourites; too tuneful to be cool. They're so good it's possible to take them for granted."
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Monday, December 06, 2004
[263.1] MAX AND HARRY GO MAD IN BOSTON?
This from the Boston Globe, as a prelim to an article introducing forthcoming composer highlights. Check it out here.
“With the death of Sir Michael Tippett in 1998, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies became Britain's senior knights of music.
“It's a little early to hail Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies as old masters; each is only 70 and still highly active. From the beginning each was a vigorously antiestablishment figure -- a shocked Benjamin Britten walked out of the premiere of Birtwistle's opera 'Punch and Judy' in 1968 -- and neither has exactly been domesticated yet.
“Maxwell Davies has been a frequent visitor to Boston, and his music is often performed here. Birtwistle's music remains relatively unfamiliar to local audiences despite intermittent efforts by Collage New Music, Boston Musica Viva, and the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music.”
But plans are afoot to change that, it seems.
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This from the Boston Globe, as a prelim to an article introducing forthcoming composer highlights. Check it out here.
“With the death of Sir Michael Tippett in 1998, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies became Britain's senior knights of music.
“It's a little early to hail Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies as old masters; each is only 70 and still highly active. From the beginning each was a vigorously antiestablishment figure -- a shocked Benjamin Britten walked out of the premiere of Birtwistle's opera 'Punch and Judy' in 1968 -- and neither has exactly been domesticated yet.
“Maxwell Davies has been a frequent visitor to Boston, and his music is often performed here. Birtwistle's music remains relatively unfamiliar to local audiences despite intermittent efforts by Collage New Music, Boston Musica Viva, and the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music.”
But plans are afoot to change that, it seems.
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Tuesday, November 30, 2004
[262.1] LOBBYING FOR GARBAREK?
Am I going soft? My current listening pleasure includes the seductive tones of saxophonist Jan Garbarek’s latest offering, In Praise of Dreams (ECM, 2004). Long courted by fame and popularity (since his surprise hit with the Hilliard Ensemble, Officium), Garbarek ploughs his own moody, evocative furrow - regardless of it all.
Of late he has faced accusations of blandness, conservatism, high-class lobby-music and self-pastiche. It’s not difficult to see where the detractors are coming from. But then it’s also not difficult to feel the enjoyment of his sensuous, sinuous melodic inventions.
Garbarek’s recent UK concerts have attracted wildly different estimations. In Edinburgh alone, he attracted the admiration of Kenny Mattheison (The Scotsman): “Garbarek’s steely, keening sonority on both his instruments remains one of the most distinctive and attractive signature sounds in contemporary music, and this quartet is an ideal vehicle for it. His roots in jazz remain apparent, but are only part of an intricate interweaving of folk, ethnic, rock and classical influences that make up the flow of his music. His simple, folk-like melodies and clean musical textures can seem a little too clinical at times, but there is no doubting the musicality and invention of the players.”
Whereas Rob Adams (The Herald) was left with a very different sensation: “The first two segments of a two hours-plus set … were routine, passionless and rather twee. …Those moments when the other three sit down and give the fourth member the spotlight should be the audience's cue for a breather, as pianist Rainer Brunninghaus conjures up a kind of rhapsodic candy floss and Eberhard Weber does his 'my bass is auditioning for Dr Who' schtick. This may once have been amusing, now it's just silly.”
Adams’ praise is reserved for percussionist Marylin Mazur, a musician of undoubted dexterity, enterprise and invention. Then again, when I last heard her with Garbarek a few years ago (at the Royal Festival Hall), she drove me to distraction with her constant busy-ness and interference with the other instruments’ accents.
The album, it has to be said, is a more considered affair. But that too may be good or bad. You’ll have to decide, dear listener.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Am I going soft? My current listening pleasure includes the seductive tones of saxophonist Jan Garbarek’s latest offering, In Praise of Dreams (ECM, 2004). Long courted by fame and popularity (since his surprise hit with the Hilliard Ensemble, Officium), Garbarek ploughs his own moody, evocative furrow - regardless of it all.
Of late he has faced accusations of blandness, conservatism, high-class lobby-music and self-pastiche. It’s not difficult to see where the detractors are coming from. But then it’s also not difficult to feel the enjoyment of his sensuous, sinuous melodic inventions.
Garbarek’s recent UK concerts have attracted wildly different estimations. In Edinburgh alone, he attracted the admiration of Kenny Mattheison (The Scotsman): “Garbarek’s steely, keening sonority on both his instruments remains one of the most distinctive and attractive signature sounds in contemporary music, and this quartet is an ideal vehicle for it. His roots in jazz remain apparent, but are only part of an intricate interweaving of folk, ethnic, rock and classical influences that make up the flow of his music. His simple, folk-like melodies and clean musical textures can seem a little too clinical at times, but there is no doubting the musicality and invention of the players.”
Whereas Rob Adams (The Herald) was left with a very different sensation: “The first two segments of a two hours-plus set … were routine, passionless and rather twee. …Those moments when the other three sit down and give the fourth member the spotlight should be the audience's cue for a breather, as pianist Rainer Brunninghaus conjures up a kind of rhapsodic candy floss and Eberhard Weber does his 'my bass is auditioning for Dr Who' schtick. This may once have been amusing, now it's just silly.”
Adams’ praise is reserved for percussionist Marylin Mazur, a musician of undoubted dexterity, enterprise and invention. Then again, when I last heard her with Garbarek a few years ago (at the Royal Festival Hall), she drove me to distraction with her constant busy-ness and interference with the other instruments’ accents.
The album, it has to be said, is a more considered affair. But that too may be good or bad. You’ll have to decide, dear listener.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Saturday, October 16, 2004
[261.2] MICKELTHWAIT'S MUSINGS
I came a cross a new (to me) blogospheric musical voice a couple of weeks ago, via a lively piece on the Shostakovitch controversies. "Culture means whatever Brian Micklethwait says it means", the writer reassures us. His scope is entertainingly broad -- and in addition to the main site, he's thoughtfully indexed all his classical music musings in one category archive. Nifty. Much more of a predeliction for Mozart and so-called libertarianism than me, for sure; but the writing has soul and intelligence. At least Mickelthwait's not just going through the e-motions.
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I came a cross a new (to me) blogospheric musical voice a couple of weeks ago, via a lively piece on the Shostakovitch controversies. "Culture means whatever Brian Micklethwait says it means", the writer reassures us. His scope is entertainingly broad -- and in addition to the main site, he's thoughtfully indexed all his classical music musings in one category archive. Nifty. Much more of a predeliction for Mozart and so-called libertarianism than me, for sure; but the writing has soul and intelligence. At least Mickelthwait's not just going through the e-motions.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
[261.1] MAX'S NEW NAXOS NEXUS
Composer: Peter Maxwell Davies
Work: Naxos Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
Media: CD
Genre: Contemporary classical
Catalogue Number: 8.557396
Label: Naxos
Released: October 2004
My current listening pleasure is the first release in a projected 5-cd series from Naxos: world premiere recordings of ten new string quartets performed by the superlative Maggini. What a creative idea it was for the high-quality budget label to commission this set.
These pieces are part of Maxwell-Davies' much-publicised turn from major orchestral works and larger scale projects towards the intimacy and challenge of small ensemble writing; congruent in many ways with the atmosphere of his beloved Orkneys.
Up-to-date information on the composer's activities is available through the MaxOpus site. You can also purchase recordings of Max's music by digital downloads and/or CD compilations of your own choice delivered by post.
As Anthony Holden economically observed in, er, The Observer: "Elegant, accessible, full of mood swings, these inventive works begin [Maxwell-Davies's] long journey in a classical Orcadian landscape, via Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin and Scottish dance music, to a powerful interim resolution with echoes of Bartok and Berg."
There are echoes in there (for me at least) of Kodaly's evocative Kreutzer Sonata.
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Composer: Peter Maxwell Davies
Work: Naxos Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
Media: CD
Genre: Contemporary classical
Catalogue Number: 8.557396
Label: Naxos
Released: October 2004
My current listening pleasure is the first release in a projected 5-cd series from Naxos: world premiere recordings of ten new string quartets performed by the superlative Maggini. What a creative idea it was for the high-quality budget label to commission this set.
These pieces are part of Maxwell-Davies' much-publicised turn from major orchestral works and larger scale projects towards the intimacy and challenge of small ensemble writing; congruent in many ways with the atmosphere of his beloved Orkneys.
Up-to-date information on the composer's activities is available through the MaxOpus site. You can also purchase recordings of Max's music by digital downloads and/or CD compilations of your own choice delivered by post.
As Anthony Holden economically observed in, er, The Observer: "Elegant, accessible, full of mood swings, these inventive works begin [Maxwell-Davies's] long journey in a classical Orcadian landscape, via Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin and Scottish dance music, to a powerful interim resolution with echoes of Bartok and Berg."
There are echoes in there (for me at least) of Kodaly's evocative Kreutzer Sonata.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Friday, October 15, 2004
[260.1] NOT-SO-DUMB METAL
Though I'm not a regular viewer of Jools Holland's UK tv show 'Later', I still enjoy it as a lively presentation of near-mainstream (but slightly quirky) rock, world, nu-pop and outside-left folk. The intrigue tonight was privided by US thrashists Green Day and their election anthem, 'Idiot America'.
The song made its biggest impact after John Kerry's appearance on 'Letterman'. Commented Salon: "Playing with murderous precision, the band signaled from its first line that they weren't out to be good sports. The sound was turbulent, churning, big and tight, veering off into guitar whirlwinds and then snapping to attention in an instant. Standing in a line across the stage as if they were a firing squad, the band communicated the feeling of both being on the front line and laying out a deadly line of attack."
This from Pitchforkmedia: "Idiot's slicing power chordage reaches to Green Day's old English and Cali punk influences with tingling fingers, adds acoustic instruments without sounding forced or contrived, and lyrically grapples with the cultural predicaments and awkward shittiness of 'subliminal mind-fuck America,' circa 2004: 'Now everybody do the propaganda/ And sing along in the age of paranoia.' Armstrong delivers the title track couplet like a command at the revolution day sock-hop, and its instrumental viciousness is enough to shatter punchbowl glass."
Not my usual listening ambient. Maybe it's just that overwhelming desire to evacuate the world of GW....
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Though I'm not a regular viewer of Jools Holland's UK tv show 'Later', I still enjoy it as a lively presentation of near-mainstream (but slightly quirky) rock, world, nu-pop and outside-left folk. The intrigue tonight was privided by US thrashists Green Day and their election anthem, 'Idiot America'.
The song made its biggest impact after John Kerry's appearance on 'Letterman'. Commented Salon: "Playing with murderous precision, the band signaled from its first line that they weren't out to be good sports. The sound was turbulent, churning, big and tight, veering off into guitar whirlwinds and then snapping to attention in an instant. Standing in a line across the stage as if they were a firing squad, the band communicated the feeling of both being on the front line and laying out a deadly line of attack."
This from Pitchforkmedia: "Idiot's slicing power chordage reaches to Green Day's old English and Cali punk influences with tingling fingers, adds acoustic instruments without sounding forced or contrived, and lyrically grapples with the cultural predicaments and awkward shittiness of 'subliminal mind-fuck America,' circa 2004: 'Now everybody do the propaganda/ And sing along in the age of paranoia.' Armstrong delivers the title track couplet like a command at the revolution day sock-hop, and its instrumental viciousness is enough to shatter punchbowl glass."
Not my usual listening ambient. Maybe it's just that overwhelming desire to evacuate the world of GW....
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Saturday, October 09, 2004
[259.2] GRAMEX GOES GRAND
People who hunt for classical records and CDs in the London area can hardly fail to know about Gramex, the wonderfully eccentric haunt in Lower Marsh, the market location a stone's throw away from Waterloo Station. Usually stocked with around 5-600 cds, often newly-minted from reviewers and remainders, they have come into a goldmine recently: an 11,000 strong collection. For the first time it has pushed the shop into an alphabetical system. We'll see how long that lasts! There are many treasures to be had at bargain proces. Get down there as soon as you can... Oh, and don't forget Neil's Barrow either...
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
People who hunt for classical records and CDs in the London area can hardly fail to know about Gramex, the wonderfully eccentric haunt in Lower Marsh, the market location a stone's throw away from Waterloo Station. Usually stocked with around 5-600 cds, often newly-minted from reviewers and remainders, they have come into a goldmine recently: an 11,000 strong collection. For the first time it has pushed the shop into an alphabetical system. We'll see how long that lasts! There are many treasures to be had at bargain proces. Get down there as soon as you can... Oh, and don't forget Neil's Barrow either...
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Monday, September 27, 2004
[259.1] LIGETI INSPIRATION
This from Andrew McGregor on the BBC - Classical Review website, concerning Teldec's 'premiere' issue of Gyorgy Ligeti's Cello Concerto:
"The Violin and Cello Concertos have both been recorded several times before, but that doesn't detract from the importance of these versions. Siegfried Palm was the dedicatee of the Cello Concerto, and his unique authority combined with the commitment of the ASKO/Schönberg Ensemble and their director Reinbert de Leeuw (rehearsing and recording in the presence of the composer) makes for a memorable account of this shimmering 60s score.
"A superb recording, and fascinating sounds from a contemporary composer who never sounds quite like anyone else, and also writes good notes about his own music. If only all CDs of contemporary composers were this interesting, and necessary..." More.
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This from Andrew McGregor on the BBC - Classical Review website, concerning Teldec's 'premiere' issue of Gyorgy Ligeti's Cello Concerto:
"The Violin and Cello Concertos have both been recorded several times before, but that doesn't detract from the importance of these versions. Siegfried Palm was the dedicatee of the Cello Concerto, and his unique authority combined with the commitment of the ASKO/Schönberg Ensemble and their director Reinbert de Leeuw (rehearsing and recording in the presence of the composer) makes for a memorable account of this shimmering 60s score.
"A superb recording, and fascinating sounds from a contemporary composer who never sounds quite like anyone else, and also writes good notes about his own music. If only all CDs of contemporary composers were this interesting, and necessary..." More.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
[258.1] ALL RIGHT JACK
Daniel Vincent writes to NFE with the following update:
"The new Onion Jack album has been completed and is awaiting mastering for release in October. I'm very pleased with it as it covers all the ground OJ has visited in the past couple of years (rock, prog, electronic, ambient), whilst at the same time moving us into exciting new territory.
"Also of note is The Brixton Session a set of acoustic songs recorded one afternoon in a studio in... wait for it... Brixton. Four tracks of singer-songwriter acoustic miserablism. Add to that collaborations with various people: The Parallel Rise, Lost Suburbia, History of Guns, to name but a few - things have been quite busy here! Oh, and I'm playing regular gigs in London..."
Definitely worth looking out for. The other relevant sites are: MrsVee (record label) and SouthLondonLive.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Daniel Vincent writes to NFE with the following update:
"The new Onion Jack album has been completed and is awaiting mastering for release in October. I'm very pleased with it as it covers all the ground OJ has visited in the past couple of years (rock, prog, electronic, ambient), whilst at the same time moving us into exciting new territory.
"Also of note is The Brixton Session a set of acoustic songs recorded one afternoon in a studio in... wait for it... Brixton. Four tracks of singer-songwriter acoustic miserablism. Add to that collaborations with various people: The Parallel Rise, Lost Suburbia, History of Guns, to name but a few - things have been quite busy here! Oh, and I'm playing regular gigs in London..."
Definitely worth looking out for. The other relevant sites are: MrsVee (record label) and SouthLondonLive.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Saturday, September 18, 2004
[257.1] HENDRIX IN STOCKHOLM UNEARTHED
Technicians at Sweden's public television have unearthed a complete original recording of a Jimi Hendrix concert in Stockholm from 1969 on a tape long thought to have been destroyed. It comes from a period when the guitarist was at his most innovative. Collaborations with Miles Davis and others at the more avant garde end of the musical spectrum were being mooted.
(c) AP Photos
The unmarked tape was recently found stashed on a shelf deep inside the station's enormous archives during a project to transfer archived material from tape and film to digital, according to SVT spokeswoman Catarina Wilson.
The black-and-white recording from Stockholm's concert hall was ordered to be destroyed by a producer in 1969, a time when it was too expensive to keep all raw footage. Hendrix died the following year.
Wilson said it was likely that one of the state-run network's workers, perhaps a Hendrix fan, stashed it on the shelf, where it sat for 35 years gathering dust.
Part of the 56-minute concert was broadcast on SVT in 1969, before the Jimi Hendrix Experience disbanded, but it has never been shown in its entirety. SVT is determining if it still has the rights to show the entire broadcast of the concert.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Technicians at Sweden's public television have unearthed a complete original recording of a Jimi Hendrix concert in Stockholm from 1969 on a tape long thought to have been destroyed. It comes from a period when the guitarist was at his most innovative. Collaborations with Miles Davis and others at the more avant garde end of the musical spectrum were being mooted.
(c) AP Photos
The unmarked tape was recently found stashed on a shelf deep inside the station's enormous archives during a project to transfer archived material from tape and film to digital, according to SVT spokeswoman Catarina Wilson.
The black-and-white recording from Stockholm's concert hall was ordered to be destroyed by a producer in 1969, a time when it was too expensive to keep all raw footage. Hendrix died the following year.
Wilson said it was likely that one of the state-run network's workers, perhaps a Hendrix fan, stashed it on the shelf, where it sat for 35 years gathering dust.
Part of the 56-minute concert was broadcast on SVT in 1969, before the Jimi Hendrix Experience disbanded, but it has never been shown in its entirety. SVT is determining if it still has the rights to show the entire broadcast of the concert.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Friday, September 17, 2004
[256.1] EARLY MUSIC WEEKEND
The latest Early Music Weekend on the South Bank (it now happens every autumn) offers a wide variety of delights, including music from the Castillian court of 1504 presented, interestingly, by the Italian ensemble Micrologus. There's also the Orlando Consort singing music circa the Toledo Summit of 1502.
Then Schola Antiqua, Ensemble Plus Ultra - the names get more and more PoMo in 'Early' Music! - and His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts (sic) combine for what is being described as "a sumptuous reconstruction of a Mass as it might have been celebrated in the Court of Isabella." So she's have stuck her thumb to her nose as far as Church etiquette was concerned and gone for those heathen instruments, then? We'll never properly know, but it'll be a feast of sound, no doubt. And the event is under the rubric of 'Inventions', after all.
These innovative productions are among the identity trails of new EMW director Tess Knighton, it seems. It's getting better and better.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
The latest Early Music Weekend on the South Bank (it now happens every autumn) offers a wide variety of delights, including music from the Castillian court of 1504 presented, interestingly, by the Italian ensemble Micrologus. There's also the Orlando Consort singing music circa the Toledo Summit of 1502.
Then Schola Antiqua, Ensemble Plus Ultra - the names get more and more PoMo in 'Early' Music! - and His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts (sic) combine for what is being described as "a sumptuous reconstruction of a Mass as it might have been celebrated in the Court of Isabella." So she's have stuck her thumb to her nose as far as Church etiquette was concerned and gone for those heathen instruments, then? We'll never properly know, but it'll be a feast of sound, no doubt. And the event is under the rubric of 'Inventions', after all.
These innovative productions are among the identity trails of new EMW director Tess Knighton, it seems. It's getting better and better.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Thursday, September 16, 2004
[255.1] FREE TRAVIS (NO, NOT THEM)
Now that the Summer is over (sad, but true) the Royal Festival Hall, in the throes of re-development, has re-commenced its 'Commuter Jazz' and lunchtime free concert series.
On 7 October, when I shall unfortunately be ensconced in a work meeting, the innovative British composer, saxophonist, flautist and improviser Theo Travis will be performing at
12:30 pm in the Main Foyer.
He joins forces with arguably the UK's top solo bassist and 'looper' Steve Lawson, "in a duo that performs imaginative and beautiful music - both composed and improvised using looping technology."
Thanks to Henry Potts for drawig my attention to this gig.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Now that the Summer is over (sad, but true) the Royal Festival Hall, in the throes of re-development, has re-commenced its 'Commuter Jazz' and lunchtime free concert series.
On 7 October, when I shall unfortunately be ensconced in a work meeting, the innovative British composer, saxophonist, flautist and improviser Theo Travis will be performing at
12:30 pm in the Main Foyer.
He joins forces with arguably the UK's top solo bassist and 'looper' Steve Lawson, "in a duo that performs imaginative and beautiful music - both composed and improvised using looping technology."
Thanks to Henry Potts for drawig my attention to this gig.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Saturday, September 11, 2004
[254.1] LAST POST FOR THE PROMS?
It's probably churlish, but today is my least favourite day in the annual musical calendar: the occasion when one of the world's greatest music festivals is marred by jingoism and irony-free sentimentality. The Last Night of the Proms. In today's Guardian newspaper critic Andrew Clements gives a pretty fair assessment of the season. Apart from the Boulez and Birtwistle premieres, 2004 has not been a great year for new music. Under Nicholas Kenyon the programming has become more cautious and more predictable.
Next year marks the centenary of the birth of Michael Tippett, one of the great British composers of the twentieth century, and someone who showed how you can honour tradition and blaze a trail for innovation at the same time. Disgracefully, not one of his compositions was on show this year. Hopefully 2005 will see a brighter Proms.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
It's probably churlish, but today is my least favourite day in the annual musical calendar: the occasion when one of the world's greatest music festivals is marred by jingoism and irony-free sentimentality. The Last Night of the Proms. In today's Guardian newspaper critic Andrew Clements gives a pretty fair assessment of the season. Apart from the Boulez and Birtwistle premieres, 2004 has not been a great year for new music. Under Nicholas Kenyon the programming has become more cautious and more predictable.
Next year marks the centenary of the birth of Michael Tippett, one of the great British composers of the twentieth century, and someone who showed how you can honour tradition and blaze a trail for innovation at the same time. Disgracefully, not one of his compositions was on show this year. Hopefully 2005 will see a brighter Proms.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Monday, September 06, 2004
[253.1] BOULEZ AND HOLT
Though I’ve only got to one Prom this year (a superb dramatic reconstruction of Britten’s 'Curlew River'), there are many I would have loved to have attended. The goodies on offer have included last Friday’s Ensemble Intercontemporain performance (under the composer’s baton) of Pierre Boulez’s ‘Sur Incises’.
Scored for trios of pianos, harps and percussion, this piece started life – like much of Boulez’s recent work – as a modest piano solo written a decade ago. It is now well over half-an-hour in length, elaborated to a shimmering exploration in sound. Complex surface textures jostle to introduce underlying themes of bustle and tranquillity as the piece unfolds. One of Boulez’s major inspirations here was Stravinsky’s emblemic ‘Les Noces’.
Tonight it’s the turn of Simon Rattle to unleash the formidable skills of the Berlin Philharmonic in Messiaen’s breathtaking swansong ‘Eclats sur l’au dela’ and Debussy’s richly suggestive ‘La Mer’; two quite different takes on the notion of musical impressionism. I'm also glad to see that, honouring his own Birmingham years, Rattle is taking the Phil back to Symphony Hall as part of their UK tour - for the first time in sixty years, I believe.
Earlier today the enterprising Britten Sinfonia gave the world premiere of Simon Holt’s ‘The Coroner’s Report’ in (of all places) the Lecture Theatre of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Good to see contemporary composition inhabiting – quite literally – historic Britain!
NMC also have a new, second disc out of Holt's compositions: 'Kites', 'Feet of Clay', 'Eco-Pavan', 'Boots of Leath' and 'Lilith'. The Rattle-conducted 'Boots of Lead' disc [NMC094] will be released in October 2004.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Though I’ve only got to one Prom this year (a superb dramatic reconstruction of Britten’s 'Curlew River'), there are many I would have loved to have attended. The goodies on offer have included last Friday’s Ensemble Intercontemporain performance (under the composer’s baton) of Pierre Boulez’s ‘Sur Incises’.
Scored for trios of pianos, harps and percussion, this piece started life – like much of Boulez’s recent work – as a modest piano solo written a decade ago. It is now well over half-an-hour in length, elaborated to a shimmering exploration in sound. Complex surface textures jostle to introduce underlying themes of bustle and tranquillity as the piece unfolds. One of Boulez’s major inspirations here was Stravinsky’s emblemic ‘Les Noces’.
Tonight it’s the turn of Simon Rattle to unleash the formidable skills of the Berlin Philharmonic in Messiaen’s breathtaking swansong ‘Eclats sur l’au dela’ and Debussy’s richly suggestive ‘La Mer’; two quite different takes on the notion of musical impressionism. I'm also glad to see that, honouring his own Birmingham years, Rattle is taking the Phil back to Symphony Hall as part of their UK tour - for the first time in sixty years, I believe.
Earlier today the enterprising Britten Sinfonia gave the world premiere of Simon Holt’s ‘The Coroner’s Report’ in (of all places) the Lecture Theatre of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Good to see contemporary composition inhabiting – quite literally – historic Britain!
NMC also have a new, second disc out of Holt's compositions: 'Kites', 'Feet of Clay', 'Eco-Pavan', 'Boots of Leath' and 'Lilith'. The Rattle-conducted 'Boots of Lead' disc [NMC094] will be released in October 2004.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
Saturday, September 04, 2004
[252.2] SEVERED FROM THE LAND
The latest CD release from Daniel Patrick Quinn, Severed From The Land features voice, synthesizers, cello, violin, trumpet, guitar, bass and percussion in an interesting post-rock melange. You can listen to MP3 clips on the Suilven Records website by following the link to his page. Quinn describes his hard-to-classify sound world as "ambient, folk, semi-jazz, avant, drone minimalism." It has already been commended by luminaries such as Robert Wyatt.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
The latest CD release from Daniel Patrick Quinn, Severed From The Land features voice, synthesizers, cello, violin, trumpet, guitar, bass and percussion in an interesting post-rock melange. You can listen to MP3 clips on the Suilven Records website by following the link to his page. Quinn describes his hard-to-classify sound world as "ambient, folk, semi-jazz, avant, drone minimalism." It has already been commended by luminaries such as Robert Wyatt.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
[252.1] APRES HIATUS
"What happened? You were posting daily until February, and then nothing. I really found your commentary and links stimulating. Come back soon." Many thanks to Dana W. for this enquiring and encouraging message. It started with a couple of technical hitches, and then other aspects of life took over. But NFE is back, and will be updated once or twice a week. Maybe more. We'll see. Meanwhile, much gratitude to those who have written, and apologies for any concomitant delay in correspondence.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
"What happened? You were posting daily until February, and then nothing. I really found your commentary and links stimulating. Come back soon." Many thanks to Dana W. for this enquiring and encouraging message. It started with a couple of technical hitches, and then other aspects of life took over. But NFE is back, and will be updated once or twice a week. Maybe more. We'll see. Meanwhile, much gratitude to those who have written, and apologies for any concomitant delay in correspondence.
Comment on this post: NewFrontEars
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