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January 17, 2007
Orchestral music, blues, opera, electronic, folk, jazz, rock -- it's all here on our list of newly acquired CDs.
Adams, John. Short ride in a fast machine [sound recording] /John Adams Genre ¨Whitman, Walt,1819-1892. Musical settings, Orchestral music, Songs (Medium voice) with orchestra
Raised in Massachusetts and trained as a composer at Harvard, at the age of 24 Adams headed west to San Francisco in order to distance himself from his neo-European upbringing. Shaker Loops, written in the heyday of American minimalism, helped to earn him a place as one of the most famous living composers. It borrows the technique of looping fragments of melody from Steve Reich's early tape experiments, and continues to be one of Adams' most frequently performed works. Also included on this disc is Short Ride in a Fast Machine, four minutes of pure aural adrenaline, and The Wound-Dresser, a pensive adaptation of Walt Whitman's poem about his experiences as a nurse during the civil war. Marin Alsop has been Principle Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra since 2002. She represents the highest level of artistry seen in American conductors, and has recorded several times for Naxos. In 2003, she was named the Gramophone Artist of the year and presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society's conducting award. Marin Alsop has several more recording projects in progress for Naxos, including works by Glass, Weill and Bartók, as well as the complete Brahms Symphony cycle.
Andriessen, Louis. De materie [sound recording] / Louis Andriessen Genre: Operas
"...there's no doubt that De Materie is Andriessen's finest work to date, and one of the most significant scores produced by a European composer in the last 20 years." The Guardian
"...an arresting piece that combines rigorous planning with exuberant, vigorous invention." - The Observer
Antheil, George. Ballet mécanique Genre: Ballets, Suites (String orchestra), Quintets (Bassoon, flute, trombone, trumpet, viola), Concertos (Chamber orchestra) [sound recording] /George Antheil
George Antheil's reputation as the Bad Boy of Music (the title of his fascinating autobiography) was earned largely with his Ballet Mécanique, written to accompany an abstract silent film by the artist Fernand Leger. It was composed for player pianos and percussion, with harsh, driving rhythms, and it caused the kind of riots in Paris that were useful to a composer's reputation. Today, that reputation may keep Antheil from being taken seriously. But when you hear the Ballet (as rescored in 1953 for an early mono recording) today, it's a substantial and exciting piece of music, formally tight and not at all hard on 21st century ears. The remainder of this program shows more of Antheil's range. The Serenade is a lovely piece of Americana, with a particularly touching slow movement. The Symphony and Concert owe much to Stravinsky's "neoclassical" style; both hold up very well. Spalding drives the Ballet hard, and it sounds more frenetic than that old mono recording, but the music can take the heat. This and the remaining performances are splendidly played by the excellent chamber orchestra, and the recording is clear, well-balanced, and realistic in sound. Another Naxos winner. - Leslie Gerber
The Beatles, Love. Genre: Rock music
...Far more than just another Beatles compilation. This is Love, conceived by the Fabs' former producer George Martin and son Giles as a stageshow soundtrack to Cirque de Soleil's Las Vegas spectacular of the same name, but appears to have taken on a life of its own. Whereas the Beatles' last release, 1, delivered the (over?) familiar hits in a nice, simple package, Love is a mélange of the familiar and obscure, all literally mixed together in one 78-minute audio collage which succeeds in reminding the listener just why the Beatles truly are, as Lennon put it, "toppermost of the poppermost." There's no new Beatles material per se, but the songs are all approached differently--some are cut together in a flawlessly mixed medley, some reassemble different backing tracks and vocal performances to create new spins on old classics; but all the songs are revitalized considerably. Even in its weakest moments (which probably work better in the context of the show itself), Love is still a formidable prospect, and one has to admire Martin's willingness to go out on a limb with such a project. - Thom Allott
Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Symphony no. 2 [sound recording] ; Hungarian dances / Brahms, Genre: Symphonies, Orchestral music, Arranged, Dance music
Here, Marin Alsop follows up her successful recording of Brahms's First Symphony with an equally fine Second. The first movement has great warmth but moves ahead with conviction; the second is devoid of any unwanted density of tone; the third has real class, and the final movement is exciting, with dazzling brass. The selection of Hungarian Dances is varied and handsomely performed. At this price, this is a front-runner. - Robert Levine
Cage, John, Indeterminacy [sound recording] : new aspect of form in instrumental and electronic music : ninety stories with music / by John Cage, Genre: Aleatory music;Monologues with music (Musique concrète);Electronic music;Tales;
The idea behind Indeterminacy was, like many Cagean ideas, essentially simple and audaciously original. Cage read 90 stories, his speed determined by the story's length. In another room, beyond earshot of Cage, David Tudor, pianist and veteran Cage collaborator, performed miscellaneous selections from Cage's Concert for Piano and Orchestra and played pre-recorded tape from Cage's Fontana Mix. The resulting collaboration is an astounding piece of "music," and a fine introduction to the innovations of John Cage. "A wonderfully curious way to hear stories." - Stereophile
Chin, Unsuk, 1961-, Akrostichon-Wortspiel [sound recording] / Unsuk Chin,Songs Genre: (High voice) with instrumental ensemble;Quintets (Piano, trombone, trumpet, percussion);Instrumental ensembles;Electronic music;Concertos (Percussion and piano with instrumental ensemble);Live sound recordings;
Chin speaks the language of European avant-garde as to the manner born, but does something with it that sets her apart from her peers, demonstrating absorption of pertinent musical ideas long forgotten or abandoned by most of them. Akrostichon-Wortspiel, sung with uncanny virtuosity by Finnish soprano Piia Komsi, features a vocal line that combines a quirky approach to melody with the verbal concretism associated with Dada and sets it to an appropriately wacky instrumental complement. Chin stated, "my music is a reflection of my dreams," and indeed, Fantaisie mécanique is like a dream about a complex gadget made of innumerable gears and cogs taking itself apart, as in a Quay Brothers animation. Xi is scored for chamber ensemble and electronics, and is scored so lightly that it is impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends. The opening of the Double Concerto contains no electronics, but one would swear that they are there, so diaphanous and elusive is the texture. The tonal language of the Double Concerto is reminiscent of impressionism, and the sound of it, like that of Akrostichon-Wortspiel, is strangely "sexy" in a way that defies explanation.
Unsuk Chin: Akrostichon-Wortspiel is not for those who turn to music to seek repose and relaxation. Yet for those who like a challenge and intellectual stimulation, this is like a seven-course meal. Let us hope this is not the last we will hear from Unsuk Chin. - AllMusic
Glass, Philip, Hydrogen jukebox [sound recording] / music by Philip Glass ; libretto by Allen Ginsberg, Genre: Operas;
Mr. Glass's wispy atmospherics prove so compatible with Mr. Ginsberg's meditative raptures and spicy colloquialisms. The poet plays a more active role here than he did on stage, although the bulk of the poems are still sung by opera singers. - John Rockwell, New York Times 12-19-1993
Hooker, John Lee, The Ultimate collection. Genre: Blues
This 2 CD set represents the best introduction to Hooker's trademark sound: one- and twochord vamps delivered with a hypnotic, perpetual boogie rhythm and accented by reverberating staccato runs and intense foot-stomping. With his deep, rich voice, Hooker electrified the blues of the Delta, bringing the stark, brooding sound to the city and influencing scores of rock musicians. Most of his highlights are here: from early Modern classics "Boogie Chillen," "Crawlin' King Snake," and "House Rent Boogie"; to Vee-Jay singles "Boom Boom" and "Dimples"; to 1966 Chess work with Chicagoans Lafayette Leake and Willie Dixon; to 1971 collaborations with rockers Canned Heat; to performances with modern blues stars Roy Rogers and Bonnie Raitt. - Marc Greilsamer, Amazon
Kline, Phil. Zippo songs [sound recording] :airs of war and lunacy / Phil Kline
The classical recording business still has its problems, and it is anyone's guess how the Sony-BMG merger will affect the industry, but obituaries are still premature. Perhaps more labels are beginning to find virtue in the necessity to live small. For whatever reason, the number of truly excellent CD's seems to have risen over the last year or two. So it is with pleasure that the classical music critics of The NewYork Times here list some of their favorite CD's from 2004.
Theo Bleckmann, vocalist; Phil Kline, guitarist; others (Cantaloupe) From the words American G.I.'s in Vietnam etched on their Zippo lighters, Phil Kline has fashioned brilliant American lieder for the 21st century. Tinged with elements of the psychedelic 60's, as in an elegiac fugue on a Doors song, they communicate with a direct vernacular eloquence. - Anne Midgette, New York Times 12/12/2004
Ligeti, György, 1923-, Works for piano [sound recording] ; Études, Musica ricercata / György Ligeti, Genre: Piano music;
Gyorgy Ligeti Works for Piano, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano (Sony Classical 01 -062308-10) Gyorgy Ligeti has never shied away from old-fashioned beauty and there are some breath-catching moments in this third volume of the new complete edition of his works. The Piano Etudes, among the Hungarian-born composer's most rigorous yet most accessible and affecting works, receive virtuoso performances, devilish, translucent, jazzy, classical, and there's the bonus of the early Musica Ricercata, Ligeti's inventive, Bartokian suite better known in his wind quintet arrangement as Six Bagatelles. Andrew Porter. - The Observer 01-12-1997
Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911, Symphony no. 9 [sound recording] ; Das Lied von der Erde / Mahler,Symphonies; Genre: Song cycles;Songs (High voice) with orchestra;Songs (Medium voice) with orchestra;
[This version of the Malher's ninth is] ...among the finest versions in the catalogue since it first appeared on LP. The presence of Janet Baker, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bernard Haitink, all on top form and matched with a superbly engineered recording, assured that. Even the tenor James King, though here marginally lacking in the characterisation that some of his colleagues bring to this work, is vital, lyrical and distinguished ...This is one of the best recordings of this work... - Tony Duggan, Music Web - Classical Music on the Web
Monk, Meredith, Mercy [sound recording] / Meredith Monk,Vocal Genre: ensembles with instrumental ensemble;Vocal ensembles, Unaccompanied;Vocalises;
Steeped in the medieval religious vocal traditions of Byrd and Lassus and yet as up-to-the-minute as last night's loft performance, "Mercy" is a tour de force for avant-garde composer-singer-choreographer-filmmaker Meredith Monk.
Created to be performed as part of a collaboration with sculptor Ann Hamilton, "Mercy" is an extended meditation on the human capacity for compassion, focused on that most human of instruments, the voice.
Ranging from fairly conventional-sounding multipart compositions to agitated wordless vocals accompanied by piano, mallet instruments or clarinets, "Mercy" isn't always an easy listen. But it's provocative, fresh and thoroughly inspired. (Tomorrow's show at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, has been canceled.) - Kevin R. Convey, Boston Herald 11/08/2002
Mountain music of Kentucky [sound recording], Genre: Folk songs, English -- Kentucky;Folk music -- Kentucky;Hymns, English -- Kentucky;Appalachians (People) -- Kentucky -- Music
Originally issued as a single LP in 1960, Mountain Music of Kentucky was praised as "the greatest Kentucky record ever issed and one of the greatest records in the entire literature of American folk song" (San Francisco Chronicle 1960). This much expanded compilation features some of the outstanding traditional musicians of the twentieth century with two full hours of performances (60 minutes previously unreleased), new notes, and many photographs by John Cohen. One of the greatest records in the entire literature of American folk song. - San Francisco Chronicle
Murail, Tristan, Gondwana [sound recording] ; Désintégrations ; Time and again / Tristan Murail,Orchestral music;Instrumental ensembles;Electronic music;
The locus classicus of early spectral music, Gondwana is the most expansive and dramatic of Murail's earlier works, and the one in which the theoretical and the musical are most successfully balanced. The originality of Murail's musical approach is everywhere apparent, couched in a sequence of saturated harmonies which sometimes achieve a positively Messiaenic luxuriance. The work's opening few minutes, in which a single chord is gradually transformed and ultimately dissolved into a flurry of trills is a good example of Murail's spectral technique, both in the strange initial harmony (a complex, bell-like sonority generated using the studio technique of frequency modulation) and in the way Murail shapes his music in long, seamlessly evolving paragraphs - an apt musical parallel to the massive geological processes which led to the formation of the ancient super-continent of Gondwana evoked by the work's title.
Composed after an extended stint in the basement at IRCAM, the futuristic-sounding Désintégrations is one of Murail's most important works of the 1980s, and a good example of his attempts to achieve a convincing union between electronic tape and live instruments. Before composing the work, Murail made detailed analyses of the timbres of various instruments, and these acoustic deconstructions - the "disintegrations" of the title - provide the harmonic foundations for both the tape and instrumental music, with its characteristically rich palette of surreal sonorities. - Composition Today
Oliveros, Pauline, Deep listening [sound recording] / Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Panaiotis., Genre: Improvisation (Music);
One of New Music's most fascinating achievements has been the importation of music performance to physical places where performance hasn't yet happened. Iannis Xenakis, for example, scripted large works for musicians spread throughout an audience. Trombonist Stuart Dempster and accordionist Pauline Oliveros ventured into unexplored territory more definitively with Deep Listening, a CD that took them into the massive, 14-foot deep Fort Worden Cistern to record their performance. As a concept, deep listening involves vastly elongated tonalities that draw cavernous echoes into the music. Dempster's trombone sails like the largest hull tanker to make music, and Oliveros's accordion plays magical tones that barely seem from the real world. Panaiotis, who performed as the third member of the Deep Listening Band after this CD, provides stretched voice, whistling, and found sounds. Meditative with all the urgency of avant-garde music, Deep Listening is an entrancing, seamless wonder. - Andrew Bartlett
Palestine, Charlemagne, Strumming music [sound recording] / Charlemagne Palestine, Genre: Piano music;Minimal music;
Palestine's Strumming Music (1974) remains his best-known work. It features over forty-five minutes of Palestine forcefully playing two notes in rapid alternation, which slowly expand into clusters. He performed this on a nine-foot Bösendorfer grand piano with the sustain pedal depressed for the entire length of the work. As the music swells (and the piano gradually detunes), the harmonics build and the listener can hear a variety of timbres rarely produced by the piano. Strumming Music was also Palestine's first CD, released in 1991. Since then, several additional recordings (featuring Palestine on piano, organ, harmonium, and voice) from the 1970s-including new recordings of more recent works such as Schlingen-Blängen have become available. Palestine's performance style is ritualistic: he generally surrounds himself (and his piano) with stuffed animals, smokes large numbers of kretek (Indonesian clove cigarettes) and drinks cognac. - Wikipedia
Reich, Steve, 1936-, [sound recording], Genre: Piano music (Pianos (6));Electronic music;Electronic and violin music;Instrumental ensembles;Percussion ensembles;
The Kitchen, an interdisciplinary organization known for its commitment to experimental work has an archive of audio and video recordings that cover its three decade existence. Orange Mountain Music in collaboration with The Kitchen s curators have found several wonderful recordings and among them are these made by Steve Reich & Musicians, Live 1977.
Riley, Terry, 1935-, In C [sound recording] / Terry Riley, Genre: Aleatory music
Sometimes simplicity is the mother of invention, and with In C, Terry Riley composed nothing short of a classic. A cornerstone of minimalism, Riley's 1964 composition is little more than a loose guideline for musicians. Driven by the repeated pulses of even octave eighth notes played on the top two C keys of the piano, each member of the ensemble runs through 53 simple phrases at a self-determined pace. Gradually, swarms of instruments find themselves playing in unison, always to be overtaken by the perfect pacing of the pulsing piano. The entire composition gradually moves from C to E to C to G and, when performed correctly, the effect is otherworldly.
This recording from 1968 features Riley himself on saxophone and a small ensemble of musicians from the New Music Center in Buffalo, New York. Overdubs were employed to keep the flow going and the effect of all this repetition is nothing short of mesmerizing, albeit slightly clinical. An even jazzier recording of this composition exists, the 25th Anniversary Concert on New Albion. On that live recording, a larger ensemble of jazz and classical's elite (including members of Kronos and Rova) invigorate In C with a full sound and plenty of gusto. - Jason Verlinde
Riley, Terry, 1935-, Shri camel [sound recording] / Terry Riley, Genre: Electronic organ music
Riley is one of the founders of Minimalism. His music tends to be for soloist (usually himself) playing a barrage of electronic instruments. The works on this disc hail from the mid-seventies, when Riley began to dabble with Eastern modalities, mostly Indian ragas that strive for swara, a transcendental state reached through perfect pitch. Along the way, notes will clash and (to our ears) sound like performance mistakes. These are the product of Riley's overlapping Eastern modalities with Western modalities, often in the same measure. Riley travels farther afield in his music than other Minimalists do, but it's worth the journey. - Paul Cook
Saariaho, Kaija, Private gardens [sound recording] / Kaija Saariaho, Genre: Songs (High voice) with electronics;Electronic and violoncello music;Flute and electronic music;Electronic and percussion music;Gardens -- Japan -- Songs and music; Camilla Hoitenga (flute) Florent Jodelet (percussion) Anssi Karttunen (cello) Dawn Upshaw (soprano)
SAARIAHO (b1952) is, with Magnus Lindberg, the most prominent Finnish composer of her generation, an exponent of refined electro acoustic tone-painting, four examples of which are recorded here. Lonh (1996), for soprano and electronics, is a complex treatment of a medieval French poem about impossibly distant love. The solo part has a soaring, crystalline quality (Upshaw is superb), recalling Sibelius's use of high soprano in his tone poem Luonnotar.
Pres (1992), for cello and electronics, is a three- movement concerto derived from Saariaho's work Amers and shows that refinement of style does not preclude harsh or edgy utterance. NoaNoa (1992) is an interesting flute and electronics piece about Gauguin in Tahiti. Six Japanese Gardens (1995), for percussion and electronics, portrays specific gardens and is marvellously evocative, too. - Paul Driver, Sunday Times 8/16/1998
Scelsi, Giacinto, 1905-1988, Natura renovatur [sound recording] / Giacinto Scelsi, Genre: String ensembles;Violoncello music;Violoncello music, Arranged;
Giacinto Scelsi (1906-1988) was born into an aristocratic Italian family, whose wealth allowed him to pursue and develop his musical proclivities without material constraints. His early works were influenced by Berg and Stravinsky, among others, but after suffering a mental and creative crisis during the 1950s, he discarded Western tradition and withdrew into outer and inner seclusion. Through travel and reading, he discovered Buddhism and Sanskrit; transformed by their spirituality, he conceived a new kind of music. This recording features six works dating from 1956 to 1970. Fascinated with pure sound, Scelsi spoke of "the inner life of tones," and a "third dimension" beyond pitch and rhythm. Regarding himself not as a composer or creator, but as an emissary passing on what he received in a state of meditation and oblivion, he turned to improvising: first on the piano, then on the ondiola, an electronic melody instrument which can sustain, change, increase, and decrease sound. He stopped writing down his improvisations, instead recording them on tape to be transcribed later. This terribly difficult task fell primarily to the composer Vieri Tosatti and the cellist Frances-Marie Uitti, one of Scelsi's foremost champions. On this disc, Uitti, originator of an innovative technique of playing with two bows, gives an astonishing performance of three unaccompanied pieces, one dedicated to her. The other pieces are arranged for 11 or 16 string instruments, a natural medium offering maximum sonic flexibility and timbral diversity. The music is indeed sheer sound, sustained and static, without form, phrasing, articulation, or counterpoint. Variety is produced through sometimes extreme changes of dynamics, registers and textures, micro-pitches, and sound effects from whispers to screeches. The effect is certainly singular as well as mesmerizing. - Edith Eisler
The Silk Road [sound recording] : a musical caravan,Music -- Genre: Silk Road;Music -- Asia;Music -- Eurasia;
"What if Marco Polo had owned tape recorder?" This intriguing concept is raised in the liner notes to this impressive two-CD set, which wanders along ancient Asian trade routes known as the Silk Road. The first disc, Masters & Traditions, deals with formal styles performed by and for sophisticated connoisseurs. Meanwhile, the music on Minstrels and Lovers is played by amateurs who are part of daily life and thus reach a wider audience. The imaginary caravan passes through Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Afghanistan, encountering nomads, mystics, and bards along the way. The instruments are scratchy, pungent, and/or serene, while the singers weave a potent spell out of a millennium's worth of slow-changing rural and urban vistas. In the opening essay, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the project's artistic director, pleads for intercultural communication and empathy. This compilation provides an exotic, brave, entertaining first step in that direction. - Christina Roden
Simone, Nina. The Essential Nina Simone. Genre: Jazz
Like Etta James, Nina Simone has often been larger than her material, and that's the case on much of this CD, selected from her recordings for RCA Victor in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Powerful and deeply personal songs, such as "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," "Sunday in Savannah," and the spirited, earthy "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," are mixed in with ephemeral songs by the Bee Gees' Gibb brothers. At other times, however, Simone's gospel-strong voice and emotional reserves are well suited to the superior rock and pop material, such pieces as Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and Randy Newman's understated "I Think It's Going To Rain Today." While the Simone signature piano frequently gives way to folk guitar and studio orchestrations, the apparent conflict between singer and material may sometimes heighten these performances, emphasizing and isolating Simone's passionate, enduring vocals. In the case of songs like Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," the singer has simply proven herself more durable than the songs. - Stuart Broomer, Amazon
Sunn O))) (Musical group) White2 [sound recording], Genre: Rock music -- 2001-2010;
Dronier and more ambient than the band's previous recordings, including White1, White2 is more challenging as well. The opening track is simpler, vintage stuff: a massive wash of guitar riffing, really a single riff slowly taken part and put back together over the course of fourteen minutes. This is like watching waves crash against rocks in slow motion: there's a sense of movement and development, but it's almost as if that development is taking place on a grander time scale than we are able to grasp. Truly epic; for some, perhaps truly boring; for me, enveloping and cleansing, the sound of tectonic plates colliding. But "bassAliens" is something entirely different: a droney, tripped-out, spacy freakout featuring distant, tolling guitars, various bumps and scrapes, field recordings, and odd, vaguely sinister electronic noises. This is not a loud track by any stretch of the imagination, but if you have a good stereo, the tones that will emanate from your speakers are bone-shaking. The ominous ambience is undeniable; whether or not mere ambience, in the absence of any semblance of traditional musical elements, will be enough to entertain most listeners over the course of 20+ minutes is up in the air. For myself, if I'm not in the right mood, it's too much. - Brandon Wu, Ground and Sky Review
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich, 1840-1893, Symphonie no. 6 op. 74 [sound recording] / Tchaikovsky, Genre: Symphonies;
[The release of these older recordings] ...made me hear overfamiliar works in a radically different way, as if for the first time. Such was the case with Yevgeny Mravinsky's eminently sane, almost cool, yet remarkably powerful versions of Tchaikovsky's Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies with the Leningrad Philharmonic from 1956, first encountered in a 70's reissue. - James R. Oesterich, New York Times 9/1/1996
Varèse, Edgard, 1883-1965, Ionisation [sound recording] ; Amériques ; Density 21.5 ; Offrandes ; Arcana ; Octandre ; Intégrales /Edgar Varèse. Genre: Percussion ensembles, Orchestral music, Flute music, Songs (High voice) with chamber orchestra, Octets (Bassoon, clarinet, flute, horn, oboe, trombone, trumpet, double bass), Instrumental ensembles
This disc doesn't contain all of Varese's music, but it comes close at 77 minutes. Varese was not nearly as prolific as he was creative! The first recorded Varese I heard was on the VoxBox (called "Ionisation"), and five of the pieces found here are also on that disk, conducted by Cerha. What a contrast! Cerha presents Varese delicately, transparently, without passion. The advantage is that the instruments are clearly delineated. But you are left wondering what the fuss is about -- it doesn't sound very radical. Boulez emphatically captures the chaos, the energy, the alien-ness of Varese! Of course the overall impact is heightened by the inclusion of "Ameriques" and "Arcana," two 20-minute pieces for full orchestra that are bigger and louder than anything included on the VoxBox. The production value is superb -- sharp and clear -- and the packaging is faultless as well. In short, if you only had one recording by Varese, this would be an excellent choice. If you like this, by all means look for Xenakis' "Orchestral Works and Chamber Music" on Col Legno. Varese is a key influence, especially the composition "Arcana"! - R. Hutchinson, Amazon.com
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