Recently, the question was posed on a popular online music discussion forum: “What are your eight favorite chamber works?” My answer was that I could easily answer the query using only works by Johannes Brahms. Brahms was a master of chamber music and wrote more than one work in all of the traditional forms: instrumental … Continue reading Brahms violin sonatas receive fine performances in new recording : Tetzlaff & Vogt
Haydn: Sonata ‘Un piccolo divertimento’
“Haydn’s piano music is often complicated and formally wayward: its beauties do not, on the whole, lie on the surface. It is music whose appeal is primarily intellectual, requiring both thought and explanation.” (H.C. Robbins Landon) Haydn composed the Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 in Vienna in 1793 for the talented pianist Barbara (‘Babette’) von Ployer, … Continue reading Haydn: Sonata ‘Un piccolo divertimento’
Guillaume Du Fay: The Tenor Masses (Les messes à teneur)
What did it mean for Guillaume Du Fay (ca. 1397-1474), chameleon-like expert in every musical genre of his day, to compose four settings of the Mass Ordinary toward the end of his life? Looking back from the vantage point of the next generation, when the polyphonic mass reigned supreme, it might be tempting to interpret … Continue reading Guillaume Du Fay: The Tenor Masses (Les messes à teneur)
American Roots Music : Three Bands/Artists
American Roots Music, is what I am calling what the three artists make whom I will highlight today. I took the classification from American Roots Music, a 2001 multi-part documentary film that explores the historical roots of American Roots music which, in the PBS film, includes Folk, Country, Blues, Gospel, and Bluegrass. Common elements are … Continue reading American Roots Music : Three Bands/Artists
New from Hyperion : Machaut and Conductus
A couple of recent and noteworthy recordings from Hyperion: more Machaut by The Orlando Consort, and the final installment from John Potter, Christopher O’Gorman and Rogers Covey-Crump, of the Conductus genre, the first experiments towards polyphony—the kind of sound we associate with Pérotin. A Burning Heart, Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-1377) Formed in 1988 by the … Continue reading New from Hyperion : Machaut and Conductus
Robert Glasper : Taking Jazz to New Audiences
Hailing from Houston, Texas, Robert Glasper is a jazz pianist with a knack for mellow, harmonically complex compositions that also reveal a subtle hip-hop influence. Inspired to play piano by his mother, a gospel pianist and vocalist, Glasper attended Houston's High School for the Performing Arts. After graduation, he studied music at the New School … Continue reading Robert Glasper : Taking Jazz to New Audiences
Sara Carter, The Carter Family and “New Old Timey” Music
Today marks the birthday of Sara Carter, one of the original members of The Carter Family. She was A.P. Carter's wife and the main singer for the group. Marital problems forced the group to end their performing career, however not before they left an amazing amount of great music. The Carter Family is considered one … Continue reading Sara Carter, The Carter Family and “New Old Timey” Music
Ralph Stanley : February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016
The worlds of bluegrass, country and roots music lost one of its patriarchs this week: Ralph Stanley died in his sleep at age 89 Thursday night. Among other things, Stanley was a master of a style of banjo playing which came to be called the "Stanley style", which differed from both the Scruggs style or strict claw-hammer … Continue reading Ralph Stanley : February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016
Kris Kristofferson Turns 80 This Week
Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson are the two remaining Highwaymen, with Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings both gone. Kris Kristofferson turned 80 yesterday and Willie is three years older. Recently in this blog I posted about Merle Haggard on his 79th birthday just before learning of his death two hours later that same day. Also, we … Continue reading Kris Kristofferson Turns 80 This Week
Philippe de Vitry : Early Music Innovator
Philippe de Vitry was a renowned poet, music theorist, composer, diplomat, and bishop. Along with Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377), he is emblematic of the French fourteenth century—a pivotal era in the history of Western music and poetry, and one in which he flourished as an influential public intellectual and early humanist. But while Machaut … Continue reading Philippe de Vitry : Early Music Innovator
Musica Kaleidoskopea 