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Not all together, (though that would be interesting) but two distinct concerts tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
First, the Art Of Time'sToronto Songbook, a concert that featured Sarah Slean singing music from (mostly) Toronto-based songwriters, including Mary-Margaret O'Hara, Ron Sexsmith, Hawksley Workman and others. Though doesn't Hawksley Workman live in some cabin in the woods or something now? Or maybe that was a couple of years ago...anyway, the Toronto thing is an aside, really, as the real point is that the concert features some excellent songs by Canadians. They're also arranged by some great (mostly) Canadian musicians too, including Aaron Davis, Phil Dwyer, Roberto Occhipinti, and Gavin Bryars and others.
And then it's Great Lake Swimmers, with a concert that concluded their cross-country tour in support of their latest CD, Ongiara. Special guests Bob Egan on pedal steel and guitar, Owen Pallett on violin, and Basia Bulat. And yes, also available online vie CODs, at Concerts On Demand: Great Lake Swimmers. That's GLS in the church, by the way.
Two very different pianists, right? But you can hear both tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.).
Omar Sosa is one of the many jazz musicians these days developing a different kind of jazz -- one where elements of the performer's own cultural background (in his case Cuban) are fused with jazz in a way that is more integrated, less self conscious than some of the music in this vein from previous eras. (In Sosa's case also not what you would consider Latin jazz.) If you're interested in this direction in jazz, you may want to read Nate Chinen's recent piece in the NYTimes, A Hybridist Jamming With the World.
And then Gene DiNovi, who for many years graced Toronto's classiest piano bars, when there were such things. The live set you'll hear tonight was recorded at a jazz club though, the (now defunct) Montreal Bistro in 1993.
Do you have a story about how Beethoven's work has touched your life? As part of the Beethoven broadcasts running from now until April 13th, Eric Friesen will be reading your anecdotes about Beethoven on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.). You can send in your Beethoven story here.
Meantime, you may also want to listen to some of the CBC host anecdotes about how Beethoven has affected them -- Howard Dyck, for example, talks about conducting Beethoven...in Mandarin. Here are all of the CBC host anecdotes about Beethoven posted to date.
Just a quick note to say that this afternoon Laurie Brown is guest hosting for Jian Ghomeshi at R1's "Q," the arts and entertainment afternoon show.
Now, you may have heard that hockey playing, Rheostatics playing, book writing guy Dave Bidini would be sitting in sitting in for Laurie on The Signal (10 p.m.) tonight, but due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, he can't make it tonight, but should be in the guest host chair the rest of the week.
As promised, here is the link to get your daily Beethoven podcast featuring Bill Richardson, host of Sunday Afternoon in Concert talking with Bramwell Tovey, Conductor and Music Director for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra about the importance of Beethoven's nine symphonies.
This limited run daily podcast coincides with the Beethoven "Nine In 9" fest on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), and all-day broadcast of Beethoven’s Symphonies on Sunday April 13 -- on CBC Radio2.
Play ball! No, wait, that's another opening day. Today, Monday March 31, is the first day of the CBC Radio 2, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra celebration of Beethoven's symphonies.
A Beethoven symphony a day is how it works, culminating with 9 In 9 on Sunday, April 13th, when all nine symphonies will be presented in nine hours, hosted by Bill Richardson. (I wonder if anyone will be keeping count of how many times Bill says the word "Beethoven?" Could be some kind of record.) On that day, the symphonies will be presented in order, each set up by conversation between Bill Richardson and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conductor Bramwell Tovey.
The first broadcast is today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.).
You'll also be able to listen to some related, Beethoven podcast material, featuring Bill Richardson and VSO Maestro Bramwell Tovey in conversation. The podcast will be available shortly -- and as soon as it is, I will post a link. For more info about the entire extravaganza, please go to Beethoven's Greatest Hits.
Meantime, here's this week's schedule on Studio Sparks:
There was much buzz about the WSO New Music Festival, and taking part in that buzz was weekend Signal host Pat Carrabré, who was on stage hosting for some of the event. Tonight on the show he plays some highlights from this year's festival, including music from Nicole Lizée, Glenn Buhr, Jesse Zubot and others.
And if it's Sunday there must be Soundtracks -- thus the new tradition, (if a tradition can said to be new) on The Signal (10 p.m.) called Soundtrack Sunday. Tonight Pat plays some music from the Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou, some Final Fantasy and music by Michael Nyman. Now Pat, you wouldn't play the track from O Brother with those little girls singing, would you? No, you wouldn't. Phew.
In Ashcroft, British Columbia one legacy of its gold rush past is the 19th century Ashcroft Opera House, which has recently been resurrected. As the folks who run it now say, "it's once again becoming known as the cultural oasis of the Caribou just as it was over 100 years ago."
Tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear a concert from the re-opened Ashcroft Opera House, a decidedly non-operatic programme called "Guitar Women" featuring Sue Foley, Ellen McIlwaine, Rachelle Van Zanten and Roxanne Potvin. And following that, a slide guitar extravaganza from Doug Cox, Steve Dawson and Ivan Rosenberg. Those are the guys in the picture. I don't know what the story is with that rug though. But back to the music -- this concert is available online, at Concerts On Demand: New Voices in Slide Guitar
Kiss me, make me drunk with your kisses! Your sweet loving is better than wine.
- Song of Songs
The sensuous love poetry of the Song Of Songs has inspired glorious music by composers of the baroque era and beyond, and today on Sunday Afternoon In Concert members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir (with special guests) explore the ancient Hebrew poem in a concert titled In The Garden Of Delights.
You'll hear music by Buxtehude, Monteverdi, Vitali, Purcell, Schütz, J.C.F. Bach, J.S. Bach and Healey Willan, traditional Arabic and Hebrew music, and a new commission by Toronto composer Christos Hatzis.
What a lovely idea! And the person responsible for this lovely idea, bassist Alison Mackay, will join Bill Richardson on the programme today as well.
In the shortlist of instruments which tend to be, how shall I put it, the stuff of good humoured jesting, the bagpipe rates high. There are even websites devoted to poking fun at the poor pipes.
We can only pity people who adopt this attitude, as pipe music can be an absolutely beautiful thing, as well as a rather intense thing. And as Karl Turner points out in his documentary airing this week on Inside The Music, there have been some rather famous players of the pipes -- contrary to popular belief, Nero didn’t play the violin, he played the bagpipes. (Somehow, "he piped while Rome burned" just doesn't have the same ring though.)
Anyway, Turner's documentary, A Glorious Racket, explores the revered and reviled instrument which is now more than five thousand years old. He looks at the rise, the fall, and the revival of the instrument, and interviews include Paddy Moloney, the leader of The Chieftains.
Today on In The Key Of Charles Gregory lights a fire, musically speaking, exploring music connected in some way to fire. Hmm, Stravinsky's Firebird, I bet. Arcade Fire? Cash with Ring Of Fire?
I'm not sure, since the complete playlist isn't yet available. (Don't worry, it will be!) Though you know that it would be untrue if I claimed no knowledge at all -- and yes, I do know he's playing some Stravinsky and Arcade Fire, so I'm making an educated guess on the Stravinsky front. (Where there's smoke, after all.) Anyway, there sure is no shortage of fire related songs, band names and puns to spark ideas and music for a fire programme from Gregory.
Your Choral Concert Bulletin: This Sunday you can hear a broadcast of the world premiere of Sir John Tavener’s new Requiem. The concert, which celebrates Liverpool, (this year’s "Cultural Capital of Europe") also includes excerpts from Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil. Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.
You may be interested to read the review in The Independent about this new Tavener work.
One excerpt: "The Requiem, from its ghostly opening, stratospherically high on the cello, to its ethereal ending, shows Tavener's gift for conjuring massive, if skeletal, architectural spans of music from modest material, relying on ritualistic development to substantiate wraiths of sound."
There are some band/artist names that for some reason stick in your mind (or at least my mind). Names I'm fond of thinking about, from time to time, like Sheep Look Up, for example, or The Bad Plus, or Prince Nifty. You can't hear the first two tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), but you can hear the latest from third, when Pat samples new music from Toronto based performance/sound artist Prince Nifty. Dunno why I like the name, I just do. Maybe because it's kind of nifty.
Also on the show tonight, a concert performance by one of LA’s top improvisers; trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, with Toronto's own talented improvising saxophonist David Mott.
I'm listening to Jill Barber (pictured here) as I'm writing this. She's been described as "delightful, distinctive, bravely unclassifiable, sexy and vulnerable" by the Toronto Star -- not sure about the unclassifiable part, but I'd go with the rest.
Barber, who you can hear tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), and also online at Concerts On Demand: Jill Barber With Symphony Nova Scotia is a two-time East Coast Music Award Winner, two-time Juno nominee, and this was her debut performance with a symphony orchestra.
Before singing some originals, she tackles La Vie En Rose, and though I admit I had my doubts at first, as it went along, I was quite drawn in. She reminds me (and countless others no doubt) a little bit of Mary Margaret O'Hara, and that ain't a bad thing.
The second concert on the show is from the third annual In The Dead Of Winter Festival in Halifax. It's a Halifax-based, mostly-acoustic music festival that that takes place in the cold, dark days of February, and their intent is in part to provide opportunities for artists who haven't yet performed their music to a wider audience.
Tonight you can hear some of the singer-songwriter highlights, including Eric Costello, Heather Kelday and Kev Corbett.
Some funny kind of coincidence, or is there a similar creative spark fueling some of R2's producers and hosts this weekend?
Tomorrow on In The Key Of Charles, (Sunday 10:00 a.m. on R2, 9:00 a.m./10 a.m. Atlantic on R1) Gregory Charles' theme is fire-related; today on Tonic (6 p.m.) Tim features “fire” tunes, along with music from Andrew Glover, Dianne Schuur and Metalwood.
And speaking of fire...yes, I know I've put this up before, but it's SO great, and blogs being what they are, it's easy to miss posts... so once again, here's Leonard Cohen with Sonny Rollins doing whatever the tenor sax equivalent of shattering glasses is, on Cohen's Who By Fire.
Sonny Rollins, just incredible.
By the way, if you want to see any of the videos that have been posted on the blog, please go to Radio2Tube.
I suspect that some weekend blog readers do not read the weekday edition, so I wanted to re-post this update on the state of Concerts On Demand (COD).
CBC Radio 2's online and ever-growing concert library is now running its new and improved version, what mastermind Peter Cook calls "COD 2.0." It slices, it dices! Or at least it makes it much easier to find concerts by using the keyword filter (searching by artist last name, group or event name). Plus, those of you into "social networking" can easily link to concerts from your Facebook, MySpace etc. accounts. (Those of you into anti-social networking, you're on your own. Heh.) There are other nifty features too, and more to come.
P.S. Yes, I know, you eagle-eyed ichthyologists, that's not a Cod in that photo, it's apparently a Yellowtail Snapper. (But why, you may ask, is that woman pretending to play French Horn with the fishes? The answer is this. Because she was at the Underwater Music Festival in the Florida Keys.)
It's been 23 years since the Met has produced Giuseppe Verdi's opera Ernani, and you can hear it today on SATO. It features some debut Met performances -- Elvira is sung by American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, Sicilian tenor Marcello Giordani sings the title role of the bandit Ernani, baritone Thomas Hampson is Don Carlo, Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto sings Don Ruy Gomez de Silva. The production is led by the Italian conductor Roberto Abbado.
Intermission content will feature, yup, you guessed it, the ever popular Opera Quiz, in this instance hosted by four-time Tony Award-winning actress Zoe Caldwell, who will be appearing in the new production of La Fille du Régiment in April. As well, Met General Manager Peter Gelb will join host Margaret Juntwait in the broadcast booth to talk about the upcoming 2008-09 season at the Met.
Preceding and following the Met performance, SATO host Bill Richardson will speak to Sondra Radvanovsky, who makes her home in Canada these days. (And is yet another singer in a Met production who was stricken by the flu -- though fortunately in her case she overcame it to perform on opening night.)
"The Met's revival is a step up for the evening's Elvira, Sondra Radvanovsky," said the New York Times after opening night. "Hers could well be a major career. She sang with a viral infection, rendering her usually potent soprano occasionally brittle and underpowered. But the important qualities came through: intense and convincing involvement, statuesque presence and sound musicianship."
Please continue reading for complete cast info and the plot synopsis:
No, that's not the kind of woodsman Stuart McLean wants to be. (And who would, come to think of it.) But Stuart has always hankered after being the kind of woodsman who knows which plants are edible, how to make a fire by rubbing a pine needle against a blade of grass, that sort of thing. But, like so many of us woods-people wannabes, he has never acquired the know how.
Nonetheless, Stuart has other gifts, skills he says make him an urban woodsman -- and that you can hear all about on Saturday's broadcast of The Vinyl Café.
I can't think of another musician who has polarized audiences in recent years in exactly the way Joanna Newsom has. People don't seem to 'kind of like' Newsom, or think, 'ho hum, I can take her or leave her.' No, it's more of a love or hate thing. Why? Because of her highly unusual voice, and her highly unusual long, multi-verse story songs.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), Pat explores some of her music...and presumably weighs in on the Newsom divide.
Also on tonight's show, a mostly acoustic concert from Malajube.
Pop/electronica group The Hermit from Vancouver played the newly re-furbished Biltmore Cabaret in their hometown not long ago, and Canada Live (8 p.m.) was there to record -- you can hear that show tonight. So, what's the music like, you may ask? I'll let the critics weigh in:
"Music so damn smooth it's like butter for your ears"
- Edmonton Vue Weekly
"fuller, bluesier (in a Pink Floyd way) and more seductive than before"
- The Province
"lush textures... cool, laid back appeal"
- popjournalism.com
"subtly beautiful and melodic"
- about.com
Second up on the show, the "emotionally complex folk music" of Corbin Murdoch And The Nautical Miles. And while in the press plugging mode -- here's what one writer said about Murdoch:
"His voice like that of a young Ian Tyson, Murdoch is a fine writer. 'Marcos' Encounter With a Grizzly Bear' is probably the only roots tune to ponder the existential underpinnings of meeting wildlife. The band slays."
-Stuart Derdeyn
I've always liked Cannonball Adderley, his eloquent solos, that soulful way he had about him. And the name, Cannonball, which reportedly was because he had a big appetite as a kid (and as a man, judging from pictures), resulting in the nickname "Cannibal," which devolved to "Cannonball."
So nice work on the Tonic (6 p.m.) front that tonight they have something of tribute to the alto sax player, with music from Campbell Ryga, Terence Blanchard, and Nancy Wilson.
On the non-Adderley front, you can also hear music from Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Marcos Valle, vocalist Sabrina Malheiros and the Alberta group Bomba, plus, neo-soul from the Platinum Pied Pipers.
I thought you might look twice at that. The Platinum Pied Pipers are a hip hop/soul/R&B duo, who among other things do a cover of Paul Simon's Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover.
Earth Hour, as you most likely have heard by now, is a movement intended to have an impact on climate change by saving energy, throughy having everyone -- meaning you and I -- turn off our lights Saturday night at 8 p.m. I keep hearing contradictory things about whether or not such a gesture is actually effective, (plenty of cynics say it's a sham), but according to the World Wildlife Fund (as quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald), when the event happened for the first time in Sydney last year it shaved 10.2 per cent off the city's energy consumption for the hour.
So lights off at 8 p.m. Not a problem, you may be thinking, hey the TV isn't a light, nor is the DVD player or the stereo, and of course, there's always the the computer by candlelight, a nice kind of steam punk touch.
But isn't that cheating? Not according to the rules of this game -- where it's just lights. I bet the event would be a much harder sell if it was entertainment devices. Turn off your lights, sure. Turn off your entertainment on a Saturday night? Well, that's another matter.
But the best thing, of course, would be if the lights and the other electricity consuming devices were turned off in favor of live music. And I'm happy to report there are indications of a trend in that direction.
What do Tim Tamashiro, Judy Maddren, Pat Carrebré, Howard Dyck and Marcia Williams have in common? Well yes, they're all CBC "personalities," as they sometimes say. But the other thing they have in common is that they all share anecdotes about Beethoven as part of a CBC R2 online feature called Beethoven's Greatest Hits.
This is in anticipation of the upcoming Beethoven Fest, which begins Monday, when CBC R2 and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra celebrate the symphonies of Beethoven by broadcasting a symphony a day on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) Studio Sparks.
There will also be podcasting featuring SATO/SAIC host Bill Richardson in conversation with VSO Music Director Bramwell Tovey at his piano. And on Sunday April 13th, Bill and Maestro Tovey will host a Beethoven marathon -- all nine Symphonies back to back starting at 9:00 AM and ending at 6:00 PM. For the blow by blow details, have a look at the schedule.
You may have heard the news that the CBC Radio Orchestra will play its final concert in November.
The orchestra has a long and venerable history, and it's without question sad news. The reasons -- financial -- for the decision to disband the ensemble are outlined at CBC news. Please see CBC Radio Orchestra To Disband After 70 Years for more information.
You may have heard on air that CBC Radio 2 and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra are gearing up to celebrate Beethoven's nine symphonies by broadcasting a symphony a day starting on March 31st on Studio Sparks. And that's Monday, yikes. (How did it get to already be almost April so soon?) Anyway, Eric is off preparing to be on the Beethoven beat, so Katherine Duncan is guest hosting Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) today.
A couple of highlights that Katherine will present are Bruch's Scottish Fantasy with James Ehnes and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mario Bernardi, and Karina Gauvin singing Mozart's Exultate Jubilate with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra led by Peter Oundjian.
This is quite interesting -- music by Brian Harnetty based on traditional field recordings from Appalachia. He's taken old radio programs and oral history recordings (with that distinctive Appalachian dialect) and created new music -- some of which you can hear tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) You can hear some samples on his website as well, if you're curious.
Also on the show tonight, some beautiful music performed on the kora (the West African harp-like instrument) performed by Toumani Diabaté, the world's best known kora player, from his brand new album The Mandé Variations. I've been listening to that album, and in an odd way it reminds me of some minimalist music. Odd because it is certainly not minimalist, but the shifts are subtle and significant in a way that made me draw that comparison. Anyway, if you're not familiar with Diabaté, do check it out, when it's signaled later tonight.
Every cuisine seems to have some version of little yummy things. You know, Chinese food has dim sum, Spanish cuisine includes tapas, the Canadian prairies have their "dainties," and...ok, well the Canadian prairies thing isn't exactly the same thing, but you catch my drift.
Maza Meze base their name on the word Maza, Arabic for little appetizers, and Mezé, Greek for the same. And the music they play reflects this interest -- in musically tasty sampling from the traditions of Turkish, Greek, and Balkan music -- with some original music based on these traditions as well.
You can hear them tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), with guest vocalist Brenna Maccrimmon and instrumentalist Beth Cohen. Maccrimmon you may know as the singer from Karshilama, the Juno-nominated Turkish Rumeli band. Beth Cohen specializes in bowed instruments from Asia Minor. This concert is also available online, at Concerts On Demand: Maza Mezé.
Second up on the show, pianist David Virelles' Quintet with Variations On Gould from last autumns' celebrations in honour of the 75th anniversary of Glenn Gould's birth. Cuban-Canadian David Virelles and band are joined by the Penderecki String Quartet for a program of original music by Virelles, including the world-premiere performance of Sunrise, Meditation And Sunset, his tribute to Glenn Gould, inspired by Gould's CBC Radio documentary, The Idea of North. This concert is available online as well -- Concerts On Demand: Cuban-Born Masters Meet Glenn Gould.
There's some great jazz piano from Bill Charlap, Hank Jones and Bill King tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) And if you are a fan of jazz, you may be interested in having a look at Jazz Video Guy, a YouTube channel devoted to jazz related videos. It's a collection of some good videos either about jazz, or featuring concert footage, or interviews with jazz musicians, as is the case with the video below. It's an interview with another, great pianist -- Bill Evans, talking about his approach to playing jazz.
And as always, all the videos posted on the blog are in one place, at Radio2Tube.
Sometimes sub-sub-sub-sub genres of music seem to come and go in the blink of a bassline, never to return. Other times, they become the stuff of "everything old is new again." There's an interesting post about this by Jim Butler at The Guardian's music blog, Rummaging In The Music Dustbin. An excerpt:
"Look around: interest in once-forgotten genres is everywhere. LCD Soundsystem have done very well, thank you very much, out of the fertile embers of post punk; Maps earned a Mercury nomination last year with their reconfiguration of shoegazing (a soporific style of music that Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers said he "hated more than Hitler"); The Strokes, The Libertines, The Hives and all those other definitive-article bands from the turn of the century knew the new wave A-Z by rote."
Sometimes these resurrected genres come with new names too, and I like the way Butler suggests that this is about "subtle shifts in semantics." I imagine to the creators (or the categorizers) of these "new" genres can make a case for how they are new, rather than recycled styles, but some strike me as being more about making a generational distinction rather than a clear-cut musical one. (Like all the various hyphenated folk forms. Anything to avoid just plain old "folk.")
Me, I'm still waiting for someone to resurrect Grebo. I'm not kidding, I used to love The Levellers. But given that The Levellers are influenced by traditional English folk music as well as punk, what would you call this new genre? (Of course, what was I thinking, Nu-Grebo.)
If you are a fan of Concerts On Demand (COD), CBC Radio 2's online and ever-growing concert library, you will know that the new and improved version is up and running, responding to suggestions from listeners as to how to make it easier and prettier. (Easier to find concerts, prettier to look at). But if you haven't yet used COD, you ought to check it out -- hours of good music await.
I've been using it more myself lately, and the improvements Peter Cook and colleagues have made are really terrific. So I'd like to blow the horn on their behalf, in praise of what Peter calls COD 2.0. It slices, it dices! Or at least it makes it much easier to find concerts by using the keyword filter (searching by artist last name, group or event name). Plus, those of you into "social networking" can easily link to concerts from your Facebook, MySpace etc. accounts. (Those of you into anti-social networking, you're on your own. Heh.) There are other nifty features too, and more to come.
P.S. Yes, I know, you eagle-eyed ichthyologists, that's not a Cod in that photo, it's a Yellowtail Snapper. (But why, you may ask, is that woman pretending to play French Horn with the fishes? The answer is this. Because she was at the Underwater Music Festival in the Florida Keys.)
I should probably start with a confession. I am not tired of winter. I am only tired of worrying about a flood in the basement when that slab of ice outside the window finally melts. Mind you, I was also away for part of the winter and admittedly did not have to deal with the constant shoveling that much of my part of the country had to shoulder. But I wonder if there are others across the country who aren't filled with the winter loathing, or if I am a minority of one.
I know of one Ottawan who is very tired of winter though, and as an antidote he has requested that Here's To You (9 a.m.) play Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, so today the show will play a performance of that piece featuring the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
It's wonderful music, and like jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown's Joy Spring, Copeland's Appalachian Spring has always struck me as a perfect musical evocation of the energy and renewal of the season.
But apparently Copeland didn't actually name the piece until the day before it was first performed in 1944. His working title was Ballet For Martha, since the work was composed for dancer Martha Graham and her troupe. At the last minute it was named Appalachian Spring, from the title of a poem by Hart Crane.
This made me curious as to the origins of Clifford Brown's Joy Spring. Well, according to A.B. Spellman at NPR, it was named for Clifford Brown's wife, because she was his "joy spring." Nothing at all to do with spring, the season.
If that don't beat all.
Still, they both sound mighty spring-like to me. Though neither can entirely woo me away from a fondness for winter.
Montreal percussion ensemble Sixtrum teams up with the saxophone quartet Quasar tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), in a programme recorded at the University of Montreal. The concert features Geof Holbrook's composition Glitch, inspired by the electronic music of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, but performed entirely with acoustic instruments. Plus a very lively and percussive work from Indonesian/Dutch composer Roderick de Man, aptly titled Zest.
If it's challenging to sing and play piano well at the same time (and it is, or there would be more people who would do it) it must be said that it's both challenging and groundbreaking to sing and play cello at the same time. When I was in Paris not long ago I went to the Cité De La Musique, a marvellous instrument museum. In a corner of a display about 17th and 18th century stringed instruments, a woman named Laura Caronni was playing a cello and singing some absolutely beautiful Spanish language songs. It got me thinking -- why don't more cellists try it? Guess it comes back to that challenging thing, or perhaps the fact that there's not obvious repertoire.
One who does take up the challenge, and famously so, is Jorane, who you can hear tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.). Jorane is from Charlesbourg, Quebec, and from the age of five she was fascinated by music, first piano then guitar, but eventually settling on cello, or should I say, cello and voice -- sometimes at the same time. Her unique approach has led to collaborations with the likes of Michael Brook and Daniel Lanois, among others. This year she's nominated in the "best francophone album of the year" category of the upcoming Juno awards.
Also on tonight's show -- the great Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti, mixing classical music with Brazilian, collaborating with the musicians of Montreal's I Musici Chamber Orchestra.
Woody Allen has announced that he'll be playing at this summer's Montreal Jazz Festival for the first time, with his New Orleans Jazz Band -- they play Monday night's at New York's Café Carlyle. Allen's been asked before, but always had some shooting conflict. (No wonder, Allen is famous for turning out movies with almost alarming alacrity.) However, this year he's accepted.
André Ménard, the jazz festival's artistic director, told the Montreal Gazette "he's a true believer in the music — and he's one of the great artistic personalities of the second half of the 20th century."
Allen has also been known to call himself a "motivated amateur," and based on this video, from the opening night of the renovated Carlyle a couple of years ago, I'd have to agree. But see/hear for yourself!
When the David Rudder, Lord Superior and Drew Gonsalves calypso concert was first broadcast on Canada Live, we got a wonderfully positive response, and I promised to post when it was available as a Concert On Demand. With one thing and another I missed doing that, so wanted to make sure people who were curious to hear the music -- or who had heard it before and loved it -- know that it is up now, at Concerts On Demand: David Rudder's Calypso Journey.
As for that listener response, here are a few excerpts:
"David Rudder has the passion, Lord Superior, and Toronto's Drew Gonsalves have the youth of mind as creative calypsonians, to give up music to troubled hearts." --Gerry
"Listened to the broadcast on Saturday and even my teenage kids were glued to the radio, flabbergasted by Lord Superior's witty extempo." --Vincent
"I'm from Trinidad, but was not very familiar with Lord Superior's compositions. It surprising how some of his old tunes are still relevant today and the insight and wisdom that he exhibited so effectively through the medium of calypso." --Frank
"Loved it!!!" --Li (Well I did -- listened to the COD, and it's a really nice concert.)
Also, the original post mentioned that Rolling Stone mag called Rudder "a Trinidad national hero on the order of Marley in Jamaica, Fela in Nigeria and Springsteen in New Jersey," but I had very little info about Lord Superior. Since then have received more -- so keep on reading and you can learn a little about him as well.
Three stories, three musical connections, heard today on Here's To You (9 a.m.).
The first: Danusha in Calgary is studying bumble bees for her master's degree. Her research at the moment has her analyzing hundreds of bees' wings...and she admits the work can get a little repetitive. She asked to hear some spirited music from Anne Of Green Gables to entertain her as she studies the wings -- and also for a friend who is a true kindred spirit herself.
The second: Grace in Abbostford shared a train ride to Wales in the 1960s with a young Armenian couple. They became fast friends over the course of their journey and have remained close for the last 40+ years. Grace wanted to hear some Armenian music to honour her friends -- and who better than Isabel Bayrakdarian, with a performance of an Armenian chant, as well as Ippolitov-Ivanov's Armenian Rhapsody.
And the third: Nancy in Ann Arbor Michigan, has two children who are being "home schooled" in music. The elder, 10-year old Colin, has been obsessed with the violin since the age of 3. He collects posters and books of violins and practices 3 or more hours daily so that someday his dream of becoming a violinist and conductor can come true. He also listens to lots of recordings of the great violinists and particularly loves Itzhak Perlman (pictured here). Naturally you'll hear Perlman, (if you tune into Here's To You), with a recording of Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1.
Jean Derome and his group, Les Dangereux Zhoms perform 5 Reflections On Hard Rubber (5 Pensees Pour Le Caoutchouc Dur) tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.). The Signal team describes the concert as "swinging from wild chaos to longing wails, to the snappy march of madness." (Try stepping in 2/4 to that!)
And in case you missed this the last time I mentioned it, Derome is the subject of a recent book, Jean Derome, l'homme musique, published by Varia Editions, as part of a series of portraits of remarkable contemporary Quebecois artists.
Kiran Ahluwalia grew up in Toronto, got her MBA at Dalhousie, and then became one of the best known ghazal singers in the world, outside of India. You can hear her tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), performing with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in a concert from Westminster United Church in Winnipeg.
You'll hear arrangements by composer Glenn Buhr of three pieces Ahluwalia sings, plus two of his original compositions "inspired by the east." Of those new works, What's On Winnipeg's review said the following:
"Buhr's new works, Chant of Wind and Thunder and Chant of Water and Sky, received world premieres, the latter a beautiful, pastoral song representing an idyllic day at Lake of the Woods. Ahluwalia sang in unison with the strings as modal changes transitioned into an Eastern tune, cellos taking the melody. The song came to rest softly, with Ahluwalia's lovely vocals soaring above."
There's another collaboration with the MCO on the Can Live bill tonight, from Alexis Kochan and her ensemble Paris to Kyiv. The music featured is from the Ukrainian musical tradition, orchestrated by band member and violist Richard Moody.
Much saxophone playing tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) with tunes from Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Canadian tenorman, Ryan Oliver.
As always, where there's an instrument there are passionate advocates, and for those with a passion for the sax, you may be interested to know about the North American Saxophone Alliance. Their biennial conference is coming up, so if you're truly dedicated you might even want to head to the U. of South Carolina to take it in, from April 16 - 19. Or you may just want to listen to Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Ryan Oliver.
I wonder how many people reading the subject heading thought it was some kind of joke. I think that's probably what the people behind this musical probably had in mind when they gave it that name -- because Autism: The Musical appears to be (in part) about myth busting -- and no better way to do that than by grabbing people by their prejudices, as it were.
The musical, which follows five children with autism as they write, rehearse and perform a musical, is being broadcast today on HBO. Its makers call it a "call-to-arms, bringing attention to a modern-day epidemic, all the while celebrating the way the human spirit can overcome any challenge." Interesting, though bound to be contentious in multiple ways, not the least of which is through the use of language like "a call to arms."
The weekly Canada Live Podcast comes out on Tuesdays, and today's is part one of two Juno-themed podcasts.
This one includes a concert by ghazal singer Kiran Ahluwalia, nominated for best World Music album, as well as a concert by Jeremy Fisher, whose last recording, Goodbye Blue Monday is kind of rock n' rollish, but mostly acoustic, and very catchy. He's nominated for Best New Artist and Best Adult Alternative Album.
fyi, there is also a concert broadcast tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) of Ms. Ahluwalia's lovely music, but it is a different concert from the one on the podcast. So Ahluwalia fans (and I know there are many among CBC listeners) take note.
Good Tuesday morning. First things first -- a big THANK YOU to Peter Cook who filled in for me whilst I was poorly, and did an admirable job. As he does day in day out on numerous audio projects at CBC -- among other things he is The Mastermind behind Concerts On Demand, a very popular feature here at R2 online.
And now to a programming note. On Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear the charming and talented Capucon brothers, Gautier and Renaud, playing cello and violin respectively, in a recent concert performance of the Brahms Double Concerto, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit.
Not familiar with the charming and talented Capucon Bros.? In reviewing a couple of their recordings, Strings Magazine said:
"They revel in their dazzling virtuosity with unabashed, often mischievous relish; their tone is gorgeous, rich, and vibrant, and they have an abandon, exuberance, and impetuosity befitting their youth."
And here are the brothers in virtuosic action. As one person said after viewing, "nothing better than siblings playing together... they've heard each other play all their lives, so they know what each other is going to do before they do it."
The term 'multi-talented' seems a bit of an understatement when talking about Danny Oore. Danny is a pianist, writer, film maker, juggler, painter and computer animator. And he happens to be a world-class saxophonist, as well. So, seeing as juggling and painting don't show up too well on the radio, Laurie Brown will feature a live concert from Danny Oore on sax, with Dan Weiss on drums, Matt Brubeck on 'cello and Christian Koegel on the guitar, at the Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax.
10:00 PM (10:30 NT) on The Signal. Complete Playlist.
Tonight Canada Live (8:00 PM, 8:30 NT) comes from Edmonton but musically spans four continents.
The first concert covers three continents in one band with the aptly-named Tri-Continental. Members Bill Bourne, Lester Quitzau, and Madagascar Slim are individually major guitarists and singers in the Canadian roots music scene covering Celtic, American and African styles. Their music melds three highly individual artistic voices into one unique blend of blues, folk, and world music.
In the second concert Marcel Khalife transports us to the Middle-East with his voice, his oud, and his band . . . and a very knowledgeable audience. In June of 2005 Khalife was named UNESCO Artist for Peace "in recognition of his fervent and generous commitment in favour of musical heritage."
If you miss the broadcast or you want to hear more check out Concerts On Demand. Tri-Continental and Marcel Khalife.
On Tonic this evening (6:00 PM, 6:30 NT), there'll be latin music from percussionist Ray Mantilla and guitarist/vocalist Vinicius Cantuaria. You'll hear jazz vocals from Dee Dee Bridgewater and from Lambert, Henricks & Ross.
Trekkies take note: there will also be music inspired by StarTrek from bassist Christian McBride. Plus, a set of tunes from the trio of pianist Oliver Jones recorded live at Sweet Basil's in New York in 1987.
A two hour version of Studio Sparks, beginning at 1:00 (1:30 in Nfld), with lovely Suite for Clarinet and Strings by the Canadian composer Jim McGrath.
Also, a live concert performance of one of the most popular of Dmitri Shostakovitch's symphonies, Symphony No. 5. This is Shostakovitch writing in response to denunciations of his earlier work by the Soviet authorities and finding a new voice for the future. The performance is by the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Most.
It's a special Spring excursion on "Here's to You" with music to coax out those bulbs and bring on the warmth (in some parts of the country we'll try anything at this point!). We'll hear excerpts from Claude le Jeune's "Primavera," along with Antonin Dvorak's "Serenade" and selections from Jean Coulthard's "Suite Canada Mosaic." There will be music by Tobias Picker - his "Old and Lost Rivers" - and a string quartet by Haydn. The big work of the day will be a performance of Mahler's Symphony N4 with Pierre Boulez conducting the Cleveland Orchestra.
There was a great response to "It Has to be Gospel" last Friday. Some people stumbled on it by accident. Some were tipped off by family or friends listening in other time zones. We got requests for podcasts (sorry!) and repeats. So I wanted to make sure as many people as possible knew about the next episode. I hope the title is clear enough! ;-]
Tonight on The Signal (10:00 pm, 10:30 NT) Pat Carrabré will ease your chocolate hangover with spring and Easter flavoured music from Veda Hille, Ivan Moody, Christos Hatzis and Lily Frost. Soundtrack Sundays will feature a few pieces from Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ”.
Tonight’s concert is spicy blend of East and West from the Turning Point Ensemble with the Gamelan Gita Asmara. And in the third hour Pat will dip into music from last year’s International Rostrum of Composers.
Tonight Canada Live (8:00 pm, 8:30 NT) originates from Toronto.
Bring on the brass! Canada's award-winning, premier professional brass band goes Russian. The Hannaford Street Silver Band (just a heads up that following that link will give you a blast of brass!) blows its way through Shostakovich's vibrant Festive overture, Mussorgsky's colourful Pictures from an Exhibition, and Khachaturian's vivid ballet suite Gayane.
Up next is a rare concert recorded at the Courthouse, Toronto's short-lived premier jazz venue. Composer-pianist-improviser Glenn Buhr and his band present a selection of his recent charts. It's an eclectic mix from jazzed Mozart to Asian influenced, urban sounds and steamy blues. Glenn Buhr, on piano, will be joined by seven musicians, from Toronto and Winnipeg. You can also catch Glenn Buhr Band Live@Courthouse at Concerts On Demand.
Complete Playlist for this edition of Canada Live.
Countdown with us! TONIC has Naturally 7, Take 6 and neo-bossa group Tape 5 on Sunday evening. We'll feature some impressive vocal crossover artists like Jully Black and Deborah Cox and some great Canadian Orchestras.
We'll also play some music from the jazzy newlyweds Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap. And you'll hear from The Yellowjackets, Shirley Horn and Hamilton's Afternoons in Stereo.
This week on Skylarking, a curious dream in which the 6th century philosopher Boethius gets lost in a film noir. Skylarking theatre presents "I, Boethius", along with some great music, of course.
In more places than you'd like to think, musicians have been blacklisted, imprisoned, exiled and murdered. Records are burned and concerts are raided. But music often manages to speak the truth, despite the best efforts of censors.
Freemuse is an international organization whose aim is to defend the rights of musicians against censorship. (It’s the music world’s answer to Pen International). The group designated March 3rd as Music Freedom Day - a time for us all to look at the issue of music and censorship. On Inside the Music this week (noon, 12:30NT), we present Censor This, a documentary by Bruce Edwards.
The documentary includes a look at South African Roger Lucey's musical life in the late seventies and early eighties; it tells the story of how the security police systematically destroyed his music career.
Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way. And so is Gregory Charles, to deliver a show full of sugary sweets including music by (take a deep breath, it's a long list!) Johnny Cash, James Taylor, Nat "King" Cole, Fiona Apple, Sarah Vaughan, Terez Montcalm, Patsy Cline, P J Harvey, Dean Martin, Shirley Bassey, Coco Love Alcorn, Sarah McLachlan, Lavay Smith & the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Feist, Dolly Parton, Trick Daddy, Rufus Wainwright, Fretwork, K D Lang, And Emm Gryner.
10:00 AM (10:30 NT) on CBC Radio 2 and at 9:00 PM (10:00 AT; 10:30 NT) on CBC Radio One.
Complete Playlist for this edition of In The Key of Charles.
This first-ever Vancouver production of Handel's dramatic oratorio La Resurrezione promises an exciting experience. It is a work that is full of abundant energy, sumptuous music, a delightful libretto that pits good versus evil, a powerful dramatic arc - in short, an oratorio that offers the best of great opera . . . without the sets and costumes. Hey, it's perfect for radio!
Five superb Canadian singers will bring this lush work to life: sopranos Suzie LeBlanc and Shannon Mercer along with countertenor Matthew White, and two internationally-acclaimed singers originally from Vancouver, tenor Colin Balzer and baritone Tyler Duncan make up the cast. This baroque "dream team" of voices are supported by an orchestral ensemble of almost two-dozen accomplished Vancouver and Montreal musicians. Musical direction will be shared by Montreal's Alexander Weimann, who will lead from the keyboard, and concertmaster Marc Destrube.
Also on today's show, one of the soloists of La Resurezzione, the sensational soprano Shannon Mercer is featured in recital for the Women Musical Club of Toronto. In October 2006, she was given the Women's Musical Club of Toronto's Career Development Award, presented in partnership with CBC Radio Music and Espace Musique de Radio-Canada, in recognition of her talents and progress. A native of Ottawa, Shannon now resides in Toronto.
She is joined by pianist Steven Philcox in music of Mozart, Schumann, Bellini, Ravel and more.
All this on Sunday Afternoon in Concert, with Bill Richardson (1:00 - 5:00 PM, 1:30 - 5:30 NT)
These days - ok, apart from at this time of year - the term "easter egg" is probably more commonly used to refer to the virtual kind. An easter egg is a surprise hidden in a computer program or video game or even a DVD. You press some bizarre keyboard combination or go through some extremely unlikely sequence of steps and suddenly you are presented with a visual or sonic treat.
The Signal's variation on this theme tonight will be a Morrissey CD give away following a skill testing question.
And of course Pat Carrabré spins music to accompany Easter Egg shenanigans with multiple tracks from the new Plants and Animals CD. And there's a basket full of music including Vancouver's Piano, Germany's De-Phazz, One Ring Zero's take on Alice in Wonderland and the freshly recorded Soundstreams concert of Sofia Gubaidulina's stunning "Seven Words".
The playlist reveals a veritable schmorgesborg (I'll be happy to accept spelling corrections on that one!) of Easter-themed titles.
It's Saturday night. Let's dance! One of Canada's best funk and R 'n' B bands is from Vancouver. Who knew? Lots of Vancouverites, obviously. But not me. At least not until this concert with Soulstream arrived at CoD just before the Christmas break. (Thank you Canada Live!) I immediately promised myself a trip to Bar None on my next visit to Vancouver.
Can you believe Soulstream have been playing a gig there for 10 years? In fact, this Canada Live broadcast is the 10th anniversary concert and that sure would explain the tight groove the band lays down.
Drummer Randall Stoll leads the ensemble comprised of Brad Turner, Bill Runge, Chris Gestrin, Russ Klyne and vocalists Rebecca Shoicet and Tim Fuller. You'll be bopping around the house to a combination of originals by the band and covers of the likes of Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power, and James Brown.
That's tonight on Canada Live at 8:00 pm (8:30 NT).
Then at 9:00 it's Tierney Sutton at the 2007 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Critics have been raving about Sutton since her major-label debut in 2000. In 2005 she was named Vocalist of the Year by Jazz Week. Of her latest release, On The Other Side, the Los Angeles Daily News said "mesmerizing…one to hear."
A captivating performer, Sutton has recently sold out legendary New York venues like the Oak Room, Birdland, and Carnegie Hall.
Tonic begins a half hour later than usual today: 6:30 pm (7:00 NT)
There's music for your jazz sweet tooth on Saturday's edition of TONIC with 'White Chocolate' from Julie Lamontagne and Queen Latifah's 'I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl'.
You'll hear from Ed Bickert, Buddy Guy and Wes Montgomery.
And Tim's got three Lang's on deck: Jake Langley, K.D. Lang and Jonny Lang -- in two different duos.
Now if Lang Lang took up jazz we could have a royal flush!
This week's Vinyl Cafe (10:00 am, 10:30 NT) is a new show from the Stephen Leacock Theatre in Keswick, Ontario. The musical guest is powerhouse singer/songwriter Serena Ryder (perhaps you'll tire of me saying this but Serena Ryder was another Canada Live/CoD discovery for me).
A little preview:
Dave's shoelace breaks at an inopportune time, and he hastily replaces it with the first shoelace he can find in the family's basement - a hockey skate lace. A week or two later, the forgotten lace still in shoe, Dave and the family are spending the weekend away in the Adorondak mountains. Dave decided to try the treadmill in the hotel fitness room and . . . .
Aha! Your temporary blogger was scratching his head, wondering "why is the first half-hour of Tonic pre-empted?"
Then I saw the SAATO title for this week. Wagner. Say no more!
One of the great love stories of all time comes to vivid life as James Levine conducts Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, Live from the Met. A strapping Knight, a Princess who is spirited away, love Potions to DIE for - what more could you want in a 5 hour opera!?
Composer Richard Wagner drew on elements of an epic 13th-century poem by Gottfried von Strassburg, and on his own personal experience to create his libretto. The story (boiled down to its essentials) encompasses the themes of love and death. In fact, Leibestod (Love/death) is the name given to a musical motif of the opera, a melodic cell with almost no tonal centre. Wagner began writing the opera around 1853, at which time he was living in exile in Switzerland. A wealthy silk merchant, Otto von Wesendonck, offered him financial support and a comfortable cottage in which to compose. Otto's wife, Mathilde shared her opinions on artistic matters, and opened her arms (and heart) to Wagner in what would become a torrid and passionate affair. It is easy to imagine that their infatuation with each other and the emotional upheaval that they went through can be heard in the surging music and rapturous arias.
It took Wagner six years to write Tristan und Isolde and a further six to get it staged. Thank goodness for another benefactor, Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He bankrolled the original 1865 production, and the operatic world has been forever grateful.
This performance will also be relayed live in high definition to movie theaters around the world, the sixth in the Met's series of eight transmissions. Intermission content will include the beloved Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera Quiz hosted by mezzo-soprano Felicity Palmer, who is currently appearing in the new production of Peter Grimes, as well as live backstage interviews with the artists.
Recently the casting has been ina state of flux! Ben Heppner and Deborah Voight were to have sung their first T&I together, but Ben has withdrawn for several performances, and Deborah fell ill midway through last week's performance. As of this moment Voight is in and Robert Dean Smith is singing Tristan. Visit The MET website for the latest news.
The Signal from Winnipeg reports: "Tonight Pat Carrabré steps onto the Easter weekend roller coaster and plays the sounds of elation and sorrow, chocolate and rabbits. Chad Van Gaalen, Rachel Yamagata, Sheri-D Wilson and a Sufjan Stevens profile are just some of the sounds to be experienced on this Good Friday night. Pat will also play Osvaldo Golijov’s gorgeous take on the Passion play."
I'm thinking Chad Van Gaalen (who as also new to me prior to his arrival at CoD) is elation, sorrow, chocolate and rabbits all rolled into one.
I will definitely be tuned in to Canada Live tonight! The first concert (at 8:00 pm, 8:30 NT) is Coral Egan. Can I tell a story? I'd never heard of Coral Egan until the concert arrived in my studio to be prepared for Concerts On Demand. I hit play, got ready to do some data entry and boom. I just stopped. My jaw dropped. I turned up the sound.
"Wow!" Great sound, great music, great musicians, a beautiful voice with lots of soul.
At CoD we only have the rights to stream four songs so the broadcast is a must. Coral Egan's music is a blend of soul, folk and jazz with exceptional vocal harmonies. Her music is personal, luminous . . . and groovy.
The second concert tonight is with Montreal jazz pianist Josh Rager and his quintet. Rager is fresh from the recording studio with a new release entitled Time and Again. Canada Live recently caught up with this young composer-performer and his quintet in Pollack Hall at McGill University, his alma mater.
In this new project, Rager explores his interest in Buddhism: "The main idea which I find incredibly groundbreaking is ... that there is actually nothing wrong with us... " And there is certainly nothing wrong with Josh Rager's fresh and introspective kind of jazz, assisted by sidesmen Frank Lozano, sax; Fraser Holland, bass; Keven Turcotte, trumpet; and Michel Berthiaume, drums.
Here's the complete playlist for this edition of Canada Live.
TONIC slides into the holiday weekend - for those of us who haven't started already - with elegant jazz from guitarists Ed Bickert, Russell Malone and Tal Farlow, bassist Jodi Proznick and saxophonist John Coltrane.
There'll be tunes of a spiritual nature from Ray Charles and Mavis Staples, as well as some smooth jazz from drummer Jay Boehmer. Plus, a concert set from the trio of pianist Gene Harris recorded live at the Otter Crest Inn in Oregon in 1981.
A special Good Friday treat today. At 12:00 (12:30 NT) you'll hear a one-hour special from Vancouver called "It has got to be Gospel" with Marcus Mosely.
Then at 1:00 (1:30 NT) its a two-hour version of Studio Sparks featuring selections from an intimate new recording of Bach's St. Matthew Passion from audiophile label Linn Records. The performance is by the Dunedin Consort of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Linn Records is a subsidiary of the company that makes (yes they still make it) the Linn turntable. Check out the logo. The Linn Records label is into online distribution of audio big-time. For the St Matthew Passion recording you can purchase and download any of the following formats: high quality mp3's, Windows Media, FLAC . . . even 24 bit, 88.2kHz files!
OK. I'm an audio guy. Sorry. I kind of geeked-out there for a minute. The recording is also available on CD and SACD. Given all the audio file formats and physical formats, I wonder which version Eric has.
Handel's Messiah is most often associated with Christmas. But that's just "Part the First" (honest, that's what it says in the score) in this three part oratorio.
Part the Second and Part the Third are all about Eastertide. When I was a child my mom would pull out her LP box set and play the sides appropriate to the season . . . or, more often, the entire oratorio. She had the Thomas Beecham set. (OK, honestly I couldn't remember who the conductor was, but Google reveals all. I do remember very clearly the red cover with the gold text and the luxurious, large printed booklet.)
Later, I had the CD set with Christopher Hogwood and we'd listen to that. (Black text on white glossy cover, and a thick but tiny booklet.)
This year? It's Trevor Pinnock leading - from the harpsichord - The National Arts Centre Orchestra. It's a live concert and it's on line to stream whenever we like from Concerts On Demand. There's no booklet, but there are some great photos from the concert. And because you're at your computer, you can find the libretto, read the concert program notes . . . or perhaps just sing along.
Just make sure you stand when they get to the Hallelujah Chorus.
Tonight on The Signal, (10, 10:30 NT) Laurie Brown presents the world premiere performance of The Seven Last Words by composer Paul Frehner. The work resonates with the universal themes of forgiveness, love, suffering and humanity. It's meditative music inspired by the seven last phrases that Jesus spoke before his death.
The concert features male soprano Michael Maniaci, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, and the Soundstreams Chamber Ensemble conducted by Ivars Taurins.
Before and after you're got Radiohead, Kronos Quartet, Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms, Sigur Ros . . . my oh my. See for yourself at the playlist.
As Li wrote earlier, tonight Canada Live helps us all to celebrate Persian New Year with two wonderful concerts. First up at 8:00 pm (8:30 NT), a concert of Persian Fusion from Lula Lounge in Toronto.
In the second hour we go to Montréal for a concert with Constantinople who are joined by Afghan rubab master Homayoun Sakhi.
Need a preview? Here's a review of the Persian Fusion concert (the phrase "that magical evening" appears) and you can dip into the Constantinople show on our very own Concerts On Demand.
The playlist (you do know about the Playlists feature, don't you?) provides titles, composers, musicians names and more.
Tune in to Tonic this evening to hear singers Freddie Cole, Sophie Milman, Queen Latifah, Curtis Stigers and Gail Wynters. There'll be some vintage soul from Donny Hathaway and some nu-soul from Jill Scott, plus a concert tribute to Ray Charles from saxophonist Maceo Parker.
The second hour of Studio Sparks features stormy and emotional music by Joseph Haydn, his Symphony No. 49 in f minor. Haydn's publisher nicknamed this work "La Passione". This is a concert performance from the National Arts Centre Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman.
Of course there's lots more music and you can see what's coming up – or what your just heard – on the Studio Sparks Playlist.
I'm sitting here - pre-coffee - trying to remember what announcement is made when our programming is knocked off the air temporarily. In my experience it happens quite rarely these days. Let's see. There'd be a moment of dead air. Then the moment would be uncomfortably long. (There are alarms going off in master control at this point. Phones are ringing. The techs are scrambling, but it's a cool "we can handle this" scramble.) Then we - the listener - would hear some generic, slightly out of place host-less music.
Eventually there might be an announcement. What was it? "We are currently experiencing technical difficulties . . ." Was that it? Then what?
Coffee. Need coffee.
Well, we're not experiencing technical difficulties on the blog (knock wood) but, as you can see, Li is not here. She's not feeling well. (Take care Li!)
The radio broadcasts, the live streams and Concerts On Demand are cooking along just fine. But as for the blog . . . Please stand by. We'll have some semblance of regular programming here shortly. Thanks for your patience.
Having gone to a couple of Persian music concerts in Toronto in recent years, I can attest to the strength of the music scene -- and its supporters, who are very dedicated to that rich musical history. This time of year is special to the community, as today marks the beginning of the new year, or Nowruz, a celebration of the spring equinox. (The word itself means "new day.")
A month or so ago some of Canada's Iranian musicians gathered at the Lula Lounge in Toronto to collaborate and perform music in anticipation of spring. You can hear music from that evening Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), featuring setar player Amir Koushkani, vocalists Soley Vaseghi and Wajma Soroor, santur player Sina Salimi and percussionist Roozbeh Hariri, and "beatmap," who are Alan Davis on drums,Neil Gardiner keyboards and accordion, and bass player Reza Moghaddas. The concert was billed as "An Evening Of Persian Fusion." For a review of the evening, go to The Live Music Report.
A second concert on the show is by Montreal's Ensemble Constantinople, (pictured here) who present a programme called Perle Afghane (Afghan Pearl). They're joined by Homayoun Sakhi, a master of the Afghan rubab, who combines his traditional music from Afghanistan with the musicians of Constantinople, some of whom are of Persian origin. This concert exploring some of the connections between Persian music and the classical music of Afghanistan is also available online, at Concerts On Demand: Constantinople - Perle Afghane.
Music from singer-songwriter Steve Dawson, (also a lovely guitar player), and from Mimosa on tonight's edition of Canada Live (8 p.m.). The latter blend lounge, swing, Brazilian bossa and their own original material.
Steve Dawson released a new CD called Waiting For The Lights To Come Up in February, and R2 was at the launch concert at St. James Hall to record. The producers tell me that it's "one hour of breathtakingly beautiful and crafted music," so I share with you that ringing endorsement.
Second up are Mimosa, from the Wintersong Festival in West Vancouver. Mimosa take their name from the flower, not the champagne and o.j., although there is a certain buoyant attitude in common -- this is how the band describes their approach: "Mimosa brings you on a sentimental journey through time and sound, making dancing a huge temptation. Please let yourself be tempted. A little decadence never hurt anyone."
Having it drawn to my attention earlier today that the President of the United States sent a letter to the Governor of Wisconsin, praising the (originally) Canadian group The Nylons, on the event of a Nylons 25th anniversary concert, it seems an odd coincidence upon looking at a website devoted to Lionel Hampton to see that the previous President Bush should have sung Hamp's praises. But it is so.
Regarding the Nylons (who are performing at the Overture Centrer For The Arts as the mayor of Madison proclaims "Nylons Day" on Friday) the current President Bush said: "I send greetings to those gathered for the 25th Anniversary of the Nylons performing in Madison, WI. This event provides an opportunity to celebrate musical traditions that bring joy to people and speak to every heart. Your efforts reflect the creativity of the human spirit and celebrate the unifying power of music. Laura and I send our best wishes."
Regarding the late great Lionel Hampton, Bush Senior said: ""Lionel was a dear friend of Barbara's and mine for over 40 years. Lionel Hampton was a national treasure. His career represents the very heart and soul of America's music, jazz."
He got that right. But Bush wasn't the only President to admire Hampton -- and even play with him -- yes, that is indeed Bill Clinton on sax in that photo, during Hampton's 90th birthday celebration at the White House in 1998. Mr. Hampton passed away four years later, but left a huge legacy of music, some of which you can hear tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) -- a set of tunes from the vibraphonist recorded live at the Blue Note in New York City. I don't think Bill was sitting in that time though.
Things haven't been going so well with The Metropolitan Opera Company's production of Tristan und Isold. Last night part of the set came loose and tenor Gary Lehman "slid into the prompter's box." Now this is the kind of drama you don't actually want to see on stage. Fortunately, after being examined by a doctor, Lehman was pronounced OK and the performance resumed.
It could have been Ben Heppner unexpectedly ending up face to face with the prompter, since Lehman is subbing for Heppner, who was scheduled to perform but had a virus and cancelled his first four performances. But he's not the only ailing member of the cast -- Deborah Voigt, singing Isolde, had a stomach problem during the second act on Friday, and had to be replaced by Janice Baird. (Big understudy moment for Baird-- it was her Met debut.)
In the aftermath of all this the New York Magazine asks: Is The Met The Hot Zone Of Opera? and they aren't talking chemistry between singers -- more outmoded ventilation and flu season.
As for Saturday, which will be broadcast on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera, the Tristan is uncertain. Heppner has said he hopes to return for the final two nights, March 25th and 28th, which would indicate he won't be in Saturday's production, but perhaps he will rally and there'll be a last minute change. You can bet many fingers are crossed.
You know that thing where you see a phrase, or a title, and your mind provides an alternate version? Every time I see something about the TinAlley String Quartet (who won first prize last fall at the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition), I think Tin Pan Alley String Quartet.
But the young Australian quartet are not prone to playing Alexander's Ragtime Band, or Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight, instead you can hear them today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) performing Mendelssohn's Quartet In A Minor, Op. 13. And if you'd like to hear their winning performance from Banff, you can hear it online at The Banff International String Quartet Competition.
The Signal (10 p.m.) turns One today. In both its weekday version with Laurie Brown, and in its weekend edition with Pat Carrabré, the cast and crew has done some very creative and satisfying radio, programming a wide range of contemporary music. But don't just take it from me, here's one take on the show by a listener who wrote in to the blog:
"This is the coolest show to come out of radio in a long, long, time! Kudos to the CBC for being able to air a mixture of artistry, innovation and intelligence."
To celebrate their big first, Wednesday night the show takes a look back at some of their favourite music from the past year. So, music from Juana Molina, Andy McNeil, B For Bang, and Brian Current, among many others.
The show also wants to ring the bells to mark the day -- and naturally, they do this Signal style, with music that some listeners were very intrigued by when it was first broadcast -- Calgary pianist Marcel Bergmann's piece inspired by the 1972 minimalist-pop hit Tubular Bells. It explores bells, and minimalism. Bells. Minimalism.
Let's see, what else. The concert highlights include Joy – A Minimal Overture, by contemporary Dutch composer Carlos Michans. Then, more bells! The Sunken Cathedral by impressionist composer Claude Debussy, and the concert is closed with Marcel Bergmann’s own composition Incessant Bells.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), from Montreal, the Sixtrum percussion ensemble joins forces with the Quasar Saxophone Quartet to present a concert titled: In Tempo! You'll hear Salomon’s Sound-Houses by Dutch composer Roderik De Man, which has been described as "a fantastical exploration of all kinds of weird and wonderful sounds: quarter tones, dainty bells, tremblings, warblings, the sounds of beasts and birds, shrill, soft, and deep." Lovely description, certainly makes one want to hear the music. The piece, by the way, was inspired by the fiction of Francis Bacon.
Singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell is kind of an honourary Canadian, since she's been working with Zedtone Records, a Canadian indie label, for some years. But she's based in California, and has been critically embraced there -- she was named Songwriter of the Year twice by the L.A. Weekly.
Her latest recording, Miracle Of Five, was called "an album of bluesy, sepia-tone postcards sent to possibilities come and gone," by Elle magazine. (Kind of a nice turn of phrase, the possibilities bit I mean.) You can hear Mandell tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), in front of a packed house at Montreal's Club Lion D'Or.
I once met Ray Brown, the bass player so associated with the famous Oscar Peterson trio. I was doing a newspaper interview with him, and let me tell you, he took no prisoners. He clearly expected that anyone coming to talk to him about jazz had better know their stuff. Somehow, based on this meeting, I find it difficult to imagine him playing amidst the lattés and laptops, but maybe the Seattle Starbucks had a real concert stage or something? Because that's where he was when he recorded the set of tunes you'll hear tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) -- Ray Brown, live at Starbucks, in Seattle in 1999.
I know R2 listeners and blog readers were among the many who were very sad to hear the news about Jeff Healey passing away, earlier this month. Now there are two tribute concerts in the works to honour Mr. Healey. For those in the Ontario area, you may be interested in attending one of them -- the concerts will feature Healey's two bands, the Jazz Wizards and Healey's House Band, as well as a lineup of artists to be announced over the weeks leading up to the concerts, in early May. For more information, go to CBC Arts.
Even writing the words (of the subject heading) provides a bit of a lift, since who doesn't need a little sunlight and cheer? And we're not talking the wash cycle, we're speaking musically. Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) the crew promises that as they play the last of Beethoven's early string quartets, Op. 18, #6, that this is what will be delivered -- yup, sunlight and cheer. (Possibly not how Beethoven thought of it in the late 18th century Vienna -- but he certainly intended it to be vigorous.)
Proof is in the music though, so here you go, a little preview.
A nice lineup on this week's Canada Live Podcast, downloadable each Tuesday at R2 Podcasts.
First, Le Vent du Nord, who play traditional French-Canadian music. Think hurdy gurdy and accordion and piano and feet and mandolin and great harmonies, and you'll have a sense of what it sounds like!
Second, Gregory Hoskins. Last week the p'cast had just a teaser for Hoskins, this week's has more -- and as I mentioned before, it was a concert that got a very good response when first broadcast. If you're not such a podcast type, but do like to listen on your computer to Concerts On Demand, note that this is available online as a COD -- Concerts On Demand: Gregory Hoskins.
And third, Navaz, a collaboration between guitarist Eric Tompkins and Persian vocalist Neda Jalali (pictured here). Navaz translates from Farsi as "a soothing melody," and what I've heard of this concert fits that description to a T. This performance is also available as a COD, simply as Navaz. And as we approach Nowruz (Persian New Year) on March 20th, this concert may be of particular interest to those with a love of (or curiosity about) Persian culture.
Interesting how loosely creatively the folks at The Signal (10 p.m.) interpret St. Patrick's Day -- for their special St. Patrick's Day edition you'll hear the Esbjorn Svensson Trio "searching for the jazz gold at the end of the rainbow" with their fast-running piece Goldwrap. You'll hear "green music" from Yoon Sun Choi and Andy Creeggan ("his pieceGreen is impossibly short - some might say leprechaun-esque - clocking in at 9 seconds"). Ah yes, nothing like a good thematic stretch, I know it well.
After that, they ran out of green-ness, although they are also playing some music described as "spring-like" from Takagi Masakatsu, as well as a celebration of the month of March, by So Percussion.
OK, that was a little cheap, since Tonic (6 p.m.) is not suddenly playing music to accompany go go dancers. No, it's a live set from Cafe au Go-Go in New York City that you can hear on the show tonight, with a performance from Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. And on the jazz front -- highlights include music from guitarists Jim Hall and Richard Ring, and trumpeters Kevin Dean and Chase Sandborn. The blues? Tunes from Skip McDonald and Michael Kaeshammer.
Funny thing about googling the words Irish Music Blog. Your first hit is nialler9, "Ireland's most popular music blog" (an honour bestowed by the Irish Blog Awards). It isn't a blog about Irish music. (It is a good music blog though.) But on Saint Patrick's day, many (particularly those in parts of the world other than Ireland, sometimes said to be "more Irish than the Irish themselves") seek sources for traditional Irish music. For that you might do better to go to Irish Music Magazine. or the Irish Traditional Music ArchiveComhaltas or Marc Gunn's Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. And for Irish rock and pop, a couple starting points are Irish Music Central and Irish Rockers.
Any you'd like to add, please do, via comments. And don't forget about Canada Live's broadcast tonight at 8 p.m., from a virtual Irish pub. Yes, a virtual Irish pub, called the The Candahar. You can read more about that in an early post, The Irish Pub In Your Mind.
Meantime, as it is St. Patrick's Day, and my last post (re: Leonard Cohen/Damien Rice) really wasn't about Irish music (no kidding, eh?) here is something quite distinctly Irish, quite distinctly coming from a trad. music source, and quite definitely worth hearing/seeing: The Chieftains, with The Dublin Reels.
As mentioned earlier, all videos posted on the blog can be found at R2Tube; when you get there choose the Radio 2 Blog option to see what's up so far.
In the past week I've had much reason to post about Leonard Cohen. His R n R Hall of Fame honour, his world tour, the documentary broadcast yesterday about him, If It Be Your Will. (Which is scheduled to be repeated -- at some point in the spring or summer. That May 17th date has changed, but I will update this when I have to correct date. My apologies!)
But at some point, corresponding with a Friend of the Blog in Montreal, he mentioned the version of Hallelujah by Irish singer Damien Rice. It's one of Cohen's most covered (and most staggeringly beautiful) songs, and while in general I'm not a huge fan of covers of Cohen (I like the originals too much), there are a couple of versions I do like -- Jeff Buckley's and k.d. Lang's leap to mind. This version by Damien Rice -- performed at Cohen's induction last week -- is perhaps the most understated of any I've heard, and you know, it really is pretty darn good. See what you think.
By the way, if you've ever noticed a video posted on the blog and meant to watch it, but didn't get around to it, they're all on R2's YouTube page -- from more Cohen to Ella Fitzgerald and John Cage, to fun stuff like What's Opera Doc and the Helsinki Complaints Choir.
Just click on R2Tube and choose the Radio 2 Blog option to see all the videos posted so far.
In honour of Saint Patrick's day, on Monday night you can hear a concert on Canada Live (8 p.m.) from The Candahar, a portable art installation that on this occasion rested in St. John’s Newfoundland -- it's is a fully functional traditional Belfast pub. (And there I thought that most pubs were fully functional installations, imitating art.) This is what you'll hear tonight: Irish/Newfoundland songs and tunes from Billy Sutton on button accordion and fiddle, Glenn Hiscock on fiddle, bouzouki and mandola, his brother Paul on guitar, Graham Wells bodhran and whistles with vocalist Melanie O'Brien.
The second concert on the broadcast also comes from those parts -- the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival -- but it features Americana and old-timey/bluegrass music. The show took place at the most unlikely time of 10:00 a.m., at a workshop tent at the (31st) festival. Sleepy folkies (not to mention musicians) woke up fast though, with two bands who are passionate about old time American music: Crooked Stovepipe from St. John's and Dyad from Vancouver. Dyad tend to songs that have been described as "darkly colourful story songs, occasionally disturbingly graphic, that have migrated from the porches of the deep south."
The Signal (10 p.m.) continues its Soundtrack Sundays series with music from a great soundtrack, Genghis Blues, the story of a blind blues musician's journey to Tuva to compete in a national throat singing competition.
And the concert feature on tonight's show is music inspired by jazz, folk, pop and politics --written by composer Frederic Rzewski, performed by pianist Milton Schlosser and soprano Kathleen Corcoran of the Augustana School of Music. That range of sources is no surprise, given it's Rzewski -- as Kyle Gann once said, reviewing Rzewski's music in The Village Voice: "Listening to one of his pieces, I can't even predict whether the music will be tonal or atonal, serially structured or improvised, quoting Three Blind Mice or roaring out revolutionary workers' songs, five measures from now. The guy darts all over the place. And I'm happy to follow."
Jan Jarczyk and John Stetch are two top notch jazz pianists who sometimes like to play together. On this occasion Jarczyk, who was born in Poland but has lived in North America (Boston, where he taught at Berklee, now in Montreal, where he teaches at McGill) for around a quarter century, invited Stetch (Canadian, currently living in NYC) to do a concert together of original material, plus a few standards.
A bit of a "strings" theme on Tonic (6 p.m.) tonight, with music from Sultans of String, Zubot & Dawson and Marc Atkinson's String Bustin' Rag.
On a vaguely related note (hey, it's a blog, free association allowed on occasion) if you've been hearing a lot about Canadian singer Basia Bulat lately, as her career seems to really be taking off (enabled in part by kudos from NPR), and you happen to like interesting arrangements with strings, you might want to listen to a song at Bulat's MySpace site, Someday . It's a rehearsal take featuring lovely pizzicato strings. Nothing mind-blowing, but sweet, and little window into her creative process.
But back to Tonic, because there's more than just strings on tonight's show -- other highlights include tunes from Nat King Cole and Nat Adderley, and a spotlight on trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, as well as music from Kathleen Grace, Chris Gale and The Puppini Sisters.
A real treat today to open up the Palm Sunday edition of Sunday Afternoon In Concert (1:00 p.m.): in the first two hours of the programme, Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, in a stirring performance by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, directed by master choral conductor Helmuth Rilling.
Bach composed the Passion According to St. John in 1724 and the St. Matthew Passion in 1727. (Three other settings have been lost, though scholars have identified the text of a St. Mark Passion.) Bach's Protestant beliefs, as you likely know, formed the bedrock of his creativity. And among his most important works are those detailing the Passion of Christ - Christ's betrayal, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
The performers you will hear today are as follows:
If you were reading the blog (or a newspaper!) earlier this week you will know that Mr. Leonard Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday. (Yes, there he is at the podium at that event.) His world tour dates were announced later in the week as well. Sidebar: To check those dates, and to see a wonderful video that includes his Hall of Fame speech go to First, He'll Take Toronto.
But back to today. Because of the Cohen-in-the-news week it's perfect timing that a documentary called If It Be Your Will, about Leonard Cohen, is being broadcast today on Inside The Music.
If It Be Your Will was made by Kari Hesthamar of Radio Norway, after having spent three days with Cohen at his small villa on the outskirts of Los Angeles in 2005. As you may know, Cohen is a massive star in Norway; his albums go to the top of their pop charts. His most famous connection with Norway is the Norwegian lover he met in Greece, the inspiration behind that beautiful song he wrote in 1967, So Long, Marianne (...it's time that we began, to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again).
When Kari Hesthamar went to visit Cohen she had recently completed a documentary about the real-life Marianne. In If It Be Your Will, Leonard Cohen was 71, and he looks back at one of his creative (and personal) preoccupations -- love -- reflecting on previous relationships, including his time in the 60s with Marianne. You'll hear Cohen at home, hosting dinner parties, speaking on the phone with his kids, and claiming - at times -- that he hardly remembers anything from his past. Fascinating stuff.
Perhaps it's the winter's surfeit of snow and ice that has made Gregory Charles turn his thoughts to water this weekend (without, we hope, any attendant basement flooding). Yes, today on In The Key Of Charles Gregory explores all kinds of water music, from Frank Sinatra, L’Orchestra Metropolitain du Grand Montreal, Fiction Plane, Sting, Damien Rice, Chris de Burgh, The Cambridge Singers, Laila Biali, Shania Twain, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Karina Gauvin, Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha Franklin, and the Cowboy Junkies.
Your Choral Concert Bulletin for a Palm Sunday. In honour of that day, Howard Dyck presents excerpts from Togni’s Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae, Rheinberger’s Stabat Mater and Karol Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater.
No one would dispute that Danny Boy has been sung a lot. A lot a lot. But I have to say I was surprised when The Signal (10 p.m.) team said that it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time. If you can get past the ubiquity factor, it is a beautiful song. OK, yeah, maybe a little depressing too. (But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying, If I'm dead, as dead I well may be. Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying. And kneel and say an Ave there for me.)
Anyway, I guess Pat is worried about scaring you off in their St. Paddy's Day special, so he assures you he will not be playing it. In fact, I think his St. Paddy's Day special is kind of an anti-special, since here are the musical highlights for tonight's show: music from Julia Kent, Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra, and a featured concert from John Kameel Farah, which I should point out you can also hear online, at Concerts On Demand: John Kameel Farah and Hauschka.
Three concerts tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), all of them from out west. First, singer Tanyss Nixi, who comes from an isolated Northern Alberta oil town, and reflects that experience with songs that touch on industry, isolation, and six-month winters. Ah yes, those six-month winters. Character building. We hope.
Then it's country and rock music from The Wheat Pool, who could only come from the prairies with a name like that. They're into Canadiana in their songs, too, with song titles like Emily Carr,Neil Young, and songs that trace the geography of the country at the same time as tracing the geography or relationships, like the song Evergreen. They've been referred to as "your best dirt road tourguides to the stars and bars west of the Canadian Shield."
And the third concert is powerpop/rock from Neil Macdonald, performing songs in front of a crowd on the U. of A. campus from his debut solo release, Picture Of Someone You Need. This concert is also available online, Concerts On Demand : Neil MacDonald.
Few things are as infectious and driving as boogie woogie, it's music designed to clear the cobwebs out. Tonight you can hear a bit of a boogie focus on Tonic (6 p.m.), with Dirty Boogie from swing king Brian Setzer, and some boogie from the late boogie master, Doug Riley.
And speaking of boogie and "driving," I've always thought that Mondrian painting, Broadway Boogie Woogie is a neat visual representation of both the music and of New York. Wish I had the rights to reproduce an image of it for you, but as I don't, I'll direct you boogie-woogie/art curious types to Dark Matter Magazine.
What I can do right here though, is share a little Boogie Woogie Dream, with Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. Love those eyebrows! Not to mention the wonderful music...
"His image in curled wig, embroidered red tunic and lace ruff stares out from kitsch portraits, decorative porcelain and chocolate boxes without number, but nobody really knew what Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart looked like – until now."
That's the tantalizing lede to a story in The Times called True Face Of Mozart Revealed. If you click on that link you'll get the whole story -- and the image. A bit more severe than the image on Mozartkugeln, pictured here, no? Speaking of, if you ever get the chance to see the Canadian movie, Mozart Balls, it's well worth it -- a fascinating peek into the world of obsessive world of Mozart fans.
This weekend on SATO, live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York's Lincoln Center, a production of the opera Peter Grimes, once described by composer Benjamin Britten as "the struggle of the individual against the masses." (He also said that "The more vicious the society, the more vicious the individual," an interesting if slightly depressing proposition.)
This new MET production is directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, and Maestro Donald Runnicles leads the performance, starring soprano Patricia Racette as Ellen Orford, and tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in the title role.
The nut of the story is this: A boy has died at sea...and at the inquest, the fisherman Peter Grimes is expected to provide answers: Was it an accident, or was it neglect that cost the apprentice his life? Or could it have been something worse? The townsfolk have their suspicions. Among the few that would defend Grimes is the kindly schoolmistress, Ellen Orford. But when another apprentice goes missing, not even Ellen’s compassion can save the tormented fisherman.
This weekend the intermission features the opera quiz with baritone Thomas Hampson as quizmaster, and there's also a feature on the role of the chorus in Peter Grimes, as well as backstage interviews with the artists.
Photo Note: That's Anthony Dean Griffey with Patricia Racette during the final dress rehearsal in New York.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the cast, the characters, the plot synopsis...
Saturday morning Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe presents music from the legendary Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec, with singer-songwriters Danny Michel and 17-year-old Meredith Luce. Then Stuart tells the story about how attending an odd funeral leaves Dave obsessed with planning the details of his own service. (Kind of a "Six Feet Under" meets the Vinyl Café moment, perhaps?)
You know that the weekday version of The Signal (10 p.m.) has a new blog? They do, The Signal Blog, check it out.
But the weekend incarnation of the show sends its own signals loud and clear, from the particular perspective of host (and composer) Pat Carrabré, and tonight he'll be presenting the following:
-A concert from Montreal’s Feu Thérèse.
-Music of another Montrealer, guitarist and composer Bernard Falaise.
-And new music from Jean Martin, The Mountain Goats and Cornelius.
-PLUS a very interesting cover of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
As mentioned earlier today, The Acorn (pictured here) and Basia Bulat are getting yakked about at SXSW, one of the most influential musicfests/conferences/schmoozes in the world. And tonight you can hear both artists on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
First, from Ottawa, The Acorn with music from their last release, Glory Hope Mountain, playing to a hometown audience at Barrymore’s. You may have heard about the interesting back story to the music on this recording since lead singer-songwriter, Rolf Kalusener, has been interviewed about it on CBC. His songs are based on stories his mother told him about her life -- she escaped a harrowing childhood in Haiti, and made a life in Canada.
Before we get to Ms. Bulat, you can also hear a concert from Valery Gore, a pianist-singer from Ridgeway Ontario. She performed at Zaphod’s in Ottawa’s Byward Market.
And then it's a performance at Ottawa’s Bluesfest, singer-songwriter Basia Bulat.
But wait, that's not all! In the Concert # Four spot, it’s M'Rabet M, acclaimed oud player who has performed with Omar Sosa and Cesaria Evora, among others.
Some news to share -- Rick Phillips, the host of Sound Advice, has announced that he is leaving at the end of March. Rick's contributions to the CBC are vast, some of which are outlined in the official announcement below. On a personal note I'd like to say that not only will he be missed by listeners, I know he will also be greatly missed by his colleagues.
And the official announcement:
"We want to let you all know that on March 29, Rick Phillips will be bidding farewell to listeners of Sound Advice and moving on to other opportunities and challenges.
Rick began his career as a freelance music program producer at CBC Montreal in the late 1970s. That first gig led to subsequent assignments in Edmonton, Calgary and finally Toronto. Rick's CBC Radio Music career has been rich and varied: RSVP , A Little Night Music , Stereo Morning , and Arts National are some of the programs he has produced. As a recording producer, Rick has covered events ranging from several Banff String Quartet Competitions to the 1990 Tchaikovsky International Music Competition in Moscow. As the Area Executive Producer in Toronto, Rick was intimately involved in the planning and design of CBC's Toronto Broadcasting Centre, including Glenn Gould Studio. Since 1994, Rick has been the Host and Producer of the popular Sound Advice.
Apart from his work for CBC Radio, Rick has been active as a teacher of adult music history and appreciation classes at Alberta College in Edmonton, Mount Royal College in Calgary and, more recently, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto. In 2003, he authored The Essential Classical Recordings - 101 CDs, published by McClelland & Stewart.
Though his 14-year stint on Sound Advice is coming to an end, Rick will continue to contribute his vast knowledge to the musical education of Canadians. He plans to become more involved in teaching, writing, webcasts, and hosting tours in the growing field of adult and continuing education.
Starting April 5, a second hour of Inside the Music will air Saturdays, replacing Sound Advice.
Please join us in wishing Rick continued success."
Seeing which bands and performers emerge from the hordes at SXSW is always fun -- and of course it's particularly interesting from the north of the border perspective to follow the Canadians. Here at CBC you can do this via Radio 3, their podcasts and video roundup and blog.
But to get the stateside view, I always check out what the folks at NPR are boosting. When All Songs Considered picked Canadian Basia Bulat in their SXSW preview, I thought, hmmm, this bodes well. And then when the fest got underway, they picked her as one of their Three Artists To Watch, using words like "beguiling" and "breezily charming." Well, up here we already knew she was going places -- but nice to see others recognizing this too.
There are other Canadians grabbing attention too of course -- like Laura Barrett and The Acorn, just to name just two. And speaking of The Acorn, you can hear them online here at R2 -- Concerts On Demand: The Acorn.
And on a related note -- you can hear both Basia Bulat and The Acorn tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
When Studio Sparks presented Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero last fall -- live, in front of a studio audience -- the response was extremely positive. People find her work intriguing -- she's a classical pianist who also likes to improvise, hearkening back to practices largely discarded now by classical players (it's true, the jazzers didn't get there first). You can hear that session again today on the show.
And if you're interested in hearing her recorded work in this vein, her latest recording, Baroque, includes some of that improvisatory spirit, with interpretations of music including Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.
As you may have heard, at CBC news or elsewhere, the musical recipients of the 2008 Governor-General's Performing Arts Awards were pianist Anton Kuerti and Quebec singer, Michel Pagliaro. (The Tragically Hip got the National Arts Centre Award. I think this now officially makes them "distinguished elder rockers," and I mean no disrespect by this -- they still rock hard, do The Hip!)
But Mr. Kuerti has been in the news for other reasons this week too -- on Tuesday when he was in Boston to watch his son, Julian Kuerti, conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the pianist schedule to perform (Leon Fleisher) was sick, and couldn't perform. On the programme was Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto, which pretty much requires a heavyweight Beethoven interpreter. So Kuerti Senior stepped in to play, and saved the day.
George Crumb (Grammy AND Pulitzer prize winning George Crumb) has written some intensely beautiful music, and one of his best known works, Black Angels: Thirteen Images From The Dark Land, , is being broadcast tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), performed by the Tokai String Quartet. The piece has had tremendous resonance, particularly when it was first performed. As the magazine New Music Connoisseur puts it:
"1970 was a tough year for America. Memory of the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, as well as the immolations of American black inner city neighborhoods hovered darkly, acridly, in the air. It was, above all else, the ongoing nightmare of Vietnam that engulfed the national consciousness, casting a huge shadow over virtually all human intercourse.
It was into this lurid zeitgeist that George Crumb's amplified string quartet Black Angels was premiered. The music crystallized the composer's uncanny ability to project ferocity and the beatific in the same voice. New music in 1970 was still dominated by emotionally constricted serialism, and Crumb's direct sensuality had an explosive effect. Black Angels was an instant classic, and has since been recorded ten times, a remarkable, perhaps unprecedented statistic for contemporary art music."
Also on the show tonight -- Crumb performed by The Art of Time Ensemble. with Voice of the Whale - music exploring the powerful forces of nature, inspired by the singing of the humpback whale.
Tonight the "live" set on Tonic (6 p.m.) comes from 1958, a set of tunes from Ella Fitzgerald recorded live at Mister Kelly's in Chicago.
Until then, here's something to glue you to your computer screen.
As is often the case with these things, you have to ignore the slight out of sync-ness, but if you can get past that -- wowwwww. And that Hard Day's Night thing! You know, even if Ella is not your favourite jazz singer, you just can't help but be boggled at such a performance. Well and truly boggled.
You may have missed the news about the Podcast Giveaway since that post kind of got buried in the wee small hours, so here is a reminder -- the new Canada Live Podcast (which comes out every Tuesday) is offering a giveaway, provided by the CBC Shop.
All you have to do is say which music you've heard on a Canada Live broadcast that you'd also like to hear on the podcast. You can email your entry to Canada Live.
Podcast #2 is now available, and this week's lineup is:
1. Alex Cuba: Currently busy making waves at the SXSW music festival, he describes his music as "sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and rock chords subtly subvert commonly held notions of what Cuban music is," and that's a fine description of his very appealing sound.
2. Holly Cole: You know Holly, one of Canada's biggest stars. But did you know that she was described in a recent review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian thusly: "If voice has a color, Holly Cole's gleams like rich, burnished copper." Nice.
3. Gregory Hoskins: A sneak preview as there will be more from this concert presented as the feature concert on the March 18 podcast. When this concert was first broadcast on radio, btw, people luvvved it.
And just for a little horn-tooting, last week when the inaugural version of the podcast was launched, it went to #1 in the music podcasts on iTunes Canada.
To get the podcast, either by download or subscription, you can go to Radio 2 Podcasts.
It's been said that in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. Five, the composer dances with fate. Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear a complete performance of that work, from a recent recording featuring Christoph Eschenbach leading the Philadelphia Orchestra. Also on the show, showcasing the Bach side of violinist James Ehnes, the Chaconne that ends Bach's 2nd Partita In D Minor.
Speaking of Ehnes, I wonder how he feels about the Jays chances this year? According to this report at cbcnews.ca, Ehnes is based in Florida in part so that he can get in lots of spring training games. Is this a cheap way of getting baseball back on the blog, now that the season approaches? Possibly. But as everyone knows, baseball is the discerning musician's sport of choice. (And for the record, despite the inglorious past few seasons, and despite Casey Jannsen's arm blowing up -- terrible news -- I still think it's going to be a good season. Talk to me again in August though.)
(In case you're wondering...that's the cover of the sheet music to The Baseball Quadrille, by Henry Von Gudera, dedicated to the Tri-Mountain Baseball Club of Boston, the champions of New England. Year uncertain.)
The Barra MacNeils turned 20 last year, released an anniversary album to commemorate the occasion, and went on an international tour. Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear music from one of those tour stops -- recorded at the Marigold Theatre in Truro, Nova Scotia. If you aren't familiar with the group for any reason, (though that's unlikely, given their stature), here are the key points:
They're a family band, six siblings, they come from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton Island, they're steeped in that tradition...and they sing like angels.
As to the specifics of the music, some of it is trad, some of it more on the pop side, much of it a combination of both. And did I mention, they sing like angels? But don't just take my word for it, the last time this concert was broadcast one listener wrote to the blog to say: "Absolutely stunning! Almost had me in tears! One of the best performances I've heard on CBC in recent times." So there you go.
Also on the show, a couple of guys who sing in a rather different fashion, angelic or not, Matt Andersen and JP Leblanc. This show was a CBC-sponsored event called Rattle 'n Blues, a fund-raiser with all proceeds benefiting First Steps Housing Project in Saint John.
Finally, what all height-challenged people have been waiting for, a celebration of wee things, acknowledgment of the truism of good things/small packages, and so forth and so on. This celebration of it's a small small world is on The Signal (10 p.m.), with music from the Swedish alternative group The Tiny, a selection of Little Things from Norway's Hanne Hukkelberg, and some Micro Melodies from California's The Album Leaf. Closer to home, there's a remix of Lali Puna's Small Things by Montreal-based experimental artist Sixtoo, and instrumentalists Jean Martin and Colin Fisherwith music from their new album, Little Man On The Boat. Take that, Randy Newman.
The North End Klezmer Project is the brainchild of three fine Winnipeg musicians, also family, brothers Victor Shultz and Myron Schultz, both founding members of one of Canada's first and best known klezmer bands, Finjan, and sister Erica Schultz on piano.
Tonight you can hear music from this ensemble on Canada Live (8 p.m.), with a broadcast of The North End Klezmer Project's first ever Winnipeg concert.
Also on tonight's show -- oud virtuoso Yair Dalal, from Winnipeg's Berney Theatre, performing with percussionist Erez Mounk and woodwinds player Eli Benakot.
Yes, tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear Latin/Brazilian music galore from Tito Puente, Trio Mocoto, Marisa Monte and the Bernard Primeau Jazz Ensemble. Thinking on this made me realize that I don't think I've ever linked to any of the excellent Latin music blogs that are busily documenting the prodigious output of Latin musicians.
So here's one small step to start righting that wrong, with La Onda Tropical, an MP3 blog about "good latin music," which includes "culture-defining or eclectic, mainstream or alternative, tropical or popular, but always interesting and exotic." Well, I don't know about the "exotic" part of it, but I'm not going to quibble over wording, no indeedy, not when the musical content is so entertaining.
A follow up to my post, Jean Derome, L'Homme Musique, about the seminal Quebec "musique actuelle" artist, recently the subject of a book (L'Homme Musique). R2 recorded Derome with his band, les Dangereux Zhoms (and special guests), in a concert that coincided with the release of that book -- and you can hear that performance online now, at Concerts On Demand: Jean Derome and les Dangereux Zhoms + 7.
More on the Leonard Cohen front, following Monday's post about his induction into the R&R Hall of Fame (Leonard Cohen, Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame). Finally the dates for Cohen's world tour have been released, and you can get details at the Leonard Cohen Files, a major fan site where there are even some pre-sales of tickets. Basically, it's North America in May and June, (starting in Toronto) Europe to follow. (He's playing Glastonbury alongside headliners like Jay Z and The Verve, for Pete's sake! So yes, rock n'roll Hall of Fame seems totally apt, after all.)
The Leonard Cohen Files website is a quite a portal into Cohenobilia, by the way, and has an active Cohen forum. You want to talk, think, obsess about all things Cohen? It's your forum.
Now, if you haven't seen this already, and have an interest in Cohen, here's his induction into the R&R Hall of Fame, introduced by Lou Reed, from earlier this week. It takes a minute or three to get to the ceremony and his speech, but all of it is truly great viewing.
And one more Cohenbite -- and a related programming note: this weekend, on CBC's Inside The Music, you can hear If It Be Your Will, a documentary about Cohen by Kari Hesthamar of Radio Norway -- Cohen is a huge star in Norway. Hesthamar managed to spend three entire days with him at his small villa on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In the doc, Cohen looks back on love, reflecting on previous relationships, including his time in the 60s with Marianne. And, no surprise, you can read more about this at the Leonard Cohen Files.
"Spring ahead, fall back." For years that saying eluded me, never could remember what it meant. It became easier to think of the biannual time change as "the good one," vs. "the not good one." The good one was about sleep, pure and simple.
But which is "the good one" for you? This is the question on Music & Co. this morning, put to you musically by Tom.
Would you rather get going in the mornings earlier (represented by Bizet's Carmen), or snooze a little longer ( rep'd by Brahm's Lullaby)?
So, put strictly in musical terms, in the Cage...it's Bizet's Carmen vs. Brahms' Lullaby.
You can, yawn, vote at the Cage Match or, state your choice here on the blog.
Did we mention there are prizes? The new Canada Live Podcast which comes out every Tuesday, has a giveaway provided by the CBC Shop, (which means that no one will take home any dollar store items of dubious appeal, nor will it be an oversized t-shirt). I don' t know what specifically the prize is, but one of the Can. Live producers tells me it's "really nice." And she's really nice, so I trust her judgment on this.
All you have to do is say which music you've heard on a Canada Live broadcast that you'd also like to hear on the podcast. Listen to the podcast -- they'll tell you how to get in touch with the show. So it couldn't be simpler. (Well, other than sending in a box top and just getting something in return, it couldn't be simpler.)
Now, as to Podcast #2, out of the gate this week. This week's lineup is:
1. Alex Cuba: Currently busy making waves at the SXSW music festival, he describes his music as "sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and rock chords subtly subvert commonly held notions of what Cuban music is," and that's a fine description of his very appealing sound.
2. Holly Cole: You know Holly, one of Canada's biggest stars. But did you know that she was described in a recent review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian thusly: "If voice has a color, Holly Cole's gleams like rich, burnished copper." Nice.
3. Gregory Hoskins: A sneak preview as there will be more from this concert presented as the feature concert on the March 18 podcast. When this concert was first broadcast on radio, btw, people luvvved it.
And just for a little horn-tooting, last week when the inaugural version of the podcast was launched, it went to #1 in the music podcasts on iTunes Canada.
To get the podcast, either by download or subscription, you can go to Radio 2 Podcasts.
The idea of "steam punk" wherein new technology is clothed in yesteryear's garments, (for example a laptop computer using old typewriter keys and brass fittings), seems to have gathered steam in recent years (bad pun intended). There are probably many reasons for this -- but among them, I think, is a genuine appreciation for the technology of previous eras, and the aesthetics of that technology.
I was recently on an old train in France, the kind where you sit in close quarters in a compartment with eight or so people, face to face, as the train hurtles through some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe. It made made me muse, as always, on the lasting glories of train travel, and of trains themselves. Viva le train!
This evening on Tonic (6 p.m.) there'll be tunes from vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Dianne Reeves, Natalie Cole, Andy Bey and DK Ibomek.
And there will also be a feature on music from Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, recorded in 1959 and still considered by many (including moi) to be one of the best jazz recordings to date. (Also apparently still the best selling jazz recording ever, according to a piece at NPR the recording still sells an average of 5,000 copies a week!) And speaking of NPR, I wanted to point you to the profile they have about Kind Of Blue, where you can hear interview clips from Bill Evans and others about the making and significance of the recording. But ya'll come back to Tonic after that, y'hear?
The other day I read something about Brooklyn being THE place for writers, more writers than you can throw a stick at are now based there, apparently. (Why you would want to throw a stick at a writer is a question we can leave aside for now.) So I wasn't surprised, somehow, to read this today in the New York Times, in a piece called: All Hail Brooklyn: Alt-Rock Thrives in Alt-Borough.
"Brooklyn is 'the most exciting place on the earth musically at the moment,' said Alex Miller, the new bands editor of NME, a British music magazine. 'It’s gotten to the point where I had to stop constantly writing about Brooklyn because every week there seemed to be another five bands that were really interesting.'"
Hmm, seems that Montreal's moment as alt/indie-scene worth frothing about has now officially come and gone. Which Canadian city will be next to grab the media attention in this way? Don't know, but the answer might be found in following the success of Canadian bands down at SXSW this week. SXSW music and media conference is one of the biggest showcases for bands in the world -- featuring 1,600 bands, among them, this year, 150 Canadians. If you want to follow SXSW activities, one way is via R3's coverage, which includes a SXSW podcast, btw.
Today on Studio Sparks (12:00) you can hear a complete performance of Saint-Saens mighty Organ Symphony, Symphony No. 3. And that will be nicely complimented by one of Eric's favourite jazz compositions, the mighty slow movement of the Rodrigo Concierto De Aranjuez with guitarist Jim Hall.
We've had this debate before (Miles Davis vs. Hall's versions), and I have to say I'm coming around, somewhat, to Eric's point of view. Still, I think it might not be a bad idea to do a back to back performance and hold a vote. Not that I'm trying to encourage any Sparks Cage Matches or anything. Just curious to hear how they would sound, side to side. Musical taste testing, if you like. I'll have to see if I can get a message to the producer to suggest that...
Meantime, this lovely, "traditional" version, featuring Paco de Lucia, is nothing to sneeze at either...
Who among us has ever tried to tango? I have to admit I have not. Flamenco yes, tango no. I can tell you that flamenco dance is terribly humbling, and I suspect that tango is much the same -- the challenges subtle and extreme, the rewards ditto. And somehow so compelling -- who doesn't secretly wish they could tango? Why look, people even try to tango in the streets, as evidenced by the couple in the photo.
Of course it is possible to enjoy the music regardless of how many left feet one may have, and Monday night in a special collaboration between CBC Radio and Radio Canada you can do just that, with Canada Live (8 p.m.).
You'll hear the True Jive Pluckers (who admittedly do not sound as though they are a tango group -- but they play a mix of jazz, blues, tango, and other forms) from Saskatchewan. They feature three musicians you may know from other ensembles -- Eduard Minevich, violin, (also Concert Master of the Regina Symphony Orchestra), Jack Semple, guitar and Stephen McLellan, upright bass. And the True Jives team up with some nationally recognized tango stars - Vancouver pianist Linda Lee Thomas and Jonathan Goldman on bandoneon (also a member of Quartango).
Music includes compositions by Astor Piazzolla and Daniel Binelli, among others, as well tango arrangements originating in various parts of the world. This broadcast will be co-hosted bilingually by CBC's Jennifer Gibson and Michel Lalonde of Radio-Canada.
Speaking of Piazzolla, whose impact on lovers of tango the world over is quite astounding, this is what Linda Lee Thomas says about his impact on her: "In 1988, my addiction to Argentine Tango began. Astor Piazzolla and his Quintet were playing in Vancouver and I had been encouraged by many to go. Skeptically I went - reluctantly I left. That night, the music of tango lured me under its spell."
Note to you COD fans -- this concert will be available in the days to come.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Laurie "ventures out into the wilderness" with outdoor sonic art from Hildegard Westerkamp, self described as a "composer, radio artist and sound ecologist." Westerkamp, as you may know, is originally from Germany but has firmly established herself in Canada since the late 1960s, and has been very involved with making music connected to the acoustic environments we live in, rural and urban.
By the by, if you are interested in the ideas behind the acoustic environment and composition, I'd recommend going to the World Forum For Acoustic Ecology. (If for the tractor on the staff paper alone...)
Sometimes it's difficult coming up with a subject heading for Canada Live (8 p.m.) posts, particularly when they have three such interesting concerts as is the case with tonight's broadcast -- you want to draw attention to each one. But I must start with the concert that comes last, since it involves a world premiere, a new book, and a significant artist with a considerable impact on music in this country (and around the world) over time.
And that's the concert featuring Jean Derome et les Dangeureux Zhoms + 7. Derome is one of the most important figures of the musique actuelle scene, imaginative, sometimes funny, and frequently challenging. In this concert he leads a cast of 11 other musicians, four of whom belong to his core band Les Dangereux Zhoms.
They do some new arrangements of Derome's work, concluding with a world premiere piece to mark the 25th anniversary of the concert's organizer, Traquen'Art.
According to Derome this 45-minute work, scored for all 12 musicians, is "a kind of check-up on the state of things in today's creative musics". This event also coincided with the release of a book entitled Jean Derome, l'homme musique , published by Varia Editions, in a series of portraits of remarkable contemporary Quebecois artists.
First up is Chloé Ste-Marie, who began her career as an actress, but then gained notice as a tri-lingual singer, performing in French, Mohawk or Innu. This concert was recorded at the most recent Francofolies de Montréal.
And in the middle, sax player/composer Joel Miller's Mandala Project. About five years ago Miller created Mandala after some highly productive compositional workshops organized with fellow musicians Thom Gossage, Bruno Lamarche , Fraser Hollins, Bill Mahar and Kenny Bibace.
Let's see, the Golden Globes, the Oscars, The ECMAs, the Indies...award season is swiftly moving towards its conclusion, nicely timed to coincide with springtime (which I know will be a source of relief for those who feel this winter has been a tad burdensome in the snow department).
Of course Canada's biggest music awards, the Junos, are yet to come, slated for Sunday, April 6th. And a number of shows are starting to showcase some of the nominees, including Tonic (6 p.m.), tonight they play music from Jully Black and Richard Underhill. Black, by the way, is also performing on the Junos show itself.
And from this day forward he'll be featured in the Museum's Hall of Fame exhibit, where a collection of all his songs will be included in the computerized "jukebox." The twenty-third annual induction ceremony takes place tonight in New York City, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Now here's a real rockin' performance by Cohen from 1967...from the Julie Felix TV show, The Stranger Song.
Wow, the tear at the end...and the singing, how very beautiful...
Gramophone magazine said of the Hagen Quartet that they "seem to take nothing for granted, thinking afresh about each tempo and, in almost every bar, what style of expression, what tone colour to adopt ..." You can hear for yourself today, as they're featured on Studio Sparks (12:00) performing Mozart's "Hunt" Quartet .
Good morning. I just thought I'd say that. Beginning of the week and all, consider it a virtual friendly greeting made in passing on the way to work or your coffee maker.
Also to begin your week, a story about music and hair. It's often thought that much of life revolves around the hairdresser or barber (or the kitchen table), and this is one such example.
A man named Denis in Montreal walked into his local barber's shop the other day and observed that a customer's beard was being trimmed to the tune of Brahms' 5th Hungarian Dance. Denis was taken aback, because as you will know if you are a Charlie Chaplin fan, in The Great Dictator Chaplin plays a barber -- and one scene shows him trimming the beard of a customer as this very piece of music is being played in the background.
What kind of cut did Denis get? That I don't know. But you can hear more of the story this morning -- and the music -- on Here's To You (9 a.m.)
So much interesting contemporary music is written for movies. Just the other day I saw There Will Be Blood, (there's not much, but there is lots of oil and greed), and the soundtrack was a huge part of its impact. The third movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto, and the original music by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
Some of Greenwood's music was quite beautiful, some of it overtly suspense-creating, if you know what I mean, but either way at times it almost overpowered the movie. When you find yourself in the middle of a movie wondering what it would be like without the music you know some balance isn't quite right. But of course it also points to the power of music in movie soundtracks.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Pat begins a features called “Soundtrack Sundays,” and he'll kick it off with music from Deepa Mehta’s film Water by composer Mychael Danna.
Also -- a belated celebration of composer Marjan Mozetich's 60th birthday with with a concert featuring musicians Gisel Dalbec, Wolf Tormann, Donelda Gartshore and others. This concert is also available at Concerts On Demand : Marjan Mozetich's 60th Birthday Celebration.
And finally, tonight The Signal also pays tribute tonight to the late Canadian composer John Weinzweig with his Divertimento, performed by flutist Robert Cram.
Vancouver's East side, that is, with the Vancouver based group Tambura Rasa, who blend Middle Eastern sounds into a mix that also includes West African influences, some Balkan dance music and flamenco. Quite a combo -- they describe it as "World Fusion Music, Gypsy, Afro-Latin, Flamenco, Balkan, and more.." You can hear how these elements mix tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.), as Tambura Rasa is in concert on the show this evening.
And so is Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee, well known sitarist and teacher of Indian classical music, based in Kolkata, India. In this performance he came into CBC's studios for a concert with Canadian based musicians, Sunny Matharu and Peter Berkham.
Love this quote about Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee, taken from his own website: "He has taken Sitar as his life’s only mission and has been amply rewarded for his tenacious devotion."
Tonight's Tonic (6 p.m.) includes much good music, for example:
Joshua Redman performing Charlie Parker
Mark Eisenman with a composition presumably for Bird, called Parker 102
Music from Maceo Parker
So yes, a bit of a "various Parkers" theme on the show.
And, thinking of Charlie, I thought I'd post this for your pre-Tonic enjoyment, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, with Hot House, complete with Japanese subtitles, from 1951 or '52
After that slightly awkward Downbeat presentation it's pretty amazing, isn't it?
Not sure why awards season happens at this time of year, but they do, rolling out with red carpets and all the attendant hoopla. So it's refreshing that Sunday Afternoon In Concert takes a look at one of music history's longest running awards through music - the Prix de Rome. (The prize has its roots in The Royal Court of Louis XIV, some 300 years ago -- between 1803 and 1968 more than 150 composers granted the prize were able to undertake further studies in their discipline in Rome -- among the long list of honourees are Hector Berlioz and Lilli Boulanger.) Today on the show you can hear recent performances by Canadian orchestras of some of the prizewinners work.
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and today's pre-eminent master of French repertoire, guest conductor Charles Dutoit, go on a little voyage through the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, as well as the Béatrice et Bénédict Overture.
For Edmonton Symphony Orchestra music director William Eddins, Lili Boulanger’s prize-winning cantata Faust et Hélène is the great undiscovered masterpiece of music, and in its performance of this the ESO is joined by a stellar trio of soloists -- Susanna Tudor-Thomas & Frédérique Vézina, sopranos Bonaventura Bottone, tenor, and Jason Howard, baritone.
But first on the show, also from the ESO, the music of Ellington and Bernstein, and of Canadian composer Alan Gilliland , his new work for piano and orchestra called Dreaming Of The Masters II - Rhapsody GEB, which is inspired by Gershwin, Ellington and Bernstein.(Ah, I geb it.) William Eddins is both conductor and soloist with the ESO for this performance.
All that and the proverbial more -- music from Thirteen Strings, the chamber orchestra from Ottawa, and harp soloist Erica Goodman.
This week Inside The Music broadcasts a documentary by Hele Montagna about the composer Claude Vivier, called In Search of Claude Vivier.
You may already know about the tragic ending to Claude Vivier's life -- in March, 1983, just weeks before his 35th birthday, he was murdered in his Paris apartment. Bizarrely, the piece he was working on, Do You Believe In The Immortality Of The Soul? outlined a journey on the Paris metro where a man stabbed him though the heart.
Quite apart from the sensational nature of Vivier’s death though, this documentary will explore the musical language he created, and includes interviews with the composer's friends, twenty-five years after his death.
In a related note, you may be interested in this recent article in The Guardian about an online experiment connected to Vivier's work, a collaboration between the contemporary music ensemble Psappha, the BBC Singers and Lancaster University -- the article is called Soul's Rebirth.
"Do you believe in magic..." Should one be concerned that reading that sentence triggers some part of the brain to immediately sing "in a young girl's heart?" Hopefully not, hopefully we can chalk that up to the magic of music and song (or maybe of high rotation of hits from the 60's to this day).
Magic in music and musical magic is the topic this Sunday on In The Key Of Charles, and Gregory plans to bewitch you with music fromthe Dubs, Sammy Davis Jr., Creedence Clearwater Revival, Caetano Veloso, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, the Swingle Singers, the Crash Test Dummies, Queen, Broken Social Scene, the Ulster Orchestra and Steppenwolf.
If you're seeking some specifics about anything played, here's this week's Playlist.
And if you're wondering about the long-necked woman, pictured here, why that's "'rekuro-Kubi' the long-necked woman. (From a scene from the Japanese film One Hundred Ghost Stories.)
Choral Concert Bulletin: This Sunday morning tune into Choral Concert for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion Part II, performed by the RIAS Chamber Choir and the Berlin Academy for Early Music.
The IWD theme continues (that's International Women's Day, for those not used to tossing off the acronym) tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), when Pat spins music written by, inspired by and involving women.
Throughout the night on High-Rotation, (it's kind of like capitalizing High Fidelity, or these days Wi-Fi, which is so much nicer with its French pronunciation, don't you think, "we fee?" but I digress) it's Veda Hille's new CD: This Riot Life. Alex Varty, in a concert review for the Georgia Straight featuring the new material described the songs as "pulsating with life."
And the concert portion of the programme tonight is The Sappho Project, featuring the Constantinople Ensemble, Lori Freedman, Shannon Mercer and a new commissioned work by Constantinople's A.D., (similarly on the acronym front -- Artistic Director), composer Kiya Tabassian.
There was much excitement over this concert when it took place, and was initially broadcast, and today in honour of International Women's Day you can hear Dione Taylor's tribute to Aretha Franklin on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
Special guests are (check this out) David Clayton-Thomas and Sharon Riley and The Faith Chorale! The show is a retrospective going back to Aretha’s earliest days singing in the church, includes music from her often-overlooked jazz recording (not by me, it's a favourite) and of course from her fame as a R&B superstar.
You may have heard of Song For My Father, or A Child Is Born, or Waltz For Debby, but on Saturday's Tonic (6 p.m.) it's all about jazz for brothers. Starting with Four Brothers from trombonist Russ Little and music from the Brubeck Brothers.
An interesting piece in The Guardian by William Howard, pianist and founder of the Schubert Ensemble, and Steven Isserlis, cellist, comparing notes on long-term musical partnerships vs. one-offs.
Here's a quote from Howard:
"As any connoisseur of football knows, imaginative and flowing play is more likely to come from a finely honed club team than from a national team of star players who have had little time to train together. When a concert goes well for us, we can achieve what an audience member once described as "group bungee jumping" - the feeling that you can take a performance to its limits and trust everyone else will come with you."
And from Isserlis:
"A whole 'rehearsal language' has sprung up - rather like politically correct English, and just as see-through. For instance, if the violinist turns to the rest of the group and says, 'We shouldn't get too slow here,' what he means is: 'You lot shouldn't get too slow here; I was perfect.' And it's a difficult point to argue. 'Yes, we should get too slow' - hmm, doesn't sound right, somehow."
The sensational French coloratura singer, Natalie Dessay, (that's her arriving in a horse drawn carriage during a rehearsal prior to the Vienna Life Ball last year) appears at the Met this week in a production of Donizetti's Lucia Di Lammermoor -- broadcast on SATO.
Based on a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, Lucia di Lammermoor (one of the most wonderful names to say aloud, don't you think?) tells the tale of a young Scottish woman, torn between feuding families. Her own wedding day turns out rather badly, I'm afraid, for her betrothed.
Donizetti’s famous tragic heroine demands vocal virtuosity and dramatic commitment, and we think Dessay likely has it. And with her, Giuseppe Filianoti sings the role of her lover Edgardo, while Mariusz Kwiecien is her scheming brother Enrico, and Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea is the compassionate tutor, Raimondo.
Intermission content will include the Opera Quiz hosted by world renowned soprano Patricia Racette, currently appearing in the Met’s new production of Peter Grimes. Canadian tenor Ben Heppner will join the Met's host, Margaret Juntwait, in the broadcast booth to discuss his upcoming performance of Tristan und Isolde. You can also hear a feature on the glass Armonica, (the rare instrument that is used in the opera’s infamous mad scene), as well as backstage interviews with members of the cast.
Full cast & character (and the all important plot synopsis) to follow...
What is it about locked schools and kids? You'd think with all the time kids spend in school, they wouldn't long to go inside when the place was closed. (Or on the roof, speaking from ancient personal history.) And yet they do.
This weekend on the Vinyl Cafe Stuart has a tale of one such incident, when Sam and his pal Murphy, in an effort to right some mysterious wrong, sneak in to their school after hours. (OK, so they have a motive, in this case. Although the possibility of a cache of overthrown balls seemed not a bad one at the time either, as I recall. Why did that janitor have to show up right at that moment?)
But back to the Vinyl Café -- this weekend the concert comes from Fredericton, where you can also hear singer-songwriters Dan Hill and Jill Barber.
Here's how pianist clarinetist Lori Freedman describes what she does:
"I am a performer who plays music for contrabass, bass, A, B-flat, C and E-flat clarinets. I play written and improvised music, ranging in settings from orchestra, concerti, chamber ensemble and solo. I write concert music as well as music for dance, film and theatre. I perform in all of these arenas both live on stage and in the recording studio. As well as touring extensively I teach contemporary and improvised music for all instruments internationally and at McGill University in Montreal as well as at my private home studio."
Here's how The Signal (10 p.m.) describes her career: "Incredible."
You can hear Pat's profile of Ms. Freedman tonight on the show...
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Friday's Loot Bag give away -- and tonight's prize is veryyyy nice, no crackerjack, and gone are the bags of gummy bears too -- no, it's all musical, with the new Kronos Quartet CD with pipa virtuoso, Wu Man.
Oh sorry, one more mention (a must, as someone who admires this musician) -- there's also a concert segment from guitarist Bill Frisell.
Although she's renowned as Montreal's "Queen of the Blues", Dawn Tyler Watson's style incorporates her many influences - jazz, soul, folk and good old rock & roll - into a fresh new sound. Dawn was last year's recipient of the prestigious Canadian Maple Blues Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Her concert from Montreal is heard in the first hour of Canada Live at 8 p.m.
Next up on the show, a celebration of International Women’s Day from The Spectrum in Montreal, with jazz performer Julie Lamontagne, singers Andrea Lindsay and Lilly Frost, Quebec rocker Laurence Jalbert, Brazilian guitarist and singer Monica Freire, and Mary Jane Lamond with fiddler Wendy MacIsaac. These performers are accompanied by a house band and a seventeen member female choir called Concerto Della Donna. I haven't heard this one -- but that's one heck of a lineup!
Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear a set of tunes from the late Oscar Peterson, recorded live in Munich in 1998.
You know, when writing about the Oscar Peterson tribute that took place in January, following his death in December, I tried to include as many "reviews," and online tributes as possible during that time. But I missed this very nice piece about that event, written by Laila Boulos. So here it is now, describing what it was like to attend that tribute, written for The Live Music Report, and called Oscar Peterson -- Simply The Best. And speaking of that memorable occasion, you can also still hear the performances and speeches on CBC R2's website, at Concerts On Demand: Oscar Peterson Tribute -- Simply The Best.
New music on 1960s television...was Cage treated like an exotic specimen, or was it offered in a more positive spirit? I'd like to think the latter. Certainly makes for fascinating viewing...and the radio story is a hoot.
One of the most sublime pieces of choral music is being showcased today on Studio Sparks (12:00) -- the famous setting of the 40-voice motet, Spem In Alium, by Thomas Tallis. This version features the Huelgas Ensemble led by Paul Van Nevel.
Aside from its sheer beauty as a piece of music, I've always thought it would be perfect in the right visual setting (in a movie, I mean) and have always wondered why it hasn't been used in this way. (Or maybe I've just missed it if it has.) You can, however create Tallis ringtones. Not that I'm recommending that course of action. Heard one too many times to accompany the visible (if not visual) annoyance of your seat-mates on a bus might take the edge off.
Also on the show today, from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's recent Mozart Festival, a concert performance by of Mozart's Symphony No. 36 In C, known as the "Linz".
Tonight you can hear Gilles Tremblay'sMusique du feu performed by the Ensemble de la Société de Musique Contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) on The Signal (10 p.m.). The composition deals with the subject of the apocalypse, and is said to "employ the dissonant growls of the SMCQ's trombone section to great effect."
And from the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music entry, a mind-expanding quote about Tremblay's work, and the notion of sonority:
"The aesthetic of Gilles Tremblay is concerned above all with sonority. Yet we should hesitate to reduce so rich an output to one word. It therefore seems necessary to dismantle the word 'sonority' and reassemble it in a more subtle form in which the notion of timbre is both encompassed and extended. Far from referring solely to original combinations of timbres, the word should invite us to consider sound as a complex network of events, both material and immaterial, real and potential - in other words to examine sonority according to a number of dual perspectives, all necessary for a precise and full understanding of the inner meaning of Tremblay's work."
Alanis Morissette (pictured here singing the anthem before the Anaheim Ducks vs Ottawa Senators playoff game last year) is being inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame this week, as part of Canadian Music Week. Canada Live (8 p.m.) broadcasts a concert tagged "Jagged Little Concert," heh, from the Studio at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, in honour of Morissette.
On the broadcast you can hear music from The Mighty Popo, Q The Romantic Revolutionary, soprano Donna Brown, singer-songwriter Lynn Miles, jazzer DD Jackson and Amos the Transparent.
There are two other concerts on the show as well, Sudbury artist Kate Maki, who has just released her latest CD, and performs music from that CD at the National Library of Canada, and alt-country/folk-rock band The John Henrys, in a performance from National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage.
Tonic (6 p.m.) takes to Brazilian music tonight, with tunes from Rosa Passos, Orlandivo, Tania Maria and Caetano Veloso.
In related news, I don't know if you saw this the other day -- reports from the BBC and others that Carly Simon, who is the latest singer to sign to Starbucks Hear Music label, is releasing a recording on that label inspired by Brazilian music.
"You don't have to be singing bossa nova or samba to get the essence of Brazilian music," she told Billboard mag.
Hmm, what does this mean, exactly? The album is supposed to come out April 29, will have to wait and see.
Also in Brazilian music related news -- though from a decidedly different kind of musician, Eugene Hutz, leader of Gogol Bordello -- apparently he's thinking of incorporating some Brazilian influences into his music too, after spending much time there -- he told Boise Weekly that he'd be using more Brazilian style percussion and horns. Not a surprise, really, given that Gogol Bordello is kind of like a carnival unto itself!
Since the U.S. Presidential campaign heated up, I've occasionally posted about campaign music, and of course noted the remarkable "viral" success of the Barack Obama campaign video that featured, among others, Herbie Hancock (and Canada's Esthero), Yes We Can.
The other day I stumbled across the most extensive (and interesting) exploration of the phenom of home-made music videos in the wake of Yes We Can -- at a blog called Making Light.
The post is called All Come Singing, and it does some serious trawling through musical responses to the U.S. political race, from calypsos to makossa to various Latin styles to rap, sometimes original music, sometimes set to existing songs. The majority are Obama related -- his supporters seem more into creating original music videos, no surprise, in the wake of Yes We Can.
Here's a corrido, performed by a Texas mariachi group -- it's called Viva Obama. (No political affiliation between blog and content of video, you understand, I just didn't want to write about it without sharing an example.)
Translation of lyrics below....and again, many thanks to Making Light.
Canadian flute virtuoso Susan Hoeppner (said by James Galway to be "one of the best talents of her generation") drops by Studio Sparks (12:00) today, for conversation and selections from her recordings.
Also on today's show, Eric presents a dramatic performance of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, performed by the Chinese pianist Lang Lang and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. This recording comes from last year's Nobel Prize Concert, held to honour the year's Nobel Laureates who attended along with the Swedish royal family, and other invited guests. (Ah to be among that number...) It's a relatively recent event, by the way -- Lang Lang's performance was at only the third ever Nobel Prize Concert.
Nice to see that in its inaugural outing the Canada Live Podcast was # 1 music podcast on iTunes Canada's charts when it launched earlier this week.
If you missed hearing the news about the new Podcast, here's the recap. Every Tuesday you can go to R2 Podcasts to download a new one, about an hour of concert recordings exclusive to CBC R2. This week features a solo concert by Bruce Cockburn, banjo player Jayme Stone with kora master Mansa Sissoko, and the lounge/swing/bossa/pop group, Mimosa.
Gamelan music continues to fascinate both audiences and performers, in both traditional forms, and via new music composition. Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear highlights from a concert titled Dual Eclipse: Orchestras of Two Worlds, which features Vancouver groups The Turning Point Ensemble and Gamelan Gita Asmara, together in their exploration of the sounds and complex rhythms of the Balinese Gamelan tradition. Featured soloists include clarinetist Francois Houle and pianist Jane Hayes.
This evening Tonic (6 p.m.) brings you soulful music from John Legend, the Staples Singers and Anita Baker, music by Billy Joel played by the trio of pianist Brian Browne, as well as a Leonard Cohen tune sung by Madeleine Peyroux. (And if it's Blue Alert, I've said it before and I'll say it again...it's a wonderful version...)
Plus, great Canadian jazz from pianist Oliver Jones, bassist Curtis Counce, saxophonist Mike Murley and guitarist Russell Malone.
Canadian Music Week is upon us, (March 5-8), the annual conference/showcase/big schmooze that means a lot to the many bands across this country wanting to be heard, and the many music industry types looking to enable same.
For a blog's eye view of the proceedings, go to cbc.ca's CMW blog, by Sarah Liss. In her set up post, she aptly draws the comparison between rock fests and such music industry events -- "at their best, rock festivals are like a tasting menu by a reliable, sporadically daring chef..." We can expect to hear about some of the excellent mains she comes across over the next few days I'm sure.
So many tributes about Jeff Healey have been made in all quarters across the country, around the world actually, as people are feeling the loss -- premature -- of his great talent, of his life.
We're fortunate to have some of his music with us still though. And just so you know, you can hear some of that music -- from the Canada Live concert broadcast last night of Jeff Healey at the Palais Royale -- as a Concert On Demand now, it just went up. You'll find it at Concerts On Demand: Jeff Healey All-Stars & Jazz Wizards at Palais Royale.
One of those formidable Quarringtons, (Paul Quarrington's book, King Leary, was recently chosen as winner of this year's Canada Reads, among other Quarrington achievements), double bass player, Joel Quarrington, visits Studio Sparks (12:00) today to talk to Eric about his music making. Part of their conversation will be about his long-standing interest in the erhu, the Chinese two-string violin.
And in light of that I'd also like to steer you to an erhu concert at our currently being re-vamped Concerts On Demand site. (Again, while noting the COD's new and glorious self, also pointing out it is still being fine tuned, so do be patient for a few days til all the features are operable.) The erhu concert in question is a live recording of the remarkable George Gao and you'll find it at Concerts On Demand : George Gao Ensemble At Dim Sum Chinese Festival
As you may have heard, Radio 2 has some schedule changes coming up in September 2008, and is also launching three new online music channels, featuring classical music, singer-songwriters and jazz, respectively.
As for the new daytime radio schedule itself, there will be a five-hour classical music show midday, a mixed music format show in the morning, and a song-based/emerging artists show in the late afternoon. Hosts have not been decided on -- that information is several months away -- but will of course be made public once decisions have been made.
This is a big change to the schedule and content of shows, and for each and every listener it will have some impact -- difficult to lose shows you love, but also positive to gain new ones you may love equally well. (I say this as a longtime CBC listener myself, thinking of the shows I grew attached to that went off air, and new ones that have come along and entered my life.)
By the way, if you want to express your feelings about this extensively, beyond the parameters of the R2 Blog, please do contact Audience Relations at CBC Input.
This week Tom brings you a titanic clash of stylistic approaches to composition in the Cage Match. Representing understated tradition, the Pie Jesu from Gabriel Faure's Requiem. Unabashedly representing modern flash, the Pie Jesu from the Requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber. You can cast your vote right here on the blog, or at Cage Match.
Something tells me Faure is going to take down Lloyd Webber in a knock out punch, but I could be wrong about that...tune into Music & Company today to hear them in mortal combat, and on Friday for the results of your votes.
Note: That's Faure at the Grand Organ at the Madeleine, Paris, and Lloyd Webber and his wife at Royal Ascot last year. (Not that I'm trying to visually lead you in any direction, of course.)
If she could have three pictures in her wallet, Angela Desveaux has said, they would be of Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and her grandmother.
The first two give you an idea of her musical leanings, at any rate! (Not sure if her grandmother sang alt country, but who knows, maybe she was a forerunner.) Desveaux is a singer based in Montreal, and a writer of original, alt. countryish material -- but she also spent her formative years in Cape Breton, and that influence is there as well.
"All the residents of Cape Breton are music lovers and players," says Desveaux, " and that's what I inherited from them."
These days her newest independent release, Wandering Eyes, is getting a fair bit of buzz and rightfully so, and Wednesday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear her in concert from Montreal.
Two other concerts featuring Quebec based artists tonight -- including someone who is sometimes heard on the same bill as Desveaux, Montrealer Katie Moore, also on the alt.country tip.
Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) goes to church, at least, musically speaking. The Choir Practice is singing from the same hymn sheet, Laurie reads the Book of Saints from Veda Hille's new album This Riot Life, (an album title that is pleasing in much the same way that the long ago Cowboy Junkies recording, Caution Horses , is pleasing) and even donates an organ with music from DJ Shadow. And you'll also hear what has been described as "the sonic contradiction" that is Howe Gelb and Voices of Praise.
In light of that "donates an organ remark" I can't resist posting this...quite hypnotic...
No, that's not PJ Perry playing latin jazz and vintage soul, but you can hear a live set of music from the Canadian sax player, recorded live at The Cellar in Vancouver, tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.)
The Latin jazz comes from percussionist Poncho Sanchez, pianist Arturo O'Farrill, and vibraphonist Cal Tjader, and the vintage soul comes from from The Sweet Inspirations, or "The Sweets," as Elvis called them.
Speaking of soul, of the many kinds of music blogs out there, the soul blogs are some of the best, in terms of the way they just keep digging deeper into the music, sharing information, not to mention posting great looking album covers. I'm thinking of blogs like Soul Sides. But there's one I used to look at and somehow foolishly deleted from the regulars in a fit of cyber housekeeping one day, and can no longer find, nor can I recall the title of the blog. So this is my little plea that if anyone know of the blog I speak -- guy posted regularly, great info about old and new soul music, was based in Britain, please do pass along my way.
Concerts On Demand have so quickly become part of the new online aspect of CBC Radio 2 that it's easy to forget we haven't always had this wonderful portal into CBC-recorded concerts. But in fact the CODs, as we like to call them, are still a fairly new project for CBC.
I know from regular comments to the blog that many people really appreciate this feature of the website, and believe me, the people behind the scenes are thrilled to hear that.
And I'm pleased to say that there is a new and improved COD site coming your way soon. Actually, truth be told it is online already, in preliminary form, at Concerts On Demand, but it is not quite complete with all of the bells and whistles.
Over the next little while critical features (such as filtering and searching) will be added though, fear not! So, just asking for your patience with the site for a brief while, but meantime, do go ahead and enjoy some of the fabulous music that's in the COD library.
Two of the "Bs," Brahms and Beethoven are featured today on Studio Sparks (12:00). The latter via the the Tokyo String Quartet performing Beethoven chamber music -- today String Quartet Opus 18 No. 5.
But first it’s the Brahms Violin Concerto in a concert performance by violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Most.
And first first it's a fun little video of Frank Peter Zimmerman having his way (Paganini's way) with God Save The King...
I'm pleased to announce the debut of the Canada Live Podcast, a weekly event which will have anywhere between two to four concert excerpts from the radio show, and will run for about an hour.
You'll be able to get a new podcast every Tuesday by going to: Podcasts
The lineup for Podcast # 1 is as follows:
1. Banjoist Jayme Stone and Kora master Mansa Sissoko.
2. Bruce Cockburn solo (recorded in Banff). Note: This concert got a lot of positive feedback when first broadcast, in fact, here is a direct quote from one listener:
"What a great concert, thanks for making it available online, CBC! Any chance these concerts will also be released via podcast? That would make it a lot easier to enjoy (i.e., wouldn't have to sit in front of the computer to listen, could take it out and about). Thanks again!"
That was last fall, so it's especially gratifying to be able to fulfill that kind of request in (relatively) short order.
3. Mimosa Jazz Quartet . Their music is a mix of lounge, swing, Brazilian bossa, and original Mimosa sound.
You will probably have heard the sad news that the blues, rock and jazz performer Jeff Healey died on Sunday night.
Canadians and non-Canadians alike remember Healey, his distinctive style and sound and presence -- through reminiscences, and published obituaries (including this one at The New York Times). Yesterday I recalled my own earliest memory of having heard and seen him play, when he was not yet the star he became, but was so jaw-droppingly talented that it was obvious that this was the direction he was going.
I like how Cory Doctorow describes the man though, on Boing Boing: "He was always a mensch, not to mention funny and blisteringly talented."
CBC Radio recorded a concert featuring Jeff Healey performing the jazz part of his repertoire at the historic Palais Royale, and tonight in honour of his passing, Canada Live (8 p.m.) will re-broadcast that performance.
The concert was called Jeff Healey's Jazz Band Ball, and his band, The Jazz Wizards, were joined by three special guests - banjoist Marty Grosz, clarinetist Dan Levinson and bass saxist Vince Giordano.
Allen Ginsberg's Howl is one of the most identifiable symbols of the beat generation, running a close second to Kerouac's On The Road. Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear a musical interpretation of the poem, from the Art Of Time Ensemble.
In this version composer Jonathan Goldsmith created music for the poem, using piano, bass, quarter-tone trumpet, and a brand new instrument which is half trumpet, half saxophone. (Saxo-Trump? Traxo?)
It's not an easy thing to bring fresh life to jazz standards. There's a reason they're called standards, after all, they've been played and sung umpteen times. I think it's especially difficult for singers to bring something new to standards -- or to simply sing them in a way that has real impact.
One singer who is, to my mind, a real exception to the "another singer doing standards, groan" trap, is Tierney Sutton, and tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) you can hear her in a live set with a great band, recorded at Birdland in 2005.
(Photo note: Sutton looking glam at something called the Snowflake Ball, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on November 28, 2005 in New York City.)
If many of us take freedom of speech for granted, I'd venture to say even more of us take the freedom to sing or play music for granted. But that's not a given everywhere, of course, nor has it ever been. Today, March 3rd, has been dubbed Music Freedom Day, in an attempt to draw attention to the ongoing reality of music censorship.
South African musician Johnny Clegg once said: "Censorship is based on fear." And fear of ideas -- expressed through lyrics -- or of rallying groups of people -- something music excels at -- are two reasons that music has sometimes been censored.
The organization Free Muse ("Freedom of musical expression") is at the centre of Music Freedom Day. They came into existence ten years ago as an "independent international organization which advocates freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide."
They've collected some examples of what people are doing to protest the censorship of music on this day -- lots of radio shows are playing music that has been, or still is censored. (CBC's Inside The Music will broadcast a documentary about music censorship later this month, on March 23rd, called Censor This.)
I particularly liked what one person, Samay Hamed of the Afghanistan Culture House wrote in to say what they were planning to do:
"In Balkh Province...[we are] planning a big event on 3rd of March. We have chosen Balkh, because it is the birth place of the great poet and thinker Rumi, who intruduced music as the sound of the creation of universe. 1000 balloons will fly over Mazar-i-Sharif City to convey the message to the world that Afghans also love music! There will be a press conference, a concert and a general gathering to support music and freedom of expression in Afghanistan as well as in the world."
The Frozen Thames is a collection of forty vignettes based on the forty occasions that the Thames River froze between 1142 and 1895. Its author, Helen Humprheys, is Canadian, based in Kingston, and the last time her conversation with Eric Friesen was broadcast on Studio Sparks (12:00), there was quite a bit of interest -- so if you missed it the first time around, today is your chance to hear it again on the show.
Also, it's a big Tchaikovsky day on the programme, with selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, in a concert recording from the Minnesota Orchestra, with their music director, Osmo Vanska.
It's such very sad news about Jeff Healey. I did know he was battling illness, but also knew he had continued to perform, and was planning to release a new recording this spring. He was a fighter -- as one bandmate, Gary Scriven told CP, printed in the Globe, "He drew his strength from somewhere, I don't know where, but it spread among the band and flowed into the audience."
I'm sure anyone who has ever listened to blues and rock in this country has some memory of Jeff Healey -- I still vividly recall the very first time I heard him, playing outside for free at a festival on Queen Street, many years ago, and just being astonished at how exceptional and impassioned a player he was.
Many CBC listeners will also of course remember him from his years of hosting My Kinda Jazz on the CBC airwaves, where he turned to his own collection of rare 78s.
Greg Quill has written about Jeff Healey in The Star. The official information from his long-time colleague, Richard Flohil, is below. And a CBC related update -- Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on Canada Live, you can hear a broadcast of a concert featuring Jeff Healey, called Jeff Healey's Jazz Band Ball, which was recorded at the Palais Royale in Toronto.
Roy Forbes and Connie Kaldor are great Canadian folkies, or "acoustic" or "roots" musicians, as would be more au courant. They're also old pals and musical accomplices, and you can hear both of them Monday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.), performing together at the 2008 Winter Song Festival in West Vancouver. They each perform with their own trio, and then collaborate.
Of course if you're a die hard folkie yourself, you'll recall Roy Forbes as "Bim," and all of those glory days of folk festivals. Well, the two-time Juno Nominee and winner of a 1999 West Coast Music Award is going strong -- and that idiosyncratic voice is still instantly recognizable. Connie Kaldor (also a Juno-award winning singer) has recorded nine albums, sold tens of thousands of copies, but has never had a commercial hit. And yet both artists have a loyal fan base. It's good to know that the two are not incompatible!
The Signal (10 p.m.) concludes its weekend from out west, the west as in Alberta that is. (If you're in B.C. you're obviously thinking otherwise...and currently the bloggist is in Europe, where east and west are much more muddled.) Anyway, the music is indeed from Alberta, and tonight Pat features a concert from the Western Canadian Music Awards, work from composers Allan Gilliland and George Andrix, among others. Also, music from Falconhawk, and composer David Eagle’s, with his piece called Soundplay.
Just so you faithful Tonic-ites know, the second hour of the programme this evening is pre-empted today by CBC Radio 2's broadcast of the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Though you can hear the full Tonic on Radio 1 at 11.)
And in a related note, there's music in the first hour of R2's Tonic broadcast (6 p.m. to 7 p.m.) from one of the songwriter's honoured in the gala, Paul Anka. For more about Anka, do check out Paul Anka: Canadian Songwriter's Hall Of Fame.
Quite a diverse show today on Sunday Afternoon In Concert (1 p.m). Conductor Alain Trudel and the CBC Radio Orchestra explore the theme "Love Lost, Love Found" in works by Mahler, Respighi and Aaron Jay Kernis, and Schoenberg.
Kiran Ahluwalia and her band collaborate with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and contemporary composer Glenn Buhr, in two CBC commissioned works, called Chant Of Wind And Thunder, and Chant Of Water And Sky. As well, the MCO performs the Divertimento For Strings by Bartok, and the Armenian Rhapsody No. 2 by Alan Hovhaness.
Also on today's broadcast, the recent world premiere of Tomson Highway'sThe Journey (Pimooteewin), a music drama he collaborated on with composer Melissa Hui and choreographer Michael Greyeyes. It's based on an Aboriginal myth tracing the journey of Weesageechak (you know Weesageechak, that Trickster), and Misigoo (the Eagle) to a magic island where the spirits of the dead dance every night by the light of the moon. The featured soloists are soprano Xin Wang and tenor Bud Roach, and the work is narrated by Cara Gee.
Today Inside The Music (12:00) concludes the eight part documentary, About Oscar, with the final episode devoted to Oscar Peterson's later life and musical legacy. On that note, you may know that last night at The Canadian Songwriter's Hall Of Fame gala, the late Mr. Peterson was honoured with the Frank Davies Legacy Award, "recognizing his work and its significant impact on the development and recognition of Canadian songwriters both nationally and internationally." You can hear some of the performances and speeches from the gala tonight on CBC R2 -- from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
You may be wondering what's coming up next on Inside The Music too, and here's the scoop. Next week you can hear a documentary about the composer Claude Vivier, called In Search of Claude Vivier.
You may know the tragic ending to Claude Vivier's life story already -- in March, 1983, just weeks before his 35th birthday, he was murdered in his Paris apartment. Incredibly, the piece he was working on, Do You Believe In The Immortality Of The Soul?” was discovered on his worktable, and in it Vivier prophetically outlined a journey on the Paris metro when a man stabbed him though the heart.
Quite apart from the sensational nature of Vivier’s death, this documentary will explore the musical language he created, as well as interviews with the composer's friends, twenty-five years after the composer’s death.
There have been studies that show music may help healing, and probably we've all turned to music to alter a certain mood, or take our minds off of physical pain. And then there's music as motivator, you know, there you are contemplating finally dusting those baseboards or getting together your tax receipts, both objects of meditation which send you into a funk -- and it is only music that can pull you out.
The styles or specific pieces of music you may turn to are pretty idiosyncratic, but today on In The Key Of Charles, Gregory offers some of the music he thinks can make most feel better, including music from Aretha Franklin, Gino Vannelli, Patsy Cline, Orchestre Symphonique De Quebec, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rascals, Emily Haines, The Guess Who, Arvo Part, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and more.
The "more" includes music from Paul Anka, who had a number of songs inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame last night -- at at a gala hosted by none other than Gregory Charles.
You can hear the broadcast tonight on Radio 2 at 7pm --10 pm (it starts with an interview with Mr. Anka, then moves into music), AND Gregory also sings the Paul Anka song, Put Your Head On My Shoulder.
In case you missed earlier posts on this topic, today is indeed the day you can hear music from last night's Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame gala. It was broadcast Sunday from 7 to 10 p.m. on CBC Radio 2 -- Monday March 3 you can hear the show at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Radio 1, with the CBC TV broadcast also on Monday, at 7 p.m.
In The Key Of Charles fans do note, the gala host is Gregory Charles, who also sings Paul Anka's Put Your Head On My Shoulder. The whole lineup was pretty spectacular, as follows:
Suzie McNeil w/ Kyle Riabko - Signs By Les Emerson
Toulouse - Aimes-tu la vie comme moi? By George Thurston
Emilie Claire-Barlow - Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens By Alex Kramer
Anik Jean - Une Promesse By Andre Lejeune
Kate and Anna McGarrigle with Rufas and Martha Wainright and Lily lankin - Heart Like A Wheel By Anna McGarrigle
Yelo Molo - La Bittt a Tibi By Raoul Dubois
Jully Black - Love Child By R. Dean Taylor
Ellis and Branford Marsalis - Wheatland By Oscar Peterson
Oliver Jones, Dione Taylor and Faith Chorale - Hymn To Freedom By Oscar Peterson
Boom Desjardins - Le Labrador By Claude Dubois
Martine St. Clair - Artistes By Claude Dubois
Claude Dubois - Comme un Millions De Gens By Claude Dubois
Serena Ryder - It Doesn't Matter Any More By Paul Anka
Paul Anka with David Foster - My way By Paul Anka
Sometimes simple really is best, so here's this week's Choral Concert Bulletin:
Today on the show, Howard presents Bach’s St. Matthew Passion Part I by the RIAS Chamber Choir, and the Berlin Academy for Early Music. Beautiful music, enjoy...
The Signal (10 p.m.) continues with music from Alberta this weekend, featuring music from Kara Keith, (who performs what she calls "melodramatic popular Song /2-step/show tunes," and although she may have intended this to be a little bit tongue-in-cheek it's actually a pretty apt description) and electronic wizard Mark Templeton.
Toronto-based David Rudder (pictured here), has been proclaimed "a Trinidad national hero on the order of Marley in Jamaica, Fela in Nigeria and Springsteen in New Jersey" by Rolling Stone Magazine! You can hear Rudder, along with Trinidad's calypso legend Lord Superior, and Toronto's Drew Gonsalves of Kobo Town, tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
The concert was recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio, and the material was culled from more than 60 years of calypso, from the wartime calypsos of the 40s, through the golden age of calypso of the 50s and 60s, right up to modern soca of the 21st century.
Sometimes the tyranny of caffeine is wearying. You wake up, you must procure it, and then within hours it is needed again. Or maybe you're a wiser sort, and have sworn off it in both coffee and tea forms, and smugly sip your Rooibos. (Feh, I say. Who needs such wisdom.)
Caffeine of course has also been the subject of musical exploration, and today Tonic (6 p.m.) takes a little listen to bean-inspired songs and band names, including Toronto's flamenco band Café Ole and Café Rumba from guitarist Kevin Laliberté.
And then there's using caffeine to disguise other, deeper addictions, as with the lyrics to Java Jive, sung here, (in a slightly surreal performance), by Manhattan Transfer.
A headline in the Scottish newspaper The Herald caught my eye the other day: When Music Is Misery. It's about a condition called amusia, the inability to relate to music. It's thought that some of the cases of people who have been considered "tone deaf" may in fact be people who are amusias, if that's the correct term. This is not the same as someone who would have trouble recognizing or matching pitch -- many a singing teacher will tell you that this is something that can be changed.
The article cites the work of Timothy Griffiths, a professor of cognitive neurology doing work in this area. While meandering around in his website I came across this musical test, (developed by Canadian Isabelle Peretz), which might help determine whether or not you suffer from amusia. Although I expect if you are reading this and are an R2 listener, that is not the case.
But the logical next question is, and as far as I know it's not yet been answered -- can amusia be cured? Not sure if there is any word on that so far, but here's Oliver Sachs shedding some light on the dark world without music...
Renée Fleming and Johan Botha (pictured here in dress rehearsal) star in Verdi’s Otello, broadcast this Saturday on SATO, from the Met. (Start time, 1 p.m.)
In the praise department: The New York Times hailed Ms. Fleming’s return to one of her most famous roles, noting that she sings the role “exquisitely” and praising her “intimate and vulnerable singing.” Mr. Botha, sings the challenging role of Otello for the first time at the Met this season in a performance the Associated Press called a “triumph” which exudes “both passion and stamina.” The broadcast also includes baritone Carlo Guelfi as the devious Iago and Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov leading the performance.
The intermission will feature backstage interviews with stars Renée Fleming and Johan Botha.
Following the production, SATO host Bill Richardson will speak to the pioneering African American soprano Reri Grist, the young Broadway performer who introduced the song Somewhere in Bernstein's West Side Story, and went on to a significant operatic career.
And for those of you who want to brush up on what happens when in Otello, plot Synopsis to follow.
I don't think it's actually a genre, but you can hear at least one example Saturday morning on the Vinyl Café, when Stuart tells a story about how Dave’s neighbour Jim finds out his 20-year old Tabby cat has a problematic thyroid. This results in having to give her a pill everyday, and he ends up hiring a obsessive cat-sitter to look after her.
There's also music from The Be Good Tanyas on today's show. Now, their biggest "hit" is probably The Littlest Birds (...sing the prettiest songs...). Hmm, cat stories, bird songs, could there be a connection? Probably not. But you'll have to listen to the show today, which comes from Whistler B.C., to know for sure.
Not all together, (though that would be interesting) but two distinct concerts tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.). 
Do you have a story about how Beethoven's work has touched your life? As part of the Beethoven broadcasts running from now until April 13th, Eric Friesen will be reading your anecdotes about Beethoven on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.). You can send in your Beethoven story
Play ball! No, wait, that's another opening day. Today, Monday March 31, is the first day of the CBC Radio 2, 
Today on 
I suspect that some weekend blog readers do not read the weekday edition, so I wanted to re-post this update on the state of 
No, that's not the kind of woodsman Stuart McLean wants to be. (And who would, come to think of it.) But Stuart has always hankered after being the kind of woodsman who knows which plants are edible, how to make a fire by rubbing a pine needle against a blade of grass, that sort of thing. But, like so many of us woods-people wannabes, he has never acquired the know how.
I should probably start with a confession. I am not tired of winter. I am only tired of worrying about a flood in the basement when that slab of ice outside the window finally melts. Mind you, I was also away for part of the winter and admittedly did not have to deal with the constant shoveling that much of my part of the country had to shoulder. But I wonder if there are others across the country who aren't filled with the winter loathing, or if I am a minority of one.
Three stories, three musical connections, heard today on Here's To You (9 a.m.). 
Much saxophone playing tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.) with tunes from Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Canadian tenorman, Ryan Oliver. 
Having it drawn to my attention earlier today that the President of the United States sent a letter to the Governor of Wisconsin, praising the (originally) Canadian group 
The Signal (10 p.m.) turns One today. In both its weekday version with Laurie Brown, and in its weekend edition with Pat Carrabré, the cast and crew has done some very creative and satisfying radio, programming a wide range of contemporary music. But don't just take it from me, here's one take on the show by a listener who wrote in to the blog:
If you were reading the blog (or a newspaper!) earlier this week you will know that Mr. Leonard Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday. (Yes, there he is at the podium at that event.) His world tour dates were announced later in the week as well. Sidebar: To check those dates, and to see a wonderful video that includes his Hall of Fame speech go to 
Perhaps it's the winter's surfeit of snow and ice that has made Gregory Charles turn his thoughts to water this weekend (without, we hope, any attendant basement flooding). Yes, today on 
"His image in curled wig, embroidered red tunic and lace ruff stares out from kitsch portraits, decorative porcelain and chocolate boxes without number, but nobody really knew what Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart looked like – until now."
This weekend on 
As you may have heard, at 
It's been said that in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. Five, the composer dances with fate. Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) you can hear a complete performance of that work, from a recent recording featuring Christoph Eschenbach leading the Philadelphia Orchestra. Also on the show, showcasing the Bach side of violinist 
The idea of "steam punk" wherein new technology is clothed in yesteryear's garments, (for example a laptop computer using old typewriter keys and brass fittings), seems to have gathered steam in recent years (bad pun intended). There are probably many reasons for this -- but among them, I think, is a genuine appreciation for the technology of previous eras, and the aesthetics of that technology.
This evening on Tonic (6 p.m.) there'll be tunes from vocalists Ella Fitzgerald, Dianne Reeves, Natalie Cole, Andy Bey and DK Ibomek. 
Who among us has ever tried to tango? I have to admit I have not. Flamenco yes, tango no. I can tell you that flamenco dance is terribly humbling, and I suspect that tango is much the same -- the challenges subtle and extreme, the rewards ditto. And somehow so compelling -- who doesn't secretly wish they could tango? Why look, people even try to tango in the streets, as evidenced by the couple in the photo.
Good morning. I just thought I'd say that. Beginning of the week and all, consider it a virtual friendly greeting made in passing on the way to work or your coffee maker.
"Do you believe in magic..." Should one be concerned that reading that sentence triggers some part of the brain to immediately sing "in a young girl's heart?" Hopefully not, hopefully we can chalk that up to the magic of music and song (or maybe of high rotation of hits from the 60's to this day).
The sensational French coloratura singer, 
So many tributes about Jeff Healey have been made in all quarters across the country, around the world actually, as people are feeling the loss -- premature -- of his great talent, of his life. 
This week Tom brings you a titanic clash of stylistic approaches to composition in the Cage Match. Representing understated tradition, the Pie Jesu from Gabriel Faure's Requiem. Unabashedly representing modern flash, the Pie Jesu from the Requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber. You can cast your vote right here on the blog, or at 
You will probably have heard the sad news that the blues, rock and jazz performer 
It's not an easy thing to bring fresh life to jazz standards. There's a reason they're called standards, after all, they've been played and sung umpteen times. I think it's especially difficult for singers to bring something new to standards -- or to simply sing them in a way that has real impact.
It's such very sad news about Jeff Healey. I did know he was battling illness, but also knew he had continued to perform, and was planning to release a new recording this spring. He was a fighter -- as one bandmate, Gary Scriven told 
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