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The Cusp Of Magic is a beautiful work for the pipa and strings, composed by Terry Riley. Am listening to it as we speak, and it does have moments that really do feel magical.
Funnily enough, the inspiration for the piece did not come from the lute-like Chinese instrument, nor from a string quartet, but from the granddaughter of one of the members of The Kronos Quartet, her toys and noisemakers. They became the 'magical' element of the work, ultimately performed by The Kronos Quartet with Wu Man on pipa -- and tonight you can hear this music on The Signal (10 p.m.)
That said, the piece was also a commission by Kronos, in honour of Riley's 70th birthday. As for the music, the L.A. Times said: "with its lullabies and entrancing Chinese songs and sweet disposition, brims with joy."
(Which would have worked better were the composition called "The Cup Of Magic." But either way it's strong praise.)
As you likely know, 2007 was the 60th anniversary of Canada's Citizenship Act. And as part of a celebration of that occasion, CBC held a concert following the swearing-in of almost 300 new Canadian citizens in the Atrium of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. (Here's one blogger's account of the event, at blogTO.)
This evening Canada Live (8 p.m.) broadcasts the concert as a kind of prelude to Canada Day. Recorded in the Glenn Gould Studio, the musicians included kalimba player Achilla Orru and Baana Afrique, fado singer Sonia Tavares and jazz pianist Robi Botos and his Trio.
Looks like a very nice lineup of music today on Tonic (6 p.m.), including some tunes from the perennial favourite, Dr. John. The concert set features Donald Byrd and his quintet, recorded at the Half Note Cafe in New York City in November, 1960.
I don't know how active Byrd, now 78, is as a performer (although he did release a recording two years ago), but he did recently take part in a tribute to fellow jazz trumpeter, Clifford Brown, at the 20th annual Clifford Brown Festival.
"Clifford was unreal ... a straight-A student," Byrd said, adding that after Brown graduated from Howard High School, then the only secondary school for black students, he started at what is now Delaware State University, but "he had to leave because he wasn't allowed to play jazz there."
Byrd, who said he was asked to take Brown's spot in the band after he died, called him "a man who was brilliant and intelligent ... one of the best musicians of the 20th century."
If you tend to read the health pages of newspapers you'll notice, with amusement (or perhaps despair depending on your frame of mind), that almost every day there is some new study. You know, slather on the sunscreen or wait, no don't because you need more Vitamin D; drink water from a stainless steel bottle, at least until stainless steel is shown to be evil in some way, etc. etc.
Lately there's been a trickle of music/dance/health related stories. For example this one that rolled in over the weekend, when CBC.Ca news posted a story (Can You Tango Your Blues Away?) about researchers investigating whether doing the tango can help people battle depression.
Apparently it's a sort of mediative thing -- the concentration required by doing the tango is similar to meditation, and this is deemed contrary to feeling depressed.
"While you're doing tango you can only be in the present — you really have to focus, concentrate, and it doesn't allow your thoughts to drive into your mind."
How many people are quietly snorting into their midday coffees? If concentration is key to avoiding depression, let's see, how about hip hop dancing, or maybe crossing the Atlantic ocean in a canoe?
Something tells me the answer is simpler than that. Tango (both music and dance) are exhilarating. If you're not clinically depressed, just prone to the blues, perhaps the feeling you get dancing just beats feeling like crap? (Although what would be interesting would be a study comparing the mental health of patients who dance to tango as compared to those who do, say, the chicken dance at weddings. This too requires concentration. Particularly after a glass of wine or two.)
It's an all-Bach program today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) - "Bach in many guises and, in some cases, disguises."
Hmm, not sure what they mean by disguises. One answer might be found in this review of a performance by Angela Hewitt, in which she played Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
"Disguised as study pieces for Bach's wife and children -- 'Hey, honey, take a look at these when you get a sec' -- the set of 48 preludes and fugues broke ground by demonstrating that the 18th century's tonal system could be expanded from a handful of keys to 24. Each piece in the set pushed new limits of musical ideas."
Or maybe it's a reference to a point sometimes disputed about Bach's life, as Albert Schweitzer describes in his book, J.S. Bach, the notion that Bach sometimes dressed in disguise and went into churches so that he could play some of his work and gauge the response.
Or maybe he isn't wearing a wig? Somehow I think there's a more musical answer in here, but you'll just have to tune in to find out.
Canada may be celebrating itself for the 129th time tomorrow, (the holiday was officially established in 1879) but not too far behind are celebrations of the centennial of the birth of "Mr. Typewriter Song," Leroy Anderson -- and I confess I completely missed to mark that occasion yesterday.
But Pamela, a fan of Here's To You (9 a.m.) has not missed the birthday -- in fact she alerted the show (and by extension yours truly), and so this morning you can hear some music by Anderson, one of his more serious compositions -- the Piano Concerto In C Major with Jeffrey Biegel at the piano, and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Back to that Typewriter song for a moment though. Once (circa 1955) a pops concert staple, it actually featured a manual typewriter (children, that's like a computer, but without google) on stage. Here's a quote from a 1970 interview with Anderson about the performance of the piece.
"We have two drummers...a lot of people think we use stenographers, but they can't do it because they can't make their fingers move fast enough. So we have drummers because they can get wrist action...."
Also Pat plays music from the SuperNova String Quartet and the Evergreen Club Gamelan coming together in Halifax to premiere works by Montreal’s Ana Sokolovic, Toronto’s Linda Catlin Smith and Marjan Mozetich.
Gamelan and new music have quite a history, although Pat sees the traditions as coming from very different places, and he'd be right. As he puts it on the new, unified Signal Blog:
"Why even try to cross such a great divide? The simplest reason is probably because musicians are a curious bunch. The first time Western composers heard the Gamelan was at the Paris Exhibition in the late 19th Century. Claude Debussy immediately set to work trying to imitate what must have been a mind blowing sound. The result was his amazing String Quartet."
Canada Live's Canada Day Weekend continues tonight with music that's "all about songs and stories from a place where the oral tradition is older than most of Western Canada." In other words, music from the east coast, starting with a concert called The Newfoundland Songbook: Volume 2 .
Anita Best, Pamela Morgan and an all star cast of traditional music makers explore the repertoire at the heart of the Newfoundland song tradition. So, songs from the mid-19th century to 1949, when Newfoundland joined Confederation, including tales of disasters at sea, sly politicians, soup suppers in the parish hall, life under the "cruel rogues of merchants," that sort of thing. The concert was recorded at the LSPU Hall in St. John's, and features Kelly Russell, Sandy Morris, Graham Wells, George Morgan and Billy Sutton.
The second concert is of highlights from the 2008 East Coast Music Awards, specifically from the SOCAN Songwriters Circle. The ECMAs were held in Fredericton, New Brunswick this year and CBC R2 recorded a number of things including the popular Songwriters Circle. Performers include Jen Grant, Acadia's Christian "Kit" Gogeun, Newfoundland blues legend Roger Howse, and Martha Wainwright. And it's hosted by the one of the grandaddies of east coast singer-songwriters, I guess you could say (though he's not really old enough to warrant the moniker) -- Lennie Gallant.
Guest host Robert Harris presents highlights from the first season of Sunday Afternoon in Concert this Sunday, and while there are numerous "items" on the show, as we say in the radio biz, one of the biggies is a performance of Berlioz'sSymphonie Fantastique, Alexander Mickelthwate leading the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
But to those other items. You will hear, if you tune in this afternoon:
-A documentary on "The Snare Drum Olympics"
-A performance of Hetu's Images de la Revolution
-A debate about conductor Herbert von Karajan
-And a wack of other music. (Have to leave something up to the imagination, right?)
Jamaican Echoes: A History of Dub Music is a documentary about dub -- and I have it on good authority that it's excellent. You can hear it today on Inside The Music at noon on Radio 2 (and repeated on R1 8PM Eastern).
Many but not all know what dub is, and if you are in the 'but not all category,' here's the lowdown. Originally it was the the instrumental counterpart of reggae, earmarked by its unmistakable echoey reverby sound, although the music can take many shapes.
Today, Lauren Speers, a.k.a. DJ Chocolate, who hosts one of Canada’s most popular reggae radio shows, Rebel Music on community station CKLN-FM, looks back at the history of dub from late sixties Jamaica, to how the music evolved in Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.
That's a lot to look back on -- dub is the basis for much contemporary dance music -- and it's the heart of remix culture. Like reggae, it's truly international. It has been said that "dub isn’t just a musical remix, it’s a social remix."
Check out the list of interviewees:
Adrian Sherwood (On-U Sound - Depeche Mode, Primal Scream, Lee Scratch Perry)
In The Key Of Charles goes green today, as Gregory evaluates his recycling habits, laments his lack of gardening skills and ponders the relationship between God and David Suzuki. I wouldn't make this up, really. But you'll have to tune in to hear what G. 's pondering leads him to conclude about that connection.
Music to accompany the greening is provided by Miles Davis (Blue In Green, sometimes thought to actually have been written by Bill Evans, but that's a discussion for another day), choral music by John Rutter (For The Beauty Of The Earth), Joni Mitchell (Little Green, love that song) and Ella Fitzgerald (Mountain Greenery). As well, an unforgettable performance of Joe Raposo's classic Bein' Green, featuring Montreal countertenor Matthew White.
And music from Podium 2008, the biennial conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, where choirs and conductors come from across Canada, to make choral music and to talk about making choral music. Choral music heaven!
Pianist Christina Petrowska-Quilico is one of the foremost Canadian interpreters of new music, and she has a brand new CD out (actually a two-CD set) called Ings, the title evidently taken from the Henry Cowell set of pieces called Ings: floating, frisking, fleeting, scooting, wafting and seething.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) no seething, that I'm aware of, but there will be some sampling, as in sampling music from Petrowska-Quilico's new disc.
The concert feature is Winnipeg’s David R. Scott, with some new music for North Indian tabla, featuring Canadian percussionist Shawn Mativetsky.
On a web related Signal note -- Pat and Laurie have merged their Signal blogs, (only makes sense), and their new home is right here.
It's Canada Day Weekend on Canada Live (8 p.m.) and tonight the two headline acts are quintessentially Canadian bands from both right and left coast. First, from the left, Spirit Of The West, celebrating their 25th Anniversary. SOTW sometimes get called things like "High Energy Canadian Folk Rock," and there's no question that they are the former, as anyone who has ever danced at a SOTW show will attest to. (OK, I attest to it.)
The concert you can hear tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) was recorded at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom. So listen, kick up your heels (and then go home for a rest).
And speaking of flinging one's self about to Celtic-inspired music, from the right coast Ashley MacIsaac - also recorded at the Commodore, playing with guitarist Stuart Cameron. (Check out this great photo of them wittily titled Rock Stock And Two Smoking F Stops.)
Scientists are studying music and the brain as never before, and today on In Tune Katherine has a story about a recent study about the link between classical music and linguistic abilities.
Apparently one study found that people who listened to Vivaldi while they were exercising scored higher on verbal fluency tests than people who exercised without music. Katherine, ever willing to throw herself into the role of guinea pig, (even if it involves something like drinking wine and listening to music to see if the latter has an impact on the perception of the former) gives the exercising to Vivaldi thing a try this week.
Why Vivaldi? Wouldn't it be more likely that exercising to, say, Rimsky Korsakov's Flight Of The Bumblebee would get your synapses snapping? Anyway, today Katherine will tell all. Depending on the tempo, of course.
G&S fans instantly know what that's leading up to -- and yes, indeed it is true that today on SATO you can hear a performance of the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore, a.k.a. The Lass That Loved A Sailor. (The first opera I ever saw, actually, while just a wee thing. Forever more the word "ship" must be coupled with "saucy.")
Today's production is from the Edmonton Opera, and performers include tenor Colin Ainsworth as ABS Ralph Rackstraw and soprano Monica Huisman as the Captain’s daughter Josephine.
SATO host Bill Richardson speaks with Colin Ainsworth and with Edmonton playwright Stewart Lemoine, who had the task of updating the dialogue and adapting the book for the production.
For more about about this most witty Gilbert & Sullivan opera, courtesy of SATO and the Edmonton Opera, please continue reading.
At least, that's one take on it. Today, on part 2 of Live By The Drum (on Inside The Music) host Wabanakwut Kinew focusses on storytelling, and takes a look at whether the best storytellers use rhythm.
Live By The Drum, in case you missed the first episode last week and are curious, is a four part series all about the power of rhythm through stories and music. Throughout the series Wab shows how people everywhere are united by rhythm and drum beats.
NOTE: Tomorrow on the Sunday edition of Inside The Music (at noon on R2) you can hear the debut of a documentary called Jamaican Echoes: A History of Dub Music. Great music and a multitude of interviews including people like Adrian Sherwood and Bill Laswell. Heard an excerpt of it the other day, and it sounds like a excellent look/listen into the history of dub.
What's the difference between Freak Folk and Pysch Folk? Dunno, but Tom Power probably does. Maybe he'll explain today on Deep Roots when he plays music from the man he calls the "Godfather of Freak Folk," the flamboyant Devendra Banhart.
If you are a Vanity Fair reader you may recall a dramatically posed (and scantily clad) Banhart from an arresting Annie Liebowitz photo essay about folk artists that ran last fall -- you can still see a video of some of that photo shoot on the Vanity Fair website.
But back to today's show. Aside from the freakin' folk Tom will also feature a sprawling bluegrass band called Lake Of Stew. The L. Of S. have some fun ways of describing their own music, no freaking bluegrass or anything like that but try this: "The pitbulls of stringband music."
Let's see, what else. Tom will also play some music from Montrealer Katie Moore with a stripped down version of a Johnny Cash tune. And of course there is still more. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to say, as is de rigueur, "all that and more."
Who among us has not gently thumped a pumpkin or perhaps idly kept time with a carrot? What, you're saying that's just me? I don't believe it. No, I think the urge to treat fruit & veg as potential instruments is primal. Though perhaps not as primal for some of us as it is for members of the Vienna Veg Orch. You can hear for yourself tonight, when Pat showcases some legume music on The Signal (10 p.m.).
And just because we can...here's a little preview:
Nice sound on that carrot, eh?
Note: Aside from the vegetable matter, you can also hear Toronto’s new classical group Continuum and Diane Labrosse on the show, as well as a concert from Ohbijou and music from clarinetist Francois Houle.
A special concert tonight on Canada Live with an early start time of 7:30 p.m. It's the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert, also known as the "46664" Concert (after Mandela's prison number when he was on Robben Island). It comes to the CBC airwaves from Hyde Park in London, where almost 50,000 people will be paying their respects to Nelson Mandela in honour of his 90th birthday.
Here's the (quite incredible) lineup of the full 4 1/2 hour show in London -- CBC's broadcast will include highlights:
Artists invited to perform for Mr. Mandela include Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Leona Lewis, the Sugababes, Dame Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Andrea and Sharon Corr, Eddy Grant, and Jamelia, along with Italy's Zucchero and Spain's Amaral.
And of course there are some fine South African performers on the bill, including Johnny Clegg, Sipho Mabuse, multi-South African Music Awards winner Loyiso, Kurt Darren, the Soweto Gospel Choir, AIDS orphan choir The Children of Agape, the legendary Papa Wemba and Sudanese 'war child' rapper Emmanuel Jal.
A note to In The Key Of Charles fans -- Gregory is Jian Ghomeshi's guest today on R1's arts & entertainment show, "Q," in a special "Q" broadcast from Montreal. (Note to jazz fans -- Jian will also have Joe Lovano and Hank Jones on the show!)
"Q" has a kind of complicated broadcast sked -- but here goes: Radio One: 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.(CT 1 p.m., NT 2:30 p.m., NT 10:30 p.m.) Sirius Satellite 137: 12 p.m., 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET .
And speaking of ITKOC, if you missed the Q&A With Gregory Charles last Sunday here on the R2 blog, do check it out. You can find out, among other things, what Gregory likes to sing in the shower, as well as a few matters of greater significance. (Though you know, choice of music in the shower can be a telling thing, don't you think? Maybe that's a theme for Gregory's show next season -- the art of the shower song. Or not.)
Eric and the Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) crew are in Ottawa's Confederation Park this morning, setting up for a live-to-air concert featuring the strings of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
A quick sidebar about the MCO -- they run a neat programme called Strings 'n Things, where they take in unused instruments, appraise them, give you a tax receipt for that value, fix 'em up and find buyers. The proceeds go to the MCO -- for more info, check here.
But back to this afternoon's concert. You'll hear the MCO in performance, of course, but also their tour conductor Anne Manson in conversation with Eric. A lovely way to end the week, fingers crossed for good weather.
The people have voted, and here is their response: with a whimper. Yes, the Music & Company (6 a.m.) Cage Match, which posed the following question: Is it better to go out with a bang or a whimper? has been decided. The whimperers have it!
Haydn's Farewell Symphony (representing the whimper) defeats the "Ah Hurrah!" chorus from Chabrier's Le Roi Malgre Lui (the bang).
On behalf of all those who follow the Cage -- thank you, Tom & Company, for hours of Cage Match fun. You guys are the A team.
The above factoid caught my eye when reading about some upcoming programming on Here's To You (9 a.m.). St. David's Day is, as (not) everyone knows, an occasion to salute David, patron saint of Wales, and a celebration of all that is Welsh. But today the significance of St. David's Day takes an interesting celestial twist.
Here's the story. An HtY listener in B.C. poses the following question -- which language is spoken in heaven? (He doesn't pose the "is there a heaven" question, so we'll just skate on past that.) According to this listener, English is too pompous, Latin is too formal...therefore the language of heaven must be Welsh.
Sure, why not. As long as they don't have too many spelling bees.
And here's the musical connection which will be made on your radio today. As this listener asks for anything Welsh, you'll hear an assortment of famous Welsh tunes. The singing will be heavenly.
Photo Note: Two Welsh members of the Men's Choir of the Great Western Railway Institute rehearsing, in 1937.
Last autumn ten Canadian composers wrote preludes and fugues inspired by Glenn Gould -- and ten pianists performed them. Appropriately enough, it was called So You Want To Write A Fugue.
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear some of that music, featuring Stewart Goodyear's effervescent Prelude And Fugue and pianist Gregory Oh's dramatic performance of Andre Ristic'sPrelude et Fugue.
And here's your Fugue (sans prelude) Fact Of The Day: Gould, famously speaking about Bach's Art Of Fugue, once said it was "the most extraordinary piece that a human mind ever conceived."
The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra is an all-star lineup of musicians based in Los Angeles, led by bassist John Clayton, sax player Jeff Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. It is, as one reviewer put it "some of the swingingest big band jazz around." Tonight you can hear them recorded live in Pittsburgh in 2004 -- if, that is, you listen to Tonic (6 p.m.).
Should you also be prepared to take a "jazz cruise," come this November, you could also hear The Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orch live in the flesh, since they're one of the many jazz bands who will be playing on board on this particular Jazz Cruise.
Just the other day I was talking with a colleague about cruises - he's a fan. And, apparently, used to defending his vacation trip of choice, since he immediately pointed out that they have evolved mightily since any Love Boat stereotype.
Coincidentally today I happened to notice an article about the proliferation of music-themed cruises, including the Elvis Cruise, and any number of blues cruises, like this Canadian cruise. Based on musicality of name, they'd be my choice. (Baby won't you take me on a blues cruise?)
"Even as you read this, composers are searching YouTube for ideas. ‘Throughout its history classical music has been really quick to adopt the latest technology,’ says John Schaefer, who has covered the sampling scene on his New York radio show. It is only a matter of time before a symphony is composed out of YouTube."
As anyone who's ever whiled away the hours watching videos on YouTube knows, there is an extraordinary wealth of material that has already inspires new "work," for better or for worse, in the form of "responses." But the above idea, from a post by Norman Lebrecht (How YouTube Shrank The Classical World), is intriguing. Lebrecht walks through the various fascinating finds he's discovered since he became hooked, but it's this idea -- a symphony created by material on YouTube --that jumps out from his post.
What might a symphony of YouTube sound like? The possibilities truly do seem endless. Actually, I'm surprised such a thing doesn't already exist.
Meantime we have to content ourselves with mashups, rare clips, and of course, Youtube phenoms -- such as Jake Shimabukuro -- the ukulele player. As always, the R2 blog gives much respect to purveyors of good Uke, so here you go.
In case you missed this news late in the day yesterday...the Canadian Opera Company has hired a general director -- Alexander Neef, currently the casting director of the Opéra national de Paris.
Neef is the first to take on the role after former general director, Richard Bradshaw, whose death so saddened Canadians when he passed away suddenly last August.
As for his new appointment, Neef says:
"...I was very impressed by the commitment of the staff, artists and the board members, and the quality of your orchestra and chorus. But the most impressive thing for me was the pride everybody takes in the company. And, of course, I got to see and hear this fantastic hall. That’s when I became really excited.
Having this wonderful theatre allows the company to continue the process towards the goals that were interrupted by Richard Bradshaw’s death. The fact that he achieved so much is a testament to his efforts and the value and stamina of this company. I look forward to continuing and developing the vision he began..."
Habib Koite is a great Malian guitarist, and a beautiful singer. He's had a lot of success in the U.S., in large part because of his association with the ubiquitous Putumayo label (not to mention his performances with Bonnie Raitt.) Thursday night you can hear him on Canada Live (8 p.m.) from a recording made during a recent tour in Montreal.
And just to start your day off right, some lovely music from Mr. Koite right now, a tune called Batoumambé.
Once again, you can hear Koite tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
As well, tune in for A Propos' Songwriters' Session featuring Daniel Bélanger, Ariane Moffatt, Marie-Pierre Fournier and Marc Déry. It was recorded by CBC in Quebec City, as a celebration of Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
I doubt that too many people still think Newfoundland music is mostly fiddles and accordions. (Not that there's anything wrong with fiddles and accordions, some of my best friends etc. etc. But it is the not entirely accurate stereotype.) Anyway, for those who might, or for those who want a bird's eye viewing (or hearing) of some of the new music activity on the island, tune in tonight to The Signal (10 p.m.).
Laurie presents highlights from the 2008 Newfound Music Festival, a contemporary music festival held every February in Newfoundland, run by composer Clark Ross. Tonight's performances include Untouchable, a work by Rob Power for marimbas and vibraphone.
Moving along in the broadcast day, steppin' out into the night, you could say -- tonight, Joe Jackson on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
Yes, that Joe Jackson. He's a five-time Grammy winner with a fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Portsmouth. More importantly, he's the Is She Really Going Out With Him guy. Canada Live recorded Jackson with a trio at the Chan Centre -- you'll hear Jackson at the Steinway.
Second up on the show, three up and comers from Vancouver, from the "Penthouse Song Circle No.2" According to my sources, these three performers "embrace their inner morose." Yikes. Well, nothing like a good morose to lift your spirits from time to time. Blues players know a bit about that.
Not long ago I stumbled on a blog called The Bassic Sax Blog, whose bloggist seemed a tad bitter about the lot of the baritone sax player.
"The bigger the horn, the more you pay…and pay…and pay…and pay," said he she. And also: "...manufacturers charge more because they can. As bari players, we are held hostage, and don’t have a choice."
But as one R2 Blog reader pointed out, "Means more demand for the few bari players there are. And if you're a late bloomer, maybe a chance to work your way into a band."
This made me feel a little better for the poor bari players. At least until coming across a few Facebook groups for related instruments. The "People Who Actually Know What A Euphonium Is" group, for example. (You will have to be a Facebook member to view; takes about five annoying minutes, is all.)
Yes, the Euphonium players also apparently feel misunderstood, as this excerpt from their page shows:
"So what instrument do you play?"
Euphonium.
"Oh. . . What's that?"
It's like a baritone.
"Oh, yeah. I know what a bari sax is."
No. It's not a saxophone. It's a low brass instrument.
"Ohh. So the tuba."
No.
"The trombone?"
No.
"Then what is it?"
(Sigh)"
That said, the Euphoniums do have around 4,000 members.
Today's news that George O'Dowd (a.k.a. Boy George) has been refused entry into the U.S. is presented in some quarters as somehow humorous (lots of "karma" jokes).
But the reality for many musicians trying to tour the U.S. is anything but a joke -- and the reasons for their VISA denials seem frequently to be no fault of their own. Boy George, on the other hand, has apparently been denied entry (causing the cancellation of thirty some tour dates, including a few in Canada) because he is awaiting trial in the U.K.
But it still points to an ongoing and tenacious post 9-11 reality. Visa problems have been encountered to an extreme degree by world music artists. And it seems also to be happening with musicians you might think would not be causing immigration authorities to blink -- but are, for a myriad of reasons.
It's had an impact on some Canadian bands too, as a feature in the Boston Phoenix points out, citing internet reaction to the news that Handsome Furs were denied U.S. entry:
"Pitchfork Media responded to the visa denial of Canadian duo Handsome Furs, facetiously proclaiming, 'Three cheers for the United States, keeping freedom-hating, free-health-care-receiving heathens like Handsome Furs out of our beautiful land.'"
Ah yes, those health-care receiving Handsome Furs.
It's an extremely complex issue, of course. But it's interesting that one conclusion drawn by the Phoenix article's author is this:
"The endgame is that, in the name of making ourselves safer, we may only be further isolating ourselves from a world that already views us with suspicion."
Canadian Pianist Gershon Wachtel sounds like he's had an interesting life to date. His repertoire includes "a broad range of Classical, Jewish, and Broadway music." He played piano with the the U.S. Women's Gymnastic Team in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. He studied piano performance at New York University; he's toured across the U.S, and Europe.
But that's not the really interesting part. The really interesting part is that he's also a motivational speaker. And his subject is how music helped him overcome adversity -- including the death of a child. Life does not get much more adverse than that.
Today Gershon Wachtel joins Eric on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) to talk about the power of music in his life -- and to play music from his one-man show.
Buck 65, DJ, electronic and spoken word artist (and soon to be CBC host, come the fall), teams up with Symphony Nova Scotia tonight on The Signal.
SNS conductor/composer Dinuk Wijeratne's own concerto, performed by cellist Norman Adams, percussionist Terry O'Mahoney and Buck 65 on turntables is the featured work (and a commission by the CBC).
An ambitious project, Buck summed it up before the performance, speaking to The Coast:
"It's totally insane," he says of the show. "You don't play with the symphony everyday....Just to hear my stuff taken to these places, it's really hard to describe the way it's made me feel."
Lately it seems that most of what is reported as music news is about death (or in the case of Ms. Winehouse, destruction), or an endless chewing over of issues pertaining copyright and new "models" for music distribution.
But making music news this week...scientists at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg have released preliminary results of a study that show that "every ten concerts above 82 decibels add an extra year to the age of a work [of art]."
If these "preliminary results" prove conclusive, it may have significant impact on concert venues around the world that are in close proximity to museums and galleries.
For example Britain's Kenwood House (home to Vermeer's The Guitar Player) -- there have been neighboring concerts on London's Hampstead Heath for half a century. (With one upcoming by Rufus Wainwright.)
The Canadian Folk Music Awards have announced the finalists for the first annual CFMA Classic Canadian Album Award.
It's like a Hall of Fame for major folk recordings -- and your vote will decide which seminal album gets in.
Here is the shortlist:
Stan Rogers – Fogarty's Cove
Gordon Lightfoot – Lightfoot
Leonard Cohen – The Songs of Leonard Cohen
Éritage – La Ronde des Voyageurs
Kate and Anna McGarrigle – Kate And Anna McGarrigle
Tough choice. I know it's Leonard's year so I might lean in his direction (he's used to that). Or maybe not, all five are fine recordings.
The concept behind the award is that the test of a recording's greatness is not so much how it stacks up when it is brand new -- but how well it fares over time. Or, as the CFMA puts it: "Whether it comes to be embraced as a definitive statement of a people, culture or period."
Starting this weekend you can cast your vote at: Canadian Folk Music Awards. And of course you can also make a case for who you think should get the honour, should you wish to comment right here on the R2 blog.
One of the interesting thing about working at any CBC location in the country is the people you meet. Or in Eric Friesen's case, the people you hear. Specifically, the hearty laugh of one of CBC's famed Parliamentary Bureau editors -- and I mean hearty -- Eric has gotten used to hearing it through the not quite soundproof studio door at CBC Ottawa.
It didn't take Eric long before befriending the man behind the laugh, who turns out to be quite a music lover. And today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), you can hear Eric's conversation with that music lover, Don Newman, not about the goings on at the Hill, but about music.
Tuesday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Salsa Africa, under the musical direction of percussionist Luisito Orbegoso, brings together musicians from Madagascar, Peru, Kenya, Germany, Nigeria, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Italy and Venezuela (all top Toronto Latin, African and jazz players) to explore both the Latin and African roots of the music.
The project came into being because Lula Lounge Creative Director Jose Ortega observed that although contemporary Latin and African music share roots, there's not a lot of overlap between players or audiences. A great idea, and you can hear some of the musical results tonight on Can. Live.
I'm listening as we speak to the show online (Concerts On Demand: Salsa Africa) and what I've heard so far is sizzling -- v. nice horns.
It's shaping up to be an evening of greatness on R2 -- later tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear Michael Ondaatje talking with Laurie about the connections between music and literature; on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear a concert from the brilliant American guitarist Bill Frisell, a trio with drummer Joey Baron and bassist Tony Scherr.
Also on the bill, music from a great Canadian guitarist, Michael Occhipinti, in performance with three string players from Symphony Nova Scotia.
The connection here is John Coltrane. This video accompanies what I would call classic Coltrane, and as Tonic (6 p.m.) is promising to play some classic Trane tonight, I thought I'd jump the gun with a video of My Favourite (or to give in and use the American spelling, Favorite) Things.
But in nosing about for one instead I came across some other "classic Coltrane," in this case Giant Steps, set to animation by Michael Levy.
An interesting visual impression of Coltrane's Giant Steps, interesting as animation, but also in its interpretation of Coltrane's playing as a thing so angular and precise. (I would have animated it as something more elliptical...were I to animate.)
You can see a higher quality version of this at Levy's website, by the way.
An early bulletin today about The Signal (10 p.m.): Michael Ondaatje joins Laurie Brown this evening to talk about the intersection of music and literature.
A great topic, and I'm sure Ondaatje will have many interesting things to say. As you may know, he has a strong interest in music and musicians (just one example being Coming Through Slaughter, his book about Buddy Bolden).
Tonight Ondaatje will talk about his fascination with Billy the Kid, as well as the piece of music that inspired him to write his award-winning novel Divisadero.
Check out Laurie's blog for a little bit more about how her conversation with Mr. Ondaatje evolved.
The hunger for lists never seems to abate, the most recent of which to catch my eye being Total Guitar magazine's Worst Cover Songs Ever list.
Winning the dubious distinction of Worst Cover Song Ever -- Celine Dion, with her cover of AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long. According to a report at BBC News, editor Stephen Lawson said Dion's cover was "a sacrilege." But as one commenter over at Total Guitar points out: "The original AC/DC song is lame itself - surely something can only be called 'sacrilege' if it is an affront to something that was great to begin with."
Ah, but who defines what is great? For that matter, who defines what is worst or best?
Spinner, the magazine that adores lists (Mean Love Songs, Worst Band Feuds, Embarrassing Antics etc. etc.) doesn't trouble itself to define what makes a bad lyric bad, but they do like to editorialize about their Bad Lyric Of The Week. This week, it's from Brit singer Kate Nash:
"You said I must eat so many lemons/'Cause I am so bitter".
According to Spinner, what makes Nash's lyric so bad is its lack of accuracy. Lemons, they point out, are sour, not bitter.
Just think of the possible songs lyrics that could be deemed as "bad," using this as the basis from which to judge. Say, just to seize one example to come to mind, Over The Rainbow. Bluebirds don't really fly that high, not actually up and over the rainbow. So there goes that song into the bad lyrics vault. (Take that, Yip Harburg!)
Although as we know, sometimes troubles really do melt like lemon-drops. Sour, not bitter lemon-drops, naturally.
You can hear one of the world’s foremost violinists, Anne-Sophie Mutter, on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) today chatting with Eric -- about Beethoven and about life. Naturally life includes other music (as well as Beethoven) that matters to her.
Also naturally, Eric plays Ms. Mutter in performance -- specifically, Beethoven's Violin Concerto, with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Herbert von Karajan.
Although speaking of a performance of Brahms, not Beethoven, Bernard Holland, writing in the NYtimes, really captured something of her playing in this opening of a review of a recent concert:
"For Anne-Sophie Mutter the saying 'Make every note count' becomes less a vague cliché and more a matter of fact. Her violin playing has an imagination, a curiosity and a near-endless reserve of psychic energy..."
Riding a bus is possibly the best place for eavesdropping on conversations, other than when people are talking in public on their cell phones. Then the potential pleasure of eavesdropping (for those of us fascinated by other peoples lives, or maybe just nosy) is usually overridden by the fact that the person is shouting.
But the bus is much more rewarding since you hear both sides, and generally more sotto voce. Recently I heard a couple on a bus debating whether or not one of them had really invented the word "jellofied." She claimed she made it up to describe the moment when jello is ready to eat, when it's been in the fridge long enough to quiver in semi-solidity.
I don't know about "jellofied," but I do think the folks at The Signal (10 p.m.) may have coined the term "cello-tastic." That's how they describe this evening's show -- where cello-centric concerts have been brought together from across Canada. They include a world premiere from David R. Scott with a little help from The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and music (doubling as a Soundtrack Sunday special) from a soundtrack composed by Montreal singer/cellist Jorane.
Kevin Parent is already a big success in Francophone Quebec. How big? Well, he's won a few major ADISQ awards and even a 2002 Juno award for Best Selling Francophone Album, Les Vents Ont Changé. If you follow the scene, you'll know his hits, songs like Nomade Sedentaire, Seigneur and Boomerang.
Last spring he did the thing that many brave and exploratory francophone artists seem to be doing these days -- he released an all english album, Fangless Wolf Facing Winter. The rather arresting title is an indication of the theme of the recording, all about Parent's feelings of being caught in a duality -- he grew up in the bilingual area of Baie-des Chaleurs. (The border of northern New Brunswick.)
As you'll hear if you tune in to Canada Live (8 p.m.) this fine summer Sunday evening, the music is true to his roots -- that twangy "gaspésien" accent. This concert comes to you from a brand new performance hall in Saint-Hyacynthe, southeast of Montreal.
btw, if you're going to be in Ottawa on Canada day, Monsieur Parent will be performing on the hill as part of the Canada Day celebrations.
Also on the show, also from Quebec -- the Simon Legault, an up and coming jazz guitarist who won first prize in the 2007 Jazz En Rafale young jazz artist competition. You can hear this online too, at Concerts On Demand: Simon Lgault Quartet.
Robert Harris fans -- and I know you are legion -- take note. Today he is guest hosting Sunday Afternoon In Concert.
You'll hear Robert present some of the best concert performances of the season, including a Louis Lortie spectacular: Lortie in concert at Glenn Gould Studio from last September, playing the music of Ravel with the Winnipeg Symphony from last October, and from just a few months ago, in an all-Mozart program with the CBC Radio Orchestra, playing and conducting from this spring. All Lortie, all the time!
Today Gregory says goodbye on In the Key Of Charles -- just for the season -- with songs on that very subject. I'm sure he'll do this with his usual aplomb, leaving no one to say, "Hey. That ain't no way..."
If you're a fan of Gregory's and you met him walking down the street, you'd probably have a few questions for him, serious or otherwise. I know I do. But rather than lurking around old Montreal, I decided to work my connections. (Also known as sending him an email.) It seems a nice wrap to the season to publish his answers now, so without further ado here they are, beginning with an "otherwise":
Ten Questions For Gregory Charles
1. What's the song you're most likely to sing in the shower (or when dusting the piano)?
Stranger in Paradise. Don't know why. Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise. Perfect music for the shower. Once I'm in, I might go for A Rainy Night in Georgia or something like that.
2. What's the first record/CD you bought on your own, without parental involvement?
Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. I was really in love with it as a kid.
3. Which musician would you most like to meet (dead or alive!)?
Paul McCartney is one. Dusty Springfield is another. Frank Sinatra is a third. Gordon Jenkins is a fourth.
Harry Nilsson, a fifth. Clifford Brown. And Sergei Rachmaninov, troubled man with a huge talent. I'm also in love with Naida Cole.
4. What is the quality you most admire in a musician?
An open mind. Music is like a mistress, like a woman that you love with an open mind and no limitations.
5. If you were a sushi or pasta chef, what music would you want to cook to?
Sushi would come with Shakuashi flute music. But Pasta would definitely need Puccini. Burgers are prepared to the music of The Ink Spots. All else, I can cook to Stevie Wonder.
6. What's your biggest as yet unfulfilled musical aspiration?
Being part of a chamber music ensemble. And being part of a musical (on film and on stage)
7. If you weren't a musician or a radio host, what would you like to be?
A teacher.
8. What’s your favourite escapist way to pass time, musical or otherwise?
Dancing.
9. What's the most embarrassing moment you've had behind the radio microphone?
Asking someone when their child was due when in fact, the child was born a few months before. And I tried to explain why I made the mistake. That was a worse mistake.
10. What's the thing you like best about hosting In The Key Of Charles?
The opportunity to reflect on themes and find music, to share that music and discover some more. Working with great guys and reading the comments we get, good and bad. Music is universal and radio makes it accessible. I love it. I'm a lucky, lucky guy.
When you think of Venezuela and music, chances are you don't think of Africa at the same time. Unless you've done some fairly specialized listening -- or live on Venezuela's Carribean coast.
Afro-Venezuelan music has not exactly been at the forefront of the country's musical agenda (as opposed to say, El Sistema). And it's not terribly well known outside the country either. But that's changing, and today on Inside The Music you can hear a programme all about this change, created by Afropop. It's called Viva Venezuela.
Dr Janzen is the "Director of Choral Activities" at Trinity Western University, and he guest conducts the Vancouver Chamber Choir in their final concert of the season, a programme of music by Benjamin Britten, Johannes Brahms, Arvo Pärt, John Rutter and Charles Villiers Stanford and others.
Tonight, the full broadcast of the first ever Cree opera, Tomson Highway'sThe Journey (Pimooteewin). Highway collaborated on this with composer Melissa Hui and choreographer Michael Greyeyes.
It's based on an Aboriginal myth tracing the journey of Weesageechak (the 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.
To get the lowdown from the irrepressible Tomson Highway, you can read an interview he did with CBC News online here. In it he says:
"...Cree is...the garden of joy, of pleasure, from which the English language was evicted 4,000 years ago — to put it in theological terms. It’s hysterical. When you speak Cree, you laugh all the time. Every syllable is a kick in the arse. So when I want to laugh, I speak Cree. When I want to make money, I speak English. When I want to make love, I speak French."
Today being June 21st, it is also National Aboriginal Day, which has special resonance this year in light of the recent apology by Prime Minister Harper.
Last night five aboriginal artists from Ontario came together on the eve of National Aboriginal Day and the concert, called Stolen Children, will be broadcast tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
Wabs Whitebird, an MC sometimes known as "Chief Of The Concrete Jungle"
Marc Nadjiwan, with African Guitar Summit star Donne Roberts and Maza Meze percussionist Deb Sinha.
Jani Lauzon, accomplished actor, singer (and a Gemini award winning puppeteer!)
Digging Roots, who are reggae, jazz, blues and rock inspired.
The performers were commissioned by CBC to write a song that deals with the topic of the residential school system, and tonight is their radio premiere. So unless you were at last night's concert, you heard it here first! (Or will, once broadcast time roles around.)
Possibly a cheap ploy to get you to read this, but it does take us to the two main stories on today's episode of In Tune.
Starting with the chant:
"Last week there were FIVE albums of Gregorian Chant there including the number 1. It’s so unprecedented that I had a call from the national classical music radio station in Canada wanting to know what on earth was happening."
So says Mark Forrest, host of a classical show in the UK. (See I'm Chanting As I Speak.) Since he's at the epicenter of the charting chant (see also Cistercian Monks #7 With A Bullet) he did indeed receive a call from Canada -- Katherine calling to find out what was up -- and you can hear that conversation today.
And now, the sex. Today Katherine reveals which star of Sex And The City has excellent taste in classical music. Truly, I do not know which one, but based on the characters, here's my guess.
Carrie: No. She's a fan of disco and Burt Bacharach. (Ever since they got married she's driving Big crazy by constantly insisting they dance to Moon River.)
Charlotte: No. She's not really a music person, although she probably enjoys whatever Harry listens too, just because it's Harry.
Miranda: No, no, no. Miranda is all about bossa nova and metal.
Samantha: BINGO! It's got to be her. It started with Bolero, but just grew from there.
Guest host Nancy Hermiston, (Head of Vocal and Opera Studies at the University of British Columbia School of Music) presents SATO today.
It's the third of a series of three performances from Lyric Opera of Chicago, Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal's marvelously titled Die Frau Ohne Schatten (The Woman Without A Shadow). It's a kind of fairy tale for adults, and a tribute to Mozart's The Magic Flute.
The story is this. The part celestial, part human Empress is faced with a bizarre (albeit symbolic) dilemma. Her husband will be turned to stone and she'll be whisked back to the spirit realm unless she has a child — something she is unable to achieve because she hasn't got a shadow.
She turns to the fully human world to procure one, enlisting her scheming nurse in convincing a poor dyer's wife to trade her shadow in return for a life of privilege and wealth. But the dyer himself is desperate to have kids — so that's a bit of a pickle.
In addition to the performance, you can hear guest host Ms. Hermiston showcase Canadian tenor David Pomeroy as her choice of an emerging artist. She'll also lead a panel discussion on the the subject "what does it take to forge a career as an opera singer," with Craig Rutenberg from The Met in New York and Janet Stubbs, Director of the Ontario Arts Foundation, in Toronto.
Please continue reading for cast and character details, as well as the plot synopsis.
I heard some of Live By The Drum when it was broadcast at some earlier point in time, and what I caught was great -- an insightful and fun exploration of the power of rhythm. The series, hosted by Wabanakwut Kinew, is now being broadcast on Inside The Music, starting today with the first installment, Healing Drum.
This episode takes listeners across the globe and ends up at a ceremony that has brought healing to generations of residential school survivors. Other episodes in the series explore the origins of rhythm, the role rhythm plays in death rituals, and how storytellers use rhythm.
(And that's a whole lot more than just da-dum-dum-dum.)
To hear Live By The Drum tune in to R2 at 12 noon in Ontario, Quebec, Central, Mountain and Pacific; 1 p.m. in Maritimes; 1:30 p.m. in Nfld.
If you need but one reason to tune into Deep Roots today, it is the music of Abigail Washburn. She's a clawhammer banjo player who writes original songs, sometimes in a kind of old-timey style. She's sweet-voiced and an adventurous yodeler, she sometimes sings in Mandarin...I could go on and on. (Whoops, just did.) But host Tom Power will give you his take on Ms. Washburn on today's show.
If you need but more reasons to tune in, Tom will also present the following:
-A country ode of an oft-forgotten (deceased) member of the Rolling Stones.
-A Scottish trad group that makes "quite a racket" with just a guitar, piano accordion and a fiddle
-The son of a country-rock pioneer who has embraced a slightly older sound.
Hint, his last name is Earle. Hint again, his dad has a guest turn in the first season of The Wire. What, you may ask, has The Wire to do with music? Well, this is how I see it. The Wire is to contemporary TV as Abigail Washburn is to contemporary singer-songwriter banjo players.
Penderecki String Quartet are the subject of Pat's weekly in depth look at one artist or group's body of work tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.). So he samples from various time periods -- in the case of the Penderecki, they have a couple of decades of recording to choose from, playing music from Haydn to Zappa.
You can also hear some new music this evening from the following: Sigur Ros, John Zorn, and Human Bell, as well as a concert from experimental/techno guy David Kristian.
Kristian, who has been making electronic music for about as long as the Pendereckis have been playing, has been called "half spooky sci-fi buff, half innovative music producer." (What would simplify that would be to say "spooky sci-fi buff/music producer," but I digress.) Here's the really spooky thing. Kristian, who has scored numerous films and videos, once performed a film soundtrack with the Penderecki Quartet.
Coincidence that Pat is playing music from both artists tonight? I think not.
It's the "flip-flops, denim cut-offs, ice cooler" edition of Tonic (6 p.m.), where you can put your feet up and enjoy the beginning of summer. (And I do hope that Katie's foot is up -- heard she had a little problem involving an ankle while out dog walking -- those dangerous leashes. Rest up, Katie!)
Summer solstice arrives at 7:59 EDT, and Tonic (6 p.m.) counts down the minutes to the official start of summer with music from the Ohio Players, Kool & the Gang, the Caribbean Jazz Project, jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow, saxophonist Campbell Ryga and percussionist Ray Barretto. You'll also hear from Hammond B3 organist Sam Yahel, (YSES! more B3), singer DK Ibomeka and from the British neo soul group Incognito.
And in honour of the beginning of summer...Ella, from 1969. Exquisite.
A small follow up to yesterday's piece about what to do with old CDs, How Do You Solve A Problem Like CDs. If a recent report published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP is correct, in the not too distant future -- e.g. three years -- the problem is going to start going away, all on its own.
Not because someone has discovered some fantastic new CD storage system. Not because a giant world-wide CD exchange programme means a nice little man will come to your door and take away the CDs you're no longer listening to. And not because all of us will have chicken coops. (See: How Do You Solve A Problem Like CDs.)
No, it's simply because, according to an article about the report in the Globe: "The compact disc has less than three years left in its reign atop the music industry in Canada, with new data on music sales indicating the download will officially be king by 2011."
Well, duh, as many of us would have said in our younger years. No real surprise here, is there? The only real news seems to be that it's happening faster than prognosticators had previously prognosticated.
Aha, I heard you, humming "Anything I say anytime of day and she's mine".
Likely you won't be hearing that song from Keith Hampshire today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), but you will hear music that evokes morning, noon and night, from composers such as Chabrier, Haydn, and Healy Willen among others.
Yes, you'll have sun in the morning and the moon at night and, bonus -- music worth hearing any old time -- a complete performance of the Schumann Piano Quintet featuring pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.
The idea that music can heal is hardly restricted to the work of modern day music therapists. In some cultures, for example traditional aboriginal cultures, music has many roles including the improvement of well-being, and the preserving of memory.
The concert you can hear on Canada Live (8 p.m.) Friday night is devoted to these kinds of songs -- in fact CBC commissioned new "healing songs," which are performed on the grounds of a former residential school in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
Each of the artists has a different connection to residential schools: Billy Joe Green was forced to attend Cecilia-Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora, Ontario, Fara Palmer is a second-generation survivor (her mother and family attended), and the funky rock band Burnt Project 1 represent the inter-generational survivors.
The concert is called Nanaadawe'iti Nagamonan: Healing Songs, and the healing songs in question take many forms, from the inward, to the decidedly outward -- Billy Joe Green's rockin' blues set gets people up and dancing in the aisles.
One of the quite wonderful things about Canada Live's Stolen Children Project is the wide range of music played by the aboriginal musicians involved -- hope you are getting a chance to tune in and hear for yourself.
A special broadcast coming up later this evening -- excerpts from Tomson Highway's Cree opera The Journey (Pimooteewin) -- the first Cree opera in the world. Highway collaborated on this with composer Melissa Hui and choreographer Michael Greyeyes, and tonight some of that work is broadcast on The Signal (10 p.m.). (The full broadcast of the opera is on the Saturday edition of The Signal with Pat Carrabré.)
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.
Back in February CBC News online did an interview with Tomson Highway, which you can read about at here. (As always, great to hear from the expressive Tomson Highway!)
Also on this evening's Signal, more music from Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq -- in the second hour of the programme, a composition by Régent Levasseur called Farewell To The Warriors, performed by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Think of the baritone sax and who do you think of? Gerry Mulligan? Pepper Adams? Lisa Simpson? It's probably not a very long short list.
Well, there's a reason for that, not just a lack of strong people with powerful diaphragms. It's also, according to The Bassic Sax Blog, a matter of cost: "The bigger the horn, the more you pay…and pay…and pay…and pay." Plus, as this Blogging Bari player points out, there's also the matter of supply and demand:
"...as things do cost somewhat more, but manufacturers charge more because they can. As bari players, we are held hostage, and don’t have a choice."
It happens every few months. Despite ever-increasing downloading, the stacks still amass. They become dangerously precarious towers of sharp-cornered plastic, and small children fear to pass by.
Of course there is donating the unwanted, but that means deciding which the unwanted are. Easier just to shove the CD overflow into the closet, you never know what you might want to hear again.
Sound familiar? Well, on behalf of all who are overwhelmed by too many CDs, I did a little research. Here are just a few examples of what others do with their excess CDs, apologies in advance to musicians:
* Put your CD's on fence posts around the chicken coop to deter hawks. Apparently also works well scaring deer away from gardens. (Forget rabbits, no CD will stop them.)
* Glue old patches (eg police/fire/military/figure skating, whatever) to CD's et voila! You have coasters.
* Heat your CDs in oven on low (safety goggles and not breathing recommended); when softened, gently bend to form a bowl shape. Then glue to small plates you have purchased (I knew there was a catch) and use for candy dishes. (If you weren't a fan of Madonna's latest, using that CD would be a nice ironic touch.)
That's all very well and good, but for those of us who are craft (and time) challenged, as well as afraid to let go of music, it ain't a gonna happen any time soon. Back to the closet.
Not long ago Bob Rae appeared on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.), to share his love of music, and play some of his own -- Mr. Rae is famously a piano-playing politician.
Don't know if the always colourful and recently appointed Lieutenant Gov. of Newfoundland and Labrador, Honorable John Crosbie is similarly a musician, but he is certainly a music lover. And you can hear all about that today on S'Sparks, when Mr. Crosbie joins Eric for some conversation and music this afternoon.
P.S. That's Mr. Crosbie sharing a chuckle with former Prime Minister Chretien, back in 2000 -- Crosbie, in his role as chancellor of Memorial University, Chretien, in his role as honourary doctor of laws recipient. What were they giggling about? Maybe Eric will find out.
Sometimes, living as most of us do in our own particular corners of the country, it's easy to forget how much is going on elsewhere, performance-wise. (Unless you are fortunate enough to travel across Canada frequently, and actually have time to take in music at the same time.)
That's one reason Canada Live (8 p.m.) exists -- to showcase the range of music being made across the country. This week there's a special focus to the Can. Live broadcasts, through the Stolen Children Project. It's a cultural and musical response to the official apology by the PM for the abuse many experienced in residential schools. Thursday night -- concerts recorded in Port Alberni and Labrador.
First, Marcel Gagnon from Port Alberni, pictured here. He's an aboriginal musician from Prince George, a singer songwriter who takes inspiration from Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan -- as well as his own life, documenting some of the struggles and successes of Northern BC's native community.
Also recorded in Port Alberni, Wayne Lavallee, a musician you likely will have heard of -- he's won numerous awards, including Best Aboriginal songwriter at the 2006 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Lavallee has also worked with residential school survivors -- some of his songs touch on this, in particular a song called Sacred Journey. (His upcoming CD has a great title, btw, Rock n'Roll Indian Cowboy.
And then from North West River, Labrador, Harry Martin and Makkas Penashue.
If you heard part one of the concert Quiet Is Not Silent last night on The Signal (10 p.m.) and were intrigued, tune in this evening for the rest. It's a mix of spoken word, live electronics, bass and violin, featuring Taqralik Partridge with Guido Del Fabbro, Philippe Brault and special guest DJmadeskimo, recorded live at the McCord Museum in Montreal.
(As my witty colleagues over at The Signal put it, "urban meets tundra.") It also includes a piece commissioned by the CBC called No Sleep For The Wicked Ain't Right. To hear the concert online, you can go to Concerts On Demand: Taqralik Partridge - Quiet is Not Silent.
Canada Live's (8 p.m.) Stolen Children Project continues tonight with concerts from Ottawa, Halifax, and Montreal. One of the producers tells me, and I quote: "'It's a really amazing, fantastic show." Serious endorsement, from someone who hears a lot of music (and has very good taste).
The concert begins with Holly McNarland (pictured here), the Winnipegger who wowed 'em when she first came on the scene, winning a Juno for Best New Solo Artist back in 1998. Ten years down the road she's busy songwriting -- and being a mother. Tonight you can hear her in a rare appearance from Westfest.
From the same festival, Tamara Podemski, of the very talented Podemski gals. The singer/songwriter's grandparents are survivors of residential schools, and she reflects on her heritage (she has an Israeli father and a Saulteaux mother), with songs in English, Ojibway and Hebrew. Also from Westfest, Kinnie Starr, whose Mohawk side of the family comes out through her music -- even though (or maybe because) her father didn't talk about that side of her heritage.
Concert #4 is from Halifax, Alan Syliboy And Lone Cloud. Syliboy is a Mi'kmaq artist, musician and elder. He and his band do a mix of jazz, blues and rock, and this concert focuses on the music and words of the Mi'kmaq community. (Other performers include: Wanda Joudrey-Finnigan, a Heritage Interpreter and performer from the Bear River First Nation Centre in Southwest Nova Scotia and J. Hubert Francis, a musician and singer from Big Cove, a First Nation community in New Brunswick.)
Some instruments seem to go in and out of fashion. The glockenspiel, for example. The autoharp. (The latter is still waiting for its full return to favour.) The Hammond B3 organ though, it's been having a gratifying resurgence in popularity for some years now. Gratifying because nothing beats the sweet, rich sound of a Hammond B3.
Jimmy Smith was one of the finest jazz organists ever, and tonight you can hear him on Tonic (6 p.m.), performing some tunes from a live show he did in 1993.
Right now you can hear (and see) him playing Bobby Timmons' Moanin', to a very appreciative audience...
The other day, writing a post called Blurring The Borders I felt a bit guilty not mentioning any Canadian examples of the ever burgeoning cross-over classical music/indie/improvising scenes, and the ever burgeoning alternative venues. Although Canadian examples of the former are certainly there -- famously Art Of Time, who are currently collaborating with BareNLady Steven Page.
As these things go, sometimes you think of a thing and then lo, a fresh example appears. (Ever noticed that? It's kind of like when you're contemplating someone and then suddenly there they are, walking down the street.)
So it shouldn't have surprised me to receive an email immediately after this saying that the first ever opera is happening at this year's Fringe Theatre Fest in Toronto. And it didn't. But what did seem like overkill on the synchronicity front was the headline for the press release announcing this: The Fat Lady Makes A Fringe Festival Debut!
But putting the whole 6 degrees of mental separation aside, these two things led me to an obvious question I can't say I'd ever asked, despite it's obviousness.
Why ARE opera singers (or at least many, past and present) fat? There are theories about this. (Of course, there are always theories.) Among them, according to a Dr. Stephen Juan, is that "It is almost impossible to have a great deal of fatty tissue around the voice box without carrying a great deal of fatty tissue elsewhere on the body." Fatty voice box, surely a name for a cross over band? Or not.
To read the rest of the good doctor's theories on this subject, go to Why Are Opera Singers Fat? (It's part of a series that also includes "Why Don't Human Beings Molt?" yet another obvious question.)
P.S. The work in question breaking into the Fringe is a presentation of Classical Music Consort, Handel's Acis And Galatea, billed as "Baroque Meets Avant-Garde Video Art."
Summer, ah summer. For an artist there are few things finer than a summer retreat, the sweet hum of mosquitoes, the sweat trickling down the back of the neck, the lack of running water, all while toiling away at a masterpiece...
Sorry, just a cynical moment. Presumably Dvorak's summer retreat in Spillville, Iowa (the "most historic Czech village in America") was under much more salubrious circumstances, since among the fruits of his labour (in the summer of 1893) is the string quartet known as "the American."
It's one of his most popular pieces of chamber music, and today you can hear it on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) performed by the Jerusalem Quartet.
p.s. If this piqued your curiosity here's more about life in Spillville, at least Dvorak's life in Spillville.
Interesting that the notion of "stage parents" typically falls on the distaff side. But that doesn't mean there aren't also stage fathers. (Jeff Archuleta, anyone?)
But "overly enthusiastic" fathers are only one aspect of a comparison that Philly Markowitz draws between Wolfgang Mozart and Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana) this morning when she sits in for Tom on Music & Company (6 a.m.).
For the full goods on the Wolfie-Miley connection you'll just have to tune in. (So will I, I'm v. curious if somewhat flabbergasted!)
And speaking of Ms. Markowitz, Philly will also be hosting the R2 Blog again for a week in July. (So you'll have your chance to ask her all of your follow up questions re: Mozart-Cyrus.)
How true. You note this in a literal way all the time, for instance lying awake in the middle of the night. (The creaking, the humming, the rustling.)
But you note it in a profound way when a culture has been repressed, and that is what this particular "quiet is not silent" refers to. Quiet Is Not Silent is the name of a concert commissioned by the CBC that you can hear this evening on The Signal (10 p.m.), as part of their series in conjunction with the CBC special Truth & Reconciliation: Stolen Children.
Tonight's concert comes from WANISKA -- Aboriginal Arts Festival. The word Waniska translates to English as "awaken," and it was a national celebration of Aboriginal culture, held last autumn. Thousands of people gathered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for a musical gala featuring some of Canada's finest first nations performers. They included blues-rocker Derek Miller from Ontario's Six Nations Reserve, Manitoba's legendary metis singer-songwriter Ray St.Germain, Prince Albert's own fiddling Donny Parenteau, Dene performer Leela Gilday, and Saskatoon hip-hop duo Eekwol & Mils.
Here is the Official R2 Blog apology for those who turned on Tonic (6 p.m.) last night to hear the Joe Lovano feature, based on a post yesterday. The Official R2 Blogger screwed up, posting the info a day early.
It is in fact TODAY that you can hear a live set of tunes described as "lush and romantic" from saxophonist Joe Lovano with the WDR Big Band and strings. Good news is, you get a second chance to give in to that urge to press play.
Nice, eh?
Also on Tonic tonight, music from Sergio Mendes whose latest, Encanto, features guesties including Colombian star Juanes, Belgium's Zap Mama and Italian rapper Jovanotti.
Seems to be a day for thought provoking headlines where it concerns women and music. (See The "Fat" Soprano.)
Why Can't Women Be Geniuses Too? ran today at The Times Online, the thesis of the piece being that contemporary male music stars get dubbed geniuses willy nilly, while women...less willy nilly, if at all.
"But it's not just men who appear reluctant to celebrate female talent. Women also often avoid using the G-word in reference to other women. The truth is we're simply not encouraged to think about females, musicians or otherwise, in this way," states the article.
To put this idea to the test I did a decidedly unscientific study, googling the word "genius" with the names of three women musicians I figured might rate the description. Just to see what would turn up.
Joni Mitchell: No problem there. Clearly she has been awarded her genius stripes.
Bjork: Mixed results.
Laurie Anderson: Ditto. (There is a Lori Anderson out there who is reading Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius though.)
What does this prove? Possibly nothing. Or that the Times piece might be at least partly right.
In a related note, a recent poll done by Californian public radio host Sandy Miranda asking for suggestions for a master list of Women In World Music: Historic & Living Legends had no problem turning up dozens of names...which you will see if you continue reading. (Maybe women get to be legends rather than geniuses? Though some of the women on this list are surely both...)
Not sure how this headline sits with you: 'Fat' Soprano Back On Opera Stage. It refers, of course, to soprano Deborah Voigt. She's returned to London's Royal Opera House for their production of Ariadne Auf Naxos, four years after being dismissed from the opera for her failure to fit into the (now infamous) little black cocktail dress. Many discussions ensued, as well they should.
But now, years later and over 100 pounds lighter, Ms. Voigt has returned to the same role, resulting in the headline, at BBC News no less. Presumably it's intended as a joke. Or is it really just in bad taste?
Ms. Voigt has maintained a sense of humour about the whole thing mind you, as evidenced by this video The Return Of The Little Black Dress.
As for the production of Ariadne , which opened last night? So far, so pretty good, at least as far as Voigt is concerned.
For example Music Criticism says, of last night's performance, that it is "left to Deborah Voigt to call upon her experience as Ariadne to draw the audience in and she does so admirably.... [her voice has become] an even more magnificent instrument: steely and rich and with an ability to fill the theatre like few others."
Starting Tuesday night Canada Live (8 p.m.) presents The Stolen Children Project: Songs And Stories Of Hope And Healing. (Henceforth to be called The Stolen Children Project, for the purposes of brevity.) From Tuesday June 17th until Saturday June 21st you can hear the results of this quite ambitious endeavor by Canada Live.
It's a cultural and musical response to the official apology by the PM for the abuse many experienced in residential schools -- if you are going to talk about hope and healing, one way is through creative expression. As Louis Riel once said: "My people will sleep for 100 years, but when they awaken, it will be the artists who will give them their spirit back.”
Also as part of The Stolen Children Project, this week the CL Podcast features the 2008 Juno Aboriginal Showcase -- which you can download at CBC Radio 2 Podcasts. 2008 JUNO Award nominees and aboriginal artists perform songs in the company of drummers, fiddlers, fancy dancers and a high-energy house band. (True, the fancy dancers may not translate so well on the Pod, but the rest will...)
But to tonight's show. The first concert is from WANISKA -- Aboriginal Arts Festival. The word Waniska translates to English as "awaken," and it was a national celebration of Aboriginal culture, held last autumn. Thousands of people gathered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for a musical gala featuring some of Canada's finest first nations performers. They included blues-rocker Derek Miller from Ontario's Six Nations Reserve, Manitoba's legendary metis singer-songwriter Ray St.Germain, Prince Albert's own fiddling Donny Parenteau, Dene performer Leela Gilday, and Saskatoon hip-hop duo Eekwol & Mils.
The other two other concerts tonight feature Aaju Peter and Tanya Tagaq. For more info about both performances, please continue reading:
After last Wednesday's apology by Prime Minister Harper on behalf of the government of Canada to aboriginal people who were forced into Residential schools, the actual commission that results from that apology will now begin. For the next five years the commission will hear from aboriginal people who were in those schools.
On The Signal (10 p.m.) this week you'll hear concerts and programming focusing on aboriginal artists and music, as a way of noting this. Tonight, music from Inuit artists (who have a unique place in the whole Truth & Reconcilation process...as this post on Nation Talk shows.)
CBC is doing work on all the "platforms" as they say (in other words, radio/TV/the World Wide Web) about the Truth & Reconciliation process, and for more on that, go to Truth & Reconciliation: Stolen Children.
Conrad Good, of Vancouver, B.C. and Sandra Taweel, of Halifax, N.S.
Congratulations!!! You both win a trip for two to the Montreal jazz festival. We're all jealous, but we're also happy for you. No, really, we are.
That photo, btw, is from last year's festival, the Wayne Shorter Quartet, (somewhere back there there is a drummer). Shorter isn't at this year's fest, but jazz players include Mccoy Tyner, David Murray, Brad Mehldau, Hank Jones and on and on. Here's the full artists index.
And of course there's likely to be another Tonic (6 p.m.) Contest next year, so stay tuned.
Nikki Yanofsky is a kid (at 14 you are still a kid, aren't you?) with a phenomenal ear for jazz. She's not ("IMO" as they say) a fully realized jazz singer by any means -- but she has a huge amount of talent for someone so young. To date she's performed at Carnegie Hall, (that photo was taken the week of the Carnegie concert), Place Des Arts, National Arts Centre, The Montreal Jazz Festival etc. etc., and has collaborated with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Colin James and Marvin Hamlisch. And tonight you can hear her on Canada Live (8 p.m.)
But first up on the show is a concert from keyboardist James Gelfand, who is also a multiple-award winning composer. (In numerous styles, from techno to orchestral or folk to jazz.) Accordion buffs take note, the final concert is from Paris-born, Montreal-based Didier Dumoutier, a button accordion virtuoso who you may have seen perform with Lhasa DeSela. This concert comes to you from the Printemps Des Bretelles - a festival devoted to the mighty sqeezebox -- and Dumoutier performed with Le Hot Club De Ma Rue (Everyone should have one on their rue, don't you think?)
This morning in the Tonic World Headquarters (a.k.a. producer Robert Rowat's office, I suspect) Katie drew the two winners in the "win-a-trip-for-two to the Montreal Jazz Fest contest, and she will be announcing their names on Tonic (6 p.m.) this evening. I'll post the winners on the blog at around 7pm eastern too, so if for some reason you're not able to catch the show, check back here as well.
But meanwhile, a word about some of the music you can hear on this evening's programme. The featured live set has been described as some "lush and romantic" music from from saxophonist Joe Lovano with the WDR Big Band and strings, recorded live in Germany.
For now, here's Joe -- and Hank Jones. Not lush, but romantic. And just really lovely.
P.S. If you care to join a discussion about Joe's mouthpiece in this performance (really), why, just click on over.
“I think audiences are not given enough credit for the scope of what they can embrace. There’s a type of person who wants to discover some new things, or to push the boundary a little. And it’s not that much of a stretch to go from some of the indie rock or progressive electronica that’s being produced now to works by composers writing for electronics.”
Any number of times the subject of the increasing overlap between indie rock, new classical music and bold improvising music (was trying to avoid "avant garde jazz") has cropped up on the blog. That overlap has been in terms of new ways of programming concert venues, new thinking in music organizations big and small, and efforts by musicians themselves.
Yesterday's NYTimes had an interesting piece about this very subject, Chaser Of Beer, Rock Or Bebop With Your Bach? (The quote that opens this post is from that piece.) Although it focuses on alternative venues proliferating in New York these days, it points the way to a possible future for what you could call "art" music. (Also strikes me as being a bit parallel to the future of the automotive biz -- those companies exploring new fuels and new kinds of 21st century design are probably more likely to to prosper than those stuck on SUVs.)
From what I can tell there are similar activities going in most major urban centres in the western world, but some cities more so than others. For example London, England seems to be hopping, the movement spearheaded in part by Gabriel Prokofiev, a DJ, producer, composer and yes, grandson of Sergei. (Also very recently reported on, in the Times in a piece called Gabriel Prokofiev's Nonclassical Club Night Breaks With Tradition.)
I wonder what other music-lovers think -- is this blurring of borders faddish, or down to economics, or is it a profound shift in philosophy and music? My vote's with the latter, but only time will tell...
When the old "what do you want to be when you grow up" becomes "what DID you want to be" as people look back at their earliest aspirations, I wonder how many say, "I always wanted to be a conductor." One woman in Ottawa did, but instead she became a high school teacher. But she still fantasizes about conducting, and admires women conductors -- few that they are. So this morning Here's To You responds by showcasing Marin Alsop, the first woman to be appointed as a conductor of a major North American orchestra -- you can hear her leading the London Philharmonic in Brahms' Symphony No. 3.
As for why there aren't more women conductors that's a matter of speculation, and if you are interested in some of that speculation here's one POV, in an article titled Women Conductors - Why So Few? And perhaps more to the point, here is an interview with Ms. Alsop on this very subject, Where Are All The Women Conductors?
I do rather like this quote from Alsop: "When people ask me, 'What's it like to be a woman conductor?' I have no perspective. I've always been a woman conductor. I have never been, say, a lizard conductor."
I heard sometime earlier this week the theory that Father's Day is just an add on, that it's really Mother's Day that is the big deal. This is probably true in commercial terms, and admittedly there has been a suspicious lack of Father's Day programming today. Knowing a few great fathers (most of all my own) makes me say this: frankly, this second class dad's day notion is just wrong.
Fathers can be purveyors of significant lore, and I'm not talking about BBQing. Musically, for example -- the music some of us are lucky enough to learn from our fathers stays with us our whole lives. (Even when it involves such lyrics as "flat foot floogie with a floy floy." Or maybe especially when it does.)
So I was glad to see that Pat Carrabré salutes Fathers (we'll give Dads a Cap in honour of the occasion) musically this evening. One of the ways he does this is via Soundtrack Sundays, with music from the score (by Canadian composer Mychael Danna who also did the music for Atom Egoyan's latest, Adoration) to the movie Little Miss Sunshine. I guess that's touching on some of the trials of being a father? (Though it worked out in the end, van pushing and all.)
That's right, not Rubber. Robert Walsh is a busy performer, session player, and producer of many Franco-Albertan recordings, but not so long ago he took time out of all that to record not one but two solo albums. Robert Soul is, not surprisingly, a Beatles covers album, featuring original arrangements of those oh-so familiar songs. Tonight you can hear him on Canada Live (8 p.m.) in the CD release event for his solo outing (s), performing some of those songs.
A second concert comes to you from Alberta on Sunday night as well, from Edmonton's long-standing jazz venue Yardbird Suite. It's sax player Dave Babcock presenting an evening in tribute to one of his musical heroes, saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Babcock was joined by drummer Sandro Dominelli, guitarist Jim Head, bassist Mike Lent, and Doug Organ on piano, Hammond organ and vibes. You can also hear Mr. Babcock (that's him in the photo) online at Concerts On Demand: Dave Babcock Quartet.
Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer turns 75 this year, and in honour of the occasion Sunday Afternoon in Concert presents three concerts given in Ottawa at the end of March, featuring Schafer’s orchestral music, string quartets and choral music.
You can also hear many of the concerts celebrating Schafer @ 75 online, as handily organized at "The Schafer-iade" Continues With Concerts on Demand (And is that not a great photo of Mr. Schafer too, taken at one of the concerts?)
Also on "SAIC," a tribute to the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jacques Israelievitch, as he gets ready to retire from the position after twenty years.
If you've ever tried to dance to Dominican merengue you'll know it can go at quite a clip -- it's the adrenalin rush of the Latin dance world. But musically, culturally and politically merengue has a fascinating history.
Today on Inside The Music you can hear a show about just that, called Merengue: Dominican Music And Identity. It's the second of three episodes from the Public Radio International show Afropop Worldwide, a famed weekly series showcasing the musical cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe.
[Note, usually Sunday's Inside The Music on Radio 2 is also presented on Radio 1 in the evenings, but tonight it's not the case -- instead you can hear the much-heralded documentary about Leonard Cohen.]
You probably filled in the blank of that subject heading without even being aware you were doing it. Not only a testament to the lasting power of Judy and Toto, but also of the powerful notion of home. It's something Gregory Charles will exploring this Sunday on In The Key Of Charles. Fittingly, since he does the show from the piano in his living room.
Today, music about home comes from Deanna Durbin, Nat King Cole, Sarah Slean, Donavon Frankenreiter, the King's Singers, Andy Bey, Barry White, Michael Bublé, Maurice Duruflé, Chris de Burgh, Colin James, the Cowboy Junkies, Andy williams, Sarah McLachlan, John Legend, Shania Twain, Nickelback, Nanette Workman and Etta James.
But if you need more specific info than that, just click your heels together three times...or no, better still click on the playlist and say...
Your weekly Choral Concert Bulletin: Today, the world premiere of John Estacio’sThe Houses Stand Not Far Apart. It's part of a Choral Concert feature about music in times of conflict. You can also hear Jenkins’ The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace, Leonard Retzlaff conducting the Richard Eaton Singers and the Vancouver Bach Choir.
The theme Choral Concert explores today puts me in mind of the famous Leonard Bernstein quote, something he said in 1963 following the assassination of JFK.
“This will be our reply to violence, to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
It's impossible to tire of the endlessly entertaining band names people come up with, and tonight you can hear two such bands, both from Ottawa, performing at the Elmdale Tavern.
First, The Empiricals, said to "blend kitschy pop and shimmery keyboards." Then The Flaps, who "wrap their spaghetti westerns and surf rock in lots of reverb." Ottawa native Kenji Omae also performs at the National Arts Centre's 4th Stage. (Good name too, but not a patch on The Empricals or The Flaps. Though presumably it's not likely assumed.)
Note -- The Flaps, somewhere in that photo, were part of the Idea Of North broadcast where songwriters were asked to respond to what the idea of north meant to them, and did so in a concert that also included excerpts from Glenn Gould's documentary of the same name -- you can hear this online at Idea Of North.
That is a question posed by Katherine Duncan Saturday on In Tune. (Which, it should be noted, begins later today due to the opera broadcast which runs a little longer -- In Tune will start at 5:30 p.m.)
Nineteen! Is it like gymnasts and figure skaters, they're getting younger and younger? (At least the musicians presumably get to eat more. ) Anyway, this is one of the subjects Katherine explores on today's show -- as well as playing some brilliant Brahms performed by Arghamanyan.
Another subject is the role that a violin plays in the much talked about Atom Egoyan movie, Adoration, an instrument that belongs to Canadian Susanne Hou. Better clarify that so as not to be accused of false advertising -- the starring role does involve Ms. Hou's playing of that violin, which you can also hear on today's In Tune.
Today on SATO, Handel's Guilio Cesare In Egitto (a.k.a. Julius Caesar in Egypt), starring countertenor David Daniels in the title role, soprano Danielle De Niese as the alluring Cleopatra and Patricia Bardon, mezzo soprano, as Cornelia.
Guest host for June 14th edition of the show is Timothy Vernon, music director of Pacific Opera Victoria. He presents the second of three performances this month from L.O. of C.
The conductor is Emmanuelle Haim, who directs from the harpsichord. (Wish we had an opera-cam for that!) This is Ms. Haim's Chicago Lyric Opera debut and is in fact the first time that a woman has conducted a performance of Lyric Opera Of Chicago. Tim Vernon speaks to Ms. Haim about her experience, and also presents a young artist in conversation, soprano Frederique Vezina, and continues the series Know your Puccini.
Note: The opera runs until 5:30 p.m. pre-empting 1/2 hour of In Tune. As always, for the Cast & Characters and Synopsis, please continue reading.
Mr. Cohen is back. Yes, on tour, beautifully written about in the latest issue of MacLeans by Brian D. Johnson. The photo is from one of the FOUR sold out shows in my home town. I'll digress for a moment just to say it entirely lived up to expectations -- or more accurately, hopes. Excellent performances by all concerned, particularly from Cohen and those amazing backup singers. (Plus he was funny and charming but then, you would expect that.)
But TODAY Leonard Cohen is also back on CBC in the form of a repeat of the popular documentary If It Be Your Will, which you can hear on Inside The Music on Radio 2. (Right after Deep Roots, 12 p.m., 1 AT,1:30 NT) and Sunday at 8 pm. on Radio 1. Here's the back story to the documentary:
Last week I posted that really glossy looking photo of Deep Roots host, Tom Power. I have to admit, I thought, hmmm, doesn't look like a musician. (Although that's hardly fair, after all, what does a musician look like?) Anyway, this week we have evidence of Tom in one of his natural habitats -- that's him at the front with guitar. Thank you, facebook.
One of Tom's other natural habitats is at the radio mic, as you can hear Saturday (11:00 a.m., 12:00 AT, 12:30 NT). And here are just a couple of the groups he'll be showcasing on this week's edition of Deep Roots:
-An ode to getting some snow in the winter for a change (something that Tom says he and others living in Newfoundland have a hard time understanding -- hey Tom, after last winter many in Ontario are saying the same) by The Gruff.
There's more too, but I don't want to give it all away. Though I will say that I hear he's planning to play something from that Alison Krauss/Robert Plant recording, quite astonishingly beautiful it is. Then there's the vaudevillian-ragtime-jugband-blues & hillbilly swing band he's playing and the...(hook)...
Well, it sounds better than unlucky 13. Superstition is such an odd thing. Are you of a numerically superstitious ilk? Do you think elevators will plummet or fish will grow fangs and attack you, or whatever other fears you secretly harbour -- just because it's Friday the 13th?
Regardless, tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Pat explores the ideas of luck and fortune with music -- some of it from pianist Peter Allen and Montreal’s Besnard Lakes.
And as luck would have it, for you fans of electronics/jazz musician Misteur Valaire, Pat will also be broadcasting a Valaire concert tonight on the show.
Slidin' Clyde Roulette is, no surprise, a slide guitar player. (And does he not have a great blues handle?) He's from Manitoba but he's lived in Toronto, Saskatoon, Vancouver and Memphis -- so he brings considerable life and musical experience to the job at hand. And the job at hand tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) is a concert from Dauphin, Manitoba's Watson Art Centre.
He is not going unrecognized in Canada these days -- the Slidin' Clyde Roulette Band's Let's Take A Ride won Best Blues Album at The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards last December, as evidenced in the photo.
And Clyde tells me that he is hoping to record more soon, including a song he's written about residential schools -- his mother was one of Canada's youngest to be in the system -- she was TWO years old. He wrote the song outside the very school she went to. How intense. And timely.
A few music blogs have crossed the virtual transom of late, some new, some not. In the new category there's Alan Rich (classical music critic of long-standing) with So I've Heard. So far it's a little on the terse side, (a rarity among bloggers), but looks like he will also be linking to the various features he's done over the years, including this interview transcription with Steve Reich.
In the neglected category (having stumbled on it before), the intriguing combination of original music played live en route to wherever, from wherever, complete with video...Jamie Thompson's Urban Flute Project. (He describes it at one point as "roving journalist" flute. Nice.)
And then the well-established CMT country music blog, but a post that poses a question I've never thought to ask before: Why Are There No Good Country Songs About Dogs? Blogger Alison Bonaguro explores this pressing topic, concluding not with an answer, but with a question:
"Is it because listeners would rather listen to songs about love gone wrong than songs about the unconditional love between man and beast? I highly doubt that. According to my amateur research, about 90 percent of country fans own dogs. So wouldn’t it make sense to have some songs about the one thing artists and fans really have in common? "
Agreed. Country music songwriters out there? Get crackin'. (And no jokes about "what happens if you play a country music record backwards...")
Yes, dear reader, it is so. Tom Allen announced this morning that this week's Cage Match has been taken by "the rake punished," Don Giovanni. And yet still, he does go to The Other Place, so it isn't all bad news for Tosca. That said, Tom won't be playing Tosca anytime soon. Don G., on the other hand, is another story.
Here on the blog too, as we present the final scene from Don Giovanni, John Eliot Gardiner conducting, Rod Gilfry as D.G., complete with Dutch subtitles.
Certain death, yet again.
Tune into the blog and Music & Company (6 a.m.) next Tuesday to find out who's next in...The Cage Match.
Last chance at the fair! Today is the final day to enter the Tonic (6 p.m.) contest to win a trip for two to the Montreal Jazz Festival. It's a famously great festival -- as R2 listener/blog reader Luc Doucet recently said: "Montreal opened the doors to jazz, it has made jazz accessible to the great public not only to music lovers or experts. Montreal has democratized jazz."
The prizes ( two trips for two) include airfare, hotel, tickets, and a rendezvous with some musicians, as well as Tonic (6 p.m.) host Katie Malloch.
So, listen up Friday evening when Katie poses a jazz-related question, and even sends you to the answer -- then you can enter at Tonic's Jazz Contest.
On Monday June 16th Katie will draw from the ballots with correct answers, and announce the winners on the show.
Having written about the contest a few times this week I must say I am filled with Montreal Jazz Fest envy -- can't go this year. But good luck to all who entered. And for the lucky winners, this year's festival also has the added depth of being dedicated to the late Oscar Peterson, pictured here at the festival in 2001.
Photo Courtesy of the Montreal Jazz Festival, by Bernard Brault (La Presse)
Italian composer Luciano Berio wrote some of the most "moving and beautiful scores of the post-war period," as his 2003 obituary in The Guardian aptly put it. Among his most famous work is the cycle for solo instruments called the Sequenza, started in 1958 and added to as the years went by.
Tonight you can hear some of the Sequenza, performed by the contemporary music ensemble Transmission. They're six Canadian musicians who play chamber music -- dating from 1908 and beyond. (You can also hear this concert online, at Transmission: Suoni Italiani.)
On a very much related note, if you're interested in Berio and the Sequenza, you may want to check out this interview the NYTimes did with Berio in 1989, Luciano Berio Speaks Of Virtuosos And Strings.
When it comes to romantic cities in Canada, Montreal has 'em beat. (With the exception of Quebec City, perhaps.) No disrespect to the rest of the country intended, of course. (And hey, I live in Hogtown, and no way am I going to make a case for it to be on that particular shortlist.)
There are few times of year in Montreal that are more heightened and imbued with a very specific kind of romance than jazz fest time, which is why the contest that the Montreal Jazz Festival and Tonic (6 p.m.) are presenting is so very enticing. Two trips-for-two will be given away on Monday -- to win just listen to the show for the question of the day, then click on over to Tonic Jazz Contest to enter.
Meantime, on today's show Katie is playing music from the usual suspects -- jazz, R&B, soul and world music suspects that is -- and among others you can hear some music from Alex Cuba, who, speaking of romance, can play some extremely romantic music. The vid. below isn't new, but it features a song that A.Cuba did a few years back that is very much in that category, a duet with Ron Sexsmith called Lo Mismo Que Yo.
(Admittedly, not such a happy romantic moment...but memories of one that was, anyway. And lovely to listen to.)
Two newsy items that have a commercial connection but will, I think, interest jazz and/or world music fans. First, the jazz.
As jazz fans know, Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian trumpeter and band leader -- famous for those high notes! When he died in 2006 he left behind a large collection of horns and mouthpieces, an extensive music library, music cases from his 60's British band, and personal items given to him by friends and dignitaries including Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy LaSorda, the King of Thailand, a couple of U.S. presidents, and the irrepressible Willie Nelson. You can view (and purchase) some of his collection at The Maynard Ferguson Collection.
The second item of note I've been meaning to mention since this store/museum opened recently, is the Musideum, Canada's first retailer of musical instruments from around the world. So there are Esraj's and Waterphones and Shofars and so on. (Don't know your Esraj's from your Shofars? Check out the instrument gallery.
Attention, Leonard Cohen fans. The documentary about Cohen, If It Be Your Will, will be repeated this Saturday and Sunday on Inside The Music.
You can hear it Saturday on R2 after Deep Roots, so that's at 12:00 p.m. (1:00 AT, 1:30 NT) AND Sunday on R1 at 8 p.m.
I promised to give folks a heads up when it was coming back -- since the last time it was aired people were (understatement) thrilled, and many wanted to hear it again.
If It Be Your Will was made by Kari Hesthamar of Radio Norway, after having spent three days with Cohen. Marianne (of So Long Marianne) was from Norway, and when Hesthamar went to visit Cohen she had recently completed a doc about the real-life Marianne. Her quest was to talk to Cohen about, among other things, love.
And to give you an idea of the reaction the last time it was broadcast...here's an excerpt from one listener's comments:
"Very touching intimate moments with the Man. And very rarely has a person's soul been expressed so movingly and candidly through his own voice. It is true when he speaks, true when he sings, as it is true when he's silent."
Zaki Ibrahim usually gets tagged with "R&B" when it comes to people trying to define her music, but she incorporates a whole lot more, from South African music to jazz, electronica and hip hop...on her own website she describes her music as "electric, eclectic, intimate, unique, expressive, uncategorized," and you know, that's the best description yet. (Did I mention that she's very good? No? Well, she is.)
Ibrahim was born in Vancouver, and grew up some of the time there, and some of the time in South Africa, and that's where a lot of her style and attitude comes from. And it's a style and attitude that's starting to get a lot of attention -- a cover story not too long ago in NOW magazine opened like this: "Ask anyone who knows her and they’ll tell you Zaki Ibrahim is destined for greatness."
Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear her in a performance CBC recorded at the Mod Club in T.O. Two other concerts follow Ms. Ibrahim's tonight as well.
Sofia Gubaidulina is a Russian composer born in the Tatar Republic of the Soviet Union in 1931. She's had a fascinating career, some of which did not go over all that well with the Soviet musical establishment. But she persevered, and her work has been commissioned by performers including Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Mstislav Rostropovich, the Kronos and Arditti Quartets.
Her music is still very much on the minds of performers and presenters -- one recent review of a concert including the composition De Profundis said (of the accordion playing the piece), "It positively breathed. . . and gasped, spluttered, whistled and wheezed. It sounded like an animal caught in wild weather."
You can hear some of Gubaidulina's music tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.).
Also on the playlist, music from Montreal percussion ensemble Sixtrum teaming up with the saxophone quartet Quasar .
For the past six years the Alberta Sessions have provided a showcase for some of Alberta's best songwriters. It's a place for musicians to swap songs, talk about things like that tricky matter of transforming inspiration into an actual song -- and to perform.
Tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear four performers who took the stage at the Epcor Centre in Calgary: John Wort Hannam, said by The Record to "write songs that speak of the Prairies with the eloquence of a Sinclair Ross or a W.O. Mitchell, a Margaret Laurence or a Sharon Butala."
Heather Blush, whose singing has been compared to the likes of Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell and Maria Muldaur.
McKinley Matters, a songwriter who pays homage to those who have influenced him -- and those who have are some of the greats -- like Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Lindsay Ell, (pictured here) who has received endorsement from no less than Randy Bachman, who signed her to his record label before she was 20.
The Alberta Sessions can also be heard online, under each performer's name at Concerts On Demand.
Miles Davis played it. So did Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis and Arturo Sandoval. That's the Montreal Jazz Festival, and just one short list of greats, all trumpeters, who've performed at the festival.
As you know if you've been listening to CBC, (or reading the R2 blog), this week Katie Malloch is running a contest which will see four lucky people heading to this year's festival. For details on how to enter, please click on over to Tonic's Jazz Contest.
And to hear the question which will allow you to enter the contest, tune in tonight, (or Thursday and Friday) to Tonic (6 p.m.). Bonus, tonight a live set by trumpeter Chet Baker and his quartet recorded (not in Montreal) but live in Tokyo in June, 1987.
Today is the day Prime Minister Harper will formally apologize for abuses at residential schools. It's a day that means a great deal to a great many people, a big step towards addressing something very difficult to address.
I remember being in Australia some years ago when the (then) Prime Minister, John Howard, refused to express an apology to aboriginal Australians for similar reasons, during what they call National Sorry Day. The reaction to this refusal was, to say the least, intense. Yes, an apology alone, no matter how specific, is still largely symbolic and symbols don't right wrongs. But they do bring them fully out into the open. And of course in February Australia did apologize, under the leadership of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. But today is about Canada, our history, our future.
CBC's Truth And Reconciliation: Stolen Children is covering today's proceedings extensively -- Newsworld and radio will have live coverage as Prime Minister Harper reads the apology in Parliament -- this will also streamed live on CBCNews.ca at 3:00 p.m. eastern.
Next week R2's Canada Live (8 p.m.) will mark matters musically with a series of concerts -- more details soon. But one concert I can tell you about right now is the yet-to-be-recorded Canada Live Presents: Stolen Children featuring NadjiwanDigging Roots, Jani Lauzon, MC Wabs Whitebird and Morning Star River (pictured here). It will be broadcast on June 21, and if you happen to be in the Toronto area you can attend this show the night before, Friday June 20th at the Glenn Gould Studio.
For Canada Live's Stolen Children broadcast schedule, please continue reading:
Today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) it's All Rachmaninov All The Time. Well, not literally, there will undoubtedly be a few other pieces of music on the show, but there will be a spotlight on the composer, including legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein tackling the fiendishly difficult Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini. Also, excerpts from Piano Concertos No's. 2 and 3, Symphony No. 2 and of course Rachmaninov's famous melody, the Vocalise. Soaring melodies, thundering piano, and Russian soul.
And who can resist this as an excuse to post Rachmaninov Had Big Hands? Not I.
For the real stuff, tune into Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) By the way, to view any of the videos posted on the R2 blog, check out R2Tube.
Today it's Round Two in Music & Company's "Dramatic Demises" Cage Match. It's up to YOU to choose whose frequent demise needs to quit demising. Which do you prefer? Which could you consign to the "other place?" Yes, it's Tosca flinging herself off the parapet VS. Don Giovanni being yanked off to Hell.
Tom will play both contenders today on the show with results of your votes (vote here at the Blog, or over at The Cage) announced on Friday.
Someone on the radio just used the phrase, "indifference to correctness," which strikes me as a potential way of describing the music of Alvin Curran, a composer famed for integrating all manner of musical contradiction. He works with a vast array of compositional techniques -- improvisation, tonalism, atonalism, minimalism (and maximalism!).
Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) plays an excerpt from Curran's cycle of music called Inner Cities, featuring pianist Eve Egoyan. The Live Music Report reviewed this concert, concluding by saying: "Eve Egoyan's focused desire to serve all of the music was compelling. She seemed the ideal interpreter."
As for the composition itself, the inner cities in Curran's mind are:
A trip to the moon, on gossamer wings.... Well, not quite, but a trip to the Montreal Jazz Fest, by more conventional mode of transportation is the prize being offered on Tonic (6 p.m.) this week.
Katie is giving away two trips for two: airfare, hotel, tickets. Bonus -- you get to meet Katie!
Every day this week until Friday, June 13th, Ms. Malloch asks a jazz-related question on the show, and you can send in your answer at Tonic Jazz Contest. Prizewinners will be drawn on Monday June 16th from correct ballots, and Katie will announce the winners that day on Tonic (6 p.m.)
Today's show features some spectacular Brazilian music from Carlinhos Brown, who, believe it or not, is somewhere in the photo -- performing at last year's Montreal Jazz Festival.
This just in: The fall 2008 CBC Radio 2 schedule has been unveiled with hosts of each show in place (although not show names, that will come with the Labour Day launch). And why not start at the very beginning...of the weekdays. I'm pleased to say that Tom Allen, currently host of Music & Co., will be hosting the morning show, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tom, as you know if you already listen to Radio 2, is a real a gem (someone once called him the "Wayne Gretzky of R2,") interested in many kinds of music, erudite, funny, and charming.
In the middle of the day (weekdays still) a new show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring classical music, (recorded and studio sessions), which will be hosted by classical vocalist Julie Nesrallah of Ottawa. I've not had the good fortune to meet Ms. Nesrallah, but have it on good authority that she's got a fabulous personality, a deep passion for classical music, and of course she's also extremely knowledgeable about classical music. (Plus she's ultra comfortable as a performer. Which, you know, is part of what it takes to be a good radio host.)
The "drive show" as the 3-6 p.m. show is called in the radio biz, will be hosted by Rich Terfry, musician, poet, media personality -- who you may know better as Buck 65. This show is all about the song -- and Rich knows from song and story telling. For those who go back a ways in the Halifax area, you may also remember Rich as a radio d.j., hosting community radio shows at Dalhousie's CKDU.
Speaking of the drive show will naturally make some folks wonder about the promised weekend appearance of Jurgen Gothe, and that too is now set -- for 5 p.m. Sundays. Like all of the new shows, Jurgen's is in development so I can't say what exactly it will sound like, but given his long running and beloved DiscDrive, you can be safe assuming it will be very much Jurgen, his own particular take on music.
Now, to the other weekend changes. Exciting news on the early morning front with the addition of singer Molly Johnson in the 6 to 10 slot Saturday mornings, 6 to 8 a.m. Sundays. Molly is not only a leading Canadian chanteuse, she's also a a very gregarious, warm person (having done interviews with her I can attest first hand to this). I imagine she'll take to hosting a show like a gregarious warm person will take to hosting a show. (That's an admittedly silly attempt to avoid "duck to water.")
And finally, the most estimable Peter Togni, currently host of Weekender, becomes host of Choral Concert. Not only is he a musician and a composer, he's also a musician and a composer who happens to be a choral music specialist.
Obviously there will be much more about these shows as we get close to the launch date. But for now, that's the news in brief. Hope you'll tune in come Labour Day; meanwhile, a warm welcome to the hosts -- looking forward to hearing your shows.
And if you would like to voice your opinion about the new schedule directly to Audience Relations, please just click on that link.
Concerts On Demand has a brand spankin' new feature -- you can Rate & Review concerts, using a five-star rating system.
All you do is go to any COD and click on "review this concert." You'll be asked to create a cbc.ca membership, which takes about thirty seconds.
There are oodles of concerts in many genres of music already online at COD, and more being added all the time. It's an extraordinary archive of some of the live music performance in Canada -- most of it Canadian, recorded professionally by CBC producers and technicians across the country.
And the great thing about this new feature is that once people start reviewing shows, it will open up another way of figuring out what you want to listen to. As they say, everyone's a critic. Why not you?
It be Tuesday, and that means it's Canada Live Podcast day. This week you can hear Luke Doucet, whose latest recording Blood's Too Rich received many a positive review including one from the Toronto Star: " Doucet who deserves praise for the power in these songs, for the evocative and quite fearless guitar work that makes this album a country rock marvel."
You can download music from the country rock marvel at CBC Radio 2 Podcasts, along with music from singer songwriter Ann Walton, who mixes folk with old-timey jazz melodies and a kind of modern pop sensibility, as well as some music from the BC Read Blues Band.
Every week on Music & Company (6 a.m.) Tom has a little fun pitting two pieces of much-played music against each other in the Cage Match. Ultimately, one gets voted off the playlist. Sad. (But at least unlike some contests we can all think of, no one exits stage left bravely fighting tears.)
This week Tom takes it all a step further though, with the "Dramatic Demises" Cage Match. Yes, death meets its match, and it's up to YOU to choose whose frequent demise needs to quit demising. So here is the choice:
Tosca flinging herself off the parapet VS. Don Giovanni being yanked off to Hell.
Listen Tuesday and Wednesday if you'd like to hear Tom set up the contenders. And vote/comment here at the Blog, or over at The Cage.
No, nothing to do with a slightly deranged Jack Nicholson asking someone to hold the butter, the lettuce, the mayonnaise etc. This is Twelve Easy Pieces, the name of a recording (containing 12 original songs) by singer/songwriter Anne Schaefer, who you can hear in concert Tuesday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
That recording got some high praise, by the way -- Greg Quill of the Toronto Star said: "…this is a stunning debut…an exceptional voice, a poet’s eye, a courageous heart, and a damn fine set of guitar-picking fingers…”.
Schaefer will be releasing her follow up recording, The Waiting Room, this fall, described as "a collection of fictional characters portrayed in song, each with his or her unique story." I imagine the concert tonight features material from both recordings, but can't say with 100 % certainty. Of course, that's what tuning in to the show will reveal.
Also being revealed tonight, voices, not what is more typically revealed at Vancouver's infamous Penthouse Nightclub. This performance is billed as Song Circle No.1, and features Coco Love Alcorn, Christa Couture and Halifax's Ian Sherwood.
Halifax-based musician Jerry Granelli will forever be connected to Peanuts, as in the soundtracks to the TV specials, and there's nothing wrong with that. But he's been much, much more than Charlie Brown's drummer. As PopMatters said about one of his most recent projects, Granelli's "kind of an underground legend in the jazz and psychedelic music world."
Tonight The Signal (10 p.m.) is broadcasting music from that project, Granelli's V16 Project, recorded live at the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival. Billed as "16 cylinders of raw improvisational power," the band takes its name from a rare 1930 Cadillac. Granelli is joined by his son, J. Anthony Granelli on bass, and Christian Koegel and David Tronzo on guitars.
Probably anyone who has ever longed to play a musical instrument but didn't have one has some acute memory of how that longing felt.
When Robert Michaels was young he really, really wanted to play guitar, but his parents didn't think he'd stick with it, and resisted buying him one. So he found a piece of wood, drew frets on it, nailed six pieces of string above those frets and started practicing silent chords. After that? They bought him one.
And a good thing they did, since Michaels became a Juno award winning musician. He started as a rocker (doing his best Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Hendrix) but eventually became more interested in classical guitar and then flamenco, and Latin music in general. Today he's one of the country's best known guitarists playing in a combination of Latin styles, and merging flamenco with pop. And this evening you can hear him in concert on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
As is almost always the case there are at least two concerts on each Canada Live broadcast; this evening's other half features voice and acoustic bass, with Julie Michels and George Koller who have been working as a duo (in between many other gigs with many other fine musicians) for 15 years -- safe to say they know each other's musical language pretty well by now. Or, as Michels put it after their CD Singing Naked came out:
After reading a review of a book about Bob Dylan's visual art recently in the NYTimes, When I Paint My Masterpiece, I really wanted to see the paintings, not just the teensy reproductions in the newspaper. (Kind of like seeing the photo of someone looking at Dylan's paintings that accompanies this post.)
Then I saw an article about a showing of the same paintings, The Drawn Blank series, which begins June 14 at The Halcyon Gallery. Sadly for me the Halcyon Gallery is in London. England.
But a small, partial solution to this accompanies a feature article at The Times, with a little video walk through the gallery. You can see it if you go to Bob Dylan: He's Got Everything He Needs, He's An Artist, He Don't Look Back. It's obviously not like being there, but it is a nice "next best thing."
Truth and reconciliation is a challenging concept, and it's one that we, as in Canada, (or at least as in our government) are now engaging in, vis a vis a commission on the abuse at aboriginal residential schools. On Wednesday Prime Minister Harper will make a historic apology in the House of Commons, and for the next five years the commission will hear from people who were in those schools.
CBC is exploring the issues and the events in a special programming initiative called Truth And Reconciliation: Stolen Children, and as part of that R2 is broadcasting a number of concerts featuring aboriginal Canadian musicians.
And actually one of those concerts has yet to happen, so there is still an opportunity to hoot and holler and listen as part of the radio audience, should you be in the vicinity of Toronto's Glenn Gould Studio on Friday June 20th.
It's a great showcase of a bunch of different styles of music, from roots to rock to hip hop to traditional native music. Wherever you are you'll be able to hear highlights on the radio, of course, June 21st on Canada Live (8 p.m.). But if you are able to attend here is the information about tickets.
To say that The Montreal Jazz Festival is legendary among jazz festivals is to say the Taj Mahal is legendary among the world's monuments. It's pretty incredible. You have to accept massive crowds (sometimes in a heat spell), and not always getting where you want exactly when you want, but it is totally worth it.
So it's pretty great that the festival, via Katie Malloch's show Tonic (6 p.m.), is going to send four people to the festival this year. Tonic is giving away two trips for two, airfare, hotel, tickets, and you get to meet some of the musicians -- and Katie!
This is how it works. Every day starting today, Monday June 9th til Friday, June 13th Ms. Malloch will pose a jazz-related question twice on each show. Not only that, she'll send you somewhere to find the answers. So it couldn't be easier.
The two trips will be drawn on Monday June 16th from correct ballots, and Katie will announce the winners that day. Sadly, freelancers for the CBC cannot enter. Damn. But you can! Just listen then go here.
This year's festival, by the way, is dedicated to Oscar Peterson, who I'm sure will be recognized musically in all kinds of ways, as is only fitting.
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 put 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."
To accompany this concert Pat is featuring a range of pieces riffing on the spoken word, including Montreal’s D. Kimm, Laurie Anderson, Winnipeg’s Poor Tree, Halifax’s Buck 65, and a work by composer Kelly-Marie Murphy inspired by the poetry of Leonard Cohen.
It's true that jazz manouche (Django Reinhardt style jazz) tends to be the provenance of men. But Christine Tassan Et Les Imposteures are an all-women band who cover the repetoire of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grapelli, as well as including chanson and Italian popular songs. Sunday night you can hear them on Canada Live (8 p.m.), and any old time you can hear them online at Concerts On Demand: Christine Tassan & Les Imposteures.
You can also catch a concert with indie artist Eleni Mandel from Montreal's Club Lion D'Or. What does Eleni Mandell sound like? "A cross between Hoagy Carmichael and Leonard Cohen; or small, strong coffee with cream and one lump of sugar; or filet mignon and mashed potatoes." That's from her MySpace site. Always nice when musicians have a little fun with these things, don't you think?
You may have missed this small but interesting saga recently -- sparked by a piece in The Times about drug use by classical musicians. The piece began thusly:
"Doping is not just the preserve of suspiciously muscular Tour de France cyclists and incredibly swift sprinters but also, it seems, earnest frock-coated musicians playing Brahms and Liszt on the world’s best concert podiums."
It notes that when Klaus Wallendorf, a horn player with the Berlin Phil, admitted in the documentary film Trip To Asia that he was counseled by a music teacher to use tranquilizers or beer to help "reach a note," a debate was sparked in German music circles about the extent of drinking problems among classical musicians.
The very next day there was a follow up piece in the Guardian, by oboist Blair Tindall, author of the much talked about Mozart In The Jungle: Sex, Drugs And Classical Music, more or less defending how beta blockers can be used, selectively. (But no one could defend addiction as a way of combating nerves.) And as I said before, it should be interesting to see in the next few years if music competitions eventually invoke drug testing.
But enough of this rather depressing news. Here's something more uplifting, a story from a little earlier this year about how classical music acted as a kind of anti-depressant for an elephant. (Finally the picture makes sense...though honestly, no disrespect intended re: the serious subject matter at the beginning of the post.) Actually there is quite a bustling little business in studying the impact of music on animals these days, including dogs, as this piece at Psychology Today indicates: Songs To Soothe The Panicked Pooch.
In case you are checking the blog to see what's coming up on Sunday Afternoon In Concert (since I usually post a fairly comprehensive preview), my apologies, but this week that advance info. is not available. However, the programme is, so today, be surprised! Tune in at 1 p.m. to hear (as with every week's show) some of the best classical music being made in Canada.
A series created by one of the granddaddies of world music radio shows, Afropop Worldwide, is coming to the R2 airwaves for the next three Sundays. Afropop Worldwide runs on over 100 stations in the U.S. and is also heard in Europe and Africa, and is hosted by the remarkable Georges Collinet.
The first one, heard today on Inside The Music, is called Colombia's Musica Tropical, and it's part of the Hip Deep series -- just one of the many ventures of the long running Public Radio International show/website/archive/travel series. (They're pretty busy down there in Brooklyn.)
Hip Deep wades into "profound history" utilizing the new wave of pop culture scholars, not to mention cutting edge radio. And just so you know in advance -- June 15th is Merengue: Dominican Music and Identity, and the third part, on June 22nd, takes a look at the music of Venezuela.
Neither you or I have seen the wind, but Gregory Charles has heard musical interpretations of the invisible force of nature, allusions to gusts and gales and breezes, and today he shares that music with you on In The Key Of Charles.
Music includes songs by Ian and Sylvia Tyson, Le Vent du Nord, Joan Baez, Toots Thielemans, Bruce Cockburn, Nina Simone, Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, "Stompin' Tom" Connors, Jimi Hendrix, Jamiroquai, Tab Benoit, Frank Sinatra, Ron Sexsmith and Chicago (the band, not the windy city).
I can can already guess what some of those wind songs will be, as can you I'm sure. (Four Strong, High Winds White Skies, The Summer Wind etc.) -- but for the complete playlist, click here.
Choral Concert Bulletin: Today Choral Concert presents a choral rarity -- Pizzetti’s Requiem, sung by the Swedish and Latvian Radio Choirs, under the direction of Kaspars Putnins. Bonus, you can also hear The Martyrdom Of St. Sebastian by Debussy, performed by the Swiss Chamber Chorus.
The Requiem was written in 1922, and according to one review of a performance, "there are extraordinary things in this work: amazing unaccompanied choral textures, effective use of plainsong or quasi-plainsong, and an emotional progression that is deeply satisfying."
Just a quick note to say that Pat plays more music from the idiosyncratic cellist/singer Jorane tonight on The Signal (10 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. And tonight you can hear her throughout The Signal, as Pat excerpts a concert recorded live in Montreal.
Two concerts tonight from Summerside, Prince Edward Island (and one from a CBC studio H session in Halifax, but also with an island artist).
The evening starts with two very fine singer-songwriters, first Lennie Gallant. He's a native of Rustico, a village on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, and oh, they love him there. As a report in P.E.I. paper the Guardian said a few years back:
"Just as the swallows return faithfully each March to San Juan Capistrano, fans of the singer-songwriter return faithfully to the big tent in Rustico each July to welcome Gallant home for a night of music and homegrown stories."
Then it's Rose Cousins. I'm not sure where precisely she grew up on the island, but it was on a potato farm, and her connection to music was because her mom played lots of music on the stereo (and she played lots of music on her clock radio). From there it was just a hop, skip, and some nice folk/bluegrass to winning 2008's Female Recording Artist Of The Year at this year's ECMAs. You can also hear this concert online, at Concerts On Demand: Rose Cousins.
And then to a concert recorded in Halifax with PEI band Nudie And The Turks. They've been pretty savvy about how to build audiences -- after playing clubs for a while they followed Willie Nelson's Maritime Tour, busking for crowds going in, then playing a gig in each tour stop. We don't know what Willie thought, but since then the band has been busy gigging around Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec & Western Canada. You'll find this concert online at Concerts On Demand: Nudie And The Turks.
Katherine Duncan brings you In Tune Saturday after the opera (5:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Eastern, 6:30 in Newfoundland) -- a show devoted to exploring what's up in the world of classical music. And what's up this weekend includes a story on the fabulous Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, currently sparkling as Tosca in the L.A. Opera production, as you can see in that photo. It's thanks in part to some help from Maria Callas -- Katherine will explain, but here's a hint: 200 tear-shaped Swarovski crystals.
Then there's the new recording by pianist Marc-Andre HamelinIn a State of Jazz, which Hamelin says contains no jazz. Interesting.
But the story most of us who feel a little stressed from time to time (OK, a lot of the time) will want to hear is that doctors are now saying one way of keeping your blood-pressure under control is via working classical music into your daily fitness regime. (Of course NFL offensive lineman/oboe player Chester Pitts knows all about that!)
Today SATO begins three weeks of special presentations from the Lyric Opera Of Chicago, with a production of Verdi's La Traviata. And today the show is guest hosted by Doug Tuck of the Vancouver Opera.
La Traviata has a long reach -- it's the source of inspiration for one of the wackier (or "strangely and deeply attractive" depending on your point of view) films ever made, Baz Lurhmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge. (If you've seen it, you probably just flashed on an image of Nicole Kidman, a chandelier, and the song Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend.) Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera itself was based on the Alexandre Dumas story La Dame Aux Camelias.
Today's broadcast stars American soprano Renée Fleming's interpretation of Violetta Valery (a.ka. "the comely courtesan with the nasty cough"). As well, you'll hear tenor Matthew Polenzani (as Violetta's lover Alfredo), and Thomas Hampson (as the elder Germont).
For full cast details and the synopsis, please continue reading, at the hand Continue Reading link provided.
(Photo note: That's Fleming as Violetta Valery during a MET production of La Traviata)
The Concerto According to Pinchas wraps up today on Inside The Music, and today Pinchas Zukerman and Eric Friesen talk about the Violin Concerto In D Minor Opus 47 by Sibelius. According to Zukerman, it was inspired by the composer’s own failed aspirations. (Now that's something to do with feelings of failure -- write a violin concerto!)
It's been a terrific ten weeks of this series, and if you missed some episodes (or just want to hear it again), it is actually available to buy at the CBC shop. Meanwhile, today it's the Sibelius -- and here is a (very) brief history of the work:
You may have heard T. de H. at various festivals in Canada over the years, (or seen them in the movie Latcho Drom) -- they're pretty unforgettable, many men, fiddles, fleet fingers, and tunes that are compellingly off kilter.
And don't forget, Deep Roots is heard in slightly staggered fashion (no comment on your Friday night, really) Saturdays on R2 at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. in the Maritimes, and 12:30 in Nfld.
DJ producer Ghislain Poirier doesn't need recommendations from the likes of the New Yorker, but it probably doesn't hurt him any that Sasha Frere Jones featured him a few months back in a column called Lazer-Guided, saying "You will be hooked, and spend all week (O.K., several minutes) thinking about where this magical music could have come from and how the French Canadians got involved."
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) Pat Carrabré features some of Ghislain Poirier's music from a concert in Ottawa, and also the music of another Montreal musician, cellist and singer-songwriter Jorane. Plus there's a Loot Bag giveaway that features tickets to Calgary’s Sled Island Festival. Good prize, check out the lineup.
It's a superior triple bill, pun intended, on Canada Live (8 p.m.) this Friday evening with a very nice (and very popular) concert by calypsonian Lord Superior, as well as one by Joel Plaskett from the Horseshoe Tavern's 60th birthday celebrations.
But the new show on the bill was recorded recently in hogtown at The Phoenix and it's from The Constantines, who had their CD release for Kensington Heights in May. It's their first recording after leaving Seattle's SubPop label for our very own indie champion Arts and Crafts. (Think Broken Social Scene et al.)
The Constantines are one of the leading indie bands on the scene these days, and of course the company they keep doesn't hurt -- here they are with Feist performing Islands In The Stream. Lovely.
I've never been all that much for the saying "a picture's worth a thousand words," for obvious reasons. A video, on the other hand, that's another matter. (At least, when it comes to live music performance.) And if you need any such enticement to make you want to hear more music by accordionist Richard Galliano, this is it:
For more Galliano tune in tonight to Tonic (6 p.m.) to hear a live recording made at the 2006 Jazz in Marciac Festival. (Until then, repeated watchings of the video are permissible.)
How do you solve a problem like Maria? Such a flibbertijibbet, will-o'-the wisp, such a clown.
I don't have the answer, but I have to say, Oscar Hammerstein really pulled out the stops with that song. ("She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl. She is gentle! She is wild! She's a riddle! She's a child!She's a headache! She's an angel! She's a girl!")
And with that billing, who wouldn't want to play the role of Maria? Reportedly thousands of Canadian girls auditioned in open calls to play Maria in the new stage production of The Sound of Music, which opens in Toronto in the fall.
CBC Television has been following the Maria wannabes, on the show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? I just hope whoever wins keeps her flibbertijibbet head on her shoulders. When Connie Fisher won the original version of "Maria" in Britain she let the stress get to her.
"In the BBC show I was a size 12," she is quoted as saying in the Mail Online. "On opening night, I was a 10, and at the closing night party, I was a size eight. But I am not Posh Spice. I focus on honing my talent - not toning my thighs."
Well good. Any decent Maria shouldn't give a fig for appearances.
The issue at the top of the national agenda this morning would seem to be this: will we, or won't we be hearing dum, dum, DUMM dum dummmmm...
Is the alleged loss of the theme to Hockey Night In Canada a sorry inevitability, the end of life as we know it? Or is this really a tempest in a Timbit? (Not that it's possible to stir anything up in a donut hole, but it seems that when people want to reference something that reeks of being Canadian, it's Timmys. Odd.)
Likely today the story will be updated, but here's yesterday's report at cbc.ca news. At time of blogging it was unclear whether or not CBC television will retain rights to play Dolores Claman's oh so familiar theme music. But one thing is for sure. If the theme goes, people will go nuts. (And a few years from now, it won't much matter. )
As for that photo, it's from The Shuffle Demons 2004 gathering of hundreds of saxophones, in an attempt to set a new world record for the most saxophones playing one song -- the Hockey Night in Canada theme. I was there. Ears are still ringing.
That's Tom over there on the right. He's the host of the new folk/roots show airing Saturday mornings, Deep Roots, which debuted last week to the pleasure of many.
And here is some of that pleasure, expressed succinctly by two listeners and blog readers:
"All I can say is, WOW! It's about time!There is such a deep talent pool of Canadian Folk out there - it will be just wonderful to hear the artists I already know and meet the 'new' ones." --Lloyd Chamberlain
"...I loved the program music and comments and so far so very good! I should tell you that I am 70 and live on Vancouver Island and have been listening to CBC for almost 40 years." - Helen Schuckel
As for what you can expect this Saturday, some of the featured artists are as follows:
-Fiddler Laura Cortese doing music by The Cure. (She does a charming version of Just Like Heaven.)
-Blues from the startlingly named The Harpoonist And The Axe Murderer
-Taraf De Haidouks, the Roma band who tour all over Europe and North America to packed houses but, says Tom, can't get the recognition they deserve in their home country of Romania. (I can attest to the packed houses, having seen them a number of times, most recently in Paris where they tore the roof off the place.)
How and when can you hear Deep Roots? Tune in Saturdays to R2 at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. in the Maritimes, and 12:30 in Nfld.
Geof Holbrook's composition Glitch is inspired by the electronic music of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, but performed entirely on acoustic instruments. Great sources of inspiration (although it's not necessarily easy imagining the fierceness of Squarepusher totally translating acoustically).
But you can hear for yourself how it works out, tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.), when Glitch is performed by the sax quartet Quasar. Quasar collaborated with Montreal percussion ensemble Sixtrum in this concert, and more music from that collaboration will also be featured, including music by Indonesian/Dutch composer Roderick de Man, a composition called Zest. (And thus a subject heading was born. )
Because I'm listening to Squarepusher as I write (faster and faster) I thought I'd also post a photo (S.Pusher is actually Tom Jenkinson), taken at the John Peel Night of the BBC's Electric Proms a couple of years ago. He's there, lurking on the right.
I don't think I've ever heard a bad recording of Sarah Vaughan, or I should say, a recording of Sarah Vaughan singing badly, though I suppose they might exist. But you won't hear that tonight, you'll hear "Sassy" in fine form, singing live at the 1971 Monterey Jazz Festival. If, that is, you tune into Tonic (6 p.m.)
And as a quite irresistible teaser here she is singing Summertime, recorded a few years later in 1975.
Yesterday a piece in The Times about drug use by classical musicians caught my eye, with this opening:
"Doping is not just the preserve of suspiciously muscular Tour de France cyclists and incredibly swift sprinters but also, it seems, earnest frock-coated musicians playing Brahms and Liszt on the world’s best concert podiums."
I don't know about the "earnest" and "frock-coated," but these stereotypes aside, I wasn't a bit surprised to read about the subject matter -- in recent years there has been a slow but steady trickle of pieces like this, indicating that the use of drugs (whether alcohol, beta blockers or marijuana) is not uncommon among classical musicians wanting to steady their nerves. This does not strike me as a shocker. (And at least the drug use seems, from outwards appearances at any rate, more restrained than drug use in other musical cultures, say the one Amy Winehouse inhabits.)
But apparently when Klaus Wallendorf, a horn player with the Berlin Phil, admitted in the documentary film,Trip To Asia, that he was counseled by a music teacher to use tranquilizers or beer to help "reach a note," this stirred up a hornets nest. Subsequently there has been something of a debate in German music circles about the extent of drinking problems among classical musicians.
It's probably a good thing the subject is continuing to tip-toe out of the closet. Though given all the focus on "drug-free" athletes in competition, it's hard not to wonder -- is it just a matter of time before drug testing happens in music competitions too? So much for Scotch courage.
As you probably know, next Wednesday (June 11) Prime Minister Harper will make a historic apology in the House of Commons for abuses at aboriginal residential schools. And for the next five years, a truth and reconciliation commission will hear from people who were in those schools.
Starting Sunday CBC is covering this in a whole bunch of ways, including five nights of special concerts broadcast later in June on Canada Live.
These are some of Canada's leading Aboriginal performers, in styles ranging from roots to rock to hip hop to traditional native music, and it's a wonderful opportunity to hear them all in one concert.
Of course if you are reading this and feeling put out because you are no where near the Glenn Gould, you can also hear the show the following night, June 21st on Canada Live (8 p.m.). But I did want to put the word out for those in the hood that tickets are still available, at the Glenn Gould Studio. More about the other shows relating to Stolen Children in the days to come.
No, not insulting anyone, really. It is the 10th anniversary of country/punk band, The Buttless Chaps. (Would it be odd to point out that all chaps, at least the kind cowboys wear, are buttless?) Anyway, however you take the name (alternative interpretation: "men without butts,") The Buttless Chaps turn ten and celebrate their considerable music career with a concert you can hear Thursday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.).
How are the Chaps feeling ten years in? You can read this article in the Georgia Straight to find out.
Also on the show this evening, as an opening act for the "chaps," (so much more genteel than the alternative nickname, don't you think?) Vancouver indie band The Parlour Steps. One claim to fame for the Parlour Steps is that their single, Thieves of Memory, beat out 15,000 other songs to win second place in the Rock category of the International Songwriting Competition in 2005. And that's quite a claim.
It continues to be "All Leonard All The Time," what with Cohen's tour and all the ensuing reviews. (I'm very fortunate to have tickets for one of the shows, next week in fact, something I am preparing for by a kind of inverse channeling of The Future. I'm sure the concert won't be murder.)
Tonight on The Signal (10 p.m.) you can hear highlights of a concert called The Great Canadian Songbook II that feature the music of Cohen, as performed by Ndidi Onukwulu, Veda Hille and Michel Rivard.
And those who are happily in the "All L.C. All The Time" mode will be interested to note that the much-heralded documentary about Leonard Cohen, If It Be Your Will, will be repeated on Inside The Music on June 14th. [12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.: locally in Ontario, Quebec, Central, Mountain and Pacific/1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Maritimes/1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Nfld.] And on Radio 1 on Sunday June 15th at 8 p.m.
Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.), Bill Evans and his Trio at the Village Vanguard in New York, from recordings made almost half a century ago that remain on many desert island-type lists, as a survey by All About Jazz a few years back shows.
"The most cited live jazz recording by AAJ writers at the time was actually a pair of releases: Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside 9376, 1961) and Bill Evans, Waltz for Debbie (Riverside 9399, 1961), constituting the contemporaneously available afternoon and evening performances of the Bill Evans Trio at New York City’s Village Vanguard, Sunday, June 25, 1961."
They are fantastic recordings, as Adam Gopnik so ably explains in a lovely piece about the 1961 sessions. Written for the New Yorker, it's reprinted at the Bill Evans Pages.
There are many good insights in Gopnik's piece about the Evans 1961 sessions -- here's just one:
"They are as close to pure emotion, produced without impediments - not at all the same thing as an entire self poured out without inhibitions, the bebop dream - as exists in music. His music hints at the secret truth that New York is sad before it is busy, and that it is a kind of inverted garden, with all the flowers blooming down in the basements."
Every time it happens it's reported as being "one for the books," or, in the case of today's story in The Independent, "the least predictable music success of the year."
It's understandable that it gets reported this way. It's not that one exactly expects to see monks singing Gregorian chant charting with the likes of Usher, Duffy and The Ting Tings. (The Ting Tings song Great DJ is worth adding to any party playlist you have, btw -- check it out on The Ting Tings MySpace site.)
But at the same time, it's also not that one shouldn't expect it, given the previous pop success of chant over the years. Think of the chant used in 1990 by Enigma, or the monks of Spain's Santo Domingo de Silos who charted in both Spain and the U.S.
If you want to talk about The Test Of Time, chant certainly measures up. Chant has legs. Or voices.
The voices in question on this occasion belong to the Cistercian monks of the Stift Heiligenkreuz monastery in Austria. Their recording of Gregorian chant, called Chant, Music For Paradise, came about in the usual ways. Usual to the 21st century that is. According to various reports, Universal music noted an interest in plainchant because of its use in the popular computer game, Halo. So they sent their A&R boys looking for chant. They watched a YouTube clip and audio samples by the Cistercian monks on their website, and what they heard went something like this:
At time o' bloggin', Chant, Music For Paradise was #7 on Britain's pop charts.
Hey Ocean! is in The Pod this week, the Canada Live weekly podcast which can be downloaded at CBC Radio 2 Podcasts. When this concert was first broadcast, one listener wrote into the blog to say that Hey Ocean! was an "amazing" band, and that "with such captivating beats, smooth vocals, and irresistible rhythm, its hard to stay off they dance floor when they are onstage!"
You can dance while listening to the podcast too, just be careful if you're on a bus.
Bonus, two concerts from two popular Canadian bands this week -- the Wailin' Jennys and Ohbijou.
You have another chance today to cast your vote in Music & Company's (6 a.m.) "Go Out With A Bang!" Cage Match.
Tom pits two LOUD pieces against one another on this morning's show: Schwanda The Bagpiper by Jaromir Weinberger VS. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
Which one stays, which one goes and why? You can vote here at the blog or over at the Cage, and Tom will announce the results on Friday morning between 7 and 8 a.m.
P.S. Photo Explanation: Make-believe soldiers, a.k.a. reenactors, pretending to listen to Napoleon's orders before the beginning of the re-enactment of the 1812 battle in the town of Maloyaroslavets. What must the horse make of that...
Duke Ellington made a number of Canadian connections -- perhaps most famously his work with the Stratford Festival which resulted in the suite, Such Sweet Thunder, commissioned by Stratford in 1956. (For more about that go to Shakespeare, Jazz, And Canada.
And he continues to have a Canadian legacy, including a recent development to that legacy, something he probably never would have imagined. Here's the story. In 1967 he filmed two sets of music broadcast on Danish television. Ellington was featured in various configurations, solo, trio and octet.
Some forty years later Canadian pianist and Senator Tommy Banks and the Yardbird Suite All-Stars, an octet of Edmonton's finest, gathered together to re-create that music. You can hear the results tonight on Canada Live (8 p.m.). Jazz Elements has a nice little write up on this, so I send you there.
The second concert Wednesday night is also in the jazz pocket, with pianist Gene Dinovi and clarinetist James Campbell, celebrating a return to Muttart Hall in Edmonton where they recorded their CD After Hours fifteen years ago. They play music ranging from (coincidence) Ellington, Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael to originals from both performers.
Vincent Ho is a composer whose work has been played by many of the country's orchestras and ensembles. His work, Fallen Angel, was initially inspired by a chance meeting with American photographer Richard D'Amore and later transformed into a spiritual journey after news of D'Amore's tragic death.
It's a composition that was performed recently during Esprit Orchestra's New Waves Concert Series, and tonight you can hear excerpts from that festival including Fallen Angel on The Signal (10 p.m.).
Tonic (6 p.m.) is gearing up for their fabulous win-a-trip-for-two to the Montreal Jazz Fest contest, which takes place June 9th to 13th. To enter you'll need to tune in during that time period and listen for the Daily Jazz Question. Here are the rules & regs if you want to start psyching yourself, or just ensure that you are not an employee of something rendering you ineligible.
And getting into the spirit of the Tonic contest a little early, here's today's Daily Blog Jazz Question:
Q: Which Canadian jazz trombonist was lead trombonist for many years with Rob McConnell's Juno and Grammy award-winning Boss Brass?
A: Ian McDougall. Good for you! No trips for two for that correct answer, I'm afraid, but if you tune in tonight you can hear a set McDougall and his band recorded live at the Cellar in Vancouver. (And as previously mentioned, tune in beginning June 9th to Tonic for your chance to win the trip to the Montreal jazz fest.)
People tend to use the "test of time" as a way of measuring greatness in art, although it's a very tricky measurement since obviously no one can judge what is currently being created by this standard. But it doesn't take much time passing before it seems possible, really. (See yesterday's post, To The Young In Heart.)
Two recent examples have been in the news lately. First, electronica duo Unkle whose version of Mozart's Symphony No. 41 will be used as the theme for BBC Sport's coverage of Euro 2008. (Taking place in Salzburg where they are currently fencing off monuments including Mozart's statue as a deterrent to overly enthusiastic fans.)
Sadly the Unkle-ized Mozart is not yet available to check out; perhaps less sadly the re-mix of Singin' by Mint Royale is. But that disclaimer (and personal taste issue) aside, you can watch the impressive Sampson dancing to the remix if you go to that last link (though maybe there should be a second disclaimer: Simon Cowell alert).
No doubt you know that Bo Diddley died yesterday. Though we all know him for that Bo Diddley beat, there was obviously a lot more to his music than that -- as influential as it was.
I like what Ben Ratliff says in the NYTimes obit: "...his booming voice was loaded up with echo and his guitar work came with distortion and a novel bubbling tremolo. The songs were knowing, wisecracking and full of slang, mother wit and sexual cockiness. They were both playful and radical."
Last night on As It Happens Ronnie Hawkins (did he really call Carol Off "babe?" I think he did) told some great stories of Bo Diddley, including some of his infamous jokes -- one of which required the interview temporarily be suspended, it was so, well, "lively."
Since you can read about Bo Diddley everywhere today (and listen too -- check out Ned Sublette's Bo Diddley audio guide), it seemed better, somehow, to put up this video of him so that you can both hear and watch -- and remember. Fifty-four seconds of greatness.
Thomas Hellman was working on his master's degree in French literature in Montreal when he recorded two independent recordings -- which subsequently went out of print. But in 2005 the singer-songwriter signed with Justin Time, an album called The Apartment (don't think that's a reference to Jack Lemmon somehow) and now he's also re-released some of that earlier material on a recording called Departure Songs. Both recordings have also been released in France, on Harmonia Mundi.
Why all the label talk? Just to give you some idea of the circuitous path Hellman has taken to a career as a professional musician. It sounds like the lives of his parents also took a circuitous path -- his father is from Texas, his mother from somewhere in southern France -- and he grew up in Montreal.
Tuesday night on Canada Live (8 p.m.) you can hear a home-town performance by the bilingual Hellman, recorded at Club Soda. The concert is also available online at Concerts On Demand: Thomas Hellman at Club Soda.
Also on the bill, Argentinian-born, Quebec-based Daniel Finzi's tango group, Quétango, featuring original compositions as well as music by Astor Piazzolla.
Clarinetist Lori Freedman has been called a "fearless improvisor" and a "musical revolutionary." John Corigliano also once said that “Lori Freedman is the best thing that ever happened to New Music."
With that buildup you may be curious about what Ms. Freedman has to say about music -- and you can hear some of her thoughts this evening on The Signal (10 p.m.). She'll talk with Laurie Brown about a range of related subject matter, including "finding her unique voice on the clarinet, gender politics, and her work with the contemporary music collective Transmission."
To those of you who have been faithful to it in return...and to the Young in Heart...I dedicate Monday's version of Tonic (6 p.m.). And to those who are not faithful? Watch out for flying monkeys.
Yes, Tonic features some jazz interpretations of music from The Wizard Of Oz tonight from the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Abbey Lincoln and guitarist Greg Lowe.
I think it's a real testament to those Arlen/Harburg compositions that they are so entrenched in our musical consciousness, although I suppose you could make a case for it having something to do with compulsively watching the movie throughout one's life. (For those of us who have, and we are many.)
But there truly are some great songs in that score, something that did not go unrecognized back in 1939 either -- the Academy Awards for Best Song went to Over the Rainbow. Actually the instrumental score by Herbert Stothart also won an Academy award that year, for Best Original Score. (But you're less likely to hum that while wistfully looking over a wagon wheel.)
Question Of The Day: Do cell phones ruin the experience of being at a concert? Not because of the ringing (although I've been at concerts where that has happened too -- inevitably in a quiet moment) but because of the flashing.
A recent article about this in the Dallas Morning News included quotes from musicians talking about what the experience is like from the stage. Guitarist Bill Frisell, for example, who is quoted as saying: "...why don't you put that away and listen to the music?'"
Steve Earle was even more direct. "It drives me crazy."
And Feist had an interesting way of looking at it: "Eveyone has this strange archiving addiction now. It's like they're trying to pin a butterfly to a corkboard."
And a small P.S. re: cell phone audio: Recently I was at a concert where they had volunteers walk through the aisles with large, hand-made signs saying "Please Turn Cell Phones Off" held above their heads. Somehow funny to see hand-scrawled placards as the way of trying to control modern technology. (But not nearly as annoying as someone's phone ringing at a tender musical moment.)
And as well as the results in the competition proper, (see And The Winner Is...), towards the end of the week a number of special awards were given out to the young pianists in the competition, two going to Canadians. Please continue reading for those details.
Photo of competition winner Nareh Arghamanyan with André Bourbeau (president of the jury) by Gunther Gamper.
Bob Rae has quite a career in politics to date -- including having been Ontario's premier for five years during the 1990s. One could go on at considerable length listing his accomplishments in politics and public life. One could, but one would find it far more interesting to note that today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) Mr. Rae plays the Studio Sparks Steinway! Yes, Bob Rae drops by the CBC not to talk politics, but to talk music.
Mr. Rae's musical side was last noted on the blog in connection to the CBC tribute to Oscar Peterson -- he was one of the speakers. He also posted this nice tribute to Peterson on his blog, if you missed that you can still read it here.
But today you can also hear him live on Studio Sparks. Wonder what he will play? Once he did a version of the theme to The Current which apparently involved a little Billy Joel. Something tells me he will take a different musical direction this afternoon though -- rumour has it even playing original compositions.
Roy Forbes and Connie Kaldor are great Canadian folkies; also old pals and musical accomplices. 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," from the days when folk festivals were beginning to really burgeon. 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) is no slouch either -- she's 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. So nice to know that the two are not incompatible!
Pat Carrabré is not just the weekend host of The Signal (10 p.m.), he's also a composer and he also teaches music. And, when he has time, he blogs about music as well, at The Signal With Pat Carrabré.
I was interested to read his response to the article about "one man bands" that ran in the NYTimes mag recently, something I read with rapt fascination as well. (Second only, perhaps, to the more recent Sunday magazine article by former-Gawker blogger Emily Gould about the terrible things that lie in wait for those who become compulsive bloggers. I think Pat and I are OK, and if not, we'll form our own support group, and maybe invite Laurie to join too.) I shan't reprise Pat's thoughts, but just suggest that you check it out for yourself.
And now to this evening's edition of The Signal. Tonight, new music composers who have moved in various ways from classical to pop and rock, or the other way around, with music by Alexandre Desilet, Julia Kent, Andrew P. MacDonald and Paul Dolden. The concert feature is a programme of music by Canadian-Argentinean composer alcides lanza, famous or perhaps infamous for marathon concerts and juggling electronic sounds with almost everything.
He's been called the "Australian guitar wizard," and Tommy Emmanuel, (Guitar Player Mag's winner in the best acoustic guitarist category last year) is a pretty extraordinary player. (Just click on his website and listen to the intro music for some indication of his fleet and many-fingered style.)
Tonight you can hear him on Canada Live (8 p.m.) from a solo performance at Montreal's Theatre Outremont. And if you aren't around tonight but still want to hear the concert, it is available online at Concerts On Demand: Tommy Emmanuel.
After Emmanuel's concert you can hear more from the A Propos 20th season celebrations via their Songwriters' Sessions. Host Jim Corcoran brings Pierre Flynn, Michel Faubert, Jérôme Minière and Eve Cournoyer into Monteal Studio 12 where the musicians performing for the first time together on stage.
Young Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen's is a fast-rising piano star who made his Canadian debut courtesy of Leila Getz, Artistic Director of the Vancouver Recital Society. Today on Sunday Afternoon In Concertyou can hear Mr. Pohjonen with a programme the SAIC team describes as "spine-tingling," that includes Mendelssohn’s Preludes And Fugues and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 8.
There's another Canadian premiere on the show today too, in this case courtesy of the Calgary Philharmonic who present the Grammy Award Winning Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov. (Gloijov must be the most written about composer of the past few years, wouldn't you say? Other than maybe Tan Dun.) As for Ainadamar, it's a flamenco-flavoured new work that's topped the Billboard Classical charts, a chamber opera inspired in part by the life of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. (Whose In Search Of Duende, essays about flamenco, are absolutely fascinating. But that's another story.)
The SAIC team shares this additional background about the Golijov work:
Madness and opera go together like, well, madness in opera. And quite often the mad are women who have lost their senses, frequently over love. It's almost a cliché. But today on Inside The Music, documentarist Don Mowatt digs down into that cliché in his documentary Madness In Opera, looking at what it says about attitudes toward mental illness in the non-musical world. The doc includes experts from both the world of opera and the psychiatric community.
If the subject of madness and opera interest you, you might also want to have a look at this online study guide, with this rather to-the-point opening:
"A soprano walks onstage. She is dressed in a flowing white shift, her slightly unkempt curls cascading over her shoulders and down her back. She appears distracted, her confused movements accompanied solemnly by the forlorn voice of a woodwind. Rather than long and melodious, her vocal lines are short and irregular. As is usually the case, she is barefoot. All opera lovers worth their salt know exactly what they are watching-it's a mad scene."
Today on In The Key Of Charles Gregory celebrates the great outdoors. Not the kind involving mozzies (or blackflies, currently plaguing half the country) but the kinder, gentler version of nature. It's more butterflies and roses -- the romance of nature -- which for Gregory this week involves staying inside and playing music connected to this theme. (Smart man, I think the forecast for Montreal is rain?)
In this edition of the show you'll hear music from Frank Sinatra, Hawksley Workman, the East Village Opera Company, Sarah Vaughan, Patsy Cline, David Usher, Calixa Lavallé, Ben Harper and of course, Gregory.
As you likely know, 2007 was the 60th anniversary of Canada's Citizenship Act. And as part of a celebration of that occasion, CBC held a concert following the swearing-in of almost 300 new Canadian citizens in the Atrium of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. (Here's one blogger's account of the event, at 
If you tend to read the health pages of newspapers you'll notice, with amusement (or perhaps despair depending on your frame of mind), that almost every day there is some new study. You know, slather on the sunscreen or wait, no don't because you need more Vitamin D; drink water from a stainless steel bottle, at least until stainless steel is shown to be evil in some way, etc. etc.
It's an all-Bach program today on Studio Sparks (12 p.m.) - "Bach in many guises and, in some cases, disguises."
Canada may be celebrating itself for the 129th time tomorrow, (the holiday was officially established in 1879) but not too far behind are celebrations of the centennial of the birth of "Mr. Typewriter Song," 
Canada Live's Canada Day Weekend continues tonight with music that's "all about songs and stories from a place where the oral tradition is older than most of Western Canada." In other words, music from the east coast, starting with a concert called The Newfoundland Songbook: Volume 2 .
Guest host Robert Harris presents highlights from the first season of 
It's Canada Day Weekend on Canada Live (8 p.m.) and tonight the two headline acts are quintessentially Canadian bands from both right and left coast. First, from the left, 
Scientists are studying music and the brain as never before, and today on
The power of the dramatic pause.
What's the difference between Freak Folk and Pysch Folk? Dunno, but Tom Power probably does. Maybe he'll explain today on 
A special concert tonight on Canada Live with an early start time of 7:30 p.m. It's the 
The people have voted, and here is their response: with a whimper. Yes, the Music & Company (6 a.m.) 
The above factoid caught my eye when reading about some upcoming programming on Here's To You (9 a.m.). 
Last autumn ten Canadian composers wrote preludes and fugues inspired by Glenn Gould -- and ten pianists performed them. Appropriately enough, it was called 
The 
Moving along in the broadcast day, steppin' out into the night, you could say -- tonight, 
Not long ago I stumbled on a blog called 
Today's news that George O'Dowd (a.k.a. 
Lately it seems that most of what is reported as music news is about death (or in the case of Ms. Winehouse, destruction), or an endless chewing over of issues pertaining copyright and new "models" for music distribution. 
A cheap joke, and yet so irresistible. 
One of the interesting thing about working at any CBC location in the country is the people you meet. Or in Eric Friesen's case, the people you hear. Specifically, the hearty laugh of one of CBC's famed Parliamentary Bureau editors -- and I mean hearty -- Eric has gotten used to hearing it through the not quite soundproof studio door at CBC Ottawa. 
An early bulletin today about The Signal (10 p.m.): 
The hunger for lists never seems to abate, the most recent of which to catch my eye being 
You can hear one of the world’s foremost violinists, 
Riding a bus is possibly the best place for eavesdropping on conversations, other than when people are talking in public on their cell phones. Then the potential pleasure of eavesdropping (for those of us fascinated by other peoples lives, or maybe just nosy) is usually overridden by the fact that the person is shouting. 
Possibly a cheap ploy to get you to read this, but it does take us to the two main stories on today's episode of 
I heard some of 
If you need but one reason to tune into 
Aha, I heard you, humming "Anything I say anytime of day and she's mine".
It happens every few months. Despite ever-increasing downloading, the stacks still amass. They become dangerously precarious towers of sharp-cornered plastic, and small children fear to pass by.
Not long ago 
Summer, ah summer. For an artist there are few things finer than a summer retreat, the sweet hum of mosquitoes, the sweat trickling down the back of the neck, the lack of running water, all while toiling away at a masterpiece...
Interesting that the notion of "stage parents" typically falls on the distaff side. But that doesn't mean there aren't also stage fathers. (
Starting Tuesday night Canada Live (8 p.m.) presents 
After last Wednesday's apology by Prime Minister Harper on behalf of the government of Canada to aboriginal people who were forced into Residential schools, the actual commission that results from that apology will now begin. For the next five years the commission will hear from aboriginal people who were in those schools. 
When the old "what do you want to be when you grow up" becomes "what DID you want to be" as people look back at their earliest aspirations, I wonder how many say, "I always wanted to be a conductor." One woman in Ottawa did, but instead she became a high school teacher. But she still fantasizes about conducting, and admires women conductors -- few that they are. So this morning 
I heard sometime earlier this week the theory that Father's Day is just an add on, that it's really Mother's Day that is the big deal. This is probably true in commercial terms, and admittedly there has been a suspicious lack of Father's Day programming today. Knowing a few great fathers (most of all my own) makes me say this: frankly, this second class dad's day notion is just wrong. 
If you've ever tried to dance to Dominican merengue you'll know it can go at quite a clip -- it's the adrenalin rush of the Latin dance world. But musically, culturally and politically merengue has a fascinating history.
You probably filled in the blank of that subject heading without even being aware you were doing it. Not only a testament to the lasting power of Judy and Toto, but also of the powerful notion of home. It's something Gregory Charles will exploring this Sunday on 
That is a question posed by Katherine Duncan Saturday on 
Well, it sounds better than unlucky 13. Superstition is such an odd thing. Are you of a numerically superstitious ilk? Do you think elevators will plummet or fish will grow fangs and attack you, or whatever other fears you secretly harbour -- just because it's Friday the 13th? 
A few music blogs have crossed the virtual transom of late, some new, some not. In the new category there's Alan Rich (classical music critic of long-standing) with 
Italian composer 
Two newsy items that have a commercial connection but will, I think, interest jazz and/or world music fans. First, the jazz.
Attention, 
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Today it's Round Two in Music & Company's "Dramatic Demises" DenisAlix.JPG)
After reading a review of a book about Bob Dylan's visual art recently in the NYTimes, 
You may have missed this small but interesting saga recently -- sparked by a piece in 
Neither you or I have seen the wind, but Gregory Charles has heard musical interpretations of the invisible force of nature, allusions to gusts and gales and breezes, and today he shares that music with you on 
Today 
How do you solve a problem like Maria? Such a flibbertijibbet, will-o'-the wisp, such a clown. 
The issue at the top of the national agenda this morning would seem to be this: will we, or won't we be hearing dum, dum, DUMM dum dummmmm... 
It continues to be "All Leonard All The Time," what with 
Tonight on Tonic (6 p.m.), Bill Evans and his Trio at the Village Vanguard in New York, from recordings made almost half a century ago that remain on many desert island-type lists, as a survey by 
You have another chance today to cast your vote in Music & Company's (6 a.m.) "Go Out With A Bang!" 
Tonic (6 p.m.) is gearing up for their fabulous 
People tend to use the "test of time" as a way of measuring greatness in art, although it's a very tricky measurement since obviously no one can judge what is currently being created by this standard. But it doesn't take much time passing before it seems possible, really. (See yesterday's post, 
To those of you who have been faithful to it in return...and to the Young in Heart...I dedicate Monday's version of Tonic (6 p.m.). And to those who are not faithful? Watch out for flying monkeys. 
Question Of The Day: Do cell phones ruin the experience of being at a concert? Not because of the ringing (although I've been at concerts where that has happened too -- inevitably in a quiet moment) but because of the flashing.
Pat Carrabré is not just the weekend host of The Signal (10 p.m.), he's also a composer and he also teaches music. And, when he has time, he blogs about music as well, at 
Today on 
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