So, which recording to use. Here is one, with all the verses.
Here is another with Tenebrae (a vocal group) with only a few verses and using a different chant in the plain chant parts. They are also wonderful and you can see their use of the space.
Last Wednesday we went to see Ludivico Einaudi and this past Wednesday we went to see Calexico. A good time was had by all at both concerts.
Einaudi was at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, an outdoor venue similar in form to the Hollywood Bowl if you are familiar with that. We were on the lawn (we brought short beach chairs) halfway up the hill, so not in the comfortable fixed seats under the bowl awning. After a warm day, we didn't dress particularly well for the chilly night - it wasn't cold, just uncomfortably chilly. The crowd on the lawn was the best-behaved crowd I've ever seen at that venue - it was a zoo for Midnight Oil (I've never sat on the lawn for the Symphony).
SWMBO loves Einaudi, I enjoy Einaudi. All night all I could think of was I wonder if this guy ever worked with Philip Glass. Its soothing, repetitive, short figures without much going on. When he added a violin and a cello to his piano halfway through the concert it was like hmm, maybe even more 'soothing' meditative, and still not going anywhere musically or intellectually. I kept watching the big screen, especially when they showed an overhead shot - not only did his fingers never leave his hands, but his hands never moved out of the middle two or two and a half octaves in the piano keyboard. If he had to spread his hands/arms beyond the width of his thighs at any time I would be surprised. And surprised I was. On the very last chord he played was on extreme ends of the keyboard. When I got home, I found a review that I hadn't seen before that described his technique was "simple four finger figures repeated without much variation". Wikipedia claims that Einaudi is the number one streamed classical artist of all time.
Einaudi's most recent album is "Underwater".
Calexico was at the Melbourne Recital Centre which seats about 1000. It is a really nice concert venue, designed for classical concerts, its just the right size for small 'laid back' bands. I've seen several blues bands there, Tommy Emmanuel, and now Calexico. Wednesday night it was about two thirds full, disappointing till you note that this was an add-on concert. The first scheduled concert, for Thursday night, sold out so fast they added a second date.
I really like Calexico, SWMBO barely knows they exist - I gotta put 'em on the music box more often. They started out in my hometown, Tucson, after I left so I never actually knew about them until I randomly heard somebody play their cover of Love's "Alone Again...Or". If ever there was a band destined to play the definitive cover of that song it is Calexico. Coming from Tucson, the band's core duo Joey Burns and John Convertino are steeped in the Southern Arizona musical gestalt and influences from mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and tejano mixed with country, jazz, and post-rock.
Instrumentation includes guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion (drums and marimba), trumpet, accordion, and fiddle. The specific tour was in celebration of the 20th aniversity of their album "Feast Of Wire" and they played the entire album plus inserting "Alone Again...Or" which has not been previously released on an LP. The 20th Aniversary release does include it.
Music Free-for-all
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 8:28 am
by northland10
Speaking of minimalism, the organ playing John Cage's As Slow As Possible recently changed a chord.
John Cage: Organ playing 639-year-long piece changes chord
The longest - and slowest - music composition in existence had a big day on Monday - it changed chord for the first time in two years.
Crowds gathered at a church in Germany to witness the rare moment, which is part of an artistic feat by avant-garde composer, John Cage.
The experimental piece, entitled As Slow as Possible, began in 2001.
Being played on a specially-built organ, it is not set to finish playing until the year 2640.
That's 616 years away. Looking at that period of time in the other direction - the Renaissance was starting to rumble into existence in Europe.
The composition, which in full is entitled Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible), has now had 16 chord changes.
Volunteers added another pipe into the mechanical organ to create the new sound, at the Burchardi Church in the German town of Halberstadt.
While the composition officially started in 2001 - it began with 18 months of silence, and the first notes only rang out in 2003.
Today is the birthday of Charles-Marie Widor, born on 21 February 1844. So it's time to listen again to the Toccata at the end his fifth symphony, but this time, with Widor himself (around 88 years old) playing on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sulpice in Paris where he served as organist for nearly 64 years.
He did other stuff besides the one above. Here is the Cantabile from his 6th Symphony, also on the Sait-Suplice organ, played by Daniel Roth.
And the Finale from his VI Symphony played by a 17-year old on the same organ as above. I like this for recessionals and such as it is march-like, plus has nice contrasting sections. I have used it for a few weddings.
Music Free-for-all
Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 6:20 pm
by northland10
Born Today 25 February 1943, George Harrison.
Who saw the post was from me and assumed it would classical or organ related?
Grand Funk Railroad - We're An American Band = Full HD VideoClip '73
Video won't embed, so follow the FB link.
Music Free-for-all
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:31 am
by GlimDropper
It's been a long time since I've heard this song but memory sparked and Google obliged.
Please indulge me:
Music Free-for-all
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2024 1:25 pm
by northland10
For me, some days, a little modern atonality hits the spot. Here is Gloria Coates Quartet No. 7 for string quartet and organ. There's a combination you don't always see.
This includes tone clusters, slow glissandos from really high pitches, and instructions for the organist to essentially youse their hands to elbows to play a chord.
On and for a glissando on the organ (which is generally unable to do a slide like a violin), it says "wiggle fingers, yous palm for white keys." Fun.