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Recent Posts
- What’s New for the 25th of October: Some Autumnal Matters
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Contradances
- What’s New for 11th of October: Music reviews picked by Gary for you to consider, ‘Hotel California’ live by the Eagles for you to listen to, and a biography of the Eagles for you to read. So isn’t that enough for one edition here? I think so.
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Getting Ready for All Hallows Eve
- What’s New for the 27th of September: A tribute to Cape Breton music
- A Kinrowan Estate story: All The World’s A Stage
- What’s New for the 14th of September: books and music to see summer out
- What’s New for the 10th of September: It’s Definitely Late Summer!
- What’s New for the 30th of August: Dolly Pardon
- What’s New for the 16th of August: Deborah Grabien’s music criticism essays; new Americana and jazz, and some music for the Dog Days of Summer
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Midsomer Strangeness
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Contradances
- What’s New for the 26th of July: Witches in fiction, both books and film; an Americana reissue and some music on a smoky theme
- A Kinrowan Estate story: chicken pot pieces
- What’s New for the 19th of July: Charles de Lint’s Ottawa novels with a quote from Drink Down the Moon, Gary’s review of Nordic fiddle music, It’s Michele Walther and Irina Behrendt playing Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoe Down’ from his Rodeo album
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Midsomer Odd Things
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Library and Its Librarian
- What’s New for the Fifth of July: Remembering Jane Yolen; some new Americana and jazz music; Fishing Blues
- A Kinrowan Estate Story: Recursive Loops
- What’s New for June 21: Jennifer Stevenson’s ‘Solstice’
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Turkish Coffee
- What’s New for the 7th of June: Foxes in literature, live Balkan music, comforting jazz, Americana jazz, and wonderfully weird fusion jazz; and John Fogerty live
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Bloodied Kings
- What’s New for the 24th of May: Gary’s Review of Elizabeth Bear’s White Space novels, iain’s review of the Lonely Signal Burns novellas by her, she reading her own story, ‘The Chains That You Refuse’, and I see Gary has some tasty music reviews fir us as well
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Our Greensward
- What’s New for the 10th of May: books reviewed by Jennifer Stevenson, music by Teddy Thompson, Americana music from all over, and some live music from John Fogerty
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Walk
- What’s New for the 26th of April: the nature of Stories; some new and newish SF, plus new world, jazz, folk and Americana music
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Spring Day
- What’s New for the 12th of April: Some new and recent SF; new Americana, Norwegian folk rock and jazz; and thoughts on War For The Oaks
Category Archives: Music
Nickelback: The Band Everybody Loves to Hate
I suspect someone is sitting there wondering “What? He’s doing a survey of a rock band? Him?!” Yeah, well, I know I haven’t done much of that here, but there are a couple of reasons for this essay. First, I … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged country rock, rock
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John Corigliano’s The Red Violin Concerto; Sonata for Violin and Piano
John Corigliano is widely considered one of the leading American composers of his generation, which includes such luminaries as Morten Lauridsen, Terry Riley, and Ned Rorem. Commentators have characterized his style as “highly expressive,” “compelling,” and “kaleidoscopic.” In addition to … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged contemporary music
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Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem
Benjamin Britten is without doubt among the foremost of modern British composers, generally considered, along with Sir Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as one of the most important voices in English music of the twentieth century. It goes beyond … Continue reading
Leonard Bernstein’s Mass
Lights! Camera! Kyrie! Sounds rather theatrical, doesn’t it? Some might even say disrespectful. It’s no surprise, then, that Leonard Bernstein’s Mass generated so much controversy at its premiere in 1971. Thirty-five years later, the controversy is muted. When we think … Continue reading
Willie Nelson’s God’s Problem Child
“I woke up still not dead again today,” Willie Nelson sings. “The internet said that I had passed away.” I first listened to this song shortly after reading – yes, on the internet – that Willie was circling the drain. … Continue reading
John Denver’s Greatest Hits 1967-1973, Back Home Again and Rhymes & Reasons
Admit it. John Denver soothes. You know it; I know it. Songs like “Calypso” and “Rocky Mountain High” don’t just draw you in, they paint a picture of brighter places and quieter times. And I’m not just saying that because … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Americana music
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West of Eden’s No Time Like the Past — A Collection
Wherever you find locals playing Irish traditional music. Sweden is no exception. Sometimes I suspect there are more Swedes playing Irish music than Swedish traditionals. But some groups around it takes it further, creating their own music using the Irish … Continue reading
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Philip Glass and Constance DeJong’s Satyagraha
Satyagraha is the second of Philip Glass’ “portrait” operas, following Einstein on the Beach and preceding Akhnaten. Commissioned by the City of Rotterdam, it received its first performance there in 1980, and has since been performed in London, New York, … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged contemporary music, opera
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Ustad Shahid Parvez’s Magnificent Melody: A Tribute to Dulal Babu (Raga Darbari, Raga Shahana)
Shahid Parvez began studying the sitar at age four, and gave his first performance at age eight. He belongs to the seventh generation of the Etawa gharana, a tradition begun in the early nineteenth century by Sahebad Khan. In Shahid … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged raga, world music
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Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen’s Rímur
My first exposure to rímur came about when a recording by the Icelandic performer Steindór Andersen crossed my desk. Having wrapped my head around the forms and sounds in Andersen’s renderings of a traditional Icelandic form with strong foundations in … Continue reading