I’m listening to Estampie, an early music ensemble perform ‘Bluomenrot’. If you recognize them from Terri Windling’s The Wood Wife, it’ll surprise you to learn that they actually exist and indeed are quite excellent even Terri didn’t know they existed. Though I do listen to a lot of music in the Celtic and Nordic traditions, I’ve very find of performers such as Hector Berlioz and Béla Bartók, even Russian composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky get played here.
So what I’ve rounded up this outing is some of the books and music we’ve reviewed that touch upon this music, though there are such works as Béla Bartók’s Yugoslav Folk Songs that are not quite about this music but which are worth noting here; a movie that is both enlightening about this music and entertaining as well; and perhaps a bit more if I decide to dig deep enough in the Archives.
Oh, and I should note we apparently had an orchestra here as this piece on it by the music librarian in the Sleeping Hedgehog dates from the late 1860s: ‘Not too many people know that the pit orchestra of our theatre here in Kinrowan Hall is also a top notch orchestra on its own right. Oh yes, it really is. Maestro is our 42nd since the orchestra’s inception in or around 1694, that’s a bit hazy in the records. He’s a bit more tetchy than the last one, actually, but the music is all the better for it, I’m sure.’
Berlioz’s Evenings with the Orchestra came about as a result of him being neither a widely recognized composer in his lifetime, or being generally accepted at all during his lifetime, as Kelly notes in his splendid review: ‘In order to remain solvent, Berlioz often had to turn to penning articles of criticism and commentary on music and cultural matters for the Paris publications of the day. By all accounts, Berlioz hated this work and the necessity of it, which is ironic given the quality of his writing, as evidenced in Evenings with the Orchestra.’
Robert found a rather different take on Berlioz in a couple of books about him — or actually, one about him, Michael Rose’s Berlioz Remembered, and one by him, The Musical Madhouse: ‘If the Paris of the 19th century was considered the cultural capital of the world, it was with good reason: of the major artistic and intellectual figures of the age, those who did not live there made a point of visiting with what frequency they could manage. And, in a city filled with high-profile cultural lions, one of those with the highest profile was Hector Berlioz.’
Robert also came across couple of books on a composer he considers sadly underrated: ‘Any genuine understanding of the role of Béla Bartók in twentieth century music is contingent on knowing about the cultural context in which he was formed — or in which he formed himself, as seems likely to be the case. The understanding is two-pronged, as Judit Frigyesi, in Béla Bartók and Turn-of-the-Century Budapest and Peter Laki, in Bartók and His World, make clear.’
And digging around a bit more, Robert found yet another book, not about a composer but about a performer, namely Arnold Steinhardt’s Violin Dreams: ‘Arnold Steinhardt was for many years — since its beginnings in 1964 — the first violinist of the Guarnari String Quartet, one of the finest chamber music ensembles of the twentieth century. . . . His tale, cast as more of a memoir, almost a collage, rather than a straightforward autobiography, gives much more than the more or less expected events of a young musician’s life.
Kelly looks at Amadeus:‘The film is not actually intended to be a historically-accurate portrayal of Mozart’s life, but in Shaffer’s words, “a fantasy on themes in Mozart’s life”.’ Read his excellently detailed review for a look at an extraordinary film!
Song is as much a part of Classical music as are tunes and so Ian looks at Medieval Baebes’ Worldes Blysse which he says is ‘All in all, an excellent album. ‘ read his review to see why these Baebes are much more than pretty faces which they certainly are.
My definition of Classical music includes Medieval forms, so let’s have Kelly tell us about his first review: ‘Sequentia, led by Benjamin Bagby, has been performing Medieval music for close to thirty years. Dialogos, led by Katarina Livljanic, has only been around ten years, but has earned considerable esteem among Medieval music afficionados during that time. These two groups recently pooled their musical abilities to create the album Chant Wars.’Now go read his reviews to see why the album is really, really wrong.
Talisman and their recording Music of Russian Princesses: From the Court of Catherine the Great also gets a look at from Kelly: ‘Formed in 2000 by soprano Anne Harley and guitarist Oleg Timofeyev (who is noted for his expertise in the Russian guitar tradition), Talisman is dedicated to the performance and promotion of Russia’s little-known Baroque and Classical era, roughly 1750-1850.’ Read his full review to see why there’s more to Russian classical music than most of us assume there is!
Majel looks at Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and The Wolf covered by an odd mix of characters, to wit Gavin Friday & The Friday-Seezer Ensemble, and Bono’ of U2 fame: ‘For a piece of music, regardless of when it was written, to be considered truly timeless, it must stand up to any and all tests of style, genre and instrumentation; in short, anything a future arranger may throw at it. And while it may “work” with just about any instrument or orchestra, the trick is coming up with the right mix, the instruments and sounds that will most complement the piece while retaining its original character. The first requires a skilled composer; the second, a deft and sensitive interpreter. The latest version of Peter and the Wolf has the good fortune of both — two of the latter, in fact — but the musical aspect is only the beginning.’
Speaking of Bartók (and we were, just a minute ago, if you’ll remember), Robert takes a look at a rather staggering collection of his solo piano works: ‘A composer’s works for solo piano are in many ways equivalent to a painter’s drawings: they can range from sketches to major finished works, and allow us to explore an artist’s thinking in an intimate format — a chance, quite often, to be “present at the creation.” The solo piano works of Béla Bartók are no exception.’
As long as we’re on the subject of chamber music, how about Beethoven’s complete string quartets from the Wihan Quartet? ‘ I willingly confess to a weakness for chamber music: I feel toward a composer’s small-scale works much the way I do about works for solo piano or an artist’s drawings, although a string quartet is much more likely to be a “finished” piece, by necessity. But composers often put ideas into their chamber works that don’t make it into larger orchestral works. . . . By their very nature string quartets are intimate affairs, at least in the context of performance — they aren’t necessarily small-scale in concept at all.’
Robert brings us a look at some rather unexpected Beethoven, namely the nine symphonies on period instruments: ‘These recordings, however, have been more than entertaining — they’ve also given me some insights into Beethoven’s music that I don’t think I would ever have found any other way. Keep in mind that this music was written during the Napoleonic era, when the conventions of musical creation and performance were much different than they are now, and that, like everyone else, I come to Beethoven through the symphony orchestra as it exists today — which is to say, post-Brahms, post-Wagner, post-Mahler.’
Ready for more symphonies? I thought you might be. How about the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler? ‘The thing about Mahler that strikes me on listening to Bernstein’s recordings is that the man caught the soul of a time that was, like the century that followed, poised on the edge, and it’s a soul that Bernstein understands very well.’
To finish up for this week, let’s go back to those Beethoven quartets. If you read the review, you’ll remember that not only did the Wihan Quartet make sound recordings, they also included videos, such as this one. Enjoy.
What’s New for the 23rd of February: ’De Herinacio: On the hedgehog’, Don’t Talk About It by Australian expat Ruby Boot, live Irish Music from De Dannan & Skara Brae, Hobos, Mary-Sues, Live from Here replaces Prairie Home Companion and other matters
What am I listening to? Well it’s a choce live performance of ‘‘Jenny Rocking The Cradle’ by De Dannan at the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio nearly thirty years ago. This is before the band split into two, each faction not speaking to the other, with only a different spelling of the name as a way of telling them apart. As of five years ago, both bands were still active, and both are very much worth hearing live if they perform in your area.
There’s a not-at-all-gentle wind driven freezing rain battering itself against Kinrowan Hall on this rather dark afternoon. Needless to say there’s lots of Estate staff here in the Library — some reading, some holding conversations, some even napping as we we don’t have the usual Library rules here but everyone’s respectful of not being too loud. Even Ysbaddaden and his feline kin aren’t raising their voices here as they’re all curled up near one of the patrons.
So let’s see what our staffers have for reviews for you this Edition; the Coda this time will be of a Celtic Music nature as well as you’ll see see when you get to it…
Craig brings us a look at an anthology on an American icon, Cliff ‘Oats’ Williams’ One More Train to Ride: ‘What does the average reader really know about the culture of the American hobo? Mostly they keep themselves out of sight due to the misdemeanor status of actions necessary to their survival (e.g., riding on freight trains). Still, there are hundreds of transients constantly traveling, making their way back and forth across the country — riding trains, working where they can, taking handouts, and just enjoying the freedom from society’s strictures.’
Denise takes us into uncharted territory (uncharted for GMR, at least) with a review of three romance/fantasy novels. Alas, the prospects don’t look good: ‘Mary Sue (n.) : (1) A type of story where characterization, plot and theme is supplanted by the author’s quest for his or her own wish fulfillment. (2) any character that is a thinly disguised idealized version of the author when the story suffers from such usage. The term is almost always derogatory.’
Robert was fairly enthusiastic about three chapbooks from small presses, to wit: Jack Vance’s The Kragen; Thomas M. Disch’s The Voyage of the Proteus: A Eyewitness Account of the End of the World; and Cat Rambo and Jeff VanderMeer’s The Surgeon’s Tale and Other Stories: ‘You may recall that we here at GMR are extraordinarily fond of the small presses that publish so many of the things we discuss. We are fond of them because they bring us all-but-forgotten classics, exciting new works from important writers, and challenging new voices, all in attractive new editions — as witness the group of chapbooks that I have on my desk right now, representing successive “waves” in the history of speculative fiction.’
Robert brings us a look back at early — well, fairly early — Charles de Lint, with reviews of two of his novels set in and around Tamson House. First is Moonheart: ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint.’
And next is Spiritwalk: ‘Spiritwalk is a loose sequel to Moonheart, a series of related tales, again centering around Tamson House and including many of the same characters. In fact, the House is even more important as a Place in this group of stories.’
And now, something that has never happened before here at GMR, as far as we can determine: two reviews of the same work, namely, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. First, a very thorough, in-depth review from Rebecca, written back in the day: ‘The hype began months ago. The first I knew of it was the full-page ads in my monthly comics. Then I caught the teaser on Apple’s site. The concept caught me immediately: a movie in which everything but the actors themselves was created by computer. The more I found out, the more intrigued I became. Most of my friends were fascinated, too. We all agreed that, visually, this would be a terrific movie if things had been done even half-right.’
Next, from Robert, a more impressionistic review from someone who happened on the film by chance. Once again, Kerry Conran’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: ‘I’m not sure when or where I first ran across Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but it has become one of my favorite “something to watch when I’m just up for some light entertainment” movies. (This is not a bad thing, and is no reflection on the quality of the film, as you’ll see below.)’
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Denise leapt at the chance to review some candy and beverages for this issue. She dug into Lovely’s Salted Cashew Chocolate Caramels, Starbucks’ Cherry Mocha, Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company’s No 3 – Dark Strawberry Champagne Truffle Bar, and Contadino’s Pinot Grigio Vivace.
Some were hits – she says of the Vivace, ‘Not too shabby for a fiver! Seek this out.’ But there were some misses as well; of the No3 bar, she says ‘The strawberry may not be overkill, but the total amount of sweetness is. Instead of being happy, I feel over-sugared.’ If you’re trying to figure out what do add to your holiday table, check our these reviews!
Cat looks at Live from Here, the show formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by Chris Thile: ‘Having sort of followed A Prairie Home Companion and the dreadful and frankly disgusting behaviour of Garrison Keillor, the very long time host and creator of APHC before Chris Thile, Americana musician par excellence, took over. I listened to him in the early months of his hosting but it didn’t impress me as it felt too much that Kellior was haunting it from offstage.’ Now go read his review to see why he’ll be listening to this show!
A new recording by a trio of superb musicians in the Americana tradition caught Gary’s ear. He says of the album See You Around, by the group calling themselves I’m With Her, ‘I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb here to predict it will be one of the top Americana albums of the year.’
Gary got some kicks out of an album called Don’t Talk About It by Australian expat Ruby Boots. ‘This is hard-rocking country, rooted in tradition but not afraid to sound modern.’
Author and musician Willy Vlautin has a new book out this month, and Gary reviews Don’t Skip Out On Me … not the book, but the soundtrack album he wrote for it. ‘Fans of Richmond Fontaine and of Willy Vlautin have a real treat in store with this book and its accompanying soundtrack,’ he says.
Huw finishes us off with some Classical music. Not bein’ a fan of anythin’ more classic than my old pair of Wayfarers I know absolutely zero about this music, but Huw knows his stuff. He wuzn’t in the best mood when he popped this rendition of Handel’s Water Music / Royal Fireworks Music by Pierre Boulez and the New York Philharmonic in ‘…but, grouchy as I was when I put the disc into my CD player, I have to admit that I pretty soon found myself in a much more cheerful mood. There’s no getting away from the fact that, cliché or not, this is wonderful music. Foot-tapping melodies, indeed!’
We stumbled on this older post in the British Library’s Medieval manuscripts blog the other day. It’s the sort of combination of the ancient and the modern that we love: an animation inspired by one of the library’s Medieval bestiaries. Here is ’De Herinacio: On the hedgehog’.Do read the credits and visit the websites or Facebook pages of the blog and the animator!
Ysbaddaden and his brood are telling me that ’tis time for their eventide feeding, so I’ll take your leave now. Now where did the kitchen staff put that leftover smoked duck from last night? Ahhh, there it is! Let me feed them and I’ll see about some music to leave with you after their feeding, so one moment please…
I’m thinking that I mentioned here a few months back that I had been playing a concert recording by Skara Brae, The short-lived Irish trad group which the sorely missed Mícheál Ó’Domhnaill wa a member as he was of a number of bands including Nightnoise, so I’ll finish off with a set of tunes, ‘Ar A Dhul Chun’ and ‘Chuain Dom’, from that performance. And I’ve no idea why they didn’t get a commercial release of this performance as both the music and the production are quite fine indeed.