The Whole Music Experience

Face it, many of us are feeling like we're a high wire act these days so staying balanced and grounded feels challenging.  When we feel stress, tension, or too much chaos in the world we need to take time out and retreat either into silence or with relaxing classical music. You could even listen to new age or other types of music, but I choose classical music specifically because we know the key of each piece.  Also with classical music, you can bet that the second movement of a concerto or even a symphony will slow down and provide a respite, but more so with the concertos.  I feel that chamber music provides the most relaxation since the brain doesn't go into overdrive keeping up with several musical themes.  Solo instruments provide the most relaxation, especially instruments playing low tones--the low end of the piano, a prominent bass ostinato, cello, bassoon, etc... I'm providing you with a list of composers, compositions and 2nd movements (or whole piece...

Anita Skorgan Pågyllen Grunn Kirkelig Kulturverksted The Norwegian label Kirkelig Kulturverksted has over several decades brought its audiences innovative projects.   These recording projects build bridges, exchange cultures, or bring Scandinavian folk songs into a contemporary environment.   Anita Skorgan’s Pågyllen Grunn brings together diverse musicians including the early music lute player Rolf Lislevand, a young trumpet player versed in Arabic music, Arve Henriksen, a global percussionist Helge Norbakken and electric guitarist Eivind Aarseth.   And you might wonder what the musicians could do with that eclectic set of instruments. From what I can tell from the press notes, (the liner notes and lyrics are all in Norwegian with no English translation), the ensemble of talented musicians recorded ten arranged folk songs (lyrics by KKV Founder Erik Hillestad) in the mausoleum of the late artist Emanuel Vigeland.   A large painting featuring the c...

Rolf Lislevand Ensemble Diminuito ECM Series  When Rolf Lislevand’s Nuove Musiche (ECM, 2006) arrived in my mailbox along with Trio Mediaeval’s 2006 ECM recording, I ended up with a stray Alaskan dog in my apartment. Trio Mediaeval’s recording had been playing in my apartment when the dog showed up at my backdoor. Now, how it found its way into the yard remains a mystery. I pulled the dog into my home and phoned its human companion. But in the meantime, the Alaskan dog gravitated towards the CD player and long before Joshua Leeds and Susan Wagner published the book, Through a Dog’s Ear. This dog preferred early music. Shedding dog story aside, listening to the Norwegian early music lute player Lislevand and the Scandinavian early music vocal ensemble, Trio Mediaeval in a single afternoon opened some much needed doors for me, musically speaking. And now two of the TM vocalists, Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Anna Maria Friman appear on Rolf Lislevand Ensemble’s Diminuito , an...