The Whole Music Experience

The Cello Suites J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals And The Search For A Baroque Masterpiece By Eric Siblin Atlantic Monthly Press Possibly a literary equivalent of Francois Girard’s film, The Red Violin , Canadian journalist/writer Eric Siblin’s The Cello Suites blends mystery, with biographies that read as multiple narratives. Certainly this page turner transforms the stuff shirt-stiff wig image of J.S. Bach into a man of intrigue and the cello from a melancholic to a magical instrument. Siblin’s journey into the Bach realm began when his career as a pop music journalist was on the wane and he stepped into a concert hall where the mysterious Cello Suites were performed, all 6 of them. This journey led the author to Belgium, France, Spain, and even to discoveries in his hometown, Montreal. He learns cello, joins a Bach chorale camp, and explores the Cello Suites in depth—experiential journalism. While the readers are left hanging in regard to the suite’s origins, Siblin draws h...

Christophe Rousset Louis Couperin (1626-1661) Harmonia Mundi Early baroque composer Louis Couperin, not to be confused with his nephew François Couperin, composed amazingly gorgeous suites for harpsichord. While I know little about the Couperin musical dynasty of France, I have enjoyed harpsichord master/baroque music expert Christophe Rousset’s performance of Louis Couperin’s harpsichord suites. The range and emotional depth of these suites can hardly be contained on 2 compact discs and as each disc ends an urge to press the play button surfaces. There is nothing like the regal and distant sound of a harpsichord when performed by a master musician. The shimmering notes, the lilting rhythms, and sensitivity of this instrument invite us to step back in time a few hundred years. This recording contains 6 suites reconstructed by Rousset and each suite contains a number of baroque dances, mostly French with the sarabande hailing from Spain (from what I read recently the shady roo...

Song Catchers In Search of the World’s Music By Mickey Hart with K.M. Kostyal National Geographic (2003) I found this gem at Village Books in Bellingham, Washington. I wasn’t planning on buying any books, but then I made the mistake of checking out the arts section in the store. Tucked in with the music theory and Rough Guide to Classical Music , I found Song Catchers (In Search of the World’s Music). I made the mistake of picking up the book and turning each lovingly crafted page portraying both the history of ethnomusicology and recording devices as seen through the passionate eyes of Mickey Hart. Grateful Dead drummer/ethnomusicologist, Hart caught the anthropological bug early in life when he found a recording of African pygmies at his family home. He delved into this secret world without knowing where it would lead him later in life. And similar to the other famous song catchers he mentions through the book, (Frances Densmore, John and Alan Lomax, Moses Asch…), he ...

Imani Winds Terra Incognita E1 Entertainment Although Imani Winds formed in 1997, Terra Incognita marks the first album I’ve heard by the quintet. As the name would imply this chamber ensemble features wind instruments, but not all woodwinds, French horn is included bringing a wide range of sonorities. IW performs both original and interpretations of classical, jazz, and traditional. Terra Incognita (named after the Wayne Shorter piece performed on this recording), also features works by Cuban expat Paquito D’Rivera and composer Jason Moran. Guest musicians include D’Rivera on clarinet and Alex Brown on piano. The recording is part IW's Legacy Project, featuring music from around the world. I’m particularly fond of projects that marry classical music to jazz, world, and folkloric idioms. And I’m not surprised to hear work by D’Rivera on this recording since he combines all those elements in his music. Remember his track on the album and documentary film Calle 54 ...

Jordi Savall Hespèrion XXI & other groups El Nuevo Mundo Folias Criollas Aliavox/Harmonia Mundi Fans of early music know that if they wish to take a musical journey to the renaissance, baroque period, or even to King Louis XIV court, Jordi Savall and his ensembles can take them there. I’m not sure where the Savall-Figueras family comes up with the energy to release as many early music gems as they do, but I’m grateful as a music reviewer and armchair scholar. I also started thinking of these musicians as the musical equivalent of a royal Catalan family. They certainly play courtly music, colonial, rustic and otherwise. I’m still catching my breath after reviewing a Bach recording (The Brandenburg Concertos) by Jordi Savall recently. And now he and his musicians have united with early music and folkloric musicians in the Americas, “New World” where they explore colonial music that combined music of American Indians, Spanish settlers, missionaries, and African slaves. Whi...

Dino Saluzzi El Encuentro ECM I first discovered Argentine bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi when he released his ensemble’s recording, Juan Condori . I instantly fell in love with Saluzzi’s composition which married musical instincts with compassionate poetics. This poetry wasn’t conveyed in words, but in the universal language music, with musical conversations reflecting on jazz and Argentine indigenous sensibilities. And actual words can barely convey the fragile moments, the nuances, and the sudden sweeping gestures present in Saluzzi’s compositions. He’s a musician that clearly wears his heart on his sleeve. The next recording I heard and reviewed featured Saluzzi with German violoncellist Anja Lechner, Ojos Negros . The musical conversation sounded even more delicate and intimate, those haunting exchanges between the violoncello and the bandoneon, falling deeply into classical chamber music with a far-reaching effect. And now on Saluzzi’s live debut for ECM, El Encuentro ...

Dr. Jeffrey Thompson Rainforest & Ocean Waves With Alpha Brainwave Pulses The Relaxation Company/Sounds True Brainwave Suite The Relaxation Company/Sounds True My stress levels have been shooting through the roof lately. I have been suffering from insomnia, too many worrisome thoughts floating around in my head and a pinched nerve in my lower back. So this feels like the perfect time to experiment with relaxation recordings. Besides, high stress levels can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, suppressed immune system, aches, pains, and depression. The relaxation route seems a better way to go. Granted I laughed at relaxation tapes while I was a rocker in my 20s, but now hitting middle age, I want to see what’s available because I believe that psycho-acoustically designed recordings provide a better remedy for relaxation and sleep than sleeping pills and more fun than counting sheep. I still prefer acoustic recordings with sound healing tools, instrumental ...

Amira & Merima Kljuco Zumra World Village I’ve not heard much Bosnian music except for perhaps the Balkan repertoire covered by Greek vocalist-interpreter Savina Yannatou. Bosnian vocalist Amira (Medunjanin) and her musical partner, accordionist Merima Kljuco show us the lushness of two instruments combined and all the various harmonics and nuances coaxed from a human voice box and a squeezebox. The liner notes tell us that the songs performed by this duo have been passed down from one Bosnian generation to the next, but on Zumra have been transformed into more contemporary-sounding traditional fare in the skillful hands of these musicians. I’m not at liberty to make any comparisons since I’ve not heard the original songs. What I will say is that after several listens of this miraculous recording, my heart has risen and fallen along with Amira’s vocals and felt tension building and releasing along with Kljuco’s accordion. Both musicians have great command over thei...

According to a short news clip in the April 2010 issue of Natural Solutions magazine, denists are now employing music to relax patients.  "A 2009 study in Canada found music reduces pain and anxiety in children undergoing dental procedures; and a 2007 study in Spain found music as effective as diazepam (Valium) at relieving preoperative anxiety..." http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/ April 2010, p. 75.

Anat Cohen Notes from the Village Anzic Records Not long ago, reed woman Anat Cohen was in Seattle. I missed her show. Then a few days ago I found her delightful recording Notes from the Village at my local library. And these notes from Manhattan’s East Village, I’m guessing, provide a global sound with everything from klezmer clarinet runs that bring pleasurable chills to my spine to Afro-Latin rhythms which kick into action halfway through the song Siboney . Cohen also pays respect to the late John Coltrane on her interpretation of After the Rain and to Fats Waller and Sam Cooke ( A Change is Gonna Come ). I admit that I check recordings out from the library and then most of them are only played once and just sit on the shelf next to my player. But with Notes from the Village , I’ve listened to this recording while catching up on my work, upon waking in the morning (before I meditate), and at various times throughout the day. I’m impressed with Cohen’s talent as a jazz-...

Sondre Bratland and Annbjorg Lien Everywhere Kirkelig Kultureverksted Two of Norway’s biggest musical talent, singer/balladeer Sondre Bratland and hardanger fiddler Annbjorg Lien combine their talents on Everywhere . The throaty laments of the fiddle frame Bratland’s baritone voice on this wintry album. “For a number of years the duo of Sondre Bratland and Annbjorg Lien has been performing concerts in Norwegian churches. This CD Everywhere presents their fully ripened versions of Norwegian religious folk songs.” (Liner notes). The recording features lively and somber songs. The Norwegian folk elements are most evident on the lilting melodies sung in Norwegian and the folk fiddling that rivals American bluegrass with its twang and twists. Both Bratland and Lien have produced several critically-acclaimed albums over the decades, though Lien is decades younger than Bratland who is a true veteran of Norwegian folk and sacred music. Lien performed with her own band for sever...

Laya Project Compilation EarthSync In 2004 before the tsunami hit South Asia and East Africa, animals and indigenous people fled to higher ground. There intuition had saved them from one of the greatest disasters to happen in the last decade. The aftermath brought much needed attention to the poorer communities bordering the Indian Ocean and climate change, and also exotic music that might not have been brought to the world’s attention had the tsunami not struck ground in this region of the world. Laya Project’s Tsunami Music: Sounds Embrace Survival from the Maldives to Myanmar, from India to Indonesia , spearheaded by Patrick Sebag and project producer and director (both a documentary and double CD) Sonya Mazumdar, the repertoire here comments on the musical vastness of this planet. While the CDs contain plenty of tabla beats, Indian twang, bansari flutes etc, listeners also hear Buddhist chants, love songs for the departed, and the rich polyphony gamelan of Indonesia. The...

Hilario Duran Trio Motion Alma Records Roberto Occhipinti A bend in the river Alma Records I love Latin jazz piano and after listening to Cuban-born Hilario Duran’s Motion several times, I’d have to say Duran is among the crème of crème of Latin pianist. I immediately heard the connection to Cuban jazz players a trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and reedman Paquito D’Rivera and pianist Chucho Valdes (all Cubanos associated with Duran). While Duran usually composes for big bands, he’s right at home with his trio which features Roberto Occhipinti on bass and Mark Kelso on drums. And dang, this music gets the blood pumping from the get-go. It grabs listeners and holds them hostage for the duration of the 8 tracks. Aptly titled, Motion never stops moving. These musicians work up a sweat, delving into complicated rhythms with aplomb. I’m reminded of another trio led by pianist Michel Camilo, another musician that recalls the Energizer Bunny. Conversation with a Lunatic flies ...

Kristy My Romance Alma Records Canadian jazz vocalist Kristy Cardinali tackles those old jazz standards on her debut recording My Romance . Jazz standards only sound simple on the surface. The torch songs require a palette of emotions, and the voice must sing well-modulated phrasings, which is daunting even to veteran jazz vocalists. Kristy (she uses the singular name as her moniker), nails the faster numbers such as Just One of Those Things and Bye Bye Blackbird (which she delivers a breathtaking rendition), and now that I have downloaded an upgrade for Media Player, I can hear lovely nuances in her vocals.  Though I still think I've heard better interpretations of You Don't Know Me . In fact, the best version ever I have heard of You Don’t Know Me was recorded by a jazz chanteuse from my neck-of-the-woods, Trish Hatley, granted, a vocalist that is easily twice Kristy’s age. Hatley is among my favorite singers of jazz standards along with Greta Matassa (Seattle...

Pablo Casals (1876-1973) J.S. Bach Suites for Cello Volume 1 Great Recordings of the Century EMI I first heard about the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals in the Canadian film, 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould . The Glenn Gould character produced a radio documentary where he interviewed the great cellist. Glenn Gould did for J. S. Bach’s keyboard pieces what Pablo Casals had done for Bach’s Cello Suites and that was to remove the stigma of overly academic from Bach’s masterpieces. And in the hands of virtuoso interpreters such as Gould and Casals, the piano sonatas, and Cello Suites took on a new vivacious life. Bach’s music had been reconsidered and accepted by a broader public. Pablo Casals was born in the Catalan region of Spain (also home of the early music interpreter/performer Jordi Savall and his family), in 1876 and by the age of 5, he showed an aptitude for music. His musical training began with keyboards, but he would later fall in love with the cello. He was perfo...

Maurice Steger Giuseppe Sammartini Sonate (for flute and bass continuo) Harmonia Mundi (2007) I found flautist Maurice Steger’s baroque recording Sonate (for flute and bass continuo) at the library and I’ve been listening to it often during the past 2 days. I also saw Italian baroque composer Giuseppe Sammartini listed on another CD I listened to recently so I wanted to explore his music further. His work is completely new to my ears but I love the composer’s clean, yet complex arrangements. I find Steger’s flute pierces through any chaos in my life and flute/recorder finds a home among the bassoon, harpsichord, organ, lutes, violincello, and harp that takes turns playing the bass continuo. Steger, an accomplished flautist from Switzerland performs diverse music ranging from the baroque period to contemporary times. He performs on traverse flute and various baroque recorders, while leaving a favorable impression for the recorder. I realize that the recorder ...

Mad About Beethoven  We all feel angry or frustrated at times.  I don't believe in suppressing anger/frustration and speaking through a tight fake smile.  I also don't feel that it is appropriate to vent anger, to rant, and to take out anger on other humans and creatures. When we feel angry we can listen to music that matches our frustration level to help us release it safely and sanely.  We could use movement with the music, have a good cry, scream into a pillow (though some psychotherapist and metaphysicians frown on this practice), or just sit and listen to the music, allowing it to move you through your feelings. Don't focus on what sparked your anger/frustration since that's like adding oil to a fire.  Focus on the emotions you feel and don't judge them.  Go as deep as you can within yourself and see where those emotions take you.  While I'm sure you know of plenty of music that can go to that angry place with you, how about mus...