The Whole Music Experience

Ceumar Dindinha Sons Do Brasil Arc Music Falling somewhere between Brazilian pop diva Badi Assad and Afro-Samba chanteuse Monica Salmaso, Ceumar brings us effervescent songs on her new recording Sons Do Brasil (Songs of Brazil).   Ceumar (a name that marries the sky to the sea), blends regional folk music with pop, jazz, and samba performed on this acoustic album.   Her lilting voices recall Badi Assad, but the instrumental arrangements, minimalistic of woodwinds, Portuguese guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, percussion, piano and violin (these instruments appear on the various tracks) recalls Monica Salmaso, as mentioned earlier. Songs of Brazil is one of those albums where sweet revelry meets sensuality, and at times melancholy such as on the titular track, which speaks about the Portuguese “sodade” a term not easily explained in English--a longing sadness comes close.   Fans of the late Cape Verdean vocalist Cesária Evora will re...

Kristian Bezuidenhout Freiburger Barockorchester Mozart Piano Concertos, K. 453 & 482 Harmonia Mundi Within the past 48 hours, I learned that Mozart had a pet starling who he taught to sing and that the music he taught the bird to sing was Mozart’s Piano concerto K. 253 .   The bird, like most of us humans could not grasp the complexities of Mozart’s compositions, much less sing it perfectly.   However, the famous Austrian composer’s student Fräulein Babette had no trouble learning the delightful concerto and performed it at a private concert in Vienna.   According to the liner notes, Mozart decided to forge a career as a freelance musician, composing for aristocratic families, performing in private homes, and teaching piano.   While this might sound arduous to a modern pianist/composer, this allowed Mozart freedom to explore his virtuosity and innovative ideas without an archbishop or emperor breathing over his shoulder. We learn some...

Birds do it, dogs do it, and children do it.  And before humans develop our analytical and rational minds, we also responded to music and sometimes without inhibitions.  Put on some Cuban or Brazilian or really, any type of music then watch what happens to a room full of toddlers.  They don't get out pens and paper, grab music theory books, or pontificate about perfect fifths.  They are the lucky ones who respond to music purely and in an uncomplicated manner. A few years back, David Rothenberg (a musician/philosopher turned researcher) wondered why birds sing.  Yes, they sing for survival, mating, and defending of territory, but did they also sing for pleasure? Rothenberg leaned towards yes.  More recently, while reading Elena Mannes book The Power of Music--Pioneering Discoveries in the New Science of Song ), I learned that Thai elephants can play music and that cockatoos among other creatures can synchronize to the rhythms of human made music....