21401. (Piirpauke) Kalevala Spirit
21402. (Ismo Alanko Säätiö) Sisäinen solarium [Solarium Within]
21403. (Veils) Nux Vomica Read more »
Category Archives: C - LISTENING - Page 25
First-time listening for January, 2010
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 31, 2010
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Epp-Karike Jurima-Sonin: Estonian Songs
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 25, 2010
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A very precise and pleasant voice sings a selection of Estonian art songs and folk songs. The folk material, on the whole, is more captivating. Jurima-Sonin is an American of Estonian background, known as both a teacher and soloist.
[Note inserted in 2018: Some time after this posting I met my friend Skye Sepp’s mother. We discussed Estonian music, and I mentioned this record. Epp-Karike Jurima-Sonin, it turns out, is her sister! She was married to Ain Sonin (1937–2010), a respected physicist specializing in fluid mechanics. The obviously multi-talented Sepp/Sonin clan originated in Estonia, flourished in Toronto, and spread out tentacles to Boston and San Francisco.]
Ajoy Chakraborty
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 8, 2010
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Chakraborty is the outstanding exponent of the Patiala school of North Indian classical singing. The prestigious Patiala Gharana dates from Mughal times, but it has consistently fostered innovation, rather than strict classical orthodoxy. Chakraborty is one of its many stars. I have two pieces sung by him: Abhogi, and a full khyal using the South Indian raga Hamsadhwani. This last has an emotional punch that really got to me, especially at the point of one impossibly long-held note that lifts the piece into sublimity. The tabla and harmonium (perhaps his brother Sanjay?) are aptly understated. Unfortunately, I only have the sound-files, with no production details.
Sibelius’ Kullervo
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 1, 2010
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As I’m beginning the year with a re-reading of the Kalevala, the Finnish mythological epic that has haunted me since childhood, it’s logical for me to begin the year’s musical listening with Sibelius’ largest scale work based on it, the spectacular unified sequence of tone poems about the Kalevala hero Kullervo. I have two recordings of Kullervo, Symphonic Poem for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus and Orchestra, Op.7: Jorma Panula conducting the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and Paavo Berglund directing the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra. They’re both fine, but I prefer the Berglund. Eeva-Liisa Saarinen’s soprano in it is superb.
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First-time listening for December, 2009
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 31, 2009
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20526. (Ray Bradbury) Fahrenheit 451: The Author Reads Key Episodes with Personal Commentary
20527. (Healey Willan) Postlude at Easter Vigil
20528. (Healey Willan) Hymn: “Jesus Christ is risen today” [Easter Hymn] Read more »
Kim Beggs
Posted by Phil Paine
on December 20, 2009
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Somehow an Appalachian style sounds perfectly natural for the Yukon. Whitehorse songstress Kim Beggs writes moving, poetic lyrics to very traditional folk/county tunes and arrangements. Wanderer’s Paean (Caribou Records 2006) has plenty of what was once called “sweet and dark” music, firmly grounded in emotional reality. Outstanding songs include “Lips Stained Red With Wine”, “Shipyard Song” and “Walking Down to the Station”, but my favourite is the perfectly crafted “Banks of the Yukon.”
First-time listening for November, 2009
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 30, 2009
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20418. (Black Horse) Mongolian Traditional Classical Music Art
20419. (Lester Young) Lester Young [Verve Jazz Masters vol.30]
20420. (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) From Her to Eternity [1984] Read more »
Jazz at Massey Hall — The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 22, 2009
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On a snowy evening in Toronto, in 1953, five of the greatest jazz musicians of all time played together for the one and only time. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Hal Roach, Charles Mingus, and Bud Powell, all at the creative acme of their careers. A raging blizzard and a crucial hockey game reduced the audience to a handful — a photo shows mostly empty seats. The checks to pay the performers bounced. But this is considered by many to be the greatest jazz concert of all time, and I’m in no mood to doubt that consensus. Gillespie’s trumpet blazes like the archangel Gabriel took possession of him. If you are going to own only one jazz album, this should be it.
Roach, Gillespie & Parker playing at Massey Hall, 1953
Massey hall was built in 1894. This was, fortunately, where I first heard formal concert music played. It’s ugly on the outside, but when I first set foot in it, the interior was still a late Victorian, pseudo-oriental fantasy of mellow woodwork. It’s acoustics ranked it among the best halls in the world. A later renovation, unfortunately, removed most of its charms. The Toronto Symphony long ago moved to modern quarters, but Massey still hosts important rock, folk and chamber concerts.
Elgar’s Op.84 Piano Quintet
Posted by Phil Paine
on November 3, 2009
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The fatal popularity of “Land of Hope and Glory” and the Pomp and Circumstance marches long obscured the fact that Elgar has considerable depth. Those who listen the Symphonies and the Cello Concerto closely know this, of course, but it’s also worth paying attention to his modest output of chamber music, the best pieces of which were all composed in the summer of 1918. Read more »
LISTENING — OCTOBER 2009
Posted by Phil Paine
on October 31, 2009
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20373. (Valery Gore) Avalanche To Wandering Bear
20374. (Giuseppe Verdi) Un Ballo in Maschera [complete opera; d. von Karajan; Domingo,
. . . . . Barstow, Nucci, Quivar]
20375. (Antonín Dvořák) Husitská, dramatická ouvertura [Hussite Overture], Op.67, B.132 Read more »