Ten More Albums: Loops, Strangers, and a Voyage to Middle-Earth

Mini-revies of ten more albums, mostly classical this time.
Maybe next month I'll be able to return to at least one live concert.

John Adams: Shaker Loops / Violin Concerto
(Kent Nagano, London Symphony, Gidon Kremer)
Two of the greatest late-20th century "classical" compositions, with complex formal structure despite the wide variety of "moods". Though the orchestration is conventional (violin solo with symphony orchestra; string section), the "sound" is often surprising and delightful. Listen for the reference to the Mozart Clarinet Concerto amid the dreamlike bells and shimmer of the second movement of the Violin Concerto.

JS Bach: Cantatas
(Thomas Quasthoff)
This is music at its most sublime: mathematically complex, pleasant, spiritual, somehow more complete than a lot of other music. Quasthoff’s bass-baritone voice is smooth and melodic; dramatic without overstating the performance. The oboe and violin soli, in counterpoint to the vocal lines, are a nice touches; as is the varied instrumentation on this CD. Listening to this, I have the thought again: a lot of music is still trying to come to terms with J. S. Bach.

Brahms: Piano Trios
(Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo-Ma)
Though I’m a lifelong listener to classical music, Brahms (and chamber music) are relatively new to me (I grew up on composers like Mahler and Messaien, and used to perceive Brahms symphonies as endless undifferentiated full-orchestra sameness). These recordings would have just the opposite effect on the neophyte: one may be tempted to consider them too “easy listening”. Indeed, they are easy on the ears, but they are by no means muzak. Beneath the friendly surface, there is conflict: melodies unfold in a state of flux, growing and developing (and sometimes clashing with one another!) even as they are stated for the first time. Fragments are picked apart and grow into their own melodies. The parts are passed from one instrument to another; the violin and ‘cello, of course, have similar roles but the piano provides dramatic contrast. All of this is of course “standard” classical music development; Brahms’ genius seems to be to extend it into what were at the time new territories. It’s all quite fascinating for active listening. The performances are nearly flawless, as one would expect from the all-star performers.

John Cage: Works for Two Keyboards
(Pestova/meyer Piano Duo)
Two contrasting works from two differing periods of Cage's creativity: sparse aleatoric music with an emphasis on silence, and complex rhythms from prepared pianos without a hint of silence. Endlessly fascinating!

Robert Glasper: In My Element
Beautiful, subtle jazz as chamber music. The solos are refined and usually delicate (except for that one manic drum solo under restrained piano chords), and virtuosic without the endless fast runs (listen to how many notes I can play!) favored by some other contemporary jazz artists. Also, a Radiohead song (immediately recognizable) is gently ushered in as a Standard. Beautiful stuff, but with enough substance for repeated listening. This is (thankfully) not “smooth jazz”!

Arianna Savall: Hirundo Maris
There is fairyland in this music. There is also the world of the Arabian Nights, and Middle-Earth, and El Dorado, and Shangri-La, and Camelot, and all those other opalescent places that vanished without a trace into mythology (they never were) but left fragrant traces in our memories. The origin of this music is not mysterious: it's Medieval and Renaissance songs from the Iberian Peninsula ("the South"), Scotland and Norway ("the North") -- but the performances are so beautiful, delicately nuanced, so (both) spiritual and sensuous (so "Elvish", as LOTR fans might say) that we think we are hearing the sounds of a shimmering but long-lost world. Arianna's voice floats effortlessly through webs of notes, and has a much more pleasing quality than that of her famous mother. The instrumentals are likewise gossamer. An occasional anachronism is introduced (dobro, for example), updating the music slightly, but not detracting from the mixed European/Arabic timbres characteristic of the period. Beautiful sounds. Listen to it the next time you're on a trip to Narnia.

Paul Simon: Stranger to Stranger
Innovative instrumentation (instruments by none other than Harry Partch!), catchy tunes, and sometimes seemingly random lyrics make this Simon the master at the height of his songwriting powers. “Wristband” is a great synthesis of groove and social commentary. Worth a listen for Simon fans (and for those, like me, who haven’t necessarily followed his long career.)

Liaisons (Reimagining Sondheim)
(Anthony de Mare)
These are not "arrangements" or "remixes" (where the original song remains more or less intact despite drastic changes in style and accompaniment) but "compositions" (where the original melody, and sometimes the rhythm, are used as the basis for something completely different). There's quite a varitey of styles here, ranging from jazz-brushed impressionism to upbeat minimalism and even a couple of pieces for prepared piano. Many of them are quite beautiful, though expression (rather than obligatory beauty) is what the composers are after. Quite an interesting collection!

Alessandro Striggio: Mass in 40 Parts (Missa Ecco si Beato Giorno)
(I Fagiolini, Robert Hollingworth)
The grand apotheosis of polyphony -- layer upon layer of glorious sound, with a few instrumental surprises.

Tinawiren: Live in Paris
Here, the award-winning Malian Tuareg music group becomes a jam band of the Grateful Dead ilk. The music builds slowly, establishing a groove here, adding a layer there, finally growing into up-tempo jamming (and something close to a driving beat). More academically, much of the music is in various pentatonic modes. This, along with the vocal style, give it a slightly “exotic” (whatever that means) sound to American listeners. Most listeners will not understand the words, of course, though if you read the translations, most of the songs are about overcoming persecution and challenging war with peaceful ideals. Throughout, the audience participation is not only audible, but impassioned. Cheering begins as soon as instrumental intros become recognizable and cheers can be heard during peaks in most songs. …Jamming music? Impassioned audience? Songs about peace? It’s as if the best parts of 1960’s hippiedom have been exported. Or are these universal longings?

After reading this, don't forget to check out the sister blog (about books and fun for "werd nerds"). And, you can read more about music (in a fictional context, not a blog) in my latest novel, Grendul Rising (epic fantasy; Book One of the MadStones Tetralogy). "Put your hands up and step away from the bagpipe!"