Here are four very contrasting first performances from 12 December across history for you to enjoy. In 1909, the first performance of Lyadov’s Kikimora in St Petersburg:
In 1920 the first performance of Ravel’s La Valse at a Lamoureux Concert in Paris…
…and on the same day the first performance of Korngold’s Die tote stadt, in Hamburg and Cologne. Here is Marietta’s Lied, sung by Renée Fleming:
…and finally, on the same day in 1932, Leon Goossens and the International String Quartet gave the first performance of the teenage Benjamin Britten’s Phantasy Quartet Op.2, in London:
Published post no.2,391 – Thursday 12 December 2024
Earthen Sea is the pseudonym under which Jacob Long operates – and Recollection is his fourth album for the Kranky label.
It began life as a piano trio, inspired by a year-long immersion in the music of ECM – but soon Long’s writing became more individual and complex. The resultant blend of live band and downtempo loops has been given a natural clothing that suggests it was made much more instinctively. As the press release suggests, the music can be heard ‘shuffling and rippling like uncertain memories at strange hours’.
What’s the music like?
Immediately restful. Recollection unfolds at a slow tempo, dreamy and fuzzy as it runs over melodic snippets and beats that are incredibly easy on the ear.
Long has a spacious audio palette, the reminiscences spread over a wide angle lens to give space around the listener. On occasion there are melodic thoughts in intimate close-up, but generally the music moves across the sky with an ambient yet steady tread.
Highlights include Sunlit Leaving, a warm-hearted reverie loosely led by the piano, with a drum rhythm dragging its heels lazily in the sand behind. A Single Pub is enjoyably woozy, its piano loop ambling through the space left for it by the beats and atmospherics.
The sleepy, distracted mood continues throughout in a most appealing way, the musical equivalent of an early afternoon reverie in the hot sun – and all the more appealing for it. This is typified by the closing White Sky, thick in ambience and with dappled light emanating from a keyboard line.
Does it all work?
It does. Long’s instrumental shading is rather beautiful, casting shadows on the melodic material but always with a brighter backdrop.
Is it recommended?
Yes. This is music that will help the listener attain a better state of mindfulness, a relaxing album that lowers the blood pressure and eases the brain. We could certainly do with more of that right now!
For fans of… Blockhead, RJD2, Skalpel, Cinematic Orchestra
Listen & Buy
Published post no.2,390 – Wednesday 11 December 2024
At the end of November we heard the incredibly sad news that violinist Laura Samuel had died at the age of 48. Laura was a prodigiously talented musician, and was co-founder of the highly regarded Belcea Quartet, a member of the Nash Ensemble and leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 2012. There is a statement from the orchestra themselves, and an obituary on The Violin Channel website
I was fortunate to meet Laura on a couple of occasions and was struck by how friendly and approachable she was, even at the end of a gruelling three-hour rehearsal. Watching her with the orchestra you could see just how committed and passionate she was in her music making, the mutual respect she experienced with her fellow musicians, and above all the sheer enjoyment of making music.
By way of gratitude I have put this playlist together of recordings on which Laura appears, including her contributions as a session musician on albums by The Divine Comedy and Peter Gabriel:
Published post no.2,389 – Tuesday 10 December 2024
Daniel Parsons has been busy in the last five years! Under the moniker Amongst The Pigeons he has now notched up seven albums, three in the last two calendar years.
The number 7…or more specifically, 007…assumed greater importance as he was writing Exit Strategy, with a fascination developing around the world of living a double life, and themes of spies and secrets in particular.
He has hinted that this might be a swansong for this particular pseudonym, but perhaps that means plans are afoot to go even deeper under cover!
What’s the music like?
A constant in the music of Amongst The Pigeons is the melodic activity, which is there in abundance wherever Parsons lends his talents. Exit Strategy is no different, with a bubbling cauldron of inventive beats, propulsive beats and rhythms that – while tending to the Bond theme – also broaden out to address current political and social concerns.
These are often delivered with a dash of wit, as in AI Heart U, which manages to be both humourous and a bit creepy at the same time! Monalisa Smile also straddles that emotional meeting point, while Sugercoated Poison is initially playful but grows into an imposing track of some stature.
Watch The World Burn is an intricate rhythmic workout, with bubbling mid-range sonics, while to complement it Cloudbursts takes a step back, panning out to a much bigger space. Space is also found during A Thousand Possibilities, through electronic music of a more delicate persuasion.
Parsons saves the best until last, Not Without Danger starting with watery loops that flow easily while the rhythms get progressively bigger, working to an epic finish.
Does it all work?
It does. The personal, intimate construction of Amongst The Pigeons music makes it easy to relate to, while there is always a hook to hang your coat on!
Is it recommended?
It is indeed. For anyone who enjoys electronic music with character and meaning, this is an easy album to recommend.
On this day, 211 years ago, the premiere of Beethoven‘s Symphony no.7 in A major took place in Vienna, Austria.
Even within an output as consistently strong as Beethoven’s, the Seventh Symphony enjoys a special place. It is, quite simply, a wonderful piece – from the gravitas of its introduction to the release of purely positive energy once the first movement gets into its stride. The much-played second movement is a profound Allegretto with the implications of a funeral march – sentiments swept aside by the bubbling motifs of the scherzo. The finale is the crowning glory, a wholly affirmative statement that brings the symphony to a bracing conclusion.
And all this from a composer whose hearing was steadily worsening! Have a listen below and enjoy the power and poise of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink:
Arcana.fm 