Alma Gluck, Soprano 1884 – 1922 by Alma Gluck

2009 (17 tracks, 52:43)

classical/opera

Sometimes I wonder if getting to do an Xmas album with a lot of schmaltz means you’ve made it in the record industry with the seemingly endless stream of releases. When there is finally something different from a group this reviewer immediately takes notice. Such is the case with the Cool Yule release.

Operating under the guiding principle of what would Django do with bumper stickers available (www.hcsf.com), The Hot Club of San Francisco have released a refreshing change in a Xmas album for 2009. Patterned after the music performed by Grappelli and Reinhardt with the Quintette du Hot Club de France in the 30’s which featured string instruments (no percussion) in a unique jazz style. Even if you like percussion as I do your ear will quickly adapt to the bass beat.

Starting off with “Cool Yule,” a somewhat obscure Steve Allen song, the group sets the tone for the CD. Featuring a cool vocal, guitar, and violin solos in a foot stomping style the table is set. The gypsy/latin arrangement of “Don Rodolfo” follows in an arrangement of Rudolph the likes of which I’m sure you’ve not heard before. “Sugar Rum Cherry,” from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and originally arranged and performed by Ellington is an example of what a jazz group can do with any melody. You can certainly hear the influence from Duke with the wa- wa trumpet. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” is the only arrangement that schmaltz is the order of the day. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is the other vocal number on the CD and it is a pleasant exchange between Isabelle Fontaine and Jeff Magidson.

If your looking for something unusual and out of the ordinary for some of your Xmas music for this year I think you’ll find this release to be an attractive offering. Recommended.

CD# is Azica AJD-72242

Produced by Alan Bise

Mixing and Mastering by Alan Bise

Track Listing:

1. Cool Yule (2:17)

2. Don Rodolfo (5:00)

3. Carol of the Bells (4:53)

4. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (3:00)

5. Baby It’s Cold Outside (4:23)

6. Djingle Bells (6:51)

7. Sugar Rum Cherry (3:35)

8. I Wonder As I Wonder (4:49)

9. March of the Toys (4:55)

10. The Christmas Song (4:52)

11. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (2:54)

12. Auld Lang Syne (7:40)

Total Track Time is 51:09

Ernest Bloch is a Swiss born American composer most noted from his use of Jewish traditional and liturgical music in his compositions. His music is derived from Late Romantic and Impressionistic influences yet his liberal use of Jewish themes and motifs makes him stand out in 20th century music.

http://freealbums.blogsome.com/2009/11/23/bloch-violin-concerto/

 A Full House And Other Family-centered Works by Mormon Tabernacle Choir

2009 (22 tracks, 1:09:06)

classical/opera

 The Golden Age Of Light Music: Amor, Amor: Music For Romance by Various Artists

2009 (24 tracks, 1:18:13)

classical/opera

John Sheppard - Media Vita, Stile Antico, HMU807509

The January edition of our Classical Music sales notes is now available online,

Please Click Here to download in PDF Format

Or Click Here to view online at issuu.com (Flash Player needed)

Welcome to the presentation of the World Guitar Competition,wich is the First World Wide Competition for the classic guitarists and composers who compose for this beautyfull instrument.The competition will be held in two stages.First stage is eliminatory faze in which guitarists  all around the world uploading video of theyre own performance on the official website of the World Guitar Competition    worldguitarcompetition.com .  The panel of  judges will evaluate all performaces and, after two months, select 7 finalists who will compete for the respectable prize money and the title “The  Best Guitarist in the World”, in the Great Final in Novi Sad, Serbia, between 18. and 23. March, 2010. Also ,the 3 more finalists will be selected by the votes of the viewers on the worldguitarcompetition.com official website.

The 10 of the best will compete in Great Final, in beautifull city of  Novi Sad,for the total prize money of 10 000 USD and will be judged by the jury of eminent guitarists and composers Carlo Domeniconi, Roland Dyens and Aniello Desiderio.

In the same time,paralel with the players competition ,will be held a competition for the composers who will compete for the best composition for the classical guitar.

The World Guitar Competition starts at the 1st December,2009.  and all needed information will bi stated on the worldguitarcompetition.com official website after that date.

Be ready, see you soon !

WGC Team

I was going to post this yesterday, but following some friends housewarming party Saturday, I was feeling so fragile the only thing I could muster was letting this wash over me three times, and then head back and stare blankly into the television – if not close my eyes!

You know that feeling when you’ve been to a brilliant party, and you wake the next day, and you feel like you’ve been beaten up by 18 gorillas, slung against the wall and spat out the other end like astroturf. Well – that was me on my Sunday!

Good thing I had Erol Alkan & Boys Noize and their already solid “Waves”, but perhaps an even better thing the rather wonderful Chilly Gonzales have gone and done this beautiful Piano Remake to massage tender heads after a night on the kill.

It’s a fitting tune for post #200 here on Space Dust as it sums up that the music presented here isn’t just about “Bangers” and “Screamers”, but even more so about fantastic, quality, audio stereophonic sounds – no matter what genre! This remake can be described in just one word: BEAUTIFUL!

Here’s to Erol & Alex for letting Chilly rip on “Waves”, and here’s to the next 200 posts!

Can we all lay down now ?

Mp3: Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Waves (Chilly Gonzales Piano Remake)

 The Golden Age Of Light Music: The Hall Of Fame – Volume 1 by Various Artists

2009 (22 tracks, 1:17:40)

classical/opera

 Sensual Classics by Various Artists

2009 (26 tracks, 2:31:22)

classical/opera

(The Dream of Gerontius) tells the story of a soul’s journey through death, and provides a meditation on the unseen world of Roman Catholic theology. Gerontius (a name derived from the Greek word geron, “old man”) is a devout Everyman. Elgar’s setting uses most of the text of the first part of the poem, which takes place on Earth, but omits many of the more meditative sections of the much longer, otherworldly second part, tightening the narrative flow.

In the first part, we hear Gerontius as a dying man of faith, by turns fearful and hopeful, but always confident. A group of friends (also called “assistants” in the text) joins him in prayer and meditation. He passes in peace, and a priest, with the assistants, sends him on his way with a valediction. In the second part, Gerontius, now referred to as “The Soul”, awakes in a place apparently without space or time, and becomes aware of the presence of his guardian angel, who expresses joy at the culmination of her task (Newman conceived the Angel as male, but Elgar gives the part to a female singer). After a long dialogue, they journey towards the judgment throne.

They safely pass a group of demons, and encounter choirs of angels, eternally praising God for His grace and forgiveness. The Angel of the Agony pleads with Jesus to spare the souls of the faithful. Finally Gerontius glimpses God and is judged in a single moment. The Guardian Angel lowers Gerontius into the soothing lake of Purgatory, with a final benediction and promise of a re-awakening to glory.

That there’s the synopsis of the The Dream of Gerontius as determined by Wikipedia.  It’s the last line of that which really gets to me: “the soothing lake of Purgatory.”  Ok, so I wasn’t raised Catholic but I’m pretty sure that purgatory isn’t all that soothing.  I mean just look at this artist’s rendition of these dead dudes chilling in that lake:

Yeah, those guys’ asses are on fire. Flames lickin’ everything the eye was not meant to see. So, it’s not really that health spa that Wikipedia makes it out to be. 

I was raised Mormon and instead of having Purgatory on our plate we had Spirit Prison. That’s right, it was actually called Spirit Prison. Like most other doctrine in the Mormon religion there wasn’t a good explanation of exactly what that meant. I always envisioned I was going to be locked up in some heavenly Super Jail because I lied to my mom about making the neighbor kid eat grass or something. How exactly does one lock up a spirit? Can’t they walk through walls and all that jazz? Do you get conjugal visitation rights? Do spirits bone? Do they have difficulty maintaining satisfying erections after 60 years in the slammer? So many questions left unanswered.

If we’re going to have to deal with a “soothing lake” until we’re cleansed of our earthly asshole tendencies it better look something like this:

Click here to download Disc 1

Click here to download Disc 2

 Adoration by Mychael Danna

2009 (16 tracks, 41:41)

classical/opera

 Spanish Rhapsody by Midnight String Quartet

2009 (12 tracks, 29:29)

classical/opera

 Bossi: Opere Varie by Marco Bianchi

2009 (12 tracks, 1:13:50)

classical/opera

 The Golden Age Of Light Music: Light & Lively by Various Artists

2009 (30 tracks, 1:18:50)

classical/opera

 Ja Ra Laj by Jitka Hosprová

2009 (27 tracks, 55:17)

classical/opera

Obwohl knapp 9000 Kilometer zwischen Tokyo und Istanbul liegn, hat die Musik beider Städte durchaus Gemeinsamkeiten. Sowohl in Japan als auch in der Türkei ist das spirituelle Instrument ein Flöte. In der Türkei ist es die Ney. Sie ist das musikalische Werkzeug der Mevlevi-Derwische. In Japan ist die Shakuhachi das spirituelle Instrument der Zen-Buddhisten. Doch nicht nur die Flöte, auch die Zither wird in beiden Kulturkreisen gespielt. Im osmanisch-türkischen Raum nennt sie sich Kanun. Die japanische Zither ist unter dem Namen Koto bekannt. Wie aber klingt es, wenn die musikalischen Welten zusammenkommen? Sechs erfarhrene Virtuosen des interkulturellen Dialogs verschmlezen japanische und türkische Musiktraditionen zu etwas völlig Neuartigem.
Ney-Zen:

Kudsi Ergüner, Ney
Akikazu Nakamura, Shakuhachi
Michiyo Yagi, Koto
Maki Isogai, Koto
Hakan Güngör, Kanun
Bruno Caillat, Perkussion

Veranstalter: Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker

Längst hat es sich sogar über die Grenzen der Hauptstadt hinaus herumgesprochen, dass es im Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie in regelmäßigen Abständen Konzerte gibt, die an diesem Ort immer noch ungewöhnlich anmuten und manchem sogar als exotisch erscheinen mögen, die aber einen schillernden Mosaikstein bilden im multikulturellen Spektrum Berlins. Konzerte, in denen Musik vorgestellt wird, die im normativ bestellten Klassikbetrieb sonst nicht zu hören ist. Alla turca heißt die von den Berliner Philharmonikern initiierte Reihe, und sie verfolgt konsequent ein Ziel: den Dialog der Kulturen. In diesem Konzert tut dies der aus einer alten türkischen Musikerdynastie stammende Kudsi Erguner, einer der weltweit führenden Virtuosen auf der Ney-Flöte, dem es ein Anliegen ist, die Musik seiner Herkunft in Beziehung zu anderen Musikkulturen zu setzen. Dabei stehen ihm japanische Musiker zur Seite. So entstehen Relationen zwischen der Musik der Sufis und des Zen-Buddhismus. Wenn man so will, eine klingende Glaubenssache, die hier verhandelt wird. Aber eine, bei der es keine Sieger und keine Verlierer gibt. Sondern nur musikalische Ansichten und interessante Perspektiven für die Zuhörer.

Quelle: www.berliner-philharmoniker.de

02.12.2009, 20:00
@Berliner Philharmonie, Kammermusiksaal: Ney-Zen: Musik von Sufis und Buddhisten
Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1
10785 Berlin

Eintritt: 10-26 €

Artist: Masters of Classical Music
Title: Vivaldi
Genre:  Classical
Year drive:  1990
Manufacturer disk:  USA
Audio codec: MP3
Bitrate audio: 320 kbps
Duration: 67:47
Size: 154 mb

Tracklist:
01 The Four Seasons: Concerto No 1 in E major "Spring" – Bydapest Strings, Karoly Botvay [10:24]
02 Siciliano – Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra [2:57]
03 Concerto for 2 Corni da caccia in F major, RV 539: Allegro
- Ludwig Guttler, Corno da caccia 1, Kurt Sandau, Corno da caccia 2; Virtuosi Saxoniae, Ludwig Guttler [2:03]
04 The Four Seasons: Concerto No 2 in G minor "Summer" – Bydapest Strings, Karoly Botvay [10:20]
05 Oboe Sonata in B flat major, RV 34 (Adagio, Allegro, Largo, Allegro)
- Burkhard Glaetzner, oboe; Christine Schornsheim, harpsichord; Siegfied Pank, viola da gamba [7:24]
06 The Four Seasons: Concerto No. 3 In F major "Autumn" – Bydapest Strings, Karoly Botvay [11'41]
07 Oboe Concerto (Allegro non tasto – Largo, Allegro non molto)
- Burchard Glaetzner, oboe; New Bach Collegium Musicum, Max Pommer [11:02]
08 Concerto for 4 Violins in E minor, RV 550: Allegro assai
- Roland Straumer, Heinz Dieter Richter, Vlolker Dietzsch, Brigitte Gabsch, violin; Virtuosi Saxoniale Ludwig Guttler [2:21]
09 The Four Seasons: Concerto No 4 in F minor "Winter" – Bydapest Strings, Karoly Botvay [9:06]

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 Status Cymbal by Status Cymbal

2009 (14 tracks, 44:25)

classical/opera