Tuneful Tuesdays

Well...it's been an eclectic week. I have the choral tunes, of course, but I have some things that perhaps will strike those who've known me a while as different.

First, I'll talk about a piece of Electronic music by Nico Muhly called Mothertongue. "Born in Vermont in 1981 and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Nico Muhly graduated from Columbia University in 2003 with a degree in English Literature. In 2004 he received a Masters in Music from the Juilliard School, where he studied composition under Christopher Rouse and John Corigliano" (http://nicomuhly.com/biography/). With those credentials, a music listener should expect something. I liked it, unlike a few reviews I read on iTunes about this piece. Of course, it IS iTunes, afterall, and how much validity can you expect in those other than opinons of non-music majors? Not to be egotistical or demeaning, but face it, most iTunes listeners expect things from composers, and if listeners don't get it from their music they click the "next" button.

I have also found a new respect for radio music. I have come to terms with the fact that if I am going to cope with the radio and most everything on it, then I have to separate it into another genre of art. And I shall call it...Recording Art. I'm sure it's already in the books as that, but I like to think that I have a few original thoughts... These guys, though not lyrically thought provoking and often sexually explicit and down right vulgar, they do work hard at what they do. I guess this side of me spawns from my recent interest in podcasting and that process, because I have tasted the flavors of that sometimes hard-to-swallow genre. Studio recording is hard. It takes a lot of listening, some difficult decision making, second guessing and often third guessing yourself...anyhoo...I'll jump off of this stump and get to what I've listened. I've been driven by some hip-hop: Ludacris is genius, Fergie, a little Beyoncé, and an Atlanta guy named Sam Rhansum (who I know personally, actually). In this same stage, but teetering toward vocal music more is the group Boyz II Men, who are really quite great musicians.

Enough appetizers. Meredith Monk's "Astronaut Anthem" from her opera Quarry (1976) was on the choral plate this week. Interesting. I listened to The San Francisco Girls Chorus' entire album entitled Voices of Hope and Peace. Stunning. The centerpiece of the album is Anne Frank: A Living Voice, by Linda Tutas Haugen, and it's written and performed altogether deftly. The composer commissioned this work for the organization's 25th anniversary. The album is simply amazing. These young ladies have been trained exceptionally well. They could certainly show up some college choirs, and I'm sure they have at some point in their 25 years of existence. The opening piece of the album, Vivos Voco by Joan Szymko, is a six-part (SSSAAA) vocal piece with piano and handbells, and well, it's quite an opener. Grandioso in every way, and it's spectacular. Completely worth your time and money. I sat down with some John Rutter scores today: 1) Te Deum, and 2) Magnificat. The Te Deum is a piece i have listened to a bit, as I bought the recording many moons ago, but I have not been introduced to his Magnificat until this afternoon. I used to sort-of like Rutter; he had some pieces that I thought were just ok, as I think they are on the Te Deum recording. Then I sat down with the score for Te Deum. Great stuff! THEN I sat down with the Magnificat score. Oh man. There's a reason it's "Magnificat," other than the liturgical reason - the canticle of the Virgin sung at Vespers. It is AMA-ZA-ZING! Truly great, and a torment for a young conductor (maybe a torment for an old conductor...)to conduct.  If you are inclined to shy away from Rutter because you haven't heard his compositions beyond church anthems and his Gloria, not to say those are bad but I don't think they're the most exciting (except the Gloria...I like it a lot), you should most definitely listen to Rutter's Magnificat and if at all possible sit down with the score. It's about 40 minutes long, and you can get a score for about 8 bucks.

Well, this post has been long enough. TTYL, TTFN, BFF, or whatever text shorthand you wish to insert...

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