'the very best of éthiopiques'
29 November 2007
I don't usually buy compilations or archive recordings - wary of the amount of money I spend on music, and the number of hours in the day I have to listen to it, I generally restrict myself to new albums - but this week I have been listening to a 2 CD selection of Ethiopian music from 40 years ago - and it is remarkable. The flowering of Ethiopian popular music in the 1960s - incorporating Western instruments and influences but retaining the distinctive pentatonic scale and asymmetrical rhythms of the country's traditional music - was severely curtailed in 1974 by the new Mengistu regime's curfews and censorship which lasted until 1991. In recent years the golden age of Ethiopian music has been rediscovered, largely because of the efforts of one man - French record producer Francis Falceto who, from the late 1970s, starting collecting vintage recordings on reel-to-reel and vinyl that have so far formed the basis of 23 volumes of the 'Éthiopiques' series of CDs. To help us find a way in to this mammoth treasurer trove, Falceto has this year created a 2 CD sampler: 'the very best of éthiopiques'. It's addictive listening: to my ears there is a degree of 'parallel universe syndrome' about it. When John Williams was writing the music for the cantina scene in the original Star Wars film, George Lucas told him to imagine “several creatures in a future century finding some 1930s Benny Goodman swing band music in a time capsule or under a rock someplace – and how they might interpret it”. The music of swinging sixties Addis Ababa reminded me of this quote: electric guitars, saxophones and Hammond organ are used to create something completely unique but strangely familiar. The elements of naff produce the epitome of cool: highly recommended.
Labels: Albums, Music
'Belshazzar's Feast' by William Walton
26 November 2007
Once a year our two local choral societies, Danesborough Chorus and Milton Keynes Chorale, join forces to stage a major work. Last night we were at Milton Keynes Theatre to see them perform Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast' accompanied by the Milton Keynes City Orchestra and conducted by Ian Smith. The evening started with the only cantata by John Ireland, 'These Things Shall Be' - a lovely piece I hadn't come across before which shows the influence of Elgar but also includes hints of Stravinsky and Debussy. Though I've heard it before I had never attended a performance of 'Belshazzar's Feast'. It's dramatic stuff with the original 'writing on the wall' which tells the king and his guests that they have been 'weighed in the balance and found wanting'. Walton's music is appropriately terrifying and magnificent featuring the full power of the enormous chorus, an extensive array of percussion instruments, two harps, additional (offstage) brass and a fine baritone solo from James Rutherford. An ambitious undertaking (you could palpably feel the intense concentration of the participants!) Danesborough Chorus and Milton Keynes Chorale achieved an impressive, exciting performance.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Vieux Farka Touré
23 November 2007
Last night we were at The Stables to see Vieux Farka Touré - son of the legendary Malian blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré who died last year. Ironically Vieux is remarkably young - he'll hopefully grow into his name - but he is already a fine guitarist very much in the style of his father. He has that same ability to make his electric guitar talk and sing in upbeat and distinctively African blues. His band are tight and slick - with the best drummer I've seen for ages. Vieux has been catapulted into the limelight by his father's name and might have benefited from first serving an apprenticeship as guitarist in someone else's band: his stage presence (entry, exit, patter etc) need some work. But his music is highly recommended - if you haven't heard any other examples of Africa's recent reclaiming of the blues you could do worse than start with Vieux Farka Touré. His first UK tour has still to visit Reading, Southport and Glasgow and his acclaimed eponymous album is out now.
Labels: Concerts, Music
'Kurr' by Amiina
20 November 2007
I am grateful to Tara Connaghan for alerting me to the Icelandic group Amiina whose album 'Kurr' I've been listening to this week. The cover photo shows the four girls sitting at a table: they are knitting but they look remarkably like they might be about to play the table in the manner of Karbido (reviewed here a couple of weeks ago) and the sounds they make are equally peculiar and entrancing. Amiina create miniature instrumental soundscapes: as if they have been locked in the school music cupboard overnight, the girls try out a wide variety of instruments including strings, woodwind, brass but mainly loads of tuned percussion. Gentle, quiet, repetitive and soothing.
Labels: Albums, Music
'Kaushiki' by Kaushiki Chakrabarty
20 November 2007
Despite my enthusiasm for 'world music', it took me some time to start to appreciate Indian classical music. My way in was a label called 'Sense', based in Leicester, and specifically the album 'Kala' by the exceptional young exponent of the North Indian violin, Kala Ramnath. Perhaps there was something about the familiarity of the violin rather than sitar or sarod - though the North Indian style sounds quite different to the violin of western classical music - but 'Kala' captivated me. With Indian classical music (and profound apologies to real afficionados!) you can't really dip in and out - you need to settle back and listen to the whole piece, letting it wash over you and latching on to the repetitive figures which gradually, and very subtly, change to take you seamlessly from the slow alap (introduction) to a frenzied climax. Other 'Sense' recordings I would recommend include 'Samwad' (violinist Kala Ramnath with sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee), 'Akaash' (Rahul Sharma playing the santoor - a type of hammered dulcimer), 'Drive East' (shorter, lighter tracks by the group Yashila, featuring Kala Ramnath) and 'Pure' (by the young vocalist Kaushiki Chakrabarty who won a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music last year). This week I have been enjoying the new album by Kaushiki Chakrabarty (also on the Sense label), simply titled ' Kaushiki' - a 3 CD set full of variety and beautiful singing.
Labels: Albums, Music
'The Glass Cage' by J B Priestly
20 November 2007
We were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton on Saturday to see 'The Glass Cage' by J B Priestly - an interesting, unfamiliar play set in Toronto in 1906. The McBane family prepare to welcome three young cousins - the children of black sheep Uncle Charlie - whom they have never met. These three mysterious strangers at first appear shy, quiet and intimidated but all is not as it seems. We are in classic drawing room drama territory but the dark sense of foreboding and the ambiguity of the out-of-place strangers suggests something much more modern - by someone like Edward Albee perhaps. Laurie Sansom's production was straightforward - without the adventurousness of Stephen Daldry's 'An Inspector Calls' - but there were some impressive performances - particularly from Rebecca Grant and James Floyd and a great turn from Robert Demeger. The text could have done with some pruning but it was an interesting evening.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
‘Churning Strides’ by Thee, Stranded Horse
14 November 2007
Calling your band ‘Thee, Stranded Horse’ suggests a degree of pretentiousness and the album ‘Churning Strides’ is strange stuff indeed. ‘Thee, Stranded Horse’ is the French guitar and kora player Yann Tambour – though he plays the kora like a guitar and the two are mostly indistinguishable. He sings very quietly in English and French, often in a peculiar nasal voice, sounding like Nick Drake imitating Joanna Newsom. He never reaches Newsom’s hysterical exuberance though at times he matches her for incomprehensible lyrics. He is also a master of the Pinteresque unexpected pause. Serious, mesmerising, odd, pretty but never particularly cheery. Labels: Albums, Music
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
14 November 2007
For many people the opening of Grieg’s Piano Concerto conjures up images of Eric Morecambe and ‘André Preview’ but it always takes me back to the Concert Hall at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1983. I had recently become the principal horn player in the Didsbury Symphony Orchestra and we were playing the Grieg concerto with Peter Donohoe. There are several exposed horn solos in the piece and I was incredibly nervous. More than 20 years later, when I hear the passages of music leading up to one of those solos – even listening to the radio – I still get a shiver down the spine! Peter Donohoe gave an amazing performance – playing extremely fast and incredibly flamboyantly. At the end of the first movement there was rapturous applause – a really exciting moment. Some people frown on applause between movements but when it is a spontaneous expression of delight (rather than a polite sense of duty), as a performer, it is immensely satisfying. At the end of the concerto Peter Donohoe treated the audience to several encores and it gradually began to dawn on me that many people had come to hear him rather than us! Amongst all the orchestral concerts I have played in over the years it still stands out as a highlight. Last Saturday we tackled the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Northampton Symphony Orchestra accompanying Lucy Parham. In contrast to the showmanship of Peter Donohoe, Lucy gave a beautiful, delicate performance, emphasising what a wonderful piece of music it is. Coupling the Grieg with Dvorak’s lovely seventh symphony created a gentle, romantic programme which drew a polished performance from the orchestra. And this time I was not playing the first horn part so I could relax and enjoy David Lack’s excellent solos.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Milton Keynes Sinfonia concert
5 November 2007
Last weekend I played with Milton Keynes Sinfonia in a concert which included Elgar's Symphony No. 1. I can usually take or leave Elgar but the first symphony is a great piece of music - you can hear why listeners to its original performances in 1908 felt that England had finally produced a composer who could bear comparison with the great Germanic symphonists. The first movement opens with a beautiful, slow, typical Elgarian tune with a gentle, plodding accompaniment. Throughout the movement - and those that follow - just when you have been sufficiently distracted to forget the opening, this theme returns again and again as if it has never stopped going. It's like a few players have been shut in a separate room to play this quiet tune continuously and every now and again we open the door to check they are still there. Meanwhile, while the door is closed, we are taken on a mammoth emotional journey with grand climaxes reminiscent of Brahms or Wagner but always distinctively Elgar - as the omnipresent opening them constantly reminds us. Great fun to play - a great piece of music. The first half of the concert saw Timothy Short play the Piano Concerto in G major by Ravel - and incredibly ambitious piece, parts of which sound like they could have been written by Gershwin, and a virtuosic performance by Short.
Labels: Concerts, Music
'Karbido - The Table'
5 November 2007
We started last weekend by going to see four men playing a table! If you've ever drummed your fingers on a table you will be aware of the musical possibilities it holds. Now imagine attaching a microphone to the underneath of the table top and turning up the amplifier so that every gentle stroke, scrape or tap on the surface resonates around the room. 'Karbido' are a quartet who sit around a square wooden table creating the most amazing sounds from it. As well as exploiting the percussive qualities of the wood, they place items on the table (a metal bowl which sounds like a bell when struck, a selection of half-filled wine glasses which sing when a finger traces the rim, a spinning coin etc.) and use other items attached to the sides of the table (metal plates which can be struck or played with a violin bow, guitar strings, flutes and a didgeridoo). In an hour-long performance they create a wide variety of musical styles and sounds including alap, congotronics, throat singing, ambient/new age and heavy rock. Some sections would stand alone as musical tracks - others are more fascinating in terms of the choreography of the four players reaching across the table and across each other. The audience - seated in the round so that we could all see the faces of one or two of the musicians - moved from bemused anticipation through amused appreciation to enthusiastic acclaim. And once the players had left the stage the audience surged forward to spend ages peering and prodding the star of the show and its four wooden legs. Bizarre and captivating - take a look at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWik13ZyjbM and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDTy_W6orsLabels: Concerts, Music
