13 Results for : segues

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    Winter Delights
    The multi-talented musicians of Cambiata offer a delightful draught of Renaissance cheer for a cold winter's night with this collection of Christmas songs and instrumental settings from England, Germany, and Spain. The versatile quartet, based in Bethlehem, PA, is joined by Alyssa Thatcher, who adds her lovely lyric soprano voice to many of the carols on this recording. John Playford provides the tune for the opening piece, Drive the Cold Winter Away, and Thomas D'Urfey, author of Wit and Mirth: Pills to Purge Melancholy, is generally recognized as the author of the 12-verse ballad text. Cambiata has woven two of these verses into a setting that begins slowly and austerely with unaccompanied voice, then gradually builds to a rousing climax. Greensleeves, one of the most popular and immediately recognizable of all Renaissance melodies, was originally a secular song, and only since 1856-when William Dix added the words "What Child is This?"-has it assumed the role of a Christmas classic. Cambiata offers three settings of this evergreen melody: the first, track 2, is the elaborate and highly ornamented version for English consort by John Johnson, arranged here for solo lute with viol, harpsichord, and recorder accompaniment. It begins in a stately 4/4 time, then moves seamlessly into a spritely 6/8 jig. The second, track 10, is a set of variations for lute by Francis Cutting in 6/8 time. The third setting, track 13, comes from John Playford's The Dancing Master, and segues into Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind, from Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It, sung to the tune of another popular Playford tune, "Goddesses." The refrain "This life is most jolly" is perfectly captured in Cambiata's effervescent arrangement. Rorate Coeli Desuper is a hauntingly beautiful Scottish hymn based on the tune "The Strily Vale." The text, an accretion to the Advent liturgy by the early 16th century poet William Dunbar, is full of rich and evocative imagery. Sara Cox's soaring recorder counterpoint in the second verse is the perfect embodiment of the "celestial fowlès" of Dunbar's poetry. The dulcet sounds of high and low recorders suggest a dialogue of shepherds at the beginning of Quem Pastores Laudavere, a very familiar German tune dating back to the 14th century. Via a solo recorder rendition of the medieval Polish carol Jesuza Judasz Przdal, the medley ends with the cheerful Tempus adest floridum, a 16th century Finnish tune much better known to the English-speaking world as "Good King Wenceslas." Another tune with early origins, Ther is no ros of swych virtu, beautifully illustrates the medieval theme of Jesus as the new-flowering rose, a sentiment also heard in the popular German carol, Es ist ein Ros. The Spanish Carol, with it's flamenco-like guitar accompaniment and syncopated strings, perfectly complements the ever-popular villancico, Riu Riu Chiu. Here, a colorful battery of percussion instruments punctuates a back-and-forth exchange between recorder and krummhorn, again evoking a pastoral duet. No Renaissance Christmas collection would be complete without a lullaby, which evokes the image-so often rendered in paintings of this era-of the tender relationship between the Virgin and the Child. Cambiata offers two of the most beautiful in the repertory: The Lute Book Lullaby ("Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung") and the Coventry Carol, both affectingly sung by Alyssa Thatcher. Cambiata's arrangement of the very familiar carol The Holly and the Ivy employs only lute and strings accompanying the voice. This is a gentle, lulling rendition of a tune first collected by Cecil Sharp in the early 20th century but doubtless of earlier origin. The text is an amalgam of pagan and Christian imagery, and contains a feature common to several songs on this CD: a comparison of the newborn Jesus to a flower or blossom. Sing Hey for Christmas presents the lustier side of English Yuletide celebrations-a Hogarthian depiction of Christmas revelry that gets a little out of hand. The saucy tune, known as "Dargasson" in the Playford collection, with even saucier words from an anonymous 17th century source, encourages us to throw another log on the fire, make a return trip to the wassail bowl, and toast the New Year.
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    Here Comes the Band
    From the Children's Music that Rocks web site: Here Comes the Band ***Stephen Cohen*** A red-jacketed band of half-human, half-animal musicians comes marching down the street, accompanied by a couple of oversized birds ... what an awesome introduction to Stephen Cohen's Here Comes the Band! With a smoky-voiced delivery, vocal phrasing a little like Rickie Lee Jones, and an intimate coffee house presentation, Portland resident Stephen Cohen whams, tickles, and strums the strings of his guitar, which acts as much a percussion instrument as a keeper of melody, intertwined with the tinkles, knocks, and wobbles of his handmade musical gear. Rhythms are suspended and sometimes done away with entirely in several songs, tying together everything in a cohesive dream-like collection of thoughts put to music. Sound too heavy for a kids' album? Au contraire, my little ones, for that's the amazing thing about this CD: yer tiny kids can sing right along with every single song on the album, while grownups can bask in the glow of Cohen's musical inventiveness. Even though Cohen has been recording since 1979, Here Comes the Band is his first album specifically for kids. Soon-to-be Toddler Time classics include the mantra-like 'Give Me That Toy!', the boppity 'Mr. Knickerbocker' and 'Baseball, Baseball'. The controlled chaos of 'The Elephant Walk' mirrors, coincidentally, sounds produced by bands of the Elephant 6 collective (Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc.), while the ethereal 'Rain, Rain, Rain' fully utilizes Cohen's self-created percussion inventions. The three-part thread 'Here Comes the Band / There Goes the Band / Sleepy Dreams (of the Band)' that runs through the CD gives Cohen a chance to name check his old group, the Talk Talk Band. By using a few tunes culled from some of his grownup albums, real life and fiction and Many Hats, Cohen shows his trust in kids' taste and intelligence. He's not making music for children, but just making music. Not only do you get Cohen's wonderful songs, the CD is also packaged with a lyrics booklet full of artwork by Christopher Shotola-Hardt, instructions on making your own instruments, and explanations of everyone's duties in the making of a CD ('The producer chooses the songs...'). Check out more of Cohen's work, it's pretty inspiring and amazing. Posted by Warren Truitt @ 1:21 PM From the Zooglobble web site: November 08, 2006 Review: Here Comes the Band - Stephen Cohen Based in Portland, Oregon Stephen Cohen has been making art of one sort or another for nearly 30 years. Creating music, musical instruments, and visual art, Cohen integrates these three into his performing career. This is exactly the kind of person that should be making kids' music. On his recently-released Here Comes The Band, Cohen gives reason to be optimistic for the future of music for families. A heady collection of multi-instrumental folk music, Cohen weaves together an album that flows seamlessly from start to finish. The opening title track serves as the prelude to the whole album, with a melody that pops up at least a couple more times later on in the album. It segues almost imperceptibly into 'Give Me That Toy!,' which, thankfully, doesn't tell the young listener to ask politely -- it's written from the child's perspective. And from there into the traditional children's rhyme 'Mr. Knickerbocker,' in which Cohen's distinctive voice (ever-so-slightly nasally and slightly-less-slightly raspy) repeats the phrase 'bobbity, bobbity, bobbity-boo' until it gets lodged in your brain. Another favorite song of mine is 'The Planetarium,' which although is written from the point of the parent taking his son to the planetarium is written with the words of a child ('Then a baby cried and had to go outside / While we watched the lights / Stretch across the black dome sky.') To talk about the lyrics is to miss the album's chief allure, which is it's music. As noted above, some of the musical transitions are seamless. Which isn't to say this is an entirely low-key album. 'There Goes the Band' lists 13 people playing or singing on the track. 'The Elephant Walk' sounds not a little bit like Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk.' The lullabies at the end of the album are sweet as well. I can't review this album without noting the album packaging, which is one of the best I've seen this year. Lyrics, gorgeous illustrations by Christopher Shotola-Hardt, activities are in the liner notes, along with an explanation of what various people on the album (producer, engineer, visual artist) actually do. The album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 9, though it may create fans of parents who are 39. You can hear samples of 5 songs at the album's CD Baby page and hear 'Baseball, Baseball' here. Stephen Cohen's album is a little bit like what might happen if Mr. David and Randy Newman decided to record a kids' album live on Prairie Home Companion. Here Comes the Band establishes a mood and a world that will draw in you and your kids. It may not be the album your family listens to every day for a month, but it will be one you listen to occasionally for many years. Recommended. Posted by SAShepherd at 08:47 PM From 'The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What to Think' blog: January 31, 2007 Here Comes the Band One of the more unique and sophisticated kids' albums I've come across in the last year is Stephen Cohen's Here Comes the Band. Although Cohen has a long career as a musician, songwriter, and artist-in-residence for numerous schools, Here Comes the Band is his first kids' album. Cohen has a somewhat Zanesian (did I just invent a new word?) approach to kids' music -- friends and family joining in to play or sing along, laid-back vocals, a folksy singer-songwriter style. But I'm guessing Cohen is also a fan/follower of composer and instrument-builder Harry Partch. Through the use of sculptural percussion instruments and other sounds, Cohen incorporates sound-as-music, much like Brian Wilson did on Pet Sounds. The title track, which opens the album, sets an intimate tone, and Cohen's voice is raspy, but warm and conversational. The album, overall, is very mellow and sleepy, and the production is reminiscent of Tom Waits. Songs like 'Give Me That Toy!' and 'Baseball, Baseball' are a bit less mellow than than the rest, but I found myself waiting for a more upbeat, energetic track that never came. In fact, the album winds down with not one or two, but four lullabies. The album's liner notes include brief explanations on the various instruments played on each song, including several home-made percussion instruments. There are also simple instructions for playing slide guitar on a regular acoustic guitar, and illustrated how-to's for building your own instruments. Cohen's creative use of sound, combined with sophisticated rhythms and lyrics that express the wonder and innocence of childhood, make music that could easily appeal to listeners of any age. Listen to sample tracks and order your own copy here (CD Baby). posted by Mrs. Davis @ 3:51 PM.
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    Moments in Life
    Jose Rodriguez is an on demand bassist who released his long awaited album "Moments In Life". A great deal of passion, love, trials and tribulations when into making this album, It also represents the diverse music scene of the east coast. This album features some of the best freelance musicians: Victor Costanzi violin, Roland Satterwhite violin, Ralph Farris viola, Matt Kanelos piano, and Manuel Alejandro Carro percussion. One of the main features in this album is "Caribbean Fantasy" a 13 minute ground breaking work that incorporates rhythms from the caribbean which include Danzon, Cha Cha Cha, Reggae, & Mambo fused with Western Music and Jazz Harmonies, The form of this work can be considered as a suite that segues right into the next movement without a pause. The instrumentation also give it a musical twist, the use of strings with piano and percussion rather than a typical conjunto band gives this concept a truly classical acoustic sound. Jose also pays tribute to Domenico Dragonetti the Italian born double bassist who had a profound influence on double bass history.
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    • Price: 25.12 EUR excl. shipping

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