28 Results for : muzak
-
-
-
-
L'abbandono E la Corsa
We wish we had a new socio-musical tag at hand: an almost impossibly flexible one, encompassing both Theodor Adorno's "culture consumer" and the kind of listener Maurizio Della Casa described in his music pragmatics writings. Such tag could then be stretched to include the sensual level, the sheer pleasure of sound (Aaron Copland), or the self-centered approach, focusing on individual reactions (Dennis Smalley, Ernest Schachtel), and so forth, down to casual listening, to stop just a nanosecond this side of background muzak non-listening. It would then make a useful starting point for our thoughts on Francesco Antonio Mirenzi's creativity, it's appreciation and consumption. The word "consumption" should elicit no surprise. Despite today's negative overtones, it has always been the explicit or hidden goal every composer pursued, with few exceptions. Mirenzi himself keeps faithful to that ideal. Here, once again, he explores the art of musical dissimulation-making quite complex structures sound simple. Each one of his pieces is built on self-consistent formal patterns, both in it's general outline and inside each section. It may imply complex combinatorics and yet sound simple, easy to grasp, almost "natural", eschewing the superfluous, ostentatious, and extreme. Such traditional elements as melody, variation, repetition, contrast are employed, engendering a smooth horizontal musical flow. Lightness is his goal throughout, and there is more cropping out than adding. He seems deeply convinced that music needs not be fancy to be enjoyed as such. "You can write good contemporary music despite being a composer" could be his daily self-reminder. L'abbandono e la corsa ("Abandon and race") for flute and piano (July 2008) is the piece this CD is named after. The score has: "To my dad, (...) for all the times he brought me to train-watching". No extra-musical program is implied, yet the music, as often in Mirenzi, may evoke such imagery as vague landscapes and fog. (The opening marking is "Slow and light-Let it vibrate"). The dedication is a mere personal statement, however it is appended to the piece that the composer feels as the closest one to his present-day conception. His "communicative" musical thinking is made of precious few elements, actually, most of the piece is built on the three pitches forming the B-flat major triad. Only in the "race" section G flat is added, as to suggest movement. Toward the end, we find one of those displacement effects that are well known from the composer's earlier works-a tonal shift and a more melodic passage quickly heading to the finale, break any likely simmetry, and almost urging us to re-listen. Immediacy - one of Mirenzi's typical expressive traits - is most apparent in La valse qui tourne vite ("The Fast-Whirling Waltz"), for piano, sort of "sugar-coated Debussy" (April 2009). It is "dedicated to Francesco Prode, to his brilliant playing"-no fear, here or elsewhere, to acknowledge the composer's debt to performers. Two main sections can be detected, each one heading toward the treble department, the second one at thrice-faster speed. Also, two procedures alternate: repeated bass notes and a (more or less) rising upper line, both built according to deftly disguised mathematical procedures. Once again, undeveloped material from an imaginary Coda quickly rounds up the piece. The grace of grace notes, harking back to Erik Satie's free-form pieces, such as Trois morceaux en forme de poire, opens up I capricci della virtuosa ("The Lady Virtuoso's Caprices") for piano (October 2009), dedicated "To Cinzia Damiani, dear friend, great pianist". Dispensing, for once, with technical musical lingo, a verbal description of both the piece and the dedicatee would rather resort to the vast array of adjectives implied by the multiple facets of "capriccio"-strong-willed, voluptuous, fickle, irritable, bizarre, fancy, even freakish (echoes from Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert are heard). The latter two dedicatees are found again, ironically together, in Un flipper... nel mare ("A Flipper... in the Sea") for two pianos and pre-recorded sounds: "To Cinzia and Francesco with running-water admiration and affection". In this case we learn from the horse's mouth that the inspirational spark, so to say, came from a childhood remembrance of the tv series, Flipper, a sort of aquatic Lassie from the 1960's, located in an imaginary Florida Coral Key Park & Marine Preserve. Such title, with it's parentheses à la Musorgsky, subsequently triggers an imitation of a pinball machine (curiously known in Italian as "flipper"), Mirenzi's writing here suggesting it's little ball jumping all over the place. Then, the harmonic structure of Johann Pachelbel's celebrated "Canon" emerges - one of Mirenzi's frequent bows to the past - only to yield, in turn, to the slowly expanding pre-recorded sound of the sea. (The score reads: "A recording of calm sea waves breaking on the Tono shore, July 2007). Such long waves produce a sound carpet, the so-called "Sunflower" melody is gradually put together over it. Then the musical texture gradually thickens, up to a majestic, profound climax, redolent of early Messiaen. The final music-box episode hosts again the melody heard before. From Un flipper... nel mare Mirenzi subsequently drew Il girasole ("The Sunflower", May 2008), an extrapolation of a part from a whole to make another whole. No philosophical pretense is involved here-just an empyrical experiment in musical writing. The composer embraces the principle that nothing will be forever what it is, and nothing can be forbidden to become something else-while remaining oneself, one would add, as the act of modifying affects form, not content. The Studio V sul "Vater unser" brings back remembrances of Mirenzi's school days and debut as a composer. It is offered here in solo piano version, but had it's première in Latina, back in 1992, as a choral piece, conducted by Andrea Lunghi (1943-1999), Mirenzi's never-forgotten friend and partner in musical explorations. The score was then transcribed for organ (two versions, with and without pedalboard), and finally for piano, suggesting that the composer may have a special affection for it. The chronological gap between this piece (plus the following two) and the rest of the CD is quite apparent. Here, Bach's original is segmented and stuffed with new chromatic material, also in polyphonic fashion, grafting new lines onto the existing ones, multiplying entries and avoiding abrupt simultaneous breaks. The piece is called Studio for the composer fulfilled the self-imposed task of keeping his original parts in fourth/fifth relationship among them. As one can notice, the performer adds extra emphasis to the chorale melody, quite apparent in the original, but not so easy to perceive here because of such fragmented and contrasted writing-sort of extreme development of the punctus contra punctum concept. In section two, the piece seems to come to an end for a couple of times, yet two sudden stops trigger new expectations in the listener. Then, once again, these are swept away by the quick finale, which both the compositional genre and Mirenzi's penchant for short endings make virtually mandatory. Some of the most typical and interesting traits of Mirenzi's later style are already apparent here-the inevitable flow of the polyphonic texture, the static chorale, the sense of loss of tonal reference points. Tre ("Three", October 11, 1988) and Tredici ("Thirteen", 1986), for solo flute, also emerge from the past. They document a bygone but not forgotten or rejected era. Both pieces seems to have been originated as instrumental extemporizations. Yet, as usual in historical avant-garde, scores are tightly structured, especially Tredici, with it's thirteen sections, each made up of twelve pitches, and it's fixed but variously alternating rhythm patterns. Once again - or perhaps, earlier than ever - we find a rigorous musical architecture,- Shop: odax
- Price: 14.74 EUR excl. shipping
-
Music for a Champagne Breakfast / Various
Jade CDs are widely heard on national and fine music stations throughout Australia, and are recognised as a valuable resource by educational authorities as being uniquely representative of the work of Australian composers. They are manufactured in limited runs of 500 and stocks are therefore may be regarded as collectors' items! All Jade CD covers are distinctive. Most Jade CDs have an anthology format and include works by several composers. It's great to have these CDs on offer for a wider audience at CD Baby. 'MUSIC FOR A CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST' (THE ORIGINAL BUT NOW WITH A GOURMET COLOUR COVER!!) JADCD 1085 Works by: Robert Allworth, Vernon Lisle, Colin Brumby, Betty Beath, Ann Carr-Boyd, Eric Gross, Derek Strahan, Ian Shanahan. Duration: 72'50' A re-release of the original 'Music For A Champagne Breakfast' which was so popular it sold out! Features the late Vernon Lisle's two 'Schubertian' piano sonatas, Brumby's Italianate 'Borromeo Suite' for flute & guitar, Beath's sun-drenched Mikri Thalassa (Little Sea) for mandolins & guitar, Strahan's jazzy 'Escorts' for flute, alto saxophone & piano, plus short atmospheric pieces by Shanahan (solo clarinet), Allworth (solo piano), Gross and Carr-Boyd. More about Strahan's 'ESCORTS' Trio for flute, alto saxophone and piano (1989) An Opera Without Words in 5 Acts. Duration around 12'00'. 1. The Quarrel 2. Rough Trade 3. The Tourist 4. The Chauvinist 5. The Reconciliation The flute is cast in the role of Ms. Treble Clef. The alto saxophone plays multiple roles: the Composer, and a series of males by whom Ms Clef is escorted. The work makes use of polyphonic and polymetric devices to tell a gender specific romantic story of heterosexual love lost and love regained. Flute and alto saxophone engage in recurring 'dialogues' in which musical phrases mimic the inflexions and rhythms of speech. A recurring device is the use of tremolo piano chords to suggest a phone ringing. A staccato piano chord depicts the phone being slammed down to terminate each conversation. Phone conversations between the Composer and Ms Clef serve as linking episodes between each act. The Composer's theme is voiced by the saxophone in fragments during these conversations, and eventually emerges as a flowing melody in the final act. In Act One, the Composer quarrels with his girl, the flighty and unpredictable Ms Treble Clef. Fragments of themes and motivic ideas emerge and are thrown around in a maelstrom of nervous energy. Ms Clef leaves. The Composer regrets her departure and phones her. She immediately hangs up on hearing his voice. In Act Two, Ms Clef, determined not to be lonely, throws herself into a busy social life and soon meets another man. Revving riffs suggest a bikie who likes rock'n roll. His theme is is heard to a 50s triple beat rock rhythm, firstly a blues tune voiced with diatonic confidence. The harmonic basis becomes much less secure when it tries to repeat itself, and a quarrelling dialogue is heard over the rock'n roll beat. The music disintegrates. The Composer phones and tries to have a conversation with Ms Clef. As before she hangs up immediately on hearing his voice. Act Three finds Ms Clef in the company of a tourist from another country, an Asian, whose manners and whose persona appeal - for a while. She is impressed by his tune - a muzak of hotels and expensive restaurants.To the bewilderment of the well-meaning tourist, however, Ms Clef's unpredictable temperament causes waves, and this relationship, too, ends in confusion. The Composer again phones Ms. Clef. This time a very short exchange is allowed, before she again hangs up on him. Act Four brings Ms Clef closer to permanence when she meets a traditional male chauvinist. His tune even works in counterpoint tothe melody of Mendelssohn's Wedding March, but the accentuated flattened ninth at the beginning of the counterpoint spells doom, and, to the dismay of the intending groom, the march steps falter, stumble, and collapse in chaos, as a violent argument takes place, the notion of marriage being clearly rejected. The Composer phones again. This time she is more receptive, and we are permitted to hear a few more cadences of the composers theme, which are echoed, suggesting that a meeting will take place. In Act Five, the Composer and Ms Treble Clef meet again, and a reconciliation very quickly leads to a romantic duet, which in turns gives way to a passionate and pulsing Coda, involving rising swing music chords and a repeating triple figure over a rhythmic pedal bass. Derek Strahan Available at CD Baby on JADCD1075 Music For A Champagne Breakfast.- Shop: odax
- Price: 19.62 EUR excl. shipping
-
Melodia
Testimonials for the CD, "Melodia"... 'Your new album is great!!! My favorite piece is track #5, the Etude No. 3 in A Major, an absolutely beautiful melody for sure!' - Marbella A., Sacramento, California 'The music is lovely and perfect background music while dining!' - Bunny Beck, jazz pianist, New York City 'Thank you for the graciousness of your extremely lovely spirit, and all the beauty and peace you have brought me through your music.' - Madeline L., San Rafael, California 'I listened to the whole thing, twice. You really have created a beautiful resource, a musical grove of sprightly melodies encased in the warm body of wood that is your guitar. The variety of classics carefully chosen from Europe and Latin America, while inducing a state of calmness, also liven up the mind. In other words, this is not your father's Muzak!' - Mark O., Sausalito, California Melodia CD tracks: 1 Interrogando (João Texeira Guimarães) (Brazil, 1883-1947), 4:24 2 Confesión-Romanza (Agustín Barrios Mangoré) (Paraguay, 1885-1944), 4:30 3 Julia Florida (Agustín Barrios Mangoré) (Paraguay, 1885-1944), 5:04 4 Romance de los Pinos (Federico Moreno-Torroba) (Spain, 1891-1982), 1:48 5 Etude No. 3 in A major, opus 60 (Matteo Carcassi) (Italy, 1792-1853), 3:23 6 Capricho Árabe (Francisco Tárrega) (Spain, 1852-1909), 5:08 7 Prelude 5 (Heitor Villa-Lobos) (Brazil, 1887-1959), 5:23 8 Dengoso (João Texeira Guimarães) (Brazil, 1883-1947), 3:58 9 El Noy de la Mare (Miguel Llobet) (Spain, 1878-1938), 2:48 10 Canción Popular Gallega (Manuel Ponce) (Mexico, 1885-1948), 1:59 11 Venezuelan Waltz No. 3 (Antonio Lauro) (Venezuela, 1917-1986), 2:56 12 Granada from Suite Española, opus 47 (Isaac Albéniz) (Spain, 1860-1909), 4:58 13 Prelude no. 4 in E ? minor, "Lento", opus 16 (Alexander Scriabin) (Russia, 1872-1915), 1:26 14 Lágrima (Francisco Tárrega) (Spain, 1852-1909), 1:46 15 Scherzino Mexicano (Manuel Ponce) (Mexico, 1885-1948), 3:07 16 Choro de Saudade (Agustín Barrios Mangoré) (Paraguay, 1885-1944), 5:26 17 Oración (Agustín Barrios Mangoré) (Paraguay, 1885-1944), 4:53 18 Sons de Carilhões (João Texeira Guimarães) (Brazil, 1883-1947), 2:35.- Shop: odax
- Price: 24.46 EUR excl. shipping
-
-
