June 2014 - Classical Music

Bach, J.S.

• Sie werden euch in den Bann tun (I) (They will put you out of the synagogues)
• Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten (I) (If a man loves me, he will keep my words)
• Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut (Elevated flesh and blood)

Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Berwald - Piano Trio No.1 (2nd movement)
Brahms - Piano Trio No.2
Faure

• Violin Sonatas 1 and 2
• Cello Sonatas 1 and 2
• Piano Quartets 1 and 2
• Piano Quintets 1 and 2
• Piano Trio
• String Quartet
• Elegie for cello and piano
• Romance for cello and piano
• Papillon for cello and piano
• Sicilienne for cello and piano
• Serenade for cello and piano

Holmboe - Liber Canticorum, Book IV
Poulenc - Sonata for 2 pianos
Scarlatti, D. - Keyboard sonatas, K.11, 268, 386 and 387
Schumann - Piano Concerto
Schumann - Piano Trio No.1
Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela
Strauss, R. - Don Quixote
Strauss, R. - Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)
Tchaikovsky - Music from The Sleeping Beauty (two separate arrangements)
Vine - String Quartets 2 and 3

Yes, all the Faure kept coming out to play. At the start of the month it was still complete works. Later on it became movements on their own, and after that it ended up just being the 'slow' movements (some Adagios, but many of them Andantes) on their own.

And it was bliss.

But as well as that some normal service was resumed. There were some existing favourites, such as Poulenc's sonata (which was a highlight of my first run-through the box of Poulenc recordings I own), and Schumann's piano concerto which was one of the first concertos I took an immediate shine to.

There were also some new potential favourites. I've heard The Swan of Tuonela before, but I was paying a lot more attention this time and was very impressed. Sibelius is a master orchestrator. Every bit his equal, but in a different way, is Richard Strauss. Again, I'd heard both Don Quixote and Ein Heldenleben before, but this time I read a bit more programmatic information and was astounded at how vivid some parts of each of these works is.  In Don Quixote the episode with the sheep is brilliant and the use of a wind machine astounding. And the part of Ein Heldenleben that takes a swipe at music critics is downright funny.

June 2014 - Popular Music

Tori Amos - Unrepentant Geraldines
Joni Mitchell - Clouds
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
Pearl Jam - Vs
Radiohead - OK Computer

Fairly slim pickings here, really.  So let's talk about OK Computer. Partly because it seems I haven't talked about it specifically before, and partly because I was surprised how long it was since I had last listened to it.

In full, that is. I strongly suspect that this is one of those albums that's been on my player at work, and I've been interrupted, and I haven't gone back to it. That happens to me fairly frequently in general (more than I'd like, but, you know, they're not paying me to listen to music and if something comes up that requires me to speak to other human beings instead of just quietly work away at my desk, the music has to take second priority), but it's especially difficult when listening to a rich, dense album.

Let's face it, OK Computer has been talked about an enormous amount since it first came out in 1997. It's one of the more acclaimed albums in rock music history. I think that's not only because it's good, but because in some ways it was unexpected.

I don't have my figure on the pulse of current, up-to-date music in the way that music journalists supposedly do, so I can't tell you what music generally sounded like in 1997, and therefore I can't tell you whether OK Computer was unlike anything else on the market. I do sometimes get that impression from what's been written about it. It also was frequently praised for somehow tapping into the zeitgeist, or even being ahead of the curve: a 21st century album written before the 21st century began. Lyrically, there are hints of a high-speed, impersonal and isolating world that certainly do seem relevant to our age of technology.

What I can say for myself is that I'm fairly sure this album was unexpected from Radiohead. Their first album was that of a fairly average rock band, all set for one-hit wonder status. It's difficult to remember any song besides 'Creep' and it's difficult to muster up much interest in listening again - apparently, I haven't sat through Pablo Honey since I started this blog.

Their second album, The Bends, is a vast leap in quality. It's a fine record, but it's a fine record from a fairly straight-ahead rock band that sounds like it wants to fill arenas. Actually that's probably not entirely fair, as the album does have lots of nice touches that aren't completely straightforward, and point in the direction of later Radiohead if you already know what you're looking for.

But back in 1997, people didn't already know what later Radiohead sounded like. And what OK Computer sounded like was a vast collage of sounds. Layer upon distorted layer. 'Airbag' opens proceedings with processed drums, jangling guitars and something that sounds like sleigh bells. 'Paranoid Android' throws in a computerised voice and changes sound and pace multiple times. 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' features great washes of keyboard sound, and so it goes on.

There are times when it's quite difficult to work out what sort of instrument is used, as acoustic, electric and electronic contributions collide. 'Climbing Up The Walls' features the scariest string section you can imagine.

Every song contributes something a little different, and pretty well every song is a winner. My favourite, though, has always been 'Let Down'.  The melody line of the song is sheer genius, with steps constantly falling downwards even while each sequence manages to take the melody slightly higher than before. Each of the 3 verses has a different melodic shape, with the last of the 3 expanding gloriously into a kind of ecstasy. Somehow, a song with lyrics about the 'emptiest of feelings' and being 'crushed like a bug in the ground' ends up being one of the most achingly beautiful and uplifting things I've ever heard.

May 2014 - Classical Music

Dvorak - String Quartets 10 and 13
Faure

• Violin Sonatas 1 and 2
• Cello Sonatas 1 and 2
• Piano Quartets 1 and 2
• Piano Quintets 1 and 2
• Piano Trio
• String Quartet

It was a difficult month.

I stopped listening to classical music for a couple of weeks, roughly coinciding with the start of the month. And then the month got more difficult on a personal level, and I found myself anxiously searching for music that would both express my mood and change it.

And I grabbed for the chamber music of Gabriel Faure.

All 10 of his large-scale works ended up loaded onto my iPhone. There were times in the last 6 or 7 weeks when I listened to little else. I drowned myself in these masterpieces. I listened over and over again, hoping to grasp every note. In some cases I ended up listening while reading the score.

This was actually the first time I'd ever listened to the string quartet, which was Faure's last work, because I decided to save it for the end of my chronological journey through his compositions. That started in September 2012, by the way, so that's... 21 months of occasional listening to get to the end of his career. With 60+ years of music.

There are still more works to collect, choral music in particular. I still don't even own a copy of the Requiem which for many people seems to be the one work of Faure's that they do own! Aside from that there are a few violin works, a couple for harp, two operas and various incidental music (some of which I'm not even sure is recorded).

I suspect, though, that it will always be this chamber music that I'm drawn to, with its subtle interplay of lines, its constant evolution, its yearning, its passion. There are 34 movements here, and it's difficult to find a weak one anywhere. There's certainly enough quality to sustain many hours of listening.

May 2014 - Popular Music

Tori Amos

• Little Earthquakes
• Under the Pink
• From the choirgirl hotel
• Unrepentant Geraldines

Avicii - iTunes New Year's Eve Mix
Joe Cocker - The Essential Collection
Patty Griffin - American Kid
Jars of Clay - The Long Fall Back to Earth
Wendy Matthews - Ghosts
John Mayer - Battle Studies
Janelle Monae - Metropolis Suites II and III
Katie Noonan and the Captains - Emperor's Box
Over the Rhine - Ohio

Yes, a new Tori Amos album came out. Yes, I like it. A lot. Any surprises there?

Unrepentant Geraldines is warm, relaxed, confident, small-scale and intimate. It's entirely a family affair, with Amos and her husband performing all the instruments, and their daughter contributing one guest vocal. A highly impressive guest vocal, one might add.

Perhaps one of the most impressive things about the album is that it generally hides this relative lack of resources extremely well. It's true that there are far more solo piano songs on here than on previous albums, but in no way does it come across as "I'm doing solo piano because I haven't got any choice". For one thing, the solo piano songs are uncommonly good, with 'Weatherman' and 'Oysters' being among the very best tracks on the album.

In addition, the album is perfectly capable of sounding rich and full when that is called for. 'Wedding Day' certainly creates the illusion of a whole band playing.

That's about all I have to say about it at the moment. Like all Tori Amos albums, there's a sense that it'll take some time to really delve into all the nuances and know the album as much as I'd like to. That's a large part of why I enjoy her music so much.

Plus, I won't lie: right now I want to get a post or two out of the way here...