Additional Resources:
» World Music Institute
» Gerardo Nunez's website
» Simon Shaheen's website
New Sounds Archive
December 2006
Pre-empted
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Pre-empted by the Garrison Keillor Holiday Special.
String Quartet Plus
Saturday, December 30, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, listen to the Kronos Quartet play music by the Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. Her work for string quartet and the sound of dripping water, "Oasis," builds to a dreamland of turbulent, slashing strings and shimmering chords. Running with “The String Quartet plus…,” there’s also music from Rokia Traore’s CD, Bomboi, where Malian folk melodies and traditional instruments combine with string arrangements from the Kronos Quartet. Then there’s the ancient and moving sounds of Osvaldo Golijov’s collaboration with Kronos, from "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind," with the clarinet adventurer David Krakauer. Plus - jazz, groove and improv meet classical music in a forthcoming release by the Turtle Island String Quartet and the Ying Quartet, “4 Plus Four.”
December 2006 New Releases
Friday, December 29, 2006
John Schaefer picks through the bucketloads of CDs that have flooded his office to find a sampling of new releases worthy of showcasing in tonight's New Sounds program. Look for the Japanese chamber jazz of Gato Libre and the Swedish folk-pop of Ranarim. Plus, there's new music for sitar by Sanjay Mishra and a new CD of English folk music arrangments. Maybe all of these, and maybe much more.
Eastern Voices
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Experience the distinctive rich choral music from the Balkan and Slavic regions of Eastern Europe on this New Sounds program. Listen to “Winter Songs” performed by Kitka, a group whose earthy and exotic blend of eight female voices is quite ravishing and riveting. Their vocal techniques have origins in the fields and hillsides of the Balkans, Caucasus, Baltics, and Slavic lands where voices had to both carry or scale down to intimate levels. We'll also hear from the second installment of the “Baltic Voices” series, all of it new music written during the past 20 years. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and conductor Paul Hillier focus on sacred music from Estonia, the Ukraine, Denmark, and Russia encompassing all three branches of Christianity practiced in the Baltic region: Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Plus, Les Mystere des Voix Bulgares and more.
"Art House" Film Scores
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, listen to exquisite scores written not for blockbuster feature films but for smaller, "art-house" movies. Eleni Karaindrou’s film scores fall somewhere between those fine lines of jazz, minimalism and classical. Sample some of her music from the 1986 film directed by Theo Angelopoulos, "The Beekeeper," which features the soulful playing of saxophonist Jan Garbarek. Listen to music from the soundtrack to one of Iceland's most successful films, Angels of the Universe, featuring incidental music by Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, with two songs by Icelandic neo-post/prog-rockers, Sigur Rós. Hear everything from glitchy, distressed electronics and treated tribal drums and somehow violent oceanic washes of glissandos. Drawing from French New Wave cinema, jazz and Arabic musical traditions, the Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem along with accordion and piano, evokes Satie and Chopin on the meditative Le Pas du chat noir ("the black cat's footsteps.") Plus, French film maker Maurice Pialat used Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3: Chants plaintifs" to accompany a movie called "Police."
Buoyant Afro-pop
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
New Sounds is serving up Afro-pop and Afro-groove music on this program. Listen to electrified traditional music with a merciless groove from the Congo, Senegalese pop, Afro-flamenco, a brass band from Benin, and a host of others. Sample the original sounds of Konono No. 1’s melodic electric likembés (thumb pianos), coupled with found percussion of pans, pots and car parts, which, although distorted, are really danceable. Plus, there’s West-African steeped groove rock by Toubab Krewe - a quintet out of Asheville, North Carolina by way of Mali, Zimbabwe, Congo, Brazil & the Caribbean. Also, listen for the combined sound of military brass bands, voodoo ritual chants and rhythms, scratchy American jazz records, with a dash of Fela’s Afrobeat that is Benin’s Gangbé Brass Band. And much more.
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...
Monday, December 25, 2006
On this program, celebrate the holiday season with a program of seasonal music, New Sounds style. Hear from the likes of Kitka, with repertoire ranging from Bulgaria to Belarus, from Georgia to Greece, from their "Wintersongs" CD. The women’s vocal ensemble uses the ‘open voice’ technique to achieve an exotic, elegant and eerie sound. There are lots of other tasteful non-traditional holiday selections, hopefully with a few surprises.
Alleged Christmas Music
Sunday, December 24, 2006
For this New Sounds, listen to Christmas music from the late guitarist John Fahey. An iconic figure on the American guitar scene, Fahey’s albums included several collections of alleged and recognized Christmas music. We’ll hear selections, plus a live performance from the New Sounds archives.
Messiah Remix
Saturday, December 23, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, hear compositions ranging from tuneful electronica to craggy modernism, from moody ambience to unbounded joy - all united by the theme of Messiah, George Frederic Handel's 1742 masterpiece of spiritual rebirth. Listen to new works inspired by the holiday original by Tod Machover, Scanner, and Paul Lansky, among others. Plus, innovative takes on other classics, like Uri Caine’s re-imagining of Mahler and Roger Kleier’s Schubertiade, among others.
Purcell Maneuvers
Friday, December 22, 2006
For this New Sounds program, we’ll hear music inspired by composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695), including the singing alien camp theatrics of Klaus Nomi. Nomi performs Henry Purcell's "The Cold Song" from the semi-opera “King Arthur” and there's also Jeremy Peyton Jones' early reworking of Purcell trio sonatas, called “Purcell Manoeuvres.” Plus, music from Phil Kline, Robert Moran, percussionist/composer Areski Hamitouche, and more.
New Music from the UK
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Hear some new music from the UK on this New Sounds program. There’s work from the innovative composer Graham Fitkin, inspired by a character from the Hitchcock film “North by Northwest.” In this work, “Kaplan,” Fitkin explores new territory with how the work is scored for - two synthesizers and film - and approaches the sound world of ambient music - shifting tonal centers to create extraordinary and imaginative sound tapestries. We’ll also listen to excerpts from the ambient epic by Gavin Bryars, his “The Sinking Of The Titanic,” a piece that mixes string instruments, spoken-word fragments, distant percussion, and reverberated drones. Bryars intended for it to sound like if the melody that the musicians were playing simply kept on going even after they had been swallowed by the sea. That and a piece by Orlando Gough called “Drowning, Parts 1& 3.”
Cello Multiples
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Listen to some music for multiple cellos, acoustic and electric, looped and layered on this New Sounds program. From cellist Maya Beiser’s release called “Kinship,” hear Evan Ziporyn’s “Kebyar Maya,” written specifically for her. It's a transcription of an orchestral gamelan work for solo cello, where Beiser whacks the cello's body, plunks and detunes the strings, and strikes the instrument with an assortment of objects. Also on tap is wicked, majestic, and somehow poppy stuff from the group Rasputina, currently three cellists strong, who can rock out, induce giggles and shivers, all the while making beautiful eccentric Gothic chamber rock. Then, dive into music by loop cellist and Rasputina member Zoe Keating. Her solo project features as many as 16 cellos expertly layered into both hooky melodies and full–bodied textures. Plus, there’s music from the cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and more.
“Post-Production”
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Written for New Sounds Live, Irish composer Daniel Figgis’ “Post-Production” is his first major work in the United States and a world premiere. This work’s narrative can be interpreted as a bucolic meditation on the “cityscape,” whether it be New York City, Figgis’ Dublin, Sao Paolo, Beijing, or any other city. In fact, the work is number seven in a series of monumental site-specific events. Composed as a 23-section instrumental song cycle, and accompanied by video projections, “Post-Production” is performed by Figgis’ new ensemble featuring site-specific, re-processed pre-recordings, laptop, guitar, electric viola, flute, and Hammond organ. Hear most of "Post-Production" on this edition of New Sounds.
New Sounds Program #2012 with Daniel Figgis
Daniel Figgis on Soundcheck
(Near) East Meets West
Monday, December 18, 2006
Take a new look at medieval music as the British a capella group The King's Singers and Middle Eastern early music specialists, Sarband team up to perform sacred music by 17th century composer Ali Ufki. A bit of background - Ali Ufki was a protestant born in Poland, but converted to Islam after his capture by the Ottoman Turks at the age of 13. He was a musician and translator in the imperial court of the Sultan Mehmed IV in Constantinople, (documents from the period indicate that he spoke 16 languages) where he also translated the bible into Turkish. On this New Sounds program, listen to the Ali Ufki’s Turkish settings of the Psalms of David. Also, hear the trouvére song “Chanterai pour mon coraige,” the lament of a woman whose husband has gone off to fight in the Crusades. Plus music by Ensemble PAN, and more.
Funky Brassy Party
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Get an earful of brassy, funky party music, New Sounds-style on this edition of the show. Hear music from the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, lots of horns and groove for shaking your money-maker. There’s also music from the Boban Markovic Orkestar, a Serbian groovy gypsy outfit. Plus 3 Mustaphas 3, Les Miserables Brass Band, and more.
Thrash Klezmer Mish-Mosh
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Prepare for some incredibly relentless fun on this New Sounds program. Drummer Aaron Alexander and a klez-punk ensemble (who include downtown jazz/jewish music all-stars and great young players in the klezmer scene; trumpeter Frank London, reed player Greg Wall, and guitarist Brad Shepik, among others) perform live and make mayhem in the studio. On Alexander’s latest CD, “Midrash Mish Mosh,” dueling drummers pound infectious klezmer-rooted music through round holes, embracing jazz, thrash-punk, Balkan and African rhythms. The boot will conquer the sandal.
Breaking Ice
Friday, December 15, 2006
Hear works for chamber rock ensembles, like the English band Icebreaker and the Bang on a Can All-Stars on this edition of New Sounds. Listen to Michael Gordon’s rhythmically-driven “Yo Shakespeare,” which has three types of dance rhythms going on simultaneously, but still feels danceable. The piece has actually been used by a dance company - Elliot Feld’s, but was written for Icebreaker. Then there’s Gavin Bryars’ “The Archangel Trip” inspired by a documentary film about two Russian icebreakers that ply the seas above the northern coasts of Russia, also written for Icebreaker. From a brand-new release called “Elevated,” listen to Bang on a Can composer David Lang’s psalm-derived “How To Pray,” for Hammond organ, piano, electric guitar and drums. Plus, the Bang on a Can All-Stars perform Phil Kline's schizophrenic, contemplative "Exquisite Corpses."
Near East New Music
Thursday, December 14, 2006
For this edition of New Sounds, sample some music from the Near East. We’ll hear music from composer and master of the oud, Marcel Khalife. His latest, “Taqasim,” a three-part work, is an instrumental tribute to the the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. Khalife, with these wordless improvisations, takes the lower register of the oud and Peter Herbert's upright bass and brings Darwish's world of the Palestinian people's dispossession and exile to all, reaching for a place where devilish subtleties lie, and where speech is limited. Also on the program, there’s music from Abed Azrie, an Iranian native now residing in Paris who sets to music Arabian poems with strong mystical leanings. Plus, there’s unaccompanied solo flute music (Turkish ney, North Indian bansuri) by Huzur Nawaz, who has played for and directed music for the Mevlevi dervishes. And lots more.
World Tour
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
From frenetic crazy Bulgarian wedding music to the blown-out amplified sounds of thumb pianos, feast your ears on a smorgasbord of world music for this New Sounds program. Hear Ivo Papasov and Yuri Yunakov’s infectious Bulgarian be-bop once outlawed by the Soviets. There’s also fierce Flamencobilly-Rock from Martires del Campas, featuring screaming electric guitars combined with palmas (handclaps) and woody percussion, and Chico Ocano‘s blistering, raw-edged vocals. And not to be outdone, listen to a Congolese band whose electrified kalimbas (thumb pianos) wired to used car parts, a pots-and-pans rhythm section, and megaphone loudspeakers, are inexorably danceable. And much more.
New American Gamelan
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
This New Sounds brings new American music for Indonesian gamelan. Hear music for Gamelan Son of Lion, written by composer, accordionist and improviser, Pauline Oliveros, who amps up the speed range for gamelan with the works “Lion’s Eye” and “Lion’s Tale.” Plus, there’s new work by ethnomusicologist-turned-composer Barbara Benary, the co-founder and guiding spirit of Gamelan Son of Lion. Her CD, “Sun on Snow,” is a collection of works "combining sonic elements of Indonesia's elusive paradise with darker undercurrents that are decidedly more hellish" (NewMusicBox.org.) Benary pits gamelan against clarinets and keyboard percussion in something like a mixed marriage where neither partner attempts to convert the other. That, and much more.
New Sounds of Old Americana
Monday, December 11, 2006
Listen to old Americana recordings woven into tapestries of new music on this edition of New Sounds. There’s music by Moby, David Byrne and Brian Eno, and a brand new arrival of music by Chris Becker. Becker’s latest, "Saints & Devils," is a ten-part suite -inspired by rural blues, gospel and Cajun music- which uses samples from the Alan Lomax recordings, live instruments and processing to create a unique texture of sound sculpture and words. We’ll listen to parts of Becker’s suite along with A. Leroy’s work "Handa Wanda" for three saxophones, whose interlocking rhythms suggest New Orleans Mardi Gras drumming. And, of course, much more.
Musical Storytime
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Gather round, for on this edition of New Sounds, it's time for some musical storytelling. Hear from Mendi + Keith Obadike, and their Internet opera and sonic book The Sour Thunder. It's a duet of stories taking place simultaneously, with one thread about traveling to study in the Dominican Republic, and the other a science-fiction-like story taking place in Solaika Dast, where communication happens by scent. Music in The Sour Thunder incorporates treated hollow body guitars, mbiras (thumb pianos), environmental field recordings and electronically processed vocals. There's also a political narrative about the death of trust in the collaborative hip-hop trance-jazz-rock song cycle by Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd, called "In What Language?" Plus, the latest from Jerry Granelli and Rinde Eckert, a series of reflections and imaginings using Billy the Kid.
Flamenco Festival
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Palestinian oud player Simon Shaheen and Flamenco guitarist Gerardo Nunez perform in the WNYC studio on this edition of New Sounds. Oud master Simon Shaheen (he’s also a violinist) is one of the most important Arab musicians and composers of his generation. He's also a teacher who has done a great deal to foster Arabic music in the West. Gerardo Núñez, known for his cross-cultural collaborations, is both a guitar virtuoso and a highly respected flamenco innovator. He is one of the best Flamenco guitarists in the world today, equally comfortable with playing deeply emotional traditional Flamenco at an amazing speed as he is venturing into jazz, Latin music, and other genres. Speaking of Flamenco, New York's annual Flamenco Festival gets underway on February 3.
Tin Hat Preview
Friday, December 08, 2006
On this New Sounds, we’ll preview the forthcoming Tin Hat release “The Sad Machinery of Spring” due out in January 2007. The Tin Hat Trio has contracted (founding member Rob Burger left in 2004) and expanded again (its new members are Ben Goldberg, Zeena Parkins, and Ara Anderson) to become Tin Hat, a quintet that lives somewhere between composition and improvisation with one foot in jazz, and another in classical. Their latest record is inspired by the work of Bruno Schulz, a Polish-Jewish novelist and graphic artist whose life was cut tragically short in 1942. Also on the show, hear works by cellist/composer Erik Friedlander, from his record, “Prowl” - an adventure into the territory between improvised and classical music. Plus, small ensemble music by the Ben Goldberg Quintet, Carter Burwell, and more.
Baltic Musical States
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Hear music from Eastern Europe and The Baltics on this edition of New Sounds. Listen to the spiritual message by Arvo Pärt, “Da pacem Domine,” commissioned for a peace concert in 2004 and performed by the Hilliard Ensemble. Plus, there's work from Pärt’s Estonian counterpart, Veljo Tormis. Nearly twenty years in the making, Tormis’ song cycle, “Forgotten Peoples,” aims to “awaken understanding, and help retain the ancient Balto-Finnic heritage,” according to the composer. There’s also dense and intense music from Alfred Schnittke, arranged by the Kronos Quartet from Schnittke's "Concerto for Mixed Choir," along with music from a chamber group extraordinary young players from the Baltic States led by violinist Gidon Kremer - Kremerata Baltica, and much more.
New Sounds of Americana
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
It's a liberal dose of Americana for this New Sounds program. Listen to music from "Gloryland," the second foray into folk music and spirituals for the early music a cappella group Anonymous 4. Also, there's music from the Turtle Island String Quartet and tunes from TISQ fiddler Darol Anger and the Republic of Strings as well. Plus, we'll hear from William Duckworth, the Wayfaring Strangers, the soundtrack to “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” and more.
John the Revelator
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
From the New Sounds Live concerts at the World Financial Center, listen to the world premiere of “John the Revelator,” a mass for the 21st century by Phil Kline, and featuring the early music vocal group Lionheart and the electric string quartet Ethel. The work was commissioned by WNYC and recorded in the WFC’s Winter Garden, the space for which it was written.
Texts of the Mass
Photos on flickr
New from the North
Monday, December 04, 2006
This New Sounds program explores new works coming out of Scandinavia, with some music based in folk traditions, and played by bands who share several different members. We’ll hear from the Swedish supergroup Väsen, four musicians who have done projects ranging from nyckelharpa orchestras and Swedish traditional bands to collaborating with the Kronos Quartet. Plus, there’s music by Garmarna, who formed in 1990, inspired by Väsen’s nyckelharpist Olav Johansson’s musical score for a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Not to be outdone, there’s also music by the group Hurdy Gurdy, featuring the combined forces of Hedningarna’s Hållbus Totte Mattson (Hedningarna) and Garmarna’s Stefan Brisland-Ferner (Garmarna), put the Swedish Hurdy Gurdy through its paces. Listen also for music from Frigg, the Finnish/Forwegian string band with family ties to the great Finnish fiddle ensemble JPP, and perhaps some music from the quartet Swåp, who fuse Celtic traditions with those of Swedish folk. And a whole lot more…
Post-Rock Instrumentals
Sunday, December 03, 2006
With roots in indie rock, and a combination of experimentation and unclassifiable sounds that fuse ambient, jazz, and minimalist chamber music together, “Post-Rock” music tends to subvert many elements associated with rock and roll. Rather than melodic hooks or song structure, it is usually instrumental, and if it does have vocals, they seem incidental to the overall effect. That said, on this New Sounds program, we’ll hear a number of post-rock instrumentals from bands like Tonetraeger, two guys from Düsseldorf who use string arrangements, produced sounds, interesting patterns and soundscapes to create moods rather than pop songs. Also on tap are Battles (ex-Don Caballero & Helmet!), who might sound something like foreign folks songs, hyper jazz, intelligent rock, and a bit of Steve Reich’s loops all shaken up together. Plus the irresistible chamber rock of Krakatoa and those “subversives with a cello,” Rachel’s.
Electro-Acoustic Music
Saturday, December 02, 2006
On this edition of New Sounds, there are works by and for Canadian composer and guitar player Tim Brady. Brady's "Frame 1 – Resonance" was imagined as piece for piano and guitar where the guitar acts like a big, electronic resonator for the piano part, in effect becoming an electro-acoustic sustain pedal. Hear the piece played by the ensemble Bradyworks; Pamela Reiner on piano and Tim Brady himself on guitar and treatments. Then there’s "Dancetracks," which began life as a piece for tape and improvising electric guitar, created for Brady on commission by the Sonic Arts Network of London. The version that’s part of this New Sounds program is a composite of improvisations made out of real time, and in multiple tracks, by Steve Mackey, against the grid of the tape/drum track. Plus, hear a piece for mulitple marimbas, "Loops, Blips, and Flesh" by the Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy.
Bamboo, Silk and Stone
Friday, December 01, 2006
There’s new music for the zither from Korea, Japan, and China on this edition of New Sounds, with works by Mei Han & Barry Truax, David Bowie, and Korean-American komungo (Korean fourth century fretted board zither) virtuoso Jin Hi Kim. Mei Han studied Chinese classical zither, but has since moved to Canada and experimented with everything from free improvisation to computer music. We’ll hear her performing John Oliver’s beautifully bluesy Purple Lotus Bud, for zheng and string quartet; and Bamboo, Silk and Stone, written by Raine-Reusch and electroacoustic pioneer Barry Truax in 1987. Plus, Chinese pipa player Wu Man picks up the zhong ruan (a plucked string instrument from the Qin Daynasty circa 200 BC), teaming up with the Kronos Quartet on Lachrimae Antiquae, from the 1997 release called “Early Music.” And much more.
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An exclusive presentation of New Sounds Live and WNYC Live performances for the website, featuring performances from inside and outside the WNYC studios from over three decades.
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