New Sounds Archive
March 2008
New Releases March 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
It's that time of the month again for our monthly program of new releases. John Schaefer once again picks through the spring flood of CDs that have been sent to his office to find new releases worthy of showcasing in tonight's program. [Oh if only we'd had a wide-angle lens to capture the REST of the office, and not merely the desk...]
New Choral Works
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Composer Eric Whitacre purports to be influenced by Depeche Mode, Bjork and seventies prog rock as much as he is by Bartok, Barber and Monteverdi. Whitacre, who published his first choral work at 21, has shrewdly centered his oeuvre around choral writing, since those works are more likely to get premiered and then have continuing performances. But his electric chilling harmonies and tone-clusters have also been transcribed for concert band, and electronics have recently made their way into his work as well. On this edition of New Sounds, sample some of Whitacre’s new record, “Cloudburst,” along with music by Gyorgy Ligeti. Plus, the latest from the group Chanticleer and more.
Loungey Latin Jazz
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sample some Latin/lounge/jazz-tinged music for this edition of New Sounds. There's music by Tex-Mex cumbia-fication practioners Charanga Cakewalk, along with exotic and soulful yet danceable Jewish-Cuban tunes from Septeto Rodriguez. Also, listen to David Kane's Them JazzBeards, where rock meets jazz meets film noir in a kind of campy 1950’s sci-fi way. Plus, hear music by M'Lumbo, a “brilliantly silly seven-piece jazz/funk/afropop improvisarama” (Richard Gehr,Village Voice) and something from Gustavo Santaolalla. And much more.
New Acoustic Guitar
Friday, March 28, 2008
Listen to balmy fingerstyle guitar shapes and patterns from South African guitarist Guy Buttery on this edition of New Sounds. Buttery also plays the mandolin and sitar, and together with special guest violinist Angus Kerr, and double bass, hear some of his acoustic experimental tone poems. Plus, treat yourself to the musical narrative of fellow fingerstyle player, the Italian Pino Forastiere, who falls in the Michael Hedges camp, with his tapping, muting, and alternate tunings. We'll also hear from New York's own Dominic Frasca, the inventive guitarist who builds his own instruments to have more than just 6 strings available to take on transcriptions and original works. And much more.
World Music Sampler
Thursday, March 27, 2008
It's a whirlwind tour of the latest in world music with something from Toumani Diabate, and a bit of the Garifuna Women's Project for this edition of New Sounds. There's also a tune from the Tuareg band Etran Finatawa and some music by Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers. Plus, we'll sample from a collection of acoustic Brazilian music, and some Middle Eastern/North African dance music by Jef Stott. That, and much more.
New Music from Carl Stone
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Computer music pioneer Carl Stone dismantles global song and melody and electro-acoustically re-creates compositions of gradually shifting sounds of distant mystery. On this New Sounds, Carl Stone stops by the WNYC studios to present music from his most recent effort, "Al-Noor," and his just re-issued first record "Woo Lae Oak" from 1983, a concrete symphony for the tremolo of a rubbed string and the tone of a blown bottle. All that, and more.
New Music for Silent Films: The Eagle, The General
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
From the New Sounds Live/Silent Film series, the Alloy Orchestra performs new music for the silent films “The Eagle” and “The General,” on keyboards, clarinet, accordion, percussion, and their famed “ton of junk,” at the World Financial Center.
New Americans XI
Monday, March 24, 2008
For this New Sounds, sample music by Iranian emigrees, Tibetan refugees, Argentinian transplants, and musicians and composers from Algeria and Morocco. It's part of our ongoing series, "The New Americans," which celebrates musicians from around the world working in the US. Hear music from the Algerian-Jewish community by pianist Maurice El Medioni together with Cuban-born New York-based percussionist Roberto Rodriguez. Then there's music from fellow Algerian Cheb I Sabbah, now living in San Francisco. Plus, works by Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke, Tibetan refugee Yungchen Lhamo, and Argentinian tango king Astor Piazzolla.
Abrahamic Music
Sunday, March 23, 2008
For this New Sounds, listen to music that celebrates the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Listen to a tune called Children of Abraham, and perhaps some more soul-bop-klezmer-boogie from Paul Shapiro, from a recent record called “It's in the Twilight.” There’s also music from Osvaldo Golijov’s work, “Ayre” – an ingenious cycle of prayers, folk songs and lullabies which crosses Christian, Jewish, and Arab cultures. Hear harmonic chanting by David Hykes incorporating sacred words common to Christianity, Judaism and Islam based on the art of those three religions. Rounding out the show is musical mix of Moorish, Sephardic songs, Indian gypsy and Flamenco musical styles by Juan Martin.
Bang on a Can PCF Concert 2006
Saturday, March 22, 2008
From the New Sounds Live concert series, the Bang on a Can All-Stars play works commissioned for them through the People's Commissioning Fund. Hear the spare and intense work of Yoav Gal ("Doctor King"), the quirky and driving music of Annie Gosfield ("Overvoltage Rumble"), and the ecstatic and witty music of composer/drummer John Hollenbeck ("Rainbow Jimmies.") Plus revisit Edward Ruchalski's richly textured piece "Another Infinity," a reprise from the first People's Commissioning Fund concert in 2000, where guitar and bass anchor gamelan-like vibraphone and piano phrases, all intertwined with clarinet and cello lines.
Choral and Ambient Choral Music
Friday, March 21, 2008
On this edition of New Sounds, sample some choral and ambient choral music. Hear David Lang's "Passing Measures," a slow work for bass clarinet, amplified orchestra, and women's voices, along with some of the powerful choruses from the opera "The Death of Klinghoffer" by John Adams. Also, portions of Brian Eno's Music for Airports. Music by Philip Glass and Harold Budd round out the show.
Chatter and Soundscapes
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Hear Paul Lansky's hiphop-inspired 'chatter' piece, on this edition of New Sounds. "Wordless. Chatter of Pins," is a response to an invitation by Keith and Mende Obadike to contribute a track of music inspired by hiphop. Also from his new release, Music Box, listen to the introverted lyricism of his "Pavane Noir." Plus, music by soprano saxophonist, improviser/composer, and acoustician Jonas Braasch. From his recent "Global Reflections," we'll hear pieces formed with nature's ability to align independent events to form interesting patterns. That and much more.
Bang on a Can PCF Concert 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hear world premieres by Turkish electroacoustic composer Erdem Helvacioglu, avant-garde inventor Tristan Perich and squonkjazz innovator Ken Thomson, all performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars. Listen to Helvacioglu's "Lossada Taka" and Perich's "All Possible Paths" which both combine electronic sound and sometimes amplified instruments. Plus Thomson's "seasonal.disorder," inspired by reading the news every morning before composing.
Meet Me in the Old Marketplace
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Frank London's A Night in the Old Marketplace is a "folk opera," a 90-minute musical re-imagining of I.L. Peretz's sprawling 1907 supernatural drama. The score mixes folk, jazz, classical, rock and world beats with a dose of Kurt Weill cabaret. Beware, the players are some of the most versatile musicians, whose credits include salsa, radical Jewish "downtown" jazz, punk, and thrash-klezmer bands. Then there are the vocalists Manu Narayan (star of Broadway's Bombay Dreams), Craig Wedren (of Shudder to Think), Irish singer Susan McKeown, pop geniuses They Might Be Giants, and The Klezmatics' Lorin Sklamberg, to name a few. We'll sample from the recording of "A Night in the Old Marketplace" on this edition of New Sounds in advance of the concert staging at Merkin Hall this Thursday night, March 20, 2008.
New Music for Silent Films: Blackmail
Monday, March 17, 2008
From the New Sounds Live/Silent Film series, the Alloy Orchestra performs their score to the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Blackmail" on keyboards, clarinet, accordion, percussion, and their famed “rack of junk,” at the World Financial Center.
Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain, part 2
Sunday, March 16, 2008
For this New Sounds, hear more excerpts from the NY Guitar Festival concert series, reinterpretations of classic blues by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Elizabeth Cotten, and Charlie Patton. Some of the live performers included Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.
Mingus and Monk
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Explore the music Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk, New Sounds-style. From Cuban percussionist Anga to the Massachusetts big band Either/Orchestra, from ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers to avant-garde composer George Crumb, the echoes of Monk and Mingus can be heard in a wide variety of new settings. We'll sample a few of the more unusual renditions of their classic tunes for this New Sounds program.
The Irish New Music "Scene"
Friday, March 14, 2008
For this New Sounds, we'll take a look at the Irish new music scene, with composers Daniel Figgis and Roger Doyle. Doyle is a former jazz-rock drummer, and writes electro-acoustic and electronic music. Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Figgis is a former member of Virgin Prunes, and an ambient electronic composer of multi-media works, most recently, "Post-Production," as heard on the New Sounds Live concert series. On March 16 & 17, 2008, Figgis is curating a festival of new works by contemporary Irish composers at the World Financial Center, focusing on works created with emerging audio technologies, and featuring over a dozen artists, including Roger Doyle, Brian O hUigin and the world premiere commission of Daniel Figgis' "PHOTO-FINISH (with shortcuts.)"
Two by Two II
Thursday, March 13, 2008
There's a lot of music for unusual duos on this edition of New Sounds, including music from the gypsy-esque acoustic indie madness of A Hawk and a Hacksaw. With an arsenal of accordion, percussion, violin and viola, along with some singing, these two have enlisted the help of the speed-Balkan masters Fanfare Ciocarlia on their latest release, "The Way the Wind Blows." Also on the show, an instrument combination not-to-be-missed of church organ and slide guitar from Norway. Plus, we'll hear some brand-new music featuring beat-boxing and the serene Tibetan vocals of Yungchen Lhamo. And much more.
Music from South India
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
For this New Sounds program, hear some Carnatic music, including the vocalistic violin of Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, the Bombay-born vocalist Aruna Sairam. Plus, listen to some music for the oboe-like instrument, the nadaswaram, by Charlie Mariano and the Karnataka College of Percussion. Works from violinist L. Subramaniam, electric mandolin innovator U. Srinivas, and film composer, singer, and lyricist Ilaiyaraaja round out the show.
New Americans: Australia & Canada
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
WNYC's series, The New Americans, celebrates musicians from around the world working in the US. For this edition of the program, we'll focus on works from such exotic places as Canada and Austalia. Listen to music by Canadian Michael Brook, who has most recently made a splash with the soundtrack to Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Plus, music from Clogs, the World Saxophone Quartet and Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures.
“Post-Production”
Monday, March 10, 2008
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
Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain, Pt. 1
Sunday, March 09, 2008
For this New Sounds, hear excerpts from the NY Guitar Festival concert series, featuring reinterpretations of classic blues by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Elizabeth Cotten, and Charlie Patton. Some of the live performers included Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.
New Early Music
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Sample some new music for lutes, baroque guitars, and other early instruments on this New Sounds program. Paul O’Dette plays his improvisation on the 16th century Spanish “Galiarda,” from the NY Guitar Festival Marathon concert. Rolf Lislevand reinterprets 17th century Italian music as a kind of modern world music on the album “Nuove Musiche.” And lute player Jos van Wissem returns to the WNYC studio with guitarist Gary Lucas for a set of live music.
A World in New York
Friday, March 07, 2008
From the New Sounds Live concert series, three great women’s voices in World Music – all based in New York. Listen to performances by Yungchen Lhamo (Tibet, via Queens), Susan McKeown (Ireland, via Manhattan), and Angelique Kidjo (Benin, via Brooklyn), recorded live at the World Financial Center's Winter Garden in the fall of 2006.
Eternity's Sunrise
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Listen to music by John Tavener for this edition of New Sounds. We'll hear "Eternity's Sunrise," written for superhuman soprano, handbells, and Baroque instrumental ensemble and based on poetry by William Blake. According to the composer, "the concept of solo soprano (representing earth) at ground level, handbells (representing the angels) at an intermediate position, and the main baroque ensemble at a high level (representing heaven) fitted exactly with the Blake text which I had decided to set." Tavener dedicated the piece to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. That, and more.
Harpie's Delight
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Hear some long and winding music from Joanna Newsom's arresting and spectacularly arranged record, "Ys," for harp and voice. Also, there's Catalan, Spanish and Arabic poems set to music by Arianna Savall (yes, daughter of Jordi, THAT Savall) from her release "Bella Terra," along with works by Paris-based new-music harpist Hélène Breschand, from her solo effort "Le goût du sel." Plus, music that sneaks between the cracks of chamber music and noise from harpist Shelley Burgon and bassist Trevor Dunn, a tune from Bjork with harpist Zeena Parkins and more.
New Sounds Live Concert Works
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
From the New Sounds Live Concert Series, hear music from Paul Lansky, who is probably best known as a computer music composer (one who caught the attention of Radiohead), recorded at the World Financial Center in November of 2007. We'll listen to a suite of works for percussion quartet, featuring the coordinated beatings of the group So Percussion. Plus, there's also music by the Czech violinist, vocalist, composer, and improviser Iva Bittova from the Bang on a Can People's Commissioning Fund Concert recorded at Merkin Hall a few weeks ago.
New Music from the UK
Monday, March 03, 2008
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.”
A Brazilian Experiment
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Listen to music by a Brazilian original, the multi-instrumentalist and composer (and eccentric) Hermeto Pascoal, who blurs barriers between jazz, improvisation, folkloric, ethnic, Brazilian music, tone and noise. For this edition of the show we’ll hear two New Sounds Live performances of Pascoal’s music: one by the Manhattan Marimba Quartet and one by the Bang On A Can All-Stars. We’ll also hear other experimental music from Brazil including Uakti, who perform their music on a collection of instruments they designed and built. Plus, guitarist/composers Egberto Gismonti and Caetano Veloso mix socio-political messages into their instrumental and vocal works respectively.
Unusual Prayer Settings
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Experience some unusual prayer settings on this edition of New Sounds. First off, hear excerpts from Osvaldo Golijov's Passion According to Saint Mark, an incredibly imagined blend of Mexican market sounds, Brazilian percussion, Africanized Spanish, and eerie accordion, all winding up with an Aramaic Kaddish. Listen also to Ragnar Grippe’s Requiem setting, which blends electronica-like pop music with an operatic soprano. There’s also the Missa Archaica by Italian progressive rock superstar Franco Battiato. The work, for voices, piano, chamber ensemble, and orchestra, resembles music by Arvo Part and Brian Eno. Rounding out the show is "Butterfly Song," an otherworldly, ethereal song by Jocelyn Pook, from her 2001 record “Untold Things,” a spiritual work that is as sincere as it is haunting, kind of like a mass in an unknown language.
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