Bach, J.S. Bach

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

New music inspired by J.S. Bach is what you'll hear on this New Sounds. Listen for "Lighthouse" from the Estonian composer, Erkki-Sven Tuur, something of a contemporary take on the baroque, commissioned by Ausbach Bach festival in 1997. Plus there's music by Steve Martland, his work "Crossing the Border," inspired by Bach's Partita for Solo Violin. And much more.

All Over the World Jazz

Monday, September 28, 2009

Will Calhoun, perhaps best known as the hard-hitting and inventive drummer for Living Colour (their release The Chair in the Doorway just came out this September), has also worked with tenor saxophone player Pharoah Sanders on a world-jazz effort, “Native Lands.” That record is a blend of jazz drumming, hand drums and other percussion, electronic soundscapes and trancey drum loops; with fluid melodic sax lines from Sanders, and contributions from Mos Def, Cheick Tidiane Seck (Mali), and Nana Vasconcelos (Brazil.) For this New Sounds, we’ll hear a bit of Calhoun’s record, plus something from Pharoah Sanders as well. Sanders, since his time playing with Coltrane’s band in the early 60’s, has been able to limn all sorts of jazz styles, from free to mainstream, and has worked with yodelers, sitars, tablas, ouds and kotos to earn another designation of “world- jazz.” Plus, music from the Neil Cowley trio, a piano trio who sidle thrash, jazz, and groove. And more.

Downtown, Everything's Waiting for You

Sunday, September 27, 2009

For this New Sounds, listen to some “downtown” versions of ska, folk, country, jazz, chamber music and blues. We'll hear from drummer/composer John Hollenbeck, trombone player/composer Josh Roseman, along with the violin-based folk-chamber of Carla Kihlstedt. There's also music by Joel Harrison and Elliott Sharp. And more.

Hybrid Ensembles

Saturday, September 26, 2009

For this New Sounds, sample some works by a few hybrid ensembles, including music from the Durham, NC based composers' collective Pulsoptional. We'll hear from one of their members, Marc Ferris, and his gradual deconstruction of a piece, "I Heart Rosa Luxembourg." We'll also hear from the proudly freeform ensemble Town & Country, veterans of the Chicago avant-garde community, who stretch single tones out past the breaking point, allowing time to highlight the peaks and contours in the sound. We'll round out the show with a bit of a work by the Threnody Ensemble, who are at their core, a diverse unit consisting of guitarists and a cellist. Listen to their work "Timbre Hollow," sounding somewhat Indonesian at times, with a bit of droning in combination with more typical chamber instruments.

Bang on a Can Marathon 2008

Friday, September 25, 2009

Hear excerpts from new music's biggest annual event - the 2008 edition of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon, recorded live at the World Financial Center on this edition of New Sounds. There's music from Alarm Will Sound tackling the Beatles' Revolution #9, and perhaps a bit of post-rock pulsetronica from Dan Deacon. Plus, the Crash Ensemble performs Terry Riley's recent work "Loops for Ancient Giant Hairy Nude Warriors Racing Down the Slopes of Battle" complete with electric guitar and ass-whooping distortion. And much more.

Musical Landscapes and Soundscapes

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Listen to period-approximating musical landscape by Mark Orton, from a film score to "Sweet Land," a film about a German mail-order bride and her struggle for social acceptance. Orton (who is the co-founder of Tin Hat) combines piano, guitar, and strings along with folk instruments of the era: autoharp, field organ, and marxophone to evoke the rural Minnesota, between the two world wars. Then there’s also music from the score to the 2006 Anthony Minghella film, "Breaking and Entering," written by electronica duo Underworld in collaboration with composer Gabriel Yared. Hear a musical landscape from John Luther Adams, and a soundscape from composer/tuba player Tom Heasley as well. Plus, music from South African guitarist Guy Buttery.

White Bone Country

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Composer Andrew Byrne, an Australian composer based in New York, joins John Schaefer to present the striking sounds of his musical landscapes for piano and percussion. The record, "White Bone Country" - a poetic title that refers to the Australian outback - is a collection of pieces in the American experimental tradition of Cowell, Harrison, and John Luther Adams, including works for processed piano and small metal percussion and the sampled sounds of prepared piano. We’ll sample some of these mega-toy instruments, drones, and other startling sounds on this New Sounds. Listen for another of Byrne’s works for piano four hands, with one pianist where one might expect - at the keyboard, but a percussionist plays the inside of the piano with mallets…

Arab-Andalusian Music, Live

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Orchestra of Tetouan, Morocco, performs classical Arab-Andalusian music live in our studio. The north Moroccan port city of Tetouan, just a few dozen miles by sea from the southern tip of Spain, became a refuge for Sephardic Jews and Muslims escaping the demise of the culturally rich Al-Andalus and the fall of Granada (the last Muslim city in Spain), in 1492. The music comes from centuries before that – as far back as the 9th Century - and can be traced to an Afro-Arab musician and poet, Ziryâb, a descendant of Persian slaves of African heritage. The Orchestra of Tetouan is still versed in the form of Andalusian classical music, the nawbat, a vocal and instrumental suite, which also incorporates European classical string instruments, like violin and viola. All members of the ensemble sing the centuries-old breathtaking love poetry with its complex beats and fluid melodies. Here's an excerpt of the text in translation- "Your absence has increased my yearning and sleep has deserted my eyes. My character is still tender, until love makes it mortal." Experience the orchestra live at Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square South) in New York, this Thursday evening, 9/24 at 8PM. Info at menamusic.org

Chain-Link Show

Monday, September 21, 2009

Hear some links in a musical chain by way of a series of recordings linked by shared personnel. We'll start with John Surman's "Sunday Morning," and hear percussionist Pierre Favre's "Mort d’Eurydice." We'll continue on with Michel Godard & Monks of Liguge Abbey, "Repons," and then there's music from the lauded recording "Officium" by Hilliard Ensemble & Jan Garbarek, possibly even more.

Extending the Folksong

Sunday, September 20, 2009

For this New Sounds, we'll test the limits of the folksong tradition. There's the bucolic songwriting and references to Satan on a folktronic "Fair Doreen" from Tunng, harp-based epics about astronomy from Joanna Newsom, along with bard-like settings of poetry by Robin Williamson. Also, hear from Linda Thompson's astounding British-folk-stretching latest effort, "Versatile Heart," which features collaborations with her son Teddy, chamber strings, and the disembodying vocals of Antony (Antony and the Johnsons.) And, as always, much more.

Brazil : a Classical Approach

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Listen to the sounds of Brazil as refracted through a classical lens on this New Sounds program. There's music from the LA Guitar Quartet, who, on their latest release, have arranged tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, Baden Powell, and others. Plus, there’s music from the Assad Brothers, along with the Choro Ensemble. Music by Philip Glass rounds out the show.

Larger Ensembles

Friday, September 18, 2009

For this edition of New Sounds, we'll listen to larger ensemble pieces with multiple soloists. First off, from a 1976 orchestra piece, we'll hear "Runes" by Keith Jarrett, with Jan Garbarek on saxophone, Charlie Haden on bass, and the composer at the piano. Then there's music by drummer/composer Alex Cline for a 6-12 member ensemble, featuring Jeff Gauthier on violin. Plus music from a soundtrack to the Merchant of Venice by Jocelyn Pook, with countertenor Andreas Scholl, and more.

Small Ensembles, Unusual Groupings

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Sample a few works for small ensemble on this New Sounds, including works for toy piano, multiple pianos and percussion, a piece for gamelan, and something for cello and electronics. From Phyllis Chen, hear a work for toy piano and CD, along with works for multiple pianos - 6 to be exact - from Piano Circus, featuring drummer and phenom, Bill Bruford. There's also a piece for cello and electronics by Karen Tanaka, which takes its name from the biblical "Song of Songs," as performed by Madeleine Shapiro. Plus, a new chamber work from guitarist Wall Matthews, music from Gamelan Son of Lion and more.

“Electric” Music

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

For this New Sounds, hear some works that make use of the actual sounds of electricity, whether man-made or naturally occurring. Christine Southworth uses the sounds of a Van Der Graaf Generator and two Tesla Coils in her collection called “Zap!” Also, Annie Gosfield and Terry Riley look at the charged sounds made beyond the earth’s atmosphere. And Johanna Beyer, an overlooked figure from the 1930s, is represented by a celestial work for early electric instruments.

PROGRAM # 2831, “Electric Music” (First aired on Tuesday, August 12, 2008)

World Music from Spain

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

From the twelfth century to the present, Spain has seen the collision of cultures reflected in music, and could be considered to be world music’s ancestral home. For this New Sounds program, we’ll hear the early Cantigas de Santa Maria, when Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions came together in Spain. Plus, contemporary music by French bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons, with a mixture of some flamenco, jazz, and Indian music. Then there's music from an imaginary radio station on the southern coast of Spain by Radio Tarifa, an arrangement of a Moorish song, "Lamma Bada." Also, listen to flamenco guitarist Juan Martin's Arab-Andalusian group Musica Alhambra and the Arab influence in Spanish music, including the darbuka, tabla, and the oud. And much more.

New Approaches to Orchestral and Chamber Music

Monday, September 14, 2009

We’ll hear some new approaches to orchestral, choral, and chamber music on this New Sounds. Listen for conventional classical instruments with overdubs, processed orchestral music with an electronic sheen, gentle glowing choral music, classical music ringtones, and hi-tech as applied to chamber music. The minimalist driving repetitive sound of Nico Muhly's work, "Mothertongue," looks to rock music, with electric bass and keyboards as part of the chamber music instrumentation. We’ll hear both "Hress" and "Monster." Then sample the 3-part choral work, "The Ecstasies Above" by English composer Tarik o’Regan, based on a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. There’s some nod to the so-called mystics, yet there’s also a rhythmic drive to the work – with no electronic effects. Plus, a bit of an opera from John Adams, based on a south Indian fairy tale, "A Flowering Tree," and music for acoustic steel string guitar, paired with overdubbed violins by David Pritchard. All this and much more.

Arabesques

Sunday, September 13, 2009

For this New Sounds program, take a taste of some Western works with a Near-Eastern tinge, including music from the likes of Berlin's jazz-rock-pop-classical band, 17 Hippies. Featuring ukulele and a Persian hammered dulcimer—played by a former heavy metal drummer—together with an acoustic Turkish take of the hip hop classic “Apache," their whirling, crashing, diving mixture of music, loosely bobs and weaves into and out of the Balkans, Eastern Europe and beyond. There are also works by the fast, fierce and classically trained musicians of DAAU, along with works by 17 Pygmies. And more.

Electronics Plus One

Saturday, September 12, 2009

On this New Sounds program, there's music from 5-string slinging Caryn Lin, who loops her electric violin into haunting and ethereal works. Also, listen to a work for sax and electronics, as tackled and tangoed by Brian Sacawa. Plus, hear music by Frances White - her work "Center Bridge" - and any other combination of soloist and electronics that might crop up.

A Musical Travelogue

Friday, September 11, 2009

Listen to a musical tour through cities of Eastern Europe (mostly) on this New Sounds program. German composer Max Richter presents his latest collection of ringtones for piano, "24 Postcards in Full Colour." Also, there's music from fellow German, the mischievous Hauschka (aka Volker Bertelmann), along with Italian Ludovico Einaudi, and Serbian-American composer Milos Raickovich. Hear musical portraits of Prague, Belgrade, Warsaw, and Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Plus, a musical portrait of Baghdad.

The Art of Gliding

Thursday, September 10, 2009

This New Sounds focuses on a certain sliding noise - that spooky scrape, that insistent siren, the glissando (comes from the Italianized French, glisser, to glide.) For this program, we'll hear a number of works which feature sliding on the unfretted strings of a cello, including a piece by California-born, now Cologne-based Jay Schwartz. Schwartz's "Music for 12 Cellos" sometimes strays into the overtone spectrum, sometimes swirls into low roars and drones, then sounds urgent sirens which finally disappear into cloudless climbs. We'll then hear music by Lois V Vierk, who in her piece "Red Shift" (for electric guitar, synthesizer, cello, and percussion), also rocks the glissando, sliding from somber, spare beginnings into a near-operatic frenzy. Plus, listen to Michael Gordon's electronically amped-up "Industry" with its call for a "tube screamer" which helps to distort the glissandi, and chase that with Arvo Pärt's "Fratres" for 12 cellos.

New Music from the Berbers

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

There's music from North and West Africa on this New Sounds program. We'll hear a trancey and exuberant series of recordings of master musicians of Gnawa from Ouled Bambara. Also, we'll listen to the latest from the nomadic band Tinariwen from northern Mali - Saharan seven-piece Malian desert blues with twanging guitar-led fuzz and funk. Plus music by fellow Malian Issa Bayagogo on the banjo-like instrument called the ngoni, something from guitarist Justin Adams, and more.

PROGRAM #2978, New Music From the Berbers (First aired on Wed. 9-9-09)

Near Eastern Melodies

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

For this New Sounds, listen to some traditional medieval music of Armenia, along with contemporary Armenian music by Tigran Mansurian and Israeli composer Betty Olivero, as played by violist Kim Kashkashian. Also, Greek singer Savina Yannatou performs contemporary Lebanese music and Lebanese singer Sister Marie Keyrouz performs ancient Syriac Christian music, and more.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon, Pt. 3

Monday, September 07, 2009

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 3 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from the literary indie duo the Books to mischief-makers Real Quiet, along with the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon, Pt. 2

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 2 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from the post-rock instrumental band Clogs to nu-jazz wunderkind Vijay Iyer, along with the percussion ensemble red fish blue fish.

Bang on a Can 2007 Marathon

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Music from the 2007 version of the annual Bang On A Can Marathon. Part 1 of 3 from the 27-hour-long event, which featured music by a range of artists from literate indie-rockers The Books, Clogs and Dälek to Uzbeki traditionalists Mashriq, along with new music purveyors Eighth Blackbird and the NOW Ensemble.

The Brazilian Guitar

Friday, September 04, 2009

Listen to highlights from the New York Guitar Festival Brazil-athon at the 92 Street Y from early 2008, featuring live music by Sergio Assad and Odair Assad, and the amazing 7-string player Yamandu Costa. Plus, there's music from Brazilian jazz guitar whiz Romero Lumbambo and something from guitarist/composer/singer/percussionist Celso Machado, among others.

Classical Transformations

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Alarm Will Sound, the chamber orchestra, explores the boundaries of acoustic and electronic music with their new collected "a/rhythmia." We'll hear some of their arrangements on this New Sounds. Also, pianist Christopher O’Riley offers classical variations on songs by Tori Amos, Pink Floyd, Tears for Fears and others. All of that, and a whole lot more.

All Over the World Music

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

For this New Sounds, hear some world music that doesn't come from one specific part of the world, including Les Triaboliques, featuring guitarist Justin Adams and 3 Mustaphas 3 founder Ben Mandelson. Plus, session-guitarist extraordinaire Smokey Hormel steps into the spotlight with a collection of Central African dance hits of the 1950s and 60s. There's also a tune from Berlin's 17 Hippies, an almost untraceable blend of music from the gypsy, or Roma tradition, fused with circus chamber punk, mariachi music, and American country music. And, not to be outdone, New York's own Blarvuster pits composer Matthew Welch on Celtic bagpipes together with his studies of Gamelan, up against some Afrobeat-y drumming. SEE Blarvuster (and their all-star lineup featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Brian Chase) along with Electric Kulintang (Susie Ibarra and Roberto Rodriguez) at the Kitchen on September 17th and 18th.

Much Ado About Water

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

What would there be without water? For this New Sounds, there'll be concert works aplenty about - and even using - water. Hear a piece from Karen Tanaka, called "Water And Stone" which draws on her love of nature and concern for the environment. Also, there's Tan Dun's work, "Water Passion" which actually incorporates the sound of water, and water stones (specified to have been taken from a river or the ocean.) Plus, music from Uakti, whose instruments are made of glass, wood, metal, water, PVC pipe tubes, and other found objects; one such instrument is the "aqualung," which is played by running water through it. We'll hear music from their release "I Ching." And much more.