Classical Music psa

I've finished grading! To express my happiness, here is a favorite piece of mine by Chopin. I think Chopin is my favorite composer for solo piano. He's so diverse and expressive and he makes such a great use of the instrument. All of his pieces have a lot of different colors and voices to them. This one is one of his etudes, which is basically supposed to be a boring finger exercise but in this case it's an exercise in awesome. This particular etude is in Gb Major and is known as the "Black Keys" etude. I like the way it builds around 0:20. Listen for the pentatonic scale around the 1:00 mark. Fun stuff and expresses my current mood.

Music psa

We watched Chocolat during a girl's night recently, which features "minor swing" by Django Reinhardt. Django Reinhardt was a jazz guitarist who, along with violinist stephane grappelli, created a new genre of hot jazz known somewhat unpolitically correctly as "gypsy jazz" or "gypsy swing." It's one of the funnest genres of music there is. I tried to find a somewhat more modern performance of it and found this one from the 2008  Django Reinhardt Festival. Dang these guys have chops.



And then I got carried away and found this video of two talented guitarists who I may just have to research a bit more.



Dear teenage pop artists with bad hair: this is how you play guitar.

Guest Music psa

This week's music psa is brought to you by the letter T! For the one and only Trumpet Playing, Espanol Teaching, Tree Climbing, New Zealand Trekking, Terrific Katie Tremayne. Katie's been sending a lot of Tuneful music my way these days and she responded to my music psa survey with a couple of great recommendations. so here they are. The first is Miles Davis performing "Bye Bye Blackbird." I haven't posted any Miles yet so I'm glad that Katie is helping me correct that error. The second is the second movement of a trumpet concerto by lesser known composer Johann Hummel (they're all named Johann!) Thanks Katie!

I'm going to see this group tonight

Friends, I have obtained a free ticket to see the popular Korean group "super junior" in concert tonight. I know you're jealous. Here's their most popular music video. I tried to find one with an English translation, but after watching this video I still have no idea what they're actually saying. I am so looking forward to this (truly!)



Oh my gosh. this one's even better. I love the hair.

Guest Music psa

I haven't heard back from all my music psa surveys yet, but I have enough responses to get me through the next couple weeks. ;) This week I'm posting a favorite piece of my fellow music major and good friend Angela. Angela is a violinist and quite a good one at that. she's gone on to get her master's in music. I asked her to recommend a favorite violin concerto or solo, since my knowledge is more of piano than it is of violin. Angela said that the piece my question brought to mind was the vioin concerto in d minor by sibelius. This is a really enjoyable performance by Gil shaham (one of the few current performers that I actually know about) that I found on YouTube. 


I'm a little sad that we never really studied sibelius in Music History as he seems like a composer I should know. All I know is that he was Finnish, he composed in the late 1800s, and you can definitely hear some of the nationalistic or folk elements composers were playing with then in this piece. 


I've posted the third movement, mostly because the first movement is too long for one video clip. But the whole piece is really worth listening to. I can remember Dr. strauch getting on his soapbox about what makes classical music important and unique, and one of the things was how many different emotions it can span in a single piece. You don't really find that in pop music or even in jazz. This piece does a good job of demonstrating that, it's very fun but sensitive somehow at the same time. It's also impressive in how technically demanding it is, but not showy. I think my favorite part is the syncopated rhythm that first shows up around 1:40 (syncopation is a major element of swing music) and also the "whistle" effect the violin makes around 4:45. I also like how excited the violinist is about playing the piece. Watch his face at the beginning. "Ready? Okay, go!"

Guest Music psa

I had a brilliant idea the other day. Why not ask some of my fellow music majors and other music folk about their favorite pieces? I mean, that way I could maybe get exposed to some new music. so I've been asking around to see what it is my fellow musicians are listening to. To start with, I'm posting a recommendation from my jazz piano instructor at Whitworth, Brent Edstrom. I asked Brent to suggest a jazz pianist or performance that he thinks everyone should listen to. He recommended either something by Oscar Peterson or Art Tatum. since I've already posted some Oscar, here is Art Tatum's performance of "Tiger Rag." Art Tatum is one of those names you probably won't hear outside of the fold of jazz nerds, but he was one of the best pianists ever to live. His accuracy and speed are ridiculous, as are his improvisations. Basically, he's frightening. Oh, did I mention he was almost completely blind?

Classical? Music psa

Aaaaannnnddd we're back! This time with Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F Major. Everyone knows Rhapsody in Blue so I thought I'd post this one.

Mother's Day Music Post

First of all I want to say, Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for being the best mom ever. 





Perhaps you are wondering why this week's music post is "The Final Countdown." Well, the reason is one of the following:


a) It was the only song epic enough for Mother's Day
b) It is secretly my favorite piece of music ever
c) I accidentally posted the wrong link
d) I will have a new niece or nephew this month! 


The answers are of course "a" and "d." My brother and sister-in-law are due to have their second baby this month and  I'm super excited! After chatting with sam I realized that I may not have made people aware enough of this fact. so prayers and best wishes go out to Eric and Jenny as they prepare for this next step of parenthood!


(Coincidentally, as I was searching for a music-only clip of this on YouTube, I ran across this arrangement featuring head-banging cellists. sadly, I don't think it's tongue-in-cheek. Just when I thought musicians couldn't get any more weird.)

Bach Meets Bluegrass - Happy Easter!

I absolutely agonized over what to post this weekend for Easter. I just couldn't decide. At first I thought I'd do the finale of the st. john passion, or maybe the st. matthew passion, or even part of the B Minor Mass. But none of those pieces really seemed right. Then I thought about Mahler's "Resurrection symphony," but no. Perhaps I wasn't being creative enough. Maybe a gospel arrangement of the Hallelujah Chorus? Nah. I even thought about posting Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Overture," if only to commemorate when Dr. strauch nearly got hit on the head by a falling light fixture in Music History. But I realized that what I really wanted to post was my favorite of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. To me this piece is Pure Joy, which I figured was appropriate enough for Easter. And that is when I stumbled across this, and I knew it was meant to be. Let's just say, I know my audience. :-) Happy Easter!

Good Friday

Ben Brody introduced us to this piece in Music History I and I don't think I've found any other piece that captures the crucifixion quite so well. The Latin translates simply to "For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. "

Classical Music PSA

This is a bit premature but it's Palm sunday and I've got more Easter music than I know what to do with. I just have to share the opening of Bach's "Johannespassion" or auf English "st. John passion." I personally just cannot get over the fact that a group of people can just get together and, with the help of some bits of wood and string and things, make something like this! It just blows my mind.

Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm
Lord, our ruler, whose glory
In allen Landen herrlich ist!
is magnificent everywhere!
Zeig uns durch deine Passion,
Show us through your passion,
Dass du, der wahre Gottessohn,
that you , the true son of God,
Zu aller Zeit,
at all times
Auch in der größten Niedrigkeit,
even in the most lowly state,
Verherrlicht worden bist!
are glorified.

Jazz PSA

somehow I've gotten stuck on listening to a lot of Maroon 5 lately. I'm not a huge fan of all of their music. Adam Levine's soulful singing can be a little grating at times. But some of their songs just grab you, you know? I was trying to figure out what it was about them that sets them apart from the general blahness of most pop artists and I realized it was the blues influence. You can hear it in their most popular songs. The lead singer uses blues inflection all the time and "sunday morning" is built on a ii-V-I progression.

My point is that the blues has given a lot to American music (huge understatement), so I thought I'd feature a blues master this week: Gene Harris. And since it's summertime here (and super hot again), I found a clip of him playing summertime. Unfortunately, it gets a little out of sync, but I don't know what is hotter, the weather or his playing.

Classical Music PSA

Thank you to Laura for sharing this wonderful Beethoven trio. I am so grateful, I didn't even use an exclamation mark to show my enthusiasm. Here is the third movement.

Vive la musical revolution!

The chain of events leading up to this psa is as follows: I was watching V for Vendetta a while ago, and that inspired me to start reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which is referenced in that movie. Turns out that movie has, erm, "borrowed" quite a lot from that work. The Count of Monte Cristo is set in France during the time of Napoleon. And this of course made me think of Beethoven's 3rd symphony, the "Eroica," which was inspired by Napoleon. 

Actually the truth is someone posted a link to the "Eroica" on facebook and I thought: gosh, I really should make that a music psa. And then I realized how well it fit in with my current reading material. But everyone should know about the "Eroica." It really was a "revolutionary" piece. (sorry, but I had to write that). In a way it marks the end of music for the aristocracy and the beginning of romanticism and individualism. And if I had my notes from Music History II, I could tell you exactly how it does all this. As is, I can only say that having Dr. strauch walk us through this piece in class pretty much changed the way I listen to classical music. And it also made me realize how much of a genius Beethoven really was. Trust me. It's not all hype.

so here is the first movement of this most important piece in Beethoven's career. I draw your attention to around 7:30, where the harmonies are so unbelievably modern that by 7:40/45 I think it sounds like stravinsky's Rite of spring. One of my favorite bits is at 8:45. I LOVE the kaleidescope effect! sooo brilliant! And I think the bassline is a bit tango-esque.

You should continue on to the second clip if only for the counterpoint at 3:20, and the finale is quite nice. Enjoy.

Music PSA

Once again, this week's psa is brought to you by smac. I seriously cannot stop listening to this song by Josh Garrels.


Mason Jar Music Presents... Josh Garrels from Mason Jar Music on Vimeo.


I think one of the things about popular music that bothers me the most is its lack of color. There's a technical term for it that I learned in Music Theory II and have now forgotten. Basically, the instrumentation is all pretty much the same (as are the chords, but that's another matter). What I love about this clip is the unique combination of sounds. It's one of the things I love the most about orchestral music. There's so much variety and depth to it. Listening to popular music doesn't train your ear to notice this stuff, which makes me sad, because it means a lot of really great music goes unappreciated and so many people are missing out on a lot of really great music.

so I love it when contemporary artists utilize orchestral musicians. It's a chance to hear something new. I mean, that's kind of an implied part of creativity. The other thing I love about the above performance is that Josh Garrels is a Christian artist. I am sorry, but so much of worship music and contemporary "Christianese" is trite and frankly just boring. I like Josh Garrels' music, but his harmonies are pretty simple, which is why this is so well-done. The added color is exactly what is needed. Now I wish I could work for Mason Jar Music.

Here's another example of a contemporary band (Radiohead) using orchestral sounds. This technique can become really cheesy, violins have that tendency, but I think this is done really tastefully.



Okay, one more and then I'm done. I just can't help it! There's so much awesome music out there that isn't being listened to! so the other great thing about that Josh Garrels' piece is the way it builds. There's a definite shape to it, which I love. so here's another piece it made me think of which also utilizes orchestra and builds really well. And it's about trains, which I like. Thanks for inspiring me, smac.

Jazz PSA

I was first introduced to Pedro Giraudo while listening to the jazz station at home. This piece came on the radio and I was intrigued when I found myself struggling to figure out when to tap my foot. Turns out it's in 11/8 time. Everyone count with me: 12345-123456-12345-123456... so let's see, a complex time signature + latin jazz + counterpoint = awesome. And who is that fellow on the trombone? Looks an awful lot like a certain Ryan Keberle who I performed in a jazz concert with my senior year... I really miss jazz nerds. 



Also:

New pictures! senior quest camp retreat and the field trip.

Music PSA

uI probably should change the title of this blog to "Heidi posts lots of music videos and sometimes writes about Thailand." But here, as per request from Laura, is my favorite of Etta James' recordings. This would have been a more appropriate Valentine's Day post. Better late than never.

Music PSA

This week's music psa is brought to you by smac, who is a source of many cool things. Thanks for sharing this video. It features some pretty impressive beards, a cello, a banjo and one very stylish hat. These folks seem pretty cool. I especially enjoy the use of "natural" percussion.

Classical Music PSA

Thought about skipping this this week, but I couldn't resist. After all, it wouldn't really be my blog without a little bit of Mozart's Requiem included. The moment at 1:13 absolutely kills me every. single. time. 

Classical Music PSA

One of my favorite concertos. Rachmaninov 2.