The East meets the West in our newest batch of CDs. And who knew that the clarinet would be the binding force?
Come check ‘em out.
Rainbow: Music of Central Asia vol. 8/Kronos Quartet with Alim & Fargana Qasimov and Homayun Sakhi * CD 10058
This wonderful collaboration is part of a ten part series produced by Smithsonian Folkways Records titled “Music of Central Asia”. The Grammy-nominated series is another in a long line of remarkable projects from Folkways. Come check it out and then go online and download the free program notes!
East Meets West: Clarinet Music by Chinese Composers * CD 10059
Surrealistic Soundscapes/Man Ching and Donald Yu * CD 10062
Revelry/Lowell Liebermann * CD 10061
A Musical Celebration: New Works for Clarinet Viola and Piano * CD 10060
American Song provides an impressive array of streaming audio for your entertainment. Here are some of my favorite finds. Note that there are pages upon pages of albums, so I suggest you type “Christmas” in the search bar and have at it if none of these picks tickle your fancy!
As we dive deeper into the Holiday season live music events continue to ramp up throughout the city. Here are some awesome events in the coming days (free & very cheap) that you shouldn’t miss!
American University Chorus: Sing a New Song
with Laura M. Petravage, conductor
Dana Scott, piano
Friday November 30th and Saturday December, 8 pm
Abramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts Center, American University
$10 for AU Community, seniors; $15 general admission
The AU Chorus will give you a guided tour of American choral literature with their eclectic and nostalgic Fall program. It includes arrangements of folk-favorites “Bile them cabbage down” and “Cindy”, spirituals, classic Copland settings and more.
The highlight of the program is Samuel Barber’s Reincarnations for a capella chorus.The Reincarnations are rarely performed in their entirety as they are both complex and demanding. In their rendition the AU Chorus proves their remarkable musicianship and attention to detail under Laura Petravage’s brave leadership. Their enthusiasm is a rare treat and this weekend’s performances will not disappoint!
Jake Shimabukoro, ukulele virtuoso
Screening of “Life on Four Strings” and personal appearance by Mr. Shimabukoro
Monday December 3, 6:30 – 8:30 pm * FREE
Rasmuson Theater, National Museum of the American Indian
4th Street and Independence Ave SW, Washington DC 20024
This FREE event is presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and promises to be a great time. “Life on four strings” is a documentary about Jake Shimabukoro, a ukulele-virtuoso who was recently declared a musical “hero” by Rolling Stone. Shimabukoro is truly an amazing musician.
For my staff picks, I’ve chosen a survey of music from the Middle East. The selections range from classical to contemporary to folk, but each one is fascinating and fun to listen to!
Persian Classical Music: Sima Bina with Hossein Omoumi
Features classical Persian songs as well as sung poems, with accompaniment by the ney (a traditional Middle Eastern flute). (CD 1514)
Arabic Groove
Contemporary Arabic songs, from energetic dance music to more classic ballads. Includes a brief profile of each artist. (CD 5026)
Afghanistan: On Marco Polo’s Road (The Musicians of Kunduz and Faizabad)
This is a particularly interesting album, which documents a research team’s travels and recordings of traditional Afghan folk music. (CD 1616)
Turkish Groove
Similar to the Arab Groove CD, these are energetic, fun songs with their own Turkish flavor. (CD 5029)
23 Most Famous Israeli Folk Songs
Israeli folk, sung by noted Israeli artists including Ofra Haza and Arik Einstein. (CD 9343)
As we begin the long slide from the bright optimism of summer towards the brutal gloom of winter, here are some CDs to extend that summer feeling as long as possible, or to bring on an early onset of winter. Pick your poison.
Haitian singer and guitarist, André Toussaint, performed in the Bahamas for most of his career, singing for tourists in French, Haitian, English, Italian, and Spanish. This CD features his laid-back, light and breezy calypso, just perfect for laying around in the sun, not doing whatever it is that you’re supposed to be doing. If there was a genre called ‘hammock music’ this disc would be a shining example.
Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers – Natural Boogie (CD 6820)
As far as I know, they have not yet outlawed cookouts after Labor Day, so there’s still time to break out the coals, throw on some weenies, grab an orange Crush and relax with some friends and some of the rawest, roughest, good-time blues ever set down on tape.
Southern Journey Vo. 9: Harp of a Thousand Strings – All Day Singing from the Sacred Harp (CD 1909)
There’s something about these shape note singing field recordings (made by Alan Lomax during a trip to the 1959 United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Flyffe, Alabama) that always seems autumnal to me. It’s easy to imagine these Southern congregations gathered outside as the leaves turn, singing all dang day. And if you want to check out a shape note hymnal, we have thosetoo.
Eduard Tubin – Requiem for Fallen Soldiers / Symphony No. 10 (CD 4869)
It doesn’t get much wintrier than this requiem by Eduard Tubin of icy Estonia. I think you’re actually required to put on a heavy, ankle-length winter coat before the disc will even play. This is the premiere recording of the piece, which was begun in 1950, and not completed until nineteen years later. You can hear from the first movement below that the instrumentation is spare – a choir accompanied only by an organ and tympani – the mood is funerary, and the effect is intense. Perfect for those frozen nights when your blinds are drawn, snow mutes any sounds of life outdoors, and you feel like you may be the only person left in the world.
Bamboo on the mountains — Kmhmu highlanders from Southeast Asia and the U.S. (CD 9686)
Guitar Concertos — by Villa-Lobos and Castelnuovo-Tedesco performed by Pepe Romero and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields led by Neville Marriner (CD 9681)
Marlboro Music Festival – Serenade No. 10 and Sonata for Bassoon and Cello by W.A. Mozart (CD 9687)
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin – from the 60s (CD 9688)
Tommy Dorsey – with the David Rose String Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (CD 9689)
AU Music Library
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