The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
This sub-category of Culture would be used to discuss items related to music. It might be songs I’ve downloaded, CD’s I’ve purchased, or musical performances I’ve attended.
I suppose of all the classical music out there, perhaps my favorite is the Pachelbel Canon in D. It’s beautiful melody has soothed me many times, and it seems there’s almost no treatment of music that doesn’t turn out beautiful. Guitar, organ, symphony orchestra, hammered dulcimer…it doesn’t seem to matter, it almost always sounds amazing.
Read more
Here’s a cute video of one guy did playing a four-hand transcription of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. He says in the comments it took a lot of takes to get it together, but I think he did a pretty cool job.
Read more
Sunday afternoon we attended the annual holiday concert for Una Voce The Florida Men’s Chorale. This was their 10th annual holiday concert, and Lay and me have been to each of them. This might have been the best concert yet, and I had a great time. The theater was very near, if not, sold out, and I believe straight couples might have outweighed gay couples.
Read moreDirector Spike Jonze has posted an amazing video of Los Angeles street dancer Lil Buck (Damian Woetzel) doing a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma. This is an inspiring and beautiful blend of both old and new. It combines amazing modern dance techniques by Mr. Woetzel with the usual beautiful accompaniment by Yo-Yo Ma of “The Dying Swan” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. This will ease you into a nice mood for the weekend. Enjoy.
Read moreSounds a little different on a pipe organ, but this is an incredibly cool way to render a song, and this one in particular. I wish I had the kind of time it would take to set this up. This is about three minutes and is definitely worth your time. I especially like how they did a couple of the tremolo phrases.
Read moreI had occasion to hear the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus several times when I lived in Dayton. In fact, it seemed their Christmas Concert and that of the Cincinnati Gay Men’s Chorus were often the same weekend, so I’d do Cincinnati Saturday evening, and then go to Columbus for their Sunday afternoon concert. Both were excellent choruses, and they both had very different styles, so it was a great fun. Here the Columbus Chorus provides a youtube for the “It Gets Better Project” with the Columbus Youth Choir. I’ll just let the music speak for itself.
Read moreI guess there’s really no better way to welcome in the New Year than the fireworks over Sydney I guess there’s really no better way to welcome in the New Year than the fireworks over Sydney Harbor. They always seem to know how to do it up right down under. Give me a choice between ringing in the new year down in Sydney and Times Square, and I’m heading to Australia. Let’s all hope (and if you’re so inclined, pray) for a better year this year than most of us had last year.
Read moreAs we move towards the new year, and after the rush of Christmas, here’s a few minutes to settle back and contemplate what has gone before, and what is yet to come. This is Christopher Parkening playing Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Read moreAs we move towards the new year, and after the rush of Christmas, here’s a few minutes to settle back and contemplate what has gone before, and what is yet to come. This is Christopher Parkening playing Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Read moreThis is selected especially for this Christmas Day and is something to make pause in reverence. Kathleen Battle and Frederica von Stade sing a medley of carols concluding with “Angels We Have Heard On High.” timpani, Brass, strings and two amazing singers. That’s Christmas.
Read moreKathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening Performing Bach / Gounod’s Ave Maria Live at the 1987 Grammy Awards. I have the CD of these two, and it is remarkable. What a beautiful performance of a wonderful piece of music. In case you never knew this Gounod wrote the melody superimposed? over the Prelude in C Major, so it’s the Prelude that Parkening is playing.
Read more