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Jórunn Viðar, Jakobína Sigurðardóttir, Björk – Vökuró
I encourage all of you to explore Björk’s work. Most of us think of her as that crazy Icelandic woman who showed up to the Oscars in a swan dress—how outré! She’s actually a prolific producer, composer, and performer of her own music. Her singing really threw me at first. Later it grew on me, as strange, imperfect voices are wont to do on all of us.
Caroline Shaw: Allemande
Shaw’s Pulitzer-winning composition is called Partita for Eight Voices. The voices in question are those of the members of Roomful of Teeth, an a cappella vocal band that fuses styles from all over the globe into contemporary classical music. It’s tough to describe, but seeing them live feels like going to one of the best rock concerts you’ve ever attended in a little club, except it’s also one of the best new music concerts you’ve ever attended
The Idan Raichel Project: Mi-ma’a’makim
In preparation for my sister’s move to Israel this year, I asked her for a list of Israeli pop music I could listen to—you know, for my own edification. “Start with Idan Raichel,” she said. I’d heard of him, I thought, vaguely, but I wasn’t prepared for what his music is actually like. More properly known as “The Idan Raichel Project”—one source puts the number of his collaborators over the years at around ninety—his band aims to unite the diverse cultural threads that make up the Middle East.
Regina Spektor: Twenty Years of Snow
Singer-songwriter-pianist Regina Spektor is a force of nature. I am not cool enough to have heard of her before she was cool—I encountered her when I saw her music video for “Fidelity,” like everybody else. Remember that song where they were in a totally white room throwing colorful paint or Holi powder or something on each other? And she did that “hea-ah-ah-art” riff with all the glottals? Yeah, I liked that song.
György Kurtág: Es blendete uns die Mondnacht (from Kafka-Fragmente)
“Kafka Fragments” has the dubious, possibly oxymoronic distinction of being a famous piece of contemporary vocal chamber music – that is to say, people in certain circles feel it’s overdone and basically nobody else has ever heard of it. It’s an hour-long song cycle for solo female voice and solo violin, with texts from Franz Kafka’s diaries and letters. The “fragments” range in length from twenty seconds to ten minutes of music. Each is a fiendishly-notated jewel of expression.
Mostar Sevdah Reunion: Čudna jada od Mostara grada
This particular band, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, did exactly what it says on the cover: they reunited in the city of Mostar to arrange and record sevdalinka. The band’s founder recorded his first few tracks in 1993, when Mostar was under siege during the Bosnian war. On the band’s website, he described that first recording as “just a getaway episode to forget for one single moment all atrocities and suffering.” After the war, he reunited with his musician friends to record their first self-titled album.
Pauline Viardot and Johannes Brahms: Les Bohémiennes
There were many great nineteenth-century singers who sent audiences into a frenzy. Grown men wept when Rubini sang; women fainted at the sound of Giulia Grisi’s voice. But their art lives on only through anecdotes about their performances and descriptions of their timbre. None of them could inspire a program as far-ranging as tonight’s. For Pauline Viardot’s claim to fame was not merely the ephemeral success of a great artist. She made her mark on history by the music she inspired, the composers she nurtured, the works she premiered, and the music she wrote.
Tchaikovsky: Again, as before, I am alone
To celebrate NYFOS's 30th Anniversary Season, Song of the Day is featuring...
El dulce de America (Anonymous, Spain ca. 1780)
I found this song on a CD of Spanish baroque music, and instantly fell for this bewitching copla castiza. I didn’t even try to find printed music for it—I just got out some staff paper and jotted down the melody and the chords.
Franz Schubert: Du bist die Ruh
To celebrate NYFOS's 30th Anniversary Season, Song of the Day is featuring...
Ludwig van Beethoven: The Elfin Fairies
Beethoven was a master of piano trio writing, and he was able to mine the magic of these alluring melodies. “The Elfin Fairies” has the charm of Mendelssohn and Sir Arthur Sullivan, while “The Return to Ulster” has some of the gravity of Fidelio. Beethoven crafted brilliant Hausmusik that continues to give pleasure as his songs approach their bicentennial.
Robert Allen and Al Stillman: Meantime
Carol Burnett is not only a comedic goddess but this lady can sing too!! As we close for this week, I introduce you to Meantime sung live in 1962 by Carol at Carnegie Hall for her shared concert with Julie Andrews!
Adam Guettel: Awaiting You
This is one of my favorite songs composed my Adam Guettel. It’s pretty hard to choose a favorite. This piece is from Myths and Hymns which is a song cycle based on Greek mythology and lyrics found in an antique hymnal.
Jeff Blumenkrantz: I Won’t Mind
"I Won't Mind" is an incredibly moving song by actor and Tony-nominated...
Lerner and Loewe: On the Street Where You Live
I am a huge fan of Nancy Wilson. The timbre and versatility of her voice is incredible. I love the energy and spirit she brings to this incredibly unique version of this song. “On the Street Where You Live” from the musical My Fair Lady (with music by Frederick Loewe) was originally sung as a ballad by a man, but Nancy Wilson ups the tempo, adds some jazz, and makes it her own!