Reviews: Music, books, movies

I think I first encountered Deva Premal in one of my occasional sweeps of eMusic.com for artists whose descriptions look interesting but whose work I’m not already familiar with. I pick a track here and there for sampling their work at leisure, then go back to buy more of their work as I decide I like them. Deva makes a very good first impression.

So when I saw Deva’s latest CD at the bookstore, Dakshina, I bought it for the sheer joy of discovering her most recent work.

I processed the CD tracks as usual to FLAC, copied to my music player, then lay down to relax and listen closely. From the first note I was engaged. But as soon as Track 4 started — Aad Guray — I felt goosebumps, then awe, until I found myself melting into tears. I told Steph, “I think I’ve just heard the most beautiful thing in my life so far.”

(The first 1:10 of Aad Guray, which provides a very good taste of what I mean, is available at Deva and Miten’s site on the Dakshina page.)

The other tracks come very close to that assessment, too.

S and I were half-watching the televised Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood on PBS Sunday night, and then The Wailin’ Jennys came on.

<heads jerk toward TV>

I sat transfixed, tears flowing at the beauty of these Canadian angels. S said, “I think I’m in love.”

Acoustic folk with magic harmonies … female voices melt me in general, and the Jennys in particular.

Unfortunately they’re not listed at my favorite online music source, eMusic (see below), but they are available at the iTunes Music Store. I bought both 40 Days and Firecracker on impulse, and now can’t stop listening to either album [link to descriptive Amazon listings].

Update: The Jenny whose voice grabs me most, Annabelle Chvostek, has two solo releases available at eMusic. Enjoying now.

Update 2: Links to lovely video of “Beautiful Dawn” and entire audio track of “One Voice” (and more) available at Jericho Beach Music. (The video shows previous Jenny, Cara Luft, whom I’d never seen — only heard — on 40 Days.

2006-08-16 update: Now both 40 Days and Firecracker are available at eMusic! (Which means higher quality encoding and no DRM.)

A while back I wrote this to a friend who’s originally from west Texas.

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I am, to my surprise, crazy about the instrumental post-rock band Explosions in the Sky (EitS). Do you know of them? They’re from Odessa, TX, which makes me wonder if they might have registered on your radar sooner. (Now they’re in Austin.)

You can hear EitS track samples (and see more info) at eMusic or at Amazon, or hear entire tracks from concerts as listed here.

I’d describe their sound as “intricate beauty in the midst of chaos.” I find it somehow very comforting, not a response I would have predicted.

I think my favorite EitS album so far is The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place. One of the eMusic commenters captures why I like this album in particular:

Inspired by the desire to replace feelings of desperation with feelings of hope “The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place” (written over and over on the cover as if someone is trying to convince themselves…) is an empathetic companion to anyone who’s felt the same.

Finally, the EitS bassist has a really cool name. How could I not like ‘em? ;-)

[entry originally published Wednesday, March 2, 2005 but I’ve kept adding to it throughout the month]

I’m having a grand time returning in mid-life to a profound joy of my youth, classical music, especially symphonies. I had somehow forgotten how soul-uplifting this music is for me.

With Dr. Julius as my emcee to the possibilities once again, I find myself especially drawn to exploring Herr Bruckner und Herr Mahler. Using guidelines from the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs, reviews at Amazon.com (at links below), and most helpful of all, informed discussion threads at Head-fi.org (Bruckner, Mahler), I’ve started with these purchased recordings.

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Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies (00-9) performed by Georg Tintner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Naxos, February 22, 2000)
Notes: Extravagant, I know, but I liked Tintner’s No. 3 so much I bought the whole inexpensive but well-regarded boxed set. Penguin Guide lists set as a key 3-* recording.

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 performed by Otto Klemperer and the New Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI, recorded 1964, remastered release October 7, 2003)
Notes: The sound is close to spectacular. Here I am listening to something recorded during my pre-kindergarten years, and even now as I’ve begun showing early signs of Old Fartitude, I’m being blown away by it.

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 performed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Wiener Philharmoniker) (Teldec, March 7, 2000)
Notes: Penguin Guide lists as a key 3-* recording.

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 performed by Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Decca, July 16, 2002)
Notes: I can’t yet compare to any other performances, but the Adagio (3rd movement) here is one of the more sublime things I’ve ever heard.

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Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” performed by Zubin Mehta, Ileana Cotrubas, Christa Ludwig, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Decca, recorded 1975, rereleased June 13, 2000)

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Mahler: Symphony No. 4 performed by Fritz Reiner, Lisa della Casa, and the Chicago Symphony (RCA, recorded ~1958, rereleased March 7, 2000)

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Mahler: Symphony No. 5 performed by Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker (EMI, November 5, 2002)

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Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde performed by Otto Klemperer, Christa Ludwig, Fritz Wunderlich, and the [Old and] New Philharmonia Orchestra(s) (EMI, recorded 1964–1966, rereleased January 12, 1999)
Notes: Not that long ago when I’d hear music like this, with operatic singers crooning and ululating in German, I’d say, turn that noise off! Now, to my surprise, I can hardly get enough. Maybe it’s the aging process, the deeper understanding of the fleetingness of life on earth (and acceptance of death’s everpresence here) that comes with years, that has my head and heart converging with Mahler’s life trajectory and resonating to it. I still don’t understand much German, yet the words still seem so right.

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received Friday, March 18 …

Bruckner: Symphonie No. 9 performed by Carlo Maria Giulini and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Wiener Philharmonica) (DG, November 14, 1989)
Notes: Ordered because Tyson won me over with

 … it is finally a recording that matches my favorites (Tintner in both). I’m coming to the conclusion that I simply like slow, intensely spiritual, song-like style of Bruckner conducting, which both Giulini and Tintner have in spades.

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received Friday, March 18 …

Mahler: Symphony 9 performed by Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Decca, November 9, 2004)
Notes: Ordered this recording because I’ve seen it praised as an extra high-quality new recording of a work of which Origen writes —

If there is a more beautiful first movement in symphonic history than [Mahler 9], please let me know.

to which Masonjar responded —

[Mahler 9’s 1st movement is] definitely my favorite Mahler movement. That would obviously place it above every movement of any symphony by anyone else (since Mahler is my favorite symphonist), and above any piece of classical music period.

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received Mon, March 21 …

Bruckner: Symphonie No. 8 performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Wiener Philharmonica) (DG, September 13, 1989)
Notes: Widely hailed, acclaimed by the Penguin Guide as

 … the most impressive of them all. The sheer beauty of sound and opulence of texture is awe-inspiring but never draws attention to itself: this is a performance in which beauty and truth go hand and hand.

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received Sun, March 27 …

Birthday monies let me expand this glory by two more Mahlers and expand into Vaughan Williams:

Mahler: Symphony No. 8 performed by Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Decca, recorded 196_, remastered release August 10, 1999)
Notes: 

Mahler: Symphony No. 10 performed by Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker (EMI, June 6, 2000)
Notes: 

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis et al. performed by John Barbirolli and the Allegri String Quartet (EMI, recorded 196_, remastered release March 14, 2000)
Notes: 

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5; Valiant-for-Truth et al. performed by Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra (Chandos, February 9, 1999)
Notes: 

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received Sun, April 4 …

Mahler: Symphony No. 9 performed by Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra (Telarc, February 23, 1999)
Notes: 

Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony performed by Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra (Chandos, May 22, 2001)
Notes: 

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received Wed, April 13 …

Mahler: Symphony No. 3 performed by Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Decca, May 11, 2004)
Notes: This recording’s 23-minute final movement may be the most lyrical and powerful piece of symphonic music I’ve ever experienced. Most of its length is melodic interweavings I fully expect to hear in heaven. Then its finale packs in the tympanic power, is even bombastic perhaps, but it’s bombast that raises waves of goosebumps then melts my heart. I’ve listened about six times now, and each time it’s left me speechless with tears rolling.

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received Mon, May 23 …

Mahler: The Complete Symphonies performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic (Sony, January 30, 2001)
Notes: In one final burst of Mahlerian extravagance I’m listening to Bernstein’s Sony box set, as a result of a weak moment while reading the enthusiasm for it in this thread. One way of looking at it, the one I’m using, is $55 for 12.8 hours of music most of which makes my heart sing is a pretty good deal!

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Listening now — political thoughts out the window; theological thoughts, too, except insofar as these are religious experiences for me. Ahh …

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2005-03-22 update:
Wow, I’ve bought a year’s worth of music in a month. Have I uncovered a wee bit of OCD? But what a joyful obsession it is. And one with a lifelong shelf life, eh? (Plus I can rationalize I’m doing my part to help keep the classical genre a viable market for artists and record labels. :-)

I honestly didn’t know that overtone singing was possible — that is, that

With a little practice, almost anyone can sing two or three distinct tones at the same time — an ability that allows you to sing harmony … with yourself.

Not only is it possible, I learned there are extraordinary artists specializing in overtone singing as I listened to Hearts of Space Program 717, Harmonic Voices 2.

Featured group in this program is Baird Hersey & PRANA, whose droning sounds I find to be otherworldly. I ordered PRANA’s featured album The Eternal Embrace from CD Baby (thumbs-up vendor experience).

I’m someone quite able to go ga-ga over what the human voice can do, and there’s plenty of ga-ga happening as I listen to these droning sounds over and over. It’s still almost unbelievable to me that humans can do this.

Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really like trancing out to these guys and gals. (Most of this album’s yoga significance is going over my head; I expect comprehending that will make this experience even richer.)

Who knew I’d be a fan of trip hop?

I first heard Teardrop off Massive Attack’s Mezzanine as the mysterious heartbeat and chord progression on the medical mystery show House (a great show, BTW). Now I’m hooked.

The drone and percussive deep bass are kind of trance-inducing. This FAQ includes this quote:

Triphop evokes a melancholy, contemplative feel inside of me (by the way most people that I know that like triphop tend to have a sad tint on life, not depressive or negative, just feel pain a little stronger).

No wonder I like it, too. Now I need to explore Portishead et al.