STAFF PICKS: Friday Faves

Posted on October 28, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion hosts share a favorite selection from their playlist. Tune in during the indicated hours below on Friday, October 28 to hear these pieces. In the meantime, you’ll hear other great new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre 24/7!

William Brittelle: High Done Know Why To (New Amsterdam Records)

Whenever I need a random boost of energy, there’s a high likelihood I’ll reach for this track. From the get-go, the “HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH” and rhythmic vocal sounds send me into a goofy, bouncy side-to-side chair dance. From there, the smooth, gliding soprano vocals interspersed with pointillistic staccatos mingle with the forthcoming endless variety in the rest of the track. It’s just SO GOOD and totally pumps me up. (PS William Brittelle is a master of quirk in his titles. Other favorites include “Hey Panda” “Them’s Lasers” and “Catwalk to the Multiplex.”) – Maggie Stapleton

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 11am hour today to hear this piece.

Timothy Johnson: debussy in abstract (self-released)

A few years ago, composer and pianist Timothy Johnson asked the simple question “What if Debussy were a minimalist?” This piece is the answer he provided. This music contains the soothing sounds of Debussy, but has a strong flavor of the “furniture music” of Erik Satie. This is music that will almost certainly improve your mood, even if you forget that it is happening. Push play on this track and let it transport you to a less anxious place. – Seth Tompkins

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 1pm hour today to hear this piece.

Poppy Nogood: Music for Mourning: V. it’s cloudy outside (Preserved Sound)

This ambient piece is the closing track of Poppy Nogood’s album Music For Mourning, which seeks to explore the phases of loss. In the movement “it’s cloudy outside” Nogood uses his piano as an emotional rake, collecting denial, anger, bargaining and depression into a tidy pile of gentle, foggy acceptance that unfurls inside your ears. Nogood has approached mourning with grace, tenderness, and, perhaps most importantly, tact. It’s beautiful. – Rachele Hales

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 5pm hour today to hear this piece.

STAFF PICKS: Friday Faves

Posted on July 15, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion hosts share a favorite selection from this Friday’s playlist. Tune in during the indicated hours below on Friday, July 15 to hear these pieces. In the meantime, you’ll hear other great new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre 24/7!

Mathew Rosenblum: Sharpshooter from Mobius Loop Gil Rose/Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP/sound)

At first listen, Mathew Rosenblum’s tonal language and style in Sharpshooter seemed pleasant, if unremarkable. However, as I dug into this piece, I realized that Rosenblum has woven microtonality throughout this piece so deftly that it seems an organic outgrowth of the musical expression, rather than a conscious “technique.” Integrating microtonality so successfully is a remarkable achievement. Additionally, Rosenblum’s use of repeating structures firmly plants this piece tantalizingly close to the leading edge of post-minimalism. If there were any more variety here, the post-minimalist label would be useless. In Sharpshooter, Rosenblum is clearly on the verge of what is next, whatever that is. – Seth Tompkins

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 10am hour today to hear this recording.

Tess Said So: “11-15” from Scramble + Fate (Preserved Sound Records)

If you’re looking for a gateway to classical music, or really, if you’re just looking for great music, I’d recommend Tess Said So’s recent release, Scramble + Fate. Tess Said So is an Australian duo featuring One Piano Player (Rasa Daukus) and One Percussionist (Will Larsen) who “adapt a pop sensibility to a classical format.” The track “11-15” has their signature composed, classical foundation peppered with refreshing pop-ballad flavors. It’s not too simple and it’s not too complex. The opening calm, slowly moving piano melody breaks way into piano onstinatos splashed with percussion, progressively building with a concluding recap to the opening. I feel a sense of nostalgia, and a slower reflection on what was once the present. – Maggie Stapleton

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 12pm hour today to hear this recording.

Corey Dargel: “Removable Parts” from Someone Will Take Care of Me (New Amsterdam Records)

When you’re in a relationship, you have to make sacrifices—and sometimes you lose pieces of yourself in the process. If you’re Corey Dargel, those pieces are quite literal.

“Removable Parts” is the title of Corey Dargel’s 10-part art song cycle about amputation fetishism. Yes, you read that correctly. Each song reimagines the sacrifices made in relationships as actual physical bodily amputations, with Dargel’s vocals drifting sarcastically above sappy piano and toy piano melodies. It’s like a collection of satirical love songs—radical, fanatical, and unapologetically self-indulgent.

And honestly, that’s pretty in tune with the rest of Dargel’s compositional discography. He writes electronic art songs which draw from contemporary classical and pop music idioms, combining deadpan vocal delivery with pulpy lyrics and deceptively cheery chamber music accompaniment.

Maybe it’s just my weird sense of humor, but I think it’s hilarious and original. Corey Dargel may have lost all his limbs and extremities, but at least he’s still got personality. – Maggie Molloy

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 6pm hour today to hear an excerpt from this recording.

ALBUM REVIEW: The Colorado

Posted on June 27, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

The Colorado River is a national treasure. download (31)

For the past 5 million years, the Colorado River has carved some of the most magnificent landscapes on Earth.

More than 33 million people across Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Mexico depend on the Colorado River for their water supply. The river supports a quarter million jobs and produces $26 billion in economic output each year from recreational activities alone.

But if the numbers alone don’t convince you, maybe the stories behind the river will.

VisionIntoArt teamed up with New Amsterdam Records to create The Colorado: a multimedia, music-based documentary that explores the Colorado River Basin from social and ecological perspectives across history. The project is conceived as equal parts eco-documentary film, live performance, and an educational tool for classrooms.

And just wait until you meet the team behind the music. For this one-of-a-kind album, the Grammy Award-winning contemporary vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth breathes life into compositions by Shara Nova, Paola Prestini, Glenn Kotche, William Brittelle, and John Luther Adams.

With color, charisma, tight harmonies, and striking shots of the river and its wildlife, the documentary presents the Colorado in all its majestic splendor—but it also tells a much bigger story.

Today, with a booming agricultural industry to support and nearly 40 million people dependent on its waters, the Colorado is overused, over-promised, and unable even to reach its delta. Add to that the impact of climate change on the region, and you begin to see why these are stories that truly need to be heard.

The Colorado explores vast terrain, both in terms of music and lyrical content. Lyrics by William Debuys navigate from the prehistoric settlements of the region to the current plight of the river’s delta, from the period of European exploration to the dam-building era and its legacy, from industrial agriculture and immigration to the inescapable impact of climate change.

As an additional educational component to the album and documentary, the team behind The Colorado is also in the midst of creating a full-length textbook, corresponding section by section to the film, which will allow students and audiences to explore these topics in greater depth. The goal is to create connections between art, ecology, and regional history while also educating audiences toward a better stewardship of resources.

thecolorado

The album begins—well, at the “Beginnings.” Composed by rock drummer Glenn Kotche (of Wilco), “Beginnings” sets the sonic scene of the prehistoric Colorado River through sparse instrumentation, evocative rhythms, and layered, wordless vocals. Almost ritualistic in nature, Roomful of Teeth’s voices evoke a deep spiritual connection to the river and its surroundings.

It’s followed by cross-cultural composer Paola Prestini’s “A Padre, A Horse, A Telescope.” Prestini, who is one of the co-founders of VisionIntoArt, takes a more Baroque-inspired choral approach. Setting Jesuit sources as the text for the piece (including a Hail Mary in Cochimí, an extinct Native American language), Prestini creates haunting counterpoint through echoing, intricately layered voices which speak to the religious symbolism of the river—both for Europeans and indigenous peoples.

The river’s relentless pulse comes alive in “An Unknown Distance Yet to Run,” written by composer, singer-songwriter, and mezzo-soprano extraordinaire Shara Nova (of My Brightest Diamond). Through steady rhythms, restless strings, and chant-style vocals, she tells a gripping tale of exploration and adventure.

Composer William Brittelle folds elements of electro-pop into his two contributions on the album. “Shimmering Desert” features breathy, wordless vocals in a kaleidoscopic collage of electronics, radio clips, and strings, while “The Colossus” recalls the drama and dangerous working conditions of the Colorado River dams.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and environmentalist John Luther Adams’ contribution to the album requires a bit more patience. Unfolding slowly across layered, softly cascading vocal lines, he creates a vision of a vast, organic river landscape populated by nothing but the soft sounds of nature—in this case embodied ever so delicately by human voices.

Prestini’s narrative-driven “El Corrido de Joe R.” tells a more concrete story of love and sacrifice along the river. Roomful of Teeth sings above trickling water and birds chirping as they tell one family’s story—an anecdote of the interpersonal relationships between people and the land they live on.

It’s followed by another Nova piece, “Welcome to the Anthropocene,” a ghostly illustration of modern man’s massive (and dangerous) impact on the planet as we continue to abuse our resources and damage our world.

And yet, the album ends on a decidedly hopeful note: Kotche’s “Palette of a New Creation.” Roomful of Teeth paints an image of optimism through vividly colored harmonies and beautifully textured polyphony—a reminder of the meaningful change we can create when we lift our voices together.

Because together, through education, environmental activism, and effective stewardship of land and water, we can keep the Colorado flowing for generations to come. After all, there is 5 million years’ worth of music coursing through the Colorado River—for those who are willing to listen.

STAFF PICKS: Friday Faves

Posted on April 15, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion hosts Seth, Geoffrey, and Maggie M. each share a favorite selection from the Friday 4/15/16 playlist! Tune in at the indicated times below to hear these pieces. In the meantime, you’ll hear other great new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre 24/7!

Lisa Bielawa: “Hurry” from The Lay of the Love (Innova)

Lisa Bielawa’s Hurry is a breathless recounting of the composer’s impressions of a Boris Pasternak poem, translated to English from the original Russian. I love how Bielawa seamlessly transitions from the sparse, bare and wide-open chamber music textures of the work’s opening sections to the larger, lyrical, almost orchestral sounds later in the piece. It’s an all-star cast on this recording, featuring some of my favorite powerhouse musicians such as pianist Benjamin Hochmann and clarinetist Anthony McGill. – Geoffrey Larson

Check out the first stanza from Boris Pasternak’s poem:

Hurry, my verses, hurry; never
have I so needed you before.
Round the corner there’s a house
where the days have broken rank.
Comfort there’s none and all work’s stopped
and there they weep, ponder and wait.

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 2pm hour today to hear this recording.

Shara Nova: “A Whistle, A Tune, A Macaroon” from yMusic’s Beautiful Mechanical (New Amsterdam)

homepage_large.cbf92e9b Composer, songwriter, and mezzo-soprano extraordinaire Shara Worden recently changed her name to Shara Nova—and it couldn’t be more appropriate. In Hebrew, Shara means “song”—a pretty serendipitous name for a singer-songwriter—and in Latin, Nova means “new.”

Throughout her career as a full-time contemporary classical chameleon, she has recreated herself and her music again and again, exploring the furthest reaches of the classical genre. She’s created and fronted her own avant-garde rock band, My Brightest Diamond, composed and starred in her own 21^st century baroque chamber opera, “You Us We All,” and collaborated with composers and artists as diverse as the Decemberists, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Sufjan Stevens, Colin Stetson, David Byrne, and many, many more.

“A Whistle, A Tune, A Macaroon” showcases a collaboration with another powerful force in contemporary classical: yMusic. Though we don’t get to hear any of Nova’s vocals on this track, her soaring, songlike melodies and keen ear for experimentation are unmistakable in this composition. Exotic flute and clarinet idioms dance above pizzicato basslines to create a new work that is every bit as whimsical as its title. Suffice it to say, it’s a new song you do not want to miss. – Maggie Molloy

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 4pm hour today to hear this recording.

Matt McBane: “imagining winter” from Build (New Amsterdam)

build-build Violinist and composer Matt McBane’s ensemble Build is a favorite of mine. This week, I’m pleased to present you with their track imagining winter, composed by McBane. I’ve been very busy lately, so I’ve been focused on keeping my head down and digging in to make it through to Memorial Day weekend. That is why I connected with this particular piece this week; this music seems to be the sonic equivalent of my recent state of mind. More generally, with characteristics of minimalism, cinematic music (a la Les Triplettes de Belleville), and subdued jazz elements, this piece is an excellent soundtrack for your solitary urban adventures, whether that means a focused day at the office or a surreptitious exploration of forbidden places. – Seth Tompkins

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 6pm hour today to hear this recording.

ALBUM REVIEW: Michael Mizrahi’s “Currents”

Posted on April 11, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Mizrahi-Hi-Res-10_o Classical music is fluid. Try as we might, we can never pin down a definitive “beginning” or “end” to the arbitrary musical eras we’ve created. And while we may broadly categorize music as Baroque or Classical, Romantic or Modern, ultimately all of these seemingly individualized movements blend into a much broader pool: the Western classical music tradition.

But this pool is not static—it continues to change and evolve as composers and performers continue to make waves in the contemporary music world.

That’s the premise behind pianist Michael Mizrahi’s new album of solo piano works, “Currents.” Recently released on the New Amsterdam record label, the album brings together six impeccably performed and expertly recorded new American piano works, almost all of which were written specifically for Mizrahi’s idiosyncratic sound, style, and musical approach.

The result is a unique addition to the 21^st century solo piano repertoire that, as the title suggests, embodies movement forward, building on the great piano works of the past while also expanding and propelling the solo piano works of the future. The album features works by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Troy Herion, Mark Dancigers, Asha Srinivasan, Missy Mazzoli, and Patrick Burke.

The album begins with the title track: “The Currents” by Sarah Kirkland Snider. Perhaps best known for her song cycles (which feature the inimitable voices of Shara Worden and Padma Newsome), this solo piano piece carries the same flowing lyricism and sensitivity as Snider’s vocal music—but without any of the words. Mizrahi’s fingers swim gracefully through the ebb and flow of the piece, beautifully capturing the depth and breadth of colors that make the currents come to life.

The piece is followed by Troy Herion’s pseudo-Baroque solo piano work, cheekily titled “Harpsichords.” Heavily peppered with trills and musical ornaments, the piece evokes the pristine, transparent textures of the Baroque era while venturing into 21^st century melodies and musical forms (or, you know, lack thereof). Mizrahi blends both eras seamlessly.

The slow-moving and sincere “Bright Motion Ascending” is nothing short of sparkling. The work was composed for Mizrahi by his NOW Ensemble bandmate, guitarist Mark Dancigers, as the third installment in his “Bright Motion” trilogy. Mizrahi’s fast fingers transform the piano into a harp, his fingertips gliding effortlessly across cascading arpeggios, from the glistening upper registers of the piano all the way down to its earthiest tones.

Asha Srinivasan’s introspective “Mercurial Reveries” draws upon her Indian-American heritage, weaving in elements from Indian classical scales and modes, along with the occasional (and ever so subtle) jazz piano lick. Over the course of five short movements, she explores a vast terrain of distinctive musical textures, at one point even instructing the pianist to physically reach inside the piano and stop the strings’ vibrations with one hand while playing on the keys with the other. Mizrahi, as it turns out, plays the inside of the piano with the same precision and grace as the outside.

The work is followed by Missy Mazzoli’s “Heartbreaker,” an intimate piece which showcases Mizrahi’s virtuosity without bleeding over into the showy (and at times superficial) pitfall of many virtuosic solo piano pieces. The piece starts out deceptively simple, but quickly spirals into freewheeling abandon, dancing just within the limits of the pianist’s control.

The album comes to a close with Patrick Burke’s poignant and pensive “Missing Piece.” Mizrahi’s fingers pace across slow-moving triadic harmonies and yearning dissonances, uncovering the work’s clear Romantic underpinnings.

Ultimately, each piece on the album reminds us that there is no clear line between the music of the past and the music of the present. We don’t always have to separate the music into arbitrary categories—sometimes we just need to sit back, relax, and get swept up in the “Currents.”