Rediscovering the Past

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 17:14

While driving around the other day, I had the radio on the local classical station. The current program was doing a comparison between the works of Thomas Tallis and his lesser-known contemporary John Shephard. To be honest, this was the first time I had actually listened to any Renaissance music for quite some time. Yet, it was incredibly refreshing. There is something about the music of the Renaissance, of Palestrina and Allegri, Tallis and Monteverdi, that, even today, possesses a unique and striking quality. Maybe it's the purity of the music, or the solemn character.

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Dvorak, Rostropovich, Karajan and the Berlin Phil

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 15:26

Today, I was listening to Rostropovich's recording of the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic. Even though I've listened to this recording countless, just to re-read that first sentence leaves me awe struck. Antonin Dvorak, Mstislav Rostropovich, Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic all mentioned in one sentence and together in one recording. The recording was made during the turbulent 1960s in Cold War ravished Berlin. The political overtones of the collaboration did not go unnoticed.

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Where is the Passion?

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 15:29

For the past century classical music has experienced a decline in popularity. In consequence, we often hear of professional orchestra having budget problems and what not. It's often said that classical music suffers from a bad case of elitism. This much is true. I can say that I've dealt with my fair share of classical musicians and scholars who have elitist attitudes, and to speak bluntly, I abhor dealing with them. But what causes elitism? I believe elitism starts when one's passion has died out and all that is left is an empty shell.

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February 22, 2010

George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685, 225 years ago, in the German city of Halle, Saxony. He went on to study in Italy, settling in London in 1712 and later becoming a British subject. Handel was known for his operas in his lifetime (he wrote 62 of them, most in the Italian style), which fell out of vogue soon after his death but are enjoying a revival today thanks to artists like Cecilia Bartoli. We created this playlist to commemorate Handel’s anniversary. We start with the pianist Margarita Shevchenko playing Chaconne in G Major. Following that, the baritone Raymond Feener sings the aria Arm, arm ye brave from the great oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. In conclusion, the guitarist Charles Mokotoff solos in Concerto in B-flat Major for Guitar and Strings. To listen, click here.

Counterpoint and Me

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Sat, 02/20/2010 - 20:35

As you probably could tell from my previous post, I'm very interested in the subject of counterpoint. It is such a vast subject capable of so much variation. I honestly believe one could study the subject for their entire life and still be learning until the very end. This is the reason I lament the fact the almost non-existence of counterpoint in university music curricula. One semester, or even a few, is barely enough time to just scratch the surface.

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A Brief History of Counterpoint

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Sat, 02/20/2010 - 09:32

Counterpoint is all at once the most intricate, the most necessary, the least understood and most neglected technique in music. Just in case you're wondering, counterpoint is the simultaneous combination of two or more melodies. However, in my opinion, a better and broader definition is the relationship of two or more parts to each other in music.

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