Mesmerizing Your Ears with Philip Glass

 

image source: www.medici.tv

Since I have not written in this blog for over twelve years, I thought I'd drop this simple note: listen to some Philip Glass. Now, if you just stopped reading and went do just that, my job here is done... In the event you have not, well, I hope you do so by the end of the post.

I first heard about Philip Glass while I was in college. He is known as one of the main creators of the minimalist style. However, as other composers in the past who have been associated with a particular style, Glass prefers to categorize his music as having "repetitive structures" rather than using the reductive (pardon the pun) "minimalist" label. I became familiar with three of his pieces: "Glassworks," which I understand became a ballet, and his first two symphonies. By around 2010, I was constantly listening to these three compositions repeatedly. For many years after this, I tried to check out more of his music, but I always got sidetracked by something else. I listened to snippets from "Satyagraha" here and there, but I wasn't quite paying attention to the music and that work simply did not grow on me. I soon hope to give it another chance.

Then, my utter fascination with this composer started around 2018, when I listened to "Akhnaten." This particular composition, with its beautiful orchestration and vocals, made me decide to pursue more listening. After going to the Metropolitan Opera to see a staging of this work, I was convinced. I needed to listen to a lot more Philip Glass.

A lot of joy and a bit of disappointment came from this pursuit:

Firstly, I did listen to his Symphonies #3 to #10 in 2022, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  One of my favorite became #7, the "Toltec" Symphony. Since I felt my minimalist craving was not fully satisfied, I decided to, so to speak, go back to basics and listen to "Einstein on the Beach." His three biopic operas, in chronological order, are these:

1. Einstein on the Beach, 1976.

2. Satyagraha, 1980.

3. Akhnaten, 1984.

And this is where a bit of disappointment came. What all of these operas have in common is that, for each work, the composer chose as the subject matter a historical character who drastically changed his generation. Musically speaking, however, the first work is not only extremely long and therefore more tiresome to get through (it took me several days), but also less musical. There were a few passages of "Einstein" which were appealing, but in my opinion there is not much lyricism in the music. Now, do not think for a second that in Glass's operas you will find the kind of lyricism we have in Puccini, Verdi or any other opera composer - not at all. The styles are completely different. Yet the last two operas in the triptych are musically richer, more colorful, and the ideas develop in a way that you can feel and almost taste them. In "Einstein," however, the music often becomes stale.

If you are still with me, just do this: go on YouTube, look up one of Glass's symphonies, and enjoy. If you like what you hear, then go to "Akhnaten"  and keep exploring from there. And as you are listening to this music, keep an open mind and remember to allow time to slow down. Whenever I want to really listen, especially with headphones to block other sounds and close my eyes in a relaxed position, I tend to pick music by Philip Glass.

DLG: Swing On [Español]

Introducción: 


DLG (Dark Latin Groove) fue un grupo musical de mucho auge a mediados de los años '90. Mezclando elementos de salsa y rap con el entonces nuevo género musical surgiente, reggaetón, este grupo logró un sonido fresco y cautivante para varias edades. La popularidad que disfrutó el grupo puede atribuirse tanto a el exoticismo de esta combinación de géneros musicales como al liderazgo interpretativo del cantante principal, Huey Dunbar, quien posee una voz deslumbrante y sin barreras de expresión, volumen o altitud tonal. 

En el año 2000 Dunbar eligió continuar su carrera como solista, independizándose de los cantantes "Fragancia" y James "DaBarba" de Jesús, con quiénes formaba el trio DLG. Aunque la carrera de este grupo había parecido efímera, su legado ya le habia regalado al público algunos éxitos inolvidables y tres álbumes. Dos álbumes más fueron publicados después de la desintegración del grupo (aunque parece que éstos son compilaciones de canciones de los álbumes previos).


El álbum "Swing On" (1997) contiene ocho pistas e ilustra bastante bien el estilo de DLG: unas canciones son pura salsa, algunas son embriones de reggaetón,  mientras que otras son combinaciones de estilos musicales. A continuación les presentaré una discusión breve de algunos temas de este álbum, tocando varios puntos acerca de la ejecución instrumental y vocal, y sin miedo a interpolar mi propia opinión personal en medio del simple análisis que intento compartir.

1. La quiero a morir
  El álbum comienza con un tema bien conocido por muchos, cuya versión original es cantada en francés (Je l'aime à mourir) por el cantante y compositor Francis Cabrel, pero quien también había grabado una versión en español (usando acento europeo y hasta conjugaciones del pronombre "vosotros" por ej. "podéis." ¡Qué tradicional!). 

Sin embargo, en la versión de DLG, la canción abre brillantemente con un coro en estilo gospel e inmediatamente procede a introducir el ritmo de salsa: usando sólo percusión y bajo en la primera mitad del verso, y agregando el piano y los bronces en la segunda. Desde el comienzo del tema, se escucha un placentero contraste ya que el vocalista canta el verso en una octava más baja, pero luego procede a la octava regular en el coro. El contraste continúa, pues el siguiente verso es cantado en la octava alta.

Este tema es muy bailable y está acompañado de un arreglo majestuoso con salsa a todo dar: coros, bronces y montunos de piano lo hacen brillar. Interjecciones instrumentales que no eran parte del tema original han sido integradas de manera imperceptible, tanto así, que ahora escucho la versión francesa queriendo agregar los interludios de DLG.


Algunas observaciones de ejecución y producción: 


- Particularmente, hubiera preferido una pausa un poquito más acentuada entre el coro gospel introductorio y la melodía principal. El primer verso parece comenzar apresuradamente. 

- Las exclamaciones habladas "la quiero" (por ej. 4:21) gritadas por un grupo masculino suenan un tanto fuera de tono.

- La sección en "rap" pudo haber sido un poco más creativa que simplemente repetir "la quiero, la quiero, la quiero..." ad nauseam (3:21). De todos modos, cuando este vocalista regresa por un breve instante, su participación es mejor recibida (4:27 y 4:37). En esta parte del tema, hay muy buena cordinación entre los varios grupos vocales e instrumentales.

- Las línas melódicas de la voz principal cantadas al estilo de improvisación (3:40) demuestran gran versatilidad de ejecución mientras conducen al oyente muy placenteramente hasta el cierre de la canción, el cual ocurre de manera magnífica, con mucha confianza y con un suave e inflexionado golpe de conga.

[En términos propiamente musicales]: 

El tono original de la canción de Cabrel (Fa mayor) fue tranpuesto medio tono abajo a Mi mayor. El tempo no es exagerado en lo absoluto ([negra] = 100), y aunque es sólo de un pulso de 100/minuto, la percusión y el piano proveen un buen encaje rítmico que se mantiene constante y enérgico.


2. La soledad
Este tema es un arreglo en salsa de la canción del mismo nombre de la cantate italiana Laura Pausini (versión original: La solitudine). Las letras han sido un poco modificadas para acomodar a un cantante masculino (i.e. "ella se ha marchado para no volver" en vez de "Marcos se ha marchado para no volver"). La versión de este álbum presenta interludios en rap ejecutados por una voz femenina, agregando diversidad tanto en estilo como en timbre.


[En términos propiamente musicales]: 

- El tono original de la versión de Pausini (Si-bemol mayor) fue transpuesto un tono más bajo a La-bemol mayor. La versión original cuenta con una modulación sin preparación a Ré-bemol que es muy atractiva, y la cual ha sido muy hábilmente preservada en la versión de DLG, modulando a Si mayor en el segundo verso (Do-bemol mayor por sustitución enarmónica para preservar la relación de una tercera menor entre las tonalidades, pero Si mayor es más práctico, por supuesto).


- Las partes en rap son semi-melódicas, ya que la cantante utiliza la nota principal de la armonía (Si) para rapear, haciendo uso de otras notas de la escala de vez en cuando, particularmente la quinta (Fa#) cuando repite "la soledad, la soledad" mientras usa síncopas rápidas y bien articuladas tanto musical como verbalmente.




Review (from www.allmusic.com)

As the musical director for RMM in the '80s and early '90s, keyboardist/producer Sergio George was involved in dozens of recordings by salsa's premier artists, from Celia Cruz and Oscar D'Leon to Tito Nieves and Ray Sepulveda. All this experience seems to have paid off, as George branched off into his own production company, nurturing vital artists such as DLG. The New York trio has created a fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms with rhythm and blues stylings that includes the occasional hip-hop interlude.
SWING ON is marked not only by George's virtuoso piano style, but also by a slew of notable guest artists. Afro-Cuban pioneer Cuco Valoy contributes guest vocals on his own classic "Juliana," while rapper Ivy Queen appears on a rap reworking of the Celia Cruz gem "Quimbara." There's also the smooth voice of Cindy Davila, who sings and raps on two of the album's most infectious tracks, "La Soledad" and "Lagrimas."

[El director musical de la RMM durante los '80 y los '90, el productor y tecladista Sergo George, estuvo involucrado en docenas de grabaciones de los artistas más prominentes de la salsa, desde Celia Cruz y Oscar D'Leon hasta Tito Nieves y Rey Sepúlveda. Toda esta experiencia aparentemente le sentó bien, pues George llegó a formar su propia compañía de producción, invigorando a artistas vitales tales como DLG. El trio de Nueva York creó una fusión de ritmos afro-caribeños con estilos de "rhythm y blues" que incluyen interludios ocasionales de hip-hop. SWING ON está marcado no solo por el estilo virtuoso pianístico de George, sino también por un conjunto de notables artistas invitados. El pionero afro-cubano Cuco Valoy, como invitado, contribuye su voz en su propio tema clásico "Juliana," mientras que la rapera Ivy Queen aparece en una rendición en rap de la gema de Celia Cruz, "Quimbara." También se encuentra la suave voz de Cindy Dávila, quien canta y rapea en dos de los más contagiosos temas del álbum, "La Soledad" y "Lágrimas."]





Link: DLG en Wikipedia


~ Muchas gracias por leer ~

The Power of Händel [English]

If you have ever heard the Hallelujah Chorus, then perhaps you might have wondered who was the clever man that came up with that. This fantastic piece of music, which sadly is often used completely out of context in random commercials and other gimmicks, is indeed a chef d'ouvre of classical music. The piece is associated with great glory and splendor, and the tale of the very king standing up at its first performance in Dublin is familiar to numerous people. Yet that snippet of music, itself part of a larger and thoroughly beautiful work of art, is only that - a snippet - a glimpse of the many treasures created by an outstanding man: Georg Friderich Händel (1685-1759), born in Halle, Germany.

The work to which this chorus belongs is the oratorio Messiah, premiered in 1742 in Dublin, Ireland. Once again, though many musicians and music lovers alike know this complete composition well, and most singers in a community choir have sung it at least once, knowledge of its composer seldom goes beyond this one piece. My goal for this post is to provide a general intro to an artist which I have increasingly admired for the past four or five years, as well as to share some music that goes well beyond the celebrated Christmas chorus. As I am writing this blog entry, I just finished reading the third chapter of Händel's biography by Christopher Hogwood, so I am only equipped to provide a partial, yet apt summary of his music and life.

First matter to discuss:
Händel's Operas

Run-though of his operatic career:

1. He spent some years in Hamburg, Germany where he wrote a few operas. There was a very successful opera house in this city where another composer, Reinhard Keiser, composed and directed several operas. Some of Händel's operas from this period are unfortunately lost.

 2. Then he was in Italy for some years (Rome, Florence, Venice). Aside from composing some sacred music, In Italy he saw the performance of two of his operas, Rodrigo (1708) and Agrippina (1709/1710), the latter a huge success with the Italian audiences!

3. Later on, he lived in London, England for many years. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Music, where he performed several operas. This is the time on which many historians focus given the complexity of the situation: a German guy writing music that was to be sung in Italian by Italian singers... but for an English audience. This is just too juicy a story - so we'll linger in this part of his life for now. After all, Händel actually lived in England for the rest of his life (1710-1759) and he became a British citizen as well.

After this concise outline of the composer's journey in opera, I would like to present you with some samples from the operas he produced in the third period mentioned above: England. I have selected a few of my favorite arias from Händel's operas. Just a note of caution: Do not be fear the background in some of the videos; they are such because some productions use very modern staging coupled with traditional, older music. Also, do not be puzzled by fact that in some arias a man is singing like a woman... The main reason could easily span another blog entry, but if you want to have a clue, you can learn about castrati singers in the meantime. [Ouch!]

Opera: Rinaldo (November, 1707)
Act I. Aria: Cara sposa (Dear wife)

Rinaldo: Cara sposa

A man longs for the return of his beloved wife.

Opera: Rinaldo
Act II. Aria: Lascia ch'io pianga mia cruda sorte (Let me cry my cruel fate)

Rinaldo: Lascia ch'io pianga mia cruda sorte

A woman laments and weeps while being held captive.

Opera: Giulio Cesare (February 20, 1724)
Act I. Aria: Va tacito e nascosto ([He] goes quietly and stealthily)

Giulio Cesare: Va tacito e nascosto

Julius Caesar compares a lover to a hunter.

Opera: Giulio Cesare
Act II. Recitativo: Che sento? (What am I feeling?)
Aria: Se pietà di me non senti (If you do not have pity on me)
Giulio Cesare: Che sento? / Se pietà di me non senti 
Cleopatra claims she will die if the heavens do not have pity on her.

Opera: Rodelinda (February 13, 1725)
Act II. Duet: Io t'abbraccio (I embrace you / I hug you)
Rodelinda: Io t'abbraccio
Two lovers embrace.

Opera: Rodelinda
Act III. Recitativo: O falso è Bertarido o fu mendace (Either Bertarido is false or he is fake)
Aria: Tra sospetti, affetti e timori (After suspiscions, emotions and fears)
Rodelinda: O falso è Bertarido / Tra sospetti, affetti e timori
Feeling betrayed, a main says his breast is filled with burden.

These selections illustrate the composer's command of lyricism in his vocal writing as well as his craftiness in dramatic expression. Much of the music of the Baroque period was dominated by a philosophy called the doctrine of affections, which basically states that each piece of music should strongly convey an emotion and effectively transmit an emotion. Ingenious musical decisions such as the fast triple meter in Tra sospetti, affetti e timori, or the slow and languishing speed of Se pietà di me non senti help us, as listeners, to feel the emotions the characters are experiencing.

Second matter to discuss:

Some Important Compositions Other than Opera.

I will provide this (by no means complete) outline in order to spark more interest on the German master:

1. Water Music

premiered on July 17, 1717. (Cool date, huh?)

Water Music is a series of suites (i.e. collections of dances) which were originally performed on the King's ships as they sailed on the River Thames in England. They embody many moods, some joyous, others pensive, and so forth.

 2. Four Coronation Anthems

 premiered on October 11, 1727.

The four anthems are, well, a bit self-explanatory given their title. Before the premiere, people were more excited about the rehearsals than the performance itself - there were over 200 musicians involved in this concert - so the authorities had to request that no one disturbed during rehearsals.

 3. Keyboard Suites
premiered and played at various dates.

Händel composed lots of music for the harpsichord. Most serious composers of the time produced and published volumes of keyboard music.



4. Oratorios
premiered and played at various dates.

After some years, English audiences were not pleased with Italian opera anymore, so Händel turned his attention to writing oratorios, which are similar to operas, but they mostly employ sacred (religious) stories rather than secular ones. His oratorios are sung in English, a fact that extended the composer's success in his new home country. Messiah clearly belongs to this category, as do other compositions such as Israel in Egypt, Joshua and many others.

Link: Händel's Biography on Wikipedia

~ Thank you for reading ~