User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Well I made it through Christmas. Yeah I’m over dosed on the sweetness and light. I need something with an edge for the new year. I’m afraid it is going to be one of those years.
Nina Simone seems to hit the spot
Enjoy, Jack
I couldn’t get the first video to embed so Click here for, “Feeling Good”
Todays selection is all Pat’s fault. Because her love of madrigals made me search for some last Sunday and I ran across this lovely choral performance.
According to google translate the language is Romanian.
Enjoy, Jack
“The Extraordinary Christmas Concert held on December 18, 2016 at the Romanian Athenaeum of the National Chamber Choir “Madrigal-Marin Constantin”, conducted by Anna Ungureanu.”
Have to admit I love a capella and there is no better time than Christmas to indulge. Todays selection is a nice mix of professional and non professional. and these 5 songs are not the total nor are they necessarily the best. They are just ones that caught my attention. Please add your own.
So for your Christmas advent pleasure
Enjoy, Jack
I was checking out possible Christmas music but I think we should wait another week. So I looked in the “some time in the future” folder where I stick stuff I run across for enjoying at a later date. I hope this provides some calm as you recover from yesterdays hectic shopping. It did for me the other day
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E‑flat Major the “Emperor Concerto”, Rosalía Gómez Lasheras, the young lady playing the piano is 25 and she has been playing the piano since she was 5.
Enjoy, Jack
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K 622
Either back in Jr high or early high school I decided to become a musician and play an instrument. As the only one available was a clarinet my parents got for my older sister, it was what I tried to learn to play. I quickly gave up on the idea and as far as I know that clarinet is still in our old farm house that has since collapse in on itself.
I have always loved listening to the clarinet and this piece is no exception but what I love here is the performance of Arngunnur Árnadóttir, the lady soloing on the clarinet. She just keeps playing and keeps playing, what amazing stamina.
This piece was published after Mozarts death. and has an interesting back story
“As there is no autograph for this concerto and as it was published posthumously, it is difficult to understand all of Mozart’s intentions.[citation needed] The only relic of this concerto written in Mozart’s hand is an excerpt of an earlier rendition of the concerto written for basset horn in G (K. 584b/621b).[citation needed] This excerpt is nearly identical to the corresponding section in the published version for A clarinet.[citation needed]
Mozart originally intended the piece to be written for basset horn, as Anton Stadler was also a virtuoso basset horn player, but eventually was convinced the piece would be more effective for clarinet.[citation needed] However, several notes throughout the piece go beyond the conventional range of the A clarinet; Mozart may have intended the piece to be played on the basset clarinet, a special clarinet championed by Stadler that had a range down to low (written) C, instead of stopping at (written) E as standard clarinets do.[1]
Even in Mozart’s day, the basset clarinet was a rare, custom-made instrument, so when the piece was published posthumously, a new version was arranged with the low notes transposed to regular range.”
Enjoy, Jack