11 tracs: Wasted, The Darkside, All I Have, Get Over Yourself, Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol, Little Death, Change of Scenery, Nowhere, Never Was, Heartless, Cadillac Life
Although the compositional style of Lou Harrison (1917-2003) evolved and matured during his long and productive life, he held fast to a number of basic aesthetic principles: a devotion to beautiful melody; the foregrounding of rhythm, melody and ocunterpoint over harmony; a preference for just-intonation tuning systems; and the integration of influences from diverse world musics. On the present disc, which includes workds from 1939-1987, all of the characteristics are in evidence. Despite its early origin, First Concerto for Flute and Percussin (1939) has remained one of Harrison's most frequently performed and recorded works. The ballet Solstice (1950) is written for octet: three treble instruments (flute, oboe, trumpet), three bass instruments (two cellos and string bass), and two keyboards (celesta and tack-piano). Harrison found that by compining the tack-piano with the celesta he could create a sound that resembled that of an Indonesian gamelan, which he first encountered in 1939. The complex rhythms and exuberant melodies of gamelan became a major source of inspiration. The gamelanish sounds in Solstice can be heard most prominently in the fourth movement ("Earth's Invitation"), when the solo flute line is accompanied by celesta, tack-piano, and pitched percussion created by the bass player, who strikes the strings of his instrument with drum sticks below the bridge. The text for Strict Songs (1955, revised 1992), modeled on Navajo ritual song, is of Harrison's own invention. Harrison's interest in gamelan had led him to explore the possibilities of pentatonic modes. Each of the four movements of Strict Songs is based on a different pentatonic mode. All intervals are tuned to exact mathematical proportions, rather than to the impure compromise-intervals of present-day equal-temperament. The fixed-pitch instruments in the ensemble (piano and harp) are retuned to produce non-beating intervals; the stirngs and trombones match these pitches by ear. The effect of
Leave A Trail Music Artist : Carlos Jones & The P.l.u.s. Band Music Label : Little Fish Records Release Date : 2009-08-04 Artistopia's Price :$17.17
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Album Summary
12 TRACKS: 1) Step Forward 2) Music To The Rescue 3) Leave A Trail 4) Catcha Falling Star 5) Walkiing In The Light 6) Who Say 7) Rhythm Child 8) More Iditations 9) Where Reggae Comes From 10) Nursery Rhyme 11) Use Your Voice 12) No More War Dub
A beautiful tribute to a great American musician. Some of his best-loved arrangements, popularized by the famed Norman Luboff Choir. Folk songs, spirituals, and ballads performed lovingly by some who toured and performed with him for more than a decade.
