- Featuring Lisa Bielawa, (from my post on "listen before it's gone")
"Known as "the Sybil of the Rhine," Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German abbess, mystic and writer. She was born to noble parents, who promised her, their tenth child, to the church. At the age of eight, she became a novice under the abbess Jutta of Spanheim at the Benedictine Abbey of Disibodenberg. On Jutta's death in 1136, Hildegard succeeded her as abbess. About fifteen years later, she founded her own independent abbey, against the wishes of the local Church authorities.
Although Hildegard was highly educated, she saw herself primarily as the instrument of God's will. Throughout her life, she experienced apocalyptic, prophetic and symbolic visions that she eventually codified in three large books. Hildegard's writings include theological, medical and botanical essays. She also wrote lyric works, letters, lives of saints and the morality play Ordo Virtutum, or The Order of the Virtues. About eighty of her vocal compositions survive.
Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum relates the dramatic struggle between a Soul, the Devil and a host of allegorical Virtues. The dramatic text and vocal setting are fully notated. Since sacred vocal music of the time was accompanied by instruments, it is likely that the Ordo would have been as well. The cast calls for 20 female singing roles (the Soul and Virtues), a few male singing roles (Prophets and Patriarchs), and the non-singing role of the Devil (which may have been played by Volmar, Hildegard's secretary). The piece was presumably performed by the nuns in Hildegard's convent. It appears to be the oldest surviving Western work of what may be called musical theater or opera."
Very fine live set from the late 80s. AAJ review. Personnel: Charlie Haden: bass; Ernie Watts: saxophones; Alan Broadbent: piano; Billy Higgins: drums (CD1); Paul Motian: drums (CD2).
@Doofy, Charlie Haden is a name I know well by hearsay, know a little about, probably have on a few albums, and have a feeling I should explore in his own right some time. What do you think of that album you just posted as a place to start? It irrationally caught my fancy, possibly based mainly on quite liking the artwork.
@Germanprof, there would be worse starting points. This is is kind of mid-career, with members of a group (Quartet West) that started around that time. But as the slightest Googling will show you, Charlie had a long and varied career, including playing on Ornette Coleman's early records, then later experimentally/politically minded stuff, a longstanding collab with Keith Jarrett, and much more. So there's a ton to explore...Charlie died last year, and remained active almost to the end.
@Doofy, thanks. Yes, it was thanks to all the writing around his death (and prompts here to read it) that I know much more about him and what he did than I have actually listened to him. I thought about getting that last release with Jarrett, but then ECM departed emusic around the same time if I remember right and I ended up not paying more elsewhere. I've had other things on my SFL and never quite pulled the trigger.
NP:
I don't know. They party harder than many piano trios, and the crowd sound as if they are having a great time, but to my ear they don't quite achieve the kind of luminosity or escape from gravity that some others achieve.
Charlie with Joe Henderson - Another guy who made few if any bad recordings!
There are two of those late albums with Jarrett, both very fine of course. There are also a couple of albums of spirituals with Hank Jones, which I love
@thomnottom, I have that album and the previous one, thanks to NPR noticing her and Vengo getting Grammy nominated. Vengo is the better of the two, and has some really interesting songs. How could an album not be interesting that draws on both hip hop and andean flute music, raps about feminism, environmentalism, and post-colonialism, and has a song that features a Chilean and a Palestinian rapper in tandem? That song has a nice video:
She's articulate and interesting in interviews as well.
ETA, just watched that video again, and I could keep going on what makes this interesting: a beautiful female artist who is not basically being sold as a sex object but for her musical skill and her articulate commentary on global political realities, the way Shadia Mansour's passion communicates even though I have no idea what she is saying, how cool rap sounds in Arabic, the subtle blending of Latin American and Middle Eastern musical motifs, the life and color of the cultural tapestry in the visuals, the sheer focus on humanity...this is just great stuff from a music point of view, whatever you think of the politics.
"“‘Somos Sur’ is about the importance of resistance, not only in Chile, but around the world,” Tijoux told Rolling Stone. “Global resistance movements, whether in Latin America, Africa or the Middle East, are fighting against the same patterns of violence that have repeated themselves throughout history. Which means many of these groups share a similar set of demands. We are asking for a free Palestine just like we’re asking for an independent Wallmapu in Chile, without police control.”
Comments
"Known as "the Sybil of the Rhine," Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German abbess, mystic and writer. She was born to noble parents, who promised her, their tenth child, to the church. At the age of eight, she became a novice under the abbess Jutta of Spanheim at the Benedictine Abbey of Disibodenberg. On Jutta's death in 1136, Hildegard succeeded her as abbess. About fifteen years later, she founded her own independent abbey, against the wishes of the local Church authorities.
Although Hildegard was highly educated, she saw herself primarily as the instrument of God's will. Throughout her life, she experienced apocalyptic, prophetic and symbolic visions that she eventually codified in three large books. Hildegard's writings include theological, medical and botanical essays. She also wrote lyric works, letters, lives of saints and the morality play Ordo Virtutum, or The Order of the Virtues. About eighty of her vocal compositions survive.
Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum relates the dramatic struggle between a Soul, the Devil and a host of allegorical Virtues. The dramatic text and vocal setting are fully notated. Since sacred vocal music of the time was accompanied by instruments, it is likely that the Ordo would have been as well. The cast calls for 20 female singing roles (the Soul and Virtues), a few male singing roles (Prophets and Patriarchs), and the non-singing role of the Devil (which may have been played by Volmar, Hildegard's secretary). The piece was presumably performed by the nuns in Hildegard's convent. It appears to be the oldest surviving Western work of what may be called musical theater or opera."
- Joseph Hannan, for Lincoln Center Festival
A Mixed day
Yes - Close to the Edge
Ben Watt - Hendra
Jessie Ware - Tough Love
Simi Stone - Simi Stone
Un Festin Sagital - Femgen: 10th anniversary concert
Mixtape of 199 tracks.
Emusic describes this as Americana! To me it is a very English (not even British) album, particularly given his roots in English folk music....