Medieval Magic

Unusual repertoire that would appeal to a large audience if it had the right exposure, this disk by the Dufay Collective is subtitled medieval instrumental music. The full title is rather less prosaic, A Dance In The Garden Of Mirth. It's over a dozen years old now but good to see that it is still in the catalogue. The twelve pieces featured are mainly from France and Italy with a single English example. The whole area of medieval instrumental music is shrouded in some mystery because of the lack of notation. Any work that did have any kind of documentation from that era tended to be sacred choral work. There are two treatises that did survive however and from which much of the material on this disk was taken ( by Jerome of Moravia and Johannes de Grocheo ) Whatever the uncertainty, the music here somehow has a very authentic feel and if it is perhaps a romanticised view, it is a most enjoyable one. The spirit of the dance pervades most of the pieces and although these come from the troubadour and trouvere heritage, there are connections apparent with the surviving folk tradition. There are also decidedly eastern sounding timbres and modes in may of the dances. The Dufay Collective are expert in this field and play with zest and enjoyment on a collection of instruments; slide trumpet, recorder, pipe and tabor, vielle, rebec, shawm, gittern, flute, bagpipes, lute, harp, organ and percussion. The whole disk is a delight.

One More Selection From Ligeti

This disk isn't part of the Ligeti Project series but follows a similar selective approach. The piece for string orchestra and 12 solo strings Ramifications is the only duplicate item with the other disks I have, played here by Ensemble InterContemporain under Pierre Boulez. The same forces perform the Chamber Concerto for 13 instrumentalists and Aventures for 3 singers and 7 instrumentalists. The Chamber Concerto illustrates Ligeti's interest in composing with layers of material in different metres and different tempi. The scoring is for woodwind, brass, two keyboards and string quartet. Aventures is a singular work with vocalising around a text without meaning but with an implied theatrical thrust to it. It is almost like a drastically compressed opera buffa. There are two other works on the disk which don't feature Boulez's ensemble. The Lasalle Quartet play String Quartet No 2. This is a five section work, which contains many of Ligeti's preoccupations such as the interlocking of various layers on a kind of grid or grill system. The work is not thematic in any way but the links with the tradition of the genre can be sensed, as can the passion in the music. The final work on the disk is Lux Aeterna for a 16 voice acapella mixed chorus, a role fulfilled by the Chor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks Hamburg directed by Helmut Franz. This sets another part of the mass for the dead that was omitted from requiem and like that piece, it was used by Coppola in the film 2001. Certainly the weird other wordly feel of the vocals fits that context. On a more musical note, it marked the return of harmony to Ligeti's work.

The Long Goodbye

Time for Mahler's Symphony No 9 performed here by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Claudio Abbado. The third Abbado recording of Mahler that I have and the last one to post about. There are still three Mahler disks to come off the shelf but not with Abbado. The chronology is a little out too, since this was Mahler's final completed symphony but there are others in my collection I haven't got around to yet on the shelf. Anyway, enough of that pedantry, what about the ninth symphony ? Mahler didn't live to see a live recording of the work and he often refined his symphonies in the rehearsal period prior to a premiere, so that aspect is lacking here. He was superstitious about writing a ninth symphony since Beethoven, Schubert and Bruckner had all succumbed after writing their ninth and it is easy to see this as some sort of farewell. The themes are farewell and death but direct comparisons of that nature with real life should be avoided. The two lengthy outer movements contrast with the outwardly more dance like inner movements but these are some kind of macabre dance of death. The final movement of farewell isn't necessarily farewell to the world, just a taking leave that could fit other contexts. It can still be seen as a kind of requiem though with an almost silent conclusion. This is again a live recording as the others in this Abbado cycle have been and whereas the other two disks that I have finish with braying "bravo man" launching straight into the applause, I have to commend the Berlin audience here who remain absolutely silent for almost a minute until Abbado gives the sign that all is concluded.

Lunch Date With Ry

Paradise and Lunch was the Ry Cooder album that began to see the beginning of his regular touring band as a recording entity with the soul / gospel backing voices led by Bobby King and the rhythm section of Jim Keltner on drums and Chris Etheridge on bass. It also marked a subtle shift away from the depression era songs that had dominated the first three solo albums, with only perhaps Jesus On The Mainline and Tamp 'Em Up Solid fitting that category. Otherwise there was more of an r 'n' b feel, although Cooder always put a slight off kilter skew on straight ahead r 'n' b, with touches such as the cod reggae rhythm to It's All Over Now. Mexican Divorce was a pointer to an influence that would grow in subsequent albums with the addition of Flaco Jimenez and the old blues chestnut Ditty Wah Ditty is graced by a delightful piano contribution from veteran legenc Earl Hines. As was now becoming expected, Ry Cooder once again concentrates more on the selection and arrangement of the songs than on guitar hero virtuosity but his playing still gives much to admire.

The Definitive Jazz Album ? Kind Of

Well, the time had finally rolled around to take Kind Of Blue off the shelf for a spin. But what to write about it ? It's a bit like Beethoven's 5th, in that what new is there to find to say ? I think it's the biggest selling jazz album of all time. It manages to chart very high in "best of the 20th century lists" that are otherwise very Beatles centric along with whatever is the current flavour of the month indie rock band. Desert Island Disks ? Yep, it crops up there on a regular basis, as it does on Radio 3's Private Passions. The one token jazz album in any record collection of what used to be called yuppies ? Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. If there has to be any one album afforded this status, then you could do much much worse than this one. What do I think ? It's wonderful, don't play it as often as I might since it is so ubiquitous but it's always good to become reaquainted with. Random thought, you only need ears to discern the difference between a superb jazz saxophonist ( Cannonball Adderley ) and a genius ( John Coltrane )

Vikki, Play Misty For Me

Violinist Viktoria Mullova has developed into a very broad minded and adventurous musician. So far this album, Through The Looking Glass, has been a one off but she may yet revisit this kind of repertoire in future. It is normally described as a jazz album because of the prominent participation of pianist Julian Joseph and the presence of numbers by such as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Joe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorius and Errol Garner's evergreen Misty. Jazz is probably a fair enough description, there is certainly plenty of improvisation and Mullova proves herself most adept at it. But she is joined by her partner cellist Matthew Barley on some tracks and as producer, while percussionists Colin Currie and Sam Walton also come from a mainly classical background. The influences on the other percussionist Paul Clarvis and guitarist Steve Smith are more diverse. On some tracks, Mullova retains a Bartokian sparkiness to her playing, on others she can sound like she belongs in a sixties west coast psychedelic improvising situation and on yet others she moves into Stephane Grappelli Hot Club territory. It was this last side of her playing on the George Harrison song For You Blue that I felt just occasionally seemed a little unnatural for her. The Ellington workout is excellent though and the Weather Report tracks retain a dance feel, as does the Youssou N'Dour number Life. The biggest surprises are the transformations of the cheesy seventies pop songs How Deep Is Your Love and particularly The Air That I Breathe, which becomes a sublime piece of music by any standards, rhapsodic with a lilting latin feel that Joseph even gives a subtle gospel twist. The whole album is an object lesson in how to do it for any artist considering any form of crossover.

Motian In Motion

The album I Have The Room Above Her by Paul Motian is a typical ECM jazz production. It is a trio outing for Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, Bill Frisell on guitar and drummer Motian. All compositions are by Motian apart from the title track which is a Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein standard and the Thelonius Monk number Dreamland. It is the type of chamber jazz that is beginning to get quite divorced from the original Afro-American roots of the music. The improvisatory feel is there with the band members sparking off each other in the generally slow moving, drifting type of compositions but Motian's drumming doesn't have the drive or swing or rhythmic momentum of roots music but is instead more of a tuned percussion soloist throughout. Lovano and Frisell add subtle colours and shading without ever really cutting loose into any virtuoso displays. There aren't any of the folk elements that sometimes influence the European jazzers on ECM, this is altogether more cerebral. It could serve as background dinner party jazz but also repays more considered listening.