Last night, after entering this sound world, I didn’t want to leave.
Christian Wolff (1934-), Mountain Messengers (for piano and orchestra, 2020), live (Nicolas Hodges, piano; Basel Sinfonietta [Ilan Volkov, conductor]), Switzerland (Basel), 1/24/21 (world premiere)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago (Columbus Park)
alone
Joy Guidry (bassoon, electronics, compositions), “Dear June A Letter to my Father,” “You’ve Done What You Can,” “Praise & Worship,” published 2/27/26
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
sounds of New York
Marty Erlich: Dark Woods/Bright Sparks (Marty Ehrlich [1955-], woodwinds, compositions; Ron Horton, trumpet; Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon; Erik Friedlander, cello; Matt Pavolka, bass; Satoshi Takahashi, percussion; Erica Hunt, words), live, New York, 12/10/23
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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reading table
Even now there are places where a thought might grow—
—Derek Mahon (1941-2020), from “A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford”
Complex? Yes. But its complexity is matched by its clarity. It breathes.
Milton Babbitt (1916-2011), Composition for Twelve Instruments (1948, rev. 1954): Ensemble conducted by Ralph Shapey (1921-2002), 1962
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
last night, Brooklyn: Daniel Carter (reeds), Claire De Brunner (bassoon), Aron Namewirth (guitar), Adam Caine (bass), Jeff Pearring (alto saxophone)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and Alarm Will Sound, “Anthem” (M. Monk), published 8/22/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, outside Chicago
mysterious, adj. Exciting wonder, curiosity, or surprise while baffling efforts to comprehend or identify. E.g., Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Sequences.
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977-), Sequences (bass flute, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, contrabassoon), 2016; International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), live, New York, 2016
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lagniappe
reading table
in the big rain
gushing down
little butterfly—Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827 (translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
not the same old stuff
Dana Jessen (bassoon), Points Against Fields (Sam Pluta), live, Chicago, 2016
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
So many sounds, made by so many people, we’ll never hear, no matter how much we listen.
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random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of Chicago (day two)
Sometimes encountering a new piece of music can turn your whole day around, which is what happened to me the other day when I bumped into this.
Georg Friedrich Haas (1953-), In Vain (2000)
Ensemble Dal Niente, live, Chicago, 2013
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lagniappe
art beat: yesterday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Claude Monet (1840-1926), Cliff Walk at Pourville (1882)
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Seascape (1879)
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random thoughts
Eyes taste paintings no less than mouths taste food.
love it or hate it
Anthony Braxton 12+1tet, Composition 355, live, Italy (Venice), 2012
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Anthony, a MacArthur “genius” award winner (1994) and professor at Wesleyan University, talks about this and that:
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Music can take us places we’ve never been before, if we’re willing to listen to sounds we’ve never heard before.
music clip of the day 