6.21.2005
music
The Boston Globe message boards have been a twitter ever since April 25th, when an interview with the two authors of "The Rock Snob's Dictionary" also named the duo's desert island ten, ie. the ten CDs you'd want with you on a desert island. Since then, readers have been writing in their own desert island ten.
I thought about this for a while, and I think I can come up with ten. There's a scism between what I like every now and again and what I could listen to over and over again. There isn't much in the middle: either fortnightly or daily, but nothing that I listen to, say, every three or four days. And wouldn't you know it, a lot of it's classical. Probably not what the two 'rock snobs' had in mind.
1) Glenn Gould: Bach: Goldberg Variations (1955). This is the cleanest and most nuanced expression of Bach I own. It's gorgeous and deep in a very spartan 'zen' sort of way.
2) The Tallis Schoars: Lamenta (1998). Renaissance music from Ferrabosco the Elder, Tallis, Brumel, White, and Palestrina, these are the laments of Jeremiah for holy week. The Tallis Scholars have been criticized for sounding 'too perfect' and not human enough. A fair point, I think, but wow, what a sound...
3) Marsalis: All Rise (2002). Wynton Marsalis, with the LA Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Cond. Esa-Pekka Salonen. A beautiful and earthily jazzy expression of hope, love, and faith. The work has its flaws, and Marsalis' own kinks in the composition of this piece present some formidable challenges, but overall, the music is breathtaking.
4) Herbie Hancock: Cantaloupe Island (1994). This is so relaxing...
5) Copland: Appalachian Spring (1989). Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. While most people know the Appalachian Spring suite for orchestra, this is a much more sparse and streamlined arrangement. In fact, this is the original arrangement for 13 instruments, which was all Copland could fit into the pit. The loss of intensity between the full orchestra and the 13 instruments is minimal, but the extra clarity is worth it.
6) Bach: St. John Passion (1990). John Elliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists, et al. This is a gorgeous recording of a heart wrenching work. It captures the pathos of the passion without resorting to the sentimentality of other performances.
7) Dave Brubeck: Time Out (1959). This was the first jazz album to change time signatures. The rhythms and harmonies of Brubeck's playing cannot disguise how much fun he is obviously having with the music. One of my favorite CDs.
8) Boston Pops, Keith Lockhart: The Celtic Album (1998). Completely mindless music. Yes, there's the Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture in there, but it's mainly severely sanitized Celtic and Celtic-esque folk music. It's fun, it's light, and it's entertaining. In short, it's pops music.
9) Bela Fleck: Perpetual Motion (2002). This album from banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck is his cross-over album into Classical music. It's far from perfect: the mixing is very bass-heavy and the tempi are inconsistent. And some of the pieces are less successful than others. However, it is a beautiful take on Bach, Vivaldi, and Chopin, along with a few others. Great guest musicians too, including Evelyn Glennie, Joshua Bell, and Edgar Meyers.
10) Tallis Scholars: Josquin Missa Pange Lingua (1986). This is as gorgeous as singing gets. Technically perfect, totally controlled, and devoid of the individualized emotion of the performers, thus allowing the listener to hear whatever he wants to hear.
OK, with the exception of #8, I think this might stand up to a snob's look. OK, time to go.
I thought about this for a while, and I think I can come up with ten. There's a scism between what I like every now and again and what I could listen to over and over again. There isn't much in the middle: either fortnightly or daily, but nothing that I listen to, say, every three or four days. And wouldn't you know it, a lot of it's classical. Probably not what the two 'rock snobs' had in mind.
1) Glenn Gould: Bach: Goldberg Variations (1955). This is the cleanest and most nuanced expression of Bach I own. It's gorgeous and deep in a very spartan 'zen' sort of way.
2) The Tallis Schoars: Lamenta (1998). Renaissance music from Ferrabosco the Elder, Tallis, Brumel, White, and Palestrina, these are the laments of Jeremiah for holy week. The Tallis Scholars have been criticized for sounding 'too perfect' and not human enough. A fair point, I think, but wow, what a sound...
3) Marsalis: All Rise (2002). Wynton Marsalis, with the LA Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Cond. Esa-Pekka Salonen. A beautiful and earthily jazzy expression of hope, love, and faith. The work has its flaws, and Marsalis' own kinks in the composition of this piece present some formidable challenges, but overall, the music is breathtaking.
4) Herbie Hancock: Cantaloupe Island (1994). This is so relaxing...
5) Copland: Appalachian Spring (1989). Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. While most people know the Appalachian Spring suite for orchestra, this is a much more sparse and streamlined arrangement. In fact, this is the original arrangement for 13 instruments, which was all Copland could fit into the pit. The loss of intensity between the full orchestra and the 13 instruments is minimal, but the extra clarity is worth it.
6) Bach: St. John Passion (1990). John Elliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists, et al. This is a gorgeous recording of a heart wrenching work. It captures the pathos of the passion without resorting to the sentimentality of other performances.
7) Dave Brubeck: Time Out (1959). This was the first jazz album to change time signatures. The rhythms and harmonies of Brubeck's playing cannot disguise how much fun he is obviously having with the music. One of my favorite CDs.
8) Boston Pops, Keith Lockhart: The Celtic Album (1998). Completely mindless music. Yes, there's the Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture in there, but it's mainly severely sanitized Celtic and Celtic-esque folk music. It's fun, it's light, and it's entertaining. In short, it's pops music.
9) Bela Fleck: Perpetual Motion (2002). This album from banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck is his cross-over album into Classical music. It's far from perfect: the mixing is very bass-heavy and the tempi are inconsistent. And some of the pieces are less successful than others. However, it is a beautiful take on Bach, Vivaldi, and Chopin, along with a few others. Great guest musicians too, including Evelyn Glennie, Joshua Bell, and Edgar Meyers.
10) Tallis Scholars: Josquin Missa Pange Lingua (1986). This is as gorgeous as singing gets. Technically perfect, totally controlled, and devoid of the individualized emotion of the performers, thus allowing the listener to hear whatever he wants to hear.
OK, with the exception of #8, I think this might stand up to a snob's look. OK, time to go.
