Speedlinking December 19, 2011 Edition

One of these days I will get to musing on something regarding this teaching year. Today isn't one of them.

In the meantime, please check out these fantastic posts by my colleagues:

Contrapuntal Music for Young Students

Another Useful Accompanist Career Guide

More Thoughts on Slow Practicing

(c) 2011 by Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration - German Trance Music

Trance music isn't something you'd normally hear at a piano lesson. However, since the idea is to expose students to a wide variety of musical genres, why not?

Wisegeek defines trance music as: "an art form that relies heavily on the use of electronic equipment and a specific tempo range, typically 130-160 beats per minute (BPM), to create a musical arrangement that is understood to have somewhat hypnotic qualities." It came onto the scene in the 1990's.There is a set form to trance music. The repetitive melodies are "connected by a series of crescendos and breakdowns." Sounds a bit like minimalist music in a way.

Here is an example of trance music from Germany. Enjoy!

(c) Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration - Rhapsody in g minor by Brahms

This week's selection is one of my personal faves, ever since I brother learned it many moons ago.

Johannes Brahms lived from 1833 - 1897. Like all the other selections this month, Brahms hailed from Germany. He wrote works for piano, orchestra, singers and several small chamber ensembles. I've heard many times that a certain level of emotional maturity is needed to play his works well. Having played and heard several of his works, I tend to agree.

This is Brahms' Rhapsody in g minor, op. 79 no. 2.

It's in ABA (ternary) form as many works from the Romantic period are. It's stormy and full of angst. As some of my students have sensed, there's an element of melancholy as well.

The pianist is Martha Argerich from Argentina. She won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965. This reclusive musician is hailed as one of the greatest pianists of our time.

Great Performances - Eric Whitacre and his Virtual Choir

I found out about this recording on Facebook. Eric Whitacre is a composer, lecturer and conductor. The virtual choir concept came to be when  fan of his uploaded and shared a Youtube video of her singing one of his compositions. That snowballed into a worldwide virtual choir. People from around the world auditioned by submitting their Youtube performance of their part, recorded while following the audio track and video of Whitacre conducting.One person came forward to clean up the audio and put the 2000+ videos together. The result is astounding. Magical.This one is called "Sleep":

Now, what I want to know is when Virtual Choir 3.0 is being put together. (c) 2011 by Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration - Handel's Messiah

This week, we are exploring the Messiah oratorio composed by George Fredrick Handel.

Handel was an interesting character. Born in Germany, immigrated to England. His opera seria were popular back in the day. Then, when the middle class began their ascent into power, opera seria wasn't so popular. Handel turned to oratorios as one way to win back audiences.

He wrote this oratorio about Jesus Christ in under 24 days. Some sources say he didn't leave his home until it was finished.

I enjoyed singing this part back in my university days. Here's "For Unto Us a Child is Born":