Please pardon my delay of nearly a week before telling you about this truly class act – but I’ve had other fish to fry and some urgent deadlines to meet. SO much music; SOOO little time!
One of the Holy City’s most delightful (and often least heralded) resident musical entities is the College of Charleston’s early music ensemble, the Charleston Pro Musica. Directed by distinguished ancient music scholar and performer Steve Rosenberg (also Early Music Department Head), the group enjoys a well-deserved international reputation. It’s a variable and very flexible bunch whose repertoire encompasses a wide range of instrumental and vocal music from the Medieval era through the Baroque. They’re busiest during Piccolo Spoleto, when they perform repeatedly for the duration of the festival.
A couple of years ago, a four-person sub-ensemble known as Brio was formed, built around the striking and absolutely unique voice of countertenor José Lemos. Having gotten his college training right here in Charleston, he’s now a rising star in the world of Baroque opera – and we’re blessed that he comes back to perform here several times a year. Brio is a group that specializes in early Spanish vocal music, with emphasis on the songs of the Sephardic Jews – music that shows Arabic and other pan-Mediterranean influences; you can also tell that it’s a precursor to what we now call Flamenco music. This engaging young singer not only has a voice you’ll never forget, but his natural Hispanic temperament and passion (he’s from Brazil) make him an ideal interpreter of this music.
But Brio’s not just all about José. Beginning with Rosenberg, the group can claim three more of the best early music names in the business. Hey, whether it’s a gemshorn, recorder, or any other member of the flute family, Steve can play the heck out of it – not to mention various early guitars. Strings sorceress Mary Anne Ballard – also a member of the well-known Baltimore Consort – handles the various members of the ancient viol family, plus the Rebec: ancestors to our modern orchestral stringed instruments. Percussion wizard Danny Mallon is a one-man drum band, playing as many as four different instruments at once. You should hear the symphony of sounds he can get out of a simple tambourine.
Together, they lived up to their name last Monday night, performing with terrific zest and skill … you just KNEW these folks were having a ball together. Their program – well over a dozen songs along with some instrumental numbers – closely matched the contents of a really smashing CD that Brio made for the recently resurrected Dorian label – a record company long known for the excellence of its ancient music recordings. José – his voice smoldering and dripping emotion – had us all in the palm of his hand. Steve dazzled with his sprightly spirit and virtuosity (and yes, he did his “two-recorders-at-once” trick!). Mary Anne gave us sweet and searing sounds from her assorted viols, and Danny made more different kinds of beguiling rhythmic noise than you could count.
Stay tuned to Eargasms and I’ll see to it that you know when they’re playing next … ‘cause if you haven’t heard these amazing musicians, you MUST. They’ll charm your socks off, on top of teaching you something. Come talk to me if you’d like to hear their CD – like the group, it’s a total winner.
Quote for the week:
“That which is written without effort is read without pleasure.” — Samuel Johnson
It’s down & dirty this time – you’ll have to click on the links provided for details. I’m struggling to meet my next deadline for the 13 CD reviews I owe American Record Guide. I also owe you a blog about last Monday’s dynamite concert at the College, featuring the Ancient music group Brio, with legendary countertenor Jose Lemos. Stay tuned.
Charleston Symphony Orchestra – Friday, Nov. 9: “Fandango” – the CSO’s second Backstage Pass program; 7:00 p.m. at the Sottile Theatre… a dynamite program of Hispanic music. Also check out their family concert, “Two for Seuss;” Saturday, 10:00 a.m. at the Sottile. Go HERE for more on both.
College of Charleston – Monday, Nov. 12: Enjoy the artistry of violinist Michael Majersky, with pianist Douglas Ashley; 8:00 p.m. at the Simons Center Recital Hall. Tuesday’s noontime St. Luke’s series recital will feature organist David Lamb. Russian virtuoso Jan Rautio will appear that evening (8:00 p.m.) at the Sottile: the next event in the dependable International Piano Series. More info HERE.
Charleston Concert Association – Tuesday, Nov. 13: Enjoy the shenannigans of H.M.S. Pinafore, one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s favorite operettas; 8:00 p.m. at the Gaillard Auditorium. Read all about it HERE or HERE.
– Plenty of good stuff to tell you about this week – beginning tonight (Thursday) at 8:00 p.m. with jazzman Frank Duvall & friends appearing at the Simons Center Recital Hall.
Chamber Music Charleston is presenting their second House Concerts program at various downtown Charleston and Kiawah Island homes through Nov. 5. Tickets are kinda scarce for these programs, but you never know when a last-minute vacancy might happen. Call (843) 763-4941 to find out. Scroll down to see what I had to say about their terrific last program, and for a link to their site.
Sunday is jam-packed – take your pick:
The Sundays at John’s (John’s Island Presbyterian Church, that is) series will feature the harpsichord artistry of music director Eric Johnson – works by Frescobaldi, Sweelinck and Bach – at 3 p.m. No charge. Check out their season HERE.
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet will appear at 4:00 p.m. at First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, offering a very promising program of works by William Grant Still, Jan Bach, and Pacquito D’Rivera. Free. More info HERE.
The Southcoast Symphony – Charleston’s Community Orchestra – will present their “Made in America” program, featuring music by Dvorak, Saint-Saens and conductor Manny Alvarez; 4:00 p.m. at the Cathedral Church of St Luke & St Paul. No Charge.
Experimental music in Charleston (EMC) presents Thirteenth Assembly, a touring collective made up of four musicians and four different and musically distinct small ensembles. Their style is described as “….somewhere between the classic r&b/soul revues of the 60’s and a post-modern traveling circus.” 8:00 p.m., at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Simons Center for the Arts at the College. $10; $5 for students with ID. Nathan Koci of Charleston’s New Music Collective tells us that this one should be pretty cool. Find out MORE.
I wanted to emphasize the College’s Monday Night Concert Series event, featuring the early music ensemble known as Brio. Directed by Music Department Head Steve Rosenberg, the group features the unforgettable countertenor voice of Jose Lemos – a product of C of C’s vocal program – who is busy attending to a burgeoning international opera career. The group recently recorded a new CD for the recently resurrected Dorian label, which I’ve had the pleasure of hearing. Let me know if you want one. It’s at 8:00 p.m. at the Simons Center Recital Hall. Check out the College’s many programs HERE.
Finally, you can enjoy the organ artistry of George Hubbard at Tuesday’s free noon-hour St. Luke’s Chapel series. The program – sponsored by the Charleston chapter of the American Guild of Organists – is “Music by Kings and Queens” (from the British Museum).
It’s only natural that the best music students gravitate to the very finest of performers and teachers. So it should be no surprise that Charleston Symphony Concertmaster Yuriy Bekker has taken on some of the brightest and best of our budding young violininists as his students. Several of them will appear here at 7:30 tonight in my classical lair at Millennium Music to offer a totally laid-back, informal student recital of works by Bach, Beethoven, Lalo, Mozart, and (wow!) even Sarasate. You’re welcome to join us.
Just a few blogs back I told you that the choral arts are alive and well in Charleston – make that WORLD-CLASS well. And that’s just part of the vital and rapidly growing vocal music scene at the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts (SOTA). The quality and diversity of the Vocal/Choral Program have been on a relentless upward march in recent years – a trend that was proven to all who attended last night’s annual Vocal/Choral Benefit Gala.
But before I tell you about that, let me tell you why C of C’s Concert Choir, led by Dr. Robert Taylor, is one of the brightest stars in Charleston’s cultural crown. I heard them a week ago last Thursday at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke & St. Paul, in an absolutely ear-ravishing, soul-rending concert.
Two seasons ago, the same group made national choral news when they were invited to perform at the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) annual convention in Los Angeles. Lacking a system of national competitions to determine choral supremacy in America, the ACDA’s yearly conventions have come to be regarded as a “Superbowl” of sorts for domestic college choirs. And our hometown heroes not only got invited (an honor in itself), but turned out to be the apparent “belle of the ball.” I heard them in concert at the Cathedral after they got back – and here’s what I had to say about them then:
This was an evening of sheer, staggering choral magic: none who were there will ever forget it. I never thought I’d say this, but it was fully on a par with the work of the otherwise peerless Westminster Choir that performs in the very same venue every Spring during Spoleto. Like them, this choir has it all: needlepoint precision and intonation, uncanny dynamic sensitivity, and the kind of emotive power that makes for non-stop goose-bumps and throat-lumps. With many rich and well-trained voices among them, they are able to produce choral sonorities ranging from icy-clear purity to earthy roars. World-class choral artistry now resides in Charleston year-round.
Now I ask you, dear blogophiles: how the heck can I top THAT? And I’ve gotta try, ‘cause last Thursday’s event was the best I’ve ever heard from them. Last season was kind of a rebuilding year for them – but this season, replete with fresh vocal talent on top of a core of seasoned veterans, they’ve exceeded even the lofty standards they set two seasons ago.
I won’t do a laundry list of all the pieces they sang to perfection. But, as I heard the limpid polyphony of Sicut Cervus – a glowing motet by Palestrina – unfold from the balcony, the sheer beauty of their smooth vocal “bloom” made my breath catch in my throat. It’s not often that music draws such a visceral, physical reaction from me.
Then I had fun lip-synching as they offered some classy accounts of excerpts from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana – which they helped bring to life in a recent Charleston Symphony Concert (I’ve sung them myself, many times). We also got to hear several charming pieces done by the College’s Madrigal Singers, a select sub-choir that is best-known for their annual Yuletide Madrigal Feast.
Among many more gripping and superbly sung numbers, the highlight was contemporary choral sensation Eric Whitacre’s Sleep – one of his best-known works. It’s full of cunning tone clusters that make an ear-grabbing, thrilling thing of dissonance – and it takes a truly special bunch of singers to achieve the kind of icy vocal transparency and stiletto-sharp intonation necessary to bring it off to full effect. I’ve heard this piece from some of the world’s finest academic and professional chamber choirs – and none of them can top what I heard from our own wonderful young singers.
And we got to hear both ensembles again last night at the Scholarship gala – doing several of the same numbers. The concert choir kicked things off, positioning themselves along the front- and side-aisles of the Simons Center Recital Hall for Irish composer Michael McGlynn’s very tribal-sounding Christus Resurgens. Hearing it in surround-sound like that made for truly amazing ear-candy.
From there, the gala (co-hosted by Deanna Mc Broom and Robert Ivey) proceeded to make its point very eloquently – namely that the College can’t compete for the best voices without a healthy scholarship program. All I can say, based on the remainder of the program, is that our hometown college is definitely succeeding in attracting some of the finest young voices anywhere – so the flow of scholarship dollars must be pretty good these days. And if this level of performance quality is the result, it behooves us to keep that flow going.
We got a little bit of everything: Besides the choral pieces, there were opera arias, duets and ensembles plus Broadway numbers. On top of the choirs, we heard the massed singers of the College’s opera company and fifteen accomplished individual singers – to include gifted undergraduates, seasoned vocalists from the Artist Certificate program, some terrific recent graduates and faculty members.
If you love the kinds of music that only the human voice can make, check out any or all of the vocal possibilities at the college. You can keep track of the vocal/choral goings-on at the music department’s website, right HERE. Once you hear the kinds of musical magic these wonderful students can make, you’ll want to do everything you can to keep their voices sounding.
A busy musical weekend looms, beginning tomorrow evening (8:00 p.m., Friday, Oct 26th) with a gala vocal scholarship benefit concert at the College of Charleston’s Simons Center Recital Hall. The College’s vocal/choral programs have never been better – and your support will help keep their efforts on an upward curve. Featured will be the College’s two top choirs, plus a wealth of both faculty and student talent. Several distinguished vocal graduates will even be on hand to entertain you.
Saturday evening’s Charleston Symphony concert – the season’s second Masterworks event – will show off three of the College’s most distinguished artists in a symphonic setting. Violinist Lee-Chin Siow, cellist Natalia Khoma and pianist Enrique Graf will appear in Beethoven’s noble Triple Concerto – and you’ll also hear Debussy’s lush tone-painting, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun plus Bartok’s brainy Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Come experience these fabulous musicians for yourselves — and Check out everything the CSO has to offer this season, right HERE.
The next day, you can take in some superb chamber music, thanks to the first of Chamber Music Charleston’s Holy City Series – in which chamber masterpieces will be presented at a number of historic Charleston Churches. Sunday’s event – 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 61 Church St. – will offer works by Mendelssohn, Schmidt and Dvorak. Since their House Concerts are sold out for the year, this series will offer your only opportunities to hear these fine musicians.
Then it’s back to the College early next week for two more School of the Arts events. You’ll get to hear violinist Simon Shiao Monday evening (8:00 p.m. at the Simons Center Recital Hall), and Tuesday’s noontime St Luke’s recital series will feature soprano Suzanne Atwood-Fleming and baritone Scott Atwood. Click HERE to explore these happenings and more.
Those of you who followed Eargasms during Spoleto know that I was only able to keep up with the best stuff with the help of guest bloggers – mostly fellow musicians and knowledgeable classical fans around town. I’m finding that, even during the regular season, it’s well-nigh impossible to keep up with all the best events … a working stiff with heavy writing on the side simply can’t spend every evening at a concert. And so I missed last Friday’s Bavarian Philharmonic concert. But I’m lucky to have good backup.
Lee Kohlenberg is one of Charleston’s handful of top church musicians, and my own esteemed choirmaster at St. Michael’s Church. But the range and depth of his musical knowledge and understanding go far beyond sacred organ and choral music. You name it: if it’s mainstream classical, Lee can talk (or write) about it with deep insight and passion. I’m delighted to welcome him to Eargasms as this season’s first guest blogger.
By the way, there’s another reason I wanted to be able to cover this event here – namely the fact that this concert reflects a growing trend in modern orchestral playing. The Period Performance movement of recent decades, in addition to using ancient instruments, also offers a historically-informed approach to older instrumental music. And it has apparently rubbed off on larger orchestras that continue to use modern instruments. We’re used to hearing Beethoven, Brahms and other major 19th-Century composers from big, lush-sounding orchestras. But now we’re hearing this music increasingly from smaller ensembles that cultivate a clearer, more incisive approach: vibrato-less strings are just one aspect of it. Also, many of the past century’s leading conductors often ignored Beethoven’s (and other composers’) own tempo markings: another practice that is now being reversed. The result is cleaner, crisper, more transparent sound that reveals new sonic textures — with livelier tempos completing the transformation. And here’s what all this meant to Mr. Kohlenberg:
“Exhilarating” – “awe-struck” – “the nuance of a string quartet from an orchestra of just under 60” – “the best concert in years in Charleston” … these are some of the comments I heard in response to the all-Beethoven concert last Friday of the Bavarian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Gaillard. As a regular concertgoer for the last 46 years, including regular attendance at the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphonies’ subscription concerts, I can’t recall ever hearing more exciting and captivating Beethoven. The dynamic contrasts brought out Beethoven’s uniqueness and the drama in the music, which included the “Eroica” Symphony (No. 3). Young pianist Orion Weiss played with clarity and maturity of expression in the “Emperor” Concerto (No. 5).
The motives and themes jumped out of the texture, with trumpets and timpani that added drama, yet never overpowered. The solo playing in the winds was expressive but not affected, and I could hear the piano in the concerto throughout. The conductor, Enoch zu Guttenberg, chose the orchestra’s members for their awareness of style and willingness to approach the music without vibrato as the norm. Favoring a chamber music approach to orchestral playing, he transmitted his unique vision for the music to the players, allowing them to work together to bring it to vivid life.
I went expecting diversion and refreshment through familiar music and came away excited and moved, as if I’d heard the pieces for the first time.
It was an evening of miracles: and for me, on more than just one level. I speak of last Tuesday evening’s appearance of Leon Fleisher and his wife, Katherine Jacobsen-Fleisher, in the season opener of the College of Charleston’s International Piano Series at the Sottile Theatre. I’d been looking forward to it keenly for weeks.
Although he never knew it, Leon Fleisher and I go way back – like nearly 50 years back. I never got to tell him that ‘til after the concert. Nearly half a century ago, he burst upon the classical scene as one of America’s most brilliant home-grown pianists. I first heard his recordings in the 1960’s as a giddy young piano student in Vienna, Austria who dared to dream for awhile of a life devoted to great music.
Later, in college, I latched onto his still-definitive recordings of the Beethoven piano concertos with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. I’ve long since worn out the original LP’s, but now the music is mine forever on CD. This man was one of my seminal musical influences: he first brought some of the world’s greatest music to life for me, and taught me what made for a truly classy performance. Yeah, as far as I was concerned, Leon was bigger than Elvis.
Then, all of a sudden, we stopped hearing from him – or about him. I didn’t learn until years later that he was suffering from a mysterious malady that had completely crippled his right hand. What more crushing fate could ever befall a pianist? All I could imagine was that it must’ve been like Beethoven losing his hearing. But he soon found salvation of sorts by directing his musical gifts into other channels – like conducting and teaching (our own Enrique Graf is one of his prize protégés). He also became perhaps the 20th Century’s greatest exponent of the limited repertoire of piano music for the left hand.
Then, a few years back, the arts world went abuzz with the news that Fleisher was poised for a two-handed comeback. His condition had finally been diagnosed and given a name: focal dystonia, a neurological affliction. Once you know what’s wrong, you can begin to treat it – in this case, with regular botox injections. And so it happened for Mr. Fleisher. It’s not a cure – but an ongoing way to control the condition.
And so, in the twilight of his years (he’s pushing 80), Fleisher’s career has come full circle, and he’s now back to performing and recording with both hands. Like I said, he’s hardly cured, and there are certain pieces he still can’t manage. Yet he’s able to apply the musical understanding and insights of a full lifetime to the music that he can play. What an unimaginable blessing – both for him and for us. And his artistry remains on the kind of exalted plane that’s taken for granted before they even think of considering you for Kennedy Center Honors – for which Fleisher has been selected this year.
Tuesday night’s performance, delivered in front of a nearly full Sottile Theatre, was truly an affair to savor and cherish. He appeared alone for the program’s first half, offering mostly a succession of beloved works by the great J. S. Bach. The only exception was Messages I, a fascinating and mysterious piece written for him a few years back by Dina Koston. But it was the mostly familiar Bach items (Sheep may Safely Graze, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue in D Minor, and Chaconne) that made it special. As familiar as some of these pieces were, Fleisher recreated them with the kind of reverence and fathomless profundity that only a true musical master could possibly muster. Especially in Johannes Brahms’ magisterial transcription (for left hand) of the towering Chaconne, he delivered a searching, emotionally taut reading that I’ll never forget.
Enter Ms. Fleisher after intermission, joining her husband for two masterpieces for piano four hands. First came a deep and delicious interpretation of Franz Schubert’s Fantasie in F Minor – one of his heart-rending final works, and long a favorite of mine. It just may be the loveliest and most lyrical music ever written for piano four-hands. Pure bliss. Then they brought things to an emphatic close with a four-hand arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s smoky, swirling La Valse: supposedly the composer’s attempt to offer a French take on the Viennese waltz. Our accomplished duo delivered it with great finesse and sensual atmosphere, inspiring a noisy and spontaneous standing O, the likes of which hasn’t happened at the Sottile for quite some time.
I can hardly find the words to tell you how much it meant to me to see and hear one of the musical heroes of my youth up there on the stage, just a few feet away. From there, he fed my heart and soul with sights and sounds I never thought I’d ever get to experience in the flesh. And afterwards, I even got to (very gently) shake that resurrected right hand and make a feeble attempt to tell him to his face what he and his art have meant to me over the years. It was an evening that will live on in my memory for as long as I do.
Sorry for the last-minute notification on this – the headlong pace of my life often leaves me running behind. But, especially if you’re a choral aficionado, here’s a concert you just can’t miss.
The College of Charleston Concert Choir just finished their fall concert tour – and based on their performances, Dr. Robert Taylor, their director, believes that this year’s choir is the best the college has ever had at this stage of the school year. And that’s saying something, ‘cause two years ago, this very group was singled out as one of the nation’s finest at that year’s ACDA convention in Lost Angeles.
And you can hear them for yourself at 8:00 p.m. TONIGHT (Thursday, Oct. 18), at the beautifully renovated Cathedral Church of St. Luke & St. Paul on Coming Street (admission $5; students free). Treat yourself to a lovely evening of choral gems, to include selections from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (which they recently performed with the Charleston Symphony), music by Riverdance arranger Michael McGlynn, beloved classics from Palestrina and Herbert Howells, and engaging items from contemporary choral sensations Eric Whitacre and Brian Galante.
The choral arts are alive and well in Charleston. Come find out why. I’ll see you there.
Glory, hallelujah – I was finally able to make it to one of Chamber Music Charleston’s fabled “House Concerts” last Monday, thanks to a last-minute vacancy — and the kindness of director Sandra Nikolayevs in letting me know about it. Pardon my delay in reporting on it – but (as you’ll see in Wednesday’s City Paper), it was a very busy musical week, with three concerts that I just couldn’t pass up.
Several times each season, this very capable alliance of musicians (mostly from the Charleston Symphony) put together dynamite chamber programs and perform each one in several different private homes in the Charleston area throughout the season. This is chamber music as it should be: enjoyed by small bunches of aficionados in intimate surroundings.
Only trouble is, you can’t fit big crowds into most living rooms, so local chamber nuts snap up subscriptions to most of the scarce seats very early in the season. What’s a chamber junky to do?
Well, thank goodness this group also does some larger-venue concerts, too – like in their impending “Holy City” series, offered in various historic churches. Their first will be at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday the 28th, at the First Baptist Church. Check out the possibilities at their website, HERE.
The program I caught was a very unusual, but effective one – featuring string quartets by two of the greatest composers to ever write them: W. A. Mozart and Dmitri Shostakovich. While many performers prefer to schedule works of contrasting mood and spirit in the same concert, both of these terrific pieces were rather dark and gloomy. The Shostakovich No. 3 was the composer’s desolate musical wrap-up of WWII: full of foreboding, fear, violence and grief. Mozart’s K. 421 — one of only two quartets he wrote in a minor key – was a far cry from his usual bubbly optimism … but it still breaks into brief rays of sunshine. Mozart could never stay depressed for long.
The musicians – Megan Allison and Frances Hsieh, violins; Nonoko Akada, viola; and Tim O’Malley, cello – were fabulous. Their deft playing and sense of ensemble brought both pieces to vibrant life. But they managed to capture the bleak spirit of the Shostakovich especially well: a palpable sense of grief hung in the air after it was over. It’s a good thing they played it first: even one of Mozart’s darkest creations seemed joyous by comparison, and offered some sense of relief.
Until the College of Charleston’s “Music Fest” chamber program gets going after Christmas, these folks offer the only regular chamber series in town. By any but illegal means, you really need to hear these worthy musicians.
Ancient Music, “Con Brio”
Please pardon my delay of nearly a week before telling you about this truly class act – but I’ve had other fish to fry and some urgent deadlines to meet. SO much music; SOOO little time!
One of the Holy City’s most delightful (and often least heralded) resident musical entities is the College of Charleston’s early music ensemble, the Charleston Pro Musica. Directed by distinguished ancient music scholar and performer Steve Rosenberg (also Early Music Department Head), the group enjoys a well-deserved international reputation. It’s a variable and very flexible bunch whose repertoire encompasses a wide range of instrumental and vocal music from the Medieval era through the Baroque. They’re busiest during Piccolo Spoleto, when they perform repeatedly for the duration of the festival.
A couple of years ago, a four-person sub-ensemble known as Brio was formed, built around the striking and absolutely unique voice of countertenor José Lemos. Having gotten his college training right here in Charleston, he’s now a rising star in the world of Baroque opera – and we’re blessed that he comes back to perform here several times a year. Brio is a group that specializes in early Spanish vocal music, with emphasis on the songs of the Sephardic Jews – music that shows Arabic and other pan-Mediterranean influences; you can also tell that it’s a precursor to what we now call Flamenco music. This engaging young singer not only has a voice you’ll never forget, but his natural Hispanic temperament and passion (he’s from Brazil) make him an ideal interpreter of this music.
But Brio’s not just all about José. Beginning with Rosenberg, the group can claim three more of the best early music names in the business. Hey, whether it’s a gemshorn, recorder, or any other member of the flute family, Steve can play the heck out of it – not to mention various early guitars. Strings sorceress Mary Anne Ballard – also a member of the well-known Baltimore Consort – handles the various members of the ancient viol family, plus the Rebec: ancestors to our modern orchestral stringed instruments. Percussion wizard Danny Mallon is a one-man drum band, playing as many as four different instruments at once. You should hear the symphony of sounds he can get out of a simple tambourine.
Together, they lived up to their name last Monday night, performing with terrific zest and skill … you just KNEW these folks were having a ball together. Their program – well over a dozen songs along with some instrumental numbers – closely matched the contents of a really smashing CD that Brio made for the recently resurrected Dorian label – a record company long known for the excellence of its ancient music recordings. José – his voice smoldering and dripping emotion – had us all in the palm of his hand. Steve dazzled with his sprightly spirit and virtuosity (and yes, he did his “two-recorders-at-once” trick!). Mary Anne gave us sweet and searing sounds from her assorted viols, and Danny made more different kinds of beguiling rhythmic noise than you could count.
Stay tuned to Eargasms and I’ll see to it that you know when they’re playing next … ‘cause if you haven’t heard these amazing musicians, you MUST. They’ll charm your socks off, on top of teaching you something. Come talk to me if you’d like to hear their CD – like the group, it’s a total winner.
Quote for the week:
“That which is written without effort is read without pleasure.” — Samuel Johnson