Texan Blind Willie Johnson was one of the most successful recording artists in the South in the late 1920s, before the Depression ruined the company for which he recorded. This collection demonstrates the singer's unique ability to express his personal poetic style through the genre of religious song.
In German-speaking countries, carolers go from door to door every year between Christmas and Epiphany. They collect donations for children in need and, with their songs, carry the blessing of God into every house. Children and young people from choirs belonging to the German Pueri Cantores Choir Association have sung a total of 25 carols for this album, including established classics such as “Stern über Bethlehem”, but also surprises such as the “Sternsinger-Rap”. This release heightens the joyful anticipation of carol singing, making it easier to learn the new songs as well as motivating people to sing.
Marty Haugen’s musical, That You May Have Life, proclaims the Gospel of John through song. An eclectic array of musical styles sets the stage for each chapter, bringing the emotion of the characters to life. Musical selections range from beautiful melodic ballads to lush choral harmonies. Haugen incorporates narration, sung dialogue, and song in a way that conveys more than just the biblical texts. This musical includes such familiar narratives as the woman at the well, the raising of Lazarus, and the washing of the feet at the Last Supper. The depth and breadth of each tale blooms forth, enticing us into a personal relationship with these familiar biblical figures. That You May Have Life sings these stories “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
Two CDs. Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings In Denmark 1965-1969 is a set of previously unreleased recordings by jazz piano icon Bill Evans, either live or in Danish TV and radio studios. Highlights include trio performances from 1965 with bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen; the only solo piano version of "My Funny Valentine" by Evans known to exist; a 1966 orchestral suite with the trio accompanied by the Danish Radio Big Band and more! Includes rare photos, liner notes and interviews.
Better Boot That Thing - Great Women Blues Singers Of The 1920s
RCA
CD
$17.99Aug 05, 2010
Track Listing 1. I'll Forgive You 'Cause I Love You, But the Wrongs You've Done I Can't Forget 2. I'm Gonna Lose Myself Way Down in Louisville 3. My Old Daddy's Got a Brand New Way to Love 4. Sugar - Fats Waller 5. Beale Street Blues 6. Fort Worth and Denver Blues 7. Penitentiary 8. Better Boot That Thing 9. Bogey Man Blues 10. Whistling Woman Blues 11. Blood Hound Blues 12. Dirty Tee Bee Blues 13. Moaning the Blues 14. Telephoning the Blues 15. Showered With Blues 16. Wrong Doin' Daddy 17. Elm Street Blues 18. When You Lose Your Daddy 19. Mr. Forty Nine Blues 20. Good-Bye Rider
Recorded from 1927 to 1930. Includes liner notes by Billy Altman.
Digitally remastered by Jay Newland (June 1992, BMG Studios, New York City).
The American composer William Bolcom (b. 1938) is best-known for his large-scale setting of William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience," which is available on a 3-CD Naxos set. This new collection of Bolcom's songs also on Naxos shows the composers's lifelong fascination with Blake. It includes an early lyrical setting of Blake's poem, "Mary" which deals with a beautiful and intelligent young woman and her rejection by her society. In the several torch and cabaret-style works it includes, the collection also shows Bolcom's attempts to fuse classical with popular styles of music. Bolcom also has done so in his piano music, much of which is heavily influenced by ragtime. The songs on this CD are performed and selected by soprano Carole Farley with Bolcom himself at the piano.
The Piatti Quartet continue their exploration of Ina Boyle's music with this fascinating album on the theme of Phantasies, and the vision of one extraordinary patron of music. Walter Cobbett (1847 - 1937) was a successful businessman and chamber music patron, who, created a competition for British composers in 1905, and singlehandedly created the 'Phantasy' (his spelling), taking inspiration from the 16th and 17th century instrumental works for viol or string consorts. Ina Boyle, entered her composition in 1919, but misread the requirements of 'piano & strings'. Herbert Howells entered his composition in 1917, and Malcolm Arnold, whilst coming after the competitions ended, continued the form with his Phantasy composed when he was 19. Cobbett also commissioned Phantasies, including the Vaughan Williams work on this album from 1912. Augusta Holmes depicts the mythological figure of Hibernia in the 7th of her Vingt Melodies - a slow nationalist march depicting Christmases of Irish mythology. Tippett was awarded the Cobbett medal for services to chamber music in 1948, but when Stravinsky died in 1971, he was one of several major composers to commemorate the composer. Dating from 1972, In Memorium Magistri receives it's first recording on this album as do the two works by Boyle.
With Pianosong, Alexandre Tharaud pays homage to the great French singers and songwriters of the 20th century (Brel, Piaf, Barbara, Gainsbourg, Trenet, Ferre, Berger) by transposing their songs into a new pianistic and symphonic language. This is not a cover album, nor a tribute in the conventional sense. It is a collection of musical metamorphoses, through improvisation, arrangement, orchestration, and interpretation.
George Antheil (1900-1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, and inventor known for his radical musical style and innovative spirit. Often dubbed the "Bad Boy of Music," Antheil made his mark in the early 20th century with bold compositions that challenged traditional norms, combining dissonance, mechanical rhythms, and experimental instrumentation. He was particularly fascinated with the intersection of technology and music, a theme that permeated his work-including his infamous Ballet Mécanique (1924), a piece originally scored for synchronized player pianos, airplane propellers, and sirens. Antheil's songs are lesser-known yet deeply compelling. These vocal works, written across various periods of his career, present a more intimate and lyrical side of the composer. Though far removed from the explosive energy of his orchestral and piano music, his songs retain his signature wit, rhythmic precision, and inventive harmonies. They often set texts by poets such as James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and other literary modernists, reflecting Antheil's deep engagement with contemporary intellectual circles. The songs reveal the evolution of Antheil's musical language-from the early Dadaist-influenced miniatures to more mature, expressive works marked by greater emotional depth and nuance. They bridge European modernism and American innovation, merging cabaret, classical lieder, and jazz idioms.
Pocket-sized drama In essence, the texts by Heine featured in this compilation are taken from his Book of Songs. Behind each title lies a unique personal drama, sometimes in an oriental-style setting (Rubinstein's Der Asra) and occasionally in the finest Rhine Romantic tradition (Clara Schumann's Lorelei). They recount medieval episodes, transporting us into fantastical fairy-tale worlds, providing an escape from everyday life into an imaginary scenario. This is the order of the day, just as it was back then, because, perhaps especially in our often unromantic times, it is not such a bad idea to have someone sing you a song.
The deliciously erotic aspects of the text of the Song of Solomon inspired a great many composers during the 17th century, although it remains curious that even the strictest Lutheran composers could not resist setting it to music. The majority of Hammerschmidt's pieces on this text are written for soprano or tenor voices; these obviously represent the two protagonists, the beloved and the lover. This programme is built around these works, creating an entertainment - a small sacred opera -in which evocations of love or sensual dialogues are framed by dances and instrumental pieces. Works by Andreas Hammerschmidt, Johann Vierdanck, Dieterich Buxtehude, Thomas Strutz and others.
