Voices from the Past, Voices from the Present
Anonymous 4 with Darol Anger and Mike Marshall. Gloryland.
It was a week marked by arrivals and departures, absurdity and transcendence, and reflections on who's listening to classical music and why.
Saturday I was fortunate enough to attend the performance by Andras Schiff and the Cappella Andrea Barca at the Kennedy Center, an all-Mozart program that will be repeated only in New York. Schiff and his orchestra brought us fresh, vibrant interpretations of the ever-familiar Symphony #40 and two piano concerti from different periods in the composer's life. I cannot possibly do justice to the dazzling performance but only say I will always treasure the experience.
From the sublime to the absurd: my arrival at the KenCen almost drifted into Harold Lloyd-style farce, thanks to a lengthy stint as the Prisoner of the Orange Line (that panicked figure sprinting to the Concert Hall was me). As Schiff and his excellent musicians took the stage, I was struck by the almost quaint nature of what we in the audience were doing: assembling, without ear buds or cellphones, even submitting our scratchy throats to restraint, all in the service of hearing a live performance. If music is communication, who's really listening these days?
Speaking of communication, this week word arrived of the death of Anna Russell, age 94, classically trained vocalist, humorist, and skeweress of Richard Wagner and other musical victims. 
The fortunate among you have experienced, either through live performances, her Sony recordings, or perhaps clips on Classic Arts Showcase, Russell's hilarious overview of Wagner's Ring Cycle, in which she reflects on the the fact that a heldentenor would fall for the first woman he's ever met who wasn't his aunt. "I'm not making this up, you know."
Godspeed, Ms. Russell, as you start your new gig inside the pearly gates.
Speaking of departures and heavenly affairs, I am pleased to report that despite reports to the contrary, the early music vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 is still very much with us and producing albums with a decidedly divine inspiration. Many of our Olsson's customers have discovered their latest, Gloryland, a journey through American sacred and secular music, and very much a worthy follow-up to an earlier album, American Angels. For those of you who can't get enough of shape note hymns or the ballads of Appalachia, this album is a must.
Here the peerless ensemble receives violin, guitar, and mandolin accompaniment by Darol Anger and Mike Marshall in interpretations of works from 19th hymnals and tunebooks. If you've only heard Anonymous 4 perform the music of, say, medieval Hungary or Germany, prepare yourself. Here is reverence and a haunting melancholy, but the pure, piercing vocals of most of the earlier albums -- sounds that belong to the hushed interiors of a cathedral or convent -- are here more colloquial, reaching into the shape note, singing school, and Sacred Harp traditions.
If you have a shelf full of CDs by the Waverly Consort or Paul Hillier and His Majestie's Clerkes, Gloryland is a harmonious addition. If you have been spending your days with the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? or Emmylou Harris, I recommend the ladies of Anonymous 4 for your consideration.
It was a week marked by arrivals and departures, absurdity and transcendence, and reflections on who's listening to classical music and why.
Saturday I was fortunate enough to attend the performance by Andras Schiff and the Cappella Andrea Barca at the Kennedy Center, an all-Mozart program that will be repeated only in New York. Schiff and his orchestra brought us fresh, vibrant interpretations of the ever-familiar Symphony #40 and two piano concerti from different periods in the composer's life. I cannot possibly do justice to the dazzling performance but only say I will always treasure the experience.From the sublime to the absurd: my arrival at the KenCen almost drifted into Harold Lloyd-style farce, thanks to a lengthy stint as the Prisoner of the Orange Line (that panicked figure sprinting to the Concert Hall was me). As Schiff and his excellent musicians took the stage, I was struck by the almost quaint nature of what we in the audience were doing: assembling, without ear buds or cellphones, even submitting our scratchy throats to restraint, all in the service of hearing a live performance. If music is communication, who's really listening these days?
Speaking of communication, this week word arrived of the death of Anna Russell, age 94, classically trained vocalist, humorist, and skeweress of Richard Wagner and other musical victims. The fortunate among you have experienced, either through live performances, her Sony recordings, or perhaps clips on Classic Arts Showcase, Russell's hilarious overview of Wagner's Ring Cycle, in which she reflects on the the fact that a heldentenor would fall for the first woman he's ever met who wasn't his aunt. "I'm not making this up, you know."Godspeed, Ms. Russell, as you start your new gig inside the pearly gates.
Speaking of departures and heavenly affairs, I am pleased to report that despite reports to the contrary, the early music vocal ensemble Anonymous 4 is still very much with us and producing albums with a decidedly divine inspiration. Many of our Olsson's customers have discovered their latest, Gloryland, a journey through American sacred and secular music, and very much a worthy follow-up to an earlier album, American Angels. For those of you who can't get enough of shape note hymns or the ballads of Appalachia, this album is a must.Here the peerless ensemble receives violin, guitar, and mandolin accompaniment by Darol Anger and Mike Marshall in interpretations of works from 19th hymnals and tunebooks. If you've only heard Anonymous 4 perform the music of, say, medieval Hungary or Germany, prepare yourself. Here is reverence and a haunting melancholy, but the pure, piercing vocals of most of the earlier albums -- sounds that belong to the hushed interiors of a cathedral or convent -- are here more colloquial, reaching into the shape note, singing school, and Sacred Harp traditions.If you have a shelf full of CDs by the Waverly Consort or Paul Hillier and His Majestie's Clerkes, Gloryland is a harmonious addition. If you have been spending your days with the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? or Emmylou Harris, I recommend the ladies of Anonymous 4 for your consideration.
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