Russian Orthodox Chant – “Today, he hangs upon the Cross”
“Today, he hangs upon the Cross” is a Russian Orthodox Chant for Good Friday (the Friday before Easter).
The chant is sung by the Choir of the Suzdal’ Holy Virgin’s Protecting Veil. I hope that you enjoy this beautiful music.
Frauenkirche, Dresden
The Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden started out as a Roman Catholic parish, then became Protestant during the Reformation, and finally in the 18th century it became a Lutheran church. It was destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in WWII. The ruins of the church that remained were left for 50 years as a war memorial. In 1994 the church was rebuilt after the reunification of Germany. The exterior of the church was completed in 2004, and the interior was completed in 2005.
The organ in the Frauenkirche was built by the great German organ builder Gottfried Silbermann who came from a family of organ builders. It was one of the greatest pipe organs in Europe. The organ was installed in 1736 and the great organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach gave an organ recital on it shortly after its installation. A new organ based on the ideas of Gottfried Silbermann and Andreas Silbermann was built by Kern (an organ builder from Strasbourg) in 2005.
In 1944, the organist of the Frauenkirche, Hanns Ander-Donath made a recording of several organ pieces before Dresden was bombed and the church and organ were completely destroyed. I discovered that both recordings were listed on youtube as being recorded in 1944 at the Frauenkirche. I am not sure if that is true as they both come from different cd compilations recorded by the same organist.
Here is a recording of the Prelude and Fugue in D Major by J.S. Bach. The recording of the Prelude and Fugue in D Major comes from a cd album entitled Ein Leben fur die Orgel. I am not sure if the recording of the Prelude and Fugue is done on the Frauenkirche Silbermann organ.
The recording of the Fantasie and Fugue in g minor by J.S. Bach was recorded on the old Frauenkirche Silbermann in 1944. What a magnificent and powerful sound that organ has.
Rhythm Future Quartet
An acoustic jazz quartet that is inspired by the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. The quartet plays a variety of different music from gypsy jazz standards to more contemporary music.
Here are three recordings of the Rhythm Future Quartet. “Bushwick Stomp” is a modern gypsy jazz tune composed by Olli Soikkelli (the lead guitartist in the Rhythm Future Quartet). “Sleepless” is a tune composed by violinist Jason Anick of the Rhythm Future Quartet. “Made for Wesley” is an arrangement of a tune by violinist Jason Anick.
Jason Anick (violinist and band leader)
Jason Anick is a rising star in the gypsy jazz world. Before forming the Rhythm Future Quartet he performed with many famous musicians in the gypsy jazz world including Robin Nolan, John Jorgenson, Tony Ballog,and Alfonso Ponticelli.
Olli Soikkelli (lead guitarist)
Olli Soikkelli recently moved from Scandinavia to Brooklyn New York where he has become one of the top guitarists in the jazz scene.
Max O’ Rourke
At 19 years of age, Max has toured and recorded with John Jorgenson and Gonzalo Bergera, two of the top gypsy jazz guitarists.
Greg Loughman (bass)
Greg Loughman is a top bass player in Boston. At 41, he is the oldest member of the band.
Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli’s collaboration began in 1970. A few years before that Yehudi Menuhin heard Stephane Grappelli’s jazz violin for the first time after a friend gave him some Grappelli recordings. He liked what he heard and a meeting was arranged between Grappelli and Menuhin. In the beginning Menuhin (a classically trained violinist) worried that Grapelli (a jazz violinist) would be critical of his playing because he couldn’t improvise and Grappelli worried that Menuhin would be critical of his technical abilities on the violin. That discomfort soon went away when they began playing together. Menuhin was amazed how Grappelli could improvise with such ease, and Grappelli respected Menuhin’s playing and even had some solos written out for Menuhin so that they could play together. Their collaboration was so successful that they recorded 6 LPs together. Here are a couple of recordings of Grappelli and Menuhin. The first piece is called Crazy Rhythm and the second is a jazz standard called Sweet Georgia Brown. I hope that you enjoy this music.
Here is a recording of a jazz standard called “Dedicated to You” from the album called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. The musicians on the recording are: Johnny Hartman (voice), John Coltrane (saxophone), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Reggie Workman (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), McCoy Tyner (piano). I hope that you enjoy this beautiful ballad.
Johnny Hartman (1923-1983)
Johnny Hartman was an American jazz singer. He specialized in singing ballads. His first professional work as a singer started in September 1946 when he won a singing contest and worked for a week with jazz pianist Earl Hines. That was so successful that Earl Hines hired Johnny Hartman to work with him the following year. Hartman then went on to work with Dizzy Gillespie and Errol Garner for a short time. Although he was a very talented singer and was an important influence for many other singers of his time such as Frank Sinatra, Hartman never got the recognition he deserved. Today he is best known by jazz lovers for his collaboration with John Coltrane on the album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Johnny Hartman died in 1983 from lung cancer.
John Coltrane (1926-1967)
John Coltrane was an American jazz saxophone player. He pioneered the use of modes in jazz and was one of the main people in promoting free jazz. Coltrane worked for a time with jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Many of his recordings feature him playing a flurry of never ending fast notes and are quite abstract. The recording that John Coltrane made with Johnny Hartman is notable because Coltrane is playing in a more subdued fashion. He plays with a beautiful tone and there aren’t a lot of notes in his solos, but every note speaks from the heart.
Adrian Rollini (1903-1956)
Adrian Rollini was a jazz musician who played the bass saxophone, vibraphone, piano, and many other instruments. Rollini started taking piano lessons when he was two years old. When he was four years old he gave his first recital (15 minutes long) and among the pieces played was the famous Minute Waltz by Chopin. One day he brought home a saxophone. It took him only a week to learn how to play it. He was equally skilled at the piano, saxophone, vibraphone. Through his career, Rollini played with several of the great jazz musicians of his day including Benny Goodman, Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, the Dorsey Brothers, and Bix Beiderbecke. Rollini had his own jazz orchestra, quartet, and trio. In his trio, Adrian Rollini played the piano and the vibraphone. The other members of the trio were Allan Hanlon on guitar and George Hnida on the bass.
Here are three recordings of Adrian Rollini and his trio made in 1948. The pieces played are “Dark Eyes,” “The Minute Waltz,” and “The Girl with Light Blue Hair.” I hope that you enjoy these performances.
Joe Venuti (c.1903-1978)
Joe Venuti was an American jazz violinist. He is considered to be the father of jazz violin. Together with his friend Eddie Lang (the first great jazz guitarist) they recorded as a duo and played with many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century. They played with Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Franckie Trumbauer, the Paul Whiteman orchestra and many more. Here are a couple of recordings done in 1933 by Joe Venuti and his Blue Six. The tunes are called “In de Ruff” and “Doin the Uptown Lowdown.” Enjoy!
Emilio Caceres was a jazz violinist who was born in Texas. Early on in his career he led his own jazz orchestra based in San Antonio. He is best known for the hot jazz trio, the “Emilio Caceres Trio,” which he formed together with his brother Ernie Caceres. the trio had Emilio Caceres on violin, Ernie Caceres on clarinet and saxophone, and Johnny Gomez on guitar. Here is a recording made by the Emilio Caceres Trio of a tune called “Runnin’ Wild.” I hope that you enjoy it.
Kathleen Battle (1948 -)
Kathleen Battle is a black operatic soprano. Her music career began in 1972 when she auditioned for the conductor Thomas Schippers and sang in a performance of the Brahms Requiem as the soprano soloist. in 1974 Kathleen Battle met conductor James Levine which was the beginning of a professional relationship that lasted 20 years. She has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras.
Here is a recording of 5 Japanese Love Songs sung by Kathleen Battle in Japanese. The names of the pieces are Hatsukoi (First Love), Hana (Cherry Blossom Time), Kono Michi (a folk song), Hamabe-no-uta, and Sakura, Sakura. I hope that you enjoy these pieces.
Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764)
Pietro Locatelli was an Italian baroque violin virtuoso and composer. Locatelli’s playing was noted for its virtuosity and sweet tone.
Locatelli wrote mostly sonatas and concertos.
Fabio Biondi (1961 -)
Fabio Biondi is an Italian violinist and conductor. He specializes in early music. Fabio Biondi has performed with many baroque music ensembles. He founded his own early music ensemble Europa Galante in 1990.
Here is a recording of Fabio Biondi and a few musicians from his group Europa Galante playing the Violin Sonata op.6, no.12 by Pietro Locatelli.
Musical Treats 