Alexander Borodin was a Russian composer, doctor, and chemist. Borodin was part of a group of composers called “The Five” who were interested in creating a nationalist school.
Borodin didn’t compose many works, but among his few works he is known for his Opera Prince Igor, the orchestra piece “On The Steppes of Central Asia,” and his two String Quartets. Borodin’s string quartets are full of beautiful lyrical melodies. His second quartet is famous because of its beautiful Nocturne.
Here is a recording of Borodin’s String Quartet no.2 performed by the Borodin Quartet. Enjoy.
The song “Chega de Saudade” (English translation is “No More Blues”) is a bossa nova. Bossa Novas are a lyrical fusion of the samba and jazz. Chega is said to be the first recorded bossa nova song. The song was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the lyrics were written by Vinicius de Moraes.
Jimmy Rosenberg is a Dutch gypsy guitarist. He is known for his playing of Gypsy Jazz and other similar styles of music. Here is a recording of Chega de Saudade played by Jimmy Rosenberg (lead guitar) and his trio. Enjoy.
Freddy Taylor was a jazz singer, trumpet player, band leader, guitarist, and dancer. He came to Paris from New York with the Lucky Millander orchestra on a tour in 1933. He worked with the orchestra for about a decade. During that time he took trumpet lessons from Bill Coleman. While he was in Paris in the 1930s, Freddy met up with Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. They made recordings together. Freddy Taylor also had his own group called Freddy Taylor and His Swing Men from Harlem. In the 1940s Freddy came back to the U.S.A. and continued performing until the late 1960s.
The Quintet of the Hot Club of France
The Quintet of the Hot Club of France was formed by gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grapelli in 1934. During the period before World War 2 the group was very popular and made hundreds of recordings. In the war years Django and Stephane split up and played with other groups. They met up again briefly after World War 2 and made some more recordings. Django Reinhardt died in 1953 and the group was disbanded. Stephane Grappelli had some difficult times and in the 1970s he became popular again. He performed and recorded with lots of musicians (jazz and classical) and toured around the world until his death in 1996.
“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” is a popular jazz standard. Django Reinhardt, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and jazz singer Freddy Taylor recorded it in 1947. Here is their recording of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” Enjoy.
“After You’ve Gone” is a popular jazz standard written in 1918 by Turner Layton. Henry Creamer wrote the lyrics. Django Reinhardt recorded “After You’ve Gone” three times (in 1934, 1936, and 1949). Here is a recording of the song by Django Reinhardt, the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and jazz singer Freddy Taylor. Enjoy.
Blue Drag is a famous Django Reinhardt tune. It was recorded by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France in 1935. Here is a recording done by Freddy Taylor (vocals) and his group the Swing Men from Harlem. Freddy Taylor recorded another tune called Shine with Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. He was a very popular jazz singer, tap dancer, trumpet player, and bandleader during the 1930s. Here is a recording of Blue Drag done by Freddy Taylor and his Swing Men from Harlem. Enjoy.
Shine was a tune that Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France recorded with jazz singer Freddy Taylor in 1936. Here is the recording of Shine done by Freddy Taylor and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Enjoy.
Here Is “I’ll See You in my Dreams,” a jazz standard played by the gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France, “Embraceable You,” another jazz standard played by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Hot Club of France, and another jazz standard “Rose Room” played by the Hot Club of France.
J.C. Bach was a German composer, and the youngest son of J.S. Bach. His music is a blend of German technique with the fluency and grace of the Italian composers. He wrote symphonies, chamber music for stringed instruments and wind instruments, keyboard music, dramatic music, and sacred and secular music. W.A. Mozart was influenced by J.C. Bach’s music early in his music career and borrowed several melodies by J.C. Bach and used them in a few of his early piano concertos.
Here is an aria, “Cara la dolce fiamma,” from the opera Adriano in Siria by J.C. Bach. The aria is sung by the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. It was originally sung by a castrato. Castrati had very powerful voices (much more powerful than a countertenor). To get the effect of how powerful a castrato’s voice might have been, imagine what it would be like blending a soprano and countertenor voice together. For the movie Farinelli about a castrato, a soprano voice and a countertenor voice were simultaneously blended together into one voice. Philippe Jaroussky sang as the countertenor. I’m not sure who the soprano was.
Gerald Moore was an English pianist who worked as an accompanist for many of the great musicians and singers of the 20th century. He accompanied such great musicians as Yehudi Menuhin, Pablo Casals, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf. Moore recorded most of the lieder of Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Strauss, and is responsible for bringing the art of piano accompaniment to the highest level. He is the author of “The Unashamed Accompanist,” “Am I too Loud,” and “Furthermoore.”
Here is an LP recording of “The Unashamed Accompanist” with Gerald Moore. He describes how important the piano accompaniment is in a song, how it paints pictures, helps to set the mood, and the challenges the accompanist faces such as balance with the singer, and transposition (playing in a key other than what is written). The recording is in two parts. Gerald Moore describes everything in a way that people can understand (whether they are musicians or not) and he has a good sense of humor.
A Romanian composer. He was one of the most popular composers of his time. Some of his popular compositions are Song for the 1st of May, Trei culori (three colors?), and the Ballad for violin and piano. One of his compositions ended up being used as the music for Albania’s national anthem.
Ion Voicu (1923-1997) was a Romanian violinist and conductor. He is one of the world’s great violinists. In 1969 he founded the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra which is an internationally acclaimed ensemble. The list of conductors and musicians that Ion Voicu has performed with is incredible. Voicu was a very high level music pedagogue. He taught at many of the world’s leading music institutions. Ion Voicu made hundreds of recordings.
Here is a recording of Ion Voicu performing the Ballad in a version for violin and orchestra. It is a beautiful piece of music. I hope that you enjoy it.
Ernesto Nazareth was a Brazilian composer and pianist. He composed over 200 compositions (tangos, waltzes, polkas, sambas, fox-trots etc.). Nazareth also composed music in a classical style and was influenced by the beautiful melodies, virtuosic flourishes, and harmonies of Chopin’s music.
Here are three recordings of pieces by Ernesto Nazareth. The first recording is a tango called Apanhei-te, cavaquinho played by Maria Teresa Madeira. The second recording is a waltz called Eponina played by Maria Teresa Madeira. The third recording is a piece called Noturno (Nocturne) written in a classical style. I don’t have the name of the person playing the nocturne. Enjoy!
Dorado Schmidt is a well known French composer, guitarist and violinist in gypsy jazz. He is best known for his “Bossa Dorado,” “Natacha,” and “Tchwolo Swing” from the soundtrack to the French documentary film Latcho Drom (“Safe Journey”).
Here is a version of “Bossa Dorado” performed by the Rosenberg Trio. The Rosenberg Trio was formed in 1989. It is influenced by the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Stochelo Rosenberg is the lead guitarist, Nous’che Rosenberg is the rhythm guitarist, and Nonnie Rosenberg is the bass player. Enjoy.
Musical Treats 