Saturday, May 12, 2012

More Inspiration . . .

Phil Treloar writes about music, being Australian, and how the two might interact. He also makes music I enjoy very much. His "Other Narratives" series are well-worth acquiring; I eagerly await the next instalment.

http://feeling-to-thought.com/index.html

One of my favourite essays discussing the plight of classical music in today's society, using the (in)famous Joshua Bell experiment as a point of departure:

http://www.tnr.com/article/the-musical-mystique


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Things of inspiration . . .

Firstly:



Something about Debussy's transition around 1.36; from such a serene section into a sort of disorientating and foreboding section really knocks me out. Harmonically, I get the sense that by stretching the boundaries of tonality Debussy is able to make harmonic transitions without explicitly leading the listener through a series of cadences and the like. The same hits me at 3:00, where overlapping harmonies allow the more 'tonal' passages to gradually emerge without recourse to weather-beaten harmonic progression.
There are moments in the second movement that remind me of Stravinksky (melodically) and Carter (textually).



Where the tune slows down but swings more! There's an amazing sense of broadening in many of the cuts from these sessions. Sure, the solos are also fantastic, but it really feels like, so often, the most joyful passages are in the final choruses of collective improvisation.



4:35! Warne Marsh is someone I've come to late, but it knocks me out how hard he pushes himself in improvising through classic harmony. Reminds me of Wayne Shorter in it's intensity and self-editing.