Folk music is often broadly defined as being a music “of the people.” But what does that really mean? Of course, the generally understood definition implies that it is music not of the conservatory or the upper strata of society, but from the average person, one of the commoners. But the descriptor of the music […]
Over the last half-century, a growing number of artists and theorists have explored the concept of ecomusicology, a theoretical approach to music that emphasizes the relationship between man and nature as manifested through sound. Initially developed from the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, ecomusicology focuses less on whether a particular sound comes from […]
Music has always pulsed through Montréal’s DNA, from its origins to the present. Legend tells that when the city’s founder, Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, battled loneliness in the then-frontier outpost by picking up a lute. Seventeenth-century missionaries spread faith through the territory by relying upon choral singing and notation. After the British conquered […]
Often, emphasis on genre improperly discards the lines of influence that transcend imposed stylistic segmentations. No artistic expression exists solely in isolation or in a neatly maintained silo. This is especially evident with Jimi Hendrix. Most would categorize the guitar great’s music as “rock.” In reality, his shadow – particularly his use of feedback, distortion, […]
We continue our conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ by delving deeper into her compositional process for the album, writing for strings, graphic scores, and more. You can read the first part of our conversation here. PG: This is your first time recording your work for strings, correct? PB: That’s right. […]
For eons, humanity has looked up at the vastness of the night sky in wonder. The pinholes of light shining through the darkness evoke feelings of comfort and familiarity, even as things seem so distant and mysterious. The stars leave us facing some of the greatest existentialist inquiries: Who am I in the broader picture? […]
Music has a unique ability to convey emotions that transcend written or spoken language. Things lost in translation cannot be lost in sound. In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Because of music’s cross-cultural power, it is easy to minimize a particular work’s origins. After all, if music […]
Tribute albums have been an ubiquitous part of modern music. They generally fall into two categories. Some honor a specific recording, with artists hoping to put their own spin on a landmark work of years past, whether the George Benson covering the Beatles [The Other Side of Abbey Road (A&M, 1970)] or Nels Cline and […]
As a vehicle to facilitate group improvisation – or collaborative creation in the moment, as some artists refer to it- musicians have long relied on the concept of a “head” piece. A precomposed melody, the head provides a set baseline for free creation. Often, these pieces have been standards, frequently reused songs penned by others. […]
In a musical environment that too often propagates concepts of genre, one label in particular often stands out as problematic: “folk music.” What exactly is folk music? A cursory definition would state that the form is music “of the people.” In the abstract, this idea seems sensical. When Béla Bartók transcribed the works of Transylvanian […]
