The Signal with Pat Carrabré- Friday May 2, 2008
Tonight polish up your dancing shoes because Pat takes a look at the roller coaster ride that is the career of MOBY. In concert from Vancouver’s GUITARS! GUITARS! Festival, an epic piece by Nicolas Bragg - The Burial of Count Orgaz: 2 guitars, loops and enough affects pedals to sink a small tugboat. Pat also peels the wrapping off a few fresh CDs and spins some Sadoceanspacebear, Animal Collective, Baby Dee, Destroyer and more.
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Saturday, May 3, 2008
This evening Pat slips Matt Haimovitz’s new CD - Vinyl Cello into high rotation- five tracks from this former child prodigy and now Canadian resident. In concert great imrov from the Ottawa Jazz Collective with work from Yves Martel, Petr Cancura, Michael Fahie and Mike Essoudry. And still there is time for new music from Montreal’s Islands, Toronto’s Pony Da Look, Wolf Parade and Woelv.
The second question for The Jesus and Mary Chain catalogue contest is: What festival did The Jesus and Mary Chain reunite for in 2007? Answer last weeks question and this one and send your answers to TheSignal@cbc.ca.
Wishstick
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Sunday, May 4, 2008
In cahoots with the Music Monday celebration tonight Pat pulls out his inner child, takes a time out and then spins music by, for and about the kids. The Gryphon trio, Kara Keith, Laura Barret and Oliver Knussen’s Children’s opera for Sendack’s classic- Where the Wild Things Are. In concert it is an evening of protégées when The Signal heads to Toronto for a celebration of Montreal composer Michel Gonneville and his exceptional students.
For more information on the Ondes martinot go here
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Where to from here?
Is classical music dead? And if it is, where does that leave “new classical music?” Last week, the concept of “post-classical” music came up in my blog entry. That’s the idea that it’s more or less impossible to keep the so-called traditions of any classical music alive in our time. I say so-called because most of our western concert music traditions aren’t really “classical.” They came into being during the early part of the 20th Century and we just think they’re written in stone. Even in Chopin’s time, the audience would clap between movements – try doing that at a Symphony concert and you’re likely to get shushed.
A big disconnect has developed between the non-commercial music of our time and the ever growing audience of culturally aware people who should be its natural audience.
On Sunday night’s show, I’m playing Tim Brady’s Dark Matter (Primal Pulse). It’s from his new CD with the Australian group Topology. They’ve been actively involved in defining this evolving concept of “post classical” in what they do and the American group Eighth Blackbird have also jumped onboard with the concept. Writers like Kyle Gann, Greg Sandow, Joseph Horowitz and Stephen Brookes have written about it and DePauw University even offered a Symposium on the subject last year.
A lot of the ideas seem to focus on changing the concert experience. Musicians are trying to make it more engaging and sometimes even interactive. There might be open discussions, multimedia (live video or film), a blending of music from different genres and some kind of conceptual intellectual hook. Tan Dun’s The Map is a good example. Canadian groups like the Art of Time Ensemble and Numus often program this way. On the other side of the equation, Indie/Alternative folk like PJ Harvey and Johnny Greenwood list living “classical” composers among their influences.
In working with musicians from different traditions, I’m usually struck by how hungry we all are for good new music. The sky may be falling on some traditional ways of presenting music, but I think the audience potential is much bigger than it ever has been before. But we all need to work together to share the great music we find and to help define new ways to find our audience. I hope that The Signal is becoming your go-to place to find interesting links between styles and across genres.
A big disconnect has developed between the non-commercial music of our time and the ever growing audience of culturally aware people who should be its natural audience.
On Sunday night’s show, I’m playing Tim Brady’s Dark Matter (Primal Pulse). It’s from his new CD with the Australian group Topology. They’ve been actively involved in defining this evolving concept of “post classical” in what they do and the American group Eighth Blackbird have also jumped onboard with the concept. Writers like Kyle Gann, Greg Sandow, Joseph Horowitz and Stephen Brookes have written about it and DePauw University even offered a Symposium on the subject last year.
A lot of the ideas seem to focus on changing the concert experience. Musicians are trying to make it more engaging and sometimes even interactive. There might be open discussions, multimedia (live video or film), a blending of music from different genres and some kind of conceptual intellectual hook. Tan Dun’s The Map is a good example. Canadian groups like the Art of Time Ensemble and Numus often program this way. On the other side of the equation, Indie/Alternative folk like PJ Harvey and Johnny Greenwood list living “classical” composers among their influences.
In working with musicians from different traditions, I’m usually struck by how hungry we all are for good new music. The sky may be falling on some traditional ways of presenting music, but I think the audience potential is much bigger than it ever has been before. But we all need to work together to share the great music we find and to help define new ways to find our audience. I hope that The Signal is becoming your go-to place to find interesting links between styles and across genres.
April 25, 26, 27
The Signal with Pat Carrabré- Friday April 25, 2008
The Signal takes a whirlwind gander at music inspired by all those great big cities that speckle our planet. Pat will spin music from the likes of Gonzales, Antoine Berthiaume and Tim Brady. In Concert the crackle and pop of Vancouver’s piano driven Attics and Cellars will entertain. If all this leaves you far to cheery, hold up- Pat will also be sharing an in-depth listen to the music of siren PJ Harvey.
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Saturday, April 26, 2008
Tonight in high rotation Pat will sample the music of Ottawa’s neo folkys Muskox. Our concert will take us to Prince Edward Island for an incredible musical experience featuring Kiran Ahluwalia and the saxophone of Mr. Danny Oore. The hype will also get under way for a massive loot-bag give away: one artist’s entire catalogue(think dark clouds + late 80s), earplugs optional. There will also be music from “Will the Circle”, DBR and Goldfrapp.
PRIZE ALERT:
And the question is- What band did Bobby Gillespie form after leaving Jesus and Mary Chain. This is part one of two questions- one this week and one next week, since the prize is so massive: The Jesus and Mary Chain catalogue, yup you read right.
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tonight in concert Pat pulls out the cocktail shaker and pours a round of the effervescent Esprit Orchestra: with Claude Vivier, Philip Cashian and Doug Schmidt. Later in the evening, fresh from a secret marinade, Pat dishes out some prime cut samplings from the International Rostrum of Composers; this week from Austria, Germany and Italy. Plus there will be fireworks from Veda Hille, Andrew Bird and Son Lux.
The Signal takes a whirlwind gander at music inspired by all those great big cities that speckle our planet. Pat will spin music from the likes of Gonzales, Antoine Berthiaume and Tim Brady. In Concert the crackle and pop of Vancouver’s piano driven Attics and Cellars will entertain. If all this leaves you far to cheery, hold up- Pat will also be sharing an in-depth listen to the music of siren PJ Harvey.
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Saturday, April 26, 2008
Tonight in high rotation Pat will sample the music of Ottawa’s neo folkys Muskox. Our concert will take us to Prince Edward Island for an incredible musical experience featuring Kiran Ahluwalia and the saxophone of Mr. Danny Oore. The hype will also get under way for a massive loot-bag give away: one artist’s entire catalogue(think dark clouds + late 80s), earplugs optional. There will also be music from “Will the Circle”, DBR and Goldfrapp.
PRIZE ALERT:
And the question is- What band did Bobby Gillespie form after leaving Jesus and Mary Chain. This is part one of two questions- one this week and one next week, since the prize is so massive: The Jesus and Mary Chain catalogue, yup you read right.
The Signal with Pat Carrabré - Sunday, April 27, 2008
Tonight in concert Pat pulls out the cocktail shaker and pours a round of the effervescent Esprit Orchestra: with Claude Vivier, Philip Cashian and Doug Schmidt. Later in the evening, fresh from a secret marinade, Pat dishes out some prime cut samplings from the International Rostrum of Composers; this week from Austria, Germany and Italy. Plus there will be fireworks from Veda Hille, Andrew Bird and Son Lux.
Friday, April 18, 2008
I just can’t see the CBC as a big museum for European culture.
I never could resist controversy, so it’s time for my second instalment on the classical versus “post-classical” controversy at CBC (I’ll leave the concept of post-classical for a later blog entry). Today’s Winnipeg Free Press (April 18, 2008) features an editorial in which my name appeared rather prominently.
William Neville has been writing about the impending program changes at CBC. He’s not happy! Now, I haven’t actually spoken to Mr. Neville, he’s referring to some brief comments attributed to me in the Free Press last Saturday. I spoke to columnist Morley Walker when a small group gathered out front of the CBC building here in Winnipeg. I went out to talk to a few friends and ended up chatting with Morley for a few seconds.
I should probably back track a bit. I am a composer of what we might call “new classical music” – whatever that means. I have a Ph.D. in Music, so I’m at least not uninformed about the history of music – although what we learn at University is almost exclusively the history of “western art music.” I can discuss the great masters of western music history and I do love the music. But! And I’m talking a big BUT, the last few years have brought me to a very different place in my thinking about where music is going. This all started with a piece I wrote for Katajjaq singers and orchestra. It was the first piece I was asked to write for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra when I became their Composer-in-Residence. At first I didn’t want to write the piece, but after I did a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that it was an incredible opportunity – one I shouldn’t pass up just because I felt a little out of my element.
It was a life altering experience. I worked with two wonderful singers from Rankin Inlet (Pauline Pemik and Inukshuk Aksalnik). The piece eventually became a “recommended work” at the International Rostrum of Composers and it broadcast in many countries around the world (incidentally, we’ve been playing works from last year’s Rostrum on The Signal on Sunday nights – around midnight).
Pauline and Inukshuk come from a musical tradition that was almost stamped out when Southerners (dare I say white Christian clergy?) forbid the Inuit their traditional customs. But there’s now a younger generation who have learned this incredible style of singing (mostly from their grandparents) and they are taking it to the world. Tanya Tagaq is probably the best known in popular music circles – as she’s performed all over, including a recent project with the Kronos Quartet.
This whole experience made me realize two things. The first was that you can’t freeze a tradition in time. If an art form is going to remain vital it has to change. The second was that my view of the musical world was painfully small. I kind of knew that already, but this experience forced me to deal with it. Since that time, I’ve worked on several large pieces that brought together musicians from different cultures and my idea of what music should be in our time has changed dramatically.
So back to the changes at CBC. Western classical music stands among the greatest achievements of humankind. The new programming at CBC will continue to keep that traditional alive and available – nobody has said it’s going away. However, we need to make room for the music of our time and our country. This is really important and it is far easier for an audience to access quality recordings of classical music than it is to find out what is being created in our country – beyond those artists who have the support of the commercial music industry.
I hope that music lovers will find the new CBC format to be the perfect place to hear good music – no matter what genre or historical period. Take this Sunday night’s show on The Signal for example. We’re celebrating the 75th birthday of Canada’s best known composer, R. Murray Schafer and we’re putting the music of Quebec cellist and indie-rock sensation Jorane up close to Vancouver composer Mark Armanini’s Dance of Many Colours. It features traditional Vietnamese instruments mixing with a Western “classical” orchestra.
William Neville has been writing about the impending program changes at CBC. He’s not happy! Now, I haven’t actually spoken to Mr. Neville, he’s referring to some brief comments attributed to me in the Free Press last Saturday. I spoke to columnist Morley Walker when a small group gathered out front of the CBC building here in Winnipeg. I went out to talk to a few friends and ended up chatting with Morley for a few seconds.
I should probably back track a bit. I am a composer of what we might call “new classical music” – whatever that means. I have a Ph.D. in Music, so I’m at least not uninformed about the history of music – although what we learn at University is almost exclusively the history of “western art music.” I can discuss the great masters of western music history and I do love the music. But! And I’m talking a big BUT, the last few years have brought me to a very different place in my thinking about where music is going. This all started with a piece I wrote for Katajjaq singers and orchestra. It was the first piece I was asked to write for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra when I became their Composer-in-Residence. At first I didn’t want to write the piece, but after I did a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that it was an incredible opportunity – one I shouldn’t pass up just because I felt a little out of my element.
It was a life altering experience. I worked with two wonderful singers from Rankin Inlet (Pauline Pemik and Inukshuk Aksalnik). The piece eventually became a “recommended work” at the International Rostrum of Composers and it broadcast in many countries around the world (incidentally, we’ve been playing works from last year’s Rostrum on The Signal on Sunday nights – around midnight).
Pauline and Inukshuk come from a musical tradition that was almost stamped out when Southerners (dare I say white Christian clergy?) forbid the Inuit their traditional customs. But there’s now a younger generation who have learned this incredible style of singing (mostly from their grandparents) and they are taking it to the world. Tanya Tagaq is probably the best known in popular music circles – as she’s performed all over, including a recent project with the Kronos Quartet.
This whole experience made me realize two things. The first was that you can’t freeze a tradition in time. If an art form is going to remain vital it has to change. The second was that my view of the musical world was painfully small. I kind of knew that already, but this experience forced me to deal with it. Since that time, I’ve worked on several large pieces that brought together musicians from different cultures and my idea of what music should be in our time has changed dramatically.
So back to the changes at CBC. Western classical music stands among the greatest achievements of humankind. The new programming at CBC will continue to keep that traditional alive and available – nobody has said it’s going away. However, we need to make room for the music of our time and our country. This is really important and it is far easier for an audience to access quality recordings of classical music than it is to find out what is being created in our country – beyond those artists who have the support of the commercial music industry.
I hope that music lovers will find the new CBC format to be the perfect place to hear good music – no matter what genre or historical period. Take this Sunday night’s show on The Signal for example. We’re celebrating the 75th birthday of Canada’s best known composer, R. Murray Schafer and we’re putting the music of Quebec cellist and indie-rock sensation Jorane up close to Vancouver composer Mark Armanini’s Dance of Many Colours. It features traditional Vietnamese instruments mixing with a Western “classical” orchestra.
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