272. Hildegard von Bingen

July 3, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(July 2020) Episode 272 of the “opus project” is HILDEGARD VON BINGEN. By the name you might think this is a German doom metal band. Not so! Hildegard lived in the 12th Century in what is now western Germany and was a visionary, mystic, poet, composer, naturalist and abbess — making her the oldest artist in the Project. Musically, she left us perhaps the greatest cache of medieval monophonic compositions. With their contemplative and mystical qualities, it is not a surprise her works have attracted attention from the New Age movement. For listening, I recommend finding recordings by genuine early music groups in order to avoid the New Age-y reimaginings.

Favorite piece: Ordo Virtutum

Compared to expectations: same

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271. John Fahey

June 24, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(June 2020) Episode 271 is JOHN FAHEY. Fingerpicked guitar is so wholesome. If you love it like I do then John Fahey is essential. He didn’t invent the technique (that was southern blues players) but he made it its own art form, often called American primitive guitar (a label I don’t like because it connects him to Windham Hill-type New Age music, a connection he rejected). Amidst his personal eccentricities, Fahey tried several styles including Dixieland jazz, sound collage, and Christmas covers. But he’s at his best when his right hand goes full speed on folk and blues numbers.

Favorite album: The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites

Favorite song: Jaya Shiva Shankara

Best song that Leo Kottke did a little better: The Last Steam Engine Train

Compared to expectations: same

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270. Caroline Shaw

June 23, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(June 2020) Episode 270 is CAROLINE SHAW. Realizing most of my classical episodes are dead men, I sought out a contemporary woman composer, and found a fantastic one in Caroline Shaw, the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. While the instrumentation in mostly conventional, the sounds and structures are not. She makes full use of the range of sounds one can get from a stringed instrument, as well as voices. Give her a try.

Favorite piece (chamber): Plan & Elevation

Favorite vocal piece: Partita for 8 Voices

Favorite orchestral piece: Watermark

Favorite solo piece: in manus tuas

Compared to expectations: ↑

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269. Sergei Prokofiev

June 18, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2020) Episode 269 is SERGEI PROKOFIEV. Boy do I love 20th Century Russian composers. He was one of the big trio of Soviet composers (with Shostakovich and Khachaturian) whose output was shaped (or crimped) by political constraints. Yet he composed masterpieces in a broad range of forms: symphonies, operas, ballets, concertos, sonatas, songs. I’m particularly fond of his early (Stravinsky-ish) modernist compositions. Most know him as the ‘Peter and the Wolf’ guy.

Favorite piece: Symphony #5

Favorite chamber piece: Cello concerto in E minor

Favorite ballet: Romeo and Juliet

Favorite opera: The Fiery Angel

Favorite solo piece: Piano sonata #6

Compared to expectations: same

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268. Sly and the Family Stone

June 16, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2020) Episode 268 is SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE. Look up “ground-breaking” in the dictionary and there’s a photo of this band. The music synthesized trends of the late 60s — soul, rock, psychedelic and the San Francisco Sound — into a rocket of sound, with timely social commentary, reinforced by their composition as first fully integrated rock group. But Sly’s most lasting musical contribution may be as one of the Founders of Funk. As with anything, best when funky.

Favorite album: Stand!

Favorite song: Stand!

Best funk song: Loose Booty (just ask the Beastie Boys)

Compared to expectations: same

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267. Sleater-Kinney

June 7, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2020) Episode 267 is SLEATER-KINNEY. If your 90s playlist doesn’t have S-K in it, it sucks. Or your general rock playlist for that matter. They are notable for emerging within the riot grrrl movement with its feminist and social consciousness. But at its core it’s aggressive guitar rock with an aggressive attitude — and isn’t what great rock is all about? Tucker’s high warble can get tedious, but I can overlook it.

Favorite album: Call the Doctor

Favorite song: Entertain

Compared to expectations: same

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266. Hawkwind

June 1, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2020) Episode 266 is HAWKWIND. My interest is their role as a pioneer in space rock. The acidly cosmic albums of the early 70s are good head trips. Their peak featured Lemmy before he founded Motörhead (from the name of a Hawkwind song). But then they became Yet Another British Band That Never Ends, with multiple lineup amid countless recordings over half a century. Their dip into New Wave wasn’t bad, but mostly it’s Dave Brock’s (the only consistent member) shifting efforts to put out spacey material (new age, techno, tepid prog rock).

Favorite album: Hall of the Mountain Grill

Favorite song: Silver Machine

Compared to expectations: ↓

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265. Curtis Mayfield

May 31, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2020) Episode 265 is CURTIS MAYFIELD including his time in THE IMPRESSIONS. I dig late 60s-early 70s soul/funk, a sound Mayfield helped create and mastered. That sweet falsetto is so distinctive. I began with his time in The Impressions to get a full sense of his evolution from R&B into soul and the strong social commentary that characterized his work. His quality dropped off after Superfly, into banal disco and then bland 80s adult contemporary soul.

Favorite album: Superfly

Favorite song: Freddie’s Dead

Compared to expectations: same

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264. Little Richard

May 30, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2020) Episode 264 is LITTLE RICHARD. The music and style of this Founding Father are encoded in the DNA of the rock and roll. Impossible to quantify the influence of his late 50s albums and singles. But that’s all you need to hear. His voice and charisma do lift some later recordings, but most of the rest is either gospel or a retread of previous material.

Favorite album: Here’s Little Richard
Favorite song: Keep A-Knockin’

Compared to expectations: same

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263. Georg Philipp Telemann

May 14, 2020July 3, 2020 ~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2020) Episode 263 is GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN. I do love me some baroque, but this was like an overdose. Perhaps the most prolific composer ever, Telemann wrote some 3,000 pieces, half of which survive, and I was able to find and listen to about half those — still about 800 pieces. Thanks to self-isolation, I did in 7 weeks what would have taken 7+ months. But his quantity isn’t matched by quality; while it isn’t fair to compare anyone to Bach, Telemann’s music can’t match his friend’s magic and melodicism. It’s all very nice though.