(Vocal group, 1997–2005) In the most famous incarnation, the trio of Destiny’s Child (Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Roland and Michelle Williams) were an extremely successful and hard-working vocal group that formed in Texas in 1990 as a quartet. After numerous line-up changes the group found their stride in 2000 with the soulful ‘Say My Name’ and the party-rocking ‘Jumpin’ ...
Children’s songs have evolved from mothers’ lullabies to teachers’ nursery rhymes to the singalong numbers of TV and film. Through all of their incarnations, they have retained the same stylistic values: a melodic, upbeat mood; a catchy, easily repeatable chorus; and lyrics that tell a story. Many popular musicians have released child-friendly songs. The 1960s, in particular ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1980–present) Born out of singer Kirk Brandon’s previous project, Theatre of Hate, this outfit married post-punk beats with an epic rock vibe; regular accomplice Stan Stammers played bass. They developed a strong live reputation and toured constantly in support of albums such as One Eyed Jacks (1984) and World Service (1985). As various problems dogged the ...
(Vocals, b. 1981) Beyoncé Knowles – the surname is rarely used – left Grammy award-winning girl band Destiny’s Child in 2003 to pursue the most successful career of any female in the 2000s. Her first solo album, that year’s Dangerously In Love, went straight in at No. 1 in both the US and UK. Her follow up, ...
Adele was just three years old when she attended her first live gig with her mother: a Cure concert in London’s Finsbury Park. It was the same year her father, a Welsh plumber, left her mother, practically severing all ties with his daughter in the process. After that first gig, the tot took to the music straight ...
Following the release of ‘Hometown Glory’, anticipation for Adele’s first album began to mount seriously. A big moment for Adele was when the producers of BBC2’s Later… With Jools Holland got in touch after viewing her material on YouTube. They invited her to appear on the show, which she did in August 2007 – alongside former Beatle Paul McCartney and ...
The impact of rap on the rock market was everywhere to be seen in the first years of the new millennium. White artists, black artists and rock bands attempting to incorporate the style made this area the biggest musical melting pot since the 1950s. The means by which music was accessed switched from CD to downloading from the internet, ...
On the face of it, barrels and music would seem unlikely bedfellows. Their alliance, however, goes back at least to the ninth century, when the first detailed description of a barrel organ appeared in an Arab treatise. Mechanics of the Barrel Organ The mechanical principle underlying all such instruments, from the automated organ and piano to ...
Sound effects and instruments trouvés include found objects and specialist machines for making noises. Composers have made extensive use of both sound effects and found objects in orchestral music, especially in music for theatre, dance and opera. Sound Effects The wind machine was originally a theatrical sound effect, and is a cylinder of wooden slats with a canvas ...
We think of electronic music as a late twentieth-century phenomenon, but one of the earliest electronic instruments, the telharmonium, dates from as early as 1895. Invented in the US by Thaddeus Cahill (who also interested himself in electric typewriters and pianos), the instrument was an electromechanical keyboard instrument. It used charge-bearing metal brushes and a rotating wheel with ...
Bagpipe Somewhere, perhaps in Mesopotamia, about 7,000 years ago, a shepherd may well have looked at a goat skin and some hollow bones and had an idea for a new musical instrument: the bagpipe. In the early Christian era, the instrument spread from the Middle East eastward into India and westward to Europe. By the seventeenth ...
Composed: 1844–53 Premiered: 1861, Pest Libretto by Béni Egressy after József Katona’s play Prologue King Endre of Hungary is away at war and his wife Gertrud and her corrupt followers have taken control at court. Act I At Gertrud’s instigation, her brother Otto intends to seduce Bánk’s wife Melinda. Rebels opposed to Gertrud have sent a message to Bánk ...
Boris Godunov, the only project out of nine that Mussorgsky completed himself, has been cited as the great masterpiece of nineteenth-century Russian opera – with its thrilling crowd scenes, historic panorama and the chilling power of its principal character. Boris was unusual in having its chief male role written for a bass voice and for the ‘sung prose’ ...
‘The Flying Dutchman’ Initially a one-act opera, Der Fliegende Holländer was later expanded to three. Wagner was anxious to make sure it was performed in the way he wished, and wrote detailed production notes for the directors and singers. He also conducted the first performance at the Hofoper or Court Opera in Dresden on 2 January 1843. Although Wagner ...
Composed: 1953–56 Premiered: 1957, Milan Libretto by the composer after Georges Bernanos’ play Act I It is April 1789 and revolution is stirring. Blanche de la Force, timid and highly strung, announces her intention to become a nun. The prioress of the Carmelite convent at Compiègne warns Blanche that this is not a refuge. She wishes to be ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.