(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–71) Randy California (guitar, vocals) had worked with Jimi Hendrix in New York clubland in 1966 before returning to Los Angeles to form what became Spirit with stepfather Ed Cassidy (drums), songwriter Jay Ferguson (vocals) and Mark Andes (bass). Jazzier than most ‘progressive’ rock groups, they released four albums of which 1969’s The Family That Plays ...
The story of classical music is not bound up simply with the traditions of any one country: it is tied up with the cultural development of Europe as a whole. This section attempts to pick out the composers from each successive age who, looked at from one point of view, exerted the greatest influence on their contemporaries and subsequent ...
of corporateness. In the same way that jazz and blues were conjured up out of imagination, innovation and sheer raw talent, so hip hop was another example of the spirit of a people being expressed in musical terms. Indeed, during its 20-or-so-year existence, hip hop has continued to shift its own goalposts in an effort to stay outside the ...
jazz continues to evolve over time. And no matter how far the River Jazz may flow from its source – whether through stylistic evolution or technological innovation – the essential spirit of the music remains intact. Granted, the more academic and esoteric extrapolations of avant-gardists such as Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor may, on the surface of it, ...
while music hall’s popularity faded when it was forced to compete with the arrival of radio and cinema, 1930s stars like the ukulele-strumming George Formby made sure its jovial spirit survived into the mass media age. Also in the singalong style of the music hall, although an altogether more subtle and intelligent version, were the gently satirical songs ...
dubbed ‘new wave’. There were still traces of a surly attitude, and in the case of artists such as Elvis Costello there were clear musical skills, yet the spirit of punk had been laid to rest; for the next few years it would remain submerged while middle-of-the-road hard rockers and exotically-attired ‘new romantics’ catered to the rapidly emerging MTV ...
, and one of the biggest recent influences has been the riotous music of Bollywood, clearly recognizable in films such as Moulin Rouge (2001). A more intimate and subversive spirit of cross-fertilization prevailed during the birth of cabaret in late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century Paris. Venues such as Le Chat Noir provided liberating countercultural forums, where formidable actor/musicians such as ...
her friends as the Dutchman boards his ship. Crying out that she has remained faithful unto death, she throws herself from the cliff. The Dutchman’s ship sinks and his spirit, embracing that of Senta, rises into the heavens. Sounds Familiar ‘Senta’s Ballad’ ‘Senta’s Ballad’, a soprano aria, occurs in Act II of Der Fliegende Holländer, and ...
not possess the tools or temperament to write music relevant to the time. Composed: 1914–17 Premiered: 1919, Vienna Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal Background Keikobad, ruler of the spirit world, gave his daughter a talisman to transform herself into an animal. Hunted by the emperor’s falcon, she changed from a gazelle into a beautiful woman with whom ...
at Mycenae show their contempt for Elektra. Only the fifth maid speaks up for her, and she is beaten by the overseer. Elektra duly appears and calls on the spirit of Agamemnon to show itself. She graphically describes his murder and prophesies how his murderers’ blood will pour into his grave, while Orest and their sister Chrysothemis dance with ...
Anna and agrees to go to the village festival with her, but forbids her to dance. At the festival Conrad tells his friends that anyone who marries an earth spirit will meet with disaster. Heiling is jealous of the attention Anna pays to Conrad. She still wants to dance, saying that she will do as she pleases until she ...
First performed as an incomplete work on 2 June 1937 in Zurich, this opera boasts a Berg libretto that is based on two Frank Wedekind tragedies: Erdgeist (‘Earth Spirit’, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (‘Pandora’s Box’, 1904). Following the composer’s death, controversy arose as to the fate of the incomplete third act. Berg’s widow asked Schoenberg, Webern ...
1972, representatives of the Chinese armed forces are waiting at an airfield outside Beijing in order to greet President Richard Nixon on his arrival. The presidential Boeing, The Spirit of ’76, taxies to a halt. Nixon disembarks with his wife, Pat, and greets Premier Chou En-lai. Nixon is excited. He compares his landing in Beijing, ...
, but she is bitten by a snake and dies. Act III As all mourn Euridice’s death, Orfeo is escorted to the underworld. Aristeo is driven mad by Euridice’s spirit and, mocked by Momo and the satyr, kills himself. Giunone sends Gelosia (Jealousy) to Proserpina and argues with the jubilant Venere. Gelosia tells Proserpina that her husband, ...
of old masters remind Palestrina of his duty to God. He calls on God and hears an angel singing. He starts to compose, inspired by more angels and the spirit of his wife. Act II The cardinals gather at Trent amid political manoeuvring. Borromeo has had Palestrina imprisoned, but doubts whether or not this will make him co-operate. The ...
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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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David Bowie
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