New CDs for June 2016
Classical
Yizhak Schotten – The Elegant Viola
George Szell & The Cleveland Orchestra – Szell Conducts Mozart
UMass Wind Ensemble – Fatastique: Premieres for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble
Band Music
The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band – Flourishes and Meditations
The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band – Be Glad Then, America
Jazz
Duke Ellington- The Nutcracker Suite
Vocal Music
Teresa Stratas – The Unknown Kurt Weill
Spider Sounds: Diana Krall “Live In Paris”
Editor’s Note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” is by Julie (aka Xinyi), one of our student workers, and features a live album from Canadian jazz pianist & singer Diana Krall which was originally released in 2002 and won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Thanks, Julie!
I picked the CD called “Live in Paris” by Diana Krall, because I personally prefer European-style music. This CD has many different pieces. The first one is called “I Love Being Here With You.” At the very beginning, the general rhythm sounds very lively and energetic. It provides me a happy feeling of living in Paris. Because of the quick rhythm and pace, I feel it encourages listeners to become more interested in living in Paris and assume living in Paris would be a colorful and interesting experience.
The second track is called “Let’s Fall In Love,” which has a very different mood from the first track and is much slower paced.
I think Paris is known as a romantic city, and the second track fits that “romantic” feeling quite well.
The other songs on this CD, in general, consists of alternating quick and slow tracks. I feel this is variety is good so listeners won’t feel bored when they listen to the whole album.
This album also is available to UR students, faculty and staff via our streaming service — click on this link to access it: http://librarycat.richmond.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=4353&recCount=25&recPointer=0&bibId=1455539.
New CDs added in April!
New CDs for April 2016
Classical
Johannes Brahms – Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano
Karen Gottlieb – Music For Harp
Mitchell Lurie – Mitchell Lurie, Clarinet
Mozart/Beethoven – Quintets for Piano & Winds
Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach – Genius – Music of Johann Sebastian Bach & Antonio Vivaldi
Pop/Rock/R&B
Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn – Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn
Big Sean – Dark Sky Paradise
Tamar Braxton – Calling All Lovers
Death Cab For Cutie – Kintsugi
Aretha Franklin – Aretha Sings The Blues
Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
Jazz
Karrin Allyson – Many A New Day
Louis Armstrong – Blow Satchmo Blow
The Bad Plus – The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
The Bad Plus – The Rite Of Spring
Terence Blanchard – Breathless
Michael Dease – Decisions
Chris Dingman – The Subliminal and the Sublime
Gil Evans Project – Lines Of Color
John Fedchock – Like It Is
Marshall Gilkes – Ko¨ln
Scott Hamilton & Jeff Hamilton Trio – Live In Bern
Lionel Hampton – 50th Anniversary Concert – Live at Carnegie Hall
Tommy Igoe and the Birdland Big Band – Eleven
Joe Magnarelli – Three On Two
Matt Ulery’s Loom – Music Box Ballerina
Matt Ulery’s Loom – Wake An Echo
Marcus Miller – Afrodeezia
Sun Ra and his Arkestra – In The Orbit Of Ra
Matt Ulery – By A Little Light
Matt Ulery – In The Ivory
Matt Ulery – Themes And Scenes
World Music
Andy Lau – Love: Special Edition
Amira Medunjanin – Silk & Stone
Electronic Music
Qluster – Tasten
Jane Rigler – Rarefactions: Compositions via Improvisations
Madeleine Shapiro – Sounds Nature: Works for Cello and Electronics
Spider Sounds: U2 “The Joshua Tree”
Editor’s Note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” is by Alexandra, one of our student workers, and features the critically acclaimed album The Joshua Tree by U2. This was U2‘s fifth studio album. It was released in the spring of 1987. Thanks, Alexandra!
U2 is the purest example of clean, meaningful, and everlasting music. It is almost impossible to choose one soundtrack to shine amongst the rest but if you only have time to listen to one album, then The Joshua Tree is the one to pick. Lyrics from “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “Mothers of the Disappeared,” and “With Or Without You” represent the political and social turmoil occurring during the time of production and the sense of hope lost during these troubling times. Just as the biblical overtones of The Joshua Tree signify a guide to lead disciples to the Promised Land, the album reminds us of the healing power of music.
Spider Sounds: Les Misérables
Editor’s Note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” is by Rebecca, one of our student workers, and features the original Broadway cast recording of the acclaimed musical Les Misérables. Thanks, Rebecca!
In the thirty years following its English-language debut, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s musical Les Misérables has rightly earned its status one of the world’s most beloved Broadway shows. Adapted from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name, Les Misérables appeals to bookworms, history buffs, and music lovers alike. The musical tells the story of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict whose journey from Prisoner Number 24601 to upstanding citizen and finally fugitive on the run from a relentless police inspector tragically intersects with the unfolding of the fateful June Rebellion in Paris.
This original Broadway cast recording brings to life all of the stunning lyricism and vitality of the stage production. The heartbreakingly melodic vocal themes and nearly seamless musical accompaniment weave the listener into the gritty realities of life in Orléanist France, and are well worth revisiting for those already familiar with the show.
Catch the revolutionary spirit this spring by listening to the original Broadway cast recording of Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables!
Spider Sounds: Sufjan Stevens “Come On Feel The Illinoise”
Editor’s Note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” is by Colette, one of our student workers, and features a 2005 album by critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. Thanks, Colette!
After his first state themed album, Greetings From Michigan (2003), Sufjan Stevens turned out yet another excellent state themed collection in 2005. Known for his use of varied instruments including trumpets, vibraphones, banjos, and others, Come On Feel The Illinoise is a classic Sufjan creation.
Some of my favorite tracks include:
“The predatory wasp of the Palisades is out to get us!”
The feeling of this song works directly against the wackiness of the title — it is sincere, with incredible and heartfelt lyrics.
and
“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”
This song is about — you guessed it — the famous serial killer. Sufjan does a masterful job describing and humanizing Gacy, and ends with the line:
“And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid”
This line exemplifies Sufjan’s skills as a lyricist. The entire album has such a wonderful motion to it, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is a Sufjan Stevens fan, or anyone looking to listen to something new.
Come visit the Parsons Music Library and discover what we have available!
Spider Sounds: The Carpenters “Now and Then”
Editor’s Note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s installment of “Spider Sounds” is by Xixi, one of our student workers, and features the mellow 1970s pop stylings of The Carpenters. Thanks, Xixi!
In the Carpenters’ 1973 album Now and Then, we got to hear some of the world’s best known songs like “Jambalaya” and “Yesterday Once More.” With Karen Carpenter’s deep melodic voice and Richard Carpenter’s skilled and classical use of string instruments, we hear a smooth harmonious mixture of country, folk, and bluegrass music. The Carpenters were a big hit in the UK, US, and Japan during the 1970s. Many of their songs have been revisited and covered by other artists.
When you feel stressed, frustrated, or lost, listen to the Carpenters’ Now and Then. Every single song aims to tell a story of happiness and sorrow, memories of past and present. You are welcomed not just as an audience, but also a listener, a participant, and a close friend, thinking of “those were such happy times and not so long ago, how I wondered where they’d gone.”
To me, listening to Carpenters’ music is beyond the expression of words, and I always have different thoughts about it at different time periods. I guess that’s the charm of this album and
the Carpenters’ music, that no matter when or where you hear them, you can always be renewed and enriched by the lyrics and rhythm of their songs.
Come visit the Parsons Music Library and discover what we have available!
New CDs added in March!
New CDs for March 2016
Classical
Helene Grimaud – Water
Opera
Giuseppe Verdi – Attila
Giuseppe Verdi – Oberto
Pop/Rock/R&B
David Bowie – Blackstar
Jazz
Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest – Sylva
Blues
Buddy Guy – Born To Play Guitar
Spider Sounds: John Mayer “Continuum”
Editor’s Note:“Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s post is a bit unusual — two different student workers actually have chosen to write about the same 2006 album by John Mayer. So we are presenting both Aly and Mary’s individual takes on this album in the same post. Thanks to student workers Aly and Mary for contributing to “Spider Sounds”!
Aly’s thoughts on “Continuum”:
Continuum – John Mayer (2006)
Continuum, John Mayer’s third studio album, is a fresh take on guitar-driven pop music. Chances are, you’ve probably heard a few songs from this album before, such as “Gravity,” “Dreaming With a Broken Heart,” or the uplifting “Say (What You Need to Say).” These songs all come together on an outstanding album, which dominated the 49th Grammy Awards – there, Mayer performed “Gravity” live, then went on to sweep the titles for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the recognizable “Waiting on the World to Change.”
As with all of Mayer’s albums, Continuum features tracks with incredibly vivid lyrics that stand far above many other pop songs that tend to feature an overused dialogue. Mayer’s messages are artful, inspirational, intelligent – they’re quick and concise, and stick with you. In
Continuum, many songs have positive, feel-good themes that any listener would love.
To add to the rich lyricism in Continuum, many tracks have rich guitar rhythms throughout, both acoustic and electric – and Mayer himself does most of it. His technique is undeniably masterful, and should not go unnoticed.
My personal favorite track on the album is “The Heart of Life” (the song’s refrain was actually my senior quote in my high school yearbook!). A sunny, poetic dialogue, effortless vocals, and a fresh guitar foundation – the track embodies everything that makes John Mayer a standout pop singer-songwriter.
John Mayer perfoming “Gravity” at the 49th Grammy Awards show. 11 February 2007
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Mary’s thoughts on “Continuum”:
If you’re looking for songs that are deep and meaningful, John Mayer’s third album called Continuum is the way to go. His songs in this album invite you to look at the world, your relationships, and your own life and ponder upon them. After listening to his songs, you would feel as if any brokenness or uncertainty are relieved temporarily. His calm voice placidly talks to you as if you’re sitting with your close friend at a café on a fair day, just talking about how life is going.
If you feel like you have a lot of burden in your life, come check out Continuum at the Parsons Music Library and let music share your burden for a bit.
Spider Sounds: Purity Ring “Another Eternity”
Editor’s note: “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s post is by Liza, one of Parsons Music Library‘s student workers and features an album by the Canadian electronic music duo Purity Ring. Thanks, Liza!
If you haven’t heard of Purity Ring, you’re missing out! As a fairly new addition to the Parsons Music Library, Purity Ring combines their own genre of “future pop” with electronic indie in their newest album Another Eternity (2015). The Canadian duo Megan James and Corin Roddick recorded and produced the album themselves, showing off a sharper focus on James’ vocals and Roddick’s evocative percussive skills than in their first album Shrines (2012).
Purity Ring’s songs deliver dream-like melodies intertwined in electronic landscapes as heard in “Bodyache” and “Begin Again.” The duo continues to give rise to prevailing styles in indie music through their resonance of intensive trap beats and smooth, atmospheric lyrics.
If you missed Purity Ring on September 20, 2015 at The National in Richmond, then come to the Music Library to check out their CDs Another Eternity and Shrines!
