New CDs added: Summer 2023

New CDs for Summer 2023

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

J.S. Bach – Complete Sonatas and Patritas for Solo Violin
Maria Bachmann – Fratres
Sir Granville Bantock – Celtic & Hebridian Symphonies
Ludwig van Beethoven – Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 1 – Heifetz
Ludwig van Beethoven – Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 2 – Heifetz
Ludwig van Beethoven – Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume 3 – Heifetz
Elliott Carter – Dialogues * Boston Concerto * Cello Concerto * ASKO Concerto
Elliott Carter – Orchestral Works
Shura Cherkassky – II
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast
Peter Maxwell Davies – The Beltane Fire

Peter Maxwell Davies  - The Beltane Fire

Peter Maxwell Davies – Symphony No. 1
Berthold Goldschmidt – Orchestral Works
Berthold Goldschmidt – Three Concertos
Charles Ives – Universe Symphony
Franz Liszt – Emil von Sauer plays Liszt
Witold Lutosławski – Lutosławski – Penderecki- Cage – Mayuzumi: String Quartets
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 8: Symphony of a Thousand
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 9
Bohuslav Martinu – Bohuslav Martinu – The Louisville Orchestra
Bohuslav Martinu – Fantasies Symphoniques * Fresques * Juliette

bachmann fratres

Midori – Live at Carnegie Hall
Darius Milhaud – Milhaud Conducts Milhaud
Paul Moravec – Tempest Fantasy
Sergeĭ Nakari͡akov – Carmen Fantasie: Virtuoso Music for Trumpet
Einojuhani Rautavaara – Garden of Spaces * Clarinet Concerto * Cantus Arcticus
Arturo Sandoval – The Classical Album
Adolphe Sax – America’s Millinnium Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Volume II
Adolphe Sax – America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Volume VII
Franz Schubert – Sonata for arpeggione and piano – Rostropovich
Joseph Schwantner – Angelfire * Beyond Autumn * September Canticle * A Sudden Rainbow
Various Artists – 125 Years of the Leningrad Conservatoire

Charles Ives - Universe Symphony

Jazz

Dave Brubeck Quartet – So What’s New?
Allen Farnham – 5th House

Dave Brubeck Quartet - So What's New?

Samara Joy – Linger Awhile
Andy Narell and Calypsociation – The Passage

Samara Joy -  Linger Awhile

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Arleen Auger – Love Songs
Johann Sebastian Bach – Epiphany Mass
Kathleen Battle – Live at Carnegie Hall
Alban Berg – Seven Early Songs
Hector Berlioz – La Revoution Grecque

Hector Berlioz - La Revolution Grecque

Christoph Willibald Gluck- Orphée et Eurydice
Aleksandr Tikhonovich Grechaninov – Songs of Grechaninov
George Frideric Handel – Theodora

G. F. Handel - Theodora

Emma Kirkby – The Emma Kirkby Collection
Stefano Landi – Il Sant’Alessio
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Exultate Jubilate
Stephen Paulus – To Be Certain of the Dawn
Joaquin Rodrigo – Cantico: Obros para Voces, Coro, y Orquesta

Elena Ruehr - Averno

Elena Ruehr – Averno
John Tavener – The Veil of the Temple
Georg Philipp Telemann – Orpheus
Kurt Weill – Street Scene

Elliott Carter - Dialogues

Folk Music

Zespol Polski – Chopin: Spirit of the Lowlands

Zespol Polski - Spirit of the Lowlands

Early Music

Carlo Gesualdo – Prince of Madrigalists
Hildegard von Bingen – 11,000 Virgins: Chants for the Feast of St. Ursula

Hildegard von Bingen - 11,000 Virgins

Claudio Monteverdi – Vespiri di S. Giovanni Battista
Orlando Consort – The Saracen and the Dove
Thomas Tomkins- Above the Starrs

Thomas Tomkins - Above the Starrs

Piano and Harpsichord Music

Martha Argerich – I
Johann Sebastian Bach – Goldberg Variations – Keith Jarrett
Harold Bauer – The 1929 Victor and 1939 Schirmer Recordings
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano sonatas opp. 54, 57, 78, 90 – Maurizio Pollini
Ludwig van Beethoven – Klaviersonaten : No. 17 op. 31, no. 2 ; No. 21, op. 53 ; No. 25, op. 79 ; No. 26, op. 81a – Maurizio Pollini

Yundi Li - Chopin Recital

Frédéric Chopin – Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 35 ; Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58 – Mitsuko Uchida
Frédéric Chopin – Chopin Recital – Yundi Li
György Ligeti – Works for Piano. Etudes – Musica Ricercata
Jon Nakamatsu – Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Murray Perahia – Murray Perahia Plays Franck & Liszt

Sir Granville Bantock – Celtic & Hebridian Symphonies

New CDs added: April 2023

New CDs for April 2023

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Ruth Gipps- Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4/Song for Orchestra/ Knight in Armor
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Piano Music Vol. 1 /Oxana Yablonskaya, piano

Jazz

Oneness of JuJu – African Rhythms 1970-1982

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Lisette Oropesa & Vlad Iftinca – Within/Without
Giacomo Puccini – Turandot
Ethel Smyth – The Wreckers

Popular Music

The Wants – Container

Arachnophonia: Amy Winehouse “Back To Black”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features Amy Winehouse’s 2007 album Back To Black. Thanks, Amy!

Amy Winehouse

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black has been my top album since I was 16. Not only is the unique quality of her voice astounding but her lyrics perfectly encapsulate the realities of an abusive relationship.

Back to Black was Winehouse’s sophomore album and the title track, “Rehab,” suggested the album would be nothing like its predecessor Frank (released in 2003). Frank sounded as if Winehouse had taken the lyrics of an artist like Michael Bublé and added a bit of hip-hop to it, the most notable piece was her voice.

These raspy painful notes that begin “Rehab,” a Top 10 hit in the UK and US, point to the three years between Frank and Back to Black being far from easy. After Frank debuted, Winehouse began a very topsy-turvy relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, a music video assistant. Fielder-Civil has come forward and admitted to being Winehouse’s introduction to hard drugs. The two would get into physical and verbal altercations in public, the catalysis of this being Fielder-Civil leaving Winehouse at one point for his ex-girlfriend.

Fielder-Civil leaving was the inspriation for the song “Back to Black.” It described the dark moments of depression she felt after he left. It also described how she went back to abusing alcohol after he left because she didn’t have anything else to cope with.

Another of her famous singles “Love is a Losing Game,” a long metaphor for love being an unfair game, the song, while quite simple with lyrics like “Know you’re a gambling man/ Love is a losing hand,” is considered to be one of Winehouse’s most powerful songs because of its deep meaning.

My personal favorite song, “Tears Dry on Their Own” is an anthem for those who need the hard truth: it is time to get over it. In an interview with BBC, Winehouse described her inspiration for the song: “I was with someone that I couldn’t really be with and I knew it wouldn’t last. But I think because I knew it couldn’t last, it’s kinda like saying, “I’m upset, but I know I’ll get over it, I guess.”

After a stint in rehab and an arrest for marijuana possession, Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in 2008, an award ceremony she was not able to attend as the US denied her visa on grounds of use and abuse of narcotics. That same year, Back to Black was said to be the second-highest selling album in the world. Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011.

Arachnophonia: The Beatles “Abbey Road”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Danny (class of 2023) and features the classic 1969 Beatles album Abbey Road. Thanks, Danny!

The Beatles
Abbey Road

The Beatles - Abby Road (album cover)

The question that typically comes up every time and again – a question that I find disrespectful to everyone but one, and yet worthy of the highest praise for that one in question – is one that is hotly debated. I have seen friendships one word away from disaster over the lunch table regarding this one question. I have witnessed other’s whole argument lose its pull as soon as someone had a worthy counterargument. I have seen people argue over the topic on Twitter and Instagram as if their opinion was slated in fact. I have seen people get so emotionally invested in this question that their face begins to get red, their eyes stand on the verge of tears, and every single vein in their body is one more second away from exploding. That question – the one I hate – is who is the best musical group ever?

Where does this question even get its basis from? Are we saying some genres are better than others?

Are we saying we can compare every single artist together despite no two artists being the same – with different vocals, different instruments, different cultures, different pacing, different everything? I get humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank – competition drives the world. But honestly, to me, this is an unanswerable and impossible question. Yea, we may be able to rank albums off charting positions and sales numbers. And then logically, we can say the artist that has the most cumulative sales across their whole discography is the best. That is a LOGICAL WAY to determine it. It still blows for literally every other artist other than number one – BUT – that one artist lives enshrined as the best for forever. And yet, despite me not liking that way to derive who is the “best”, it is logical. But, also, on top of the fact that humans have the natural inclination to tier and rank, humans are not the most intelligent. And instead of deciding who is the best logically, we let emotions, opinions, and our own experiences decide for us! As if it is not obvious enough, that is a one-way ticket to disaster. It brings up some pretty interesting debate, however but humans are also stubborn, and we can only imagine that nothing will ever be accomplished.

For those reasons, and just the idea that music should be appreciated for the piece of art it is and its individuality, not ranked against others because Jeff likes drums more than strings, I think that question is pretty lame.

However, I am going to explain a little bit about one album from one group that typically scores high on America’s meaningless “tier list.” Even better, I so happen to love this band, although they are not one of my everyday listens. But, since they have some of the most gripping and innovative music of the 1960s, I thought it would be a worthy choice to write about. And, even funnier, it leads into an interesting contradiction to say that I agree with the world in this case. I do not know if that now pigeonholes me into the broader term of being “basic,” but in this case, I will put aside that argument and agree with the world.
This leads me to this point: If I were to rank all bands, and put my differences aside with that impossible question, I would put the Beatles up at the very top – maybe not one, but top twenty. More specifically, if we were to rank albums, Abbey Road would be even higher.

Abbey Road album cover outtatke

To begin, Abbey Road is the 11th studio album of the Beatles, their second to last studio album and 11th in just over six years. The group itself is composed of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, although Ringo was not one of the original members of the band (he replaced Pete Best in 1962). Together, the Beatles shot to worldwide prominence outside of their home country of the UK and more specifically their hometown of Liverpool. Their rise to American prominence began in the early 60s as many British bands were beginning to come to America in what was known as the “British Invasion.” If were to use the LOGICAL approach, the Beatles would be the most popular band of all time, selling 183,000,000 albums throughout their history. The album itself was a bit of a distance from some of the previous albums – they almost reverted back to their beginnings. The album did not contain many psychedelic hits as the majority of their later albums did. However, despite this, the band recorded the album at their breaking point; this was the last album that was released when they were all together, as John Lennon had made his exit from the brand prior to commercial release.

The album, in my opinion, demonstrates complete duality. Although the music is praised for being one of their best, with hit after hit, the band’s health, and the health of each of the members were deteriorating behind the scenes. The members were all annoyed with each other and George Martin played saving grace, trying to get the project to the world and to completion, whilst attempting to reduce the trouble brewing between the members. The wear and tear of fame, constant studio work, and trying to deal with it all took a toll on the Beatles by 1969, which caused a lot of the issues. They had faced adversity, as the band would experiment with cocaine, LSD, and marijuana in the mid to late 60s, followed by a crippling heroin addiction by three of the members. Behind the scenes, the Beatles were at their lowest and were struggling in their personal lives. It is still amazing that despite all the negatives, they somehow put their troubles, their conflicts, and their egos aside and created one of the most iconic songs of all time.

Some of my personal favorites off the album, are “Something,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Oh Darling”, and “Because.” A large portion of the songs that I like most (in this case “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”) were written by George Harrison. You could almost immediately tell when Harrison was the writer, with a distinct sound. In the case of Abbey Road, his songs were more melodic and slower, a slight diversion from the rock-infused roots that rose the band to prominence. They make for some of the most beautiful songs in their entire discography, but slightly behind my all-time favorite song from them – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” In my opinion, that song, with Eric Clapton playing the guitar in the background is the greatest Beatles song. The slower and melodic piece, with the guitar sounding almost as if it really was crying is nothing short of a masterpiece. And so, I consider myself biased in response to my favorites – George’s style and influence was something that resonates with me. That is yet another reason why I dislike ranking. Because in this case, my opinions, and biases seep through heavily.

Finally, as for the most influential and iconic portion of the piece, the Abbey Road album cover has become one the most definitive images of the band. Although an album cover that was very simplistic in nature, the image holds a variety of meaning and captures the Beatles’ spirit and careers all in one image. The image itself features all four Beatles walking along a crosswalk on Abbey Road, which is a street in London where EMI studios, the recording studio of the Beatles was housed. From left to right, there is George Harrison, in a jean shirt, jeans, white boots, long hair and a beard. This encompasses their later years, in which most of the members began to grow their hair out amidst the war years and counter-culture movement. To his right is Paul McCartney in a blueish-grey suit, a cigarette in hand, and a shorter hairstyle that is reminiscent from their pre-fame days. Afterward is Ringo Starr, dressed in a black suit. Finally, John Lennon finishes the image, with his long hair and all white appearance. Although not traditionally associated with the image, John being last in line wearing all white to me symbolizes heaven and the idea that the band is nearing their end. They are looking to the light and waiting for their come to end. The final piece of the album cover that many do not know is that the photographer only took six images of them. The Beatles walked down back and forth along the street three times. This cover image was the fifth image taken, and they were walking away from the studio. If we were to blow up the image, EMI would be on the left. This also foreshadows their immediate exit, as them walking away from EMI hints at their careers together ending.

Abbey Road album cover outtake

Image 3 (of 6) from the Abbey Road album cover shoot. Photo: Iain MacMillan

The everlasting impact of the band and this album is one that will live on forever in the minds and hearts of all music lovers. It is so popular to this date, that in 2019, 246,000 vinyl copies were sold. This comes over fifty years after its initial release. And so, to close, despite saying in the beginning of this piece that I hate rankings and considering a band to be the “best,” if I ever had the chance to make my opinion fact and that that becomes the standard everyone will have to adhere by – I would place Abbey Road in the top 15 albums of all time.

If you are so inclined to relisten to this masterpiece, or grace your ears for the first time, you can check out a copy of Abbey Road at Parsons Music Library today.

Arachnophonia: Amy Winehouse “Back To Black”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Deisy (class of 2024) and features Amy Winehouse’s 2007 album Back To Black. Thanks, Deisy!

Amy Winehouse

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Throughout my years in college, I have tried to expand my musical taste by asking friends to introduce me to some of their favorite artists. Along the way, a good friend of mine introduced me to Amy Winehouse, one of the best things in my life. My favorite song of hers has to be “You Know I’m No Good” and “Back to Black.” Her Back to Black album was on repeat for a long time in 2021 as I began to discover more of her work.

If people are interested in discovering new artists and songs, I recommend asking a friend or coming to the Parsons Music Library where there is a large collection of CDs and LPs to look through.

New CDs added: September 2022

New CDs for September 2022

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Claude Debussy – Of Motion And Dance: Piano Music of Claude Debussy

Of motion and dance

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Florence Price – Nearly Lost: Art Songs By Florence Price

Nearly Lost

Popular Music

Elvis Costello – My Flame Burns Blue – Live with the Metropole Orkest
Hoax Hunters – 2013-2018

Kingfish - 662

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – 662
PJ Sykes – Fuzz

Folk Music

Iberi Choir – Supra
Leyla McCalla – Breaking the Thermometer

Arachnophonia: A New Dawn Fades “I See The Nightbirds”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Esther (class of 2025) and features a locally produced album by A New Dawn Fades. Thanks, Esther!

A New Dawn Fades

I See The Nightbirds

A New Dawn Fades - "I See The Nightbirds" album cover

I See the Nightbirds by A New Dawn Fades is a new album released by Cherub Records. The title song’s polyrhythmic beat, complimentary guitar and bass lines, and attractive transitions converge to create a distinctive musical picture. The gradual accumulation of tension yet unrushed nature of the piece is what results in the captivating arch shape drawn throughout the song.

Cherub Records, founded by PJ Sykes in 2001, is an outlet through which Sykes and his friends communicate their music to the rest of the world. Though originally located in Lynchburg, VA, Cherub Records has now moved to the city of Richmond where they document and release music of numerous bands. Their curious exploration of music conveyed through improvised pieces has been one of the defining traits of this band. Furthermore, they are known for blurring the line drawn between the audience and performers by interacting with the crowd during their live performances.

Because Richmond is known for its unique sense of community, supporting our local musicians is significant in allowing the local music scene to grow and thrive. It gives us the opportunity to experience new music specific to our area and builds mutual support between the musicians and ourselves. I assure you, I See the Nightbirds will make you reflect on the vast range of what music encompasses and what makes it truly special.

New CDs added: January 2022

New CDs for January 2022

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Eighth Blackbird – Singing in the Dead of Night
Henry Hadley – Afterglow: The Forgotten Works for Cello and Piano

Eighth Blackbird - Singing in the dead of night

Jazz

Wayne Shorter – Emanon
William Sweatman’s Original Jazz Band – Jazzin’ Straight Thru’ Paradise

Wayne Shorter - Emanon

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

William Grant Still – The American Scene
William Grant Still – Highway One, USA

William Grant Still -  Highway One USA

Popular Music

Angels vs. Aliens – Eleven Shades of Crimson
A New Dawn Fades – I See the Nightbirds
Emile Berliner – Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Discs, 1889-1895

A New Dawn Fades

Kids Techno – The Harmony of Spheres
Various artists – Before Radio: Comedy, Drama, & Sound Sketches, 1897-1923

Before Radio

New CDs added: Fall 2021

New CDs for Fall 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Frederic Chopin – Complete Noctures – Jan Lisiecki
Michael Colgrass – Letter from Mozart ; Side by side ; The Schubert Birds

Chopin Nocturnes

Nikolai Medtner – The Complete Piano Sonatas; Forgotten Melodies I, II – Marc-Andre Hamelin
Smyth, Beach and Spain-Dunk – Smyth, Beach and Spain-Dunk: Archaeus String Quartet

Michael Colgrass - Side By Side

Jazz

Kurt Elling – Secrets Are the Best Stories
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet – Jesup Wagon
Leyla McCalla – The Capitalist Blues

Mwenso and the Shakes - Emergence

Mwenso and the Shakes – Emergence (The Process of Coming into Being)
Jaco Pastorius – Truth, Liberty, & Soul: Live in NYC: The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! recording

Jaco Pastorius - Truth, Liberty & Soul

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Aurora Surgit – Ego sum Resurrectio: Gregorian Chant for the Dead
Daron Hagen – Orson Rehearsed: An Operafilm
Franz Liszt – Freudvoll und Leidvoll – Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch

Orson Rehearsed

Popular Music

McKinley Dixon – For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her
Sarah Jarosz – World on the Ground

McKinley Dixon - For My Mama ...

Leyla McCalla – Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes
Jim Kimo West – More Guitar Stories
Matthew E. White & Lonnie Holley – Broken Mirror A Selfie Reflection

Sarah Jarosz - World on the Ground

World & Folk Music

Gamelan Cudamani – Odalan Bali
Leyla McCalla – A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey
Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Leyla McCalla - A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey

Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Leyla McCalla – Recorded Live at the 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Various artists – African Tribal Music and Dances: Featuring Music of the Malinke, Baoule and Others

Gamelan Cudamani

New CDs added: May 2021

New CDs for May 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Imani Winds – Bruits
Pacifica Quartet – Contemporary Voices
Christopher Rouse – Symphony No. 5 / Supplica / Concerto for Orchestra

Dame Ethel Smyth - The Prison cd cover

Dame Ethyl Smyth – The Prison
Christopher Theofanidis – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas – From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke

Christopher Theofanidis album cover

Jazz

Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy 2
Arturo O’Farrill – Four Questions

Chick Corea - Trilogy 2 cd cover

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Richard Danielpour – The Passion of Yeshua
Fisk Jubilee Singers – Celebrating Fisk! The 150th Anniversary Album

Celebrating Fisk cd cover

Popular Music

Natalia Lafourcade – Un Canto Por Mexico
Nas – King’s Disease
Taylor Swift – folklore

Nas - King's Disease cd cover

Film Soundtracks

Hildur Gudantottir – Joker

Hildur Guonadottir - Joker soundtrack cd cover