Like many other countries in Central and South America, music is an integral part of Costa Rican culture. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a major celebration in Latin America that is completely silent.
The country’s music derives mostly from Spanish and African music, but is also influenced by the surrounding countries, like Mexico, Cuba and Jamaica.
Downtown San Jose Costa Rica Street Music
Popular throughout Central America, the marimba is the national musical instrument of Costa Rica. This video shows some street musicians in the capital city of San Jose in action.
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.
Orff set 24 medieval texts from a longer manuscript dating to approximately the 12th century CE for hiswork – which he intended to be both a musical and theatrical piece. Carmina Burana is often performed as a concert work, but it has also become part of the ballet repertoire (productions have been mounted by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Richmond Ballet, among others.
Said manuscript (containing 254 poems) is also known as Carmina Burana. These poems were written by young students/clergy in training known as Goliards, who were known for satirizing the church and society through their poems.
Orff’s Carmina Burana covers a wide variety of topics including the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, appreciation of spring, the pleasures and perils of drinking, and courtly love. There is even a movement (“Olim lacus colueram“) that is told from the perspective of a swan roasting on a spit over an open fire! (It’s also a metaphor regarding life and perceptions of change, beauty, and freedom.)
I was lucky enough to get to perform Carmina Burana as an undergraduate as part of my university’s choir and became very interested in it, partly because the music is so vital and evocative and partly because I minored in Medieval & Renaissance studies(!), so it resonated on several levels.
As a college student, I also perceived a few parallels between the interests of medieval and contemporary university students. For example, the joys and woes of young love, enjoyment of being outside on a spring day, or the vicissitudes of good vs. bad fortune!
Highlights for me include:
* “O Fortuna” – Starts and ends the cantata and has appeared in all manner of pop culture media from movies to TV to commercials, so you may find you are a bit familiar with it already!
* “In Taberna Quando Sumus” – An ode to the pleasures and perils of drinking, which switches about midway through to an almost musical theater-y style where I picture people swinging frothy pint glasses around.
* “Amor Volat Undique” – A rather gentler piece about love, featuring some nice woodwind lines, a treble choir representing mischievous cupids flitting in and out and a gorgeous soprano solo.
But you don’t have to take my word for it, come to the music library and check out scores, recordings, and more of Carmina Burana and explore it for yourself!
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library Associate Melanie A. and features some classical music which can be found in classic cartoons!
Cartoon Classical
It seems that sometimes folks can feel a bit intimidated by “classical” music. What if I told you that you are probably familiar with a lot more classical pieces than you think because they often show up in the soundtracks of classic cartoons?
During the 1930s and 1940s, many practices from silent film scoring (often performed on piano or organ in movie theaters), which often made use of classical pieces, made their way into cartoon shorts. Use of this music was economical for the movie studios because much of it was public domain and therefore free of copyright restrictions. Moreover, the use of “serious” classical music in silly cartoons often (literally & figuratively) the humor of the cartoons.
Here are a few a few “greatest hits” pieces which found their way into a variety of cartoons. Enjoy! – MAA
Section 2 “The Storm” and Section 3 “Call to the Cows” regularly show up as well
For example, Disney’s The Band Concert (again!) for a cartoon take on “The Storm” and both “The Storm” and “Call to the Cows” feature in Disney’s “The Old Mill” (1937)
P.S. If you’d like to learn a bit more about classical music as used in cartoons, check out this great thread with lots of video examples compiled by animator Vincent Alexander: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1366449816042102787.html
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library associate Melanie and features some autumnal music.
Autumnal Mellow
It’s the autumnal equinox, which means that fall is officially upon us, so here is a playlist of some mellow tunes that make me think of the fall season.
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.
A new school year is upon us and everyone is getting back into the rhythms of classes and activities.
You’re excited about the new music class you’re taking this term, but feeling a bit trepidatious because the syllabus says you have to write a research paper/review/analysis as a big part of your grade. How on earth do you approach even picking a topic, much less writing a paper about it?
This pocket-sized style guide offers a practical introduction to many aspects of writing about music in an academic context. It offers useful tips and tricks for all stages of the writing process from choosing a topic and creating a thesis to the nitty gritty of researching and drafting a research paper.
Writing in Music will help you explore writing about music from a historical and cultural context and/or writing from a musical analysis point of view (or both!). This comprehensive intro will get you on your way to creating a great paper, thus making your professor happy and making the class a more enriching learning experience for you!
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library associate Melanie and features some music by artists in (and from) Richmond, Virginia (aka RVA).
RVA All Day
An utterly non-comprehensive utterly Richmond-y sort of playlist. Featuring music old and new in MANY genres.
Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! To day we feature a collection of Riot Grrrl music curated by Music Library Associate Melanie.
Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl began in the early 1990s as a DIY, feminist punk movement. Riot grrrl saw girls as a “revolutionary soul force” with the power to disrupt the status quo; rejecting social constructs of how women were supposed to look and behave; and zeroing in on personal and political discussions of sexism, sexuality, sexual violence, female empowerment, racism, ageism, homophobia, fat shaming, and able-bodiedism.
The riot grrrl movement allowed women their own space to create music and make political statements about the issues they were facing in the punk rock community and in society.
This playlist is inspired by the Music Library’s current exhibit: “Girls to the Front: The Riot Grrrl Revolution” which you should come to the library to take a look at should you have the time or inclination.
It features riot grrrl music from the 1990s(ish), and tracks by fellow travelers, antecedents and descendants.
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Their folk music traditions are often integrated with poetry and dance. Here’s a brief overview of Māori music culture past and present:
Taonga pūoro
This picture displays several traditional Maori instruments belonging to master practitioner, Horomona Horo. The instruments are from bone, wood ,shell and gourd. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taonga_p%C5%ABoro
Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori and consist of a variety of blown, struck and twirled instruments made from hollowed-out wood, stone, whale ivory, and bone.
The sounds of the instruments were intended to mimic the sounds of the natural environment such as insects, birds, water, trees and wind and were connected with religious practice. According to Wikipedia, the Māori viewed music related to their creation story where “The Gods sang the Universe into Existence.”
Here is a short video on taonga pūoro featuring Māori instrumentalist Richard Nunns:
Today, taonga pūoro are most frequently used at Māori ceremonies and also by New Zealand composers, such as Gillian Whitehead.
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Haka
The Te Aka Māori Dictionary defines haka as a general term for “vigorous dances with actions and rhythmically shouted words” and/or the performance of these dances. Haka are sometimes described as challenges. They are used to make a point, honor someone/something, tell a story or express an emotion. They are performed by both men and women.
Kapa haka is a term for Māori action songs like haka and groups that perform them.
Here is a short video on kapa haka produced by NPR:
And here are a few song styles performed by kapa haka groups: Waiata are songs are sung solo or in unison, usually lullabies, love songs or laments. Waiata is also a Māori verb which means “to sing.”
Poi are (usually) women’s dances involving the swinging of balls, about the size of tennis balls, attached to cords and its accompanying music.
A karanga is a formal, ceremonial call and response at the start of a pōwhiri (welcome ceremony). Karanga are carried out almost exclusively by women and in the Māori language.
*** Contemporary Māori Music
Māori musical heritage continues to have an impact on New Zealand music and culture. Western instruments like guitars are frequently employed with traditional instruments today and indigenous sounds are melded with many different styles of music such as pop, jazz, classical and hip hop. Māori traditional instruments are sometimes used by contemporary composers, musicians and artists.
Here are a couple of fun video examples of Māori music melding with western forms for your enjoyment:
* “Poi E” by Pātea Māori Club was a NZ hit single in 1984 and is still beloved today. (Note that poi as described above are featured in the video!):
* Here is a classical piece featuring taonga pūoro written by contemporary Māori composer Gillian Whitehead:
* And for contrast, here is a thrash metal song released in 2019 by the group Alien Weaponry:
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Here are some items from our collection that will give you more information on Māori music:
