Mourey: In Memoriam – Marcelo de la Puebla
Colette Mourey’s In Memoriam is a set of variations on Anna Marley’s famous Song of the Partisans.
According to Wikipedia:
The Chant des Partisans was the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II.
The piece was written and put to melody in London in 1943 after Anna Marly heard a Russian song that provided her with inspiration. Joseph Kessel and Maurice Druon wrote the French lyrics. It was performed by Anna Marly, broadcast by the BBC and adopted by the maquis. The lyrics of the song revolve around the idea of a life-or-death struggle for national liberation, and they also carry elements of a communist political message (for example, calling upon the workers and peasants to rise up).
After the war the Chant des Partisans was so popular, it was proposed as a new national anthem for France. It became for a short while the unofficial national anthem, next to the official La Marseillaise.
In this concert, Chilean guitarist Marcelo de la Puebla gives the world premiere performance of the piece. The video opens with a few words from the composer, who, via Skype, was able to address the audience and enjoy the concert from her home in France. The Skype connection was poor, so the communication was difficult, but I thought it was good to keep it in the video to document the event. The music begins at the four-minute mark.
Bach: 3rd Violin Sonata – Colin Davin
Colin Davin performed on the David Letterman show this evening! I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll bet it was great. Here he is playing Bach’s 3rd Violin Sonata (BWV 1005) in Portland earlier this year:
M. Pujol: Tango de Lejos – Aytahn Benavi
Aytahn is a student in Kevin Taylor’s Childbloom Guitar Program.
Vahagni plays Hazel
Another cool vid from GSI. Check out the audio quality. They’re using Telefunken ELA M 260
Stan Jay
Stan M. Jay, owner of the Mandolin Brothers musical instrument store on Staten Island, which has been a pilgrimage destination for recording stars, collectors and other connoisseurs of the guitar, mandolin, banjo and ukulele for more than 40 years, died on Wednesday in Staten Island. He was 71.
The cause was Mantle cell lymphoma, his wife, Bea, said.
Mr. Jay played a virtuoso behind-the-scenes role in the musical lives of performers such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett and Paul Simon — not as a performer, but as one of the country’s premier dealers and restorers of new and vintage fretted instruments.
The walls of his office at Mandolin Brothers, located in a tiny commercial strip, were papered with snapshots of him with those musicians and others, a collage of a Woodstock that might have been: Bruce Springsteen, Judy Collins, Lenny Kravitz, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow and Crosby, Stills and Nash, as well as celebrity guitar connoisseurs like Conan O’Brien and the filmmaker Christopher Guest.
The rest here.