#4874, Shakespearean Music
There’s music inspired by Shakespeare's plays: Otello, Macbeth, and The Tempest- from Bjarte Eike and Barokksolistene; the vibraphone supergroup UŽUPIS; and Caroline Shaw and Roomful of Teeth.
Listen to music by violinist Bjarte Eike and the Norwegian group Barokksolisten, who merrily blend together the sounds of Baroque music, drinking songs from the British Isles, text by Shakespeare, and folk fiddling from various places in Northern Europe. We’ll hear their setting of “The Willow Song” from Otello, which tells the story of a woman lamenting the cruelty of her lover.
There’s music from the vibraphone super band UŽUPIS, who are Will Shore and Kenny Wollesen on vibes and Dalius Naujo on drums, drum synth and vocals. And they play some of the hand-built instruments called Wollesonics, created specifically for an all percussion production of Macbeth directed by master magician Teller. Listen to the 10-foot “Diddley Bow”, made out of music wire, 2 x 4’s and styrofoam ice buckets, in the piece “Weird Sisters".
Also, hear music by Caroline Shaw for the vocal group Roomful of Teeth from her work, "The Isle", setting words from The Tempest. Then, we’ll hear a mix of post-rock and electronica, with undercurrents of new classical music from The Young Scamels, a group out of Louisville, KY, featuring members of Rachel’s, including the late Jason Noble, who came together back in 2007 to do music for a production of The Tempest. Plus, hear Ian Carr’s “Sounds and Sweet Airs" featuring trumpet and fluegelhorn with the organ, which was recorded in Shakespeare's own parish church (Southwark Cathedral), and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4874, Shakespearean Music (First aired 4/23/2024)
ARTIST: Riccardo Chailly, Gewandhausorchester
WORK: Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 21: Overture [1:00]
RECORDING:Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
SOURCE: Decca
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube
ARTIST: Ian Carr, John Taylor
WORK: A Sea Change, Rich & Strange [6:17]
RECORDING: Sounds & Sweet Airs
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies
INFO:harmonies.com
ARTIST: Young Scamels
WORK: Full Fathom Five [4:24]
RECORDING: Tempest
SOURCE: FT 74
INFO: file-13.com
ARTIST: Jocelyn Pook, feat. Andreas Scholl, countertenor
WORK: The Merchant of Venice Selections [4:18]
RECORDING: The Merchant of Venice
SOURCE: Decca Classics
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube
ARTIST: Bjarte Eike, Barokksolistene
WORK: The Willow Song [4:08]
RECORDING: The Playhouse Sessions
SOURCE: Rubicon Classics
INFO: rubiconclassics.com
ARTIST: Roomful of Teeth
WORK: Caroline Shaw: The Isle II, Ariel [5:49]
RECORDING: Rough Magic
SOURCE: New Amsterdam
INFO: https://roomfulofteeth.bandcamp.com/album/rough-magic
ARTIST: UŽUPIS
WORK: Weird Sisters [6:48]
RECORDING: Dirt
SOURCE/INFO: https://uzupis.bandcamp.com/album/dirt
ARTIST: Icebreaker
WORK: Michael Gordon: Yo Shakespearel [10:45]
RECORDING: Terminal Velocity
SOURCE: Cantaloupe
INFO: https://icebreakermusic.bandcamp.com/track/yo-shakespeare
ARTIST: Pauline Oliveros / Stuart Dempster / Panaiotis
WORK: Lear [1:21]
RECORDING: Deep Listening
SOURCE: New Albion Records, reissued via Important Records
INFO: Available at Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify
