New York Andalus Ensemble Concert 10 December 2012: The New York Andalus Ensemble will give a free concert at the CUNY Graduate Center on December 10 at 7:00pm in Elebash Recital Hall. Led by Samuel Thomas, Artistic Director and Mimi Keghida, Managing Director, the ensemble is a community ensemble housed at the City University of New York. This ensemble is underwritten by a number of different sponsoring institutions, including the Foundation for Iberian Music, the Music Programs at CUNY, the Institute for Sephardic Studies, and the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC). The mission of this ensemble is to bring participants from varied backgrounds together to learn about the rich and varied cultures of the Maghreb and al-Andalus, through musical study and expression. Furthermore, participants are to gain a level of competency and experience with the musical styles so that the ensemble can perform and share this music with diverse audiences. Free and open to the public, no reservations required. Monday, December 10, 2012 – 7:00pm Elebash Recital Hall 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY
Pre-concert Lecture at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields 6 December 2012: Director Antoni Pizà will give a pre-concert lecture for the Christmas program at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields at 7pm on December 6. The concert is “Puer Natus Est: A Royal Christmas in Tudor England” and the program will feature the magnificent seven-voice Missa Puer natus est by Thomas Tallis, most likely composed especially for Christmas 1554, in celebration of Mary Tudor’s supposed pregnancy, and will include motets by Tallis, Byrd, and Sheppard, along with carols from the period. The concert begins at 8pm and will be followed by a gala reception. December 6, 2012 Pre-concert lecture 7pm, Concert 8pm Laughlin Hall 487 Hudson St. New York, NY For more information: 212-924-0562 info@stlukeinthefields.org
East Meets West, West Meets East: An Exploration of the Music of al-Andalus 5 December 2012: The Foundation for Iberian Music is pleased to welcome back renowned early-music specialist Carles Magraner and members of his ensemble Capella de Ministers for a special event on December 5 at the Graduate Center’s Segal Theatre. Part I Colloquium and Roundtable, 12 pm Carles Magraner and members of the Capella de Ministrers will conduct an open discussion moderated by Antoni Pizà on the present and future of the cultural industries, their new models for development, professionalization, and directions, as well as other issues pertaining to period-instrument ensembles, early-music, and world-music festivals, historical repertoire and oral traditions, as well as artists who participate in both types of music-making events. Part II Master Class and Workshop, 6 pm Carles Magraner and the members of Capella de Ministrers The CUNY Middle Eastern Music Ensemble / The New York City Al-Andalus Ensemble at CUNY Renowned early-music specialist, Carles Magraner will lead a workshop with members of his own period-instrument ensemble, Capella de Ministrers, and members of the CUNY Middle Eastern and Al-Andalus Ensembles. This is a unique opportunity to see a gathering of musicians from different musical traditions and cultures. The workshop will include a talk by Mr. Magraner followed by an open rehearsal and performance of some relevant repertoire from the Judeo-Muslim-Christian Medieval Iberia we well as contemporary Mediterranean and Middle Eastern oral traditions. This event is free and open to the public, no reservations required. East Meets West / West Meets East Part I: Colloquium and Roundtable, 12pm Part II: Masterclass and Workshop, 5pm The Segal Theatre Wednesday December 5th The Graduate Center – The City University of New York 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 11220 (@34th Street)
Tribute to Claire Brook (1925-2012) Photo: Christian Steiner 23 October 2012: Join us for a tribute to the extraordinary life of Claire Brook at 6:00 pm in the Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th Streets). Brief musical and spoken tributes to Claire by friends, family, and colleagues, including Bill Bolcom, Joan Morris, Drake McFeely, Mark DeVoto, Larry Stempel, Robert White, Allan Atlas, Edward Smaldone, Barbara Dobbs Mackenzie, Bob Kessler, and others, will be followed by a wine and cheese reception. See program below. Join us in person, or join us virtually, by clicking on videostreaming.gc.cuny.edu. Under “Live Video”, click on the link titled “Tribute to Claire Brook”. Claire Brook has been a stalwart friend and supporter of the Graduate Center’s Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, named for her late husband (d.1997) who founded the Center in 1989. She served on its advisory board for many years, was the director of the French Opera in the 17th and 18th Centuries facsimile series, and was a member of the board of directors of Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM). Claire was the former music editor at W.W. Norton Co. Claire Brook was born in New York City and distinguished herself early in the field of music as a pianist and composer. She attended the High School of Music and Art, graduated from Queens College and received a Masters degree in music from Columbia University. Immediately thereafter she studied composition in Paris with the pre-eminent teacher Nadia Boulanger. She was married for 35 years to Barry S. Brook, head of the doctoral program in musicology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. They traveled the world together and always considered Paris their second home. After her retirement from W.W. Norton, she was Executive Editor at Pendragon Press, a publisher of musicological books and series that she and Barry founded with her brother, Robert Kessler. In addition to her work with the Brook Center, Claire was a member of the board of directors of Tannery Pond Concerts, and a member of the Century Club, as well as many other organizations. Tribute to Claire Brook: Program 6:00 PM, Tuesday, October 23, 2012 Welcome: Barbara Dobbs Mackenzie Director, Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation Bird Songs at Eventide (1926), Eric Coates/Royden Barrie Robert White, tenor; William Bolcom, piano Tribute: Bob Kessler, brother of Claire Brook Managing Editor, Pendragon Press Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 3, D.899 (1827), Franz Schubert Christian Steiner, piano Tribute: Edward Smaldone Director, Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College Oblivión (from the score for the film Eduardo IV, 1984), Astor Piazzolla Allan Atlas, English concertina; Marta Bedkowska-Reilly, cello; Alana Murphy, piano Tribute: Drake McFeely Chairman and President, WW Norton A la Belle Étoile (1947), Joseph Kosma/Jacques Prévert/ William Bolcom (trans.) Nice Work if You Can Get It (1937), George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin Joan Morris, soprano; William Bolcom, piano Tribute: Larry Stempel Professor of Music, Fordham University Bruach na carraige báine (The Brink of the White Rock), traditional sean nos air Allan Atlas, concertina Tribute: Mark DeVoto Professor of Music, emeritus, Tufts University Graceful Ghost (1970), William Bolcom William Bolcom, piano Reception to follow in Elebash Recital Hall lobby area For more information about the tribute, call 212-817-1996 or email cmrd@gc.cuny.edu.
Globalization and Hybridization Processes in Music: Rumba Catalana Spring 2013: The Foundation for Iberian Music and the Mompou Chair are hosting a Spring immersion seminar “Globalization and Hybridization Processes in Music: Rumba Catalana.” This seminar explores a particular style of music known as rumba catalana, a lively, urban music genre. The rumba catalana developed in Barcelona’s Romani community beginning in the 1950s. Its rhythms are derived from the flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock and roll. The Catalan rumba originated in the Catalan Romani communities in the Gràcia, carrer (street) de la Cera del Raval and Hostafrancs neighborhoods. The Romani community in those neighborhoods is long-established and Catalan-speaking. The seminar will examine this style and its genres combining approaches associated with ethnomusicology, historical musicology, and popular music studies. In addition to many listening examples, the seminar will consider the following scholarly writings: “La Música entre Cuba y España”, María Teresa Linares / Faustino Núñez, Madrid Fundación Autor, 1998. “La rumba histórica y los bailes tradicionales de los gitanos catalanes”, Manuel Ponsa i Blanch, I Tchatchipen No. 30. Sabor de rumba: Identitat social i cultural dels gitanos catalans, David Iglésias i Xifra et al. (Lleida Pagès: 1995). Zur Musik südfranzösischer Manouches und Gitans: Stilbereiche und sozialgeschichtlicher Hintergrund, Ekkehard Jost, 2002. Estàndards de la rumba catalana, vol. 1, Martí Marfà. Barcelona: Cossetània Edicions, 2011. Also, students will listen to Peret, Gato Perez, and more names of rumba catalana. More information to follow.
RILM hosts the 11th Annual NFAIS Humanities Roundtable: Focus on the Library 1 October 2012: RILM is hosting the Eleventh Annual National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) Humanities Roundtable, Focus on the Library, on Monday, 1 October, 2012, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (365 Fifth Avenue). The topics for the day include discovery of humanities content in the current library environment, information literacy and training of end-users, best practices for both providers and licensors of high-quality content, criteria libraries use to decide which products and services to invest in, and the digital humanities. For a press release, click here. For the conference program, click here.
Summer Course at Besalú: Medieval Music Performance (12th-14th c.) 19 September 2012: The Summer immersion course 1st International Course on Medieval Music Performance (12th-14th c.) Besalú (July 9-14, 2012) was a tremendous success. Students attended from diverse areas, such as Japan, Belgium, Canada, Catalunya, Mexico, and Portugal. Below, there are links to YouTube videos of the students’ performance during the course. “Luto carens et latere” “Flos ut rosa floruit” “Tierche estampie roial” “A chantar” “Al’entrada del temps clar”
Music and Avantgarde in Postwar Barcelona: Schoenberg’s Legacy and the Second Avantgarde 1 October 2012: Antoni Pizà, director of the Foundation for Iberian Music will be a guest lecturer for a class in the Spanish and Portuguese Department of New York University “Barcelona: Images of a Modern (Mediterranean) Metropolis,” taught by Professor Jordana Mendelson. The course examines the city’s contemporary status as a modern metropolis through issues of Catalan identity, literature, film, music, and other arts. Professor Pizà will discuss Schoenberg’s stay in Barcelona and the compositions he wrote there. Some of the artistic outgrowths from this sojourn include Juan Eduardo Cirlot’s poetry and music, the movement Dau al Set, Club 49, the Generation of 1951, and jazz culture in postwar Barcelona. “Music and Avantgarde in Postwar Barcelona: Schoenberg’s Legacy and the Second Avantgarde” Monday, October 1, 11:00 am NYU Silver Center room # 409 31 Washington Place New York, NY 10003
Cannibal Famine: Metaphors of Hunger and Violence in Nação Zumbi 3 October 2012: The Foundation for Iberian Music is sponsoring the lecture “Cannibal Famine: Metaphors of Hunger and Violence in Nação Zumbi” by Melcion Mateu at City College. This lecture concentrates on the poetics of Nação Zumbi’s and examines the metaphors –often stated in their lyrics, but implemented in their music–, that inform them. Celebrated at the moment of its appearance as one of the most promising bands of the 1990s, Chico Science and Nação Zumbi became the epicenter of a phenomenon known as manguebit or manguebeat –a musical style, or perhaps better, a musical scene that changed the way youngsters from Pernambuco regarded themselves, their landscape, and their culture. Nação Zumbi continues to this day despite the loss, in 1997, of its charismatic leader, vocalist and co-lyricist, Francisco de Assis França (Chico Science) of a car accident during Carnival. The band inscribes itself in the anthropophagist tradition that goes from Oswald de Andrade to Tropicália, as well as a longstanding Northeastern aesthetics of hunger and famine with revolutionary purposes. “Cannibal Famine: Metaphors of Hunger and Violence in Nação Zumbi” 7:30 pm – October 3, 2012 CWE/CCNY – Conference Room 25 Broadway New York, NY Free, No Reservations Required Mateu is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures at New York University and specializes in Modernism in Brazilian literature and music. His dissertation explores the continuity of the avant-garde during the 1940’s and early 50’s in Spain, and pays special attention to two groups, Postismo and Dau al Set, as well as the influential role of Brazilian poet João Cabral de Melo Neto. His areas of interest are Modern Spanish Literature and Culture (1888-1975), with stress on the literary and artistic avant-garde and the Post Civil-War period, as well as Luso-Brazilian and Catalan studies, and theoretical issues such as intermediality, avant-garde theory, aesthetics and politics. Additionally, Mateu was awarded the Octavio Paz Poetry Award in 1998 for Ningú, petit, which pays tribute to Little Nemo, the early 20th century comic-strip character by Winsor McCay, and Jardí amb cangurs.