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Date: | Thu, 1 Jun 2000 16:13:35 -0400 |
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Here are some links that I thought might be of interest to the List
From the June 1, 2000 broadcast of NPR's Morning Edition, two items
of interest - one on the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and a second on the
burgeoning popularity of Punjabi Bhangra music. As most of you probably
know, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra performs without a conductor; if you've
ever wondered how they do it, this feature's for you. I thought the
Bhangra piece might be of interest given the recent "Classical vs Popular"
thread, and specifically in light of Bill Pirkle's suggestion that a
continuous drumbeat might be a defining characteristic of popular music.
Bhangra apparently originated in 14th century Punjab as music to celebrate
the harvest and became "the music of choice" at weddings. It has now
morphed into club music for the obvious reason - its got a good beat and
you can dance to it. The beat is in fact very distinctive (as is the case
with Reggae) and really quite infectious (I confess! I have some Bhangra
albums!) Anyway, the beat is one of its defining characteristics, and
clearly a prime reason for its popularity, and I though this might be
interesting to consider in light of Bill's post.
To hear the pieces, click on the URL below, and then scroll down the page
until you get to the features' "teasers," which I've copied below for your
reference. Click on 14.4 or 28.8 as appropriate to hear the feature via
RealAudio.
http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=06/01/2000&PrgID=3
And finally, although it's not available in the Web edition, the latest
issue of the New York Review of Books contains a lengthy and informative
review of Christoff Wolff's new Bach biography, "Johann Sebastian Bach:
The Learned Musician." The review was written by Robert L. Marshall.
Enjoy!
Kathleen O'Connell
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