Volume 10 Issue 7 - April 2005

POT POURRI
A Butterfly in Time (The story
of a violin by Barbara York)
Narrated by Angela Fusco
Adrian Anatawan, violin;
Chamber Music Society of
Mississauga
CMSM 874143000025
Finally' Someone has looked imo
the crystal ball and seen the future
of music education. This CD is no
dry homily on who wrote what
when. It's a clever demonstration
of the ancient an of story telling at
its best.
A 300 year-old Italian violin narrates
its own history through the
richly animated voice of Angela
Fusco, familiar to radio listeners
from many years with the CBC.
The chamber ensemble offers a
htiffet of familiar tunes in bite-sized
arrangements that are entertaining
and perfectly paced for the musical
novice.
Wonderful solo and ensemble
playing, editing and production
make this CD a "must have" tool
for students, teachers and families.
The I iner notes are designed as an
easy read and inspiring too. Vio-
1 inist Adrian Anantawan, born
without a right hand, is heard soloing
on many tracks. He's now studying
at the Cunis Institute in Philadelphia.
We need hundreds of CDs like this
in our ;.:ommunities for young people
and this one sets the bar very
high. Bravo! This is what happens
when you put the critical mass of
commined, passionate and likeminded
people together. There's a
fabulous script here for a true Canadian
short subject film or TV production.
Who out there with the
funding will be the first to take this
tale into its next digital incarnation?
Alex Baran
Land of My Heart
Peter McCutcheon
Margaret Mikelait, piano;
Timothy Minthorn,
MIDI orchestrations
Toreador TRCD 026-2
The Meeting of the Waters
Elizabeth Turnbull
Lagan LR20041-2
First appearances so often deceive!
Upon originally examining the covers
of these two CDs, I expected I'd
prefer Elizabeth Turnbull's collection
of Sconish and Irish songs, in part
because it boasts original arrangements
(by Roddy Ellias), and in part
because I was atrracted to the image
of Turnbull, barefoot in an Adirondack
chair and surrounded by water.
McCutcheon's worried me: he appears
on the CD cover, beaming and
in a full kilt like a latter-day Harry .
Lauder. Uh-oh, I thought. However,
McCutcheon turns out to have a
subtle and feeling approach. to the
well-worn repertoire. He is able to
find the preniness of the melodic lines
in classic parlour pieces like My
Love is Like a Red, Red Rose and
Flow Gemly, Sweet Afton, while gently
and straightforwardly expressing
the tender emotional content of an
earlier era. In particular, his rendition
of Water of Tyne - which he accurately
describes in the liner notes
as "achingly beautiful" - successfully
mines its sentiments of yearning
loss and separation from a loved one
without descending into mawkishness.
Also, the simple, plain piano
arrangements, occasionally embellished
with fuller MIDI orchestration,
support his performance well.
On the other hand, Turnbull 's recording
earns her my sympathy. She
has an odd voice: extremely powerful
and fully produced, but pitched
very low. One might guess that her
strategy in choosing this repertoire
was to try her hand at songs that have
been traditionally associated with
great tenors, like Believe Me If All
Those Endearing Young Charms.
However, her vocal producJion is so
heavy that it rather overpowers the
material which, with its generally
simple tunes, simply can't stand up
to such a strong attack. This is particlarly
true when the .force of Tumbull's
voice causes her to take a
breath in the middle of a phrase, undermining
the lightness of the melodic
line and the meaning of the
words. That said, while I far prefer
the approach of a Loreena McKennitt
in a mournful, ghostly piece like
She Moved Thro' The Fair, I would
love to hear Turnbull doing a smoky
Gershwin selection.
Flamenco
Jorge Miguel
Andaluz Music AMI004
Possibly the only job in music in Canada
that is more of a labour of love
than being a jazz musician, is being
a flamenco musician. This complex
and beautiful art form is sadly underappreciated
here, although with
the growing Latino population, in
some of our urban centres anyway,
it is.gaining a bi! of a toehold. One of
the young practitioners of the art in
Canada is guitarist, Jorge Miguel.
He comes by his affinity for the music
honestly, because although he was
raised in Canada, his parents are
from Spain and he spent many months
in Cadiz, the reported birth place of
flamenco, when growing up.
Sarah B. Hood Sound Adventures -
Miguel's second CD, Flamenco,
is eight tracks of mostly authentic
flamenco i.e. tangos, bulerias,
alegrias and farruca, composed by
Miguel. The last track on the disc is
a pop/rumba tune featuring South
American-Canadian singer Eliana
Cuevas, who, while a lovely singer,
does not have the hard living,
cigarette-and-whisky howl so coveted
by flamenco singers. Other
musicians appearing are Daniel.
Stone on percussion, including palmas
(in flamenco, hand-clapping is
considered an art and is integral to
the sound), Paul Donat on bass and
two talented dancers Pam Briz Guijarro
and Ilse Gudino, add castanets
and foot stomps, respectively. If you
can get past the cheesy photo on the
inside cover of the disc, you will find
in Flamenco, ii fine collection of
songs well-played by Miguel and
company.
Cathy Riclzes
Concert note: Jorge Miguel will
launch this new CD on April 14 at
the RiverRun Centre in Guelph.
Global Music for Children
Various Artists
Independent
(sophia@interlog.C0m)
Compiled by Toronto vocalist
and children's music educator
Sophia Grigoriadis, "Sound Adventures"
features musical selections
from across the rich spectrum
of World Music ensembles
based in Toronto and beyond.
Grigoriadis, a long-time member
of the traditional Arabic/
Greek music ensemble Maza
Meze, also runs "Clapping
Land", a parent-child music and
movement program. She came up
with the idea for this CD when
parents asked where they could
find the musical tracks used in her
program. Drawn mostly from
previously released recordings of
the various artists, each track was
chosen for its accessibility to children.
Categorized as either "For
Singing and Dancing", "For
Drumming and Dancing" or "For
Rocking and Swaying", the liner
notes to each selection often
give suggestions on how parents
and children can participate in the
I istening experience: sing along
with the refrain, note how many
instruments are used, listen for
individual drum voices and tap
along, or create your own belly
dance.
A personal favourite of mine is
Tongue Twister, courtesy of the
Toronto Tabla Ensemble, which
consists of a "conversation" between
a drummer and dancer in
rapidly spoken syllables or
"bols". Other artists include Arabic
singer Maryem Tollar (with
supporting vocals by her young
daughter), the Ottawa based Ghanaian
group Baobab Youth Performers,
Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble
(Japanese Taiko drumming),
the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band,
classical Indian fusion group
Tasa, Maza Meze, and more. A
wonderful introduction to the
world of music for all ages.
Karen Ages