(2008 - 2009 Archived Classical Music Page)
This is the Classical Music section of Rainlore's World of Music, covering all types of classical and related music, from ancient and medieval to contemporary, and including the classical music traditions of non-western cultures.
In order to secure its future as an ongoing project, and indeed resume regular activity such as new reviews, Rainlore's World of Music urgently needs to raise substantial funds through some kind of sponsorship or similar. (Please also see The Future of Rainlore's World of Music on the About page, and the News entry for 2008/11/09 on the Home page.)
It has regrettably become impossible to keep Rainlore's World of Music going on a purely spare-time basis. The amount of work involved is simply too overwhelming. At the rate that for example CDs kept arriving for review and gigs were covered during 2004, there was enough work to keep two people busy on a full-time basis!
Of course, I wish to preserve the non-commercial and not for profit nature of Rainlore's World of Music, but without some kind of sponsorship the site simply cannot continue in any meaningful active way. Despite not having had any updates for about four years until its re-launch in October 2008, Rainlore's World of Music remains a popular site. The reviews and artists' profiles have always achieved excellent visibility in search results, and have also been referenced widely. There are also many new features I would like to add to Rainlore's World of Music, such as a Gig calendar to replace the old one
and a Features section that should have been added during 2004 already, plus more.
Sadly, without some form of sponsorship none of this will be possible and the site will at some point soon become purely archival.
If you think you might be able to help in any way, please get in touch through the sponsorship form. |
News
2009/12/03
Long overdue, I have at last caught up with reviewing Asaf Sirkis And The Inner Noise's 2007 album The Song Within. Another outstanding crossover/'Third Stream' kind of release from one of the greats of this kind of fusion. Utterly genre-bending and defying, as is so characteristic of Sirkis. A wonderful sample track from the album accompanies the review.
Rainlore's World of Music
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2009/07/26
Just a single but momentous album reviewed here today, what is probably the greatest 'Third Stream' album yet - modern jazz legend Gilad Atzmon's historic release from earlier this year, In Loving Memory Of America, also popularlarly subtitled Gilad Atzmon With Strings. Following in the footsteps of Charlie Parker With Strings, this is however no simple tribute album. Like the latter, In Loving Memory Of America is however simply some of the most beautiful music ever recorded and has received more superlative critical acclaim than any other jazz album in decades.
No change in the situation here, alas. I'd love to devote a lot of time to this site, even all my time, but sadly the realities of my financial situation make this impossible at least for the time being. Substantial sponsorship of some kind certainly would help change things, but until such time it is unlikely that I will be able to work further on the site.
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2009 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2009/07/01
Any further update will, I regret, likely be some considerable time in coming. I don't have the loan of a computer anymore, no computer at all for some time most likely and certainly no regular internet access, no assets left, and my financial situation is critical. So certainly in the absence of some kind of sponsorship, this may be good bye for some time.
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2009 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2009/05/24
Two more reviews of albums from the 2004/5 period today, again both by outstanding young British composer Rohan Kriwaczek. Salon Concert Music for Violin and Piano features Kriwaczek on violin (and on chalumeau on a bonus track) and John Human on piano. An astonishing and surprising album that has remained a firm favourite here even until now. And much the same can be said for Rohan Kriwaczek's Ghost Train. An expanded work based on Kriwaczek's original score for the incredible Carnesky's Ghost Train arthouse funfair ride/installation, it is both fantastic and fantastical, and quite an experience. Do turn out the lights, maybe light a candle, and prepare for something otherworldly...
Rainlore's World of Music
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2009/05/10
Another batch of 'ketchup' updates includes a review of British composer Rohan Kriwaczek's outstanding The Wandering Jew album. If you must try and classify it, try perhaps contemporary classical or experimental classical with (among others, mind you!) a Jewish flavour. But really, Kriwaczek's music doesn't fit any convenient pigeon hole, nor should it be thus confined, like most good music. Instead, try something of a more descriptive nature. Adventurous and hauntingly beautiful come to mind. More from this gifted composer soon.
Rainlore's World of Music
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2008/12/21
Another bunch of "new old" reviews from the 2004/5 period that had not previously made it onto the site are ready and finally up. Three are gig reviews, and one is an album review. There are two recitals from 2004's Leamington Spa Festival's Terezin Day, one an outstanding recital by the acclaimed Martinu Quartet, with violist Miroslav Sehnoutka and bass-baritone Nigel Cliffe, both equally acclaimed, featuring Sylvie Bodorová's Terezín Ghetto Requiem for baritone and string quartet and other chamber works. The other, an equally outstanding recital by extraordinary mezzo-soprano Lloica Czackis with Andrew Quartermain, piano, entitled Terezín Cabaret and featuring a wonderful selection of art, cabaret and tango songs by Terezín composers written before and in the ghetto. The third gig review is of the fabulous 2004 concert, A Portrait of Willard W. White, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis, and legendary bass-baritone Sir Willard W. White, at the Royal Festival Hall (shortly before its closure for renovation, if memory serves), with a selection of standards from the musicals, arrangements of spirituals and folk songs, and one of the many operatic roles that Sir Willard has so completely made his own, Porgy from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, with I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'.
The album review comes from the steel pan world. And a finer recording of steelband you won't find, for this is the mighty Desperadoes Steel Orchestra's From the Hills of Laventille - Steel in the Classics, a selection of popular classics performed and recorded to perfection. Desperadoes have a formidable reputation also in the classical world and have performed with no less than the late great Luciano Pavarotti.
More of the "missing" reviews will follow ASAP, but this will take time.
Please note that the old Rainlore's World of Music site has now been defunct since the end of November - almost two months of re-direction should have been enough. So if you haven't done so already, please update your links to the site. Bear in mind that the structure of the new site is different from the old, and so are many file names, so if you are linking to any particular page please check it out first.
Season's Greetings or Chag Sameach to you all, and a Happy New Year!
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2008 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2008/10/07
"Updates" that are included at present are just a few of the album and gig reviews as well as artists' profiles that should have gone up during 2004/5. They are listed here in purely alphabetical order, not in order of date. Please note that many of these may be later than other reviews still outstanding, this is on account of them having been prioritised at the time.
The rest will follow ASAP, though no timeframe can be given at this time.
However, we will do our best, especially as even after about four years without updates, the site has remained surprisingly popular and busy.
Reviews for now are only three. But what three albums! Two are both outstanding tango interpretations, yet worlds apart, Trio NoviTango's Retrato de Astor Piazzolla is a modern classical interpretation of Astor Piazzolla's Tango Nuevo, while Lloica Czackis & Tangele's Tangele - The Pulse of Yiddish Tango presents the Yiddish Tangos of the Eastern European ghettos, the New York stage, and of Buenos Aires in a classical setting. The third is a Third Stream/crossover album from jazz flute legend Mark Weinstein, Milling Time, of music by Ukrainian composer Alexey Kharchenko.
More soon.
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2008 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
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