Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
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Stephen Jones Blog is a personal blog by Stephen Jones, a British sinologist and ethnomusicologist. The blog is about his research on Daoism in China, particularly the Li family Daoists of Yanggao, Shanxi. Jones's work focuses on the religion of Daoism, and he has written extensively on the Li family's rituals, early music, and language.
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
2M ago
How we respond to any music has a lot to do with the associations of our personal reception history. The Brahms German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, 1865–68)—humanist rather than Christian—was one of the first major choral works that I got to know, playing it quite regularly around suburban London with ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
3M ago
A companion to Indian and world fiddles. Image: Paul Childs/Reuters. Source. This summer, after yet another victory, Novak Djokovic paid homage to his daughter’s early steps learning the violin (video here!). This inspired me to survey the multiple ways of playing “our” Western violin, in Europe and around the world. There are several issues in ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
3M ago
BTW, I suspect a WordPress glitch may have failed to notify email subscribers of my recent post on Nicolas Slonimsky’s wonderful memoir Perfect pitch— and it’s Jolly Good, just saying… I’ve just revised my introductory page on Western Art Music, with the addition of an off-piste selection of general writings that I find stimulating. It ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
9M ago
For Roger Federer, click here.In snooker, another instance of “effortless grace” is Ronnie O’Sullivan. Always (nonchalantly) on the trail of non-action, I came across the stimulating article Helen De Cruz, “Sprezzatura and wuwei: a Daoist approach to European courtly grace” (2023). While Daoism and Zen have long become glib buzzwords in the West, some such ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
10M ago
Source. Glued to the Six Nations rugby, I’m wondering if negotiating the shape of the ball, * with its unpredictable bounce, might be compared to going on stage with a violin whose strings never stay in tune—like playing baroque violin in an overheated concert hall (he said with feeling—see The Mary Celeste). On the plus ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
1y ago
Alas, Nicolas Robertson died earlier this month in Lisbon, after many years of chronic illness. A fine tenor (“cheap at the price”, as we would say), after his early years in Cambridge Nick became a long-term member of early-music groups such as the Monteverdi Choir, the Tallis Scholars, and the Sixteen. As a Bach scholar ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
1y ago
Back from Istanbul in time for the “late-night” * Bach Prom with Iestyn Davies and the English Concert directed by Kristian Bezuidenhout from the harpsichord. Listen here!!! Between the typical Proms fare of monumental romantic symphonies, the Royal Albert Hall also make a wonderful setting to tune in to the more intimate sound-world of early music—even ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
1y ago
To complement John Eliot Gardiner’s Prom last week (shown on BBC4: on i-Player) with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists: Both Bach and Handel were born in 1685, and this Prom featured two of their early works, composed when they were 22 years old—both for Easter, indeed. 1707 was a fine vintage. Bach’s cantata ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
1y ago
Ave verum corpus was a common theme of church music long before Mozart. Camilla Pang’s Private passions reminded me of the motet by William Byrd. I used to sing it in my school choir, and though many features of my youth are mercifully vague, somehow (like Bruckner’s Locus iste) I still remember this piece in some detail. I was quite ..read more
Stephen Jones Blog » Early Music
1y ago
For Good Friday, as a reminder to listen to the Bach Passions, two, um, trailers— Here’s the chorale Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück that follows the anguished O Schmerz! to end Part One of the John Passion: Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück,Seinen Gott verneinetDer doch auf ein’ ernsten BlickBitterlichen weinet.Jesu, blicke mich auch an,Wenn ich ..read more