Time’s Echo
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
5d ago
By Peter Davison At a time when classical music is losing its cultural significance, it is reassuring to read a book in high praise of major works by major composers, reminding us of a time when serious music was relevant to more than just an educated elite. The American musicologist and critic Jeremy Eichler’s recent ..read more
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Who Needs Classical Music?
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1M ago
I recently finished Julian Johnson’s 2002 book Who Needs Classical Music? It sets out to question relativism in our attitudes to musical taste, and makes a case against the marginalisation of classical music in modern life. Johnson wants to emphasise the objective aspects of music, against what he sees as modern culture’s overly marketised, individualist assumptions ..read more
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Yaniewicz at the Lithuanian Embassy
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
5M ago
I spent an informative and entertaining evening at the Lithuanian Embassy in London, learning about the life and music of composer, violin virtuoso and impresario Felix Yaniewicz (1762-1848), and his collaborations with the soprano Angelica Catalani (1780-1849). I was invited by Josie Dixon – daughter of composer Ailsa Dixon as well as a several-times-great-grandaughter of ..read more
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Inside The Temple Of Music
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
7M ago
Shortly after arriving at Bearsted station in Kent, I found my way to a picturesque village green, bordered by Tudor houses and Oast kilns. Peeking over the roofs on the other side was the tower of Holy Cross Church. I’d taken two trains to get here under the assurance it would be open.  I headed ..read more
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Musica Antica Rotherhithe
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
9M ago
‘I got sick to death – particularly at university – of being asked to perform nothing but Handel and Bach. And I thought: there is more to music than this’. I’m in the cafe at the British Library, speaking to Oliver Doyle. He’s a PhD student, harpsichordist and tenor, and in 2016 he co-founded Musica ..read more
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A ‘Peculiar Spiritual Make-Up’
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1y ago
Literature on the life and music of Edmund Rubbra is not vast. Spiritual Dimensions in the Music of Edmund Rubbra, a new book by Lucinda Cradduck, offers an analysis of the composer’s life and works through the lens of his various spiritual interests. At 250 pages plus references, it’s considerably more approachable than Ralph Scott ..read more
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Songs on Diagon Alley: The Story of Travis & Emery
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1y ago
It’s a short but steep set of stairs down to the basement. I cling to the handrail as I descend, turning a tight angle to duck under the low doorway. The space inside is as narrow as the shop floor above, but extends considerably further. It’s as equally stacked high with stock, and space is ..read more
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Of Byrd And Bard
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1y ago
This year is the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd. Many musicians are celebrating this leading composer of the English Renaissance in concerts, church services, and recordings.  Byrd’s life entirely overlapped with that of another Renaissance William – Shakespeare. Yet there is a great chasm between their posthumous reputations. Both are recognised as ..read more
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Locke for Quartet
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1y ago
I’ve long been a fan of the consort music of Matthew Locke – composer and graffiti artist of the 17th century. Sitting chronologically between Gibbons and Purcell, his music is fascinatingly caught between two eras, and takes harmonic twists and turns in surprising and elegant ways. So I was delighted to find that a fantasia ..read more
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Wycinanki
CORYMBUS
by Corymbus
1y ago
Wycinanki is the Polish art of paper cutting. In the words of composer Andrzej Panufnik, it’s a rustic art, consisting of ‘symmetrical designs of magical abstract beauty and naive charm’. A Google image search will provide countless examples that shows what he meant. Panufnik titled his third string quartet Wycinanki, and it was composed for ..read more
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