Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

Although I took exception to last week’s characterization of D major, this week’s short-hand hits the mark: B minor is The Dark Romantic. Moody, heart-wrenching, technically intense, the selections highlighted this week demonstrate the beauty and complexity that composers can capitalize on in the minor keys. Tchaikovsky’s 6th and final symphony comprises the foundation of the B minor Signature Series personality; its Russian passion perfectly illustrating the key. This work is worthy of a complete listen, if you have not heard it before (the playlist includes only the final movement.) Puccini and Chopin provide the Italian B minor flavor, with Bach and Mendelssohn showing how the Germans interpret it. Each of this week’s works are giants of classical music; I encourage you to explore and listen to them all. read more…

Week two of our tour through the CBC’s Signature Series of musical personalities takes us to the jovial key of D major. Pietropaolo has dubbed this key “Miss Congeniality.” His selection of D major pieces features a number of well-known works, including Pachabel’s Canon, Handel’s Messiah, and Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony. I love the creativity and imagination of this series, and enjoy the humor that Pietropaolo uses in describing the personalities that he creates. But, I don’t agree with all of his ideas; in D major, I think he’s just skimmed the surface of its possibilities. For example, Haydn found many sides of D major, and explored them by writing 22 of his 104 symphonies in this key. Brahms wrote two of his most complex works in D major: the Violin Concerto and the Second Symphony. Mozart was also a fan, writing String Quartets, Symphonies, Piano Sonatas and Concertos, Serenades, and Violin Concertos in the key. D major is definitely worth exploring! read more…

Radio broadcasts have always facilitated imagination; among producers and hosts to be sure, but also, significantly, the listeners. From baseball games to symphony concerts and dramatic plays to breaking news, radio has an illustrious history as a catalyst for creativity.

In 2012-2013, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) radio host Paolo Pietropaolo launched The Signature Series, featuring a different, short, provocative story each week. Pietropaolo told the story of a musical key signature by imaging what the music represented in a personality: Who is G minor? What does D major like to do in her spare time? Which is the friendliest key? read more…

This is our final week of summer festival music! We started with a Canadian jazz festival and we will end with a chamber music festival held in Canada: the Banff String Quartet Festival.

The Festival is an outcome of the wildly successful Banff String Quartet Competition, which started in 1983 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Banff Center. The competition takes place every three years (this week’s playlist includes music from the last competition, in 2016), and the Festival grew up in the years between the competition, in order continue the teaching and collaboration among the quartets. read more…

The Moab Music Festival was founded in 1992 by New York based musicians, pianist/conductor Michael Barrett and violist Leslie Tomkins. On a rare vacation, the husband and wife team fell in love with the red rocks of Moab and were inspired to combine the magical landscape with the joys of music-making. “Starting a music festival seemed like the perfect way to make sure we would return again and again,” says Tomkins. Now in its 25th year of “music in concert with the landscape,” the award- winning Moab Music Festival is noted for its distinctive programming and unique concert experiences of chamber music, traditional, jazz, Latin, and the music of living composers. The 20 concerts of the 2017 season are held in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues around Moab, with the Festival’s signature events, the Grotto Concerts, taking place in a pristine wilderness grotto, which is 30 miles down the Colorado River. The stunning grotto is reached by jet boat, and the concert presenters bring in (and remove) everything needed, including a grand piano! The concert hikes include stunning views through the Moab desert. The combination of the music and the amazing location(s), creates a festival experience that is impossible to replicate. This week’s playlist includes selections from the opening weekend of the festival which starts this coming Friday. If you live in the area – go! I would love to join you. read more…