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stressed-depressed-andobsessed · 9 months ago

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It was @local-pr1nter who planted the Theatre Kid Mondo Owada idea into my head

Anyway

Here's the character list for who's who in my Danganronpa x Hamilton musical AU thing

Hamiliton Musical of 78' AU

Alexander Hamilton - Kiyotaka Ishimaru

He wasn't going to audition at first since he's never watched Hamilton before, but after a mandatory movie night watch with the entire class so they could 'study' the musical, he decided to try out for Hamilton himself

Taka absolutely loves Hamilton's passion and drive throughout the musical. He doesn't like the occasional cursing (and actively despises the affairs, both emotional with Angelica and physical with Maria), but he tries to look past it because it's all just an act afterall. He wouldn't actually curse if he were picked for the part (and definitely would not cheat on any future love interests)

He studies Hamilton HARD. Just as hard as the homework and topics that are discussed in class. He watched the entire musical 6 times over just to make sure he knew everyone's lines, moves, and personality. It doesn't matter that he was only going to be playing Alexander Hamilton, he still needs to know everyone else's lines too

Sayaka is his biggest hype man when he was practicing his lyrics before the rehearsal. Did he stumble over a line? That's ok, practice it a couple of times with me then try again! Can't hit a particular high note? Try this method she learned during a routine practice she was doing with her bandmates! Nervous before the audition? Look to the side of the stage, she'll be right there smiling and silently singing with you!

Hina is also like that, but with the dancing parts. Need advice for singing and dancing at once without getting tired quickly? She's got him, here's a technique she learned from swimming competitions!

Don't get me started on how loud they (and Mondo) screamed when Taka got the lead role. You would've thought there was a fire, or someone was attacking the school

He's still not over the cursing thing, but he'll manage! Somehow...

Aaron Burr - Mondo Owada

You thought he screamed loud for Taka? Wait until you hear what he did when he found out about his own role

He cried. Very hard.

It was almost scary how expessive he was after finding out he was gonna play THE Aaron Burr

"KYOUDAI! TAKA! KIYO! OH MY FUCKING GOD! TAKA! TAKA! TAKA TAKA TAKA TAKA! WHERE'S CHI? OH MY GOD! I GOT TELL CHI TOO! OH MY GOD!"

This man's happiness could not be contained

He practiced his ass off though so he definitely deserved his role. He was right there with Taka for the 6 viewings (plus the movie night viewing) of Hamilton

After just watching the musical, he started practicing singing. Considering he already knew the musical like the back of his bike before this, it didn't take much practicing to get every single line down for... Hercules Muligan.

That's right! He auditioned for Mulligan! Not Burr.

He definitely didn't think he was good enough to play the Narrator of the musical so the supporting friend of the MC will have to do.

He chose Mulligan mostly because of the man's lines. He sings in, like, 3 songs and most of the lines were about fighting, having sex, getting drunk, or being a spy. Cool ass guy with a cool ass voice. Right up Mondo's alley

The dancing was pretty simply to figure out too since it was mostly background choreography that he already memorized when he was 13. When he was back at home with Daiya, belting out the lyrics and dancing stupidly in the middle of the living room

After the wave of initial excitement, he realizes the responsibility that comes with being the narrator and the MAIN FREAKING ANTAGONIST AND HAVING TO 'KILL' HIS KYOUDAI OH GOD HOW IS HE GONNA DO THING?? BURR HAS LIKE 3 SOLOS AND A 2 WHOLE DUETS WITH HAMILTON AND SO MUCH STUPID DANCING AND-

Eliza Schuyler - Sayaka Maizono

No-one was surprised by this to be honest. Considering Eliza is the other lead besides Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, it would make sense to choose someone who knows exactly how to carry the show when needed

Sayaka practiced pretty hard so she could be Eliza. No offense to the other girls, but she was practically born to be the main Schuyler sister! She's the best at singing and acting since she already has the experience so all she really had to focus on is practicing the lines (and Jesus does Eliza have a lot)

Of course, she celebrated with her bandmates after breaking the news to them. Not everyone in the group knows Hamilton that well, but they still had some fun having a karaoke party and singing the songs

She did have to plead with her manager to get the month and a half off of concerts to go to the practices. It took a lot of compromising (along with some promises that her fans would surely pay to come and see her), but eventually, the crabby old man agreed on the condition that she does some in-between photoshoots to make up for her otherwise radio silence towards her fans

Sayaka immediately began practicing her lines with Taka after finding out about her role. It's a little awkward to pretend to be in love with him, but they end up laughing about it throughout the rehearsal whenever they have to be affectionate towards each other, so that helps a bit

Angelica Schuyler - Aoi Asahina

Hina decided her role through the process of elimination. She doesn't want to be Eliza since she knows Sayaka is going for that role (and she would KILL as the Female Lead!). She doesn't want to be Maria or Peggy since there's only 1 song that they sing in, and she wants to dance and sing as much as possible! (These strong lungs and athletic limbs are made just for that, and they will NOT be going to waste!) Angelica is perfect! She's in a couple songs and is one of the main-side characters, she also has a whole solo where she gets to sing as loudly as possible about two of her friends! The context of the song might not be positive, but when has negativity ever stopped Hina?

She joins in on the practice sessions that Taka and Sayaka hold and joins in on one of the re-watches with Taka and Mondo

She, of course, has one on one sessions with Sayaka to improve her vocal cords. Going from loudly screaming the lines to passionately singing the lyrics

She practiced her choreography with Taka and Sakura, she asked Chihiro to join as well, but they ended up denying while poorly hiding a giggle

They're hiding something...

Oh well! Hina loves secrets so she'll just wait and find out with everyone else!

It doesn't really have to be clarified that she celebrated when she got the part! She was so so so so so excited to be Angelica!! Yayayay! Not only does this mean that she gets to sing and dance with her friends, but she'll also get to brag to her family about a fun new skill she learned! Or maybe she should keep it a secret until the big day? Oh, she doesn't know, she might just explode from the excitement!

She put all her excitement into the swim competition that she had a couple days later, and it won her first place! Yay!

Peggy Schuyler - Kyoko Kirigiri

Kyoko definitely wasn't planning on auditioning for any part. She'd much rather be on the sidelines with Toko

That plan changed quickly when Makoto wouldn't shut up about her being someone- ANYONE- so he wouldn't have to be alone in his small part (If he even got the part, his luck is kind of wonky sometimes)

She finally lamented and auditioned for Peggy. No practice at all, just went for it.

She was present for one of the watch throughs and watched the musical again on her own. The first watch was used to analyze how the characters act and interact with each other, the second was to analyze the plot and movements of the characters. She deduced that Peggy has the second least number of lines of any female main-ish character, (The first being Maria Reynolds and there is no way she is 'seducing' Taka on stage in front of people she most likely knows.) her movements aren't terribly complicated either and whenever Peggy is on stage, she's overshadowed by others, so no-one really pays attention to her. That role is perfect.

Kyoko simply smiled when she read the casting list and saw that she received the role of Peggy. Not only would this make Makoto less nervous, but also practicing for the musical wouldn't take up any time because Peggy is only present in 4 songs and speak briefly in 2.

She has cases to work on and she'd rather not let practicing get in the way of that

George Washington - Sakura Oogami

This may seem like a weird decision, but Hina and Taka thought it was a great idea that someone as stoic and wise as Sakura to play someone as respectable (and tall) as George Washington

It didn't take much convincing as she holds respects for him (and might've been a little intrigued in being in the musical)

It did take a bit of practicing since Sakura's way of talking is more slow-paced while Washington's lines are fast-paced

She is just as resilient in training her mental muscles as her physical muscles though, so the practice is welcomed with honor

All the practice definitely pays off as she finds her name 8th down on the cast list

A smile and a nod are the reaction that the stoic Oogami gave at this revelation... Then a gasp followed as Hina also read the list and basically tackled her from behind in excitement

Hina then went on and on about how amazing Sakura was going to look in Washington's waistcoat and trousers and how amazing she was going to sound because Washington's voice is amazing, and Sakura's voice is amazing and Hina loves all of the parts where Washington sings and now it's going to be even better because she'll get to listen to her girlfriend sing and-

Sakura was not let go of for another 4 hours, but she did not mind one bit

If she wasn't already excited for practice, then she definitely would be now with Hina's bouncing, bubbly excitement radiating all over the place

Thomas Jefferson/Marquis De Lafayette - Yasuhiro Hagakure

Gonna be so honest, I originally only picked this because of Hiro looks

And I'm going to go on a whim here and say that the judges (Who I'm going to say now were teachers like Chisa and maybe some eager volunteers from V2 and V3) at the audition also took Hiro's appearances compared to Lafayette and Jefferson in to account when casting people

Hiro did have some really good accent skills, probably from having to hide his voices whenever someone he scammed bumps into him

He's pretty good at fast talking too, probably also from him having to think of quick excuses on the fly for when he also bumps into someone he's scammed

Both of those qualities are needed to be Lafayette along with being silly and everyone knows Hiro is like the goofiest goober around when he needs to be

He's also witty, engaging, and very sarcastic when needed which are all the qualities needed to be Jefferson

Hiro had both characters down, he loved both of them, but he couldn't decide which one to do. He tried asking he crystal ball, but that just 'told' him that he would vibe as either. So, he consulted the cards, who also told him that he'd be fine as either

He auditioned as both Lafayette and Jefferson since that would amplify his chances of getting at least one of them. He sung a bit of Battle of Yorktown for Lafayette and Cabinet Battle #1 for Jefferson

The audition judges couldn't decide which they liked best so they decided he would follow in Daveed Diggs' footsteps and give him both roles to play

He looked at the cast list, he got there after everyone else with Leon because he had detention, and cheered, attempting to fist bump Leon, but Leon seemed upset. He let it go and went to tell Taka instead

He knew he would get at least one of the roles! Afterall, it was in the cards!

John Laurens/James Reynolds - Leon Kuwata

This man went straight for Alexander Hamilton with absolutely no practice

Well, that's not completely true. He practiced a little bit in the shower and sung Hamilton's parts in Helpless with Sayaka one time

He actually did pretty good despite the very minimum amount of practice

He stumbled on a couple words, he auditioned with My Shot, but ultimately made up for it with his dancing and charisma towards the judges

That's most likely the reason why they gave Leon the part of John Laurens. Laurens is Hamilton's bestie up until his death, he doesn't have too many wordy lines, and he's mainly there to hype up the crowd/his friends. He's perfect for Laurens!

Which is so not perfect for Leon since he's gonna have to watch as whoever gets Hamilton sweeps Sayaka off her feet while he sits back and literally cheers him on!

He goes back to the judges and tells the main judge, and the only one he can really find in this big, old school, Chisa (as nicely as he can) that he doesn't want to be Laurens. He uses the excuse that he feels as though he should be in more of the musical. Chisa agrees and tells him she'll see what she can do!

Cool! Now all he has to do is go serve his detention (Which he may or may not have gotten for racing toy cars in the hall with Hiro and making someone trip) and come back later to see his name right next to Alexander Hamilton

...James Reynolds? Wasn't that the abusive husband? That's not what he meant by 'being more in the musical'! This guy only had like 2 lines and one's about calling his wife a whore!

Leon was left so much more upset than before; he didn't even notice Hiro trying to fist bump him or him leaving. He was seething when he realized that Mr. Hardass was taking his spot at woo-ing Sayaka, the exact same Hardass that gave him detention.

Now he had to pretend like he was really happy for Ishi-Ton and Say-Liza while also remember all these new stupid lines for not just Laurens, but also Reynolds

Hercules Mulligan/James Madison - Byakuya Togami

Literally only got these parts because of his deep voice

He did not audition for Mulligan or Madison, he auditioned for Aaron Burr. Why not Hamilton himself? He did not want to be seen as a protagonist; he sees himself as more suited to be the antagonist, and he did not want to have to fake not 1, not 2, but 3 romances with women he did not have a lick of feelings for.

Aaron Burr is level-headed until he started acting like that fool Hamilton, he thinks his plans through to a detrimental level, and he only mentions a love interest for a couple minutes before focusing on his life plans again. He was the perfect candidate for Togami to stand in as.

He did not practice any dancing but did multiple different private practices for his vocals. He auditioned with Wait for it as it did not require dancing so he could focus on his lines for the pitiful judges that watched him. He did perfectly and was left to wait for the confirmation.

He wanted to wait for all the idiots to clear away from the cast papers, but an unexpected squeal from the overgrown, meathead who was raving about getting his part made him push everyone else out of the way to see if what the big baby of a biker was saying was true. It couldn't be true; Aaron Burr was his part.

...There had to be some kind of mistake! He scanned over that sheet 3 times to find that the dreaded papers were not lying. He was not Aaron Burr; he was Hercules Mulligan and James Madison. Madison he could respect, the man is sophisticated and responsible both in history and in the musical, but Mulligan is a short, angry brute! That is the person suited for that currently over-emotional biker, not Aaron Burr!

He turned to tell that stupid biker that just as the meathead was rushing off to find the little tech student.

Damn it all.

He went to instead lay out his fury with Chisa, the main judge, in a not so polite way. It didn't seem to affect her though. She simply said that she could give those parts to someone else, and he could work in the back with Fukawa...

He dialed the number of his private vocalist to inform them of the change in lines he would have to practice.

King George - Celestia Ludenburg

She too practiced in private.

Of course she was going to go straight for the King, who else would befit her?

It didn't take much singing to convince the judges. Her voice is powerful, condescending, and sarcastic. Perfect for King George!

She will not be spitting like he famously does, but besides that, she already has his part in the bag.

She didn't have to go check the list to know she got her part, but it was worth getting all dressed up to see Togami's hissy fit at his cast reveal

Maria Reynolds - Junko Enoshima

The cheating, the manipulation, the groveling, the despair of a broken marriage caused by her, how could she pass that all up?

The part wasn't hard at all to get down, she was already basically a natural actor.

She practiced only for a stupid older sister's benefit. Poor Mukuro was so nervous about her small little part that she had to practice her chosen part over 30 times (It was definitely because Mukuro was nervous and not because Junko kept laughing and pointing out every little mistake she made)

Her part also came with the added bonus of getting to feel up Mr. Stick-in-his-ass without getting detention. In fact, she might be praised for the added realism

She didn't check the casting roster until really late at night, unfortunately missing the RichMan™'s breakdown, to avoid everyone else for her poor sister's sake (MukMuk is such a big baby, she swears)

She got the part (Yay) and so did her sister (Boo)

George Eacker - Mukuro Ikusaba

She didn't have that many lines, but she just kept messing up during practice for some reason

Luckily, she got them right for the audition (or she hopes she did, Junko didn't say anything so she must have done good)

She wasn't going to audition for any part, just work with Fukawa in the back, but then Junko said she'd be perfect for the part of the murderer of Philip Hamilton and asked her to try out for it

She couldn't deny her little sister, could she?

It was nerve-wracking, but the list had finally been posted so regardless of her nervous-ness, she would have her answer once she went to check the papers.

Junko had to end up dragging her to the papers late at night because she couldn't bring herself to go

She got the part, yay.

Charles Lee - Makoto Naegi

He wanted to be in the musical to support his fellow classmates while also not having to memorize many lines as he might end up forgetting them out of nervousness

Charles Lee, George Eacker, and Samuel Seabury were all good choices. Samuel would be hard though, because he and Taka would have to be singing over each other and he might not be able to say his lines at the same time as him. Especially because of how loud and intimidating Taka can be

He decided to eliminate him and focus on the other 2 options. They both had relatively short parts so auditioning with both of their songs wasn't met with any restraint from the judges

He figured, with his luck, he had to get one of the parts and if he didn't, because that was still definitely a possibility, then he could help Toko with backstage work full time

Luckily, he got Charles Lee. Unluckily, Byakuya decided to take his anger out on him by ranting about 'The Giant Oaf' as he referred to Mondo for almost an entire hour

That's ok though, Makoto is always up to support a 'friend' in times of distress!

Samuel Seabury - Hifumi Yamada

He originally was just going to work backstage with Fukawa Toko-dono but at the prospect that his Mistress is going to be centered as royalty and there is a commoner whose sole role is encouraging the Town People to worship her, he immediately started practicing for the part of Seabury

He was pretty good, even putting on his Manly™️ Voice while auditioning

Because of his impeccable performance, (and the fact that no-one else auditioned for that part) he was almost immediately given the role

Mistress Ludenburg even praised him for his role! (Then ordered him to make her some tea to celebrate)

That's all the main characters sorted I think so next post will be all about how each song and the practices for that particular song went. As expected for the class of 78, there will be lots of shenanigans (and maybe even some fanart to go with it if I can figure out how to draw some of these characters)

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Hold on, there's someone I have forgotten!

Philip Hamilton - Chihiro Fujisaki

Chihiro practiced with Sayaka privately, which was super awkward at first, but they eventually got over it

They wanted to surprise everyone by being in the musical! They know it will be really hard because they'll have to preform in front of everyone in a pretty major role, but that's what the practice is for. They've been getting physically stronger with Mondo, so it's time to up their emotion and mental strength (along with their vocal strength because they have a pretty small voice)

They were really nervous about preforming just in front of the judges, but that's ok because they did it and that's all that matters

They didn't even get a chance to look at the casting roster before Mondo came barreling into them announcing his role. Getting to see the unabridged happiness and excitement from Mondo almost made up for being crushed in a back breaking hug.

After the initial excitement, they then had to listen to his anxieties about all the lines and dance movements he's gonna have to remember before joking that they wouldn't have to do that themselves since they didn't audition for anything. Mondo will not admit that he stumbled to keep up as Chihiro pulled him down the hall (not running, just speed walking as they did pass Taka on the way) back to the casting papers

It took a minute as they specifically requested that their name went on the second paper and not the first so the likelihood of anyone finding their name on accident was low, but they sure did find it... and they were almost immediately put into another crushing hug. They may have gotten stronger and used to Mondo's physical affections, but the bear hugs are something they don't think they'll ever get used to

They leave off telling everyone else, they'll figure it out during practices

Alright, that's everyone! Any other minor roles that weren't assigned to anyone is picked up by other Ultimates that aren't in the 78 class (maybe some of the class of 77 helped) like the background dancers or the prop and set movers. Toko doesn't get a role, not because I don't like her because I absolutely do, but because:

1. I could not find a role that fit her comfortable

2. Realistically, she would not and could not perform in front of potentially 100s of people (Most of whom are made up of the classmates' family and friends, along with Sayaka's fans who came just for Sayaka)

3. She would not want to risk Syo coming out in front of hundreds of people. She would rather have her come out while backstage because then someone could notice and get her away from the stage area more subtly and without worry

She's content with having to pull the curtains or just motioning for props to be sent out to the stage.

This entire performance is going to be put on in a sort of hall, think of a graduation ceremony kind of hall. Despite the huge school and its amenities, they could not fit all the props, characters, and costumes along with 100+ people anywhere in the school comfortably. The school funds the renting of this hall though since this is for a festival. The festival will be happening at and around the school where some students will also be selling tickets for the musical and then there will be an announcement, signaling that the musical will start in an hour. All guests will then move to the hall, get their tickets taken, and take their seats.

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power-chords · 2 months ago

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[Jennie C.] Jones, 53, is an artist who allies sound and shape in more ways than one. She is an abstract painter whose works channel the austerity of Minimalism but incorporate acoustic panels — the kind used in concert halls or music studios — atop the canvas. Her drawings nod to the world of music with elements of sheet-music notation or acoustic waveforms.

Her audio pieces accord with their settings while subtly challenging them. She filled Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., an essential work of Western modernism, with a hum produced in part by glass and metal singing bowls. In a grand hall in New Orleans that was once home to Confederate artifacts, she overlaid recordings of three choirs performing “A City Called Heaven,” a utopian Black spiritual.

“A Score for Tenderness and Grace,” 2021, a collage from a set of 10. Drawing and collage are another method by which Jones invokes the presence of music, with elements that echo, for example, sheet music, notation, or acoustic waveforms. Credit: Jennie C. Jones/Alexander Gray Associates and Patron Gallery

For the poet and theorist Fred Moten, who wrote a text to accompany a recent exhibition by Jones in Chicago, she is in the lineage of Whitten, Thomas or Sam Gilliam in “calling into question the normative ways in which we think about abstraction.” Black abstraction, Moten said, emerges from social existence, as in the “outsider” art of Thornton Dial or the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Ala.

For all the intellectual love, Jones’s work is also meant, more simply, to be felt. Her techniques invite the viewer (or listener) to experience something that isn’t quite captured by either of those senses but somehow addresses both, in a kind of vibrational transfer.

“When you spend time on close looking, you start to hear things,” said Lauren Hinkson, the associate curator, collections at the Guggenheim who organized the exhibition.

#jennie c. jones #art #abstract art

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justforbooks · 7 months ago

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Alexander Knaifel

Russian composer whose sparse musical landscapes create a spiritual ambience of meditative calm

Alexander Knaifel, who has died aged 80, did not set out to be a composer. As a student in the 1960s, he studied the cello with Mstislav Rostropovich until injury intervened. Then he redirected his energies towards composition, at a time when the Khrushchev thaw could accommodate the musical modernism of the Soviet Union’s second avant-garde period (the first having come in the years around the 1917 revolution).

But the cello retained a significant role in Knaifel’s output. Rostropovich went on to commission and premiere three religious works that reflected both Knaifel’s adoption of Russian Orthodox Christianity around 1970 and his conviction, which appealed to Rostropovich, that experience can be heightened by performers thinking – “silently intoning” – a text as they playe the music.

Chapter Eight – Canticum Canticorum (The Song of Songs, 1993), a work “for church, choirs and cello”, unfolds slowly over the course of an hour. With three a cappella choirs adopting a cross formation in Washington National Cathedral in the US, the premiere was recorded for the Teldec label and released under the title Make Me Drunk With Your Kisses (1995).

The Fiftieth Psalm (1995) is for solo cello. Psalm 50 in the Orthodox numbering is Psalm 51 in the west: Miserere/Have Mercy. With his concern for “playing as if singing”, Knaifel felt that “only Rostropovich could articulate this text”, and his recording of it was released on the ECM label in 2005.

Blazhenstva (1996) is a meditation on the Beatitudes, Jesus Christ’s sermon on the mount. Rostropovich’s last cello student, Ivan Monighetti, later recorded it with Knaifel’s wife, Tatiana Melentieva, as the soprano soloist with the State Hermitage Orchestra from St Petersburg for another ECM release.

That 2008 recording also features Monighetti playing a piece in the modernist style that preceded Knaifel’s more ethereal approach, his Lamento for Solo Cello (1967, revised 1986). Built upon serialist tone rows, and with a striking approach to timbre and performance techniques, it is also highly expressive.

From the same period came his Monody for Female Voice (1968), again written in a modernist style, with modal phrases juxtaposed with glissandi descending in quarter-tones and wide intervals. Premiered by Melentieva, it was written with her crystal-clear tone and extensive vocal range in mind.

Knaifel first made his mark with the opera The Canterville Ghost, given a semi-staged student production in 1966, at the end of his studies at the Leningrad Conservatory. Based upon the humorous ghost story by Oscar Wilde, it was taken up by the Kirov Orchestra under Alexander Gauk in Leningrad in 1974 and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky in London in 1980. A 1990 recording with Michail Jurowski directing the Moscow Forum Theatre, reissued on Brilliant Classics in 2012, brings out the young composer’s confident delivery of musical humour and mastery of orchestration.

In Knaifel’s more ascetic and contemplative works, solo lines and single sustained pitches are spun out over long durations – sometimes over the course of two hours – almost to the point of stasis. In the more minimalist language of what he called his “quiet giants”, he was ahead, among Soviet composers, of either Giya Kancheli or Arvo Pärt, in presenting pared-down content that is rich in spiritual ambience. There is no obvious parallel to Knaifel’s music in the west, although it bears some similarity in style to that of the American composer Morton Feldman.

Of two large-scale works from the 1970s, Knaifel said: “In Jeanne, I discovered the number, in Nika, the word.” He reworked a Joan of Arc ballet into Jeanne, Passion for 13 Instrumental Groups (1978), a work of extreme asceticism drawing on the principle that the universe is built on numbers and proportions with rational and symbolic power, while Nika, 72 Fragments for 17 Performers on Bass Instruments (1974), was the first of his works to use unspoken texts.

Agnus Dei for Four Instrumentalists A Cappella (1985), with a characteristically paradoxical title, is powerful in impact given its sparse musical landscape and the sense of meditation that this creates. It utilises a wide range of literary examples, ranging from the liturgical to quotations from the diary of a young girl, Tanya Savicheva, who died during the siege of Leningrad.

These texts, printed in the score as well as in the audience’s programme notes, are never heard in performance, with the musicians being instructed to “think the text” as they play. Knaifel maintained that the word does not needed to be explicitly stated for the work’s spiritual intention to be understood.

His compositions of the 1990s and beyond increasingly displayed a religious aesthetic and an even more ascetic musical language. Texts both secular and sacred were present, but, in line with the Gnostic tradition, Knaifel asserted that “truth” must be hidden and revealed gradually to the listener in order for it to have validity.

This approach found its fullest and most original expression in In Air Clear and Unseen (1994), for texts by Fyodor Tyutchev, piano and string quartet, with its extremes of register, periods of silence, silent intonation, religious symbolism and virtuosic performance techniques. A recording by the pianist Oleg Malov and the Keller Quartet was released on ECM in 2002.

Knaifel’s opera Alice in Wonderland, premiered in Amsterdam in 2001 with a cast including the baritone Roderick Williams, has a libretto based upon Lewis Carroll’s narrative. But the text is rarely sung, instead being either mimed, or even in a few instances, coded visually, through coloured lights playing on a backdrop on stage.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Alexander was the son of Russian-Jewish parents: his father, Aron Knaifel, a violinist, and his mother, Muza Shapiro, a music theory teacher, had been evacuated from Leningrad at the time of the siege. From the Leningrad Central Music School (1950-61) he went on to the Moscow Conservatory, where his cello studies under Rostropovich were ended by a nerve inflammation in his left hand. At the Leningrad Conservatory (1963-67) he studied composition with Boris Aparov, a student of Shostakovich.

In 1979, Knaifel was blacklisted by the Soviet authorities as one of the “Khrennikov Seven”, including Edison Denisov and Sofia Gubaidulina, following the premiere in Cologne of his improvised piece A Prima Vista (1972), attracting the ire of Tikhon Khrennikov, leader of the Union of Composers of the USSR.

Knaifel turned his attention to writing film scores, written in a more conventional idiom. There were 40 in all, including those written for his frequent collaborator, the Russian director Semyon Aranovich.

Working with the composer on preparing a number of written texts for publication led me to appreciate his childlike sense of wonder alongside his warmth and playful sense of humour. This sense of a child’s world was apparent in both the Alice opera and its predecessor, the surrealist song cycle A Silly Horse (1981), of which a recording by Melentieva and Malov was reissued on the Megadisc label in 1997.

Knaifel married Melentieva in 1965. She survives him, along with a daughter and a grandson.

🔔 Alexander Aronovich Knaifel, composer, born 28 November 1943; died 27 June 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Alexander Knaifel #in memoriam

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feelinsheepish · 9 days ago

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Character Dossier

BASICS

Full Name:

Terrance Twiglet, fourth born of Penelope, third born to Bryan

Known Alias(es): Terrance / Terry / Ter

Age: 119 (Tho mun is debating how sheeptaurs age again)

Gender: Male

Birthday: 23rd April

Heritage: Sheeptaur of the Valley of the Leap

Religion: Child of Akun

Sexual & Romantic Orientation: Pansexual

Status: Son of a chief

Residencies: Family hut in the Valley of the Leap

Highest Education Level: None academically, farming and foraging and building is relatively high if that counts

Occupation(s): Freeloader xD

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

Facial Features: Freckles, slightly elongated face, flat nose, pointed ears, wild hair and yellow eyes with rectangular pupils

Face-claim: Himself

Voice: Kinda high for his age, soft and stutters at times

Voice-claim: Oliver Jenkins (tiny tim in this version)

Eyes: Yellow

Hair: Black

Body Type: Toned(ish) but scrawny for a sheeptaur

Distinguishable Marks: Wild untamed hair always with twigs, leaves or flowers stuck in it

Weight: No idea (how do you even figure this out? xD)

Height: 4'9?

MENTAL EVALUATION

Mental Illnesses: Anxiety

Psychological Profile: Worrier, anxious a lot of the time, coward

Positive Traits: Positive, kind hearted, sympathetic, helpful

Negative Traits: Naive, sometimes too easy to trust others, rule breaker, ignorant, soft, coward

Alignment Type: True Good

Personality Type: Idk

Phobias: Wolves, bears, lions, predatory creatures in general, total darkness, silence, his father, blood, famine, death

Mannerisms: Quiet and withdrawn, shrinks back, fiddles with fingers, messy

Hobbies & Interests: Flower crown making, weaving, singing, exploring, birds, flowers, gardening

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

Combat Style: Run away

Weapon of Choice: Magic

Hand-to-Hand Combat Proficiency: Pathetic

Tactical Strengths: Can run really fast?

Tactical Weaknesses: Runs away? xD Open to attacks often, hair might get in face, he's scared of hurting others

Signature Techniques: His magic means he can summon roots around to cocoon himself safely in times where he's backed off into a corner. He can also drain the energy and life out of someone over touch, though he doesn't entirely know this yet.

Pain Tolerance: Low

Defensive Skills: Again, cocoon with roots, he has a thick skull so blows to the head don't hurt as much?

AFFILIATIONS & RELATIONSHIPS

Family: Bryan (father) Penelope (mother) Mason, Lenny (older brothers) Tabatha (older sister) Elijah (younger brother) Maddison, Spring (younger sisters)

Allies & Associates: Alexander ( @xxlordalexanderxx ) Skarbrand ( @skxrbrand ) Jafar ( @grandvizier ) Honey ( @sweet-chimera ) Eath/Hax ( @oflostinfound )

Rivalries: I don't actually think he has any?

Enemies: Skarbrand (sometimes) and any predatory creature

Romantic History: None really, a failed attempt with a ewe called Freya

Notable Friends: Most of allies/associates, otherwise, just birbs

HABITS & LIFESTYLE

Daily Routine: Wake up (usually one of the last get to up) Have breakfast, do chores, help with lambs in the village, go to healing classes, go to training classes, go on patrol (but DON'T go on patrol), go exploring, free time in the hills, more chores, try not to get washed, go to bed

Diet & Nutrition: Vegetables, fruits, berries, bread, eggs, milk, oats, nuts

Exercise Habits: Forced to do training

Grooming Habits: Barely, he tries to get out of it and is often held down by his mother to try and groom him and shear his wool

Substance Use: None

Sleep Patterns: Knocked out, sleeps anywhere if really tired.

Personal Aesthetic: Green, yellow, flowers, grass, nature, trees

Favorite Books: Can't read

Favorite Music Genres: They don't have many genres in the village, traditional?

Favorite Art/Architecture: Painting on rocks is pretty

#headcanons #your choice to fill it out or not

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thehamiltonhatepage · 2 months ago

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I hate Hamilton

Okay, buckle up, buttercups, because it’s time for a little history lesson, or rather, a history dissertation, as told by yours truly, Thomas Jefferson. And before you start with the powdered wigs and the “founding father” fanfare, let me be clear: I’m not here to wax poetic about the glories of the American experiment. Oh no. I’m here to talk about him. You know, the guy with the incessant rapping and the ridiculous hair, the man who’s somehow become the darling of the musical theater set. Yes, I’m talking about Alexander Hamilton, or as I like to call him, the “Hurricane of Hype.”

Now, let’s rewind a bit, shall we? Picture this: I, Thomas Jefferson, fresh from the intellectual salons of Paris, arrive back in this fledgling nation, ready to bring a dash of continental sophistication to the rustic proceedings. And what do I find? A frenzy of activity orchestrated by…you guessed it, the infamous Hamilton. Seriously, this man was like a caffeinated squirrel trapped in a printing press. He was everywhere, pushing his papers, scribbling his plans, and frankly, making everyone else look like they were moving in slow motion.

My introduction to the man was, shall we say, memorable. He greeted me with all the warmth of a tax collector inspecting a shipment of contraband tea. He was all sharp angles, rapid-fire questions, and that infernal, slightly-too-knowing grin that suggested he’d already calculated ten steps ahead of everyone else in the room. He looked like a particularly energetic ferret, and I, a lover of fine wine and repose, found him deeply unsettling.

The early days were…well, they were a chaotic mess. Hamilton, fueled by some kind of internal combustion engine, was determined to build his financial empire. He wanted a national bank, a federal debt, and seemingly, the personal adoration of every citizen. I, meanwhile, was trying to explain to him, in my most patient and eloquent manner, that a nation should not be run like a particularly aggressive game of Monopoly. I argued that states' rights were paramount, that the people should have a say in their own destiny, and that maybe, just maybe, we didn't need a central authority to dictate every last detail of our lives.

Of course, Hamilton brushed aside my reasonable, nuanced arguments like a toddler swatting at a butterfly. He’d talk over me, interrupting with his rapid-fire pronouncements, and always, always, with that smug little smirk. It was maddening. Truly, the man could turn a simple disagreement about the optimal placement of a comma into a full-blown constitutional crisis. He had the energy of a hummingbird after a triple espresso, and his capacity for self-promotion was truly breathtaking. It's as if he had a personal public relations firm dedicated to singing his praises 24/7.

And don't even get me started on the whole "assumption of debts" debacle. I mean, who did he think he was, some kind of financial magician, waving his wand and making debts disappear? My fellow Virginians and I were not exactly thrilled about bailing out the northern states for their… ahem…fiscal indiscretions. It felt like we were being strong-armed into a bad deal by a very persistent, very ambitious, and frankly, very annoying little man.

The constant battles over policy were exhausting. He insisted on these elaborate financial structures, while I envisioned a nation of independent farmers and intellectuals, pursuing their own path with minimal interference from the government. It felt like we were living in parallel universes, where I was trying to build a serene and contemplative garden, and he was constantly trying to build a skyscraper in the middle of it, complete with a brass band and a smoke machine.

And while I was busy crafting the Declaration of Independence, and dabbling in advanced agricultural techniques, and oh, managing my plantation, thank you very much, Hamilton was out there consolidating power and writing endless memos. He was the ultimate bureaucrat, the king of paperwork, the sultan of spreadsheets. I sometimes suspected he had a secret stash of ink and quills under his pillow. I, however, preferred to spend my evenings reading, not calculating the optimal rate of return on treasury bonds.

Later, when I became President (a position, I might add, that I earned through the sheer brilliance of my ideas and not through relentless personal promotion), I was constantly cleaning up his messes. His financial system was this elaborate contraption that, frankly, resembled a Rube Goldberg machine more than a well-oiled economic engine. I had to make sure that the whole thing didn't collapse because of his overzealous meddling. It was like trying to dismantle a bomb while simultaneously explaining the finer points of Monticello's architecture to an audience of toddlers.

Let’s be honest, the musical has painted him as some kind of tragic hero, a misunderstood genius cut down in his prime. I can hear the violins swelling already. Don’t fall for the melodrama, folks! The truth is, Hamilton was a relentless, ambitious, and ultimately, incredibly irritating man. He was brilliant, yes, but his brilliance was often wrapped up in a package of self-importance and a tendency to dominate every room he entered.

And his constant need to be in the spotlight? Please. The man was a walking, talking headline. He couldn't just have an idea; he had to have a spectacular idea, one that would be lauded by the masses and etched into the history books (preferably in large, bold font). I, on the other hand, preferred to let my actions speak for themselves, to let the quality of my work shine without the need for constant fanfare and dramatic musical numbers.

So, yes, I hate Alexander Hamilton - not in a “villainous mustache-twirling” sort of way, but in the deeply exasperated, intellectually superior kind of way. He was a constant source of frustration, a perpetual thorn in my side, a human-sized exclamation point in my carefully crafted sentence of a life. And while the world may sing his praises, I, Thomas Jefferson, will continue to stand here, shaking my powdered wig in utter disbelief at the sheer audacity of the man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a glass of wine and a good book to attend to. Unlike some people, I actually know how to relax. And, maybe, just maybe, I will take some time to rewrite my letters to exclude his incessant name. After all, that’s the true way to ensure he’s remembered as he really was: an irritating footnote in history.

#hamilton musical #i hate hamilton #thomas jefferson

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opera-ghosts · 2 months ago

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The Hawaiian Nightingale, also known as “Hawaiʻi's Songbird: Ululani Robertson (1890-1970):

Born in Honolulu on January 5, 1890 (approx.), Ululani McQuaid was the daughter of James H. McQuaid, an Englishman, and Kapulani Kalola Nahienaena Leinaholo Papaikaniau, a native Hawaiian and descendant of ali’i (Hawaiian royalty and nobility) from the islands of Maui and Hawaii. According to Ululani’s recollections, she was primarily raised by her grandmother and attended the Sacred Hearts Academy, a Catholic school which was popular among the Island’s wealthier residents. The school was staffed mostly by Belgian nuns and Ululani grew up speaking Hawaiian, French, and English.

There is little known about Ululani’s earliest years, beyond information given in interviews conducted later in her life. Even her exact year of birth remains unclear as there is no birth record available and various obituaries listed her as 75 or 80 in 1970. Musicologist Dale E. Hall, who published a brief biographical portrait of Ululani in his 1996 article Two Hawaiian Careers in Grand Opera, was able to locate the 1910 census records which indicated her age as 20, establishing her probable birth year as 1890. Hall also went so far as to contact the Sacred Hearts Academy which was unable to confirm any records of her attendance at the school.

Ululani married Alexander George Morison Robertson, a Hawaiian attorney and jurist, on May 29, 1907. After her wedding, she begins to appear in newspaper records as Mrs. A.G.M. Robertson, and her activities are more closely documented in the social columns. The earliest clippings found describe her as a hostess for celebrities and dignitaries visiting Honolulu and the Hawaiian Islands.

It is likely that Ululani was introduced to singing by her grandmother who was a well-known Hawaiian chanter, and who probably instilled in her a deep reverence for the Hawaiian language and song traditions. In the early years of her marriage, Ululani began taking lessons with mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Mackall, one of Honolulu’s most noted voice teachers. Mackall helped to build Ululani’s knowledge of Western art music and develop her technique and repertoire.

Ululani’s first recorded recital appearance was in 1912 on a program featuring several of Mackall’s students. The next year, newspaper records give accounts of at least seven performances, both public and private. Ululani began incorporating musicales into the parties she hosted at her home.

Aside from her budding talent as a singer, Ululani was a noted hostess in Honolulu’s social circles. Both the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu’s largest and second largest news publications, praised the grandeur of events she hosted. An active member of her community, she was a member of the Morning Music Club and The Outdoor Circle, and was a founding officer of the Hawaiian Art Society.

As a result of Ululani’s talent, gracious personality, and social position, her popularity continued to increase between 1914 and 1920. She began appearing as a featured soloist with local churches and choral groups around Honolulu, receiving enthusiastic encores and splendid reviews from local newspapers.

wo notable performances in 1918 solidified the young Ululani’s place in Hawaii’s musical community, the first being a solo recital given for the benefit of the Red Cross at Honolulu’s new Mission Memorial Hall, and the second a feature in a Hawaiian musical given by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.

During World War I, the citizens of Hawaii did a great deal to support relief efforts, raising money and collecting clothing and food supplies. Ululani offered her talents as a singer, performing for events for Army and Navy groups stationed in the islands. Honolulu’s Ad Club sponsored a recital to benefit the American Red Cross on April 26, 1918 featuring Ululani Robertson (billed as Mrs. A.G.M. Robertson). Her program was a success, with nearly every seat filled. Encores included several Hawaiian songs, a tradition that the young singer would continue throughout her career. The concert was so well received that she was, from then on, known to the public as the “Hawaiian Nightingale.”

Later that year, with her notoriety as “Hawaii’s Nightingale,” Ululani was featured in a hookupu (traditional Hawaiian welcome ceremony for visiting nobles & dignitaries) given by Hawaii’s US Congressional delegate Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole. The event was a welcome for US Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane. On this program, Ululani performed traditional Hawaiian songs accompanied by ukuleles and a glee club from the Kamehameha Schools. Through this event she displayed herself not only as a fine singer of western art music but of the traditional and popular music of Hawaii. Throughout her life, Ululani would maintain her passion for performing and preserving the music and language of Hawaii.

Ululani continued performing and studying with Elizabeth Mackall. Sometime in late 1919 or early 1920, Mackall moved to San Francisco, California to join the music faculty at Mills College. Ululani took an apartment in San Francisco, travelling from Hawaii for periods of study with Mackall until 1921.

Having studied with Mackall for over a decade, in the spring of 1921, Ululani made the decision to seek a new teacher to further her musical accomplishments. Despite little connection to the musical world outside of Hawaii, she decided to seek an audition with Marcella Sembrich after reading an interview with the great prima donna in Mable Wangall’s 1899 book Stars of the Opera.

“When I went to New York I wanted to study with Madame Sembrich, not because someone had told me to go to her, but because I had read so much about this glorious woman. I had no letter of introduction to her. There was a long waiting list, so the secretary informed me.”

— Ululani Robertson, "Madame Butterfly Lauds Teacher, Mme. M. Sembrich." The Honolulu Advertiser. Page 27. January 20, 1935.

Having set her mind to meeting the renowned Sembrich, Ululani prepared to travel to New York. Her trip was hindered initially by a burglary at her San Francisco apartment and then when she contracted mumps on the long train ride. She arrived in New York City, but her prolonged illness delayed her seeking out Sembrich and caused her to miss Enrico Caruso’s final Metropolitan Opera performance, which she was to attend with fellow Hawaiian opera star tenor Tandy Mackenzie. After recovering, she began working to arrange her meeting with Madame Marcella Sembrich. After travelling five thousand miles and facing various trials and tribulations, her chance came on Easter Sunday of 1921.

Despite having no letter of introduction, the secretary spoke to Sembrich who decided to hear the singer and have a luncheon to discuss Ululani’s ambitions as a singer. Another interview recounts the audition with Sembrich:

“The studio accompanist, hard-working fellow, brought the song to a close with a resounding chord. Its soft, somewhat sad, melody had been strange to him, and its words stranger still, for it was a Hawaiian bit about the rain and a drenched flower. The singer, resting now by the piano, gathered herself together for the verdict. She had come five thousand miles from Honolulu to ask the great Marcella Sembrich to teach her. And Mme. Sembrich was before her now, about to decide. She speaks. “Where, my dear, did you come upon such – shall I say – Chinese-Italian? So was habe Ich nie vorher gehört.” (tr. from German: I have never heard this before”) The singer, for all the fact that this audition was for her a solemn affair, had to laugh. “That, Madame, was not Italian at all. It was Hawaiian.” “Ah so,” breathed the great teacher, ��you come from those islands out there in the Pacific, to have Sembrich teach you? Well, we shall see!”

— from "Mrs. A.G.M Robertson Returns After Long Absence." The Honolulu Advertiser. Page 3. December 10, 1933.

Following her audition, Sembrich asked the young Ululani what she desired from a career in music. She boldly told Sembrich that she had no ambition for a career, only to perfect her voice and her art. Following her audition and interview, Sembrich sent Ululani off to await a decision. After three days passed, Sembrich contacted Ululani to accept her as a pupil, only on the condition that she pursue a career. She immediately took an apartment near Manhattan’s Bryant Park and set to study. Ululani and Sembrich worked well together and Ululani was soon fondly called Sembrich’s “little tropical flower.”

In the summer of 1921, Ululani travelled with her new teacher to “The Maples,” Sembrich’s Adirondack retreat in Lake Placid, New York. It was there that the only known photographs containing both Ululani Robertson and Marcella Sembrich in the same image were taken.

“All pupils loved my teacher. It made no difference whether they were successes or failures, they never forgot her magnetic personality. I spent my first summer with Mme. Sembrich at her home in Lake Placid. She herself was a marvelous cook and she planned her menus each day. I remember a little squirrel who, each summer, came to the back kitchen door to be fed by Madame. I think he got his winter store of nuts from her. Like people, he never forgot the gracious woman.”

— Ululani Robertson "Madame Butterfly Lauds Teacher, Mme. M. Sembrich." The Honolulu Advertiser. Sunday, January 20, 1935.

For the next four years, Ululani alternated between periods of study in New York and trips to Honolulu to visit family and give performances. It is during these years that her billing for concerts now included the line “Artist Pupil of Mme. Sembrich.” Reviews praised her abilities and her fine coloratura voice. Ululani, much like her Sembrich, was also known to accompany herself for encores, playing the piano or ukulele.

Sembrich moved her Adirondack summer retreat to Bay View, an estate on the shores of Lake George, in the summer of 1922 and purchased the property the following winter. Ululani was among the first students, along with sopranos Dusolina Giannini and Queena Mario, to take lessons in Sembrich’s new teaching studio (today The Sembrich) which was completed 1924.

Reviews indicate that Robertson showed great improvement in stage presence and the finer details of her artistry following only a year of study with Sembrich:

“Her dulcet tones, always so appealing to her many admirers, have developed a range, a power, a flexibility and a depth of feeling which have lifted her from the mere amateur class into that of the semi-professional, as all who hear her at her concert next Wednesday will agree. One year under the direction of such a noted singer has done so much for Mrs. Robertson, that one can have no doubt that in the next year’s work, which she is planning, she will easily reach the goal for which Madame Sembrich sets for her most promising pupils, a successful New York appearance.”

— from "Teacher Perpetuates Fame Through Pupils." The Honolulu Advertiser. Page 5. July 11, 1922.

Ululani returned to Lake George and New York City for extended periods of study alongside Sembrich’s students from the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard Graduate School, where she was director of the vocal programs. During her studies with Sembrich, Ululani began studying the roles of Mimi (La Bohème) and Cio-Cio-san (Madama Butterfly) by Puccini. Sembrich worked with Ululani to refine her diction, stage presence, and musicality, preparing for for a grand debut. However, the New York City debut that was the standard for Sembrich’s pupils never came as was decided between singer and teacher that a trip abroad for European study was more advantageous than an expensive Aeolian Hall debut:

“Mme. Sembrich felt that I should have European study. So, with my husband’s approval, I sailed for Italy and studied with Professor Guisseppi Benvenuto. I had already had four years of study with Mme. Sembrich. But there were languages to be studied, stage deportment, and a repertoire to be built up. I also had a few lessons with Mascagni, author of the opera, Iris, which I was studying.”

— Ululani Robertson in “Island Hostess,” Paradise of the Pacific. Page 32. February 1953

One of Ululani’s final performances as a pupil of Sembrich was in September of 1925 in the Italian play “Scampolo.” The event was held in the studio of Lake George resident and Sembrich pupil Polly Hoopes on her estate Stillwater. Following her final summer in Lake George, Ululani set sail for Milan, Italy to further her studies in Europe.

Following Sembrich’s advice, Ululani sought out several European teachers to help further her musical education, beginning in Milan, Italy.

While there, she took lessons with Giuseppe Benvenuto and Pietro Mascagni, studying roles from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Bohème, Mascagni’s Iris, andCharpantier’s Louise. Ululani then set her sights on France, particularly Paris, for further study. She continued her preparations for a European debut with pianist John Byrne. In 1926, she made her concert debut at the Salle Comedia in Paris and garnered positive reviews, particularly for her inclusion of several songs from Hawaii.

“Miss Ululani Robertson, who had chosen the Salle Comedia for her concert, possesses a very pretty soprano voice with exquisite crystalline notes. She knows how to sing, she sustains a note and reaches the pianissimo with undeniable art... Where she was quite remarkable was in some “Lieder” by Grieg; in “The Answer” by Terry, which she was obliged to repeat, and, above all, in some Hawaiian songs, to which she gave a really artistic expression. The “Na Lei O Hawaii” by King, won her a unanimous encore.”

— Louis Schneider in "The New York Herald," Paris. July 9, 1926

Following her successful concert debut, Ululani began appearing for social club events and private salons in Paris. In April 1927, she made her operatic debut in the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Bordeaux, France. Despite singing the role in Italian instead of French, which was customary in French opera houses, critics were enamored by her vocal ability and refined acting. Her debut was followed by 22 more performances of the role across the continent. Her career took her to Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain where she appeared on stages in Deauville, Florence, Liège, Leipzig, Lyons, Milan, Prague, Rouen, Vienna, and more. Billed as “Madame La Princesse Ululani,” news outlets praised her interpretation of the role, deeming her “an artist of unusual merit” and characterized her singing as “ravishing,” “charming,” and “superb.” Near the end of her tour, several news articles in Europe reported that Ululani would return to Honolulu to perform the role in 1928.

However, Ululani did not return to Honolulu and instead began study at the American Conservatory in Fountainbleau around 1928, coaching with pianist Camille Decreus, the long-time accompanist of the Polish Tenor (and friend of Sembrich) Jean de Reszke. During her studies, she continued to appear in concert and opera across the continent and her popularity in the European musical scene began to grow.

During this time in Europe, nationalism was a prevailing trend in the musical world. Folk songs, particularly those sung in original native languages, were garnering attention as the true expressions of national culture and identity. Ululani, being one of so few Hawaiian singers to achieve European fame, was made even more popular by her renditions of Hawaiian songs, her ukulele accompaniments, and her displays of Hawaiian dance for European audiences. Among the Hawaiian songs presented by Ululani was the popular song Na Lei O Hawaii by Hawaiian composer Charles E. King.

To date, no original recordings of Ululani’s singing have been located. The Victor Talking Machine Company has notes of two recordings recorded by Ululani in 1923, however, neither made it to publication. While Ululani was in Europe, another “Hawaiian Songbird,” named Lena Machado, began recording and popularizing the music of Hawaii in the United States. Machado’s 1928 recording of the work with traditional instrumental accompaniment is a definitive representation of the traditional Hawaiian vocal technique ha’i which is characterized by a distinct break between vocal registers and accompaniments.

Prior to her entrée to the European opera scene, Ululani was offered a position as a Hawaiian singer with a touring band. While she loved to sing the songs of Hawaii and perform the popular music for audiences, she still believed that the role of Butterfly best suited her. Although the operatic stage was her chosen home, Ululani did appear on several occasions performing popular Hawaiian music. One such instance was with a Hawaiian orchestra at the Colonial Exposition in Paris in 1931, which was broadcast on the radio and was heard by Ululani’s husband A.G.M. Robertson in San Francisco.

Ululani toured across Europe appearing as Madama Butterfly and occasionally in other roles such as Mimi in La Bohème. Then in 1931, it was announced that Mme. Ululani was to appear for several performances of Madama Butterfly at Paris’ Opera Comique, one of the most celebrated European venues with perhaps the most discriminating audience. This was the first time a Hawaiian opera singer would appear on the stage of the famous opera house. The night of her debut, Madame Sembrich cabled her fondest congratulations. Ululani’s husband even travelled from Honolulu to see her take the stage in Paris.

News of her lauded debut was announced in papers across the United States. Her achievements on the stage of the Opera Comique were the pinnacle of her international fame and solidified her place as one of the leading interpreters of Puccini’s Butterfly. The Parisian Critic Louis Schneider published this review of the Opera Comique performance in an unidentified Paris newspaper:

Louis Schneider, music critic, writes in a Paris newspaper…

Madame Ululani sang “Madama Butterfly” at the Opera Comique, on Monday night. Her carriage and extreme grace give her an exacting possession of the role in which she proves the fullest depths of the character in her interpretation. Her voice, although not of great volume, is sufficiently ample for the role; and if, on entering the stage, she was overcome with emotion, she affirmed herself in the succeeding acts with charm and beauty of her voice, and the seizing tenderness of her intonation. She sang quite remarkably “Sur la mer calmes,” and also the Berceuse. Her success was decisive and mounted act by act.

– from an unidentified French publication. Translated and printed in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Page 26. January 2, 1932.

Despite her success on the stage in Paris, in 1932, Ululani stated that she was needed at home in Honolulu to take care of her husband, and thus made the decision to end her European career, having achieved the success she initially sought. She remained in Europe performing and exploring the continent with her husband until the latter half of 1933 when she began her journey home.

On Thanksgiving Day of 1933, the Hawaiian Nightingale returned to Honolulu with her husband aboard the Lurline. Friends and acquaintances gathered at the port to welcome the newly minted international star home, showering her with flowers and leis. While she had ended her European career, Ululani continued to make appearances in Hawaii and rumors of a contract with the Civic Opera of Chicago and offers from New York managers abounded, but none proved true or of any interest to Ululani.

Upon her return to Honolulu, Ululani brought with her three Siamese cats she adopted while in Paris. The trio, Handsome, Poupoulle, and Big Boy, captured headlines and even won awards in the first official Honolulu cat show in 1935.

Ululani, like Sembrich, was a lover of nature and animals. In a 1953 interview, Ululani said:

“I am a great animal lover and I was always bringing home stray kittens to be cared for or little puppies who had no home. But I am especially fond of kittens.”

- from “Island Hostess” in Paradise of the Pacific. February, 1953.

One of her first notable appearances upon her return to Honolulu was on an NBC live radio broadcast commemorating President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first year in office. Ululani was a featured soloist on this program. She performed a new composition by Charles E. King, dedicated to Mrs. Roosevelt, titled Makuahine O Ka Lahui.

Her debut with the Honolulu Symphony was initially scheduled for 1934, but was cancelled due to illness. Her debut with the Symphony finally came the next year when she appeared as a guest soloist, performing “Pleurez mes yeux” from Massenet’s Le Cid. Praise for her artistry was universal andthe only critique noted was “the aria was too short.” Ululani continued to appear in venues across the islands and was ubiquitous with Hawaiian musical life in Honolulu.

In 1936, Ululani was able to, once again, display her talents as both an operatic prima donna and a champion of the music and traditions of Hawaii. In March, she appeared in a Hawaiian pageant reenacting the High Chiefess Kapiolani’s defiance of the volcano goddess Pele. Ululani took the lead role as the High Chiefess and scored great success singing traditional Hawaiian songs and melodies.

About two weeks later, the Morning Music Club and the Honolulu Symphony announced that they would launch a joint production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Ululani reprising her signature role. This proved to be a highly anticipated musical event in Honolulu as it was the first time the opera would be staged in Hawaii. American Tenor Frank Colson, who performed under the stage name Aroldo Collini, was brought to Hawaii from Los Angeles to star aside Ululani as Lt. Pinkerton. The opening of the opera was delayed by a day due to illness. The next night, the production opened and proved to be the musical event of the season, earning generous plaudits from the press. This was the last time Ululani appeared in her signature role on the operatic stage.

“Outstanding in an evening of excellence was the lovely and meticulous singing of Mme. Ululani Robertson. Effective and convincing was her sympathetic portray of the fragile Japanese girl. Her singing was of a high order, her phrasing was that of an accomplished musician in full command of her role, and her high tones rang out with real splendor. Mme. Robertson was considerate of every meaning of her music, her sense of dramatic values is schooled as it is in thoughtful European teaching and direction. Butterfly delighted by approaching the music through intelligence. A broad vocal sweep was evident in Mme. Robertson’s singing and she shaded her songs according to the meaning of the words.”

— from "Local Opera is Hit with Mme. Robertson Star" by Edna B. Lawson. Honolulu Advertiser. May 15, 1936

Over the next decade, “Hawaii’s Songbird” gave recitals, hosted musicales, and quickly reentered the social circles of Honolulu, becoming involved with local clubs and social groups including the Morning Music Club, The Outdoor Circle, and the Civic Club. In 1938, she was elected President of the Morning Music Club and began publicly advocating for the preservation of the music and language of Hawaii through a Hawaiian School of Music and presenting entire programs featuring the songs of Hawaii. Ululani was also featured in a serial column in the Honolulu Advertiser titled, “How’s Your Hawaiian?”

In 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Ululani once again became involved in relief efforts. Following the devastation from the bombing, Ululani opened her home to several displaced families. Gayle Andersen, who was 15 at the time, was one of those displaced. In a 2017 article, Anderson recalled:

“‘I was let loose,’ reminisced Andersen about her short but memorable time at the house. ‘I could go anywhere I wanted to during the day. Mrs. Robertson didn’t care, so I played up and down both sides of the bank [of the stream], and the stepping stones were [just] slightly in the water, so you could go across.’ Andersen remembers the formal dinners she enjoyed in the company of Robertson and the host’s regal appearance. She recalled the host’s elegant muumuus, trailed over her arms as she walked down the stairs. Andersen also remembers admiring Robertson’s old opera costumes. ‘She wanted me to take home some clothes. I was fifteen, but I [even though I] only weighed 115 pounds, I couldn’t fit any of them. I was too big!’ exclaimed Andersen.”

— from “World War II Survivor Visits HBA High School” by Kayci Kumashiro in Eagle Eye. Honolulu. January 3, 2017

Similar to her efforts during World War I, Ululani organized performances for troops stationed in Hawaii during the second World War. Through her involvement with the Hawaiian Civic Club she raised funds for the Red Cross and organized events for the sale of war bonds. She also chaired benefit events for the Civic Club and served a term as President of the organization.

Near the end of the war, in July 1945, fellow Sembrich student Dusolina Giannini visited Oahu to sing for members of the armed services stationed on the island. Giannini and Robertson had studied together under Madame Sembrich in New York City, Lake Placid, and Lake George. It is no surprise that Ululani insisted on hosting Giannini for her stay and, in elegant fashion, threw a grand reception for her friend and fellow artist.

Following the war, Ululani performed less frequently, instead focusing on her involvement with social clubs and organizations. In 1946, she was named to the board of Public Parks and Recreation in Honolulu and played a large role in the beautification of the city.

It is also suspected that during this time, her husband’s health was in decline. In 1947, A.G.M. Robertson passed away, leaving his estate to Ululani.

In the final two decades of her life, Ululani rarely performed but stayed actively engaged in her community. In 1948, she remarried to Jan Jabulka, the managing editor of the Honolulu Advertiser. They held the event at Ululani’s home and her friends filled her home with flowers for the occasion. A small ceremony was held in the evening with the Nuuanu Valley as the backdrop.

In 1951, Jan Jabulka was named the Executive Director of the Hawaii Statehood Commission. The couple relocated to Washington D.C. and made their primary residence in the nation’s capital, working to secure statehood for the territory. Ululani anticipated that they would be away only three to four months. However, securing statehood for the Hawaiian Territory took nearly a decade. Reports of Ululani’s activities in Washington are scarce, but she does appear in attendance records for several events, occasionally singing by popular request. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union and the Jabulkas’ time in Washington DC came to a close.

Following Hawaii’s battle for statehood, the Ululani and her husband returned to Honolulu. Ululani was pleased to return to her Honolulu estate following nearly a decade living in apartments and hotels in Washington, DC. Ululani spent the 1960s as a socialite, presiding as a patroness of numerous club events. She passed away at her home in 1970 at the age of 80.

Following her death, Ululani’s estate home passed on to the heirs of her first husband and was eventually sold. The building still stands and is the administration building for the Hawaii Baptist Academy’s High School. Her second husband inherited her Tantalus mountain home and the rest of her estate. The majority of her belongings were sold at auction in 1971, aside from a few items that were bequeathed to family and friends. Her collection of ali’i jewelry was donated to the Bishop Museum and still remains in their collection. Honolulu’s Morning Music Club, of which Ululani was a dedicated member, established the Ululani Memorial Voice Competition, as a tribute to the late singer. A 1934 poem dedicated to the Hawaiian opera star by Maryjane Kulani F. Montano also appears in several publications:

Manu Memele (Original Hawaiian)

Hooheno i ka lai ehukai Lamalama po Mahealani Ko leo, e ka manu hulu Melemele Hoene malie i ka poli.

Mehe lehua pua kea a-la E haaheo maila i ka uka I po ke aha onaona Ko leo, e ka Manu Memele.

Yellow Bird (English Translation)

Bewitching the ocean spray’s fair clime, Brilliant as the full moon light, Your voice, O bird of yellow plumage Brings melody gently yo the breast

Like unti a pale yellow Lehua Proudly blooming at the uplands That pervadesits fragrant scent, Is your voice, O singing bird.

In 1980, following the death of Jan Jabulka, a gift of $1,000,000 was bequeathed to the Bishop Museum for the construction of a new open air entrance pavilion in honor of his late wife. The Jabulka Pavilion was completed in 1982 and continues to serve as the main entrance to the museum.

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simonh · 4 months ago

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flickr

Health of the Spirit by National Library of Medicine Via Flickr: Series Title(s): NIH director's Wednesday afternoon lecture series Contributor(s): Alexander, Jane, 1939- National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Medical Arts and Photography Branch. Publication: [Bethesda, Md. : Medical Arts and Photography Branch, National Institutes of Health, 1994] Language(s): English Format: Still image Subject(s): Sensory Art Therapies Genre(s): Posters Abstract: Poster in shades of gray and black with a central portion showing the double helix in purple, green, and orange against a black background. The bottom portion of the poster shows silhouettes of people in the process of singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, painting, and sculpting. Extent: 1 photomechanical print (poster) : 84 x 54cm. Technique: color NLM Unique ID: 101456157 NLM Image ID: C02922 Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101456157

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alexandersahm · 11 months ago

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BUDDHA APP SAYS II VR VERSION : THE DEVINE AND THE DEVICE 2017, Music, performance, virtual reality, 240 min Live sound: Alexander Sahm / Concept: allapopp / performance: allapopp, Alexander Sahm, Anja Arncken, Deike Schwarz, Dominik Keggenhoff, Max Barthel / room installation: Sabine Born / Unity VR: Dominik Keggenhoff Buddha App Says is a research project inspired by references to digitally enabled and web distributed tools for spiritual development and mind enhancement sound techniques such as brainwave music. Durational performance invites the spectator to visit the Techno-Spiritual Center for Technospirituality. With an aim of recruiting new members, the Center opens the doors to visitors. Audience is invited to participate rituals like Iphone Yoga, Selfie Exercise, Legend Reading sessions, joint singing or to listen to a preaching by Alla’s computer synthesized voice and Alex’ mind enhancing live music. Personally assisting Admins of the Center decide when a candidate is “ready”, after what they are invited to visit the The World of Techno-Spirits, accessible via VR Glasses. During the visit Superfoods are offered.

#projects #buddha app says

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betteratbeing · 1 year ago

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How to learn the Alexander Technique | Alexander technique singing

The first concern when setting out on how to learn the Alexander Technique is to find a teacher near you who can give you in-person, hands-on lessons. Read up, get acquainted and make sure you feel confident in the training and character of your teacher, and that you feel comfortable spending time together. The relationship is an important part of the work. You will be taking a journey together, and good companionship will count for a lot of the work’s success.

With this established, as lessons commence, you can rely upon the teacher to convey the basic concepts of AT via verbal instruction and impart the crucial experience of utilizing AT skills via guiding touch, leading you through the process and accompanying you all the way as an active, ever-present partner.

Whatever you may have seen advertised to the contrary, you cannot expect to learn the Alexander Technique effectively via online lessons. You can learn Abou Alexander Technique online from reliable sources, but the experiential endeavor of gaining a real understanding of AT, and incorporating it into your life, takes place in your actual, physical self, in relationship to your real surroundings, under the guidance of your teacher’s hands.

Get More Info : Voice and the alexander technique

Websites : https://betteratbeing.com/

#Alexander Technique Voice #Alexander Technique Classes Manhattan NY #Alexander technique Teacher in Manhattan NY #Healthy Aging with Alexander technique #Alexander technique singing #Voice and the alexander technique

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zappak · 1 year ago

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p.o.p. (psychology of perception) [Alien Stewardess]

Release date: February 01, 2024 Catalog no. zappak-008

[Tracklist]

[Disc 1]

celestial cabaret [09:55]

cosmic concierge [26:27]

intangible vibrations [30:41]

[Disc 2]

galactic grace [20:06]

transdimensional melodies [20:42]

Excerpt: https://soundcloud.com/zappak/zappak-008-1 https://soundcloud.com/zappak/zappak-008-2

Cello: Nora Krahl Electric bass: Hannes Strobl French horn: Elena Kakaliagou Piano: Reinhold Friedl

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Hannes Strobl in 2023.

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p.o.p. (psychology of perception) is the acronym of the Berliner group by Reinhold Friedl (piano), Elena Kakaliagou (French horn), Nora Krahl (cello), and Hannes Strobl (electric bass) stands for. “Alien Stewardess”, their third album, remains true to the subject, focusing on perceptual psychology and kinetic memory. “Alien Stewardess” is building on and deepening the research topics of the earlier releases: repetition and difference, like tapestry and woven carpet: patterns of similarity, rhythmic twists and varied timbres ("Täbriz", Monotype Records / 2013), and the exploration of sound architecture and the Japanese art of flower arrangement, selectively gathered materials in ever-changing combinations on "Ikebana" (FMR / 2016). “Alien Stewardess” concentrates on the question: What do the musicians' bodies know? Four individual musicians, each with his/her own sound and body memory, create a network of interferences and thus a multiplication of the sonic-kinetic perspectives: sensual, three-dimensional, organic. Let yourself be guided by the alien stewardess in and out of time and space! Enjoy the journey…

p.o.p.(psychology of perception/知覚心理学)はベルリン在住のReinhold Friedl(ピアノ)、Elena Kakaliagou(フレンチ・ホルン)、Nora Krahl(チェロ)、Hannes Strobl(エレクトリックベース)によるグループ。彼らの3つ目の作品[Alien Stewardess]は彼らの主題に忠実であり続け、知覚心理学と運動記憶に着目し、これまで作品での研究トピックにもとづいて構成され、さらに深められている。タペストリーや織絨毯(類似性のパターン、リズミカルなひねり、そして多様な音色)のような反復と差異による[Täbriz] (Monotype Records / 2013)、そしてサウンド・アーキテクチャーと日本の華道芸術の探究(常に変化する組み合わせで選択的に収集された素材)による[Ikebana] (FMR / 2016)。 [Alien Stewardess]では以下の問いに着目している。それは、演奏家の身体は何を知っているのか、というもの。4名それぞれの演奏家自身のサウンドや身体記憶は干渉のネットワークを作成し、それによって官能的、三次元的、有機的な音の運動学的視点の掛け算をおこなうというもの。それでは宇宙人のスチュワーデスによるガイドに身をゆだねて、時間と空間の内外を行き交いましょう！素敵な旅をお楽しみください…。

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p.o.p. (psychology of perception) members;

Reinhold Friedl

(Photo by Olya Gluschenko)

Reinhold Friedl, born 1964 in Badeo-Badeo, Germany, is an influential figure io experimental music, a pioneer of new physical sound qualities ranging from precise sensuality to noisy harshness: his Inside-Piano taught the instrument to sing, his internationally acclaimed ensemble zeitkratzer opened up new horizons for ensemble playing, from Xenakis to Lou Reed, from folk music to Stockhausen, not to mention young (non-academic) composers and numerous transdisciplinary collaborations including film projects. Reinhold Friedl's compositions go one better: orgies of sound for orchestra, noise choreographies for string quartet, recorded by Quatueur Diotima, extended techniques worthy of the name turning the solo piano into an orchestra. Friedl studied mathematics, composition (Mario Bertoncini and Witold Szalonek) and piano (Renate Werner, Alan Marks, Alexander von Schlippenbach) and released more than hundred CDs and vinyls. He holds a PHD from Goldsmiths University London and got commissions from international festivals as Wiener Festwochen, BBC London, the French state, Berliner Festspiele, ZKM, etc. and published numerous articles and radio features on electronic music. Touring worldwide. www.reinhold-friedl.de

Nora Krahl

Nora Krahl is literally all over the place: She lives in different parts of the country simultaneously, she plays cello, composes, improvises with electronics, with VR Glasses and motion tracking suits. And she also is a director for experimental contemporary opera. Her abundance of ideas forms the foundation for her art and improvisational music, characterized by multilayered textures and structures. Nora has performed throughout Europe, Middle East, Asia and in the USA with ensembles as Ensemble Resonanz, the Octopus, Reflexion K, Zeitkratzer or She She Pop. Nora premiered her pieces for music and theatre in Cloud City (NYC), Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin) or Depot Gallery (Istanbul). Nora also loves Theater and worked as a cellist at Schauspielhaus Köln, Deutsches Schauspielhaus and Columbia University New York. She was awarded numerous scholarships and attended artist residencies in Istanbul, New York City and Basel. Ms. Krahl holds a German music diploma from the Folkwang University of the Arts and a Master io Opera directing from Hanns Eisler School of music Berlin. norakrahl.de

Hannes Strobl

Hannes Strobl is a bassist, composer and sound artist based in Berlin. An essential starting point of his music is the sonic potential of the electric bass guitar and the electric double bass. Hannes Strobl expands their characteristic repertoire of expression by using special playing techniques in combination with live electronics. In recent years, Strobl's interest in the instrument and his compositional work has increasingly focused on musical forms of expression against the background of urban sound space, as well as on installations whose starting point is the relationship between sound and architectural space Works io various audio and audiovisual fields, such as electronica, sound installations and music for video and performances. hannesstrobl.de

Elena Kakaliagou

(Photo by Cristina Marx)

Elena Kakaliagou, born in 1979, is a Greek-Austrian French-horn player and performer living in Berlin. Αfter her studies io classical music io Greece, Austria and Finland, and inspired by new, folk and experimental music, Elena developed her own language on the French-horn; lyrical and mellow, angry as a wild animal or a stormy sea, calm as the wind or the soft rain. Elena can be heard on more than 20 musical albums, among others the onces of her duo Nabelóse, her trio Zinc & Copper, a solo, and plenty of collaborations of free, experimental, composed and new music. She is an active member of the free improv scene of Berlin and plays with zeitkratzer and Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble, next to various new music ensembles. For infos about past and current collaborations, concerts, venues, festivals and stage performances of Elena, please visit her website to figure out more. www.elenakakaliagou.com

【Review】

Vital Weekly: p.o.p. (psychology of perception) is preferred in lowercase; I am not sure why you would write between brackets what p.o.p. stands for. Why not use one or the other but not both simultaneously? This is the CD that is not by Japanese musicians, and also to have more than two pieces of music, and is a double CD. I reviewed their ‘Tabriz’ CD in Vital Weekly 888 when p.o.p. was a duo of Reinhold Friedl (piano) and Hannes Strobl (electric bass). With their second release, ‘Ikebana’ (not reviewed in Vital Weekly), they were a quartet, adding Nara Krahl (cello) and Elena Kakaliagou (French horn). The information says, “Alien Stewardess”, concentrates on the question: What do the musicians’ bodies know? Four individual musicians, each with his/her own sound and body memory, create a network of interferences and thus a multiplication of the sonic-kinetic perspectives: sensual, three-dimensional, and organic. Let yourself be guided by the alien stewardess in and out of time and space! Enjoy the journey…” This is the sort of text that is too cryptic for me. It reads well, but what does it mean? As with the previous Zappak release, this is all very nicely improvised, albeit of a much different kind, but two discs spanning some 150 minutes of music is a bit much. In their common approach, they like their sounds to be close together, like an acoustic (almost, that is) drone, out of which small sounds pop (pun intended) up. Because their pieces are long, twenty to thirty minutes (except the first ten minutes), playing this music must sometimes be an endurance test, with full-on concentration. Each piece is like a massive and dense cloud; if you look closely, you’ll see the more minor changes. Maybe there is some chaos, too; if you listen closely, it seems as if not much of this makes much sense, and at the same time, there is that tranquil feeling, almost spacious music. Maybe it’s not strange to think of this music as a fruitful meeting of improvisation and modern composition. Great release, but very long. (Reviewed by Frans de Waard)

taz: Neue Musik aus Berlin: :Dunkle Materie, helle Signale Mit Radiovibes und Spieluhr in Richtung Zukunft: „Alien Stewardess“, das neue Album des experimentellen Ensemles P. O. P., ist ein Weckruf im Weltall.

Vom Webstuhl in das Weltall über den Wiesenklee, so ungefähr könnte man die Laufbahn von P.O.P. umreißen. Auf dem zwischen 2008 und 2013 entstandenen Debütalbum „Täbriz“ bezog sich das experimentelle Ensemble, damals ein Trio aus Reinhold Friedl (Piano), Hannes Strobl (Bass) und Hayden Chisholm (Altosaxophon), auf die Strukturen iranischer Teppiche. 2016 erschien „Ikebana“. Aus P.O.P. war ein Quartett geworden: Nora Krahl (Cello), Elena Kakaliagou (Waldhorn und Stimme), Strobl und Friedl spielten von der japanischen Kunst des Blumensteckens inspiriert. Für „Alien Stewardess“ sind sie unter die Sterngucker gegangen.

Die Doppel-CD umfasst fünf Kompositionen. „Celestial Cabaret“, mit zehn Minuten die kürzeste, macht den Anfang: Dunkle Materie, helle Signale, nach fünf Minuten setzt eine Spieluhrmelodie ein. P.O.P. gönnen sich auf dem Album mehrmals kurze, liedhafte Momente.

„Cosmic Concierge“ klingt in etwa wie die Radiostation, welche die kosmische Hausmeisterin auf Nachtschicht hört. „Intangible Vibrations“, eine ganze halbe Stunde, beginnt mit einem Hab-acht-Moment aus schrillem Piano-Interieur und dunklem Horn. P.O.P. ist ein Ensemble kühner Nuancen. „Galactic Grace“ könnte die große Ruhe nach dem Sternensturm sein; „Transdimensional Melodies“ entpuppt sich als Symphonie mit dem Paukenschlag, nur kommt der Weckruf vom Cello.

Dass jeder Titel auf „Alien Stewardess“ sich wie eine Krautrock-Hommage liest, kann sowenig Zufall sein, wie der Name des Quartetts: P.O.P. steht für Psychology of Perception. Wahrnehmungslehre trifft gut, worum es hier geht. (Reviewed by Robert Miessne)

Salt Peanuts: Alien Stewardess expands and distills p.o.p.’s focus on perceptual psychology and kinetic memory, and asks what the musicians’ bodies know. The quartet searches for labyrinthian, «transdimensional» sonic architectures that rely on subtle and elusive repetitions, idiosyncratic sonic-kinetic perspectives and some disturbing interferences, with brief melodic segments. p.o.p. weaves patiently and methodically these minimalist, almost ethereal architectures like a carpet, with delicate patterns of similarity and swift, rhythmic twists, and great focus on varied timbres, using an imaginative array of extended techniques. It sounds organic but very strange yet, surprisingly, sensual. Like being guided on a mysterious journey by a friendly alien stewardess. (Reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni)

Field Notes: Elena Kakaliagou (French horn), Hannes Strobl (electric bass), Nora Krahl (cello) and Reinhold Friedl (piano) are p.o.p., short for Psychology of Perception, and the album with the pleasantly enigmatic title »Alien Stewardess« for the Japanese label Zappak is only their third in just over a decade. The long wait since »Ikebana« from 2017 and the improv trio's rather sporadic appearances together is made up for by its running time, however: the shortest of the five tracks is ten minutes long, the longest just under 30 and the others clock in at over 20 minutes each. This can be explained by the fact that the four musicians take their project’s name seriously and allow their different perceptual mechanisms to intertwine. Their play is one of constant processing of and reaction to that of the other members, formulated less as answers than as questions: What is this doing to me, to you, to us? (Reviewed by Kristoffer Cornils)

SilenceAndSound: Le quatuor p.o.p (psychology of perception) constitué de Nora Krahl (violoncelle), Hannes Strobl (basse), Elena Kakaliagou (cor d’harmonie) et Reinhold Friedl (piano), compose une musique de croisements et de variations superposées. Alien Stewardess combine l’art de l’étrangeté pour brouiller les interférences constantes qui viennent perturber avec subtilité, la combinaison créatrice des quatre artistes. Les pistes sont un terrain de jeu, où les instruments s’évadent de leur vocation première, pour se transformer en formes singulières, avalanche de péripéties spectrales et d’ombres projetées sur des canevas de couleurs indéfinissables. p.o.p. (psychology of perception) accumule les directions sans chercher à s’éloigner d’une certaine fantaisie grimaçante aux allures hantées. Ici tout est jeu d’ombres, de grincements et de flottements, de temps étirés et de perte de repères. Fascinant. (Reviewed by Roland Torres)

Westzeit: Das dritte Album der Berliner "impro-supergroup" P.O.P. (PSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION) heißt sehr treffend "Alien Stewardess" (Zappak) und erscheint auf dem dritten Label, auf Monotype (Täbriz von 2013) und FMP (Ikebana 2016) folgt nun die japanische Plattform Zappak - Nora Krahl (clo), Hannes Strobl (el.b), Elena Kakaliagou (frh) und Reinhold Friedl (p) verteilen ihre Gaben weitläufig. Was mich an dem auf 2 CDs verteilten 5-Viertelstunden-Monster besonders beeindruckt ist die klangliche und konzeptionelle Dichte, die die Vier mit vergleichsweise einfachen Mitteln erzeugen. Neben hallendem StörSpannungsKnuspern schweben da eigenartig geflochtene CelloSounds zu PianoPräparaten und Kakaliagous unverwechselbaren HornKnurren durch die Gehörgänge. Für den vollen immersiven Genuß erfordert das Ganze allerdings auch ein wenig Konzentration und Kontemplation. 5

#Bandcamp

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