Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Born in 1892, Giorgio Federico Ghedini was among those Italian composers - like Martucci and Casella - who elected to devote most of their energies to music for the concert hall rather than the stage. Initially writing in a relatively conservative neoclassical idiom, Ghedini began to take his place in the front rank of modern Italian composers during the late 1930s, with a terse, boldly sculptured series of 'edifici sonori' (as the composer called them), in which Stravinsky's influence is unmistakable. After the war his style continued to evolve through engagement with the concerto genre and the concerto grosso ensemble with it's roots in the Italian Baroque. The private, reflective, plaintive characters of both solo instruments are well matched to Ghedini's idiom by this point in his career. Dating from 1953, the Musica da concerto for viola and string orchestra is cast in a single span which disguises a traditional fast-slow-fast arch, though the viola's powerful presence frequently draws the pulse of the music away from convention and into earnest dialogue with the strings. Neoclassical counterpoint briefly surfaces near the beginning of the final section, but otherwise the Musica da concerto is remarkable for it's sustained lyric intensity around the soloist's almost ubiquitous presence. Composed in 1962, the Musica concertante for cello and string orchestra is emphatically late music - Ghedini died three years later - which has attained a measure of serenity compared to the earlier viola work. Here the string orchestra and soloist engage in overlapping waves of melody and rhapsody, rising and falling across a continuous 16-minute span, comparable to but distinct from contemporary concertante works by Henze and William Schuman. These valuable and underrated mid-century concertos are intriguingly separated by Hindemith's condensed set of Op.44 pieces for string orc

Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian has travelled far and wide, as an international opera star and an Armenian who was born in Lebanon, immigrated to Canada, and is now settled in southern California. Her life is a journey that informs her new recording, La Zingarella Through Romany Songland. InchThe music transcends geography,Inch she says. InchIt taps into human nature and unites us all. It's about freedom of the spirit, about living life without knowing what tomorrow holds. It's about enjoying every single minute.Inch Isabel embarked on an album of art songs that draw on gypsy melodies - Brahms' Zigeunerlieder, Dvorák's Cigánské Melodie, Bizet's Habanera - but her journey led to a wealth of recherché gems. The title track by French composer Maurice Yvain commingles with fellow-operetta composers Franz Lehár ('Lied und Csárdás' from Zigeunerliebe), Emmerich Kálmán ('Heia, heia, in den Bergen' from The Csárdás Princess) and Victor Herbert (Gypsy Love Song from The Fortune Teller). Two South American Gypsy Songs by American folk song collector Henry F.B. Gilbert set words by ethnomusicologist Laura Alexandrine Smith, whose authoritative book lends the album it's subtitle. The ever-adventurous Isabel commissioned new arrangements for the songs on this album, with violin, viola, cello, and piano lending a laser beam lucidity to the music that Inchhas a lot of fire in it,Inch she says with a glint in her eye.

Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl. Like so many coming-of-age stories that leave a long-lasting impact, Momma's new album Welcome to My Blue Sky takes place during a charmed and turbulent summer-a transformative moment in time that co-founders Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten sum up as a period of Inchparallel chaos.Inch Over the course of 12 immaculately composed yet immediately potent songs, the Brooklyn-based band's fourth LP documents all the life-altering upheaval the two singer/songwriter/guitarists experienced during a whirlwind mid-2022 tour, infusing each track with both unsparing self-awareness and immense sensitivity. Equal parts shared memoir, communal outpouring, and infinitely riveting emotional travelogue, the result is a bold leap forward for one of the most creatively uncompromising and truly singular voices in indie-rock.Produced by their bandmate Aron Kobayashi Ritch (a multi-instrumentalist/engineer), Welcome to My Blue Sky marks the follow-up to Household Name-a 2022 that earned acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music, and Rolling Stone (including landing on Rob Sheffield's InchTop 20 Albums of 2022Inch list). With the help of drummer Preston Fulks, Momma arrived at an album matching the raw urgency of rock with the exquisitely sticky melodies and taut arrangements of pop-a dynamic born from their deepened commitment to finding the most direct vessel for their emotional expression.Momma has generated over 50M catalog streams to date and has performed with seminal bands like Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie, Pavement, Alex G, and Wet Leg, as well as major festival appearances such as Coachella 2023.