Recordings Of Bob Scherman: Singles From Skylark - Recordings Of Bob Scherman: Singles From Skylark, - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

After a pilgrimage to Rocamadour I had the idea of composing a clandestine work which could be prepared in secret and then performed on the long-awaited day of liberation. With great enthusiasm I began Figure Humaine and completed it by the end of the summer. I composed the work for unaccompanied choir because I wanted this act of faith to be performed without instrumental aid, by sole means of the human voice. -Francis PoulencInchThe day the Americans arrived, I triumphantly placed my cantata on the studio desk, beneath my flag, at the window.Inch-Francis PoulencInchFrancis, I never heard myself. Francis, I needed you to understand me.Inch-Paul eluardI believe that great art is often the product of great difficulty and tribulation, in many cases for the artist themselves. I also think art borne out of a time of societal turmoil can be even more profound, and can shed light today on what it was like to live and endure through tragedies of the past.Figure Humaine is one of the ultimate artistic achievements from a time of turmoil. Composed by Francis Poulenc in 1943 in occupied France, it was composed in secret, inspired by the resistance poems of the surrealist poet Paul eluard (poems that were distributed under plain cover during the occupation). It is one of the most profound pieces in the a cappella choral repertoire, if also one of the most difficult. Scored for double choir in six parts each, it is a vocal gauntlet which requires unmatched concentration and musicianship from every singer involved to mount a successful performance. Given that the piece was written at a time when victory was by no means assured, I believe that the difficulty of the work was intentional; to be worthy of the expressive task of communicating eluard's wartime thoughts, I think Poulenc believed that a choir must possess outstanding commitment, dedication, and skill.Because of it's chall

Davy Graham is recognized as an early influential figure on the 1960s British folk scene, where he inspired many famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar such as Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, John Martyn and indeed Jimmy Page. Not one to be categorised Graham could be seen as a true world music artist covering the genres of folk, blues and jazz. He also popularized DADGAD tuning, later widely adopted by many acoustic guitarists. Released in 1969 Davy noted that the fourteen selections on InchHatInch were intended to please 'not only blues and folk fans but all those of the new breed who are just taking up modern music'. Recorded with double bassist Danny Thompson of Pentangle, whose long career included years with Richard Thompson and John Martyn, the record features a couple classical finger-busters, two Muddy Waters' numbers (both actually written by Willie Dixon), two by Paul Simon (a good friend of his at the time), along with some of his 'pop' and jazz favourites of the day. Remastered, with liner notes by David Fricke.

Bob Gluck compositions are exquisitely performed by saxophonist Andrew Sterman and Bob Gluck himself on piano and electronic keyboards. Based on Jewish traditional music and chanting.