The Hammer of Fate

Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemia in 1860. His musical talent was recognized early, and at the age of 18, he began his career as a conductor. Like the 20th-century conductor Leonard Bernstein, Mahler was also a composer, but had to focus most of his energy and time on his primary source of income – conducting.

Fate began dealing blows to Mahler early in his life. At key moments in his life, family members died, including two of his brothers; the youngest – Otto – by suicide. Mahler struggled against antisemitism most of his life, and even converted to Catholicism in order to secure a post as a Kapellmeister in Vienna in 1897. Ironically, this did little to quell the antisemitic attacks which continued throughout his life. Mahler's own health was poor, and in 1907, shortly after the death of his young daughter Maria from diphtheria, Mahler was diagnosed with an incurable heart condition; he died of a related infection in 1911.

Mahler did not have a huge compositional output. He completed nine symphonies and was at work on a tenth when he died. Like many restless composers, he continually revised and re-revised his works throughout his life.

One of the most unique of Mahler's symphonies is the Sixth, which has sometimes been called "The Tragic." This is a huge, rich composition in four movements. While the nominal key of the composition is A minor, there is frequent shifting from major to minor sonorities. Similarly, the textures shift from light to heavy, and from joy to grief throughout the symphony.

It is in the last of the four movements that Mahler lays bare his soul and his feelings about the blows fate has dealt him in his life. To make those blows explicit in a musical way, Mahler added a unique percussion part to the score, which was marked simply as, "Hammer." This, he wrote, should be "brief and mighty, but dull in resonance and with a non-metallic character (like the fall of an axe)."

The hammer in Mahler's sixth. Markings by L. Bernstein.

The hammer blows fall at just three places in the Finale. Mahler later removed the third, instead letting the music build and build, culminating in stark silence to represent the final blow.

But how to make such a sound? It is known that in Mahler's lifetime, he was never really satisfied with any of the contraptions invented to try to fulfill his wishes. To this day, orchestras struggle with how to create Mahler's "Hammer of Fate." Some orchestras use a large wooden box, struck with a hefty wooden maul. Others combine a large bass drum with other percussion devices to simulate the sound. It's the orchestral equivalent of cranking the amps up to "11" – the hammer blows should be felt in the chest, and should startle and thrill the listener.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra's hammer

I love watching symphonies perform the final movement. I wait with anticipation for the hammer blows, and delight in seeing a percussionist raise the huge mallet high above his or her head just before the triple-forte quarter-notes in the score.

Here is an excerpt from the Finale, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink. The first hammer blow is at about 3:07:

There are a number of performances of Mahler's Sixth Symphony available online. I highly recommend you seek out full recordings of all four movements.

More Bass!!!

Ok, here's a band I can really relate to:

Found at Boing Boing

Five-octave thumb piano

The thumb piano, or mbira, is a musical instrument of African origin. It generally consists of a small wooden box which can be easily held in the hands to which metal tines of various lengths have been attached. A musician generally holds the mbira with both hands and plucks the tines with his or her thumbs.

There are many variants on the mbira, mostly produced by local craftsmen in the villages and townships. The instrument started being heard more outside of Africa in the 1970s (I think I still have one up in the attic somewhere).

Of course, anything can be taken to an extreme, and so I present, the five-octave thumb piano:

3D Ball Music Machine

I really like contraptions, and this one (even though it doesn't really exist) made me smile:

See all of Animusic's imaginative videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimusicLLC

UPDATE:It appears that someone at Intel was inspired sufficiently to build a real-world version:

Story Time: Peggy DeCastro

How about a little change of pace? Here's a story from my own musical career.

In the mid-1970s, I was hired to play bass on a tour with Peggy DeCastro. Peggy was one of the famous DeCastro Sisters, who'd had a huge hit in 1954 with the song Teach Me Tonight. Peggy was very extroverted, so she took the role of the clown in the group. She eventually split from the group to go solo.

Peggy was a delight to work with, and was a real character. Her stage persona was a sort of Cuban version of Carmen Miranda (who was in fact, an early mentor of the DeCastro Sisters), full of cutely misunderstood or mis-pronounced words, often with a naughty double entendre. I have thought that the later-generation performer Charo must have copied at least some of Peggy's act, as well as a lot of Carmen's. To be fair, I do think Peggy sincerely had trouble with some English lyrics, particularly if they didn't make sense to her. For example, the song The Way We Were, includes the lines:

Memories 

light the corners of my mind

misty watercolor memories...

With Peggy singing, this generally came out:

Memories

like the corners on my brain

missing colored watered memories...

Peggy was chronically late. For everything. It was just in her nature. Once, Bobby Darin had told her that the trick to being on time was to set her watch ahead fifteen minutes, so that when you think it's 8:00 and time to go onstage, and you're still putting on your makeup, it's really 7:45. Well, Peggy decided that if fifteen minutes worked for most people, she'd need to set her watch ahead by a full hour, because she was usually an hour or so late for things. And that's what she did. If it was 7:00, Peggy's watch said 8:00. The problem was, since she knew she'd set her watch ahead, she then mentally subtracted the hour. Many times, she'd look at her watch and say something like, “Ooh, looka the time! Eet's nine-fifteen already, which is really eight-fifteen. We gotta get movin'!” So, she was still always late.

We traveled the hotel/lounge circuit around the western U.S., and everywhere we went, people loved Peggy. She was open and loving with her band (her son played guitar in the group, too), and she regaled us with stories of the old days in Las Vegas (Peggy suggested to Bobby Darin that he record Mack the Knife, which at the time he considered to be just a novelty tune to fill out his nightclub act), being on Your Hit Parade with “Schnooky Lansing,” performing in the movie “Casablanca” with Carmen Miranda and Groucho Marx, and all about show-biz as it was back then. Apparently her sisters Cherie and Babette had eventually married fans and settled down to live the good life, while Peggy married her manager and worked every day for the rest of her life. She seemed to thrive on it, though.

It was with great sadness that I read of the death of Peggy in 2004 at age 82. I've worked with many singers and musicians in my career, but few that I remember with such fondness.

The Wikipedia entry for the  DeCastro Sisters is pretty accurate.

“Teach Me Tonight” on YouTube (audio only): http://youtu.be/9KiO42i7uVM


Here's a "soundie" of the tune Sun Sun Babae with Peggy doing some of her classic mugging and clowning:

Locals Only

One of the things I love about Portland and the Pacific Northwest is the abundance and variety of talented musical artists that call this place home (at least until they get successful and move away. Sigh.). This month I want to share some of my favorite local artists with you. Please check their websites and videos, and try to see them live if you can!

A few months ago, Eugene-area Mensan Ted (Theo) Czuk sent me a copy of his new CD, titled The Gamut. Ted is a very talented multi-instrumentalist and poet, and his new CD really showcases Ted's mastery of  many musical genres. Check out his website: http://www.tedczuk.com/ and get on his mailing list for opportunities to hear him live!

Closer to home, you have probably noticed—as I have—ads in the Omen for performances by the Bach Cantata Choir, which has two Mensa members—Mary Forst and Barbara Lance. This group has a very interesting and ambitious mission: "to sing the entire set of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach over a period of 20 years." I'm looking forward to an opportunity to attend one of their concerts at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in the near future. More details and schedule at:
http://www.bachcantatachoir.org/.

One of the most exciting bands to come out of Portland in the past few years is the trio Gossip. They have a tight drums-and-bass sound, which they augment for live performances with guitar and keyboard. Singer Beth Ditto is a total delight to watch; she's powerful, sexy, and a total original. Sometimes I think she is simultaneously channeling Dolly Parton and Divine. You must watch at least a few of their videos at http://www.gossipyouth.com

Here's Gossip's video of "Pop Goes the World." Gotta love the sparkly skull epaulets:




The cello was my first instrument, so—as you might imagine—I have great affection for Portland Cello Project. I think we own all of their CDs, and they are always coming up with interesting music from many sources.  Check their website for videos and live performance schedule: https://portlandcelloproject.com/

Here's a lovely video featuring music by the Portland Cello Project:



Jazz fans already know the name and voice of Portlander Nancy King. If you only know her from her recordings, you owe it to yourself to hear her live. She has a web page at http://www.jazzvox.com/nancyking/. Frequently backing Nancy King is trumpeter, singer, and harmonica player Robert Moore. I've had the pleasure of jamming with Robert a number of times and I can tell you that he is the real deal. He has a soulful, expressive singing voice, and he's also a top-tier jazz instrumentalist. Get on  his mailing list by going to: http://romomusic.net/. I consider both of these artists to be true treasures of the Portland jazz scene.

Here's Nancy King with Steve Christofferson doing Zanzibar by Dave Frishberg (who, by the way, is yet another Portland treasure):



Singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding  has moved beyond the hype surrounding her "Best New Artist" Grammy award (yes, kiddies, there actually is someone better than Beiber) and is proving that she is talented, soulful, original, and evolving as an artist. Her last two CDs—Chamber Music Society  and Radio Music Society showcase the depth of her talent. And she has an afro to die for. http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/

Here's Essie doing one of her new tunes (and not playing upright bass quite so much any more):




What is in the water here that is making young women want to play the bass and sing? Kate Davis is a delightful young performer who is currently studying in NYC. She has a sweet, unaffected voice that sometimes reminds me of Blossom Dearie. http://www.katedavismusic.com/

Here's dear little Kate walking her tail off on the jazz standard Just One of Those Things. If playing those fast walking lines on the string bass looks hard, let me assure you -- it is. If you're thinking it must cause blisters -- yes, it does:

The Global Jukebox

You may not know the name of Alan Lomax, but you have heard echoes of his work all your life. And now one of his greatest dreams is coming true – too late for him to see it himself, but for all the world to enjoy.

In the mid-1930s, Alan Lomax joined his father, John Lomax, in what was to become his lifelong quest to record, film, photograph, and catalog the folk music of the world, and especially of the United States. In 1937 he landed a gig at the the Library of Congress as the Archivist of Folk Songs. From this position he was able to travel and collect field recordings and interviews with American folk artists whose work might have been forgotten but for his efforts – people like Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters and countless others.

The folk and blues revival in the United States in 1950s and 1960s, and the parallel emergence of the 'skiffle' musical style in England drew heavily on the material collected by Lomax, and led pretty directly to the rock revolution in both countries. Alan Lomax, the father of rock 'n' roll!

Here's one of my favorite music stories of all time: On October 25, 1937, Lomax recorded a Kentucky fiddler named William H. Stepp playing a tune called "Bonaparte's Retreat". In 1939, Ruth Crawford Seeger (stepmother of Pete Seeger) transcribed the tune faithfully for a folk music publication, which came out in 1942, just as Aaron Copland was casting about for American folk melodies to include in the ballet "Rodeo". Copland lifted "Bonaparte's Retreat" nearly note-for-note to become the "Hoedown" theme in "Rodeo" (and that 'Beef – it's what's for dinner' ad you've heard a thousand times).

By some accounts, the Lomax collection amounts to over 5,000 hours of audio recordings in various formats, at least 400,000 feet of film, thousands of videotapes and photographs, and countless volumes of written material.

Lomax died in 2002. He dreamed (long before the internet) of creating something he called "the Global Jukebox" to make his collection available to everyone. His dream is finally coming true. The Association for Cultural Equity (ACE) is custodian of the Alan Lomax Archive, and has as its mission the publication, dissemination, and repatriation of the material in the collection. They have also fought for royalties due the original artists or their families.

Check out some of the incredible Alan Lomax Archives at the ACE website: http://www.culturalequity.org/.

While we are in a folkie mood, June sends us a link to a great new streaming website called Folk Alley that shows us how the seeds planted by Alan Lomax have grown, cross-pollinated, and borne new fruit in generation after generation: http://www.folkalley.com/

Please let your bootheels wander over to the Musical Shares Blog: http://omen-musical-shares.blogspot.com/, and leave comments if you like (of if you don't), and share your own favorite musical stories, web links, etc.

Japanese beatboxer Aibo

I'm not a huge fan of the musical form known as beatboxing, but this is pretty awesome:

Josh Ritter's "Love Is Making Its Way Back Home"

Here is a very sweet video, done in a remarkably low-tech style:



For a little more background on the making of this video, go to the original article on the Atlantic's website.

Shared by June

Wolfgang

On January 8, 1931, Wolodia Grajonca was born in Berlin. His father died two days later. His family and friends called him Wolfgang. It was not a particularly good time to be a Jewish boy in Germany. After Kristallnacht, his mother sent Wolfgang to an orphanage to protect him. As the Nazis grew stronger and advanced, he was sent first to France, then to Casablanca, then to Dakar, and finally, to New York City, sleeping on the deck of an ocean liner for nearly three weeks. On the streets of New York City he worked hard to learn English and exchanged his German accent for a perfect New York accent. He also learned to hustle, to work the angles – he became the cliché of "street smart."

Young Wolfgang Grajonca found that Americans didn't much care for the name "Wolfgang" and couldn't pronounce "Grajonca." More or less at random, he changed his first name to "Bill" and picked the name "Graham" out of the phone book because it was close to "Grajonca" alphabetically.

After a stint in the army during the Korean War, Bill Graham drifted from job to job and back and forth between New York and California. He tried acting, but when he became the business manager for the San Francisco Mime Troupe, he started on the path that would shape not only his own life , but those of a generation of musicians and performers.

When the Mime Troupe was busted for "obscenity", Bill put on a fund-raiser for their defense, featuring performers like Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Fugs, Allen Ginsberg, and Jefferson Airplane. This went so well that Bill did another fund-raiser for the Troupe, then started putting together more and bigger concerts at other venues, eventually owning the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. You hadn't really made it as a rock artist until you played the Fillmore. And they all did, from the Beach Boys to Frank Zappa and everyone in between. He treated the performers with respect – sometimes more than they deserved – and treated his concertgoers as valued guests.

Graham also gained a reputation as a fierce competitor, employing strong-arm tactics and engaging in business practices that bordered on monopolistic.

A classic Fillmore concert poster

Graham always insisted on having top-quality sound and lighting for his concerts. He hired budding psychedelic artists to create posters for his concerts (frequently overprinting them with an entrepreneurial eye to the future). Graham saved absolutely everything. He recorded nearly every concert given at his venues, using the best sound equipment available at the time. Unused posters were stashed away. Ephemera of every kind was locked away in storage lockers and vaults.

In 1991, Graham was flying home from a concert in his private helicopter when a sudden storm drove it into power lines, where it exploded, killing Graham, his girlfriend, and the pilot. An estimated 300,000 people attended a memorial concert for Graham in Golden Gate Park.

Oh, and all that stuff Graham saved? Through a series of deals and swaps and buyouts too complex to even begin to detail, it all ended up being owned by a fellow named Bill Sagan, who created a company called "Wolfgang's Vault" to curate and – unlimately – to merchandise the vast collection.

If you are a fan of rock'n'roll – particularly LIVE rock'n'roll, you must get on the Wolfgang's Vault mailing list! Every week brings new links to stream wonderfully recorded live performances of every significant rock artist from the '60s through the current era. Original posters and photos are available, too. Just browsing the samples brings back great memories.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/