Ladysmith Black Mambazo

For our last musician of the week, I’m featuring a group from South Africa called Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They became famous in North America after collaborating with Paul Simon, part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, my dad’s favourite musicians (they sing The Sound of Silence, featured in the movie Trolls and adapted by Pentatonix).

Some of their music:
Homeless (cowritten with Paul Simon, its melody based on a Zulu wedding song)
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (with Paul Simon)
This Little Light of Mine (tribute to founder Joseph Shabalala)
Hour-Long Tribute to founder Joseph Shabalala (continued here)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Amazing Grace
Sing (with Big Bird in Muppets)
Peace Train (with Dolly Parton)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (with PJ Powers, theme for England’s 1995 Rugby World Cup)
UCLA Concert
KEXP Live performance

Andrea Bocelli

In honour of Father’s Day this weekend, we’re featuring a famous Italian singer, Andrea Bocelli, who is also blind (like Stevie Wonder). Music fills his home and he collaborates with many other musicians as well.

Some of his solo songs:
– Because We Believe (Ama Credi E Vai) – Torino 2006 Closing Ceremony
– Nessun Dorma, an aria from the opera Turandot by Puccini – EURO 2020 opening ceremony
– Con te partirò – live From Piazza Dei Cavalieri, Italy in 1997
– The Music of the Night, from Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s The Phantom of the Opera
– Caruso – live From Piazza Dei Cavalieri, Italy in 1997
– Music For Hope – Live From Duomo di Milano, compilation of songs to bring Italian hope on Easter Sunday amidst the covid pandemic

Some of his famous collaborations:
– Perfect Symphony – with Ed Sheeran
– If Only – with Dua Lipa (watch this version about his life)
– E Più Ti Penso (The More I Think of You) – with Ariana Grande
– The Prayer – with Céline Dion
– Time to Say Goodbye – with Sarah Brightman
– Notte ‘e piscatore – with another famous opera singer Luciano Pavarotti
– The Circle of Life – with Elton John
– Somos Novios (It’s Impossible) – with Christina Aguilera
– I Still Can See Your Face – with Barbra Streisand
– Vivo Per Lei (I Live for Her) – with Judy Weiss
– We Will Meet Once Again – with my favourite singer Josh Groban!
– Remembering (苏州河) – with Na Ying, from 2020 film The Eight Hundred (based on The Battle of Shanghai in WWII) (*parent discretion advised – violence/war*)

Singing with his family:
– Return to Love – a Christmas surprise for his wife, Veronica Berti
– Love Me Tender – with his oldest son, Amos Bocelli, on piano
– Ven a Mi (Fall On Me), from Disney’s The Nutcracker and The Four Realms – with his younger son, Matteo Bocelli
– Perfect Symphony – cover with Matteo Bocelli
– Hallelujah (live at Teatro Regio di Parma) – with his daughter, Virginia Bocelli
– Ave Maria – with Virginia Bocelli
– Ich Liebe Dich – with Virginia Bocelli
– Sogno (Dreams), Statue of Liberty Concert July 5, 2000 – dedicated to his father, Alessandro Bocelli, who passed away a few months prior on April 30, 2000

Ravi Shankar

We’ve studied many musicians in Western music this year, so this week and next week I’m featuring musicians from different parts of the world. This week, we’re studying Ravi Shankar, an Indian sitar player and composer. He promoted this traditional Indian instrument around the world, including its use in Classical and Western pop music. Both his daughters became famous musicians too, including Grammy award singer/songwriter Norah Jones.

Some of his music we’re listening to:

– Three Ragas

Yehudi Menuhin (violinist)
– Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin (violinist)
– Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha and Yehudi Menuhin Trio

Famous concerts
– Ravi Shankar at Monterey Pop (June 1967)
– Woodstock 1969 – Evening Raga
– UNICEF USA: Ravi Shankar and the Concert for Bangladesh (Madison Square Garden 1971)

Collaboration with George Harrison from Beatles
– Ravi Shankar teaches George Harrison how to play sitar 1968
– Prabhujee – Ravi Shankar & George Harrison
– Tarana 1974
– Magical Orchestra (shows combination of Western and Indian instruments, written by George Harrison based on melody by Ravi Shankar)

Collaboration with Philip Glass
– “Offering” by Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass
– Ragas in Minor Scale – Philip Glass

Recent recordings
– Tenth Decade in Concert
– 90th birthday at Sydney Opera House
– Ravi & Anoushka Shankar (father-daughter)
– Sandhya Raga by Ravi Shankar, performed by his students

N’we Jinan

By now, you may have heard or learned in your class about the horrible news of a mass grave discovered at a former residential school in Kamloops. To honour the 215 children and show support for our Indigenous communities, our school (and many other buildings) is lowering our flag at half mast, and encouraging everyone to wear orange this week. Music has helped people express and manage emotions that are too strong for words, and it’s one way some people can find healing in situations like this. Therefore, this week we’re featuring N’we Jinan, a nonprofit Canadian record label that gives First Nations students their voice back by allowing them to create their own music in mobile recording studios.” Their name means “We Live Here” in James Bay (Eastern) Cree, and HERE is how they came to be and what they do.

Some of the songs recorded by N’we Jinan:
– We Won’t Forget You: written, recorded and filmed with students from Sk’elep School of Excellence in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Kamloops, British Columbia
– Why Us: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Tachie of Tl’azt’en Nation in British Columbia
– Hide & Seek: written, recorded and filmed with high school students selected from the Surrey School District Board in Surrey, British Columbia (do you recognize Guildford Mall?)
– Our Journey Home: written, recorded and filmed with students from Sardis Secondary School in Chilliwack, British Columbia
– We Are Medicine: written, recorded and filmed with Nuxalk students of Acwsalcta School in Bella Coola, British Columbia
– Let Us Not Worry: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Ditidaht First Nation, British Columbia
– Where Happiness Dwells: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Blueberry River First Nations, British Columbia
– Worthy: written, recorded and filmed with youth from in Adams Lake Indian Band, British Columbia
– The Highway: written, recorded and filmed with students of ‘Na Aksa Gyilak’yoo School in Kitsumkalum First Nation, British Columbia

You can find other Indigenous artists and their music here.
My other connection is that I studied a First Nations language called Kwakwala as part of my linguistics degree at UBC, and we had a chance to learn it from a native speaker then analyze and document it. Unfortunately, many languages and songs are now lost or endangered.

Hildegard von Bingen

Some students noticed the posters I put up in the music room of different musical time periods, then pointed out that we haven’t heard anything from the Medieval/Renaissance Periods…so here we are with another great female composer in Western music: Hildegard von Bingen. This is the time period when musicians started to develop music notation (symbols and charts that help musicians share music on paper rather than learn songs by ear). Listen to how the music flows more freely compared to the other metered music we’ve studied

Some of her surviving works:
– Hymns & Songs
– O Quam Mirabilis (O How Wonderful)
– O tu illustrata (O Your Angels)
– Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues)
– Ave, generosa (Hail, Generous)
– Vox Cosmica (The Voice of the Cosmic)

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Continuing on from the style of Broadway musicals with Lea Salonga (who has sung many of these songs by the way), this week’s feature is on a British composer named Andrew Lloyd Webber. He’s famous for writing musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Evita. More recently, he wrote a musical adaptation of School of Rock, and a new version of Cinderella (premiering in London this summer!).

Some of his classics:
– “Memory” from Cats (based on T.S. Eliot’s book of cat poems)
– “Any Dream Will Do” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (based on the Bible character Joseph)
– “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita (featured Madonna, based on the story of female Argentinian leader and actress Eva Perón)
– “The Music of the Night” in the Phantom’s underground home and “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera (feature Sarah Brightman, Webber’s second wife)
– “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar (controversial)
– “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard

Ludwig van Beethoven

As requested, this week’s musician is Beethoven, a composer who was important in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras.

Here are some of his famous works:
– Symphony No.3 in E flat, op.55 – ‘Eroica’
– Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (listen to this fun version with commentary on what’s happening in the music)
– Symphony No.7 in A, op.92
– Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 – ‘Choral’ (“Ode to Joy” at 14:20)
– String Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor, op.131
– Violin Concerto in D, op.61 (soloist starts at 3:45)
– Violin Sonata No.9, op.47 – Kreutzer Sonata
– Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (Fur Elise)
– Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2: Sonata quasi una fantasia (Moonlight Sonata)
– Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major “Emperor” (last completed piano concerto)
– Piano Sonata No.30 in E, op.109
– Fidelio, op.72 (opera)

Lea Salonga

For Mother’s Day this Sunday, we’re looking at one of my favourite Broadway singers: Lea Salonga. She’s a mother herself and played a few mother characters in Broadway musicals. She is the original voice of 2 Disney princesses and an award-winning Filipino singer who’s famous internationally. I had the honour of listening to her sing live at the PNE in August 2011!

Music:
– Reflection, from Disney movie Mulan (watch this behind-the-scenes sneak peak!)
– A Whole New World, from Disney movie Aladdin (she always invites a male fan on stage to sing this with her at live concerts, like this concert in New York)
– On My Own, Éponine from Les Misérables (my favourite musical! She was the first Asian actress to play Éponine)
– I Dreamed a Dream, Fantine from Les Misérables (a single mother, abandoned by her lover, works hard to provide for her daughter)
– Fantine’s Death, from Les Misérables (Fantine hallucinates about her daughter, Cosette, as she entrusts Cosette to her former boss, Jean Valjean), live video (but worse audio) here
– I’d Give My Life For You, from Miss Saigon (MATURE musical about a Vietnamese giving up her life so her half American son can have a better future)
– I Enjoy Being a Girl, from Flower Drum Song
– I Have Dreamed, from The King and I (start at 3:30 for her singing)
– Tomorrow, from Annie (when she was very young!)
– Wind Beneath My Wings (tribute to her mother Ligaya)
– Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (with her daughter, Nicole Chien)
– Shy, from Once Upon A Mattress (with Nicole Chien too)
– The Prayer, duet with Josh Groban (my favourite male singer!)

Lea Salonga speaks on being Asian in musical theatre and race representation on stage in this interview.

After Covid, take the opportunity to watch a live musical at Theatre Under the Stars, Arts Club Theatre Company, or a production by Align Entertainment or Royal City Musical Theatre (both of which I’ve performed with before!). Many high schools also put own their own musical productions.

Frédéric Chopin

A few weeks ago, we featured Mahler, my husband’s favourite composer. This week, I want to share with you MY favourite composer: Frédéric Chopin! He is known as a Polish composer of music for piano in the Romantic Period. Some of his works are so patriotic they were banned during WWII.

Some of his famous works:
– Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10 No. 12)
– Heroic Polonaise (Op. 53 in A Flat Major)
– Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp Minor, Op. posth.
– Nocturne in E flat, Op. 9, No.2
– Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58
– Mazurkas, Op.24
– 24 Preludes, Op.28: Like Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (minus the fugues), Chopin’s Preludes travel one by one through every key in a strict sequence (one of my piano students played No. 4 in E Minor but No. 6 and No. 15 “Raindrop” are also beautiful)
– Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66
– Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.35
– Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op. 60
– Fantaisie in F minor
– Grande Polonaise Brillante In E-flat Major, Op. 22 (start at 5:00)
– Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11

Grade 6/7 students: Talk to your parents about watching The Pianist (available on Netflix), a movie based on the autobiography of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, a Holocaust survivor who persevered through difficulties during Nazi German occupation with the help of Chopin’s music.

Claude Debussy

You’ve probably talked in your classrooms about this week’s Earth Day (some classes have even volunteered to help clean up in the neighbourhood)! One composer who was inspired by nature and wrote many pieces about nature was Claude Debussy, a French Impressionist composer. I’ve played several of his piano works =)

Some of his famous pieces:
– Suite Bergamasque (1890, rev.1905): a four-movement suite – ‘Prélude’, ‘Menuet’, ‘Clair De Lune’ and ‘Passepied’ – for piano. The relaxing music is inspired by a poem, written by French poet Paul Verlaine, and pre-echoes the hazy, impressionistic textures of Debussy’s later work, especially in his best-loved piano piece ‘Clair De Lune’.
– La Mer (1905)
– Prélude à l’Aprés-Midi d’un Faune (1894): A faun mythological half human–half goat creature appearing in Roman mythology. It is often said that the era of modern music began with a single work in 1894: Claude Debussy’s Prélude à L’Après-Midi D’Un Faune for orchestra. Based on Mallarmé’s poem, Debussy considered the Prélude to be evocative “of the successive scenes in which the longings and desires of the faun pass in the heat of the afternoon”. Debussy stretched the traditional system of keys and tonalities to their limits. The Prélude, one of Debussy’s best works, is one of the most popular pieces of music of all time and inspired many composers including Leonard Bernstein and Boulez.
– Pelléas Et Mélisande (1902): the only opera Debussy ever completed and is considered a landmark in 20th-century music (watch the concert suite here or a short summary of the opera here)
– Deux Arabesques (1888/1891)
– Children’s Corner (1908): Enchanting suite in six movements evoking scenes from childhood – including the riotous ‘Golliwog’s Cake-Walk’ – dedicated “To my dear little Chouchou with her father’s gentle apologies for what follows”.
– Images (1905 – 1907) (recorded in the Chan Centre at UBC)
– String Quartet In G Minor (1893)
– Préludes (1910 – 1913)
– Jeux (1913): This unforgettable ballet features two girls and a boy, who upon losing their ball during an evening game of tennis, hunt for it in the moonlit undergrowth, playing the odd game of hide-and-seek along the way.