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Music 17th century History and criticism Music 18th century History and criticism Music 19th century History and criticism Music 20th century History and criticism Music 21st century History and criticism Music Instruction and study Music Performance Musical form Romanticism in music Style, MusicalSummary: Throughout history, musicians and musical works have reflected the fashion, culture, and social attitudes of their times. Music today is more diversified than ever, from the megahits of teen pop stars to the depth and emotionality of gospel choirs to the tones and textures produced by large-scale orchestras. Add to this the unstoppable forces of MySpace, YouTube, the iPod, and a rapidly...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Liszt frequently expanded upon the work of previous composers to create new musical forms. His transcription of Verdi's Rigoletto was part of a completely new style of piano composition. In this program, Martino Tirimo guides students toward a mastery of the Rigoletto paraphrase and an understanding of its compositional layers. Assembled at London's Royal Academy of Music, pianists from the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: The flowering of the Jazz Age is a tale of two great cities, Chicago and New York, and two extraordinary artists whose achievements spanned nearly three-quarters of a century. Louis Armstrong was a fatherless waif who grew up on the rough streets of New Orleans, developing his extraordinary gifts before moving to Chicago, where his transcendent sound inspired a new generation of musicians. Duke...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2000
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Summary: The story of jazz begins in New Orleans, 19th-century America's most cosmopolitan city. Here, in the 1890s, African-American artists created a new music out of ragtime syncopations, Caribbean rhythms, marching band instrumentation, and the soulful feeling of the blues. This program introduces the pioneers of this revolutionary art form: half-mad cornet player Buddy Bolden, pianist Jelly Roll...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2000
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Summary: Produced in conjunction with legendary singer Peter Gabriel, this program takes viewers to a stage outside London as it documents the work of artists appearing at the World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival (WOMAD) In addition to engaging and powerful on-stage numbers, the film captures intimate, behind-the-scenes moments with world music stars, tracing each performer's origins and artistic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: This energetic program illustrates how unpredictable rhythms punctuate musical pieces, and how different instruments are used to create the effect. The orchestra dissects the two Stravinsky pieces line-by-line, illustrating the composer's use of stark rhythm changes to achieve wondrous musical special effects.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Updated in 1998, Edith Piaf's meteoric rise to fame from the nightclubs of Paris to the world's most famous chanteuse is legend. "The Little Sparrow's" throaty renditions of such hits as "La Vie en Rose," "Non, je ne regrette rien," and "L'Accordioniste" seem as fresh today as when they were recorded. This program pays tribute to Piaf by examining her life through archival footage, photos, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: This program explores a century of conflict and tragedy in the Appalachians, beginning with the cultural oppression and forced exodus of the Cherokee. Documenting Appalachia's role in racial and ideological tensions leading up to the Civil War, the video examines the prevalence of slavery outside plantation culture and the unpredictable divisions among mountain communities that followed...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Flemish conductor Philippe Herreweghe is credited with restoring the freshness and purity of Baroque choral music. His ensembles, which embrace a wide variety of musical periods, have included Collegium Vocale Ghent, La Chapelle Royale, the Orchestre des Champs Elysees, the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, and RIAS Kammerchor, and his artistry is a model for choral music worldwide. But above all he...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program examines the first waves of settlement in the Appalachian mountains, beginning with the region's earliest inhabitants-the Cherokee people and other Native American tribes. Illustrating how these indigenous populations were eventually overwhelmed by the arrival of Europeans, the video focuses on the influx of Scots-Irish immigrants, their crucial role in the American Revolution, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program examines the 20th-century history of Appalachia through the prisms of economic hardship, spiritual perseverance, and the region's rich musical heritage. Showcasing the power of the traditional string band, the video chronicles the rise of modern country music by way of the radio and phonograph. It also highlights the resonance of long-standing church traditions and documents the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: In Andalusia and all around the world, the sensual rhythms of flamenco ignite the blood with joy and sorrow. This program helps make accessible the mysterious, intimate, plaintive form of music known as flamenco, promoting a deeper appreciation of Spanish culture. Background information on Moorish Spain and a chronology of Gypsy history provide the context for generous footage of a juerga-an...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In the early 1950s, before rock-and-roll dominated youth and urban culture, an innovative form of music appeared on the streets of America's cities. It was a mix of strange new harmonies and nonsense syllables that came to be known as doo-wop. This program traces the development of doo-wop music and the accomplishments of musicians who made the style their own. Viewers also meet a group of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: Filmed in several of northern Italy's most magnificent churches and beautiful villages, this documentary illuminates the medieval origins of Christian music through vocal and instrumental performances by the Gothic Voices of London, the Ensemble Venance Fortunat of Paris, the Orthodox Chorus of Moscow, and the Giovanna Marini Ensemble Micrologus of Assisi, Italy. The Timna Brauer Ensemble &...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Written by 16th-century Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, The Peony Pavilion is a 19-hour epic opera in 57 episodes that tells a story of youth and love literally triumphing over death. This program follows director Chen Shi-Zheng and the Shanghai Kunju Opera Troupe in their monumental effort of staging the entire production, an event that had not occurred in nearly four centuries. Despite...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: The enduring power of a single song across continents and time-and the ironic story of how that song was written by a man who traded in slaves-is examined in this program with Bill Moyers. One of the most popular and enduring hymns in the English language, its lyrics were written in the 18th century by the captain of an English slave ship. In the 19th century, the song successfully crossed the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Handel always knew how to succeed. His Italian operas took London by storm, but when the public rejected music in foreign languages he gave them the oratorio in English. And when the Royal Academy of Music folded, Handel revived it under a scheme of subscriptions and box-office receipts and modern theater was born. This program traces Handel's distinguished career, focusing on his great output...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This program illustrates how melody is used to move musical pieces along in one continuous flow. Beginning with a long, slow strain, we see and hear Ravel's melody progress through a series of changes and variations created by the addition of different instruments. The result is a musical piece replete with obvious shade and tone.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: In this TEDTalk, Charles Hazlewood explores the role of trust in musical leadership, and then shows how it works as he conducts the Scottish Ensemble onstage. Hazlewood's idea is to break away from rigid and more coercive models of conducting to let performers shine, confident of a positive result. Hazlewood also shares clips from two musical projects based on his notion of trust: a Xhosa...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: In this program, the Trio Solisti practice, interpret, and perform two of Beethoven's piano trios, the "Archduke" Trio and the "Ghost" Trio. Pianist Jon Klibonoff, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach, and violinist Maria Bachmann discuss the challenges of transforming the composer's score on paper into a vibrant performance. Footage of their work sessions in the studio is mixed with highlights of their...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: The Rhapsody in B Minor requires a range of sensibilities, from lightheartedness to a propensity for shock value. In this program, virtuoso pianist Martino Tirimo leads an engaging master class at London's Royal Academy of Music-pushing his students to find the essence of the Brahms piece, while encouraging each performer to craft his or her individual approach. Artists from the United States,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This is a performance of the Messiah in the original scoring, performed as Handel intended it, with much smaller resources than we have become accustomed to and, therefore, a perfect balance between a small chorus and orchestra. Roger Norrington conducts the London Baroque Players (comprising leading specialists in 17th- and 18th-century instrumental practice), the Cardiff (Wales) Polyphonic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Congregational music during worship owes its origin to Martin Luther, who used it to proclaim his bedrock message of the Protestant Reformation: God's grace as the sole ingredient for salvation. This elegant program explains how Luther changed the mode of public worship by integrating music into the divine service so that all Christians-not just the clergy-could express and celebrate their...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This captivating program combines key scenes from Mozart's singspiel The Abduction from the Seraglio as performed at the spectacular Topkapi Palace with a documentary about the intricate process of rehearsing the production. A winner of the International Broadcasting Convention's Golden Rembrandt, the program also provides fresh insights into the personal life of Mozart, the history of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006