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Editorial Reviews
Review
Sunday's Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Artpark, conducted by Robert Franz, was a feast for the senses.
Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai , a dignified and handsome man with braided hair, played music that sounded like the chirping of birds and, on occasion, the cries of coyotes.
Real birds joined in, creating impromptu duets that made the audience smile. When Nakai played a concerto movement called 'Crow Smoke: 'shaping worlds as fire burns...',' the notes mingled with the aroma of smoke from the charcoal grill outside, where the concession folks were grilling burgers.
Outside, a gentle breeze blew. A woman listening on the lawn said that the music sounded as if it came not from the amphitheater, but from the hills.
The concert, a celebration of Native American music, was supposed to have included not only Nakai - recognized as the world's foremost Native American flutist - but also the Black Lodge Singers. At the last minute the singers, for unclear reasons, couldn't make it.
But the concert, with a little reshuffling, recovered nicely from that loss.
It began with Aaron Copland's Suite from 'The Tender Land,' music perfect for the day, and the BPO filled the gap created by the missing choir with Ferde Grofe's famous old 'Grand Canyon Suite.'
The centerpiece of the afternoon was Nakai's showpiece, James de Mars' 'Two World Concerto.'
With both his presence and his playing, Nakai inspired attention. The sound of the Native American cedar flute is different from our Western classical flute. It's strong and mellow, full-bodies and mournful. Think of a large, powerful recorder.
Nakai displayed an endless palette of sounds. He poured out mournful melodies made up of long notes that tapered down, sorrowfully, at the end - and also trills, flutters and showers of notes that imitated all manner of creature. The instrument chirped, it yelped it occasionally howled. The orchestra created created an abstract but colorful backdrop, the virtuosity of our woodwinds mixing with his.
You could call the music New Age. I found myself wanting to do yoga. But it was interesting enough to keep everyone's attention - not an easy feat at Artpark, where people tend to feel free to come and go. At the end, Nakai rewarded the enthusiastic applause with an exquisite 'Amazing Grace.'
The Copeland and the 'Grand Canyon suite' were both enchanting. Franz's enthusiasm showed not only in his hilarious preconcert chat, but also in the verve he and the band displayed. This is the kind of romantic stuff the BPO does so well, savoring every phrase, playing up the music's beauty with liberty and unhurried grace. Amy Glidden, acting as concertmaster, turned out a capricious solo at the start of 'On the Trail' that made everyone smile.
Summerfest, the BPO's monthlong celebration at Artpark, continues Friday. --By Mary Kunz Goldman - The Buffalo News / July 21, 2008 'Flutist, BPO give stirring performance'
Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai , a dignified and handsome man with braided hair, played music that sounded like the chirping of birds and, on occasion, the cries of coyotes.
Real birds joined in, creating impromptu duets that made the audience smile. When Nakai played a concerto movement called 'Crow Smoke: 'shaping worlds as fire burns...',' the notes mingled with the aroma of smoke from the charcoal grill outside, where the concession folks were grilling burgers.
Outside, a gentle breeze blew. A woman listening on the lawn said that the music sounded as if it came not from the amphitheater, but from the hills.
The concert, a celebration of Native American music, was supposed to have included not only Nakai - recognized as the world's foremost Native American flutist - but also the Black Lodge Singers. At the last minute the singers, for unclear reasons, couldn't make it.
But the concert, with a little reshuffling, recovered nicely from that loss.
It began with Aaron Copland's Suite from 'The Tender Land,' music perfect for the day, and the BPO filled the gap created by the missing choir with Ferde Grofe's famous old 'Grand Canyon Suite.'
The centerpiece of the afternoon was Nakai's showpiece, James de Mars' 'Two World Concerto.'
With both his presence and his playing, Nakai inspired attention. The sound of the Native American cedar flute is different from our Western classical flute. It's strong and mellow, full-bodies and mournful. Think of a large, powerful recorder.
Nakai displayed an endless palette of sounds. He poured out mournful melodies made up of long notes that tapered down, sorrowfully, at the end - and also trills, flutters and showers of notes that imitated all manner of creature. The instrument chirped, it yelped it occasionally howled. The orchestra created created an abstract but colorful backdrop, the virtuosity of our woodwinds mixing with his.
You could call the music New Age. I found myself wanting to do yoga. But it was interesting enough to keep everyone's attention - not an easy feat at Artpark, where people tend to feel free to come and go. At the end, Nakai rewarded the enthusiastic applause with an exquisite 'Amazing Grace.'
The Copeland and the 'Grand Canyon suite' were both enchanting. Franz's enthusiasm showed not only in his hilarious preconcert chat, but also in the verve he and the band displayed. This is the kind of romantic stuff the BPO does so well, savoring every phrase, playing up the music's beauty with liberty and unhurried grace. Amy Glidden, acting as concertmaster, turned out a capricious solo at the start of 'On the Trail' that made everyone smile.
Summerfest, the BPO's monthlong celebration at Artpark, continues Friday. --By Mary Kunz Goldman - The Buffalo News / July 21, 2008 'Flutist, BPO give stirring performance'
Product Description
Music of the Old World and New are vividly combined by composer James DeMars in a new, exciting album. The brilliant sonorities of the Canyon symphony orchestra create a colorful setting for R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute) in Two World Concerto and Gray Hawks Rising. The Black Lodge Singers (Blackfeet), internationally acclaimed pow-wow singers, give a stunning performance of Native Drumming.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Native American Spectacular,
By A Customer
This review is from: Two World Concerto: The Music of James DeMars (Audio CD)
Two World Concerto is a masterpiece of Native American flute and musical impressionism. Mark me, this is not an easy, "Home on the Range" listen. Striking strings, melodious flute and vocals added by the renowned Black Lodge Singers work together to paint tone poetry that is simply remarkable. Go for it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nakai and DeMars mature!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Two World Concerto: The Music of James DeMars (Audio CD)
I don't throw this word around much, but this is a masterpiece. These two (Nakai and DeMars) have worked together on some other projects that, in my opinion, aren't quite as good ("Spirit Horses" for one). I would imagine it takes a while to learn how to blend the idiosyncratic tones of cedar flutes with the standard scales of the symphony or standard Western tunes. Nakai and Eaton tried to do this on some Christmas tunes ("Winter Dreams"); it works well most of the time on that project, but not all of the time. But this developing collaboration of Nakai and DeMars has really paid off on this disc. The work of the orchestra with Nakai and with the American Indian singers is seamless and wonderful on this disc. (As the wonderful liner notes make clear: hard work pays off!)
It's organized like a concert: two concertos with a short interlude piece between, and two short encores. Everything works. . . and I don't really notice the "collaboration" or the "combination", it's all "of a piece". The only oddity is that the second "concerto", which uses the pow-wow singers, is not really a concerto. The singers are not used the way a normal concerto uses a solo instrument; they are only front-and-center a few times. Mostly they are used just as another division of the orchestra, blending in and out. But WHO CARES? It's marvelous, whatever it is! I've discovered Nakai recently, and he is one of the greatest American musicians of the last 50 years. I don't know how you compare Leonard Bernstein with Paul Simon with Louis Armstrong with Bill Monroe with Clifton Chenier with. . . but Nakai has brought creativity and excitement and beauty to more kinds of music with those flutes of his. . .
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two World Concert,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Two World Concerto: The Music of James DeMars (Audio CD)
This is an excellent CD that shows a creative blend of Native American and classical music.
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