Alexander Street: Music

Exciting contemporary dance ensemble from Brazil!

If you're interested in seeing the kind of material that will be featured in Alexander Street's forthcoming Dance In Video, check out the ensemble Grupo Corpo.  This Brazilian group was founded in 1985 by Rodrigo Pederneiras, and rose to international acclaim for performances that are both innovative and uniquely Brazilian.

Dance in Video will go live this May, when subscribers will be able to watch (via streaming video) examples of Grupo Corpo's work, including "Bach" (with music from Bach's Missa Solemnis) and "A Corpo", which show the wide range of emotion and style that makes Grupo Corpo such a dynamic and successful company.

In the meantime,  check out Grupo Corpo's Web site and read more about them here:
http://www.grupocorpo.com.br/en/index.php

Classical Music Library Free Download of the Week: Ginastera's Estancia Suite, Op. 8a

On a tour of South America with the American Ballet Caravan in 1941, Lincoln Kirstein commissioned a ballet from Alberto Ginastera with an Argentine subject. The composer responded with the one-act Estancia.

Choosing a typical Argentine estancia (a cattle ranch on the pampas) as his setting, Ginastera taps into the 'gauchesco' literary tradition, quoting from the epic poem Martin Fierro in numbers sung by a baritone. Gauceschos were Argentine cowboys who worked the cattle, and Ginastera quickly became the musical voice of their tradition.

The piece was first performed in Buenos Aries on 12 May 1943.

This recording is performed by the Carlos Chavez Symphony Orchestra; Fernando Lozano, conductor.

Download this work through April 11, 2008.

Classical Music Library Free Download of the Week: Wagner's Siegfried Idyll

Wagner, grateful for the birth of his son Siegfried, wrote the lyrical Siegfried Idyll as a 33rd birthday present for his wife, Cosima. It was first performed outside her bedroom on Christmas morning 1870 by a group of fifteen musicians.

The Siegfried Idyll was a private gift that was never intended for publication. Its themes are derived from the opera Siegfried, a String Quartet that Wagner had been writing when he met Cosima in 1864, and a lullaby, "Schlaf, kindlein, schlaf". Wagner, however, was compelled to sell the manuscript in 1877 due to financial hardship.

This recording is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Vernon Handley, conductor.

Download this work through March 28, 2008.