I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: STILE ANTICO-Tiny Desk Concert #86 (October 25, 2010).

I’ve said before that one of the great things about the Tiny Desk Concerts is being introduced to bands that I never would have heard of anywhere else.  And that is certainly true of Stile Antico.  I really enjoy this kind of a capella music, although I never listen to it.  And I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for it.

So, lucky for me, I now know a band that performs gorgeous 16th-century choral music.  There are twelve singers.  And it is comforting in this day of pop singers who are more hot than musical that Stile Antico is all about the voice.  They don’t dress flashy or sexy, they don’t really do anything…except sing to the heavens.

They perform four pieces in about 20 minutes.  I don’t know any of them and I honestly couldn’t really tell them apart, but I loved the whole show.

The lead speaker (unnamed in this show) says that William Byrd is the best songwriter of the era, which is why they do two of his songs.  After the first one, he says that they want to transform this office into some kind of Tudor Chapel.

The second piece, “The Lord’s Prayer” is not done in any melody that I have ever heard it (and I assume it is in Latin).

But it’s the final piece that is really the showstopper, and the one that is fun to watch (even though, as I say they’re not actually doing anything–okay not true, they are nodding to each other instead of using a conductor).  Praetorious’s piece weaves 3 choirs together with 12 independent voices.  And the speaker jokes that each of the three choirs wind up flirting outrageously with each other.  It’s breathtaking.

Their voices are simply beautiful, and it’s amazing to see them working together silently as they sing.

The only problem is that now that I know who they are, which of their 11 records do I start with?

The songs:

• William Byrd: “Vigilate”
• John Sheppard: “Lord’s Prayer”
• William Byrd: “Ecce Virgo Concipiet”
• Hieronymus Praetorious: “Tota Pulchra Es”

[READ: July 10, 2015] Sing No Evil

I saw this book at the library and loved the title.  As soon as I flipped through it I knew I had to read it.  This book was originally written in Finnish (cool!) and was translated by JP Ahonen into English.  It is all about Fininish death metal bands and the devil.  And it is cool and very funny.  It was originally called Perkeros (which is what the protagonist’ band is called) and which I can’t quite define, but that’s okay.

The book opens on Aksel rocking out (in his imagination).  He and his band are getting ready to go on stage and he is nervous.  Aksel is a perfectionist and his riffs and progressions are second to none (Perkeros is a progressive death metal band which I’d rather like to hear).  The problem for the band is that Aksel’s singing is poor.  But the band likes what they do.  So they keep playing.

Here’s the fun part.  The band consists of Aksel and Lily on keys (and here I have to comment that Lily and Aksel don’t look all that different in drawing style but somehow Alarea has made these simple lines create two very different looking characters, and with those simple lines you can see just how pretty Lily is).  There’s also Kervinen, a really old guy with a chest-length beard (he used to be a monk), and, well, a bear, yes, a bear, on drums (the bear’s story is never given).

The band is opening for Nelum Lucifera, a grease-painted death metal band (with names like Belphegor and Samael).  A fight ensures and the bands are banned from every playing that gig again.

The story jumps to Aksel’s home.  He is an avid CD collector, spending all of his scholarship money on CD and stereo equipment.  His girlfriend, Janna, indulges him but wishes that he would be more serous about his studies and less serious about his “hobby.”  But Aksel believes that he once played the perfect riff–a riff that actually allowed him to levitate.  Everyone thinks he is crazy but he wants to get that feeling back.

Then reality sets in–their reviews are okay but everyone hates his voice.  Enter Aydin, a Turkish delivery boy with a golden voice and tons of charisma.  Aksel is immediately jealous but can’t deny that Aydin’s voice is amazing.

They are pretty stoked about their new sound and are excited about their demo.  And then a slight twist occurs when a handsome bearded man named Samuel seems to be hitting on Lily (much to Aksel’s dismay).   Samuel’s band Diablotus gives her a demo and she promises to listen to it.  When Diablotus plays, the room seems transfixed by them .

The story seems like a pretty conventional rock band story and there is, of course, a culminating gig.  But there are so many wonderful twists.  When Kervinen explains to Aksel about his time as a monk and the history of the misdeeds that were done through music, it’s very cool.  And what about when the bear (who may have a name although he is referred to as Teddy and Pooh as well as other bear names) needs to hibernate?  Oh, and what happens when Aksel seems to be talking with Lily a lot more than with Janna.  And what happens when their live gig starts to stray from Aksel’s perfectionism?  Oh how come when Lily listens to the Diablotus demo and seems to be really, really, really into it   They story goes in a wholly unexpected direction.

I really enjoyed this story a lot.  The music parts were fun and interesting–the mystical stuff was very cool and the whole supernatural element was really fun.  I also enjoyed that there were so many death metals bands in one book.  And of course, the illustrations were fantastic .

I really hope these guys release more books.  Here’s the original cover.