Performance at the 2011 festival

The June in Buffalo festival, a week-long festival and conference of new music, will take place June 4-10, 2012. The festival includes many workshops, lectures, open rehearsals, and evening concerts. Each year, different resident ensembles and senior composition faculty participate. This year, the senior faculty are Robert Beaser, David Felder, Fred Lerdahl, Steven Stucky, and Julia Wolfe.

The Music Library has been preparing for the festival by filling out our collection of works by all of the senior faculty, adding new scores and recordings to our collection. The following will take you to a list of library works by each of the composers:

• Works by Robert Beaser
• Works by David Felder
• Works by Fred Lerdahl
• Works by Steven Stucky
• Works by Julia Wolfe

You can also search DRAM for streaming audio recordings of many of these composers.

Whether it’s “homework” before the festival begins or pure enjoyment, have fun checking out works by this impressive roster of composers. We will feature guest soloists and resident ensembles in a later post.

You can check hours for all of the UB Libraries at http://library.buffalo.edu/hours/.

For those of you on campus over the summer, we hope to see you in the library. Research help and reference assistance is available all summer, and email, phone, and chat help is available if you can’t get to the library. For those of you who are graduating, our warmest congratulations. For those of you returning, see you in the fall! Best wishes for a rejuvenating, productive, and musical summer.

The music image is a manuscript of Sumer is icumen in, British Library Harley MS 978, f.11v. See the British Library’s online exhibit for hte full-page image and more information.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are some of the most frequently recorded pieces of Bach’s, and the Music Library owns many recordings on CD and LP. We have recently added yet another recording of Brandenburg Concertos which has received rave reviews by many music critics. For instance, the Chicago Tribune hailed the recording because “rarely has Bach been played with such spirit and joy.” Recorded in 1977 and 1991, the CD features four of Bach’s works performed by many musicians which were affiliated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at some point in time.

The first piece, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047, features soloists  Donald Peck (flute), Ray Still (oboe), Samuel Magad (violin), and Adolph Herseth (trumpet). The second work, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050, even features James Levine as harpsichordist and conductor. The third work is Bach’s celebrated Wedding Cantata featuring soprano Kathleen Battle with an  accompanying ensemble comprised of the above players conducted by James Levine. Finally, the last work on the recording, Bach’s Orchestral Suite no. 2 in B minor, features the  flautist James Galway with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester and conducted by Jörg Faerber.

Be sure to stop by the Music Library and ask for CD 18289 at the Circulation Desk.

Good luck on finals!

–by Jared Rex, Music Library Graduate Assistant

If the subject of chamber music interests you and you would like to find some more information, check out some of the other books available in the music library here.

If you are looking for chamber music to perform, there are some great resources in the reference section to help you find a piece to play. There are general catalogs of chamber music, as well as more specific catalogs for different types of instruments. Check out a list of these resources here.

And once you find a piece, remember that the Music Library has plenty of scores and parts available to check out. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask and we are happy to help!

–by Jessica Nay, Music Library Graduate Assistant

We know you may have last-minute research as the semester reaches the end. As always, we can help with your research questions and help with finding books, scores, CDs, audio, DVDs, video, digital images, and articles. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need assistance!

In case you prefer slightly older American works, never fear—the recording also contains Graceful Ghost Rag (1979) by William Bolcom, Wistful Piece, op. 16, no. 2 (1953) by Ruth Shaw Wylie, and “Knee Play 2” (from Einstein on the Beach) (1976) by Philip Glass.  In addition, the recording also features works by composers Kevin Puts, Lev Zhurbin, and  Jennifer Higdon.  River of Light features violinist Tim Fain and pianist Pei-Yao Wang.

If you’d like to check out this recording, ask for CD 18261 at the circulation desk. If you’re off-campus and affiliated with UB, you can also listen to it in our online streaming database, Naxos Music Library, which features over 85,000 recordings, by logging in with your UBIT name and password. Be sure to take advantage of this intriguing recording!

–by Jared Rex, Music Library Graduate Assistant

For more information on hip hop music, there are many more books available in the UB libraries. Check them out here.

Sujatha Fernandes has published other books on the social impact of art in other countries. So if you like Close to the Edge, check out these other titles by Fernandes available here at UB:

• Cuba Represent!: Cuban arts, state power, and the making of new revolutionary cultures (NX180 .P64 F47 2006)
• Who Can Stop the Drums?: Urban social movements in Chavez’s Venezuela (HN363.5 .F47 2010)

-by Jessica Nay, Music Library Graduate Assistant

The second recording, Les Divertissements de Versailles, features excerpts of operatic scenes, ballets, and incidental music by celebrated French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. In an attempt to give a survey of works from Lully’s duration at the court of the King Louis XIV, CD 18191 features numerous excerpts from Armide, Roland, and Georges Dandin, in addition to many other works.  The Baroque performing ensemble featured on the recording, Les Arts Florissants, is the resident orchestra of the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France and was founded by harpsichordist William Christie. He is also the conductor in both recordings and is originally from Western New York. Be sure to listen to these newly added Baroque treasures!

 –by Jared Rex, Music Library Graduate Assistant

Be sure to ask for CD 18193 at the circulation desk and experience some fascinating electronic music! Remember that you can borrow compact discs for up to 3 days at a time.

–by Jared Rex, Music Library Graduate Assistant