Saturday, June 18, 2005

Scott Robinson's Gypsophilia and Mandala

I received today two cd's from Scott Robinson's two projects: Gypsophilia and Mandala. We will present his music more closely in our DAY OF THE MUSICIAN on tuesday, 21.st of June 2005 starting at 10.00 Central European Time. During the 24 hours period you'll be able to hear the music from both cd's many, many times. There'll be also a special one hour show with Scott's music projects on wednesday, 23.rd of June at 01.00 CET.
Thank you Scott for supporting Libra Radio by sending the music!

Scott Robinson grew up in Syracuse, New York, where he studied with Brian Israel at Syracuse University. He returned to school after two years, receiving his M.Mus. from SUNY Binghamton and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Dominick Argento and Judith Zaimont.

Scott has received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania also awarded him an Individual Artist Grant, while the University of Minnesota awarded a grant for his work combining his choral music with Hindu temple dance.

He has published with Thomas House and Moon of Hope Publishing. Scott is a member of the Third Order, Society of St. Francis, a lay religious order in the Episcopal Church, and lives in Philadelphia.



Gypsophilia: "Free Inside"

The music of Gypsophilia is borrowed music, plucked from different cultures and traditions and woven into a unique tapestry. Inspired by both the deep religious history and the culinary delights of the Middle Eastern and Eastern European regions, Scott began collecting recordings and transcribing traditional pieces for the band years ago. In many pieces there is a section of improvisational soloing by one or more players at a time. Under the solos runs a repeated line the rest of the group continues to play, called an ostinato. This method of soloing is called taksim, and allows us to follow the flow of the music wherever it will take us, and guarantees that every performance is unlike the one before it.

Much of our repertoire comes from Greece and Turkey, but there are also Bosnian, Armenian, Romanian and Serbian pieces to be heard as well. The original works that Scott has composed draw from all of these traditions, often mingling English words with Hebrew rhythms and a Turkish chord structure. As a band we are dedicated to demonstrating through our music that while there are many diverse cultures and beliefs on this globe we all inhabit, music is truly a universal language that can soften tensions and break down barriers between people.
Gypsophilia performs on an amazing array of stringed, reed and percussion instruments. In their case the instruments are: concertina, clarinet, violin, dumbek and cello.
Here's the link to streaming video of Gypsophilia on the stage with belly dancer Kittarina.

You can buy Gypsophilia cd's here.





Mandala: "Compassion"

Drawing on a comprehensive musical education and a diverse background in multiple musical styles, the members of Mandala join to bring forth a joyous noise that at once is deeply personal and transcendently universal.

Melodic and rhythmic influences from vastly different cultural and musical traditions are interwoven to form a whole cloth of pure ecstatic praise.
You can purchase this album here.