Beginning this week, Evening Music resumes Sacred Sundays, featuring pieces that present, draw on, transform, and/or personalize various traditions of sacred music. I began this feature last spring, and it continues on a larger scale from now to the end of December.

Lisa Bielawa (photo by Liz Linder)

September 5th: Lisa Bielawa The series begins with composer and vocalist Lisa Bielawa, who has recently returned from a visit to the Republic of Armenia. There she discovered a world of music she’s eager to share with us. Lisa tells me that a sense of the sacred permeates most music-making in Armenia, and we speak of that and more as we present some the musical treasures Lisa brought home from her journey. If you do not see flash audio player please install the latest flash player.

It has always seemed to me that music is inextricably connected to a sense of the sacred: a sense of mystery, purpose, and wonder larger than ourselves. And it isn’t only “officially” sacred music that offers transcendental moments.

Have you experienced a sense of the sacred through secular music? Perhaps via one of saxophonist John Coltrane’s improvisations, the hypnotic rhythms of rave music, an empathy-inducing love song, or a Beethoven string quartet? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Or have you been moved by the sacred music of a religion or tradition other than your own? Is there music from your own religion that you feel most effectively conveys its spirit? Please share such musical experiences and impressions in the comments section. Maybe some of your recommendations can be heard on one of our Sacred Sundays.

Regardless of genre, music expresses human emotion and experiences. This week, we’ll explore a few songs whose settings may be contemporary — but whose story lines are centuries old.

Look at the two song titles below:

I Feel Pretty
Hard Driving Papa

Are you reminded of a particular musician, piece of music or a time in your own life? If so, share your thoughts below.

By the way, if you’re curious, I’ll perform some of my songs next Saturday, Sept. 6th, at Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room

But now it’s back to work for me, and I’m again grateful that my job is to share music over the radio. It’s Labor Day weekend, traditionally “a day off for the working citizens,” as established by the Central Labor Union here in New York City in 1882.

I haven’t had very many different jobs. I’ve been at WNYC for 20 years, and during the 10 years prior to that I was a graphic designer and free-lance illustrator (and all the while a musician, though income-wise we can’t really call that a job). As a kid I had a paper route, and as a student I worked in a book store. Maybe my oddest job was the summer I advertised that I would make pastel portraits of people’s pets. It wasn’t lucrative, but I got some work!

It can be fascinating to learn of someone’s varied work background. Do you have a strange variety of experience? Or one particularly unusual or memorable job? Share your experience in the Comments section. (Just a few lines, please—I don’t think we have room for resumes!)

WNYC has a special musical offering, “Sonidos Latinos,” recorded live at the Caramoor International Music Festival and hosted by WNYC’s own Terrance McKnight. From a world premiere by Paquito D’Rivera to an incredible array of traditional and new music from Venezuela, “Sonidos Latinos” brings to light the soulful, complex, and danceable music from many Latin American countries, highlighting works by living composers.
 
More about Sonidos Latinos

Listen on Demand:

Sonidos Latinos: Un Mundo Aired August 30, 2008

Weigh in: What is it about Latin American culture that makes it seem so easy to bridge the gap between “classical” and “popular” styles? Who are your favorite Latin American “classical” musicians, and what sets them apart from the traditional European model?

Leave your comments below.

photo by Steve J. Sherman

Robert Bass, beloved music director of the Collegiate Chorale for 28 years, passed away August 25th at his home in Manhattan. His death was caused by complications resulting from his on-going battle with Amyloidosis, a disease which affects around eight people in a million.

Bob was a significant force in the musical life of New York and a friend to WNYC as an unfailingly charming and articulate guest. I was privileged not only to interview him on a number of occasions, but also to sing for him in several standout performances with the Collegiate Chorale in Carnegie Hall. We who knew and worked with Bob have lost a dear friend and a tireless champion for the cause of great music-making. To honor his memory this evening, WNYC’s Evening Music will feature his excellent recording of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Cantata “The Glorious Moment,” with the Collegiate Chorale, the Orchestra of St. Lukes, and soloists Deborah Voigt, Elizabeth Futral, Gregory Cross and Jan Opalach.

— George Preston, WNYC Music Director

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 West 76 Street (Amsterdam Avenue). In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Collegiate Chorale, or the Amyloidosis Foundation in honor of Robert Bass.

http://www.collegiatechorale.org
http://www.amyloidosisresearchfoundation.org/donations/index.html
 
Listen to Robert Bass in an appearance during WNYC’s 2006 Beethoven Festival:
The Spirit is Willing: Beethoven’s Vocal Music

And here’s an article that appeared in The New York Times last year about Bob’s heart transplant: A Maestro Conducting With Heart … a New One
 

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was born August 25th, ninety years ago this week. And even though he passed away nearly two decades ago, his legacy still looms large in music communities around the world — particularly here in New York.

Beginning September 24th, WNYC will launch “Our Lenny,” an 11-day festival celebrating the consummate man-about-town who meant so many things to so many people. Unlike many of my listeners, I never met Mr. Bernstein, but his devotion to young artists through his Young People’s Concerts directly influenced my decision to pursue music as a career, and continues to challenge me to be inventive in my approach as an advocate for the arts.

Mr. Bernstein communicated fluently on various musical platforms, and that sometimes made him unpopular (as did his willingness to speak out on the hot button political issues of the day). Nevertheless, his legacy as conductor, composer, pianist and teacher continues to influence generations of artists and arts enthusiasts around the globe.

There’s an old Tuscarora Native American proverb that says: “They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind.” So, as we ramp up for the “Our Lenny” Festival, we’d like to collect your memories or your impressions of Bernstein, his music and his influence.

Leave your comments below.

From August 18 through 24, WNYC is bringing back some of our best music specials from the past year during Evening Music. Explore the history of Berlin cabaret through the ears of one of its greatest living proponents, singer Ute Lemper. Hear one of the world’s most unique and valuable ensembles — the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra — bring important works to the stage for the first time. Cross genres with exciting live performances from Hilary Hahn, Josh Ritter, and Rufus Wainwright. And don’t miss one of the cultural events of the year, the New York Philharmonic’s historic concert in North Korea. You can view the entire schedule of broadcast events at this link, or see what’s on tonight by going here.

Have questions or comments about the specials you’re hearing this week? Post them below.