Album Review: Excursions A Musical Trip with Mélomanie

By Guest Blogger, Christine Facciolo
Christine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and continues to apply her voice to all genres of music. An arts lover since childhood, she currently works as a freelance writer.
 
Never underestimate the power of music to transport an audience to other states of mind and place. Mélomanie explores this potential with the release of its latest CD, Excursions.

As its name suggests, Excursions takes the listener on a journey through a variety of musical terrains and recollections via an eclectic range of compositions written for and performed by Mélomanie. 

For example, Jennifer Margaret Barker’s Dumgoyne (2012) evokes the sights and sounds a native Scot would experience during a climb of the hill for which the composition is named. In Angico (2009), Sergio Roberto de Oliveira celebrates the fulfillment of his mother’s lifelong dream: The construction of a family vacation home in the Brazilian mountains and the successful effort to save a cherished tree on the property. Mélomanie has built its reputation on its striking and evocative pairings of early and contemporary music. 

And while this collection features contemporary works by living composers, that mission continues. Both the title track by Roberto Pace (2009) and Ingrid Arauco’s Pavane-Variations (2009) combine 16th Century forms with modern tonalities, rhythms and melodic structures. Kile Smith also applies modern compositional language to Renaissance and Baroque dance forms as the sarabande, allemande, branle, musette and canario in his eight-movement suite, The Nobility of Women (2012). 

Mélomanie (L-R): Tracy Richardson, Christof Richter,
Doug McNames, Kimberly Reighley & Donna Fournier
Photo by David Norbut Photography

There are other “provocative pairings” as well. Two selections — Angico and The Nobility of Women — are scored for Baroque instruments, while the other three works feature the modern and Baroque playing side by side. These hybrid groupings feature guest artists Eve Friedman on the modern flute and Priscilla Herreid on oboe.

If you’ve heard Mélomanie perform, then you know the caliber of artistry and skill they bring to their music. If not, this recording provides a superb entrée and will no doubt whet your musical appetite for more!

Excursions is available for purchase at meyer-media.com or your favorite online music resource. 

See www.melomanie.org. 

A 'Piece' Not to Be Missed at DTC

By Guest Blogger, Christine Facciolo
Christine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and continues to apply her voice to all genres of music. An arts lover since childhood, she currently works as a freelance writer.

Steve Bluestein’s play Rest in Pieces — now in its World Premiere at the Delaware Theatre Company (DTC) — combines laughter and tears in a three-act, three-character dramedy that drives home an immutable law of nature: Life begins and ends with family.

Meet the Becker family of Brooklyn, New York: Leona, the unbearably overbearing matriarch; Ben, her long-suffering husband; and Steve, their mild-mannered comedy-writer son. The play is impressively acted by Donna Pescow (Leona), Lenny Wolpe (Ben) and Frank Vlastnik (Steve). These three seasoned thespians work Bluestein’s script with the precision of a Swiss timepiece.

This is a play for anyone who has ever wondered how their loved ones would react in the aftermath of their demise. Each act focuses on the remaining two members when one is removed. First, we see mother and son sparring as they cope with the loss of Ben, who seems to view his death as sweet relief from the insanely domineering Leona. Next, we watch as the two men resume their lives after Leona loses her battle with cancer. Finally, husband and wife come to terms with the sudden death of Stevie, their only child.

We get to know the family casually and — more important — intimately. Death has a knack for stripping away defenses. It’s a bit like those human-body exhibits that allow us to take a look — in astonishing detail — at the biological processes that go on without our control.

We see that death leaves a void that nothing can ever truly fill, that the living must go on no matter what, and that the life we’ve lived may not have been the life we intended or even wanted to live. But that’s OK too.

Rest in Pieces is a brilliantly written and riveting piece of theatre. Bluestein skillfully pairs razor-sharp repartees with moments of intense emotion, evoking both laughter and tears — often at the same time — from the audience. DTC executive director Bud Martin’s superb direction showcases the cast at the top of its form. 

Rest in Pieces offers a sage piece of advice for anyone who has ever been at odds with a family member: Love your family as you love yourself. It’s a very short stay. 

Don’t miss this one.

See www.delawaretheatre.org.

A Weekend of Music at Christina Cultural Arts Center: Diva Jones & Jazz Vespers

Two events this weekend at Christina Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) brings even more music to its intimate Clifford Brown Performance Space. 

On Friday, November 7, beginning at 7:00pm, mezzo-soprano Diva Jones will present The Wellthy Diva Jones — a mini-concert for the public and a workshop focused on healthy-living for performing artists. Called "...a mezzo with the stature of (opera legend) Shirley Verrett, plus the flash of Dorothy Dandridge." by The London Times, Jones has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, and United Kingdom with major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Israeli Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.  She is also a dedicated whole and raw foods chef, who studied under the famed Ann Wigmore Institute.  Tickets for Diva Jones are $15 for adults and $10 for students with ID.

For more information on Diva Jones, visit msdivajones.com.

To close the weekend on Sunday, November 9, at 2:00pm, CCAC welcomes Music Director Aaron graves and griot Greg Williams for "The Gospel According to Jazz" Jazz Vespers. The program also features Aaron Graves, piano; Tony Williams, saxophone; Cedric Napoleon, bass; Craig Mciver, drums & Tonya Lynette, vocals. A free-will donation is appreciated.

For more information on these events, please call Christina Cultural Arts Center at 302.652.0101.

The mission of Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. is to make affordable arts and education, workforce training and live performances accessible to youth and adults in a welcoming learning environment.  Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. was founded in 1945 by the Women's Club of Trinity Episcopal Church to provide activities for immigrant Polish and Swedish working-class families.  In 1969, the Christina mission was re-aligned to serve as a community-based arts center with an emphasis on preserving African-American cultural heritage. In 1993, Christina completed a capital campaign to purchase and renovate its central location in downtown Wilmington at 705 N. Market Street. Today, Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. is a gathering place for all, exploring diverse creative expression reflecting our shared American heritage.  

See www.ccacde.org.