Albino Eunhadan

Robert Schumann considered Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner the most promising operatic composer in the country, yet despite his 21 operas he has been almost forgotten. Like most leading German composers of his time he took Meyerbeer’s historical grand operas, conceived in Paris, as his model. Set in Sicily at the dawn of the 1848 revolution, Il vespro siciliano (‘Die sizilianische Vesper’ / ‘The Sicilian Vespers’) is a dramatic four-act opera that reveals why he was held in such esteem by Schumann, Spohr and Mendelssohn: expressive harmonies, folksong-like strophic songs, rich orchestration, the use of the latest stylistic devices, and tuneful bel canto melodies that point to the work’s Franco-Italian lineage.

Gérard Lesne has already given us some glorious music by largely forgotten composers such as Galuppi and Jommelli. Now he’s turned to Hasse, little-known in this year of his tercentenary but renowned in the 1700s for his operas and oratorios. A German-born composer of Italianate music, Hasse’s work exemplifies the stylistic transition from late Baroque through galant to early Viennese classicism. His 1742 sacred oratorio I pellegrini al sepolcro di Nostro Signore (The Pilgrims at the Tomb of Our Lord) is operatic in style, its succession of busy, inventive da capo arias impressively sung here by Lesne and his team, though Il Seminario Musicale’s strings can sound dry.

Produced by Ian Brennan, the Tanzanian Albinism Collective offers a glimpse into music that comes from the heart and soul of a group of people, who up until now have been almost completely under represented and “unheard.” The resulting album is in turns beautiful, emotional, harrowing, fascinating and most importantly, completely “human.”

Dog Fashion Disco have set a July 06th release date through Razor To Wrist for their forthcoming effort, “Experiments In Embryos“. Going by the track listing, the outing appears to be a compilation of re-recorded tracks from 1998’s “Experiments In Alchemy” and “The Embryo’s In Bloom“. Last year the band re-recorded and updated their 1997 debut album “Erotic Massage” in a similar fashion.

Henry Jackman has taken over scoring duties on the upcoming fantasy adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The film is directed by Jake Kasdan (Bad Teacher, Orange County) and stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Bobby Cannavale and Nick Jonas. The movie follows four high school kids who are transported into an adventure video game and must survive from its challenges. Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Lego Batman Movie) and Scott Rosenberg (High Fidelity) & Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) wrote the screenplay based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. Matt Tolmach (The Amazing Spider-Man) and William Teitler (The Polar Express) are producing the project. James Newton Howard was originally attached to score the film before the movie’s release date was pushed back half a year. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will be released on December 20, 2017 by Sony Pictures.

"It began in Big Sur. Fred Frith and I, sitting naked on two small wooden blocks, legs crossed, hands resting on our knees. A small clearing on a rise above the Pacific Ocean, waves pounding a steady beat against the rocks far below. I had arrived at the Zen retreat the previous afternoon and Fred was one of the first people I ran into. I’d met him in more formal situations at Ralph Records, but we had not previously hung out socially. Fred was the current artist-in-residence at Esalen, and had been there nearly six weeks. He’d invited me to join him in an "air bath" the next morning and so here we sat, bathing in the morning sea air. The glow of Fred's skin made me sadly aware of how much time I spent in a windowless studio. I could easily pass for an albino. Fred was not big on talking, so we sat in quiet contemplation. But soon I became aware of a humming sound and realized Fred was singing quietly to himself accompanied by the rhythm of the waves."