Héros D'un Jour

Nous ne cessons d’honorer l’histoire : de célébration en commémoration, nous faisons mémoire des hauts faits, des aveuglements ou des avancées d’hommes et de femmes qui ont éclairé ou entaché son cours. Il se pourrait pourtant que la mémoire soit l’ennemie de l’histoire, qu’elle tisse sa propre trame, nourrisse ses légendes noires ou blanches, construise ses héros et ses maudits, sans souci de réalité ni de vérité. Laurent Avezou montre dans ce livre comment la mémoire collective se joue de la vérité historique, comment se font et se défont les gloires locales, nationales ou universelles. …

The classical works of Tan Dun typically fuse compositional elements from the East and the West, but for his soundtrack to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, musical cultures aren't so much blurred as coexistent side-by-side. While the magical martial arts film doesn't boast music as stunning as its visuals, this soundtrack is still beautiful and elegant, a perfect complement to the movie's mysticism. Just don't expect epic, John Williams-inspired bombast here. On "A Wedding Interrupted," the riveting brass and string section introduction segues into soft-hued meditations; "Night Fight" boasts spiky percussion but sounds more reminiscent of Stomp than a kung-fu scene. That said, Dun's understated score–filled with Asian instrumentation, Romantic cello solos from Yo-Yo Ma, and a token theme song with vocals by Asian pop star CoCo Lee–is still a fascinating listen. Fans of Ma and Dun shouldn't pass this up.

Decca releases the world-premiere recording of this epic choral work, composed and conducted by the OSCAR, Grammy and BAFTA award-winning and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun. The monumental work, involving massed choirs, large orchestra, six percussionists and an array of soloists including indigenous singers, traditional Chinese instruments and a dancing pipa player, is the first such ‘Passion’ on a Buddhist rather than Christian narrative. Set at the foot of the Himalayas and inspired by Chinese and Sanskrit texts, the captivating and life-affirming score fuses the ancient wisdom of Buddhism with the musical tradition of JS Bach’s Passions, featuring hypnotic orchestral textures and Eastern vocal techniques. Recorded at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center Concert Hall in 2029 with Orchestre National de Lyon and International Choir Academy Lübeck, conducted by Tan Dun with eminent Chinese soloists.

Tan Dun's Concerto for String Orchestra and Pipa (1999) is a reworking of one of his most popular works, Ghost Opera, written for and recorded by the Kronos Quartet. In this version, the composer's characteristic polystylism – which here includes Chinese folk song, Copland-esque Big Sky music, quotations from Bach, and vocalizations by the orchestra – comes across as a jumble, without much of a strong vision holding the disparate elements together. Pipa virtuoso Wu Man, who appeared on the Kronos recording, plays the concerto with energy and delicacy. She's ably accompanied by the Moscow Soloists, led by Yuri Bashmet. The concerto is followed by Takemitsu's Nostalghia (1987) for violin and string orchestra. Its compositional assurance, clarity, subtly nuanced orchestration, and emotional directness make it all the more striking in contrast to the Tan Dun. Here Bashmet is the impassioned soloist, with Roman Balashov conducting with great sensitivity. The three brief excerpts from Takemitsu's film scores are a pleasant stylistic diversion – light, strongly differentiated character pieces.

Fire Ritual, the concerto that lends its name to the present disc, was composed with Hemsing in mind. With it Tan Dun has created a musical ceremony for the victims of war, building on four themes: Cruel Wars, Innocent People, Mantras of the Heavenly Birds and Eternity. The concerto was premièred in September 2018 by Hemsing and the Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by the composer. For Eldbjørg Hemsing, Tan Dun has also created the concerto that opens the disc, Rhapsody and Fantasia, based on earlier works. Both works reflect the composer’s memories of growing up barefoot in the countryside, and his later experiences of bringing together the shamanistic and spiritual world of his childhood with the discipline and philosophy of Peking Opera. Or in the composers own words: ‘a reflection of those early memories of my youth, but through the lens of my current musical soundscape’.

Days After The Rodeo is a sort of indirect sequel to the Folkjazz album. Although references to folklore are still present in their own way, for this album the band has consciously sought a more American expression. The method of making the album is of course very similar to the Folkjazz record, but it was clear from the beginning that it doesn't make sense to continue the success of the previous record just by copying the theme of the previous record as it is. By taking the musical tradition of the far west in all its diversity as a topic, the band has created something new and fresh, while maintaining continuity with the previous album.

Que se passe-t-il dans la tête d'Hannibal Lecter et dans celle de Rambo ? D'où vient l'inquiétante aura de Tony Soprano ? Que cache le sourire de Dexter ou le rire du Joker ?
Christophe Debien, psychiatre hospitalier et co-auteur de la chaîne youtube Psylab, révèle les troubles psychiatriques : dépression, schizophrénie, bipolaires…

Des légendes et des mythes des origines venus du monde entier. Sont évoqués le désespoir d'Isis, les obélisques, la jalousie de Seth, les trigrammes de Fuxi, la naissance de P'an Kou, le fleuve Pactole, les pétrifications de Méduse, le périple d'Enée, la céleste et nocturne Ratri, les incarnations de Vishnou et les amours de Krishna. …