Homecoming

Lots of other groups than the ones Bach would have known have decided they wanted a piece of him, from Stokowski's Philadelphia Orchestra to recorder consorts, brass groups, and even teams of electronic musicians. All these settings involve a degree of compromise. A string quartet, for example, brings a grammar of articulation to Bach that may give him a disagreeable accent. This project, originating in Russia, offers something of a middle ground for listeners who may enjoy the sound of Bach played by a contemporary ensemble: it has been carefully done so as to keep the structures of the Goldberg Variations front and center, with no more variety of texture than they would receive on a piano. Arranger Andrei Eshpai, whose career as a composer dates back into the Soviet era, chooses the combination of two oboes, an English horn, and a bassoon for his wind quartet – all double reeds.

Homecoming. It is hardly surprising that several jazz compositions are known by this name. Especially for the continuously travelling improvisers, those post-modern nomads, to return home to their families is something he/she is longing for during the continuous loop of aeroplane-hotel-stage-aeroplane (even if he/she is longing to be back on the road after a few days at home…). Home can mean many different things: for some it is being on stage, for others it is an imaginary place, only to be found in their dreams. However, you may also associate homecoming with Vince Mendoza’s return to his acknowledged first love, jazz. Or his reunion with the orchestra he feels deeply connected with for already more than two decades, the WDR Big Band. Maybe the word makes you think of the happy opportunity to once again write your own music. The word has all of these and many more meanings, all of them are coming together in this particular homecoming.

Homecoming: The Live Album (stylized as HΘMΣCΘMING: THE LIVE ALBUM) is the fifth live album by American singer Beyoncé, which was released on April 17, 2019. Recorded on April 14 and 21, 2018, at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California, just over one year prior to the album's premiere, the set features the entirety of Beyoncé's performance at the music festival which has since been deemed as "historic" by a number of music critics and media outlets. Two studio tracks – a cover of Maze's song "Before I Let Go" (which was previously covered by Destiny's Child in the late nineties but never officially released) and "I Been On" – follow the live recording, bringing the album's length to just short of two hours. The album's release coincided with the release of Homecoming, a documentary about the Coachella set that premiered on the streaming platform Netflix on April 17, 2019.