Just a couple of words on some music I've enjoyed recently. First off, my wife and I went to see J.P. Cormier and the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra on Friday - truly amazing! We've seen JP a couple of times, and were quite impressed, but those were only brief performances and/or the tail end of a tv program, so I don't think we got a real sense of the actual talent to which we were being treated. I mean it was great, and led to us buying these tickets, but still. Now, after a full performance of Mr. Cormier's, I know!

For those who don't know (and that should be none, as I'm pretty sure I know everyone who's reading this right now), JP is a large man - a very large man. I don't have any exact measurements, but let me assure you that he could easily enter the world of professional wrestling and not go unnoticed. That being said, his musicianship is truly gargantuan - I'm sure that any guest performer playing with an orchestra is supposed to be the centre of attention, but when said performer's effort eclipses the orchestra so much so that you almost forget they are there...

The speed with which his fingers move upon the guitar/mandolin/banjo/fiddle (he plays them all, and all brilliantly) is jaw-droppingly phenomenal, with nary a note missed (yes I said nary, there was some literature presence in my nerd profile if you recall). He played a mix of original pieces with some Gordon Lightfoot songs and at least one Chet Atkins tune (which was apparently originally done by someone else originally but the name was Italian or Spanish and I can't for the life of me recall it correctly). I may be recalling the evening poorly, I'll consult the program when I get home and make corrections if necessary, but I think this was the piece title the New Century Hornpipe, and it was crazy-amazing! Some bizarre (but awesome) conglomeration of hornpipe, flamenco, and who-knows-what-else. The conductor, Scott MacMillan, joined in on a couple of tunes, this being one of them. JP introduced him as one of his guitar heros, and well let's just say no one was surprised at that once they began to play. I had noticed the extra guitar on stage earlier, and was wondering to myself why it was in such an odd position - it never occurred to me that the conductor might be a guitar player. In fact, one of the absolutely last instruments I expect a conductor to play is the guitar, it just doesn't seem very conductor-like to me. Piano, violin, those are conductor instruments, but guitar? We all have our preconceived notions of the way of things, and it was cool to see this one of mine dismissed so powerfully. I'll be looking for a couple of Mr. MacMillan's CDs now, that's for sure.

Three brief last notes on that evening: 1)JP is hilarious on stage;
2)many of his original pieces are very poignant and emotional, regardless of tempo. The tales he tells through his songs are beautiful, tragic, and moving;
3)both my wife and I uttered a not-quiet-but-not-too-loud "woo!" when JP first pulled out the banjo. At intermission, she informed me that 'our trailer is showing'. Well I can't help it - the banjo may have a hillbilly-redneck reputation, but to me it just sounds cool! And when it is played that fast and well, it's hard not to let loose a "yee-haw" or two :D

Okay, time to switch gears (this post is going on much longer than I thought it would, and definitely much longer than you wish it was).  I popped my Blackest Sabbath CD into the car stereo yesterday for a short while, and played it all the way during my morning commute today.  Ah, good ole retro-metal!  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this CD- it's a compilation of 15 songs from 1970-1987, I suppose you could call it a greatest hits album.  Anyway, what a way to start the day - I haven't been this energized at the beginning of a work in a long time! 

Tags: cormier, music
Current Mood: happy