…is attending a concert of Medieval vocal music one evening, and attending a Japanese rock band concert on the next evening.
The Hilliard Ensemble will be doing a two-part concert on the 27th of April at the Esplanade Concert Hall, with the first part featuring music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt interspersed with medieval vocal music, and Morimur for the second part, which inspired J.S. Bach’s Partita for solo violin in d minor, particularly the Chaconne. Between Bach’s chorales and the chaconne is apparently this hidden link, described as “an adventure in speculative musicology”. Below is one of the more prominent chorales, “Christ lag in Todesbanden” and the Chaconne as presented by the Hilliard Ensemble.
In contrast, the concert on the 28th of April is a long-awaited one. I’ve liked J-Rock since secondary school days, L’arc~en~ciel, Malice Mizer and X-Japan were among my favourite bands. A friend was quite shocked that I listen to both heavy metal and classical, thinking that both are at loggerheads and different ends of the spectrum. I beg to differ, seeing the apparent similarities in both. In fact, this article suggests that fans of heavy metal and classical music have more in common than they think.
Stay Away by L’arc~en~ciel was the first song I ever heard by the band, and I was mesmerized by Tetsu’s melodic bass lines. This video is from approximately 10 years ago. Enjoy!
Dissonance or not, I know it’s going to be an absolutely fantastic weekend (: