Copper


The mindful melophile


A Little Knight Music

Issue 199The Mindful Melophile

The Middle Ages lasted from the fall of Rome (c. 500) to the start of the Renaissance (c. 1400 – 1500). It’s a span also referred to as the medieval...

I Bought It for the A-Side

Issue 197The Mindful Melophile

In the days before streaming; in the days before CDs, cassettes and LPs; back in the days of dance parties and portable phonographs there were 45s – little black records...

Pacific Standard Time

Issue 195The Mindful Melophile

Lester Young provided the inspiration. Miles Davis has been credited with creating the genre. George Shearing and Hank Jones performed it. Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, and Art Pepper helped popularize...

A One, and a Two...(Part Two)

Issue 186The Mindful Melophile

“A One, and a Two (Part Two)” continues the exploration started in Issue 184 of pieces that are often overlooked because the usual suspects (large orchestral works, string orchestras, vocal...

And a One, and a Two…(Part One)

Issue 184The Mindful Melophile

Concert programs normally consist of the usual suspects like music written for large orchestras, small orchestras, string orchestras, or choruses. You won’t find any of them in today’s Melophile, or any...

Hear, There, Everywhere: Part One

Issue 179The Mindful Melophile

One of the many wonderful things about music is its ability to help us discover and appreciate musical styles from around the world. Some composers and performers assimilate styles from...

And Now For Something Completely Different: Sin...

Issue 175The Mindful Melophile

Christmas songs. You’ve heard them before. You’ll hear them again. But not quite in this way. Lyn Stanley, the multi-talented producer, former marketing professional and competitive ballroom dancer, and singer...

Dracula and the Dancing Plagues

Issue 173The Mindful Melophile

During the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries a few villains and events emerged that wouldn’t be out of place if you found them in episodes of TV’s American Horror Story....

All That Jazz, Part Two

Issue 171The Mindful Melophile

When I was studying music in college, I thought about learning how to play the double bass. On second thought it seemed impractical: I would have to carry an instrument...

All That Jazz

Issue 169The Mindful Melophile

  Just in time for your final pool party, here’s a sampling of jazz recordings to keep you cool and entertained for the rest of the summer. The selections include...

Hooked on Earworms

Issue 167The Mindful Melophile

“An earworm is a song or melody that keeps repeating in one’s mind.” Merriam-Webster Earworms can be found in many of the pieces and songs you enjoy listening to: all you...

Play it Again, Sam

Issue 165The Mindful Melophile

This is the third list of preferred recordings that started with “A Few of My Favorite Things” (Issue 129) and “More of My Favorite Things” Issue 134). These eclectic collections consist of CDs and...

The Big Bang Theory

Issue 163The Mindful Melophile

As I’ve mentioned before in this column, when I was very young and first started listening to music I was initially fascinated by “big” music – stereo recordings of large...

Still Singing! A Bit of Talking! A Little More ...

Issue 161The Mindful Melophile

This month’s article, Part Two of “All Singing! Some Talking! A Little Dancing!” (Part One appeared in Issue 156), includes additional choral music selections in a variety of forms – and...

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Issue 158The Mindful Melophile

Many listeners avoid 20th-century classical music: they associate it with compositions that are aggressive, clamorous, dissonant and, in general, irritating. They don’t like the atonal or 12-tone (dodecaphonic) music that...

All Singing! Some Talking! A Little Dancing!

Issue 156The Mindful Melophile

This month's focus is on choral music: pieces for accompanied and unaccompanied ensembles, music sung by large and small groups, vocal arrangements of instrumental music, standard choral repertoire, and music...

The Goldilocks Chronicles

Issue 154The Mindful Melophile

Streaming has become the most popular audio format. It’s convenient. It’s easy. You can move immediately from one recording to another. But Gilad Edelman, in a recent article for Wired magazine, makes...

Adventures in Shopping Badly

Issue 152The Mindful Melophile

‘Tis the season to be shopping and time once again for retailers to be visited by the ghosts of customers past. In the spirit of the holidays, here are several...

Thriller!

Issue 148THE MINDFUL MELOPHILE

Here’s an eclectic collection of music appropriate for Halloween you might not have heard before or listened to in this context. This assortment ranges from ballet, movie, and orchestral works...

Mister Mister and the Misses

Issue 145THE MINDFUL MELOPHILE

This month the Melophile suggests music by composers who either deserve better recognition or are already well-known but have written major works that were overshadowed by their own “biggest hits.”...

A Little Knight Music

Issue 143THE MINDFUL MELOPHILE

The Middle Ages lasted from the fall of Rome (c. 500) to the start of the Renaissance (c. 1400 – 1500). It’s a span also referred to as the medieval...

Size Counts

Issue 138THE MINDFUL MELOPHILE

“The Mindful Melophile” is a new column that will appear in every other issue of Copper. It continues the exploration of best-liked, famous, infamous, and little-known LPs and CDs I started in...

I Bought It for the A-Side

Issue 141THE MINDFUL MELOPHILE

In the days before streaming; in the days before CDs, cassettes and LPs; back in the days of dance parties and portable phonographs there were 45s – little black records...

150 Musical Offerings

Issue 150The Mindful Melophile

To celebrate the 150th issue of Copper I’m offering a list of 150 recommended recordings, most with hyperlinks to YouTube for instant listening gratification. Half of the entries are CDs and LPs I’ve...