Joseph Brent - Point of Departure

[Scott Tichenor]

Congratulations to board member Joe Brent on his new solo recording, Point of Departure. There's a cut he's contributed on the Cafe MP3 player, and be sure to visit his web site. Job well done!

[vkioulaphides]

I am honored and delighted that Joe has included my own Anwerp Harbor in this recording. In fact, I cannot wait until later on today, when I expect him to to drop by my day-job post with a hard copy. I have no doubt that he and harpist Bridget Kibbey have done an equally wonderful job in performing all other works on this album. Judging by the audio files they have been kind enough to share with me as the recording of my own piece was taking shape, I can say without any reservation that theirs is an absolutely LOVELY sounding duo, and this a fine sample of their wonderfully artistic playing, rich in nuance, subtlety of shading, and sensitive timing of "musical events". Perhaps to point out the obvious, the "natural" combination of the two sonorities, that of the mandolin and that of the harp, is sheer beauty, in and of itself.

Three cheers to Joe and Bridget!

Victor

[Jim Garber]

Joe is an excellent musician and a all-around nice guy. I met him first at Carlo Aonzo's workshop quite a few years ago. I am seriously looking fwd to getting this CD, of course with the added treat of one of Victor's pieces.

[Linda Binder]

Congrats Joe! Bring lots of copies to sell at the CMSA convention! I'm eager to hear the CD, especially Antwerp Harbor.
--Linda

[joebrent]

Thanks for the kind words Victor and Linda, I will certainly be bringing a box of CDs with me. It can be purchased now on my web site via Google Checkout (which I prefer to PayPal), and will be on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, etc by the end of the month.

[vkioulaphides]

Perhaps by oversight, perhaps by excessive modesty Joe left out the address:

http://www.josephbrent.com/shop.html

[No personal financial interest in this, of course; Joe would have to sell an astounding multitude of copies to even retrieve his own costs, let alone issue royalties. ]

[vkioulaphides]

The first "review" has been a rave.

Fellow-composer David Tcimpidis, Director of our Extension Division at Mannes College --i.e. the same gentleman who just invited Joe to join our faculty-- stopped me this morning to tell me how much he enjoyed Joe's and Bridget's recorded performance of my Antwerp Harbor.

While modesty precludes quoting the kind words David had to say about the piece, I can surely quote him saying how beautiful the playing is. And David, with half a century's experience on composers' forums across the U.S., is a "picky customer"...

I am sure others will gladly second my and David's opinion, once the CD circulates far and wide.

Three cheers for Joe and Bridget!

Victor

[joebrent]

Heh, tell David thanks, and I'll tell him myself when I see him! Incidentally, Astral and CAG has the recording, we're planning a few performances of your piece before the end of the year. I'll be in touch --

[Ira Chavis]

Hey Joe, what you doing with that mandolin in your hand

Congrads on the CD...look forward to getting a copy shortly. As I wont be at CSMA, i'll buy it off your site.

ciao,
Ira

[joebrent]

Finally on CDBaby --

http://cdbaby.com/cd/josephbrent

[vkioulaphides]

A while back, I wrote some program notes for Antwerp Harbor, in case Joe ever wanted/needed to quote any of my Words of Dubious Wisdom on any program(s) featuring this piece. As I expect, however, the majority of listeners to experience this work through Joe's and Bridget's lovely recording, and only the Fortunate Few at one of the duo's spectacular, live performances, I take the liberty of quoting myself

---------------------------------

As a composer, I am often asked the question, "Where does music come from?" Is its source and origin, as many believe, something mysterious, perhaps even metaphysical? There is certainly ample literature claiming so, and a significant segment of the music-loving public is quite unshakably convinced by now that, indeed, music really ought to come from some place deep, hidden from all but the just as mysteriously gifted ones. Those are the composers, who somehow know how to coax sound out of the Great Unknown and, voila, the music magically resonates on the concert stage for all to hear.

As I am a late-stage child of Mediterranean neoclassicism, that most un-metaphysical of aesthetic persuasions, I have never been able to grasp or fathom such nebulous ideas. Instead, let me propose a concept similar to the conservation of matter, as borrowed from the natural sciences: sound comes from, well… sound! In other words, violin sonatas have been inspired by the violin itself, its sound, the manner and technique in which it is played, and of course all the wonderful artists who have devoted their lives to mastering it.

Yet extra-musical inspiration does certainly exist. One cannot deny that Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony reflects his profound love for and affinity with nature. The composer is not merely a scribe, jotting down notes based on other notes, previously heard or learned from books alone. An artist’s soul is touched by a myriad experiences, which are ultimately reflected in the work of art that emerges from that complex interaction of innate talents, acquired skills, external stimuli, and performance practice.

Thus a composer’s point of departure is much like a real, maritime harbor: there is the natural formation of land and sea that made docking of ships possible to begin with; then there are the man-made docks, piers, and moorings; there is, perhaps, the nearly surreal vision of a Flemish landscape of poplars, evanescent in the relentless drizzle of a cold, Sunday morning, punctuated by the cries of errant waterfowl; finally, there is the glorious sound of two beautiful instruments. A journey deep in the heart, looking out at the sea…

[Eugene]

Sorry to come so late to the chat; I haven't given the new forum much time yet. I am truly eager to lay hands to this. I doubt you remember me, Joe (beyond our more recent e-mail correspondence), but I enjoyed chatting on notation software with you over pizza at Carlo's workshop in 2003, and we share a number of personal friends. Albeit from afar, I find you to be an inspiring player.

I mean no offense at all with this comment, but the one thing that would diminish my personal interest in this CD is the excerpted Piazzolla. I'm certain the pieces are marvelously played, but the excellent recordings I already have of those excerpts are too numerous to count (for some reason, "Concert d'aujourd'hui" is most often omitted). I know they're popular, and not everybody has a pluck-centric CD collection like mine, so carry on and sell them discs!

[joebrent]

Originally Posted by Eugene

Sorry to come so late to the chat; I haven't given the new forum much time yet. I am truly eager to lay hands to this. I doubt you remember me, Joe (beyond our more recent e-mail correspondence), but I enjoyed chatting on notation software with you over pizza at Carlo's workshop in 2003, and we share a number of personal friends. Albeit from afar, I find you to be an inspiring player.

I mean no offense at all with this comment, but the one thing that would diminish my personal interest in this CD is the excerpted Piazzolla. I'm certain the pieces are marvelously played, but the excellent recordings I already have of those excerpts are too numerous to count (for some reason, "Concert d'aujourd'hui" is most often omitted). I know they're popular, and not everybody has a pluck-centric CD collection like mine, so carry on and sell them discs!

Thank you for the kind words, Eugene! Hope you enjoy the CD, and of course I remember our chat (but keep it on the down low, in some circles Finale vs Sibelius gets even more heated than Democrat vs Republican!).

I hear what you're saying about the Piazzolla, and we certainly considered that. But we figured there was room for another recording of Histoire because of our unusual instrumentation, especially since the 'Cafe 1930' is so sexy on harp. Also, just as we were deciding repertoire, we played the piece for Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and that was the one everyone went wild for, so we figured we'd be crazy not to include it. We omit the 'Concert' as well, but only because the chromatic nature of the accompaniment makes it unplayable on the harp, and believe me, if Bridget can't play something, it can't be played. When I perform Histoire with a guitarist, I include the 'Concert'.

[Eugene]

You know, the harp spin is something I do not have on the shelves. Interest fully rekindled!

[vkioulaphides]

On one hand, I'm totally with Eugene on (or rather against) overplayed reportoire; on the other hand, however —and having witnessed a performance of the Piazzolla by Joe and Bridget in the oh-so-artsy art bistro Barbes (of Brooklyn, a la Parisienne)— I must say that it was one of the most extraordinary renditions of these pieces. Mind you, in my "former life" in concert management (putting on stage 120+ concerts per year, for over 11 seasons), I heard Histoire du Tango a LOT.

Nice to hear from you again, Eugene. Hope you've been well.

Cheers,

Victor

[joebrent]

Now, finally on iTunes.

[Acquavella]

Hi Joe,

Are you sure? I can't find it any where and a search brought zero results.

[joebrent]

I'm sure -- try a search for Joseph Brent (instead of Joe), it's there.