The Choral Contrarians

Eric Barnum and Richard Robbins
  • 4.9 (34)
  • MUSIC
The Choral Contrarians

A couple of friendly conductors bantering about complex issues affecting the choral world.

  1. MAY 22

    The Intersection of Emotion and Performance

    Richard and Eric try to locate the intersection point of emotion and performance. They not only attempt to differentiate the difference between how emotion works for the audience versus performer, but also debate the value and perception of emotion's usefulness as a performer of music. Do we overvalue, or misjudge, emotion in the act of performance?

    1h 17m

  2. MAY 14

    I had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was…

    Richard and Eric wonder about the goings-on of music and performance in dreams. What piece is heard there? Who wrote that piece? What ensemble performed the piece you heard in the dream? Is there anything to be learned from those questions? Maybe there is something similar going on when a conductor references their mental/aural imagery when adjudicating and rehearsing their ensembles.

    1h 1m

  3. 12/29/2023

    Ye Olde Fireside Chat

    Richard and Eric gather round the old fireplace to chat about a variety of things, including reading a wonderful note from Swedish composer Mattias Sjöberg. High-back chairs and a roaring fire is a wonderful time to reminisce and celebrate hygge during the dark, winter season.

    1h 3m

  4. 12/15/2023

    Wandering the Choral Backrooms

    Eric and Richard ask the question no one is asking (and maybe for good reason): Is there an intersection between the concept of liminal space and choral music? They discuss this fairly defined aesthetic phenomena and posit if any aspect of it can be seen in the light of music performance. Oh, and they rank their favorite solfege syllables. Just riveting in every way.

    56 min

  5. 12/05/2023

    The Future of Music?

    Richard and Eric dive deep into an article in The Critic, entitled "Have I Seen the Future of Music; On a performance in three dimensions for all five senses," by Norman Lebrecht. The article largely reviews pianist Yuja Wang's recent collaboration with renowned English artist David Hockney. The author posits that, through the use of technology and three-dimensional space, this performance hints to not just a navigable way forward for music and music performance, but an exciting p...

    1h 9m

  6. 11/14/2023

    Destined to Drown in the Digital Sea

    Richard and Eric, after struggling to come up with topics for the pocast, resort to asking ChatGPT for help. They review and analyze what offerings AI provides, which leads to a much larger discussion of how AI might intersect the fine arts, most specifically choral music. It is an interesting deep dive into the digital sea.

    1h 25m

  7. 10/26/2023

    The Wallpaper of Spacetime

    Richard and Eric look into a quote about art and music that has been making the rounds of social media recently. Formally attributed to postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, it reads: “Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.” Why does the statement illicit a strong response from those in the fine arts? What could it actually mean, or does it perhaps mean something that people are misinterpreting, en masse?

    49 min

  8. 10/20/2023

    The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

    Richard and Eric have returned from the proverbial grave!They catch up a bit and then briefly tackle the difficult task of creating a discernible ethic an ensemble can utilize and rally around on a practical level. They look specifically to a recent movie: "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" directed by Peter Baynton and Charlie Mackesy (adapted from a book of the same name by Mackesy) for inspiration. Are there ground level ideas or simple philosophies that can be implem...

    1h 8m
See All (55)

4.9
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

A couple of friendly conductors bantering about complex issues affecting the choral world.

Information

  • Creator
    Eric Barnum and Richard Robbins
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2024
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 The Choral Contrarians
  • Show Website
    The Choral Contrarians

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