In this podcast we unpack Columbia Records’ long-awaited digital reissue of Carlos Chávez’s complete recordings for that label. Of particular interest is his astonishing ballet score Pirámide, which features astringent atonal polyphony in the orchestra and ritualized heightened speech in the chorus, all in service to pre-Columbian mythology. We contrast it with Chávez’s more familiar neoclassical music, contemplating the legacy of this once dominant, but now neglected figure in Mexican music.
Plus, Alex Mincek points at Wet Ink Ensemble, Caroline Shaw revisits The Tempest with Roomful of Teeth, Whettman Chelmets contemplates the climate, The Late Unpleasantness makes noise, and four different ensembles—Sam Eastmond’s big band, Peter Evans’ solo trumpet, and the Ben Goldberg and Speed-Irabagon quartets—tackle John Zorn’s latest box set of Bagatelles (with Zorn himself joining in on alto sax). Some historical items from Miles Davis and Peter Maxwell Davies round out the playlist.
