Classical music
Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western culture, including both liturgical and secular music. While a more precise term is used to refer to the period from 1750 to 1820, this article is about the broad span of time from before the 6th century AD to the present day, which includes the Classical period and various other periods; the central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, known as the common-practice period. The major time divisions of Western art music are as follows: the ancient music period, before 500 AD the early music period, which includes the Medieval including the ars antiqua the ars nova the ars subtilior the Renaissance eras. Baroque the galant music period the common-practice period, which includes Baroque the galant music period Classical Romantic eras the 20th and 21st centuries which includes: the modern that overlaps from the late-19th century, impressionism that overlaps from the late-19th century neoclassicism, predominantly in the inter-war period the high modern the postmodern eras the experimental contemporary European art music is distinguished from many other non-European classical and some popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 11th century.
Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church. Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches, tempo and rhythms for a piece of music; this can leave less room for practices such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, which are heard in non-European art music and in popular-music styles such as jazz and blues. Another difference is that whereas most popular styles adopt the song form or a derivation of this form, classical music has been noted for its development of sophisticated forms of instrumental music such as the symphony, fugue and mixed vocal and instrumental styles such as opera and mass; the term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to distinctly canonize the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Ludwig van Beethoven as a golden age. The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1829.
Given the wide range of styles in European classical music, from Medieval plainchant sung by monks to Classical and Romantic symphonies for orchestra from the 1700s and 1800s to avant-garde atonal compositions for solo piano from the 1900s, it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain, such as the use of music notation and the performance of complex forms of solo instrumental works. Furthermore, while the symphony did not exist prior to the late 18th century, the symphony ensemble—and the works written for it—have become a defining feature of classical music; the key characteristic of European classical music that distinguishes it from popular music and folk music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score determines details of rhythm, and, where two or more musicians are involved, how the various parts are coordinated.
The written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them: fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent harmonic logic that would be difficult to achieve in the heat of live improvisation. The use of written notation preserves a record of the works and enables Classical musicians to perform music from many centuries ago. Musical notation enables 2000s-era performers to sing a choral work from the 1300s Renaissance era or a 1700s Baroque concerto with many of the features of the music being reproduced; that said, the score does allow the interpreter to make choices on. For example, if the tempo is written with an Italian instruction, it is not known how fast the piece should be played; as well, in the Baroque era, many works that were designed for basso continuo accompaniment do not specify which instruments should play the accompaniment or how the chordal instrument should play the chords, which are not notated in the part.
The performer and the conductor have a range of options for musical expression and interpretation of a scored piece, including the phrasing of melodies, the time taken during fermatas or pauses, the use of effects such as vibrato or glissando. Although Classical music in the 2000s has lost most of its tradition for musical improvisation, from the Baroque era to the Romantic era, there are examples of performers who could improvise in the style of their era. In the Baroque era, organ performers would improvise preludes, keyboard performers playing harpsichord would improvise chords from the figured bass symbols beneath the bass notes of the basso continuo part and b
All That Echoes
All That Echoes is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, produced by Rob Cavallo. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200; the album has sold 532,000 copies in the United States as of April 2015. On November 18, 2012, the album was announced, revealing the cover art and date of release: February 5, 2013, it was available for preorder through retailer Amazon.com on November 27. Groban has recorded cover songs by Glen Hansard for the album; the first track, "Brave", was released as a single on December 18, 2012. Groban promoted the album with the All That Echoes World Tour. Official website All that Echoes at AllMusic
Brave (Josh Groban song)
"Brave" is a 2012 classical crossover–pop song by American singer and songwriter Josh Groban. It was the first single release from his sixth studio album, All That Echoes, signaling a move by Groban to a "more guitar-based, rhythmic" sound. Groban and longtime songwriting partner Tawgs Salter composed the melody, the lyrics were written by Chantal Kreviazuk. "Brave" reached No. 13 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. As Josh Groban was releasing Illuminations in 2010, Rob Cavallo was taking over as chairman of Warner Bros. Records, Groban's label. Carvallo attended one of Groban's concerts during the following tour and had dinner with the singer afterward. Groban said Carvallo—known for his work with rock acts like Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day—had "done his homework" and shared some ideas for the future that coincided with Groban's own. "So we said,'This seems like on paper maybe not the most obvious thing but let's try it out.'"Groban and Tawgs Salter had been working on the melody for "Brave" when Groban started singing the words "wake up, wake up" while playing on the piano.
For the remainder of the lyrics, Groban turned to longtime friend Chantal Kreviazuk for their first collaboration, since they had "always been sniffing around for the right thing to do" together. Groban said he wanted "Brave" to fuse the more traditional vocal style with "an intensity and an urgency", opening an album designed to "bridge the old and the new, the light and the dark of life and love... all that echoes in our souls." A "behind the scenes" music video for "Brave" was posted to Groban's YouTube channel in December 2012, including candid shots and production footage. The official music video was released in March 2013. Like the album, Groban used "Brave" to open his concerts during the All That Echoes tour in 2013. In 2013, Groban performed the single for two competition programs: in March, he sang alongside professional dancers for Dancing with the Stars. A cappella musician Peter Hollens covered "Brave" in 2013, using only his voice to create the vocals and instrumental accompaniment.
A link to Hollens' performance was added to Groban's official website. "Brave" has been recorded by several professional and amateur musicians including Britain's Got Talent alumnus Charlie Green and UK opera singer and actor Toby Hinson. BBC Music called "Brave" a "'You Raise Me Up'-style anthem". Billboard said the song is "the latest example of Groban's continued move toward more guitar-based, rhythmic arrangements—the kind he's been trying out on tour for years to surprise his fans." Reviewing All That Echoes, AllMusic said "Brave" invokes "the yearning uplift of bands like U2 and OneRepublic". For its review of All That Echoes, Newsday wrote, " the "Coldplayesque first single,'Brave'"... classically trained, powerful vocals compete with the extra drama of the orchestral arrangements." The Independent found the song "vaguely uplifting". The Village Voice called it "cinematic" if positive in its message. "Be careful, though: it's like a sprayed-white Christmas tree covered in blue lights and tinsel—works fine in the bank, but you might not want it in your house."
In concert in 2013, MLive called the song "the first of many orchestrated numbers with lush instrumentation, designed to be vehicles for his throaty vibrato." The Orlando Sentinel said "Brave" was a "zestful, melodic anthem ". The Toronto Star said the song "might be a metaphor for the singer’s charmed connection with loyal fans."The Morning Call was more critical in its review, writing that Groban seemed to be "trying too hard to be contemporary rather than classical.... He sang too much of the song in an affected voice". Official website Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Straight to You Tour
The Straight to You Tour is the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Josh Groban. Visiting North America and Africa, the tour will support Groban's fifth studio album, Illuminations; the tour was announced by Reprise Records on Valentine's Day 2011. With only three dates, many fans speculated Groban was expanding his intimate tour. Upon his 30th birthday, Groban posted a video on his Tumblr blog stating the tour's expansion in North America with additional dates in England; this is followed by a posting on his official website with a detailed itinerary of the tour. During an interview with Gayle King, Groban mentions he still worries from time to time about his career, he further states given the current atmosphere in the entertainment industry, Groban is always worried about how the media and fans will approach an experimental sound and production. To prepare for the tour, the singer embarked on a mini tour of the United States playing theaters and concert halls; the nine city tour, entailed "Before We Begin", gave the opportunity for Groban to perform in an intimate setting and connect with the audience in new ways.
Groban wants to continue the intimate theme though he will play arenas. To introduce the tour, Live Nation stated: "The "Straight To You" Tour will bring the feel of a theater experience to an arena setting though stage design and projection, as well as through spontaneity and interactivity. Groban delighted his fans during last year's'Before We Begin' shows, in which he solicited feedback from the audience on which songs should be included in the set-list; as a result, for the'Straight To You' shows, Groban will continue to interact with audiences and perform favorites from his best-selling albums, including his self-titled debut and Awake, as well as songs from Illuminations." ELEW The following songs were performed at the Toyota Center in Texas. It does not represent all songs performed on tour. "Straight to You" "Changing Colors" "February Song" "You Are Loved" "Oceano" "Aléjate" "Bells of New York City" "Higher Window" "Alla Luce del Sole" "War at Home" "Instrumental Sequence" "Você Existe em Mim" "Caruso" "Galileo" "Awake" "Weeping" "Machine" "Broken Vow" "Per Te"Encore "Play Me" "You Raise Me Up" Cancellations and rescheduled shows Groban's Official Website Groban's Official Facebook Page Groban's Official YouTube Page Groban's Official Myspace Page
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision; the director has a key role in choosing the cast members, production design, the creative aspects of filmmaking. Under European Union law, the director is viewed as the author of the film; the film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film becomes realized, or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film's budget. There are many pathways to becoming a film director; some film directors started as screenwriters, producers, film editors or actors. Other film directors have attended a film school. Directors use different approaches; some outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue, while others control every aspect, demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely.
Some directors write their own screenplays or collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners. Some directors appear in their films, or compose the music score for their films. A film director's task is to envisage a way to translate a screenplay into a formed film, to realize this vision. To do this, they oversee the technical elements of film production; this entails organizing the film crew in such a way to achieve their vision of the film. This requires skills of group leadership, as well as the ability to maintain a singular focus in the stressful, fast-paced environment of a film set. Moreover, it is necessary to have an artistic eye to frame shots and to give precise feedback to cast and crew, excellent communication skills are a must. Since the film director depends on the successful cooperation of many different creative individuals with strongly contradicting artistic ideals and visions, he or she needs to possess conflict resolution skills in order to mediate whenever necessary.
Thus the director ensures that all individuals involved in the film production are working towards an identical vision for the completed film. The set of varying challenges he or she has to tackle has been described as "a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with egos and weather thrown in for good measure", it adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when and how they will work again, if at all. The sole superiors of the director are the producer and the studio, financing the film, although sometimes the director can be a producer of the same film; the role of a director differs from producers in that producers manage the logistics and business operations of the production, whereas the director is tasked with making creative decisions. The director must work within the restrictions of the film's budget and the demands of the producer and studio. Directors play an important role in post-production. While the film is still in production, the director sends "dailies" to the film editor and explains his or her overall vision for the film, allowing the editor to assemble an editor's cut.
In post-production, the director works with the editor to edit the material into the director's cut. Well-established directors have the "final cut privilege", meaning that they have the final say on which edit of the film is released. For other directors, the studio can order further edits without the director's permission; the director is one of the few positions that requires intimate involvement during every stage of film production. Thus, the position of film director is considered to be a stressful and demanding one, it has been said that "20-hour days are not unusual". Some directors take on additional roles, such as producing, writing or editing. Under European Union law, the film director is considered the "author" or one of the authors of a film as a result of the influence of auteur theory. Auteur theory is a film criticism concept that holds that a film director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur". In spite of—and sometimes because of—the production of the film as part of an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through studio interference and the collective process.
Some film directors started as screenwriters, film producers or actors. Several American cinematographers have become directors, including Barry Sonnenfeld the Coen brothers' DP. Other film directors have attended a film school to get a bachelors degree studying cinema. Film students study the basic skills used in making a film; this includes, for example, shot lists and storyboards, protocols of dealing with professional actors, reading scripts. Some film schools are equipped with post-production facilities. Besides basic technical and logistical skills, students receive education on the nature of professional relationships that occur during film production. A full degree course can be designed for up to five years of studying. Future directors complete short films during their enrollment; the National Film School of Denmark has the student's final projects presented on national TV. Some film schools retain the rights for their students' works. Many directors prepared for making feature films by working in television.
The German Film and Television Academy Berlin cooperate
You Raise Me Up
"You Raise Me Up" is a song composed by Irish-Norwegian duo Secret Garden. The music was written by the lyrics by Brendan Graham. After the song was performed early in 2002 by the Secret Garden and their invited lead singer, Brian Kennedy, the song only became a minor UK hit; the song has been recorded by more than a hundred other artists including Josh Groban, who popularized the song in 2003. The Irish band Westlife popularized the song in the UK two years later. On 29 November, 2018 Icelandic Composer Jóhann Helgason filed a lawsuit claiming that the song is a copy of the 1977 song Söknuður; the song was composed as an instrumental piece and titled "Silent Story". Some have claimed there is a strong resemblance to the traditional Irish tune Londonderry Air, to which Løvland has commented: "There are similarities but no plagiarism; when I made "You Raise Me Up" I asked myself - what is the inner essence of Irish music?" Løvland approached Irish novelist and songwriter Brendan Graham to write the lyrics to his melody, after reading Graham's novels.
The song was made by and for Løvland himself and performed for the first time at the funeral of Løvland's mother. Here he noted "there's something about the song people are embracing - which becomes strong. I believe people think of it as a song they use for their own purposes.". The original designated vocalist was Johnny Logan, himself from Eurovision fame, who recorded a demo with an orchestra. However, a desire to distance the album from Eurovision Song Contest led to a change in vocalist. In 2002, it was released on the Secret Garden album Once in a Red Moon, with the vocals sung by Irish singer Brian Kennedy, sold well in both Ireland and Norway. Brian Kennedy was supposed to follow Secret Garden on their Asian tour in 2002, but Curb records couldn't come to an agreement with Universal to release Brian, he reluctantly could not attend the tour, he was replaced by Norwegian singer Jan Werner Danielsen, who later recorded the song together with Secret Garden. A demo version of this recording was released in 2010, on Danielsen's posthumous compilation album One More Time - The Very Best Of, which included several unpublished recordings.
Although the original version did not chart internationally, the song has now been covered more than 125 times, with the most successful covers being by Josh Groban, Christian group Selah, Daniel O'Donnell and Dutch Popstars winner Wesley Klein. The song has found success as part of a three-song EP entitled "George Best - A Tribute" by Peter Corry and the song's original vocalist Brian Kennedy, which reached #4 in the UK. In 2004, the song was played more than 500,000 times on American radio. In late 2005, there were over 80 versions available in US alone, it has been nominated for Gospel Music Awards four times, including "Song of the Year." On 21 September 2006, "You Raise Me Up" became the first song to have sold over 76,000 copies of the score on the popular sheet music website musicnotes.com. In 2003, David Foster decided to produce the song after being introduced to it by Frank Petrone of peermusic, the song's publisher, he chose the up-and-coming Josh Groban to record the song, accompanied by the tenor Craig Von Vennik of the Establishment.
Groban's version made it to #1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in early 2004 and remained there for six weeks. This version peaked at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100, his first single to do so, was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award. Groban performed the song at Super Bowl XXXVIII, in a special NASA commemoration for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. A special surprise performance by Groban, for Oprah Winfrey's 50th birthday gave "You Raise Me Up" massive international prominence. On April 25, 2007, Groban performed it at the first Idol Gives Back Concert, along with the African Children's Choir; this version was released as a single and peaked at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100. He performed this version with the African Children's Choir again on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on August 10, 2007. On May 26, 2007, Josh Groban appeared on BBC's talent show Any Dream Will Do to select one of the remaining contestants to perform the song with him, he chose show favourite and eventual winner Lee Mead, whilst the other four contestants performed as backing singers.
Following this, the solo version of "You Raise Me Up" charted in the UK at #74, making it his first chart entry there. "You Raise Me Up" was released as the lead single from Westlife's sixth studio album Face to Face. This version is one of the most successful covers of the song, peaking at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, the only version to do so. This was the band's 13th number-one single as well as the first single to be released following Brian McFadden departure from the group, it debuted with 97,288 combined physical and download sales in the UK alone. The single has sold 540,000 copies in the UK so far. In South Korea, it entered the Official South Korean Year-end Downloads Singles Chart in 2010 with 130,759 sales, it stayed in the top 75 of the Official International Karaoke Charts since the inception of the charts in December 2010 up to its recent chart released. Westlife performed this song with Secret Garden at the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize concert. On December 11, 2009, they performed it again at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize concert celebrating US President Barack Obama.
The backing track is re-used in the Spanish version of this song, "Por
Blu-ray
Blu-ray or Blu-ray Disc is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was designed to supersede the DVD format, is capable of storing several hours of video in high-definition and ultra high-definition resolution; the main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. The name "Blu-ray" refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs; the plastic disc is 120 millimetres in diameter and 1.2 millimetres thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Conventional or pre-BD-XL Blu-ray discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual-layer discs being the industry standard for feature-length video discs. Triple-layer discs and quadruple-layer discs are available for BD-XL re-writer drives. High-definition video may be stored on Blu-ray discs with up to 2160p resolution and at up to 60 frames per second.
DVD-Video discs were limited to a maximum resolution of 576p. Besides these hardware specifications, Blu-ray is associated with a set of multimedia formats; the BD format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group representing makers of consumer electronics, computer hardware, motion pictures. Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray disc prototypes in October 2000, the first prototype player was released in April 2003 in Japan. Afterwards, it continued to be developed until its official release on June 20, 2006, beginning the high-definition optical disc format war, where Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. Toshiba, the main company supporting HD DVD, conceded in February 2008, released its own Blu-ray Disc player in late 2009. According to Media Research, high-definition software sales in the United States were slower in the first two years than DVD software sales. Blu-ray faces competition from the continued sale of DVDs. Notably, as of January 2016, 44% of U. S. broadband. The information density of the DVD format was limited by the wavelength of the laser diodes used.
Following protracted development, blue laser diodes operating at 405 nanometers became available on a production basis, allowing for development of a more-dense storage format that could hold higher-definition media. Sony started two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, TDK, applying the new diodes: UDO, DVR Blue, a format of rewritable discs that would become Blu-ray Disc; the core technologies of the formats are similar. The first DVR Blue prototypes were unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000 by Sony. A trademark for the "Blue Disc" logo was filed February 9, 2001. On February 19, 2002, the project was announced as Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray Disc Founders was founded by the nine initial members; the first consumer device arrived in stores on April 10, 2003: the Sony BDZ-S77, a US$3,800 BD-RE recorder, made available only in Japan. But there was no standard for prerecorded video, no movies were released for this player. Hollywood studios insisted that players be equipped with digital rights management before they would release movies for the new format, they wanted a new DRM system that would be more secure than the failed Content Scramble System used on DVDs.
On October 4, 2004, the name "Blu-ray Disc Founders" was changed to the Blu-ray Disc Association, 20th Century Fox joined the BDA's Board of Directors. The Blu-ray Disc physical specifications were completed in 2004. In January 2005, TDK announced that they had now developed an ultra-hard yet thin polymer coating for Blu-ray discs. Cartridges used for scratch protection, were no longer necessary and were scrapped; the BD-ROM specifications were finalized in early 2006. AACS LA, a consortium founded in 2004, had been developing the DRM platform that could be used to securely distribute movies to consumers. However, the final AACS standard was delayed, delayed again when an important member of the Blu-ray Disc group voiced concerns. At the request of the initial hardware manufacturers, including Toshiba and Samsung, an interim standard was published that did not include some features, such as managed copy; the first BD-ROM players were shipped in mid-June 2006, though HD DVD players beat them to market by a few months.
The first Blu-ray Disc titles were released on June 20, 2006: 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, House of Flying Daggers, Underworld: Evolution, xXx, MGM's The Terminator. The earliest releases used the same method used on standard DVDs; the first releases using the newer VC-1 and AVC formats were introduced in September 2006. The first movies using 50 GB dual-layer discs were introduced in October 2006; the first audio-only albums were released in May 2008. The first mass-market Blu-ray Disc rewritable drive for the PC was the BWU-100A, released by Sony on July 18, 2006, it recorded both single and dual-layer BD-Rs as well as BD-REs and had a suggested retail price of US $699. As of June 2008, more than 2,500 Blu-ray Disc titles were available in Australia
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