George Frideric Handel – Kevin McBrien

A Playlist for Christmas

December 1, 2021December 4, 2021by Kevin McBrienLeave a Comment

Another holiday season is upon us, and with that comes a wealth of season-appropriate music. (Some good and some not so good. Here’s looking at you, Bob Dylan, and your Christmas album. Yikes.) The sacred realm, in particular, contains an absolute treasure trove of works that honor and celebrate the birth of Jesus. So much of this music has played an indispensable role in my life, and the season is not complete until I’ve given at least one listen to John Adams’s El Niño and Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, to name just two pieces.

To celebrate this time of year, me and my good friend/fellow music nerd, Geoff Nelson, have culled together a playlist that journeys through the story of Christmas, beginning with the longings of Advent and ending with hope for the new year. As with our Holy Week playlist this past March, our selections encompass a broad spectrum of styles and sounds, often wandering between them in unique and surprising ways. (Who knew that Palestrina and The Oh Hellos actually work really well together?) The playlist can also be approached in different ways. Since it is 31 tracks long, it can either be used as a sort of musical “Advent calendar” (i.e., listening to one track each day throughout the 31 days of December), or it can be consumed in a single sitting.

No matter how you approach it—and no matter your faith background—we sincerely hope that our musical selections will inspire reflection, hope, and joy as the world celebrates this holiday season.

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Playlists

A Playlist for Holy Week 2.0

March 29, 2021December 4, 2021by Kevin McBrien3 Comments

What a difference a year makes! This time last spring, the existential dread was starting to sink in as we hunkered down for the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, several vaccines are being administered by the hundreds of thousands each day, businesses and schools are beginning to reopen, and there’s a general tone of optimism in the air. Of course, we still have a long way to go to reach normalcy (the multiple COVID variants are slightly worrisome…), but for the time being, hope is on the horizon.

Speaking of hope, another Holy Week is upon us. In April 2020, I created a Holy Week playlist on Spotify (which you can check out here) and enjoyed the process so much that I decided to make an entirely different one this year. This time, though, I had some input from my good friend Geoff Nelson, Director of Liturgy and Worship at New City Presbyterian Church. After some discussion, Geoff and I assembled a 3-hour playlist that brims with some amazing sacred music. Like last year’s version, this one presents an aural “journey” through the days of Holy Week and encompasses a spectrum of classical sounds along the way, from Renaissance polyphony to modern Passion settings. (You can view the lineup below; the Spotify playlist itself can be found at the bottom of this post.)

No matter your creed or belief system, we hope that this music will provide you with peace, hope, and encouragement for this time of year, as we look forward to brighter days in the future.

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Quick Takes

Summer Writing Projects

September 14, 2020February 28, 2021by Kevin McBrienLeave a Comment

Though COVID sadly (but understandably) canceled what would have been my third summer working at the Aspen Music Festival and School, I am grateful to have received a few writing opportunities from Aspen as well as the Music Academy of the West in Montecito. Below are the fruits of that labor, which take the form of both blog posts and program notes for each festival’s virtual summer season. Click the highlighted links below to read each piece. Enjoy!

(There might be one more blog post in the pipeline for Music Academy of the West, but I’m not 100% sure at the moment. If it does go through, I will add it to the list below.)

“Driven into Paradise: Émigré Composers at the Music Academy of the West” – Blog post (Music Academy of the West, July 4, 2020)

“What’s in a (Nick)name?” – Program note for a virtual, spliced-together performance of the finale from Haydn’s “London” Symphony, played by Academy fellows (Music Academy of the West, July 9, 2020)

“Notes Before a Recital” – Two program notes for a virtual recital of Handel, Bach, Ives, and Bolcom, presented by pianist Jeremy Denk (Music Academy of the West, July 16, 2020)

“Serious Frivolity: Juggling the Profound and the Lighthearted in Beethoven’s Third and Fifth Cello Sonatas” – Blog post accompanying a virtual recital of two of Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas, performed by cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan (Aspen Music Festival and School, July 27, 2020)