DID
DEBORAH GO TO THE GRAMMYS? DID THEY WIN? WHAT
HAPPENED?
Deborah
and her staff, friends and family went to
the Grammys, had a FABULOUS time and didn't
win the golden Gramophone -- this time! You
can read their Grammy Diaries and see some
pictures here.
HOW
DID "INVENTION & ALCHEMY" GET
NOMINATED?
Producer
Jonathan Wyner submitted the CD to the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the
membership voted, and “Invention &
Alchemy” won a nomination for “Best
Classical Crossover Album.”
DID
THE DVD & CD BOTH WIN THE NOMINATION?
GRAMMY Awards are for audio recordings, not
for film or video. So, officially, the CD
won the nomination – though it’s
the same music that’s on the DVD.
HOW
MANY GRAMMY CATEGORIES ARE THERE?
There are 108 categories within 30 genres
of music such as pop, gospel, rap and classical.
"Invention & Alchemy" was nominated
in the "Best Classical Crossover Album"
category.
WHAT
DOES “CLASSICAL CROSSOVER” MEAN?
WHAT’S IT CROSSING OVER FROM... OR TO?
Wikipedia says: “In music,
crossover is a term used to describe material
borrowed from a different style or genre and
whose popularity crosses the considered boundaries
of styles or genres. One way of defining crossover
is a work from one genre of music becoming
popular among listeners who ordinarily listen
to another, more popular genre.”
“Invention
& Alchemy” is also considered “Classical
Crossover” simply because it uses an
ensemble that’s generally considered
a classical ensemble (the symphony orchestra),
to play “non-classical” music.
From what we can tell, "Classical Crossover"
is any music that crosses over the divide
between what's traditionally considered classical
music and music that is more influenced by
current popular culture.
WHY
IS “INVENTION & ALCHEMY” CONSIDERED
A “CLASSICAL CROSSOVER” ALBUM?
In the case of “Invention
& Alchemy,” the music itself is
a crossover that mixes underlying structures
of classical, jazz, folk, flamenco and other
genres. For example, “Baroque Flamenco”
(the first cut on the CD) starts with a classical
minuet and a classical structure called a
"Rondo," but that melody is alternated
with sections built on a fast latin rhythm
called “Naningo” (a rhythm most
familiar from Leonard Bernstein’s “America”)
and the whole piece culminates in a "cadenza"
(a free improvisatory-type section) - on the
harp - in a Flamenco style. So there's a LOT
of crossover in Baroque Flamenco.
This
stylistic crossover is inspired in part by
Deborah’s musical imagination and her
background in both classical and jazz-based
styles, but also by the story inside the piece:
the story of a troupe of Flamenco dancers
who discover that their new guitar is really
a time-machine -- and who end up crashing
a Minuet party thrown by Marie Antoinette.
"The
Danger Zone" is a similar hybrid of classical
and non-classical ideas. The melody is angular
and offbeat, but follows the structure of
a very short sonata -- except that the section
classical folks call the "development"
is based on a sort of rhythm-and-blues groove.
Like a classical concerto, the solo instrument
stops the action near the end of the piece
and plays a "cadenza" (a more free
exploration of the instrument and the themes
of the piece) -- but ... uh ... it's definitely
not classical.
In
"Way You Are Blues," the crossover
is simpler: an orchestra is playing blues.
But this crossover becomes enhanced when,
for example, the principle bass player takes
a jazz-type solo, but using a classical bowing
technique -- or when the solo harp starts
playing with guitar-like distortion.
A
similar crossover happens in "Catcher
in the Rye" where the timpani "rocks
out" the way one is used to seeing a
drummer "rock out."
This
mix of classical and non-classical concepts
runs throughout the music of "Invention
& Alchemy" and makes it a Classical
Crossover album both in concept and in sound.
WHOSE
GRAMMY NOMINATION IS IT? DEBORAH'S? THE GRAND
RAPIDS SYMPHONY'S? THE PRODUCER'S?
As we understand it, especially
in the case of "Album," Grammy Nominations
for "Best Classical Crossover Album"
(versus
nominations like "Best Song")
belong to everyone who took
part in creating that album. That means that
now Deborah is a "Grammy Nominated Artist"
and David Lockington is a "Grammy Nominated
Conductor," and so on.
We
are particularly proud of this nomination
for that very reason. This was a deeply collaborative
project and the fact that it received an album-wide
nomination reflects to us the spirit in which
this project was invented and developed. We're
deeply proud of this nomination and everything
it stands for.
GOT
MORE QUESTIONS?
Send
them to publicity@HipHarp.com
and we'll try to answer them!
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"Invention
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