If you love listening to the music of WaterFire, you’ll love our playlists! The latest playlist is a collection of instrumental tracks, the best that WaterFire has to offer. The tracks include a variety of genres to appeal to every music fan, the absence of lyric tying each song together. You can download the entire playlist, or selections from it here.
Instrumental Music Playlist:
1. A Prayer (Improv No 11) – Giora Feidman
2. Fordlândia (Aerial View) – Jóhann Jóhannsson
3. Shhh/Peaceful – Miles Davis
4. Oblivion – The National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain
5. Aguas de Amazonia: 2. Japurá River – Uakti
6. Gnossienne No. 1 – Erik Satie & First Gnossienne
7. If I Knew – Joshua Bell
8. Prayer of Saint Gregory, Op. 626 – Alan Hovhaness & the Polyphonia Orchestra of London
9. The Road to Exile – Afro Celt Sound System
10. The Weeping Meadow – Hâmed Pursâ i
11. Pōpoki Slack Key (Instrumental) – Ray Kane
12. Without Shades – Zagar
Musician Profiles
Giora Feidman is an Argentine-born, Jewish musician. Music was in his blood, as his father and grandfather were both musicians as well. Feidman grew up learning to play the clarinet and eventually joined the Teatro Colon, the most renowned opera house in South America. At the age of 21, he left Buenos Aires for Israel, and joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Jóhann Jóhannsson is an Icelandic composer and producer whose music has been described as “elegant, haunting, and melancholy.” Jóhannsson has performed in venues around the world, including the Paris Centre Pompidou, London’s Barbican Centre, Brussels’ Palais des Beaux Arts, and the Rudolfinum in Prague.
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Miles Davis was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He was at the forefront of many major developments in jazz music including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion. The New England Conservatory has awarded him an Honorary Doctorate and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has awarded him eight Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.
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The National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain is a lively, talented, and enterprising ensemble of saxophonists who are committed to presenting challenging but accessible music to as wide of an audience as possible. The National Saxophone Choir was founded by Nigel Wood in 2003. The group has made an impact on the saxophonic world, and currently attracts players and guest conductors from around the country. The group has been a notable participant in the World Saxophone Congress, a festival gathering of upwards of 1,000 saxophonists from around the world.
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Uakti is a Brazilian instrumental band composed of Marco Antônio Guimarães, Artur Andrés Ribeiro, Paulo Sérgio Santos, and Décio Ramos. The band is well-known for their use of customized, self-built instruments. Some of the instruments used by the group include pans (made from PVC pipes), marimbas, string instruments with bows (inspired by the cello and viol), and drums.
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Erik Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie received music lessons from a local organist in Honfleur, in Normandy, France. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1879, followed by a brief stint in the military. He eventually went on to compose many great piano works, including piano ‘miniatures.’ He is most famous for his series of Gnossiennes. Satie coined the word “gnossienne” to describe his new work, an unprecedented act by composers. Gnossienne No 1 is very popular and has been used in soundtracks worldwide, including Chocolat, Man on Wire, and Hugo.
Joshua Bell is a Grammy-award winning violinist and conductor, born in Indiana, USA. Bell started taking violin lessons at age 4, and by the age of 14, he was performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti. His debut at Carnegie Hall took place when he was 17 years old, with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Bell is an artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and an adjunct associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer. He was a prolific 20th century composer, with 67 symphonies and 434 opus numbers in his catalog. Hovhaness was born in Sommerville, MA, although later moved to Arlington to escape discrimination against Armenians. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Hovhaness admitted to have burnt many of his earlier works over a period of 2 weeks. He was a member of the Boston Conservatory and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to spend time in Asia.
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Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group that combines modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music. The group was formed by Grammy-nominated producer Simon Emmerson, and at times is referred to as a world music “supergroup.” The group releases music on Peter Gabriel’s music label, and has released a song featuring Gabriel, which was very successful.
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Ray Kane, short for Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu, was the Hawaiian master of the slack-key guitar. His sound is described as sweet-sounding, and he emphasized that musicians should play from the heart. Kane was honored as a “national living treasure” by the National Endowment for the Arts with an NEA National Heritage Fellowship.
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Zagar is a headliner group of the Hungarian indie and electronic music scene. Their sound is based on contemporary electronic music, jazz and indie rock, paired with experimental DJ scratches. The result is reminiscent of the 1960s psychedelic era. Zagar produces both original tracks and remixes.
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About the author
This is a must for locals, and guest from out of town who would love to experience this wonderful evening of music, fire on the water, venues of food, entertainment, and see Providence all in firelight. I make sure that when friends come in for a visit that they are here when there is a WaterFire. I have been attending since they started and its better every year. Make sure to see one before the year is up.