|
I first heard this when working for the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall near York. I was teaching a watercolour class on a perfec smmer day in the walled flower garden and this song came floating out of the shop! Idyllic! Utterly romantic. I felt I was in heaven. This beautiful image is from Anna Potter's book Flower Philosophy. 
6 Comments
Even the sound of the rain is romantic in this.. Ah, the food of love.. I will be listening to Oscar Peterson, Tord Gustavsson, Charles Aznavour, Steven Isserlis, Quator Ebene, Arvo Part and Jan Garbbarek, Nina Simone, Sinatra, Mozart, Pucccini, Satie and Debussy, Elaine Page perhaps, or Judy Dench, Katie Melua.. And I plan to listen again to some music posted under Simply Listen (I began my Desert Island Disc selection some years ago and didn't finish it - overwhelmed by the inppossibility of choosing eight!) Please share your favourites! I heard Steven Isserlis play Richard Strauss's Romance in F Major on Radio 3 the other morning and thought I should look out my favouritte romantic music this month. I spent a whole evening listening to and watching programmes about this composer - who wrote this when he was just 19 years od! He composed his fist piece aged 6.    Still enjoying keeping it simple Did anyone else hear the first episode today of a programme called Living With The News (BBC Sounds Radio 4 at 13.45 every day this week). Fascinating on a subject which I think about a lot. The Attention Economy - I knew it existed but didn't know it had a name... Thank you to Susan in Dorset who recommended this programme on BBC Radio 3. I particularly love Music For Growing Flowers in 10 October episode, and Hana Rani's Safe Haven from 31 October - the sound of rain on the roof of the attic in her home in Poland. (The programmes are available for a limited time.) Each episode features a different theme and has a different guest who shares their safe haven. Delightful! I love that the blog is a two way process and that over the years you have told me about wonderful books, music, films and videos, events and places. You enrich my life and I thank you. A fascinating live concert by the Sequoia Duo. You can learn more about them and hear some of their music here. But as you know there's nothing like the real thing..   The painting is Dreams of Flying and is a much deeper and intense sky blue than it looks here... Pianist Vikingur Olafsson says of Bach Bach is always a good idea. Whether you are feeling happy, sad, whatever it is, he makes things better. I would add especially when played by Olafsson, and when played loud! I simply have no words to express the horror and dismay about what is happening in Ukraine. I won't be mentioning it here in the blog, although like everyone, including my nephew's Ukrainian wife, I will be thinking about it. Words may fail me, but music doesn't. The first in person concert in over two years was a resunding success. Webern, Schoenberg and the Bruckner Fourth, it was being recorded for BBC Radio 3 and is being broadcast tonight (Mar 1). It was thrilling to be in the elegant City Halls in Glasgow. My favourite was The Song Of The Wood Dove by Schoenberg, sung by a wonderful mezzo soprano Karen Cargill whose voice just took your breath away, and conducted by balletic Alpesh Chauhan who almost danced off the podium in the Bruckner! The Scottish Symphony Orchestra were at their dazzling best.     Paul McCartney;s Blackbird by Hiromi. Fabulous. The musician in yesterday's post made such a difference to the atmosphere on the Glasgow street on the wet cold day, with his cheerful fiddle. It lifted my spirits and I was glad to have some coins in my pocket. He wished me a Happy New Year when I dropped them into his box. (It was the day before Hogmanay.) York is a great city for street music. I remember a harpist and cellist in Stonegate, a soprano with a voice like an angel in St Helen's Square, a pianist who trundled round a piano on wheels to various locations, a man with a very fine voice singing sea shanties in the Shambles (we also saw hm in Whitby and Lincoln), and Ed Alleyne who drew a crowd in Parliament Stree with his electric violin. There was also, long ago, a little frail man with a shock of white hair who merely leaned against a wasll and breathed in and out of his mouth organ.. In Oxford there was a man with a zither-like instrument who played twinkly music with canddles in jars around his feet and a beatific smile on his face. Are there street musicians where you live? I am finding both music and the talk about music and creativity inspiring. You can hear this pianist on BBC Sounds in In Tune of 12th August, and in a video on YouTube -Vikingur Olafsson Debussy Rameau EPK/Trailer. I would love to know what you think.. The days are flying by and I am feeling quite tired, not having worked this hard for years! This is the start of Ice And Lemon.  I am enjoying The Proms on Radio Three and the wonderful Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson. I love listening to him talk about his art. When someone commented that he made it look easy, he replied that it is easy. You have to love it, he said. If you love it enough to spend the time required on it, then it becomes easy. What an excellent point. I am looking forward to his concert this Saturday.   Thank you Grace for leading me to this! Oops! If this will not play a notice will say Watch on YouTube - if you click on tht it should play....sorry about that. ..and a bit tearful, so sending you this lovely little piece of music. I have been searching for this for years and found it yesterday... ..on my make it rhrough list is make music. Time for an update on my Desert Island Disc choices. (See under Simply Listen in sidebar.) So far I have Beethoven, Mozart, Oscar Peterson and Pablo Casalsand I have been enjoying some of your choices too. I could not miss out this one which lifts my spirits every time and makes me long for Italy. Joyous. Pure escapism. I suggest full screen and full volume! What do you think?
..so clean, so fresh. It has given me such a lift to have the house decorated. If you are thinking about it, I would urge you to just do it! It is bringing out the minimalist in me and I like it empty and am reluctant to put things back.... I will do it slowly, enjoy the process, and be very particular..    Like a few things in my house, the CD player worked sometimes, then stopped working all together. I spent some time today trying out all possible permutations of the controls, to no avail. I walked away then on an impulse turned back and lifted it up, turned it upside down and shook it a bit - telling myself 'This is silly Freda, it won't work'. Well, you've guessed it, it did work and the sparse notes of Alvo Part's Fur Anna Maria at full volume floated through the house, reflecting it's new spaciousness and simplicity. Magic! The sound quality is wonderful. I can create my own concerts this season. I have only got to number four on my list of eight desert island discs. Would love to listen to your fourth choice too... Sorry this has an ad (definittely mundane!) at the beginning. Hear first three choices under Simply LIsten. I am having fun with two friends and now with you, choosing the 8 pieces of music I would take with me to a desert island! I am enjoying taking my time choosing, spending long evenings going through my collection and reading and listening around them - so easy online - different recordings and artists.. but there is only one artist for this one. Oscar Peterson playing Hymn to Freedom. I taught in an art department where we played a lot of music and this literally stopped me in my tracks.and still does. I have to stop what I am doing if it comes on unexpectedly and just soak it in to my very core. What will your third choice be, and shy? IMy second choice of music I would take to my desert island is this one I shared here two years ago. Have you decided on your second choice? I mentioned recently that friends and I are sharing our choice of music we would take to a desert island. As in the long-running poplular radio show we are allowed 8 discs, one book and one luxury. Here is my first one. When this started to play on the car radio, Barry and I pulled over to listen properly. It is one of the most profoundly moving and beautiful pieces I have ever heard. This is a lovely (7 min) video, but my favourite recording is by The Vanburgh Quartet. I'd love to know what your first choice would be! Two friends and I are sharing our Desert Island Discs and Lynne's second choice is my current favourite.. Perhaps because I've just seen my younger daughter for the first time in four months, and we had such a happy (and almost normal) day together. Scotland still has many lockdown restrictions in place but the worst is surely over.. I hope you have a reason to be happy today! Barcelona Opera re-opened with a performance to over 2,200 plants. There are shorter versions of this but I love this 8 minute one, especially when the musicians bow to their audience. Venice has 409 bridges!  This is the one I see when I open the shutters of the bedroom window in the morning. If you are staying at home with someone for an extended period of time it's probably a good idea to talk about how you might cope! This was how we discovered that Heather crosses bridges when she comes to them, and I (ever the grasshopper) jump over every bridge in sight and back again.  Some bridges, and some people, are just puzzling. I'd say do talk about it. Explain how you feel. Ask for what you need. Negotiate a little. Give and take. Give each other space (though how some households can manage that is hard to imagine!) Respect the differences between you. There's probably no right or wrong way. But ways must be found to reduce the stress, and to make sure you are still speaking to each other at the end of this. It's hard. Be kind. What would your advice be? Do you have any tips to share? Here are some ideas from Katrina of The Body Toolkit.  Only two of Venice's bridges have no parapet. Scary, but you can still get to the other side. So will we! NB This is a CV-FREE post :-)  I pass this gem on the way to the supermarket. The architecture here is astonishing as you know. Much of it influenced by Palladio by whom I am currently fascinated. Have any of you seen the film Palladio? All I can find are a few very tantalising trailers. While looking for the film I found this wonderful piece of music. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. |
Categories
All
AuthorAn artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!) Archives
March 2023
|
RSS Feed
