Desert Island Discs revisited
Life in Ambridge
An upcoming storyline methinks!
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If people want to put their names up over the next few days I will choose in a random order allowing time for others opinions/feedback
ReplyDeleteA few people, Soz, Cheshire Cheese and Janice have so far expressed interest on the other blog,. It doesn’t matter if people’s choices are the same or different as previously as I suspect most of us can’t remember each other’s choices after five years.
ReplyDeleteYes, I’d like to take part, please.
ReplyDeleteyes, me too please
ReplyDeleteI would also be interested
ReplyDeleteI am going to put the names of those who expressed an interest in joining in the Desert Islands discs in a hat and will draw the first tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThe first castaway is …….🥁 🥁…. Archerphile! So whenever you are ready : eight tunes a book & a luxury, with as much or as little explanation as you wish
ReplyDeleteOkey Doke - here we go:
ReplyDelete1. Sparky’s Magic Piano - the only record I had when young and it was supposed to encourage me to practice. I loved the voice of Sparky but I don’t think it had much effect on my practicing because I knew I could never be as good as him,
2. Clarinet Cadenza - Sid Phillips & his jazz band. My Dad played clarinet & saxophone in various dance bands, including Bron’s Band, run by Eleanor Bron’s Dad. Sid Phillips was his hero, a superlative composer and clarinet player & his records were constantly on in our house.
3. Piano Concerto No 2 - Rachmaninov. The first piece of classical I lever heard after all the jazz and dance music. A real awakening to romantic classics.
4.
Whoops, don’t know what happened there!
Delete4. Michelle - The Beatles. The song that inspired my daughter’s name. I loved the Beatles, especially George but my Dad was disgusted by ‘ all this modern trash’ so I had to listen in private up in my room!
5. Symphony No 1 - Gustav Mahler. Husband & I went to a concert at Royal Festival Hall, before we were because I wanted to hear the Israeli Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta playing for 1st time in London. The programme contained the Mahler & I apologised because he was supposed to be very dark & difficult to listen to and we didn’t really want to hear that work.. We ended up entranced, loved the playful tunes and references to Frère Jaques and other nursery rhymes. We went home humming the tunes and became addicted to Mahlers more serious, dramatic works too. Now we go to Mahler concerts whenever we can, but that unintentional No 1 was the introduction.
6. Don’t Worry - Dire Straits. Never been much of a pop music fan, was only ever keen on Dire Straits and ABBA. Toss up between the two. I adore Mark Knofler’s guitar playing and arrangements. Don’t Worry is a lovely simple song for when you are feeling low.
7. Shoshtakovitch - Romance from The Gadfly Suite . Supreme romantic violin piece. Specially enjoy Nicola Benedetti’s version
8.
8. Nocturne No 5 in B flat Major - John Field. First heard this on the radio as the opening music to George Elliot’s Middlemarch serialisation. So entranced by it that I wrote to the BBC for details. And so opened the world of 18C John Field, the inventor of the Nocturne who influenced Chopin. Have been to several concerts of his music and it is often played on Classic Fm. But this particular Nocturne is my absolute favourite - it can be found on YouTube.
DeleteBook
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Luxury
An absolutely guaranteed effective mosquito repellant
I will be checking out your choices Archerphile. Thank you. Nice to have explanations for each choice too.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to listening to the ones I don't know Archerfile.
ReplyDeleteDire Straits is one of the bands I listen to when driving.
Mr CC's father used to play the trombone in dance bands and we've still got his electric organ that he used to play at home. When he died our middle daughter asked us to look after it until she had room for it. They are currently having an extension done and their current dining room is going to be a music room so I guess it will go to them when it's all finished.
When I used to drive up to Lancashire I used to listen and sing along to Dire Straits - if I were alone.
DeleteI have a dreadful singing voice.
To be honest I am not struck on my speaking voice either..
I moved from Oxford to Lancashire when I was just six years of age and I soon developed a Lancashire accent which my mother was not impressed with.
Hope I didn’t take up too much space with my explanations! And I meant to say ‘before we were married’ for the Mahler. Many people know the Adagietto in Symphony 5 because it was used in the film Death in Venice, but never go on to explore some of the more challenging works. As for my Dad’s dance band days, playing was in addition to his daytime job, to earn some extra money. I have a lovely photo of him in white tie & tails (!) in the front row of a dance band behind his music stand with his Sax in hand, ready to play. Very posh!
ReplyDeleteYour explanations were great Archerphile and ,in my opinion ,good choices which is more than I can say about the “celebrity” choices in the main on the radio
DeleteThanks .
That is a good idea of yours to say why…..
I am still trying to find the name of some ballet music which someone recommended last time and I checked it out and it is beautiful.
I plan to do my list before next year.
Also since I can’t stand our Reading Group book “We are all completely beside ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler ,I am going to reread my copy of “South Riding”so thank you for that too.
.I am going to
I wonder Lanjan if it is was either of 2 of my original choices : Stefan Hauser playing Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux from the Nutcracker ( which the youtube video sometimes has a ballerina dancing to) , or the 2Cellos Moonlight Sonata which in the official video has the shadow figure of a ballerina dancing across buildings.
DeleteArcherfile if you ever find your luxury item please let my son know then he can get it to use next time they go to the Philippines!
ReplyDeleteI find the Nocturne beautifully peaceful but haven't had time to listen to the others yet, as busy preparing for friend coming. Hope to when things quieten down.
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed it Janice. There are many nocturnes but I love this one best.
DeleteJanice, thank you so much.
DeleteYou are right .
It was Stefan Hauser .
I have just watched it again on U tube with tears in my eyes .
Absolutely beautiful.
I also listened to an Orchestra playing it but I definitely preferred the Hauser version.
Actually I am feeling quite emotional at the moment.
One of my closest friends was someone I taught in the 1960s .
By chance we met up at Chelmsford years ago at a Cricket Match when she was accompanied by her husband and young children
She is now a grandma and her teenage grandchildren are amazed that their grandmother not only is friendly with her teacher but her teacher is actually still alive!
When I went to their grandmother’s funeral and they were both at junior school I was asked to go with their mum to collect them so they could show me off because their friends did not believe that anyone so ancient would still be around !
This morning I received a large parcel contains two fabulous boxes ,from my friend’s daughter full of many homemade goodies which she hoped would see me through the Christmas period.
What a lovely memory Lanjan and you rediscovered the music to match your emotions.
DeleteJanice,the Nutcracker ballet is on BBC2 this morning so I am going to record it.
DeleteLooking forward to watching it.
Thank you again
I will try to find it on the iplayer when things quieten down. Hope you enjoyed it.
DeleteFor the first time in my life yesterday evening ,I watched a ballet throughout ,Janice.
ReplyDeleteThe piece of music I loved was played 9 minutes before the end!
It was not a patch on the Hauser cello version!
Having now watched all of it, I agree.
DeleteLooking forward to a more relaxing day. Still in bed but with a cup of tea, and have been listening to the first episode of Sparky's magic piano Archerfile. Was chuckling at the interaction between Sparky and his piano teacher, and then came the voice of the piano which sounded so like a Dalek it made me jump. We didn't have a television but our neighbours let us watch Dr Who with their children, and I can still remember running fast back down our drive in the dark in case any Daleks were lurking behind he shrubs. I think Sparky's magic piano must have been in existence before Dr Who.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the clarinet cadenza very much. I like music where there is a main instrument that is not overwhelmed by the other instruments, and here the voice of the clarinet is clearly heard. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteDaughter is cooking Sunday dinner today for the rest of us, ( I cooked Xmas day and Boxing day) so I can just relax, listen to this music and hopefully watch the rest of the Nutcracker on the Iplayer. She says she can't face another roast, so dinner will be a surprise.
Janice, I am very flattered that you have taken the trouble to track down and listen to my choices.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am very please that you enjoyed some of them. Listening to Sid Phillips reminds me so much of my Dad, practicing his baritone sax and clarinet in the dining room to my Mum’s piano accompaniment
Have only just caught up with this thread.
ReplyDeleteSparky’s Magic Piano !
Oh what memories.
Frequently played in our house, probably due to my mothers long held ambition to play the piano. She never did.
Janice - yes it was long long before Dr Who, ( 40s and 50s ) but now I think about it - and I have not re listened yet - I can hear in my head the similarities. I will need to look up the history of the making of the records.
Others may be able to confirm….. please. We’re there not a set of the records, not just one round, hard, disc ?
I often wonder what happened to all those original records.
All my fathers classical pieces and my mothers pop, and the Doris Day’s.
How were they disposed of ?
Where did they go ?
Mistral would you like to post your choices?
ReplyDeleteArcherphile I’ve really enjoyed listening to your choices. Some I knew but hadn’t listened to them for ages and it’s been good to get reacquainted. John Field was an unknown - the nocturne you chose is beautiful, a good find. Also Holtby’s South Riding I remember enjoying years ago and will read again - when I find it ( I never throw anything away )!
ReplyDelete✔️✔️ 😊
DeletePlan A is to start to read South Riding again this evening,Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteMy copy once belonged to a BA Hall ,Guys Hospital .
Apparently it was a 21st birthday present on February 1948 .
I don’t know how I got hold of it.
Hello, sorry for the delay, snowed under here, but I will try to post my choices tomorrow - that is my resolution!
ReplyDeleteI decided not to follow the DID format of choosing tracks that have an emotional bearing throughout my life, but just to choose music that I love now. This year I have become a R3 listener, also R3 Unwind, which has opened up so much new - to me - music a lot of which I don't know, but I am always thrilled when I recognise something.
ReplyDeleteHere are my choices, randomly...
1) Gymnopedie - Erik Satie. I first heard this at a student art show in Leeds in the 70's, and think it is the most beautiful, calming music - I just hang on waiting for each note, I love it. R3 did a 'Satie-day last summer, I listened all day.
2) Balero - Ravel. Mesmerising. I spent my younger years in Nottingham and Tovill and Dean had such a huge success with this, but I knew it well before as it was one of the handful of records in my family home, this and The Planet Suite were my parents' favourites.
3)Jupiter - Holst , my favourite from the above.
4)West Side Story - Bernstein. I don't much like 'Maria' or 'I Feel Pretty' but really love the rest of the soundtrack, I have several versions including the operatic one with Kiri Te Kanawa. My absolute favourite tracks are 'America' and the 'Jet Song'. I didn't think the 60's film could be bettered, but Steven Spiellberg certainly equalled it, I love them both. 'Stay cool, daddio' !
5)Farewell to Stromness - Peter Maxwell Davies. Every note pulls me in, I think it is sublime. I had never heard this until my son had it at his wedding, and I know it was a protest/lament, but how gorgeous it is.
6) Claire de Lune - Debussy. Another one which makes me hold my breath, waiting...so beautiful.
7) O Mio Babbino Caro - Puccini. I am not an opera-goer, but I do love Puccini, and this is my favourite aria, soaring and pure. If I hear it, everything stops, I have to listen, it is not background music for me.
8) Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky. Specifically the point at which Billy Elliot soars onto the stage in Mathew Bourne's production. I loved the film and later the musical, of Billy Elliot, and was interested in the final scene when he becomes a dancer, so did some research and found out about Mathew Bourne, and have seen every one of his productions, I would not miss one - just got tickets for The Car Man this summer. The bit where he erupts onto the stage is breath-taking, I am so glad I saw it. Whenever I hear the music, it makes me really happy.
Luxury - my bed, pillows and duvet and very good linen sheets.
Book - The entire series of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials/The Book of Dust.
These books are such a part of my life and my family history that I would not be without them. I can always get lost in his imagination. I met him once and asked if he was widely travelled as his scenes are so vivid, he said not, but he was a great user of our public library system, research was free!
The disc I would save would be Farewell to Stromness, I think it is utterly sublime.
I have really enjoyed doing this, listened to each piece of music again, it has taken ages and I have entirely missed out whole swathes of stuff I love - jazz, folk, choral music etc, but this is my mood now, very mellow.
Time to take the dog out.
I am still in bed as I read this Mistral.
ReplyDeleteA most enjoyable read .
Thank you.
I am hoping I can still get onto the blog to comment further about one particular piece of music.
I have decided to make one comment now,Mistral.
ReplyDeleteIt is about Peter Maxwell Davies.
I went to school in Leigh which was then a small industrial town- cotton mills and coal mines -as did he .There were two single sex Grammar Schools miles apart .
I didn’t know him .He was 6 years older than me anyway but a friend of mine did and he said that the headmaster told Max ,as he was known ,that he shouldn’t study music because that was only for girls.
Meant to say that I think that Fairwell to Stromness is lovely too.
Delete….also that Mrs P knows someone famous from Leigh!
DeleteI’m lost LanJan !
DeleteWho do I know who is from Leigh ?
I was born in Leigh Lanjan, and lived there till the age of 4. We still visit relatives there but they are getting few and far between now.
DeleteWell I never ,Cheshire Cheese..
DeleteSmall world.
I didnt live in Leigh .I lived in Culcheth
Did any of your relatives go to the Girls’ Grammar School?
I haven’t been back there for many years and have only one friend who still lives there.
It had a great outdoor market in the days when I was at school there.
One of the people we met at Waterloo all those years ago whose pseudonym I have forgotten- (but I bet PTBY would remember or maybe Mrs P might ) had a sister who lived in the same small Close as my mum did .
Mrs P didn’t you know Georgie Fame?
He came from Leigh.
Can’t remember who it was Lanjan.
DeleteBootgums ? - even though I wasn't there.
DeleteMistral, you have made some wonderful choices. I also love Farewell to Stromess, it was played nightly by a string quintet on one of our cruises, a good night tune to send us off to bed after a day at sea. It always reminds me of sailing up Norwegian fjords.
ReplyDeleteClair de Lune is another favourite, months spent trying to perfect it on the piano! And also the Puccini, one of the loveliest arias. I don’t blame you for choosing your luxury bedding and you have encouraged me to try the Phillip Pullman’s books which I have never read, a big gap, in my reading history - thank you.
Lan Jan, my mum grew up in Leigh, my father was from Preston, How did that Head Master get his job? All those invisible female composers who didn't get played in their lifetimes....
ReplyDeleteArcherphile, thank you, and I hope you enjoy His Dark Materials - originally marketed as young peoples fiction, but really so much more, I would like to live in his space. Like you and 'Michelle', I have a grandchild named after one of the characters, who wrenched my heart, and also my daughter's.
That is interesting Mistral.
ReplyDeleteDid your mum go to the same school asI did?
Could she have been there at the same time as me?.
Mistral….love the Erik Satie piece. So calming.
ReplyDeleteWest side story……Watched it once. There’s 3 hours of my life I’ll never get back!!
Oh the memories of seeing Torville and Deans Bolero routine as a kid. I was convinced I’d be brilliant as an ice dancer. Been ice skating once in my 30’s. Spent most of the time on my backside.
Love your choices Mistral. I didn’t know Farewell to Stromness - like Claire de lune, those pauses are so important. I remember my big sister playing C de Lune so tenderly. I love O Mio Babbino Caro too. You say you are not an opera goer but have you ever seen GiannI Schicchi? It is hilarious - slapstick at times then there is this sublime aria. It is usually part of a trio of short Puccini operas and I’m not sure if those would appeal but GS would make you laugh.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never read any Phillip Pullman books so I look forward to remedying that. Thank you Mistral.
Farewell to Stromness was the only one that I hadn't heard before Mistral. Thank you for introducing me to such a lovely piece of music ❤️
ReplyDeleteLove the Puccini aria. Hadn't heard it before.
ReplyDeleteNow just listened to Gymnopedia and recognized it when heard. Very nice.
DeleteI will be listening to Mistrals choices when in my own home and alone.
ReplyDeleteCan’t do it here whilst visiting.
However I love Eric Satie, even though I am not able to name the pieces.
Clair de Lune was my mothers favourite piece, although generally she didn’t care for. Classical music unlike my father.
For about a year in my mid forties I went out with a guy who was the first violin with the LSO and I often went to rehearsals as well as performances. I have a memory of sitting in the empty auditorium at the FESTIVAL hall listening to the Bolero in rehearsal.
Breathtaking excitement whenever I hear it. And I love watching the Flash Mob UTube.
The Holst - I an Aries so Mars is my favourite of course.
And I love West Side Story.
My first big date at 16 was being in a box watching the NY cast soon after they brought it to London. Loved it then, loved the film, took myself to Sadlers Wells when revived in the 2000s. America and Bennie and the Jets.
And Farewell to Stromness - I play very often.
Beautiful and calming !
Have not and don’t intend to read P. Pullman.
Tried to watch television production but pulled out pretty quickly.
A nice selection Mistral….
Thank you.
Thank you all for your kind comments,
ReplyDeleteSoz, I will look out for those Puccini operas, I have only ever seen Madama Butterfly, really enjoyed it so would like to see some more if they ever come my way.
Lan Jan, no idea where my mum went to school, she wasn't very forthcoming. I know that she once made an effort to visit her mother's grave somewhere up there, bit couldn't find even the area, all swallowed under motorways she said.
Re: Philip Pullman - I couldn't watch the T.V. series either, or the terrible film. The BBC did a play many years ago with a very famous actress, can't remember who, but it was appalling.
Not everybody's cup of tea, but I love it!!
Soz, would you care to step up next?
ReplyDeleteGive me a day and I’ll put them on the blog tomorrow.
DeleteWe’ll look forward to it, but no pressure!
Delete
ReplyDeleteI’ve found it very difficult to confine myself to just 8 pieces of music. So once I accepted that I couldn’t include everything I liked and that next month I might make completely different choices, the task became easier.
1) ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ from a Christmas Eve service of 9 lessons and carols from Kings College Cambridge. It would remind me of a very happy childhood. Christmases were memorable.They started at 3pm on Christmas Eve when we listened to the service. My father would always comment on the choirboy’s opening solo and the acoustics in the chapel are outstanding.
2) ‘My Fair Lady’ a record of the whole show would be great but if I have to pick one track it would be ‘I could have danced all night’. My brother was in the navy and brought back LPs from America long before they were available here. As a stage struck 8/9 year old I played these records over and over again so I knew all the words to Oklahoma, South Pacific, Carousel but the one I liked best was My Fair Lady. My brother took my mother and I to Drury Lane to see it twice. I never saw Julie Andrews but did see Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway. There’s not a weak song in the whole show.
3)Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake - the white swan pas de deux.This piece of music is one that makes you shiver and when watching a quality performance I find I stop breathing - it is almost too beautiful to bear.
Mistral I don’t know whether this is the moment that Billy Elliot soars onto the stage. !?
There are so many other pieces of ballet music I would like to choose (eg Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet or Cinderella) but this one induces the most emotion.
4) Cosi fan tutte Act 1 trio. Apart from light opera - Gilbert and Sullivan, The Merry Widow etc I hadn’t seen any opera until well in my twenties. Cosi fan tutte was the first one I saw. The music is sublime and I like to see how each production deals with the issues of infidelity and self deception. I would like a recording of the whole opera but I have chosen the trio from Act 1 if I’m only allowed one piece.
5) Der Rosenkavalier trio from Act 3 Richard Strauss
I had to include something by Richard Strauss. His sound is so individual and definitely has the ‘tingle’ factor.
Trying to choose one piece from an opera has made me realise how important it is to see it live; when you can immerse yourself in the sound and the sights of a performance.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get myself to the theatre and I wonder is it worth the effort. Then the overture starts, I take a breath, relax and lose myself in another world.
6) Chris Smither Leave the Light On
I have seen Chris live 4 or 5 times. He is always good value but I could listen to him all night. His guitar playing is something else.
7) ‘Fields of Gold ‘ Eva Cassidy’s cover
This is one of my husband’s favourite songs and I love it. I wanted something to remind me of the English countryside and the wind playing over a field of barley is a mesmerising sight.
It is said that Sting preferred Eva’s interpretation of his song to his own.
8) ‘Send in the Clowns’ from A Little Night Music’ Stephen Sondheim.
ReplyDeleteJudi Dench
I have always been moved by this song but what swayed me to include it was when I found that Judi Dench had performed it for Sondheim’s 80th birthday. So I have Judi’s voice as well as the song. As a teenager I saw Judi in Romeo and Juliet and for the first time I could hear Shakespeare’s words and understand them. She brought it to life.( though I did have John Stride’s name scrawled all over my pencil case - he was Romeo) Her enthusiasm for the bard is well known and is evident in her portrayal of any Shakespearean character she has played.
Probably Glynis John’s version of the song is the best but Judi lives it.
Book: The Oxford book of English Verse
I nearly chose Elizabeth Jane Howard’s ‘Cazalet Chronicles’ but thought I would get more from a poetry anthology and this is the one I know best. I intend to learn a poem by heart every week so that should keep my brain active!
Luxury item: I was going to choose a bed with luxurious bedding but Mistral beat me to it. So I wondered if I could have a heated swimming pool instead with nice fluffy towels to dry myself. I can’t walk very easily but I can still swim. I know I’m on an island but I might be surrounded by shark infested water and the sea may be cold.
Which record would I save? Actually none of the above as the one piece of music that means the most to me hasn’t been recorded yet. Mr Soz wrote the lyrics and composed the music for a song which he plays on his guitar. It describes how we met and his feelings for me - it is truly beautiful.
Soz
ReplyDeleteYour final paragraph !
So romantic…….. how lovely.
I will never forget Glynis Johns singing Send in the Clowns on Parkinson, whenever it was.
Mesmerising.
And, yes, the best rendition…..ever.
Soz, your most treasured piece of music is there just for the two of you...
DeleteIt's a shame that we can't hear the song that Mr Soz wrote for you Soz.
ReplyDeleteFantastic selection Soz, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHave only just begun to listen to your choices Soz, but I recognized the lovely Fields of Gold because it was played at a funeral I attended back in the Autumn. It totally suited the countryman who died. I think when he chose it he would have been thinking of his wife who had died previously.
ReplyDeleteThought Send in the Clowns with Judi Dench was truly moving, and also liked the Rosenkavalier tri ( felt sorry for the older woman though, she deserved better than that feckless youth!). Hadn't come acoss the Chris Smither before but will now listen to some more of his.
DeleteSoz - I wrote about you DID’s the other day and only just realised it didn’t publish! But just to recap I thought your choice of 8 discs was excellent. A very varied list that would never get boring . I particularly like Fields of Gold, remembering it as the song that Gareth Malone was teaching a reluctant choir of schoolboys to sing in one of his early documentaries. They were dreadful at first but eventually gave a beautiful and heartfelt performance. I very nearly chose the Cazalet Chronicles for my book too. Have read them many times, listened to the radio plays and watched the TV version and love the period they were set in. A very hard choice between them and South Riding.
Delete🙂👍
DeleteLizzie Dee would you like to present next?
ReplyDeleteAre you there Lizzie?
ReplyDeleteAs Lizzie doesn’t seem to be around, hopefully not locked out would Janice like to pick up the baton? Lizzie feel free to add yours if you see this
ReplyDeleteYes will do, but probably later in the day tomorrow. If u see this in the meantime Lizzie Dee please go ahead with yours and I will wait until after you.
DeleteA nice excuse to have a break from doing my tax - very late again!
One of last year's resolutions was to do my tax return by August. Oh dear! Note to self do better this year.
Janice, please don’t use this as an excuse to put off he tax form, one of my least favourite pastimes too!
DeleteWell I think if I hadn't done this before my choices would be the same, but I will try to vary it a bit this time round.
ReplyDelete1. Tristesse (Chopin) played by Stefan Hauser.
Everyone probably has a favourite instrument. Mine is the cello. I think it resonates with the soul. Many many moons ago a senior at work named her team after musical instruments. I was the cello in her orchestra.
2. Ave Maria sung by Dimash.
I discovered this Kasakh singer/ composer because he and Hauser sometimes collaborate. He has an incredible vocal range of 6 octaves plus. In this piece he is using his high range, but can sing equally well in the low range.
3. Nocturne in B minor, her own version of a nocturne composed and played by Caroline Tyler ( maiden name) as one of the pieces she played at a concert in Chichester cathedral. She plays classical music very well, particularly I like her Rachmaninoff but decided to choose something she had composed herself.
Caroline is my goddaughter and daughter of my best friend from childhood who died in 2019. Her mum came from a large family and music lessons weren't possible, but Caroline was given the opportunities her mum never had. She won a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and became a concert pianist, but then came two little children and she began teaching the piano so she could be at home more. Her older son, now 11, won a scholarship to Wells Cathedral School and began in September. There is a specialist music school there, as well as teaching the usual academic subjects. Joy of joys his instrument, which he played on miniature versions when little , is the cello! My friend would have been so proud of him. If interested there is a biography of her online.
Soz, you are not the only one to have had a piece of music composed for you, although mine can't compare to your husband's wonderfully romantic gesture.
Hope you don't mind KP but I am going to do this in sections because I have the annoying ability to press things by accident and lose them.
4.The Swan by Saint Saens played by Clara Rockmore. There is a recording of her on youtube dating from about 1976.
DeleteThis was composed I believe for cello and piano but this is played with theremin and piano.
I find this fascinating in that the theremin is played by the hands not touching anything but just by moving through electro magnetic fields, and it produces quite an unnearthly sound. Two antennae enable a process that allows the sound to be brought into audible range.
So, just pondering, if we for example are dancing/moving through the earth's natural electromagnetic waves do we produce an unheard music. Would sensitive enough technology be able to make this audible? And do violent movements produce discordant music and gentle flowing movements produce serene music. Reminds me of Shakespeare's "unseen music of the spheres", and that saying about a butterflies wings flapping affecting things the orher side of the world.
5. The Misty Mountains Cold sung by the dwarves in the Hobbit film. It is based on Tolkien's poem Far over the Misty Mountains Cold which is powerfully evocative of the dwarves loss of their ancestral home in the undergroung caverns.
DeleteSome time ago we revisited West Kennet Long Barrow in the Avebury area. It is known for its wonderfully peaceful atmosphere. Apparently studies have shown that the chambers with their massively thick stones resonate at specific frequencies including the very low frequency infrasound which could have been used for rituals to induce altered states. My daughter used her phone to play The Miaty Mountains Cold when we were in the furthest chamber. It is a low frequency song and the low frequencies together produced a spine tingling otherworldly feeling. You don't fesl the same coming out as you do going in.
6. The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) sung by Celtic Thunder.
DeleteI used to just think Silence how wonderful and peaceful, but then heard Simon and Garfunkel's explanation of what the song was actually about, the disconnect and alienation of people from each other, and I think it is even more relevant today than in 1964. People, especially young ones, bury themselves in online communications and information but in doing so lose face to face interactions.
7. Morningtown Ride by the Seekers. Just because it is a nice easygoing happy song.
Delete8. Come ye thankful people come..... a traditional harvest hymn which brings back very happy memories of childhood and family in a farming community. Of a chapel congregation raising the roof in song, with homegrown fruit and veg decorating the window ledges, and the altar with the bread made in the shape of a sheaf, and a real corn sheaf usually from my father's fields ( oats and barley), and a wonderful harvest festival tea after the service. And the next day evening all was auctioned and again accompanied by a great deal of fun. Where have those days gone!
I'm finding the next two problematic. Only one book!
DeleteAm I really going to give up all the wonderful books in the world in favour of The Book of Apples by Morgan and Richards which tells you everything you would ever need to know about apples and apple trees. I think I had better as I threw out so many blatant hints about it before christmas ( My son who had been threatening to get me a new kitchen bin thankfully got me the book instead).
Then the luxury. I suppose we can't have two as i dearly liked my last time's choice of lots and lots of stained glass and craft tools to potter around filling the island with colourful sculptures. But as I have the book I think I had better ask for a 100 fruit trees, mainly apples, and young ones in pots so that I can take my time in planting them, and it would be nice if some were the kind that grow successfully on their own roots so that if on the island for a very long time I could grow others from cuttings. Also the tools I would need to plant and care for them. Hopefully the island will have some sheltered areas and fertile soil.
Dearie me it's 4.30, far too late to start filling out my tax return today! 😉
DeleteWhat a lovely idea to ask for apple trees Janice. You will certainly be kept busy looking after them. I wonder if any will be cider making varieties? Perhaps you should ask for some juicing equipment to keep you in delicious apple juice, if not actual cider.
DeleteAve Maria always reminds me of my father Janice. He went to music college and trained as a tenor singer and sang it at many family weddings. He was one of 8 children and they were all musical. Family get togethers used to end up with my aunt Ellen playing the piano and everyone gathered round singing, even funerals. Sadly the musical gene passed me by and my attempts at playing the piano and cello didn't get very far ☹️
ReplyDeleteGoodness Janice I’ve only listened to one of your choices so far and am blown away. Clara Rockmore performing The Swan using a theremin. I had never heard of the instrument let alone listened to someone playing it. It is spellbinding. Your thoughts on what music may be all around us are fascinating . I’m looking forward to listening to your other choices.
ReplyDeleteTo add: Clara Rockmore makes each note sing, unlike the other recording on utube , someone who ‘plays the notes’
DeleteCaptivated by Caroline Tyler’s nocturne. When I’m down on the south coast, I could get to places like Chichester quite easily. I will look out for any performances by her. You must feel quite honoured to have someone so talented compose something for you.
ReplyDeleteShe's a nice person Soz. Her ginger hair comes from her dad!
DeleteSometimes I think if people have had to suffer it makes them somehow more resilient, tougher and more grateful for life when things improve. Her family on her mum's side have what must be a genetic thing tnat results in early onset cataracts. Treatments have improved, her mum was almost blind before hers were done. Caroline had hers removed when a teenager but at a time when they didn't replace them with artificial lenses so she wears very strong contact lenses to correct the sight. Without them the world is just a blur for her.
Her son who plays the cello had his cataracts operated on when he was only 8, and had the kind of artificial lenses implanted so that he rarely needs to use glasses for anything.
Medical science has improved so much. Not sure why I am telling you this except that Caroline really had to persevere when young in order to learn to play the piano.
Soz, no, not the White Swan pas de deux, which I agree is very beautiful. The section I love is Swan Lake Suite Op.20a, Act II, 10 Scene (from Billy Elliot).
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't make much sense
, but it's listed like that on Google. It is near the end of that section, very bold and dramatic, I tried to share it here but can't do it. However, replying to you gave me the chance to search for it and listen again, now very fired-up and energetic, so thank you!!:) :)
There is a section of descending notes, then BOOM, it makes my heart race.
ReplyDeleteCheshire Cheese, you have waited patiently, would you like to give us your choices?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI’ve found it hard to get it down to 8 discs and 1 book and my list has had several changes since I started to think about it, this is my current one:
1 GO NOW by The Moody Blues
An introduction to the band that was to become my favourite.
The 60s was a fun time to be a teenager, much to the dismay of the nuns at the convent school that I went to! I still reminisce about those days with a couple of school friends.
2 FROM THE BEGINNING by Emerson, Lake and Palmer
3 A PILLOW OF WINDS by Pink Floyd
These take me back to my university days and the three friends that I met in halls and shared a flat with for a further two years. They were happy days in spite of all the hard work and stress of doing a degree.
They were also bands that were the background to my meeting Mr CC. Plus I really like Greg Lake’s voice.
4 SING SING SING by Louis Prima
5 FLORENTINER MARCH by Julius Fucik
6 ENGLISH FOLK SONG SUITE by Ralph Vaughan Williams
7 HUMMEL TRUMPET CONCERTO in E-FLAT MAJOR by Johan Nepomuk Hummel
Preferably concert band recordings of these four.
When the girls were growing up they all played in a concert band and these are some of the many tunes which they played that I could have chosen. Their concerts always started with a march, so I had to include one of those. The rest of their repertoire was very wide ranging which I have tried to represent with these pieces. Our middle daughter played the Hummel with the band.
For our sins we used to help out on the trips abroad which they did every Easter holiday. Who wouldn't want to spend a week looking after 40 or so 11 to 18 year olds!
8 NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN by The Moody Blues
I can imagine myself sitting watching the sunset and listening to this one.
The one I would save would be NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN
My book is NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND by Bill Bryson.
Something that's an easy read alongside the bible and works of Shakespeare. It would also make me laugh as well as help me to remember my home country.
My luxury is an unlimited supply of hand cream
When I met up with a university friend who I hadn’t seen for years she asked me if I still put hand cream on at bedtime. I do!
That is a very nostalgic list CC. I remember all those bands and the songs you chose and they obviously have great memories for you.
DeleteNotes from a Small Island is one of my favourite Bill Bryson books, (and we have them all).
I remember reading it for the first time on holiday and laughing out loud to the annoyance of other guests at our hotel. But I still laugh out loud when reading it again. Great choice!
Loved the Sing Sing Sing. That drumbeat is something else.
DeleteAnd really liked the Ralph V. Williams. He did such good work travelling around gathering and preserving folk songs.
Haven't finished listening to them yet.
Listened to the Florentine March this morning before I got up and what a joyful bouncy piece of music to start the day with. There seem to be several youtube versions but I listened to the Texas band one and could have hugged that conductor he looked so happy and pleased with the performance.
ReplyDeleteI think the nice thing about this DID is that it introduces people to music they may never have heard before, me anyway. I hadn't come across Fucik or Hummel before, and really liked the latter as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you CC. I’ve enjoyed listening to your choices. Sing Sing Sing would have me dancing around the island. I agree with Janice, this DID’s does introduce you to music you didn’t know or had forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThe Hummel I didn’t know and enjoyed - smiled at those peaceful Easter Holidays!!!