Seashell
29 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Choral Works, Favorite Recordings
I first heard this song on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” a while back, and I shared it with others. They agreed with me that it was very pretty. Scala is a Belgian all-female rock chorus. Something about “Seashell” (from 2008) just caught my ear. I had never heard it before. They have since performed and recorded other music. A memory:
We visited Virginia Beach when I was eight. Even though it was hard to get me there, my aunt took me to the water’s edge, to feel the tide coming in and out, and the beach blanket getting muddy. Later that same day, a wave knocked me over (I can still taste the salt.) and a surfer accidentally hit me in the leg with the surfboard as he rode the wave in. I wasn’t hurt. The guy apologized, but I was rather glad it happened. I had never seen a surfboard up close. It seemed huge. I collected shells at the time, and, to my way of thinking, it seemed only right to send two that I had brought with me and release them back to their home.
Anyway, here are the lyrics and the NPR video on March 2011, and links to stories about the group. Enjoy!
Take my hand and come walk with me
down towards the enchanting sea.
I’ll run laughing across the sand.
You’ll just smile ’cause you understand.
Watch the sun kiss the rising sea,
trembling sparkles of ecstasy.
Waves break, simmer, and then renew,
just as sometimes a heart can do.
I walked the full length of the beach until
I found the most beautiful seashell.
Fragments of all the things you’ve said
smi_le tenderly in my head.
Beaming sun is still trying to
burn the way that I burn for you.
Feel the waves as they fall and rise.
Breathe in deeply and close my eyes.
Let me not ever wake from this
precious moment of perfect bliss.
I walked the full length of the beach until
I found the most beautiful seashell.
Stay here with me
down by the sea.
For the others there on that beach
ou_r heaven was out of reach.
They heard only the dolphins’ cries.
We heard music and angels’ sighs.
We gazed out to the horizon,
sea and sky melting into one.
Whispered line where the blue meets blue.
Just as vague as where I meet you.
In the wake of that golden day
mem(o)ries still take my breath away.
I touched heaven when you touched me
down beside the enchanting sea.
I walked the full length of the beach until
I found the most beautiful seashell, for me.
Sunset glows.
Come with me.
One last race
to the sea.
“The Merry Widow” Production
02 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Venues Tags: Performances
“The Merry Widow” looks like fun. I have never seen it. Here is more information. Enjoy!
We’ll Miss You, Etta James
20 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Everyday Musings, Favorite Recordings
The great jazz and blues singer Etta James passed away today at the age of 73. My aunt has always enjoyed her music. And every once in a while, she’ll sing “At Last” around the house. I grew up with the song, but it was some years before I could fully appreciate Etta James as a singer. Her name often appears in crossword puzzles. For all solvers out there, “Blues singer James” is not Rick, but Etta. Took me a while to learn that one…
Several years ago, my aunt bought a CD of Etta James’ Greatest Hits, and we listen to it a lot. The film Cadillac Records was a big draw for us because Etta James was portrayed in it. Beyonce did a wonderful job as Etta James–and in producing the picture.
My aunt and I also read Etta James’ 1995 autobiography a couple of years ago. That lady really had a hard life, but she was eventually able to deal with her substance abuse and other problems. She was a survivor. But in the end, leukemia took her away.
Just like I regret never being able to see Rosemary Clooney at The Rainbow Room (although I always had a knack for finding profiles about her in magazines, TV, and the radio), my aunt and I also never got to see Etta James perform locally. We tried twice for tickets at the Birchmere, but each time, she had to cancel. Another time, we didn’t even realize she was appearing there one night, and so missed that opportunity, too. The review in the paper was nice. My aunt reminded me that at least we have her music.
So, here is how I imagine her in concert. I wish we could have been there. I’m not sure what date this was, or where it was….
Happy 2012!
01 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Everyday Musings, Singer/Songwriters Tags: New Year
Hi!
I know I’ve been away a long time, but hope to get started back regularly with blogging. This Robert Burns favorite kind of says it all as a New Year’s poem and song. This is Dougie MacLean’s version from Tribute. He’s a favorite singer/songwriter of mine.
But this version by the Tannahill Weavers on their “Best Of” album is my favorite. Here’s a bit about the lyrics.
Something for National Coffee Day
29 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bach, Choral Works Tags: coffee, PostADay2011
In passing, I found out that today is National Coffee Day, so I wanted to commemorate it quickly. I drink it every day, and have drunk far too much of it lately. Water’s the best.
Anyway, it made me think of Bach’s Coffee Cantata, which I haven’t listened to in years. I looked up a translation, and discovered there are many–some more serious than others.
Here are performances in English and German:
History Repeating
28 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Jazz Tags: PostADay2011
This blog started out dedicated to classical music. I still want to keep it to that, but so much music I enjoy comes from all over the place. So, I guess whatever catches my ear is OK.
I did stay within genre on Tuesday, when I listened to the NSO’s opening ball concert on WETA. Joshua Bell was a featured guest, and I also enjoyed Ravel’s Bolero.
I don’t really know why I enjoy this jazz song from the Propellerheads and Shirley Bassey. It was originally released in 1997, and has taken on new life in a Talbots commercial. Something about the rhythm and the song styling, along with an air of mystery. It feels very hypnotic. I hope some of you enjoy it, too.
The Wind and Rain
27 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Choral Works, Shakespreare Tags: PostADay2011
With Hurricane Irene bearing down on all the Eastern Seaboard today and tomorrow (Stay safe everyone!), this song kept running through my head. I first learned it in college, when my interest in Shakespeare exploded. “The Wind and the Rain” is featured in King Lear, Twelfth Night, and other plays–depending on how the director wants to feature music in the productions.
Here are the words:
Wind and Rain
Attributed to William Shakespeare
When that I was and a little tiny boy,
With heigh-ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.
Chorus
With heigh-ho, the wind and the rain,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came to man’s estate,
‘Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate.
Chorus
But when I came alas to wive,
By swaggering could I never thrive.
Chorus
But when I came unto my beds,
The toss-pots still had drunken heads.
Chorus
A great while ago, the world began,
With heigh-ho, the wind and the rain,
But that’s all one, our song is done,
And we’ll strive to please you every day.
This also gave me a new opportunity to learn about another English singer, Alfred Deller, who performs the above. Here he is performing “Greensleeves”:
Reflections on a Special Day
25 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Favorite Recordings, Singer/Songwriters Tags: PostADay2011
There’s a reason that Joni Mitchell’s song, “The Circle Game,” has been going through my head all day, but I won’t discuss why.
I started liking this song several years ago, when my love for carousels was in high gear. I still love carousels. My earliest memory of riding one was in kindergarten, when my school went to a carnival. I don’t know where it was. Either my mom or one of the volunteers stood with me to help me keep my balance. I loved the feeling of whirling around. The horses seemed magical, and I kept staring at their colors.
The carousel at Clemyjontri Park is the best, but I also have fond memories of the one on the Mall. (See the YouTube video below.) A friend rode it with me the day we explored Georgetown and the rest of Washington, DC. I couldn’t get on the horses, but got into the “chariot seats” easily. Today, when I’m down there, I like to go over and watch the kids ride for a few minutes on my way to the next exhibit. It’s cute how they wave to the family members who chose not to get on. They are having a ball, as I used to.
The one at Glen Echo Park is really cool, but I’ve only seen it on a PBS program.
I also have a small collection of carousel horse music boxes that were gifts from my aunt at various times. I should play them more. They are still very beautiful. 
Anyway,”The Circle Game” contains much wisdom. I realize it so much more now. Here are the lyrics, and Joni Mitchell singing it in a 1972 Carnegie Hall performance:
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like when you’re older must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game *
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him take your time it won’t be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There’ll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
A New Song to Enjoy
13 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Favorite Recordings, Venues Tags: PostADay2011
Yesterday, my aunt and I shared peach cobbler and coffee at Dogwood Tavern. It’s a sports bar, but they also have music going. One song caught my ear because I liked the melody. An Internet search led me to the band–the Gin Blossoms. The song is “Follow You Down.” I had never heard of the band or the song before now. They are a 1990s band. They formed in 1987, actually. Apparently they have undergone personnel changes and have done solo projects, but it’s good to know they are still recording and performing. I don’t think the 1990s qualify as classic, but I’ll add it anyway. Here’s the video, and then one that showcases the words:
I listened to another of their songs, “Found Out About You,” which also sounds good:
Music Is Everywhere!
13 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Favorite Recordings Tags: PostADay2011
A gray day today–but we went to the farmer’s market anyway. There’s always a lot of people, and a lot of neat things to buy for salads, recipes and stuff. and it’s always nice to talk with people when you get the chance. And people are always out walking their dogs.
And there’s always music. This morning a guy was playing bluegrass and the blues, and as we wandered through, I could hear Jean-Joseph Mouret’s “Rondeau.” It’s otherwise known as the theme from Masterpiece Theatre. When I looked across the street, I saw that a man was playing it on violin, and a woman played it on the cello. They performed other duets, but I didn’t recognize the compositions. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to cross over and tell them how much I liked their playing.
Here is a version of “Rondeau” that I liked. Usually, I associate it with trumpets, but a YouTube search shows that people enjoy playing it on the piano, organ, harp and many other instruments. Here is one I liked:
