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John Ireland – A Downland Suite
Composed in 1932 as a piece for a National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain the work has also been arranged for strings, the version you will find here for I am not a great lover of Brass...
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The More Loving One
by W. H. Auden Looking up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, But on earth indifference is the least We have to dread from man or beast. How should we like it...
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Whitacre – The Seal Lullaby
I already wrote here that whenever I have some cleaning to do or some of the other household chores I put the radio on Classic FM (UK) (not that I do a lot of that lately living most of the time in...
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Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
by William Shakespeare Blow, blow, thou winter wind Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Heigh-ho! sing,...
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Rutter – Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
A few days ago I posted Shakespeare’s poem ‘Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind’ from ‘As you like it’. Rutter wasn’t the only one to put music on those words. Best know, to me at least, for his carols, I...
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Never seek to tell thy Love
by William Blake Never seek to tell thy love, Love that never told can be; For the gentle wind does move Silently, invisibly. I told my love, I told my love, I told her all my heart; Trembling, cold,...
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de Falla – El amor brujo – El círculo mágico (The magic circle)
Something strange happened a few days ago. I was streamlining the titles of older music posts and at the same time checking on typos, astonishing how many there still are even while I reread my texts...
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Love Song for Lucinda
by Langston Hughes Love Is a ripe plum Growing on a purple tree. Taste it once And the spell of its enchantment Will never let you be. Love Is a bright star Glowing in far Southern skies. Look too hard...
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Copland – Simple Gifts
Appalachian Spring (1944) is a ballet ordered by Martha Graham. The original score is set for a chamber orchestra (double string quartet, double bass, flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano) but in 1945...
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Mozart – Cosí fan tutte (staged by Michael Haneke) – Soave il vento
A few weeks ago I’ve taken a few days off to go to Brussels and see Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte. The Monnaie Theatre has cooperated with the Teatro Real in Madrid (I first wanted to see it there but there...
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I Love You
by Sara Teasdale When April bends above me And finds me fast asleep, Dust need not keep the secret A live heart died to keep. When April tells the thrushes, The meadow-larks will know, And pipe the...
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Bernstein – Candide – The best of all possible worlds
Bernstein was one of the great conductors of the last century, but he was also a great pianist and a great composer. Not many have had the success during their lifetime he had with West side story, the...
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A Drinking Song
by W. B. Yeats Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh.
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I Do Not Love Thee
by Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton I do not love thee!—no! I do not love thee! And yet when thou art absent I am sad; And envy even the bright blue sky above thee, Whose quiet stars may see thee and be...
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Bonheur Parfait
par Théophile Gautier Que les chiens sont heureux ! Dans leur humeur badine, Ils se sucent la pine, Ils s’enculent entr’eux ; Que les chiens sont heureux ! Well, I’m not going to translate this. I...
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Bernstein – Candide’s lament
A few days ago I posted ‘The best of all possible worlds” here is another extract of this wonderful, comic operetta that gives one a lot to think about. Even while living in the best of all possible...
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Doute (with translation)
by Paul Géraldy Tu m’as dit : « Je pense à toi tout le jour. » Mais tu penses moins à moi qu’à l’amour. Tu m’as dit : « Mes yeux mouillés qui ne peuvent t’oublier restent longtemps éveillés lorsque je...
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Bernstein – Candide – I am easily assimilated
If you ever read Voltaire’s Candide you will know it is a hilarious satire, making fun of Leibniz’s Optimism. It is so well written it reads like a picaresque novel and Candide’s adventures make James...
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True Love
by Robert Penn Warren In silence the heart raves. It utters words Meaningless, that never had A meaning. I was ten, skinny, red-headed, Freckled. In a big black Buick, Driven by a big grown boy,...
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It’s all I have to bring today
by Emily Dickinson It’s all I have to bring today – This, and my heart beside – This, and my heart, and all the fields – And all the meadows wide – Be sure you count – should I forget Some one the sum...
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