HT: On Being
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
onathan Coulton is an excellent troubadour of the digital age. A friend took me to see him in London a year ago: brilliant. His song Shop Vac has been set to a ‘kinetic typography animation’ by Jarrett Heather. It is exceptionally cleverly done and well worth watching.
his is something that has been nourishing me the last few days. The song is The Prodigal, and the animation is by Chris Powers. You can find more of his animations here.
Luke 2.29-32, sometimes called the nunc dimittis from its first two words in Latin, is a beautiful piece of poetry with which Simeon greets the baby Jesus.
Iolanta 0
» At the moment, I am enjoying the Arte Nova recording of 
Rachmaninov's Aleko and Tchaikovsky's Iolanta (1994). Much like Naxos's, Arte Nova's strategy is to produce cheaper recordings than mainstream labels by using relatively unknown European singers. As from any budget label, there are many recordings that are merely acceptable for the price, but there are also a few gems, in which category I am convinced Iolanta, especially, falls.
Let me briefly quote the First Antiphon of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great:
Bless the Lord, O my soul: Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless his Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and not forget all His benefits. Who forgiveth all thy sin, and healeth all thine infirmities. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and of great goodness. He will not alway be chiding, neither keepeth He His wrath forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
If folk and classical music don’t move you, then let me recommend something that may be more to your taste: Fingertips. Fingertips claims to be the intelligent guide to free and legal music online. That is not an idle boast. Each week, the author identifies (from the vast quantity of promotional tracks and other online music) what he considers new, innovative and exciting. They do not fit cleanly into any genre but do all deserve to be considered. Each recommendation comes with a short and helpful review of the track.
There are some excellent musicians who are happy to release their music to the public, free of charge. I plan to mention a few through the next few days.
If you’re fond of folk music, there is some excellent music available at the Community Music Project. The performers come from varied backgrounds, some of which make themselves felt in the music. One is of the Bahá’í faith, for example. In general, a clear devotion to nature is transparently evident in the songs. Their vocal talents are often impressive, but the best way to listen to their albums is with the tolerance one shows for a younger sibling. That is their aim, after all: to expand our notions of community and family in a digital age.
