oh, you were talking about her eyes?

Light dawns in surprising ways.
In preparation for the Grand Move, I’ve started reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Big Country. However, this afternoon it drove me to distraction. In one chapter, Bryson mentions a New York Times article listing ‘amusing linguistic misunderstandings and then explaining each in turn.’ [...]

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sad

The back page of the Church Times has short interviews which from time to time are really interesting. A couple of weeks ago, it was Stephen Hough’s turn. For me, it was both fascinating and sad. Stephen is a brilliant concert pianist, who, I discovered, also composes and writes poetry. He’s [...]

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a dream come true

The older I get, the more I become an enigma to myself. I turns out I’m an old romantic.
You Tube embedding has been disabled, but if you haven’t seen it you really should watch Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. Amazing. Watch Simon Cowell’s face.

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rachmaninov had big hands

Priceless. I want to see Igudesman and Joo live. You Tube has various other hilarious routines.

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brilliant bruckner…

…magic Masur. Bruckner has always been a major blindspot for me, but last Tuesday’s Prom performance of his seventh symphony has converted me. Although I was listening on a cheap radio, I was spellbound both by the score and by the playing: utter bliss. It’s romantic symphonic writing on the grandest of [...]

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neue mozart-ausgabe online

This website is unbelievable! Freely downloadable scores of all Mozart’s works in the definitive critical edition. You can even print copies for personal study. Amazing. Well done Bärenreiter.

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gyorgy ligeti (1923-2006)

Sad news. Gyorgy Ligeti, one of the 20th centuries greatest, most versatile, and most original composers, died today.

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chanting psalms

God has given us the psalms to sing. And so we really ought to be able to sing them; not just metrical paraphrases, but the actual text of scripture. And Anglican chants are the most beautiful way of doing this. One good way of starting to learn how to chant is [...]

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music, meaning, and bach

My friend Marc Lloyd has a fascinating post on music, meaning and Bach.

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