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Post by Séamus on Oct 14, 2021 14:42:32 GMT
vale- Paddy Moloney The great body of music produced by the Chieftains through the decades commands some respect. As well as teaching the world that singing about crazy billy goats isn't sweating. Of the many artists they've collaborated with, the Corr family in particular brings us into 2021's current affairs- at least two of the siblings seemingly holding strong but opposing views on mandatory vax.
He may not have appreciated being laid to rest on St Teresa's day tomorrow, but in fact she herself was far from opposed to her own traditional folk music;Vita Saville-West made a point of mentioning in her work about the two Theresas that a tambourine and castanets were kept at Carmel- the latter replacing the Benedictine wake-up bell. (An American Catholic news archive once listed it's favourite musical saints- several were folk, rather than sacred, oriented; apparently some of the Ugandan martyrs were elite tribal drummers!)
Mo Ghile Mear
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Music
Dec 4, 2021 12:44:36 GMT
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Post by cato on Dec 4, 2021 12:44:36 GMT
A recent survey put the Irish as the least nostalgic people in Europe. This may be true for a variety of reasons. Officially most of our experience as a nation state has been branded as a bad thing but that's not a full accurate or fair depiction of our national life just as our personal sins or flaws do not sum us up as individuals.
I have been thinking a lot about Nostalgia and the yearning for home and the past. Music is intimately linked with it. I have been listening to the great Frank Paterson and Bridie Gallagher from Donegal recently. Their renditions of Irish folk songs are real gems. They had very fine distinctive voices and are well worth listening to.
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Music
Dec 4, 2021 22:33:20 GMT
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Post by Tomas on Dec 4, 2021 22:33:20 GMT
Beautiful voice, Frank Paterson!!!
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Music
Dec 10, 2021 8:14:00 GMT
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Post by Séamus on Dec 10, 2021 8:14:00 GMT
"Nina Hagen,rock singer and more recently new ager,held an eight-hour rock marathon in Berlin with the American rock star Michael Jackson. She likes to wear black clothing and often has crucifixes around her neck. The Press reported the 'virgin birth' of her child. She sings,"I am a chosen one" and had herself pictured as the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus on the cover of an LP released in the early 1980s. What is special to others she drags through the mud" (rock music where from?where to? Lutheran evangelical sisterhood of Mary, Darmstadt,1989)
For a country that boasts Strauss, Bach, Mendelssohn and Beethoven, Angela's choice of composer for her otherwise impressive farewell honours was probably far from her greatest decision. She could have at least considered Boney M or Nina Kerner (unlike the other Nina she might be only known for one hit,but it did at least have some meaning.) Looking beyond the recent bailing out of financially-busted EU states- Germany certainly had more in it's past to offer the culturally poor world of the present.
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Music
Dec 21, 2021 0:05:35 GMT
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Post by Séamus on Dec 21, 2021 0:05:35 GMT
vale- Carlos Marín. Il Divo have managed to forge ahead together neatly twenty years after the popera craze briefly came and went. In an industry notorious for blow-up and fallouts, the four original men have somehow managed to get by with members unchanged.
It's apparently the 40th anniversary of Human League's Christmas #1- an honour I hadn't realised their now-politically incorrect song had had. While there might be no disputing the ongoing popularity of this one,I can't help wondering whether,I'm thinking of course of the days of material record sales,whether most or many Christmas chart-toppers were compromise gifts- the single some-lad-we-hardly-know is least likely to dislike.
The question came to mind recently due to one of Australia's top five albums over the past few weeks- a recording of native bird songs, something that's always been quite common with moderate commercial success. We're probably talking largely about material cds in this case also. I haven't heard it. I did buy an alphabetical book of Australian animals for a young boy- some of the harder letters navigated by using indigenous or classical Latin names (honeyeater genus starts with X)...shows the usefulness of a universal classic tongue. (A bit worried whether some pages are actually a bit frightening- a lot of bats and snakes screaming out)
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Post by Séamus on Jan 20, 2022 3:02:04 GMT
Just before a local DVD/cd store closed (unsurprisingly- I often saw no customer there,and never more than one)I quickly bought a couple that I probably wouldn't have otherwise, including Light For the World by the Arundel Poor Clares.
Of the few sizeable convents worldwide which are not in a state of collapse, I'm sure that the majority could produce a reasonable recording,perhaps with one or several bits specific to their congregation (three of these hymns are based on St Clare's writings;one on a lesser known quotation of Francis.) But somehow the mixing of this record makes it worthwhile...synth and other backgrounds,some reminiscent of Ultravox,Enya or Einaudi,add to the listen-ability without being as heavy as John Paul's 1999 mixedmedia effort.
Under the circumstances that I bought it in it felt appropriate. Capturing the change around us. The cover design- a nun surrounded by psychedelic colours- made sense too.
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Music
Jan 20, 2022 11:25:16 GMT
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Post by cato on Jan 20, 2022 11:25:16 GMT
Just before a local DVD/cd store closed (unsurprisingly- I often saw no customer there,and never more than one)I quickly bought a couple that I probably wouldn't have otherwise, including Light For the World by the Arundel Poor Clares. Of the few sizeable convents worldwide which are not in a state of collapse, I'm sure that the majority could produce a reasonable recording,perhaps with one or several bits specific to their congregation (three of these hymns are based on St Clare's writings;one on a lesser known quotation of Francis.) But somehow the mixing of this record makes it worthwhile...synth and other backgrounds,some reminiscent of Ultravox,Enya or Einaudi,add to the listen-ability without being as heavy as John Paul's 1999 mixedmedia effort. Under the circumstances that I bought it in it felt appropriate. Capturing the change around us. The cover design- a nun surrounded by psychedelic colours- made sense too. Supporting your local music shop seems to have received papal backing after news of his visit to a Roman CD store was leaked. I have been guilty of starting to download music over the last two years mainly on economic and choice grounds.
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Music
Mar 4, 2022 12:21:22 GMT
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Post by Séamus on Mar 4, 2022 12:21:22 GMT
"Animal rights activists want Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur to sever their historic link with an outlawed blood sport and update their fighting cockerel emblem...PETA's director believes it is time the club rejected it's historic links with the blood sport" Eugene Henderson inter.express
Banned officially in UK (which would have included Ireland at the time) before slavery was abolished in most places, I've no doubt cockerel fighting was cruel;still, I can't see a gentle Cocks and Hens image in the style of Saint-Saëns composition being the preferred thing for a sports club, notwithstanding nicknames like The Canaries often sticking for other clubs.
Songs of Disappearance (University of Darwin) reached the top five in the Australian record charts twice recently,both before and after the hard copies were released. As the emphasis was on bird sounds that may disappear in a few generations,a lot of the more iconic or mellifluous species of Australia are missing,some recordings were made of birds recognisable as cousins of Palaearctic residents (Latham's snipe, the Australasian bittern,the far-eastern curlew [European curlews are iconic enough in Scotland to merit mention in Dream Angus ballad],the southern barking owl- which does indeed sound like a dog-,squatter pigeon...) There's no human background music- the recordings are the instruments. Probably the satin bowerbird surprised me the most. A behavioral example used by the likes of Sparks and Attenborough because of its habit since European settlement of collecting blue objects during mating season,it has also a spectacular sound in proportion to it's size on top of this.
Anyone who usually listens to Rachmaninoff's sacred music during Lent but wants to boycott this year for whatever reason might even find the record to be a viable replacement.
"Help of Christians guard this land From assault or inward stain May it be what Christ has planned His new Eden where you reign" Poet and hymnographer James McAuley
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Music
Mar 4, 2022 13:38:15 GMT
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Post by cato on Mar 4, 2022 13:38:15 GMT
"Animal rights activists want Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur to sever their historic link with an outlawed blood sport and update their fighting cockerel emblem...PETA's director believes it is time the club rejected it's historic links with the blood sport" Eugene Henderson inter.express Banned officially in UK (which would have included Ireland at the time) before slavery was abolished in most places, I've no doubt cockerel fighting was cruel;still, I can't see a gentle Cocks and Hens image in the style of Saint-Saëns composition being the preferred thing for a sports club, notwithstanding nicknames like The Canaries often sticking for other clubs. Songs of Disappearance (University of Darwin) reached the top five in the Australian record charts twice recently,both before and after the hard copies were released. As the emphasis was on bird sounds that may disappear in a few generations,a lot of the more iconic or mellifluous species of Australia are missing,some recordings were made of birds recognisable as cousins of Palaearctic residents (Latham's snipe, the Australasian bittern,the far-eastern curlew [European curlews are iconic enough in Scotland to merit mention in Dream Angus ballad],the southern barking owl- which does indeed sound like a dog-,squatter pigeon...) There's no human background music- the recordings are the instruments. Probably the satin bowerbird surprised me the most. A behavioral example used by the likes of Sparks and Attenborough because of its habit since European settlement of collecting blue objects during mating season,it has also a spectacular sound in proportion to it's size on top of this. Anyone who usually listens to Rachmaninoff's sacred music during Lent but wants to boycott this year for whatever reason I hope most people Seamus should be able to distinguish between Russian people and their rich venerable culture and the current dictatorship running the country particularly when the current war is harming Russia so much morally , economically and even ironically strategically . Rachmaninoffs vespers are are a favourite of mine . I ll give the songs of disappearance a listen to. Thanks.
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Post by Séamus on Jul 23, 2022 9:14:26 GMT
" 'Some of the city churches come out of that great hole. All these old quarries on the east side were worked by Sir Christopher Wren when he rebuilt London...this old pillar is said to have been cut for St Paul's Cathedral;but it never got there...I helped to choose some of the stones for the Cenotaph',he continued:'the purest white stone in the island'... never again will I look on London with quite the same eyes"
A teatowel from Mauritius that haunts one kitchen I know of (despite it's age it never seems to be parted with) always strikes me as strange,as far as souvenirs go. It features two big brighty coloured dodos. Recently while reading.In Search of England,originally published in 1927,in which Mr.HV.Morton gave his readers some interesting observations from his car journey around his homeland,I come across something similar that's related of Portland and it's quarry- the Isle becomes important for something that isn't there.
It all came back to me when reading that Queen have apparently now the highest streams and sales numbers this century;then seeing Kate Bush reach the highest section of the Billboard charts for the first time with one of her less bizarre numbers (as well as simultaneously reaching #1 in her homeland, where it would have been a hit already at it's mid-80s release). Often happens of course- Harry's Games only reached America around 1990- but there might be a rhetorical question here- were 1970s singers really the most brilliant ever or,like Portland stone or dodo birds,are we really focusing on what isn't there now?
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Post by assisi on Jul 28, 2022 14:04:46 GMT
" 'Some of the city churches come out of that great hole. All these old quarries on the east side were worked by Sir Christopher Wren when he rebuilt London...this old pillar is said to have been cut for St Paul's Cathedral;but it never got there...I helped to choose some of the stones for the Cenotaph',he continued:'the purest white stone in the island'... never again will I look on London with quite the same eyes" A teatowel from Mauritius that haunts one kitchen I know of (despite it's age it never seems to be parted with) always strikes me as strange,as far as souvenirs go. It features two big brighty coloured dodos. Recently while reading.In Search of England,originally published in 1927,in which Mr.HV.Morton gave his readers some interesting observations from his car journey around his homeland,I come across something similar that's related of Portland and it's quarry- the Isle becomes important for something that isn't there. It all came back to me when reading that Queen have apparently now the highest streams and sales numbers this century;then seeing Kate Bush reach the highest section of the Billboard charts for the first time with one of her less bizarre numbers (as well as simultaneously reaching #1 in her homeland, where it would have been a hit already at it's mid-80s release). Often happens of course- Harry's Games only reached America around 1990- but there might be a rhetorical question here- were 1970s singers really the most brilliant ever or,like Portland stone or dodo birds,are we really focusing on what isn't there now? I was reading a short essay by Chesterton recently where he decries the first St. Pauls. in London which apparently was supposed to be quite majestic on its site on Ludgate Hill, East London. We do seem to look back and think many things better. I don't think the 1970s singers were necessarily better, but I do think that music being produced then, and in the 1960s and 1980s were light years ahead of the music produced now. And good singers were listened to and appreciated then. For example is there any male mainstream singer that could sing like a Jim Reeves? Or when was the last time you heard a modern song that could compare to, say, Dire Straits 'Sultans of Swing', George Harrison's 'While my Guitar gently Weeps' or the Eagles 'Hotel California'?
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Music
Aug 8, 2022 1:28:46 GMT
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Post by Séamus on Aug 8, 2022 1:28:46 GMT
There's currently huge coverage in Australia of the death of a lady named Judith Durham,lead of The Seekers. As their big hits were mostly released in the 1960s (Georgy Girl apparently got to #10 in Ireland) they might seem like a historical footnote to most of us,but it can be noted that she seems to have overrode the swinging-part of the decade, apparently having had one husband, married in a Presbyterian chapel,who died of motor neurone (in the pre-euthanasia 90s) with his famous wife at his bedside. Perhaps Australia was a bit behind in some ways and I'm not sure that I'll Never Find Another You has endured; still- there was a group knocking the Beatles and Rolling Stones from #1 in Britain and US without too much evidence of dilated pupils.
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Post by Séamus on Sept 22, 2022 12:14:44 GMT
It may even sound facetious if I say that I'm enjoying a listening to two Kazakhstani-Australian classical guitarists serenading a preserved carcass of a Tasmanian tiger currently lying on a museum shelf...but so it is. By chance I bought a cd the other day (This Is Us, the Grigoryan Brothers 2021) which was recorded to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of a national museum in Canberra (called simply National Museum Australia) whose artefacts, comparing them in particular with recent events and their appurtenances in Westminster,seem to be, by and large, neither ancient or awesome,but somehow serve as sufficient inspiration for some fairly decent music.
18 objects are chosen as muses for composition,I suspect by others besides the two guitarist brothers, seeing that much effort is made to represent various communities- a Vietnamese instrument brought back by a war veteran, a bag for fruit gathering that belonged to an Italian immigrant, 70s pickets from aboriginal land rights demonstrations, a buoy from a boat that carried Middle Eastern refugees, an anchor from early English exploration...
Irish-Australians are given the nod through track 5- Love And Forgiveness. The accompanying booklet shows a photo of an old locket containing a photo of a young man and some (more feminine-looking) hair. "(Les)Darcy,(boxer)the son of a poor Irish Catholic family in East Maitland,near Newcastle,won 22 consecutive fights in 1915-16 and earned enough money to pay out his blacksmith's apprenticeship and buy his parents a house. He became a national hero but later fell from grace after a smear campaign accused him of shirking his wartime military duties by heading to the US. Here Darcy fell ill and died from an infection following dental surgery (girlfriend) Winnie (O'Sullivan) by his side. He was only 21. When Les Darcy's body arrived back in Australia, hundreds of thousands of people filed past his open casket" National forgiveness.
A telescope bought from Thomas Grubb's Astronomical Instrumental Works, Dublin about 1885 is included also. Being unbiased,the more politically correct, Hunter's Edge (about an indigenous arrow head) and Hidden Past (concerning a bicycle which apparently carries the shame of connection with a leisure camping ground once situated on an aboriginal burial site) are probably my standout favorites. As well as the Tasmanian tiger piece.
Slava and Leonard Grigoryan apparently made the Australian album charts a few times,the top 40 once,in their earlier years. This was the early '90s,an interesting period for charts, when cds were edging out vinyl and cassette,but all three record mediums were still in existence. Although there are other popular composers worldwide who can take inspiration from the elements around them,Einaudi,even Enya&Roma Ryan, the brothers probably deserve full marks here for producing something from such a cloistered environment.
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Post by Séamus on Oct 21, 2022 12:04:42 GMT
"an orchestra that has received more than £1 million of public money refused to play the National Anthem after the Queen died because it said it symbolised the 'racist' British Empire. The Chineke!Orchestra performed at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland during the mourning period,but founder and artistic director ChiChi Nwanoku banned the playing of God Save The King. Critics have pointed out that Ms Nwanoku has accepted honours including a CBE. In an email Ms Nwanoku,66,wrote: 'The Chineke!Orchestra is full of musicians who are not from the UK and many who are the direct result of their ancestors being enslaved. We will not be playing the National Anthem". London-born Ms Nwanoku added: 'The Empire is virtually entirely built on racism.' " (international express oct 19,inverted commas on word RACIST in original print.)
I assume this means that Wagner is totally off the schedule. Stating that the group was international might have suffused as an excuse-of-sorts; the additional comments seem rather unnecessary.
St Ursula,feast today, Oct 21, was once beautifully and romantically celebrated in song by Hildegard of Bingen who poetically likened her martyr companions to pearls in a necklace that strangled the dragon (the devil). Obviously not in any literal sense,or any of us who went to the church today might be wondering why we're all still there. The missionary bishop whom Hildegard also once eulogized, who founded the church in her area,was Irish according to tradition; as with Wagner's borrowing from Arthurian legend,we can see a respect for Irish and British cultural links- I wonder if it ever crossed the mind of Aryan theorists when they blitzed London and Dublin?
In her requiem arrangements Elizabeth II echoed her husband by including Eastern rite chant in her funeral,inspired apparently by a Doctor Zhivago scene as well as the Duke's own background. Nobody saw a need to change this even with Russia's current unpopularity. Maybe Ms ChiChi could learn something from this about the transcendent values of music. "So I'll sing you a new song. Please don't cry any more. I'll even ask your forgiveness, though I don't know just what I'm asking it for,oh wohoa"
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Post by Séamus on Nov 18, 2022 9:23:49 GMT
In 2022 it might seem extraordinary that in living memory (1979 in fact) a ballad (Do You Want Your Old Lobby Washed Down),a hymn (Welcome John Paul II), or the likes of Cliff Richards, Boomtown Rats or ABBA could all reach the pinnacle of the Irish singles charts. Some will snigger at perceived quaintness;I think it's a sign of a healthy society. This week ABBA received more Grammy nominations for their reformed recording than they got during the entire era that spawned their classic songs. Either the awards are now more sentimental or less American-oriented....or, with all the rapping and dancing going on maybe the music industry itself is calling out, "the love that you gave me, nothing else will save me SOS"?
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