Hitting the High Notes

toomuchart: Unknown Artist (Flemish), Concert of Women,...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:55:30 -0400

Unknown Artist (Flemish), Concert of Women, 1530-40.

Tuning a lute is an odd thing, turns out! Also notice the printed notation: it wasn’t printed in those by a printing press, but an acquired printer would carve out the “mouldings” and layer them all the together, orginally wooden carvings became steel- how cool is that?!

Submission from Titanasaurus

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:35:54 -0400

Submission from Titanasaurus

My friend’s entry for the Outlook Producing competition...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:09:54 -0400

My friend’s entry for the Outlook Producing competition very happy with this track been at it for ages hope you enjoy and this is what was, “Waves” now called “Rough Night (feat. Arashia)” hope you enjoy please let him know your comments and favourite as this is part of the rules, he needs 500 plays and 100 favs so COME ON LETS WIN THIS XD if he wins, a free download will be available for this track so check it out xD

Christine’s Cavatina This is a piece I wrote for my friend...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:59:46 -0400

Christine’s Cavatina

This is a piece I wrote for my friend Christine’s 19th birthday. I felt as she is a regular tumblr and although she was handed the score, it is pretty useless without being able to hear it!

I see it as being a guitar duet with piano accompaniment throughout with chordal homophony follwoing guitar line 1, which provides the main motif for the piece. Harmonic progression is fairly straightforward and there are 2 very clear-cut sections with a repeat of the first with a bit more flourish…

The piece was nto only inspired by my friend but also by many of the wonderful instrumental pieces I have come across recently, as well as seeing what classical guitarists can really do- wowee!

Once again, happy 19th Christine :)

allthingseurope: Notre Dame de Paris (by kalmanzita) Un jour,...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:34:35 -0500

allthingseurope:

Notre Dame de Paris (by kalmanzita)

Un jour, j’espere chanter a la finetre, avec les cloches…

Un jour parfait… <3

Photo

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:51:40 -0500

Photo

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:36:56 -0500

gjmueller: This is the Coffee Cycle, one of the great driving...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:12:37 -0500

gjmueller:

This is the Coffee Cycle, one of the great driving forces of life on Earth.

Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in Dminor ( Op....

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:32:10 -0500

Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in Dminor ( Op. 49)

Hearingt his beautiful piece again this weekend reminded me of the importance of your childhood and the person you can become through your family. It also reminded me of my childhood sweetheart: the music of Mendelssohn that even stood by me as a growing young woman at my grandfather’s funeral.

Thank you Mendelssohn,

Enjoy.

Mendelssohn and Mushrooms

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:23:00 -0500

Hi all,

Just back from a night out in Edinburgh, after having not been there for over ten tears except for the odd passing through. Was good but cam to a few conclusions about myself, especially after witnessing a bar fight, a break-up and an awkward 40 minute walk with the “happy” couple….

1. I am DEFINTELY NOT a nightclub person!

And thats ok. I’ve been trying to convince myself that I’m simply being too posh or prim but I realise now that the smell of sweat and tears of a broken hearted girl ( either because she’s not been “pulled” or because she has, but then he didn’t give her his number and a sweet sentiment!), the random boy ( or 50 year old man!) trying to grab your bum or even that sour look you get off girls when you’ve got better dance moves than them…? Nah, I was joking about that last one, I have NEVER experienced that but the fact still remains: what is so attractive about nightclubs. Surely there a good bars to go and have a quiet drink, rather than ” the cheap way to get wasted”?

Maybe I am a snob. I do come from a very much working class background, which will probably always remain that way, this by no way means that I HAVE to like clubs and big crowds- I’ll stick to quiet bars, flat parties and concerts with friends, thanks.

2. I LOVE mushrooms:

The actual fungi, of course. I just realised on my way to Edinburgh that before I left, I had eaten a whole pack of mushrooms; simply washed them and went for it. I can’t go into alot of detail about why, but i suppose its that lovely earthy flavour and the fact that they gor great with garlic ( watch my breath, folks!) and they ahve such a sweet shape to them, don’t even get me started in the texture-

Am I talking to much?!

3. I did have a childhood sweetheart:

And his name was Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

WhileI was in Edinburgh, walking my poor drunken friends home, I thought I’d play some Mendelssohn in my head. I came across a CD recently that belonged to my late grandfather, who loved music ALMOST as much as I do and without him, I would never have even started listening to classical music.

This CD was a personal favourite of his. Although he was more of a Schubert fan, the Romantic era of music took up the majority of his CD collection space.

Like any typical 6 year old, I wore trainers that had “smarties” on them ( best shoes I ever had), dungarees and thought I would become the infamous ” Sitting Room Jane Torvil” by prancing around and sweeping onto the carpet on my knees to Tchaikovsky and Dvorak. I wasn’t allowed to do this with Schubert, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, as well as others:

“You have to LISTEN to this music!”

Most of his CDs were thrown out when he started to go deaf and music simply didn’t pleasure him anymore, but he kept a few for me and his “musical friends”, which at the time, I wasn’t even considering music as a future potential for academia: remeber, I wanted to be Jane Torvil! And although the dungarees, trainers and delusion have disappeared, the childhood love for discovering a new favourite composer or rekindling spirits with an old friend still lives on.

I had listened to Mendelssohn’s “Fingal’s Cave” overture countless times, knowing it mwas my grandfather’s piece, it was chosen by me and a couple of his “musical friends” to play as entrance music at his funeral- he would’ve been really happy with that.

He knew me all too well: Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn were the majority of CDs handed down to me, aswell as one of my favourites; a collection of works by my favourite cellist Steven Isserlis ( I will go onto the wonderful cello some other time!)

“Fingal’s Cave” doesn’t seem quite the same to me as it once did before, maybe because it was funeral entrance music of a dearly loved relative. Or maybe its because, reading articles of Mendelssohn as being an “aloof man, arrogant and pompous”, the overture itself reflects on that slightly. Mendelssohn was seen to be a prodigy ( much like Mozart) but if you seive through the large symphonies and sonatas, you may find that his smaller instrumental pieces have greateast significance of all, one of which I loved as a child and nearly cried to this weekend, walking through a very crowded and stressed out Edinburgh. This piece kept me calm and reminded me of all things wonderful: funny how everybody has a piece that can do this for them.

Although this piece has 4 movements to it in total, I like the 2nd movement best. I’ll have a link to it afterwards, played by Isserlis(cello) Joshua Bell( violin) and Denes Varjon (piano)- 3 personal favourite performers of mine, playing at the proms last year: if only I had the chance to have seen them!

The piece is from Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D Minor and is called “Andante con Moto Tranquillo”

It has very serene melody lines, I have several renditions of this, but possibly because of the generation I’m part of, the most recent one (see above) is my favourite. Older playing techniques have gradulally become more unacceptable- no doubt in another 200 years, this will change again!

But for now,the piece brngs back alot of memories of my grandfather and now the most peaceful and tranquil places around my home in Scotland appear whenever I think of it and at times, the piece makes me sad, I suppose it depends on context.

His “Elijah” composition, the Piano Trio in D minor, “On Wings of Song” and may more pieces by Mendelssohn have made me almost euphoric in some way. BUt the CD that now stands proudly on my ever growing collection of odds and sods that I find in jumble sales epitomises the completeness I find in a childhood that unfortunately, won’t ever come back. I may be very young still, but I’m only ever going to get older.

The positive way to look at this fact though, is that with every year that passes, that CD collection grows larger and my music is constantly updated and I couldn’t ask for a better fortune than a love of music; and Mendelssohn really started me off on this wonderful journey, along with my grandfather. Mendelssohn may have been an arrogant man, but his music certianly wasn’t- a piece of music that speaks volumes to me, makes me wonder what volumes it speaks to the more musically educated- give me 20 years into my academic study and hopeful career and I’ll tell you! :P

So, my perfect weekend may simply compromise of listening to Mendelssoh’n Piano Trio and eating raw mushrooms. But its significance to my childhood and its way of filling my sould with such joy and at times sadness, is more worthwhile than a few drinks in a club will ever be- why have cheap thrills? You only live once, live it like a child over and over again.

funnylipshape: 9 Favorite Photos of Alfred Hitchcock Genuis of...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:03:08 -0500

funnylipshape:

9 Favorite Photos of Alfred Hitchcock

Genuis of a man!

Song of the Week: ** Please bear in mind, it maye not always be...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:12:13 -0500

Song of the Week:

** Please bear in mind, it maye not always be an actual vocal piece!**

This week, written by Bob Dylan and has become a fairly well-known and covered piece, “Forever Young” (1973/4) takes alot of passages from the Bible. Its a lovely song to remind us all to make the most fo what we have, no matter what age you are.

My favourite rendition, however, which I’m going to upload today is the cover by “The Band”, a sub-folk/rock group that worked very closely with Dylan during the mid 60s-70s. I was introdiced to the Band by a friend and since then, haven’t looked back!

cavetocanvas: cavetocanvas: Man Ray, Le Violin...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:23:27 -0500

cavetocanvas:

cavetocanvas:

Man Ray, Le Violin d’Ingres, 1924

totalfilm: The Muppets review

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:34:51 -0500

totalfilm:

The Muppets review

sigh indeed :/

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:53:22 -0500

**sigh** indeed :/

Some more photos, taken from places including the Isle fo Skye,...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:47:00 -0500

Some more photos, taken from places including the Isle fo Skye, Bellochantuy ( Mull of Kintyre) and Steall Falls, near Ben Nevis.

“Oh, I DO like a little sunset every now and then, or a shimmering tree…”

OH! And my first butterfly shot- taken when I was 14, on the Isle of Skye (HAHA!)

I’m very proud to live in Scotland and I don’t plan on going abroad until I’ve seen all of my own country. My family and I don’t go on lavish trips but in some ways, some of the best memories I will everhave are from these smaller more intimate holidays. I witnessed my stepdad propose to my mum on the furthest Wetserly point in Skye ( Niest point) and I’ve watched my younger brother and sister, who are now 12, grow up so fats from the very first family holiday, when they were 3

Anyway, enough of my ranting and rambling, enjoy!

**I promise, I won’t ramble again- for now!**

Ok, maybe I was lying but this one is just strange.. After being...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:34:08 -0500

Ok, maybe I was lying but this one is just strange..

After being lost on the road back from Mallaig, instead of going through Glenfinnan, we took an exciting detour ;)

I love the idea of someone in the middle of nowhere selling jam- And then rugs, of all things on top of that..

I hope someone else on this planet finds it amusing…?

This was the biggest highlight of my holiday in Skye- the views....

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:05:32 -0500

This was the biggest highlight of my holiday in Skye- the views. The Isle of Skye has to be a dream for a photographer and it certainly got me more interested in the art of photography ( although, I’m NOT a photographer by ANY stretch of the imagination!)

Isobel Baillie singing Mendelssohn’s “On Wings of...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:42:00 -0500

Isobel Baillie singing Mendelssohn’s “On Wings of Song” (1930) <3

The new hair- everybody’s gotta do it sometime! I feel a...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:40:28 -0500

The new hair- everybody’s gotta do it sometime!

I feel a Beatles song coming on!!!!!!!! :D