Allegretto ~ Tempo of The Morning Body.

When still awake at 3 am, the body's tempo begins a little short come morn...this morning was a tad slower than usual, but still filled with exuberance. I was moderately fast but less so than allegro, so it had to be allegretto! My wakeup call was Schubert Schubert Quintet in C, D 956 - 4. Allegretto - enjoy!

So...ya like the blues huh?

Riveting, compelling, gripping! Just a few words to descibe Music from The Big House.

Exciting News Update

The New Orleans Film Festival will be pairing music Performances with Films this year and Canadian blues singer Rita Chiarelli will perform before Music from the Big House, a documentary in which she travels to Louisiana to visit musicians in Angola State Penitentiary. The screening is Tuesday, October 18 at 8 p.m. at the CAC.

SPoA had the opportunity of seeing this documentary (The Bookshelf,Guelph ON) a few months ago and the pleasure of meeting Rita at the after screening party.

This is one documentary you don't want to miss. For our American subscibers, we hope you can catch it as it makes it's way to the USA. It's riveting


















Poster Image: Music From The Big House Facebook Page

Mad World

Some days I like to sit back and watch everyone going nowhere. It's a mad world. We often find ourselves getting caught up with the swift current of technology, dancing life in a daze, not stopping to look around. It's a double edge. If we want to stay connected, we have no choice but to give way to social media. Many of us choose to distance ourselves from the pressure of becoming part of the tech world...it's a mad world.

The other night in the company of friends, the topic of 'social media' came up. The majority felt that although it's a great tool of life now, it has crippled us to some degree and our social skills have gone mad. It's a mad world.   A pretty deep discussion took place...some felt that it has ruined us...and I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad.....people run in circles....it's a mad world.

https://youtu.be/etSbOs3aUqI?si=ufp38Xw1nmlUnsr1

Mad World - Gary Jules

Some jazzy Tide tonight!

SPoA loves HaZmat Modine

Anyone heading to New York this weekend?

Hazmat Modine and The Wiyos's concert at Le Poisson Rouge

April 14th, 2012

Wade Schuman of Hazmat Modine performing at Stockholm JazzFest09
Image:Wikipedia


The Tide



Visiting their site is a MUST, click HERE!

and to close the night.....here's an old tune from 1924. enjoy!

*A pre-scheduled post.

Oolong ~ Cat ~ Dog ~ Happiness

Day of unexpected pleasures.

Yesterday, supposed storm of season.

Music

Lemon Oolong Tea

Friend

Photography

Those that have been reading the blog are aware that I began studying guitar since mid September. Could be the reason I've not been blogging much. Time is precious and how we appropriate it in our day is always a 'fun' challenge.

Friends ask 'where do you find time?'...truth is, like anyone else, I have to make time. Not easy some days, I admit. You have to find your passion.

My 'passion' for learning the guitar was tested yesterday. Well ok, I really didn't brave the snow storm, but would have if it hadn't missed us. My point is: To accomplish anything, we must be dedicated..disciplined too. Nothing's achieved overnight and my goodness, I never thought practicing guitar chords could be so painful. I've lovely little callus's on my finger tips to substantiate my daily ritual of 'the practice session' and who knows, maybe someday that phrase could change to the 'goat rodeo sessions!'  

My teacher tells me he sees progress and that's good news.  I'm loving every bit of this musical journey!!

Experience Blue!

A night under a sky so blue,
so blue, so blue.

The music, the setting, the emotion....all for a very worthy cause.

I should have blogged about this a couple of months ago, but just came across some of the opening music to this spectacular fundraiser that took place back in October of 2011. It was the major Bell fundraiser for CAMH called "One Night Under A Blue Sky"

You must listen to "MIRROR MASK" by Composer/Producer Robert Marchand (Bobbyfreeze). It was one of the 'opening pieces' for the gala. I would also like to acknowledge that this amazing night was produced by Montreal's Circo de Bakuza under the guidance of Vincent Drolet. Art direction by the very talented Tony Babinski.

As you stare at the top photo and play the music, it will give you a good feeling of what being there was like. Can you imagine? What an incredible audio/visual experience that elevates to a whole new level of performance.

As part of a company group whose a major Bell Canada partner, a friend was invited to this 'blue' gala and said it was most interesting and definitely worthwhile.

You may wonder what it was all about? "One Night Under A Blue Sky" was a big time corporate fundraiser run by Bell for CAMH - Centre for Addiction and Mental Health - and aside from the financial support, the event goes a long way to raising awareness and the understanding of mental health issues. We've become so enamored with our always-on, hyperconnected lifestyles, it's sometimes easy to forget that we're humans and not machines. If you don't think this takes a toll on mental health, I'd say you need a reality check.

From what I've heard the entertainment was a cut or two above Medievel Times. They had two world class troupes, along with several performers covering a variety of expressive modes. Let's just say it was a heady mix of highbrow cabaret, precision dance, performance art, world music and Cirque du Soleil; along with lots of haute coutere, fire, fog and water. See that piano? It was on WATER! The entertainment went beyond description and those in attendance were oooh and awwwed by spectacular music and performance artists.



Congratulations to Bell for getting so much support around such an important issue. If you're looking to take your next big party to the next level and want to add a little spark, you should probably get in touch with Freedom Ballet, Robert Marchand and La Salamandre. Just make sure you give them lots of space and don't leave anything around that easily catches fire. Anyhow, just for a taste, here's a bit of what they had going on - are you thinking Peter Gabriel?




**Photo's were taken by a guest with an iphone. I enhanced them in Picasa.

*** Tony Babinski is a Montreal based writer, creator and filmaker. He has worked with SID LEE since 2000 and is author of Cirque Du Soleil:20 Years Under The Sun, the authorized history of Cirque Du Soleil. Check out Tony Babinski's blog HERE.

***CIRCO DE BAKUZA is a creative agency specializing in events, branding and experiential marketing.We define our work as telling stories and starting conversations. Our creative and strategic services are designed to create universes, create conversation and create ambassadors.

Lament

She played piano. Dressed somberly in black. She sang.

Flight 93 - 9/11 - Memorial Service - Sarah McLachlan - Angel - Sept 10, 2011

"I Will Remember You"

Flight 93 National Memorial dedication crash site

"Just a day before the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Sarah McLachlan gave a touching tribute to those who lost their lives when hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed to the ground in Shanksville, Penn." Resource/Image HERE.

Sailing

It's not far down to paradise...at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away...and find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see. Believe me

It's not far to never never land...no reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again. The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see. Believe me

Sailing. Takes me away...to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me. And soon I will be free

Fantasy. It gets the best of me...when I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie. Every word is a symphony. Won't you believe me

It's not far back to sanity..at least it's not for me
And when the wind is right you can sail away...and find serenity
The canvas can do miracles..just you wait and see. Believe me

Music Progression Into Rock

To demonstrate music progression into a complex rock song I've chosen our own Canadian Sarah McLachlan's "Building A Mystery."

Progression into a complex rock song

Repetition, some musicologists tell us, lies at the heart of rock music. To prove this, they not only point at the rhythms, but also at the harmonic structures of rock music. Indeed, in many rock songs almost identical patterns of chord material recur over and over again. Sometimes even a whole song is built on the repeated sequence of just the same few chords. Sarah McLachlan's beautiful song "Building A Mystery" offers a perfect example of precisely such a song. It is based on the chord progression: Bm -» G -» D -» A. Almost instantly the song opens with this sequence and then it keeps going on till the end. Still, as a whole the song doesn't sound monotonous or boring. Not without reason: a swift modulation or key shift keeps changing the semantic meaning of the chords.

For the chords of the song, check HERE.
* Caution: Video contains language.

FEELINGS

What I thought would happen today, did not. Would I be able to take a short nap to help shake off this sore throat and cold that's been lingering for a few days? No, it did not happen.It was all about my piano today which for me means an almost perfect day.

I'll be able to play with some sound of sense now. The tuner called and had time to come over. Excitement!

Image Above ~ The Piano Tuner ~ The Movie ~ To be released in 2013

"Based on Daniel Mason's novel,
Edgar Drake is sent to war-torn Burma in the 1800's to repair an eccentric military man's piano. Drake falls in love with a Burmese woman and her country, but as the officer wins over locals through music and medicine, things grow treacherous when his troops begin to suspect him of treason. "
Read more HERE.

The Tuner

And after 'the tuner' left I sat down and played for a couple of hours...in my own insane heaven.

Please click to view photos on black background on flickr, but more importantly do yourself a favour..take time to listen to Helene Grimaud play one of my cherished pieces by Bach.

Frozen Tears

I heard something beautiful today...it was a comment someone wrote on a friend's fb wall which reminded me of a beautiful piece of music.

Words that sound 'poetic' stay with me forever and these two words have that kind of 'staying power.'

What do you think of when you hear the words 'frozen tears?'

For me it encapsulates a lot of emotion.




Void,
frozen in time,
waiting to breathe life back into me,
waiting for tender words
shatter the silence,
wipe the frozen tears.
Tears
frozen upon my face.
You are missed.

Frozen Tears from Winterriese by Franz Schubert

On 'Winterreise'

Winterreise is also known as Winter Journey which is a cycle of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller and best known as the song cycle set for voice and piano by Franz Schubert. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin. Both were originally written for tenor voice but are frequently transposed to suit other vocal ranges - the precedent being established by Schubert himself. These two works have posed interpretative demands on listeners and performers due to their scale and structural coherence. Although Ludwig van Beethoven's cycle An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved..and was thought to be the first true song cycle) had been published earlier, in 1816, Schubert's two cycles hold the foremost place in the history of the genre.

Listen to Die schöne Müllerin(Part 1 of 8) HERE.
Listen to An die ferne Geliebte (1st Song)HERE.

Art of Listening To The Moment

A child prodigy in her youth and a competition-winning virtuoso by her late teens, cellist Anne Gastinel has gone on to handsomely fulfill all the promise augured by such auspicious beginnings. She has appeared on French television, received countless awards, made over a dozen recordings, and given concerts at the major venues throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, often with the leading conductors and orchestras. In addition, despite her busy concert and recording schedules, Gastinel has served on the faculty of the Lyon Conservatory as professor of cello. Her repertory is broad, spanning Baroque and modern music, taking in solo, chamber, and concertante works by J.S. Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorák, Elgar, Bloch, Rachmaninov, and contemporary French composer Éric Tanguy.

When I hear Anne play, I wish I played cello, but I play piano.
When I hear Anne speak, I wish I spoke French, but I speak English & Italian.
She is an inspiring musical gift to all of us so maybe it's time for language and music lessons once again!

Wishing all a fantastic day and hope you enjoy listening to Anne Gastinel as much as I am this moment!

Photo of Anne Gastinel : HERE

Sombrely obscure....tonal.

In a well lit forest, Sarah's haunting voice penetrates. Clear beauty resonating. A depth seldom heard. Brilliant. As one commenter suggests.."the sick bass line is really fantastic." Iagree.

I love the cover picture...forest lights. How awesome!

What is this love
That I leave behind
How can I turn
From the tears in your eyes
What is this world
Where we always pretend
That it is worth it
Worth it in the end
What is this life we share
That I just throw away
Is this love

That causes so much pain
What is the promise
That I leave behind
Why can't I
Just lie beside you again
What's goin' on
How'd it get so wrong
What is this dream
That I'll never find
What is this prayer
That's stealing my mind
What is this deal
That I've just made with fate
And I wonder
If I have left it too late

Lay with me, let's forget the world.

maybe we'll chase cars too..

and you can show me a garden that's bursting into life.

Once in a blue moon we are reminded to slow down and take in the world around us. The lyrics of this song are pretty open to interpretation. I felt they were speaking. Lay down, slow down. Forget the world for a moment with all it's turmoil. Lay with someone. Let yourselves be...in the moment...before you realize it's too late and you've grown old. Enjoy the moment life gives you today!

I wonder what this song is saying to you???





We'll do it all, everything, on our own.
We don't need anything, or anyone.

If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world.

I don't quite know how to say how I feel
Those three words, are said too much, they're not enough.

If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world.
Forget what we're told, before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life.

Let's waste time, chasing cars, around our heads.
I need your grace to remind me, to find my own.

If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world.
Forget what we're told, before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life.

All that I am, all that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where, confused about how as well
just know that these things will never change for us at all.

If I lay here, if I just lay here
Would you lie with me, and just forget the world.

Morning E-Mail with a message!

Thanks to MaryAnne, a fellow committee member from Development & Peace for sending this!

"Development and Peace is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. Inspired by Gospel values, particularly "the preferential option for the poor," the goals of Development and Peace are to support initiatives by people in the Global South to take control of their lives and to educate Canadians about North-South issues. Our education, advocacy and fund-raising work here at home is carried out by Development and Peace members from coast to coast." Read more HERE.

Something Good Coming

i'm watchin the water, watchin the coast
suddenly i know what i want the most
want to tell ya but still i hold back
need some time to get my life back on track
there's something good coming for you and me
something good coming it has to be.

If you like Heartland rock then you're in for a treat because Tom Petty has something good coming. Those who aren't familiar with 'heartland rock, it is a genre of rock music that was very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment.
It's been a long time coming, but it seems as if Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have 'something good coming.' Their first album in eight years -- appropriately entitled 'Mojo' - set to be released June 15th. I stumbled across the video tonight while searching for something else. I liked it. Couldn't post it to the blog so you'll have to travel HERE in order to hear it. The Petty tour kicks off in Oakland, Calif. on June 5....maybe a good reason to head to the west coast.

** Another example of a Heartland Rocker -->Bruce Springsteen

You know that I know that WE both know. Love Defined

Buon Giorno Principessa!

My belief is that real love comes around only once in a persons life. You know what kind of love I'm talking about. The one that has the intensity to take your breath away. A profound surge of emotion, the storm when you least expect it. It turns life upside down and you find yourself doing things for the other person that you've never done before. It's almost as if you can move mountains, or at least summit one. Any love arriving afterwards can be felt as 'deep feelings' but it never truly measures up to that deep passionate sense of the heart that true love brought you. In all honesty, you can't compare the two because they are at opposite ends of the spectrum of love. This 'true love' that I'm talking about is a love that is endless and knows no bounds, can persevere and toils through the thickness of life's cruel tricks. It endures everything in it's path, never relinquishes and holds on until the last breath. The thought of impending death does not cause it to waiver and death does not destroy it. It lives. I'm talking about a love that has more depth and breadth ever imaginable, one that touches the deepest part of the soul, a love that makes the spirit scale and soar to points others only dream of. It challenges us. It defines who we are. Love always prevails as it dances to the end. And even in the end this love continues dancing for all eternity. It lives in your soul, in the warmth of the hotel of your heart.

Forever and for always.

"Amor aeternus"

You know. I know. We both know.

MARIO FRANGOULIS BUONGIORNO PRINCIPESSA

Special Note

Amor Aeternus , a musical work by Nicholas Lens.

The Italian

Se canterai
Nella notte che non passa mai
Ti bacero
Sono belle le labbra che ridono

Se piovera
Con la pioggia anche il grano verra
Ti trovero
Ripescando la felicita.
Guarda lassu
La luna e tutta bianca e il cielo e tutto blu
E se anche tu ci sarai
Sara facile tutto vedrai
Ce la faro
Con la forza che ti rubero

E torneremo
A camminare per la via
E ogni stagione riavra la sua poesia.

Se finira
Questa notte di bassa marea
Andremo via
Ripescando la felicita.

Felicita
Andremo via

----

In English

Good Morning Princess

If you sing
In the night that never ends
I will kiss you
Those lips look beautiful when they're smiling

If it rains
Along with the rain, the wheat will also come
I will find you
Rediscovering happiness

Look up there
The moon is so white and the sky is so blue
And if you want to be there too
Everything will be easy, you'll see
I will make it happen
with the strength I'll steal from you

And we will return
To walk this path of life
And every season will have poetry once more

If it ends
This night of low tides
We will go away
Rediscovering happiness

Happiness
We will go away

I've heard there was a secret chord

Jeff Buckley singing Hallelujah, a song that S.P. of Art loves. In the past we posted this song performed by Leonard Cohen. This version was emailed to us and we liked it so much we wanted to share. He sings it with a lot of passion ~ enjoy.

Photo Image: HERE

Music for tonight

"Fortress Around Your Heart"

Under the ruins of a walled city
Crumbling towers and beams of yellow light
No flags of truce, no cries of pity
The siege guns had been pounding all through the night
It took a day to build the city
We walked through its streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the lands I'd known
I recognized the fields where I'd once played
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

Then I went off to fight some battle
That I'd invented inside my head
Away so long for years and years
You probably thought or even wished that I was dead
While the armies are all sleeping
Beneath the tattered flag we'd made
I had to stop in my track for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

This prison has now become your home
A sentence you seem prepared to pay
It took a day to build the city
As I returned across the lands I'd known
I recognized the fields where I'd once played
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

No ones laughing.

Above Image HERE.

Regina Specktor is another favoured singer here at the Parliament. If you're not familiar with her we suggest you click on her name to read more about her 'early beginnings' as a musician. We love the style that she's developed over the last couple of years - the clear crisp resonance of her voice is fresh. Today this song is hitting a nerve and thought to share with you.

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God