Saturday, December 31, 2016

Loosing Forever, with Half Sigh, Half Gasp

A Psalm for New Year's Eve
by Dinah Maria Craik
1855.

A friend stands at the door;
In either tight-closed hand
Hiding rich gifts, three hundred and three score:
Waiting to strew them daily o'er the land
Even as seed the sower.
Each drops he, treads it in and passes by:
It cannot be made fruitful till it die.

O good New Year, we clasp
This warm shut hand of thine,
Loosing forever, with half sigh, half gasp,
That which from ours falls like dead fingers' twine:
Ay, whether fierce its grasp
Has been, or gentle, having been, we know
That it was blessed: let the Old Year go.

O New Year, teach us faith!
The road of life is hard:
When our feet bleed and scourging winds us scathe,
Point thou to Him whose visage was more marred
Than any man's: who saith
"Make straight paths for your feet" — and to the opprest --
"Come ye to Me, and I will give you rest."

Yet hang some lamp-like hope
Above this unknown way,
Kind year, to give our spirits freer scope
And our hands strength to work while it is day.
But if that way must slope
Tombward, O bring before our fading eyes
The lamp of life, the Hope that never dies.

Comfort our souls with love, — Love of all human kind;
Love special, close — in which like sheltered dove
Each weary heart its own safe nest may find;
And love that turns above
Adoringly; contented to resign
All loves, if need be, for the Love Divine.

Friend, come thou like a friend,
And whether bright thy face,
Or dim with clouds we cannot comprehend,—
We 'll hold out patient hands, each in his place,
And trust thee to the end.
Knowing thou leadest onwards to those spheres
Where there are neither days nor months nor years.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christrmas Night

Christmas Night
Thomas Hall Shastid
1881

Be peace on earth, good will to men;
And let this now our carol be:
If on the land, or on the sea,
We still will sing the glad refrain;
And in the closing light of day
Good words of peace and cheer will say.

The Babe that in the manger born
Has risen high above the star,
To judge in peace, or judge in war,
To judge at night or judge at morn.
The star that told us of his birth
Has given us joy and lasting mirth.

The Man that suffered on the tree
Is risen high above all men;
Then swell the glad refrain again—
He died for me, He died for thee:
Then peace be ever on the earth
To one and all of human birth.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Winter Solstice, 2016

1620 Hours
Clear
56°F /13°C

December 21, 2016 Rise: Set: Actual Time 7:15 AM PST 4:49 PM PST Civil Twilight 6:46 AM PST 5:18 PM PST Nautical Twilight 6:13 AM PST 5:51 PM PST Astronomical Twilight 5:41 AM PST 6:23 PM PST Moon 12:14 AM PST 12:34 PM PST Length of Visible Light 10h 32m Length of Day 9h 33m Tomorrow will be 0m 3s longer

Monday, December 19, 2016

Down from Heaven's Glory to a Manger Bed


Here we are. Another year is floating silently and swiftly to its closing. Truly, as God ordained, "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven". Whether a fair and bright song raised, or the cry of a dark and dismal refrain, they matter not to the hours that fly. In every circling year new things and lives abound, while the ever flowing tide of time obliterates the footprints of yesterday - "une rose elle a vecue ce que vivent les roses, l'espace d'un matin."

We soon walk onto the pristine path of a new year; sweet is the breath of its first new morn. We seek anew a primrose by a river's brim. A longing to find that yellow primrose, if only it brings a temporal gladness and nothing more. Knowingly for certain, awaiting us to bear at the bend are further Sisyphean tasks roiling with ambivalence, weighting down by wickedly violent Rasohmon POV. These are ever the burdens of Cain in our brilliant but strife-torn Godless world, away from the presence of the Lord.

For this year-end penultimate, may God open our eyes or reaffirm the yearning for an everlasting solace. That Christmas is the birth of Jesus, God's only begotten son, the physician and savior of the soul. Only Jesus can satisfy one's longing for everlasting joy and rest, calm the mind in worldly strife, and make the sinner whole for eternity with Him.

A parting thought on this Christmas season and the closing year,

"Down from Heaven's glory to a manger bed,
Crucified, Glorified; He was born to be our Savior."

In Excelsis Deo.


Saturday, November 26, 2016

Birthdays - Lois and Bob


Tab 1 Feature:

26 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Lois Hunt
American operatic lyric soprano
(26 November 1924 - 6 July 2009)

Louis Hunt, soprano (1958)

One Kiss 3'38
(Hammerstein & Romberg)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

26 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Robert Goulet
American singer and actor
(26 November 1933 - 30 October 2007)

Robert Goulet (1960)

C'est Moi 3'28"
(Lerner & Loewe)



These MP3 posts expired on 01-13-2017.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Saturday, November 19, 2016

Johnny Mercer Birthday Anniversary 2016



Tab 1 Feature:

18 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Johnny Mercer
America's most prolific songwriter and lyricist
(18 November 1909 - 25 June 1976)

Fred Waring
and The Pennsylvanians (1997)

Autumn Leaves 3'09
(Kosma, Prevert, and Mercer)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

18 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Johnny Mercer
America's most prolific songwriter and lyricist
(18 November 1909 - 25 June 1976)

The Norman Luboff Chorus (1962)

That Old Black Magic 3'01"
(Arlen & Mercer)



These MP3 posts expired on 11-26-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Saturday, November 12, 2016

Alex and Hank


Tab 1 Feature:

12 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Alexander Borodin
Russian Romantic Era composer
(12 November 1833 - 27 September 1887)

James Last
and His Orchestra

Notturno (1998 recording)
(after Borodin, String Quartet No. 2)
2'48"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

12 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Henry Jerome
trumpeter and orchestra leader
(12 November 1917 - 23 March 2011)

Blue Moon (1960 recording)
(Rodgers & Hart)
2'00"


These MP3 posts expired on 11-19-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Thursday, November 10, 2016

This Democracy of Clouds in Full Hurricane


"These waves; this ebb and flow; this terrible go-and-come; this noise of every gust; these lights and shadows; these vegetations belonging to the gulf; this democracy of clouds in full hurricane; these eagles in the foam; these wonderful gatherings of stars reflected in one knows not what mysterious crowd by millions of luminous specks, heads confused with the innumerable; those grand errant lightnings which seem to watch; these huge sobs; these monsters glimpsed at; this roaring, disturbing these nights of darkness; these furies, these frenzies, these tempests, these rocks, these shipwrecks, these fleets crushing each other, these human thunders mixed with divine thunders, this blood in the abyss; then these graces, these sweetnesses, these fêtes these gay white veils, these fishing-boats, these songs in the uproar, these splendid ports, this smoke of the earth, these towns in the horizon, this deep blue of water and sky, this useful sharpness, this bitterness which renders the universe wholesome, this rough salt without which all would putrefy, these angers and assuagings, this whole in one, this unexpected in the immutable, this vast marvel of monotony inexhaustibly varied, this level after that earthquake, these hells and these paradises of immensity eternally agitated, this infinite, this unfathomable,—all this can exist in one spirit..."

Victor Hugo
1864


Saturday, November 05, 2016

Vincenzo Bellini's Birthday Anniversary



Tab 1 Feature:

3 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Vincenzo Bellini
Italian opera composer
(3 November 1801 - 23 September 1835)

Roger Lord, oboe
Neville Marriner, conducting (1964)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Concerto in E-flat Major for Oboe and Strings
First Movement Excerpt: "Maestoso e deciso"
(Bellini)
3'26"

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

3 November 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Vincenzo Bellini
Italian opera composer
(3 November 1801 - 23 September 1835)

Montserrt Caballe, soprano
Shirley Verrett, messo-soprano

From the opera, "Norma"
Excerpt: "Mira, o Norma" duet (1991)
(Bellini)
2'09"


These MP3 posts expired on 11-12-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Sunday, October 30, 2016

Reformation Sunday

Some selected bible verses for this Reformation Sunday:

  • Sola Scriptura
  • Exodus 20:1-17 ESV

  • Sola Gratia
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

  • Solus Christus
  • 1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV

  • Sola Fide
  • Romans 3:9-26 ESV

  • Soli Deo Gloria
  • 1 Timothy 1:17 ESV

Friday, October 28, 2016

Thus All Doth Fall

Rainer Maria Rilke
"Autumn" (1918)

Autumn
Rainer Maria Rilke
1918

The leaves fall, fall as from far,
Like distant gardens withered in the heavens;
They fall with slow and lingering descent.

And in the nights the heavy Earth, too, falls
From out the stars into the Solitude.

Thus all doth fall. This hand of mine must fall
And lo! the other one:—it is the law.
But there is One who holds this falling
Infinitely softly in His hands.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Birthdays of Scarlatti and Paganini


Tab 1 Feature:

26 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti
Baroque era Italian composer
(26 October 1685 - 23 July 1757)

Mikhail Pletnev, piano (2001)

Sonata in D minor, K. 9, "Pastorale"
(Scarlatti)
2'33"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

27 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Niccolò Paganini
Romantic era Italian composer and musician
renown for his string instrument compositions
(27 October 1782 - 27 May 1840)

Charlie Byrd, classical guitar (1971)

Sonatina No. 1
(Paganini)
2'00"



These MP3 posts expired on 11-05-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Georges and Barbara Have Their Day


Tab 1 Feature (now playing):

25 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Georges Bizet
Romantic era French composer
(25 October 1838 - 3 June 1975)

Les Brown and His Orchestra (2001 compilation)

Bizet Has His Day
(B. Homer -
after Bizet L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: Farandole)
2'22"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

25 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Barbara Cook
American singer and stage actress
Born: 25 October 1827.

Barbara Cook & Robert Preston (1957)

Till There Was You
(Willson)
2'45"



These MP3 posts expired on 10-27-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


>

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

From No. 3, Rosa Klebb, with Love


Tab 1 Feature:

18 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Lotte Lenya
Austrian singer and actress
wife of Kurt Weill
(18 October 1898 - 27 November 1982)

Lotte Lenya (1956)
Moritat vom Mackie Messer
(Weill)
3'04"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

18 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Lotte Lenya
Austrian singer and actress
wife of Kurt Weill
(18 October 1898 - 27 November 1982)

Lotte Lenya (1955)
September Song
(Weill & Anderson)
3'45"


These MP3 posts expired on 10-25-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Saturday, October 01, 2016

Roger Williams Birthday Anniversary



Tab 1 Feature:

1 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Roger Williams, piano
American pop music pianist
(1 October 1924 - 8 October 2011)

Roger Williams, piano (1955)
on the Ed Sullivan Show
Autumn Leaves
(Kosma,Prevert, and Mercer)
3'57"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

1 October 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Roger Williams
American pop music pianist
(1 October 1924 - 8 October 2011)

Roger Williams, piano (1984)
Born Free
(Barry)
2'17"



These MP3 posts expired on 10-18-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Thursday, September 22, 2016

When an Early Autumn Walks the Land


First day of autumn
(northern hemisphere)
22 September 2016

Ronnie Aldrich, piano
and
The Romantic Strings Orchestra (1999)

- Early Autumn
(Woody Herman, et al.)

Click or tap here to view this L'Envoi YouTube.

The Summer Joys Are Fleeting Fast


Autumn Days
Henry Reed Conant
1893

The summer joys are fleeting fast
From forest, field and glen,
And soon shall winter’s piercing blast
Sweep o’er the earth again.

How lovely were the bright spring flow’rs,
That decked the landscape o’er;
But now we see, on fields and bow’rs,
Their dainty forms no more.

The leaves are falling in the wind,
From many a lofty height,
And birds are calling to their kind,
Upon their farewell flight.

But still, how cheering is the thought,
When other joys have flown;
That the little snow-bird leaves us not,
But chirps till winter’s gone.


First Day of Autumn, 2016



22 September 2016

1355 Hours PDT Log
Current Temperature and Condition:
73° F | 23° C
Clear
Wind NNW 3; Gusts 13 MPH

Astronomy:

22 September 2016              Rise:        Set:
Actual Time            6:52 AM PDT  6:59 PM PDT
Civil Twilight         6:26 AM PDT  7:26 PM PDT
Nautical Twilight      5:55 AM PDT  7:56 PM PDT
Astronomical Twilight  5:25 AM PDT  8:27 PM PDT
Moon                  11:50 PM PDT  1:22 PM PDT

Length of Visible Light 12h 59m
Length of Day 12h 07m
Tomorrow will be 2m 25s shorter.

Waning Gibbous, 56% of the Moon is Illuminated.


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Another Tandem Birthday - Frank and Gustav


Tab 1 Feature:

20 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Frank DeVol
conductor, arranger, composer, and actor
(20 September 1911 - 27 October 1999)

Frank DeVol and His Orchestra (1958)
Dreamy
(E. Garner)
2'12"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

21 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Gustav Holst
neo-classical composer and teacher
(21 September 1874 - 25 May 1934)

The Central Band of the RAF (1988)
Second Suite in F, IV: Fantasia on the Dargason
(G. Holst)
3'39"



These MP3 posts expired on 10-01-2016.
Click here to play the current selections.


Friday, September 16, 2016

A Tandem Birthday - Bob and Charlie


Tab 1 Feature:

15 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Robert Wright
American film and stage composer-lyricist
(15 September 1914 - 27 July 2005)

Lesley Garrett, soprano (2003)
And This Is My Beloved
(after Borodin)
2'39"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

16 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Charlie Lee Byrd
classical and jazz guitarist
(16 September 1925 - 2 December 1999)

Charlie Lee Byrd, guitar (1971)
Pavane
(L. Milan)
2'37"



These MP3 posts expired on 09-21-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Monday, September 12, 2016

Mrs. Robert Schumann's Birthday Anniversary


Tab 1 Feature:

13 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Clara Schumann
Classical musician, pianist, and composer
(13 September 1819 - 20 May1896)

Jozef de Beenhouwer, piano (2001)
Etude in Ab Major
1'51"

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

13 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Clara Schumann
Classical musician, pianist, and composer
(13 September 1819 - 20 May1896)

Jozef de Beenhouwer, piano (2001)
Trois Romances in Eb Minor, Op. 11: I. - Andante
3'09"



These MP3 posts expired on 09-16-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Thursday, September 08, 2016

Humor Me, It's Dvorak's Birthday Anniversary


Tab 1 Feature:

8 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Antonín Dvořák
Czech classical composer
(8 September 1841 - 1 May 1904)

Rudi Moosmeir, jazz piano (2006)
Humoreska
3'32"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

8 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Antonín Dvořák
Czech classical composer
(8 September 1841 - 1 May 1904)

James Last and His Orchestra (1998)
Going Home
(Adagio from 'The New World Symphony')
3'12"



These MP3 posts expired on 09-12-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Monday, September 05, 2016

Amy Beach Birthday Anniversary



Feature 1:

5 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Amy Beach
composer and pianist
(5 September 1867 - 27 December 1944)

Virginia Eskin, piano (1997)
Ballad in Db
- Part 1 of 2 excerpt 3'38"


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

5 September 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Amy Beach
composer and pianist
(5 September 1867 - 27 December 1944)

Virginia Eskin, piano (1997)
Ballad in Db
- Part 2 of 2 excerpt 3'52"



These MP3 posts expired on 09-08-2016.
Click here to play the current selections.


Thursday, September 01, 2016

The Summer Laid Her Down to Die

September
Ethelwyn Wetherald
1895

But yesterday all faint for breath,
The Summer laid her down to die;
And now her frail ghost wandereth
In every breeze that loiters by.
Her wilted prisoners look up,
As wondering who hath broke their chain,
Too deep they drank of summer’s cup,
They have no strength to rise again.

How swift the trees, their mistress gone,
Enrobe themselves for revelry!
Ungovernable winds upon
The wold are dancing merrily.
With crimson fruits and bursting nuts,
And whirling leaves and flushing streams,
The spirit of September cuts
Adrift from August’s languid dreams.

A little while the revellers
Shall flame and flaunt and have their day,
And then will come the messengers
Who travel on a cloudy way.

And after them a form of light,
A sense of iron in the air,
Upon the pulse a touch of might
And winter’s legions everywhere.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Birthdays of Ketèlbey and Glazunov

Panorama - Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland, July 2016


Feature 1:

9 Aug 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Albert Ketèlbey
composer, conductor, and pianist
(9 August 1879 - 26 November 1959)

Eric Rogers, conducting
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1996)

- Appy 'Amstead 2'25"
(Ketèlbey)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

10 Aug 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Alexander Glazunov
composer and conductor
(10 August 1865 - 21 March 1936)

Robert Irving, conducting,
Concert Arts Orchestra (1960)

- The Seasons, III. Summer:
Waltz of the Conrflowers and Poppies 2'01"
(Glazunov)



These MP3 posts expired on 09-05-2016.
Click here to play the current selections.


Sunday, August 07, 2016

Latin Jazz Sound for the 2016 Summer Olympics


Tab 1 Feature:

7 Aug 2016
A Salute to the 2016 Summer Olympics

Vann Burchfield, tenor sax (2015)

- One Night in Rio 3'35"
(Burchfield)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

7 Aug 2016
A Salute to the 2016 Summer Olympics

Vann Burchfield, tenor sax (2015)

- Rhythms of Rio 3'33"
(Burchfield)


These MP3 posts expired on 08-10-2016.
Click here to play the current selections.

Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Like Summer Cushions, For All Guests That Come


"This silken grass, these pleasant flowers in bloom,
Among these tasty molehills that do lie
Like summer cushions, for all guests that come;
Those little feathered folk, that sing and fly
Above these trees, in that so gentle sky,
Where not a cloud dares soil its heavenly light;
And this smooth river softly grieving bye—
All fill mine eyes with so divine a sight,
As makes me sigh that it should e’er be night."

-John Clare


The Clebanoff Strings(1961)
- Quite Village (Baxter)

Click or tap here to view this L'Envoi YouTube.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Steal Forth with Silent Drums


"I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;

...And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of spring

...Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums."

--Edna St. Vincent Millay


Living Guitars(1964))
- 500 Miles (Hedy West et al.)

Click or tap here to view this L'Envoi YouTube.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Art of the Nocturne

July 2016 - Catch-22 Seafood Restaurant, Dublin, Ireland


John Field, Irish pianist
who elevated and gave us the art of the Nocturne
(26 Jul 1782 - 23 Jan 1837)

Benjamin Frith, piano (1999)
- Nocturne No. 5 in Bb Major (Field)

Click or tap here to view this L'Envoi YouTube.


Thursday, July 07, 2016

Monday, June 20, 2016

First Day of Summer, 2016

2016 Summer Solstice and Strawberry Moon

20 June 2016
1841 Hours PDT Log
Current Temperature and Condition:
89° F | 32° C
Clear

Astronomy:

20 June 2016              Rise:        Set:
Actual Time            5:42 AM PDT  8:28 PM PDT
Civil Twilight         5:11 AM PDT  9:00 PM PDT
Nautical Twilight      4:32 AM PDT  9:39 PM PDT
Astronomical Twilight  3:47 AM PDT 10:23 PM PDT
Moon (6/20)            8:40 PM PDT  6:08 AM PDT

Length of Visible Light 15h 48m
Length of Day 14h 46m
Tomorrow will be 0m 1s shorter.

Full, 100% of the Moon is Illuminated.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Delay in Music and Blog Posting for a Long Spell

It has been a very busy June, ever.

1. Flea infestation from a neighbor's Butterfly Bush got all contiguous property owners up in arms and scratching their legs. For over a week no one knew from whence the fleas came, not until my gardener found the source on Friday last. This pest problem is now slowly under control, but still on-going.


2. The power supply on the desktop computer where I did my music and YouTube stuff burnt out. The system is dead. It is not a priority to fix it at this point. Moreover, the reinstalling of the software on the system, when fixed, would be very difficult and resource intensive. At this point, however, I am doing what I can to replicate the music creation stuff on my other computers. It is a slow going process at best, if it could be done at all.

3. On the week of Summer Solstice, I will be heading over to the Republic of Ireland. The first stop will be the town of Shannon in County Clare.


So there you have it.

Saturday, May 07, 2016

Birthdays of Peter and Johannes

(left):   Peter Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms


Tab 1 Feature:

7 May 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Late Romantic Period Composer
(7 May 1840 - 6 November 1893)


Ronnie Aldrich
twin pianos
1971

- None But the Lonely Heart   3'27"
(P. Tchaikovsky)

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

7 May 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Johannes Brahms
Last of the Romantic Period Composer
(7 May 1833 - 3 April 1897)


The Climax Jazz Band
1982

- Brahms' Lullaby   4'00"
(J. Brahms)


This MP3 post expired on 08-07-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.




Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Monday, May 02, 2016

Now It Is May Again, and Sweeetly Clear



(Every 1 May, at 6am, the choir of the college (including boy choristers from nearby Magdalen College School (Oxford), and never women) sings two traditional hymns — the Hymnus Eucharisticus and "Now Is the Month of Maying" — to start the May Morning celebrations in Oxford. --Wikipedia)


May Morning

The rising sun shone warmly on the tower,
Into the clear pure Heaven the hymn aspired
Piercingly sweet. This was the morning hour
When life awoke with Spring’s creative power,
And the old City’s grey to gold was fired.

Silently reverent stood the noisy throng;
Under the bridge the boats in long array
Lay motionless. The choristers’ far song
Faded upon the breeze in echoes long.
Swiftly I left the bridge and rode away.

Straight to a little wood’s green heart I sped,
Where cowslips grew, beneath whose gold withdrawn
The fragrant earth peeped warm and richly red;
All trace of Winter’s chilling touch had fled,
And song-birds ushered in the year’s bright morn.

I had met Love not many days before,
And as in blissful mood I listening lay
None ever had of joy so full a store.
I thought that Spring must last for evermore,
For I was young and loved, and it was May.
. . . . . . . . . .

Now it is May again, and sweetly clear
Perhaps once more aspires the Latin hymn
From Magdalen tower, but not for me to hear.
I toil far distant, for a darker year
Shadows the century with menace grim.

I walk in ways where pain and sorrow dwell,
And ruin such as only War can bring,
Where each lives through his individual hell,
Fraught with remembered horror none can tell,
And no more is there glory in the Spring.

And I am worn with tears, for he I loved
Lies cold beneath the stricken sod of France;
Hope has forsaken me, by Death removed,
And Love that seemed so strong and gay has proved
A poor crushed thing, the toy of cruel Chance.

Often I wonder, as I grieve in vain,
If when the long, long future years creep slow,
And War and tears alike have ceased to reign,
I ever shall recapture, once again,
The mood of that May morning, long ago.

1st London General Hospital,
May 1916.
Vera Mary Brittain

Monday, April 25, 2016

William Shakespeare's Birthday Anniversary



Tab 1 Feature:

26 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

William Shakespeare
The Bard
(26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616)

Earl Wrightson
Baritone

1964

- It Was a Lover and His Lass 2'08"
from "As You Like It"
Act V, Scene III
(Shakespeare, arr. Hyman)
See lyrics below.

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

26 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

William Shakespeare
The Bard
(26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616)

Earl Wrightson
Baritone

1964

- O Mistress Mine 2'43"
from "Twelfth Night"
Act II, Scene III
(Shakespeare, arr. Hyman)
See lyrics below.


This MP3 post expired on 05-07-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Selected Shakespeare lyrics:

As You Like It
ACT V SCENE III
"It Was a Lover and His Lass"

It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o'er the green corn-field did pass

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
Sweet lovers love the spring.

Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino
These pretty country folks would lie,

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
Sweet lovers love the spring.

This carol they began that hour,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that a life was but a flower

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
Sweet lovers love the spring.

And therefore take the present time,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino;
For love is crowned with the prime

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
Sweet lovers love the spring.


Twelfth Night
Act II Scene III
"O Mistress Mine"

O mistress mine! where are you roaming?
O! stay and hear; your true love’s coming,
That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man’s son doth know.

What is love? ’tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.



Saturday, April 23, 2016

Earl Bostic Birthday Anniversary



Tab 1 Feature:

25 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Earl Bostic
saxophonist
(25 April 1913 - 28 October 1966)

Earl Bostic and His Band
Earl Bostic, Alto-sax
featured Gene Redd on vibraphone
1951

- Sleep 3'12"
(Lebeig)

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

25 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Earl Bostic
saxophonist
(25 April 1913 - 28 October 1966)

Earl Bostic and His Band
Earl Bostic, Alto-sax
1951

- Flamingo 2'42"
(Grouya and Anderson)


This MP3 post expired on 04-25-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Thursday, April 21, 2016

La perfidia de tu amor...


"Y el mar, espejo de mi corazón
Las veces que me ha visto llorar
La perfidia de tu amor..."

My heart is as the sea
filled with countless tears
shed over your faithless love...



Tab 1 Feature:

21 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Alberto Dominquez
Mexican-born songwriter
(21 April 1913 - 2 September 1975)

Los Machucambos
1963
- Perfidia 3'09"
(Dominquez)

~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

21 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Alberto Dominquez
Mexican-born songwriter
(21 April 1913 - 2 September 1975)

Benny Goodman and His Orchestra
with Helen Forrest, vocal
1941
- Perfidia 3'17"
(Dominquez)


This MP3 post expired on 04-23-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Birthdays of Luker and James


"With a kiss that touched my heart beyond all believing
But like April that sweet moment was deceiving
It was not really spring, or really love
You were alike you two
Restless April fooled me darling
So did you"


Tab 1 Feature:

17 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Rebecca Luker
American-born actress and singer
(born: 17 April 1961)

Rebecca Luker, vocal
2013

- April Fooled Me 3'30"
(Kern and Fields)


~*~


Tab 2 Feature:

17 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

James Last
German-born Big Band leader
(17 April 1929 - 9 June 2015)

James Last, conducting
1982

- Petite Fleur 3'28"
(Bechet)



This MP3 post expired on 04-21-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.




Thursday, April 14, 2016

Howard Keel & Dale Warland Birthdays


Tab 1 Feature:

13 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Howard Keel
American-born actor and singer
(13 April 1919 - 7 November 2004)

Howard Keel, vocal
1953

- Were Thine Thy Special Face
2'07"
(Porter)


~*~


Tab 2 Feature:

13 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Dale Warland
American-born choral composer & conductor
(born:14 April 1932)

Dale Warland, conducting
The Dale Warland Singers
2005

- Simple Gifts
2'17"
(Brackett)




This MP3 post expired on 04-16-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Saturday, April 09, 2016

Lesley Garrett and Eddy Duchin Birthdays


Tab 1 Feature 1:

10 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Lesley Garrett
Engish soprano
(born: 10 April 1955)

Lesley Garrett, soprano
1995

-Waltz of My Heart
3'07"
(Novello and Hassall)



~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

10 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Eddy Duchin
American-born pianist and band leader
(10 April 1910 - 9 February 1951)

Eddy Duchin, piano
Johnny Drake, vocal
1941

- You Walk By
3'06"
(Raleigh and Wayne)



This MP3 post expired on 04-14-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Sunday, April 03, 2016

Two Birthdays Today


Tab 1 Feature:

3 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary
Doris Day
American-born vocalist and actress
(born: 3 March 1924)

Doris Day, vocal
1953
- Secret Love
3'41"
(Fain and Webster)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

3 April 2016
A Birthday Anniversary
Don Gibson
American-born Country Music writer
(3 April 1928 - 17 November 2003)

Floyd Cramer, piano
1978
- I Can't Stop Loving You
2'33"
(Gibson)



This MP3 post expired on 04-09-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.



Saturday, April 02, 2016

That Lilac’s Cleaving Cones Have Burst

'Declaration' Lilac


An April Day

Caroline Bowles Southey
1908

All day the low-hung clouds have dropped
Their garnered fulness down;
All day that soft gray mist hath wrapped
Hill, valley, grove, and town.
There has not been a sound to-day
To break the calm of nature:
Nor motion, I might almost say,
Of life, or living creature;
Of waving bough, or warbling bird,
Or cattle faintly lowing;
I could have half-believed I heard
The leaves and blossoms growing.
I stood to hear—I love it well—
The rain’s continuous sound;
Small drops, but thick and fast they fell,
Down straight into the ground.
For leafy thickness is not yet
Earth’s naked breast to screen,
Though every dripping branch is set
With shoots of tender green.
Sure, since I looked at early morn,
Those honeysuckle buds
Have swelled to double growth; that thorn
Hath put forth larger studs;
That lilac’s cleaving cones have burst,
The milk-white flowers revealing;
Even now, upon my senses first
Methinks their sweets are stealing.
Down, down they come,—those fruitful stores!
Those earth-rejoicing drops!
A momentary deluge pours,
Then thins, decreases, stops;
And, ere the dimples on the stream
Have circled out of sight,
Lo! from the west a parting gleam
Breaks forth of amber light.
But yet behold! abrupt and loud
Comes down the glittering rain:
The farewell of a passing cloud,
The fringes of her train.


Tuesday, March 29, 2016

E. Power Biggs' Birthday Anniversary


Tab 1 Feature:

29 March 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

E. Power Biggs
English-American concert organist
(29 March 1906 - 10 March 1977)

E. Power Biggs, organ
1972

- Trumpet Voluntary
(The Prince of Denmark March)
2'46"
(J. Clarke)


~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

29 March 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

E. Power Biggs
English-American concert organist
(29 March 1906 - 10 March 1977)

E. Power Biggs, pedal harpsicord
1973

- Slow Sunflower Drag
(A Ragtime Two-Step)
3'59"
(S. Joplin and S. Hayden)



This MP3 post expired on 04-03-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.


Sunday, March 27, 2016

O, Death, Where Is Thy Sting?

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won;


Text: Edmond Budry, 1884
tr. Richard B. Hoyle, 1923
Tune: G.F. Handel, 1747, from "Judas Maccabaeus"


Sunday, March 20, 2016

Opening the Door of Spring

"How shall we open the door of Spring?", asks Canadian poetess Ethylwyn Witherald.

Here we open the door of spring with the flowery hinges swing wide!




First Day of Spring, 2016

Lat: 37.7° N
2040 Hours PDT
Current Conditions: 54°F/12°C, Clear
Humidity: 87%
Dew Point 50.2°F
Wind: 0.0 mph

Astronomy:

March  20, 2016        Rise:        Set:
Actual Time            7:06 AM PDT  7:16 PM PDT
Civil Twilight         6:40 AM PDT  7:42 PM PDT
Nautical Twilight      6:09 AM PDT  8:13 PM PDT
Astronomical Twilight  5:38 AM PDT  8:44 PM PDT
Moon (3/20)            4:59 PM PDT  5:37 AM PDT

Waxing Gibbous, 95% of the moon is illuminated

Length of Visible Light 13h 02m
Length of Day 12h 09m
Tomorrow will be 2m 26s longer

Sunday, March 06, 2016

Kanawa and Logan Birthdays


"Bel piacere
È godere fido amor!
Qesto fa contento il cor.

Di bellezza
Non s'apprezza lo spendor,
Se non vien da un fido cor."

-- "Bel piacere"
Handel, Aria da Agrippina


Tab 1 Feature:

6 March 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Dame Kiri Te Kananwa
New Zealand operatic soprano
(born: 6 March 1944)

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
1994

- Non Disperar 3'58"
(G.F. Handel)



~*~

Tab 2 Feature:

6 March 2016
A Birthday Anniversary

Ella Logan
Scottish actress and singer
(6 March 1913 - 1 May 1969)

Ella Logan
1947

- How Are Things in Glocca Morra 3'35"
(E.Y. Harburg and B. Lane)



This MP3 post expired on 03-29-2016.
Click or tap here to play the current selections.