To Remember You
'Chorale' Devotional music from Africa
I've been a big fan of music from West Africa/Mali, and often its devotional and chanty in a mix of islamic and poly-rhythm/sub-saharan african style that is fascinating...
Here is a religious chant/song that is popped up a bit. Its a call and response but could be 3 voices/4 voices... and someone could sing the high part of the instrument (flute?).
Soufi Drissa Dembélé 'Magnouma Baro'
Although Sufi brotherhoods have been an important part of Malian Islam for centuries, Sufi Drissa Dembélé is part of a new generation of Malian Sufis, with their own style of worship, who first started to draw attention in the early 1990s. Drawing inspiration from the Baye Fall of Senegal, and in some cases from West African Rastafarianism, this new generation of urban Sufis-previous generations of Malian Sufis were more concentrated in rural areas- have created a syncretic style of worship that reflects Malian pop culture.
Here is a religious chant/song that is popped up a bit. Its a call and response but could be 3 voices/4 voices... and someone could sing the high part of the instrument (flute?).
Soufi Drissa Dembélé 'Magnouma Baro'Although Sufi brotherhoods have been an important part of Malian Islam for centuries, Sufi Drissa Dembélé is part of a new generation of Malian Sufis, with their own style of worship, who first started to draw attention in the early 1990s. Drawing inspiration from the Baye Fall of Senegal, and in some cases from West African Rastafarianism, this new generation of urban Sufis-previous generations of Malian Sufis were more concentrated in rural areas- have created a syncretic style of worship that reflects Malian pop culture.
Choral Awesomeness
Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium" is one of my favorite pieces of choral music. I remember hearing this piece for the first time and crying because it was so beautiful. Maybe we could try playing with the main melody or use the chords for inspiration?
This is a song called "Past Life Melodies" that features overtone singing (starting around minute 5), which would be fun to play with.
This is a really well-arranged version of "Hide and Seek" done by Divisi an all-women's acappella group also from UO. Just FYI, I checked it out and only the "Mmm whatcha say" part of the song has been used commercially. The rest would be unfamiliar to most people.
This is a song called "Past Life Melodies" that features overtone singing (starting around minute 5), which would be fun to play with.
This is a really well-arranged version of "Hide and Seek" done by Divisi an all-women's acappella group also from UO. Just FYI, I checked it out and only the "Mmm whatcha say" part of the song has been used commercially. The rest would be unfamiliar to most people.
Acappella MADNESS
Hey guys, I've been rethinking the whole "not using a recognizable pop song" decision, especially in light of this video of the U of O acappella group singing on the NYC subway (which also ties back to our discussion of college acappella groups!)
Instead of finding a choral chant, should we jazz up The Lion Sleeps Tonight as a funky acappella song? The answer is YES.
UPDATE: Jonathan thinks I should clarify that I am joking about this. So to clarify: I am joking about this. I will label it "joke" so in the future if you ever want to look at just the joke posts, it will be easy to do. (That was also a joke).
Instead of finding a choral chant, should we jazz up The Lion Sleeps Tonight as a funky acappella song? The answer is YES.
UPDATE: Jonathan thinks I should clarify that I am joking about this. So to clarify: I am joking about this. I will label it "joke" so in the future if you ever want to look at just the joke posts, it will be easy to do. (That was also a joke).
Proust Questionnare
This text came in last week in an etude and then popped up in improv. To me it proves that M. Proust was wacky and self-obsessed/reflexive (in a terrific way) from the very begining.
"The young Marcel was asked to fill out questionnaires at two social events: one when he was 13, another when he was 20. Proust did not invent this party game; he is simply the most extraordinary person to respond to them. At the birthday party of Antoinette Felix-Faure, the 13-year-old Marcel was asked to answer the following questions in the birthday book, and here's what he said:"
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
To be separated from Mama
Where would you like to live?
In the country of the Ideal, or, rather, of my ideal
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To live in contact with those I love, with the beauties of nature, with a quantity of books and music, and to have, within easy distance, a French theater
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
To a life deprived of the works of genius
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Those of romance and poetry, those who are the expression of an ideal rather than an imitation of the real
Who are your favorite characters in history?
A mixture of Socrates, Pericles, Mahomet, Pliny the Younger and Augustin Thierry
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
A woman of genius leading an ordinary life
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Those who are more than women without ceasing to be womanly; everything that is tender, poetic, pure and in every way beautiful
Your favorite painter?
Meissonier
Your favorite musician?
Mozart
The quality you most admire in a man?
Intelligence, moral sense
The quality you most admire in a woman?
Gentleness, naturalness, intelligence
Your favorite virtue?
All virtues that are not limited to a sect: the universal virtues
Your favorite occupation?
Reading, dreaming, and writing verse
Who would you have liked to be?
Since the question does not arise, I prefer not to answer it. All the same, I should very much have liked to be Pliny the Younger.
Seven years after the first questionnaire, Proust was asked, at another social event, to fill out another; the questions are much the same, but the answers somewhat different, indicative of his traits at 20:
Your most marked characteristic?
A craving to be loved, or, to be more precise, to be caressed and spoiled rather than to be admired
The quality you most like in a man?
Feminine charm
The quality you most like in a woman?
A man's virtues, and frankness in friendship
What do you most value in your friends?
Tenderness - provided they possess a physical charm which makes their tenderness worth having
What is your principle defect?
Lack of understanding; weakness of will
What is your favorite occupation?
Loving
What is your dream of happiness?
Not, I fear, a very elevated one. I really haven't the courage to say what it is, and if I did I should probably destroy it by the mere fact of putting it into words.
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
Never to have known my mother or my grandmother
What would you like to be?
Myself - as those whom I admire would like me to be
In what country would you like to live?
One where certain things that I want would be realized - and where feelings of tenderness would always be reciprocated. [Proust's underlining]
What is your favorite color?
Beauty lies not in colors but in thier harmony
What is your favorite flower?
Hers - but apart from that, all
What is your favorite bird?
The swallow
Who are your favorite prose writers?
At the moment, Anatole France and Pierre Loti
Who are your favoite poets?
Baudelaire and Alfred de Vigny
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hamlet
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Phedre (crossed out) Berenice
Who are your favorite composers?
Beethoven, Wagner, Shuhmann
Who are your favorite painters?
Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt
Who are your heroes in real life?
Monsieur Darlu, Monsieur Boutroux (professors)
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
Cleopatra
What are your favorite names?
I only have one at a time
What is it you most dislike?
My own worst qualities
What historical figures do you most despise?
I am not sufficiently educated to say
What event in military history do you most admire?
My own enlistment as a volunteer!
What reform do you most admire?
(no response)
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Will power and irresistible charm
How would you like to die?
A better man than I am, and much beloved
What is your present state of mind?
Annoyance at having to think about myself in order to answer these questions
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Those that I understand
What is your motto?
I prefer not to say, for fear it might bring me bad luck.
"The young Marcel was asked to fill out questionnaires at two social events: one when he was 13, another when he was 20. Proust did not invent this party game; he is simply the most extraordinary person to respond to them. At the birthday party of Antoinette Felix-Faure, the 13-year-old Marcel was asked to answer the following questions in the birthday book, and here's what he said:"
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
To be separated from Mama
Where would you like to live?
In the country of the Ideal, or, rather, of my ideal
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To live in contact with those I love, with the beauties of nature, with a quantity of books and music, and to have, within easy distance, a French theater
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
To a life deprived of the works of genius
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Those of romance and poetry, those who are the expression of an ideal rather than an imitation of the real
Who are your favorite characters in history?
A mixture of Socrates, Pericles, Mahomet, Pliny the Younger and Augustin Thierry
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
A woman of genius leading an ordinary life
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Those who are more than women without ceasing to be womanly; everything that is tender, poetic, pure and in every way beautiful
Your favorite painter?
Meissonier
Your favorite musician?
Mozart
The quality you most admire in a man?
Intelligence, moral sense
The quality you most admire in a woman?
Gentleness, naturalness, intelligence
Your favorite virtue?
All virtues that are not limited to a sect: the universal virtues
Your favorite occupation?
Reading, dreaming, and writing verse
Who would you have liked to be?
Since the question does not arise, I prefer not to answer it. All the same, I should very much have liked to be Pliny the Younger.
Seven years after the first questionnaire, Proust was asked, at another social event, to fill out another; the questions are much the same, but the answers somewhat different, indicative of his traits at 20:
Your most marked characteristic?
A craving to be loved, or, to be more precise, to be caressed and spoiled rather than to be admired
The quality you most like in a man?
Feminine charm
The quality you most like in a woman?
A man's virtues, and frankness in friendship
What do you most value in your friends?
Tenderness - provided they possess a physical charm which makes their tenderness worth having
What is your principle defect?
Lack of understanding; weakness of will
What is your favorite occupation?
Loving
What is your dream of happiness?
Not, I fear, a very elevated one. I really haven't the courage to say what it is, and if I did I should probably destroy it by the mere fact of putting it into words.
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
Never to have known my mother or my grandmother
What would you like to be?
Myself - as those whom I admire would like me to be
In what country would you like to live?
One where certain things that I want would be realized - and where feelings of tenderness would always be reciprocated. [Proust's underlining]
What is your favorite color?
Beauty lies not in colors but in thier harmony
What is your favorite flower?
Hers - but apart from that, all
What is your favorite bird?
The swallow
Who are your favorite prose writers?
At the moment, Anatole France and Pierre Loti
Who are your favoite poets?
Baudelaire and Alfred de Vigny
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hamlet
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Phedre (crossed out) Berenice
Who are your favorite composers?
Beethoven, Wagner, Shuhmann
Who are your favorite painters?
Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt
Who are your heroes in real life?
Monsieur Darlu, Monsieur Boutroux (professors)
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
Cleopatra
What are your favorite names?
I only have one at a time
What is it you most dislike?
My own worst qualities
What historical figures do you most despise?
I am not sufficiently educated to say
What event in military history do you most admire?
My own enlistment as a volunteer!
What reform do you most admire?
(no response)
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Will power and irresistible charm
How would you like to die?
A better man than I am, and much beloved
What is your present state of mind?
Annoyance at having to think about myself in order to answer these questions
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Those that I understand
What is your motto?
I prefer not to say, for fear it might bring me bad luck.
Dio Vi Salvi Regina
I don't know if we're feeling like continuing with this song at all, but for reference I looked it up and it turns out it's the Corsican National Anthem. WHO KNEW. Probably a lot of Corsicans.
Anyway, here's a clip on youtube -- you can find some others too, and you'll notice that there are different variations on the harmonics. Plus I can't find one sung by women, I imagine that changes the sound somewhat too. Interesting.
Anyway, here's a clip on youtube -- you can find some others too, and you'll notice that there are different variations on the harmonics. Plus I can't find one sung by women, I imagine that changes the sound somewhat too. Interesting.
White Nightgown World
The idea of White Nightgown World is taking me back to my teenage obsession with Victorian dress and custom. I used to read Victoria Magazine and swoon over the soft-focus romantic photography.
From "Days of Heaven"
From "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
From "Bilitis"
From UK Vogue, 1981
A more modern version
From "Days of Heaven"
From "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
From "Bilitis"
From UK Vogue, 1981
A more modern version
