During the holiday season the harp seems to stand out a bit more in the orchestral landscape than usual, although its repertoire tends to be limited to the traditional holiday fare. I find it regrettable that it doesn’t seem to get as much attention during the rest of the year, and I appreciate works outside of the holiday canon that demonstrate the versatility of the instrument. Here is a performance by Lavinia Meijer playing Philip Glass’ Metamorphosis Two, Flowing. It was recorded in the church of the Reformed Gemeente Kortenhoef for the Dutch radio station NPO 4’s program NTR Podium.   [Read more…]

From The Snakecharmer YouTube page:

When the foot tapping Irish dance party song from Titanic gets an unbelievable Punjabi revival. A multi cultural music video with Britain’s Castles, India’s streets, highland dancers, Bagpipes, Punjabi folk, bhangra dancers, Russian violinist and a crazy dhol player get together to showcase the amazing diversity in the world and how we all have something in common despite the distance and differences. Enjoy this brand new Celtic punjabi crossover with Bagpipes.

(h/t to my bro thebigbadbob)   [Read more…]

The recent weather had my beloved humming this tune. For us this has always been the Judy Collins cover, from her 1966 album “In My Life”, of this Randy Newman inspiration. But while searching for an online version I discovered a slew of other performers have been moved to interpret this work, including Nina Simone, another of our all-time favorite artists. This performance was somehow not yet included in our collection of her work, so I had to check it out. Listening to Nina’s rendition didn’t diminish the Judy Collins version and Nina’s performance stands alone in its own delivery and truth. If you’re unfamiliar with Nina or her version of this melancholy air, here’s your opportunity to enrich your musical repertoire.   [Read more…]

Ch-ch-ch-changes are coming …   [Read more…]

I’m a Frida Kahlo fan, what can I say? This is also a consummate rendition by Chavela Vargas of the classic Mexican folk song La Llorona, but it’s the selection of Frida Kahlo’s works and the depictions of her that truly spellbinds me.   [Read more…]

“Turiya and Ramakrishna” appears on the album Ptah, the El Daoud.   Wikipedia notes: The title track is named for an Egyptian god, Ptah, “the El Daoud” meaning “the beloved”. “Turiya”, according to the liner notes, “was defined by Coltrane as “a state of consciousness — the high state of Nirvana, the goal of human life”, […]

The Day of the Dead has passed, but here’s a little something by Lila Downs, accompanied by Totó la Momposina and Celso Piña, that resurrects that sensibility.   [Read more…]

A HuffPo post alerted us to this bemusing video by Tilda Swinton and Sandro Kopp. It features her spaniels cavorting seaside to “Rompo i Lacci”—music from Handel’s “Flavio”. With a bit of editing magic (some slow motion, mirroring, time reversal, …) we have a new spirited interpretation of this 1723 masterpiece. [h/t to AGD]   [Read more…]