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Friday, November 6, 2020

Weekend Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

An unusual piece for this most unusual year of 2020 — performed by The Choral Arts Society of Washington, my favorite choral group in the area in which I live: 


Text for the above:
A flame 
Dispels the dark 
Its delicate light dispels the shadows 
A flame alone 
Brings within its flicker 
A welcoming warmth 
A single flame 
That shares its light 
Is but strengthened by this splitting in two 
And as each flame 
Begets another 
Its life and life are multiplied 
To become unending 
Forever burning 
A beacon that both beckons and guides 
So to light the world.
Many years ago, I was privileged to be an alto in The Choral Arts Society, then under the baton of the founder, Maestro Norman Scribner (1936-2015).  What a wonderful and unique education I received during those three and one-half years!

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Deleted, severely off topic.
      This is a weekend music post and not a place for political ranting of which there are several below.

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    2. There is a reason it is titled "Weekend Musical Interlude."

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    4. And you must be pretty stupid to give me flack if you comment here. Clearly, if you can't understand plain English go elsewhere.

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    5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. I'm too tired to go back and look, had a cardiac test yesterday and while I've resumed my heart medicine it hasn't kicked back in yet :-), but isn't the musical interlude usually a single day? You doing two days due to a tough week? If so, I'm with you.

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    1. The last music interlude was a week ago Friday but there isn't any set policy. It's a break from the grind of the hot topic(s) and insanity of the week. :^)

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    2. Jayhawk,
      It varies -- according to my schedule.

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    3. Jayhawk,
      I hope that your ticker is okay!

      Delete
    4. AOW
      Thanks. I assume it is. I had a stent put in about 18 months ago to correct an aneurysm, and this nuclear test was pretty much just to confirm that it worked.

      Delete
  3. I miss Franco's expert commentary on these musical posts.

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  4. SF,
    DEFINITELY!

    I would love to know what he would have had to say about this particular selection.

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  5. Beautiful. Thanks for that.

    Years and years ago I passed an audition for the Canterbury Cathedral choir, which I passed over in favor of the junior ROTC. Hmmmm. Well, learned how to shoot if not sing!

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  6. I really like it. It'd be quite something to hear in person, with each voice coming at you from a different direction. I was enjoying the pure a capella tuning (even the spicy intervals sound great) so much it was almost a disappointment when the instruments came in, but the climax was worth it.
    Just one small issue with the video, the final image seems like an exhortation to light pollution, which was a massive bugbear of my old school-teacher who was a super-keen amateur astronomer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jez,
      Thank you for this excellent comment! I agree that the pure a capella makes the piece. And the climax? Outstanding! (as you said)

      You might like to explore more of this choral group's work. See THIS.

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    2. PS: I own THIS CD, recorded several years ago when the group sang under the baton of Maestro Norman Scribner. I've played this CD so many times that it's a wonder I haven't worn it out! I'm glad to see that, now (thanks to the COVID) the CD is available on YouTube.

      Delete

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