Samuel Coleridge- Taylor :Symphonic Variations on an African Air,
I couldn’t find much online about this piece but I did find this
” Symphonic Variations on an African Air, composed in 1906, is based on an African-American song, “I’m troubled in mind.” The work is interestingly structured, achieving a unity and direction rarely found in variation forms. More than eighty years ago the British musicologist Herbert Antcliffe lamented “the infrequency of… performances” of the work that “in size… and… demand for orchestral resources, is the biggest of all Coleridge-Taylor’s purely orchestral works.” The piece is engaging, with enchanting melodic invention, a harmonic language that is both characteristically chromatic and modally tinged, and a fine sense of orchestral color. As Antcliffe says, “To those who really wish to know Coleridge-Taylor… no single work of his will reveal him more”
An interesting bit of history. from his wiki page
“His father Daniel Taylor was descended from African-American slaves who were freed by the British and evacuated from the colonies at the end of the American Revolutionary War; some 3,000 of these Black Loyalists were resettled in Nova Scotia. Others were resettled in London and the Caribbean. In 1792 some 1200 blacks from Nova Scotia chose to leave what they considered a hostile climate and society, and moved to Sierra Leone, which the British had established as a colony for free blacks. The Black Loyalists joined free blacks (some of whom were also African Americans) from London, and were joined by maroons from Jamaica, and slaves liberated at sea from illegal slave ships by the British navy “
Enjoy, Jack
jack, thank you. “i’m troubled in mind” sure fits these troubled times. thanks also for the fascinating history lesson.
as usual, from the sublime to the SNL ridiculous
A talk show hosted by Britney Spears (Chloe Fineman) features guests Ted Cruz (Aidy Bryant), Governor Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) and Gina Carano (Cecily Strong).
LP not far behind in cruise-ifying (or should that be cruz-ifying) ted too
Book your Mexican getaway at 202-224-5922 and tell them the Lincoln project sent you.
btw, guess who’s phone # that is and not surprisingly its message box was reported full after this ran.
in the meantime, kindness and compassion and loyalty to friends across the aisle seem to be making a comeback
the hill:
Jack Beautiful selection particularly since we are approaching the end of Black History Month.
In that context, here is a tribute to history, Alvin Ailey dance, and all black women through history in CRY. In 1971, Alvin Ailey created one of his best-known ballets as a birthday present for his mother. Ailey dedicated it to “all black women everywhere — especially our mothers.” The three-part ballet, set to popular and gospel music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro and Chuck Griffin, depicts a woman’s journey through the agonies of slavery to an ecstatic state of grace:
On my own blog, I did a post to Ailey’s other master work: Revelations with dances based on the spirituals of the black church
Alvin Ailey & Dance for Black History Month | Jamie’s Place for Stuff (wordpress.com)
Jack, you’re more than a DJ, also a music teacher. Thanks.
It is interesting that Samuel Coleridge – Taylor was named after the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and in turn named his own son “Hiawatha”.
The robins must’ve suffered through this winter event, too. On the drive to put air in my tires, I saw hundreds of robins on the medians; three miles of robins. Several tried to off themselves; everyone was slowing down and stopping as the robins dove across the road. There were several who hadn’t made it, though.
I was fortunate to see Alvin Ailey perform “The River,” many years ago. I miss live performances.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/politics/minimum-wage-inflation-productivity/index.html
Republicans don’t care
I thought for a moment you had gone into another type art there, Jack. Then I pushed “play”. Nice selection, but I was almost hoping for a recitation of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Pogo,
Ian McKellen at your command
Bid
When I lived in Fresno, I was on the board of the Lively Arts Foundation. We brought in Alvin Ailey for our annual fundraiser.
It was one of the best evenings of liver performance I’ve seen only tied by when we had Baryshnikov and his White Oak company.
Any bets that SFB will give the same talk at CPAC that he gave for the last four years? I do not think he is capable of changing and will ultimately spend his last demented years going on and on and on about his Big Lie.
BB, i do so hope that media either ignore his cpac visit or at least mention just the hi-lights of the day but no way run loops of the speech itself. i know they will be tempted and he will probably throw them some red meat to get the attention he craves and needs to keep milking his donor cows.
pats, from your fingers to the programming powers that be in the media outlets people watch.
Jamie, thanks – I’ll listen to Sir Ian later today.
i have a bookmark here that says:
Jack – I finally got a chance to listen to your selection for this week. What a marvelous find! Thank You
Baryshnikov? I would’ve cried, had I seen a live performance.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/opinions/cpac-trump-dangerous-embrace-obeidallah/index.html
CPAC is tailoring the entire coven to promote tRUMPsky and his lies about the media and elections. ~Way to go, Senators~
Jamie.
Mrs Jack and myself went to see the touring Alvin Ailey ensemble. It was a great evening. They did the traditional Ailey pieces but also brought in some new stuff from the resident choreographers. It was really fun. A new experience for me. If they come to your town, don’t miss it.
Some days I think you have to get a little age to appreciate some of this stuff.
Speaking of which….
Craig I’m just passing on things as I learn them. As I said before I got a perfect attendence C in in music appresh back mumble mumble years ago. Which means I learned nothing so every Sunday is a learning experience for me. But I have enjoyed finding something new every Sunday. So far I have not repeated myself, I don’t think.
Jack
BiD, it will be more interesting to see who doesn’t show up for Cpac then to see who is.
I hooked my good speakers to my TV and have been enjoying a couple of adventure movies, last night I watched Master and Commander, a sea adventure set during the Napoleonic wars, today a bit of mind candy with Sylvester Stallone called Expendables. They both are the same movie just different settings. But a lot of fun
Jack
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/ted-cruz-mocked-photos-water-cancun-backlash.html
Ted Cruz (photo op) handing out water. Too little, too late.
Jack – Pence won’t be going. Then, again, if someone tried to have ya murdered, they probably aren’t gonna be a good hang.
Yes, the picture of cruz carrying the water of Beto and AOC is nice.
BiD
One of my very few potentially valuable treasures came as a result of that performance by Misha. He very patiently was rapidly signing autographs for our major donors when I approached and asked for one (the only autograph I have ever requested in my life) because I wanted it on a special item rather than the usual programs and such.
I handed him a poem by one of his Russian friends. He gave me the loveliest smiles as he signed as this particular poem was dedicated to him: Classical Ballet by Joseph Brodsky.
Baryshnikov returned the favor a couple of years ago by creating a series of dances as a tribute to Brodsky Baryshnikov on Brodsky by Jennie Scholick | Poetry Foundation
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/21/texas-electric-bill-greg-abbott/
Looking forward to seeing my electricity bill this week.
Jamie – What a wonderful experience. A very interesting article.
Maybe Adam Sandler can make a cameo as Ted “water boy” Cruz. Although, Aidy was hilarious.
NEW THREAD