Entertainment For Lively Minds
The joys of finding music in a different context
Driving back to the office from a business meeting I had Radio 4 on and specifically Woman's Hour. Not my natural first choice for listening pleasure but my starting up the car coincided with a piece on when to give pocket money to your kids and the psychology behind it all.
After that there piece (main advice: do it for reward rather than as a bribe) was an interview with Alyth McCormack & Triona Marshall, both of whom have been members of The Chieftains for a few years. They've just released an album as a duo entitled Red & Gold. Alyth sings and Triona plays the harp. They performed a track in the studio and it had quite an effect on me. Here's a link to the BBC iPlayer for the today's show. The song starts at around the 32' mark:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b0124qt7
The way the harp comes in slowly but sublimely is the first wonder but the way Alyth sustains a note that fades in over the top is the point that the hairs stand up on the back of the neck.
One of life's great pleasures is finding music where you least expect to and losing yourself to it by virtue of having no opportunity to prepare yourself for its wondrous effects.
Life duly affirmed and the axis of the world kept a bit more stable.
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Finding music in a different ...
Many years ago I worked for a reasonably famous fashion designer in that London and he was showing his latest collection of rags in Paris. The day of the show it was discovered he had left his wholesale order books in London and it was decided that it was cheaper for me to stuff a bag full of them, jump on a plane, go to the hotel with the books then high tail it back to blighty than it was to courier them.
So, after delivering my cargo, I hailed a cab in the rainy Parisian night to take me to the airport. A rather nice Merc as I recall, with a driver that spoke no English. Driving through the city, at night, in the rain, the silent driver put on the stereo and flooded the cab with opera. Suddenly I was in my own movie, soundtracked by the most beautiful, alien music that I knew nothing about and until then had had no interest in. I still don't know what I heard that night but it kick started a love of opera that is still growing today even though I still know nothing about it. A moment I will never forget.
Thanks for
sharing.
Your experience reminded me of the film Diva.
Many years ago I remember getting a late night/early morning cab in London at a time when I'd fallen out of love with the place for various reasons. I'd been to a swanky do at some Park Lane hotel and was in black tie. The driver was a young Bangladeshi guy and he had the Massive Attack album Mezzanine on. I asked him to turn it up and the 20 minute trip through the city past all the landmarks was soundtracked by Angel, Risingson and Teardrop. I was reminded all over again how fabulous the city of my birth is.
I'm a Woman's Hour regular
first heard Cara Dillon on there.
I am also a 52 year old single balding fat bloke hetro, I still like the programme - apart from that mentalist woman going on about kids in restaurants today.
Goodness me, Rosie Millard
Yes, the elephant in the room in that discussion was the most obvious question no one seemed to want to ask, to wit: If your kids are acting up to a level that is sufficent to annoy patrons in the restaurant to the extent they get up from their table and walk over to ask your kids to be quiet, as a parent why are YOU not accepting any responsibility for their behaviour?"
I love the way she had to crowbar in the fact that the children had been presented with iguana to eat in Guam. Polly Filler of the highest order.
the bit that stuck
in my craw was comparing kids to disabled adults, Jezziz and FFS!
A couple of months ago on Woman's Hour...
... I heard Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson dueting acapella with each other. It was wonderful in every way. Woman's Hour is sometimes annoying as hell, but when it gets it right it really gets it right.