For some inexplicable reason, I am in the mood for French café music today. At the moment I am listening to a song called 'Carpe Diem' by Aldebert.
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What are you listening to? Part III
- Thread starter S.B.G
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And now, I am listening to 'La Vie En Rose' - an instrumental version by the Café Orchestra.
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And more yet French music, this time with an electronic twist - a late 70s classic, 'Oxygene' by Jean-Michel Jarre.
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Moving away from France, Jean-Michel Jarre was followed by Mike Oldfield and 'Incantations'. (Yes, the full album. I had forgotten just how good it is.)
As winter approaches, I find that classical music appeals a lot more to me and that I am in the mood to listen to it more than I do over the summer months. Anyway, for now, I am listening to - "The Devil's Trill Sonata" by Giuseppe Tartini.
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Well, I have now graduated to listening to Antonio Vivaldi, (yes, more Baroque), with "Concerto for 2 Mandolins In G, RV 532, - 2. Andante".
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When I was a whippersnapper, I was nourished by a steady diet of klezmer, classical and big band. Other than some occasional Mendelssohn and Mozart, since then, my mood and mental story lines have been mostly filled by prog rock, prog metal and fusion. Many of the composition elements that exist in my current tastes exist in the earlier ones. Like others here, probably everyone, music is a lifelong passion for me.
After Mendelssohn this morning, listened to "One Hour by the Concrete Lake" by Pain of Salvation.
Klezmer, classical and big band strike me as being an excellent (musical) diet for children to cut their musical teeth on. (And I have no quarrel with fusion, and progressive rock either..)
Essentially, it seems to me that if you encourage kids to listen to a wide variety of musical forms, you will open their ears (and minds) to being able to appreciate most forms of musical expression.
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And yet another - relatively little known piece - which dates from the Baroque era. The piece is by the English composer William Croft and is called 'Ground (in C Minor - Largo)'. Quite lovely.
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A well known air from the Baroque period. This is the one is by J. S. Bach and is the justly famous 'Air on the G String' (from his Third Orchestral Suite in D Major).
Years ago, when I was a child, this was used as the soundtrack for an impossibly sophisticated ad for Hamlet cigars, and I thought it the epitome of cool (no, I have never smoked, but if I ever did, Hamlet cigars might have tempted me….) and to me, it represented a superb fusion of music and message.
Anyway, some years, (perhaps a decade or so), later, around the time I had started teaching at the university, the university drama society staged a superlative production of Tom Stoppard's brilliant and thought-provoking play 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' and - as an almost forgotten aside - featured this music, plucked on a lute, while Hamlet sat, his back to the audience (in this play, Hamlet is mostly off stage, or on the fringes, although he has a huge influence on the plot of the play) smoking - yes, but, of course, (what a fantastic auditory and visual pun) a Hamlet cigar, puffing smoke rings thoughtfully towards the sky.
Years ago, when I was a child, this was used as the soundtrack for an impossibly sophisticated ad for Hamlet cigars, and I thought it the epitome of cool (no, I have never smoked, but if I ever did, Hamlet cigars might have tempted me….) and to me, it represented a superb fusion of music and message.
Anyway, some years, (perhaps a decade or so), later, around the time I had started teaching at the university, the university drama society staged a superlative production of Tom Stoppard's brilliant and thought-provoking play 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' and - as an almost forgotten aside - featured this music, plucked on a lute, while Hamlet sat, his back to the audience (in this play, Hamlet is mostly off stage, or on the fringes, although he has a huge influence on the plot of the play) smoking - yes, but, of course, (what a fantastic auditory and visual pun) a Hamlet cigar, puffing smoke rings thoughtfully towards the sky.
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Well, I am listening to the exquisite bitter-sweet air of 'The Watermill' by the British composer Ronald Binge.
This piece of music was the theme - or soundtrack - for a TV production of 'The Wind In The Willows' when I was a child, and it long haunted me. I hadn't known the name of the piece of music at the time, although I had never forgotten it. Years later, (thanks to one of those wonderful classical radio stations) I learned what it was, and ordered it for my father, who also loved the music of Ronald Binge.
This piece of music was the theme - or soundtrack - for a TV production of 'The Wind In The Willows' when I was a child, and it long haunted me. I hadn't known the name of the piece of music at the time, although I had never forgotten it. Years later, (thanks to one of those wonderful classical radio stations) I learned what it was, and ordered it for my father, who also loved the music of Ronald Binge.
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And - what about - or why not - something magnificent and uplifting with which to round out the evening? So, some classic Italian opera - actually, 'Nessun Dorma' from 'Turandot' by Giacomo Puccini. Sublime…
Now, casting minds back down memory lane, one might recall that this was the very piece of music used by the BBC as their theme music during their coverage of the World Cup (soccer) in Italy, in 1990...
Now, casting minds back down memory lane, one might recall that this was the very piece of music used by the BBC as their theme music during their coverage of the World Cup (soccer) in Italy, in 1990...
I seem to recall earlier in this thread i mentioned to @Scepticalscribe that I wasn't THAT big of a fan of pink floyd. lately though, while ive been coding for stretches, I've found that their long songs really really really hit the spot. i'm not a huge stickler for guitar solos, but david gilmour is just on another level in this song. (and this whole album, and really throughout their whole discography.)
Well, yes, @impulse462 - that album - and indeed, that particular track - have long (and by long, I mean for a few decades) been among my favourites.
If I find I haven't listened to it in a while (as in a year or three), I am always surprised at how good it is when I get to re-visit it. Brilliant album, and outstanding track.
Anyway, I am delighted that you have enjoyed it.
"Coding for stretches"? I find that Pink Floyd are brilliant to have on in the background while I am writing - some weird combination of psychologically soothing yet mentally stimulating.
