Music Wise

1. Stuff done these weeks Preparing for our show in Paradiso , supporting Parker Millsap. Reading up on opera and oratorio. 2. Listening done these weeks Marlon Williams - When I was a young girl A friend of mine pointed me towards this rendition of this traditional. I think it is beautifully sung. "When I was a young girl I used to seek pleasure When I was a young girl I used to drink ale Straight out of the ale house, down to the jail house " The Mountain Goats - Cotton One comment I read about this song, which I think sums it all up: "Sometimes things only really make sense once you've been there". A rather uplifting melody, and melancholy lyrics that do hint at a sense of reconciliation and new purpose. "This song is for the people Who tell their families that they're sorry For things they can't And won't feel sorry for" Morphine - In Spite of Me  Beautiful whispery song sung by Mark Sandm

1.  Stuff done these weeks Continued my study of Baroque era music forms. My notes are presented below. Practiced " Bourree"  from the " Water Music" by Handel on the mandolin. 2.  Listening done these weeks Love this folk song "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" by folk singer  Dave van Ronk from 1963. This rendition is by Oscar Isaak and features mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile. The song is in the major key, providing a foil for the melancholy, yet naive song. Sugar added to the bitter medicine. To quote Tom Waits : "I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things." Also listened to this performance of Handel's Bourree: 3. What I have learned Toccata Burkholder et al. (2014) define a toccata (Italian "touched") as a piece for a keyboard instrument or lute that resembles an improvisation that may include imitative sections or may serve as a prelude to an independent fugue (Burkholder et al., 2014) Similar

1. Stuff done these weeks During the baroque era, new forms of composition developed. I am researching the following terms in relation to the baroque era: Concerto Concerto Grosso Suite Mass Opera Oratorio Toccata Fugue Furthermore, I am listening to extracts of each type of composition. Please find my notes in the next series of blogs. Presently, I am really quite taken by Baroque music; an eye-opener that the OCA Music Foundation course has provided me. I find myself listening to Vivaldi a lot. As a challenge, I studied  La Diane  (2nd Ordre)  by Baroque composer  Francois Couperin (1668 - 1733)  on the mandolin. It is originally a harpsichord piece in D major,  published by Couperin in 1713 ( "Premier livre de pièces de clavecin") ,  I found a good adaptation by Robert Bancalari (2004). Here is a preformance of this piece:  https://open.spotify.com/track/1L9doz2N0wQPXrh5iUed2J On this harpsichord version, we can discern some trebl