In these times of isolation and anxiety, here’s something gorgeous and sublime to help you reconnect with joy and remind everybody why the arts matter. Torbjörn Näsbom connects two of…one form or another as it evolved, for more than 600 years. It’s used mostly for Swedish folk music, which I could do a dozen staff picks on, but many musicians are playing other repertoire on it. Listen and enjoy 13 minutes of 16-string deliciousness. There’s more Bach and traditional Swedish nyckelharpa tunes on Torbjörn’s YouTube channel. It’s a delight from beginning to end (and I hope it never ends). For information in English about the nyck…
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Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
This video celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s music and influence was entirely created during quarantine and includes performances by Bernadette Peters, Michael Cerversis, Josh Groban, Patti LuPone, Neil Patrick Harris, and…emorable in my mind—but it is, of course, the music that makes this two-and-a-half hour long celebration worthwhile. The performances are entertaining and moving and heartfelt, and of course the craftsmanship that went into the music and lyrics is superb—it’s all by Sondheim. Because the celebration is made up of many short clips recorded by different artists, it is easy to did in and out, enjoying the celebration slowly over time. And if you want…
A Passion for the Planet
This live performance of Geoffrey Hudson A Passion for the Planet was recorded in Northampton, at Smith College’s Sweeney hall, and performed by the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble with the…moving and important, and the performance is exceptional. We can’t hear live music right now, but I am grateful to be able to experience this now, in my own home. And I take comfort in the words of Geoffrey Hudson, the composer, which seem applicable to so many of the crises we face: Singing and listening to music won’t make the climate crisis go away. But perhaps, by forming an emotional connection with the topic, it can help us confront the star…
Stay On It
Composer Julius Eastman’s (1940 – 1990) music explores his identities as a gay man and Black American. Stay On It was composed in 1973 and combines minimalism with pop music…., which features musicains and dancers collaborating remotely, is dedicated to essential workers of color in the United States. I found out about this performance through one of the many organizations involved in its production: The Dream Unfinished. The Dream Unfinished is an activist orchestra based out of New York which uses classical music as a platform to engage audiences in dialogues surrounding social and racial justice….
Earth Day 2020 (the Pandemic version)
In this 10-minute video, violist Scott Slapin presents 400 years of music history in his basement (“The Pandemic Auditorium”) where the water pipes and exposed wiring make an acoustically and…class musicianship combined with dry wit, plus you have a short attention span, this is the video for you!…
Decline and Fall
This hilarious BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s 1928 novel stars Jack Whitehall, David Suchet, and Eva Longoria. It’s on Acorn TV, which might still have a 30-day free trial–if not,…vid Suchet, and Eva Longoria. It’s on Acorn TV, which might still have a 30-day free trial–if not, it always has 7 days free, so you can watch the 3 episodes of this witty miniseries. It follows the misadventures of Paul Pennyfeather, an Oxford theology student who falls into one awkward (to put it mildly) situation after another by some fateful twisted logic and his naive trust in a series of dubious characters he meets. It’s wonderfully escapist…
LibriVox
LibriVox is a free source of public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world. Most of the books are in English, but other languages are available as well with many titles in French and German and a not insignificant number of recordings in Ancient Greek. Titles for children and adults are available. I recommend starting with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both of which are available in va…
Spelling Bee
Like most librarians, I love words and games that involve language. This new one from the New York Times challenges you to come up with as many words as you can using…s many words as you can using just the 7 letters they provide. You can play it in fits and starts and it’ll track your progress throughout the day, making it very user-friendly during this strange, interruption-filled and routine-free time we’re currently living in. And lest you become too impressed with yourself, Spelling Bee has a rating system, from “Beginner” to “Genius”, to put you in your place….
Invisibilia
Bernie Krause was a successful musician as a young man, playing with rock stars like Jim Morrison and George Harrison in the 1960s and ’70s. But then one day, Bernie…in an engaging and narrative fashion. One recent episode discussed a city councilor candidate who insists he is black, while his opponent accuses him of pretending to be black. The podcast asks “If race is simply a social construct and not a biological reality, how do we determine someone’s race? And who gets to decide?”…
Ian’s Shoelace Site
Sometimes its nice to dive into a seemingly trivial subject and learn what there is to learn. Shoelaces for example. We tie and untie them everyday, but what do we…he comparative advantages and disadvantages of each. And you can learn twenty different ways to tie your laces. Fieggen’s instructions are clear and the amount of detailed information he includes for each method is impressive. This is definitely the site to go to if you have a question about shoe laces, but it also highly recommended for anyone who likes to learn about the little things around us….
No Such Thing as a Fish
Way back in 2003 Stephen Fry began hosting the delightful comedy trivia quiz show QI. The most visible stars of that show were the host, Stephen Fry, and the many…Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber, have hosted a weekly podcast crammed full of quite interesting facts, speculations, and banter. No Such Thing as a Fish is wonderfully entertaining. Each of the four hosts picks a favorite fact of the week, which might sound like a recipe for a rather short podcast, but each host also comes prepared with a list of their favorite facts on the topic of their cohost’s facts. That would make for…
Stuff You Should Know
It can be a challenge to find a podcast that is very educational and informative, and at the same time is really funny. It can also be a challenge to…a wide variety of issues. Thousands of episodes are available on this weekly podcast that started in 2008. Check out this sampling of topics from 2017: How Dictators Work Are Artificial Sweeteners Really Bad for You? How Pacifism Works (and could it?) The Black Panther Party Pain Scales – Yeeow! Why Isn’t the US on the Metric System? How Foreign Accent Syndrome Works Is A Head Transplant a Real Thing? Most of the podcasts are an hour, but Chuck a…
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