poetry, prose, and photography
Sitting in dim light
Not darkness, tranquil
People highlighted by shadow
Candle’s energy dancing
Upon faces, glinting eyes
Music carries words
Deeper than where
They’ll go
On their own power;
Calmness fills empty spots
Within my soul
Refreshed and
Birthed anew
Seattle’s St. Marks cathedral has hosted compline for decades. Sung evening prayer has roots deep in Christian liturgy and the Anglican tradition. These speak to me deeply, especially in candlelit halls of stone.
Seattle’s weekend
Music will be the center
Bumbershoot’s glories
One of my region’s iconic events Bumbershoot. An amazing streets and music festival. And, yes, is named after the German word for umbrella. Seattle’s love for irony.
I love Eric Whitacre’s work, as it speaks deeply to me. The soaring sopranos, amazing blends of voices, interweaving of tight-textured harmonies with breath-takingly open chords all delight me. His Virtual Choir pieces, though, achieve the highest levels of awesome. This one, Cloudburst (where gets bonus points from me by basing it upon an Octavio Paz poem) hits me strongly.
Inspired by a Midwestern thunderstorm, the song captures the audio essence of the storm. From a musical perspective, I adore his use of clapping and finger snapping to achieve the feel of heavy rain. And his interweaving of harmony and dissonance really strikes a chord (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun).
Regarding the “virtual choir” nature of this work, in addition to the choristers in the auditorium, there are an 30 choristers currently standing in 30 countries, all Skyped in.
And this pushes technical boundaries, too. VOIP communications suffer from lag issues, and I delighted at the way Eric dealt with that: the piece was written to use it. Turning a liability into an asset: genius.
So, please, enjoy Eric Whitacre’s virtual choir performing “Cloudburst” at a TED talk.
I’m experimenting with posts other than poetry. And this video delighted me so very much, I wanted to share it with you. I hope you like this post, as well as the music. Let me know what you think in the comments, or via a “like” or share.
The saxophone plays
I picture women, dancing
With suit clad men
Echoes from the Beats
And their Bebopping
Friends
Evening jazz fills me
Warmed by memories
Happier times of my youth
A bountiful world, opportunity
Filled to the brim, perhaps even
Overflowing. So much perspective
Grown, eyes different…in so many
Ways. So many ways, indeed.
I sit, listening
My negativity fades
Bird song in sunlight
No longer
Do I listen deeply
Pulling apart
Words, lyrics
Melody
Harmony
Trying so hard
To embrace
A song’s
Soul
Gregorian chant
Reaches deep within my soul
Carries me upward
Guitar’s caress
Moves against my soul
Alighting my mood
Every time
I hear Iz sing
“Over The Rainbow”
I’m filled
With delight
And quiet
Sadness
Carl Setzer: Word Shaper 