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Friday, January 20, 2023

My Way (Frank Sinatra) Piano with Improvisation by Sangah Noona


Music of Game of Thrones - Light of the Seven (Live)



The new album "Music of Game of Thrones" is out now! The album contains 21 newly recorded tracks with the 85 piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (and choir). Here's one of the epic tracks from the album, "Light of the Seven". 1. Main Title 2. Goodbye Brother 3. Finale (From "Season 1") 4. Warrior of Light 5. Winterfell 6. Mother of Dragons 7. A Lannister Always Pays His Debts 8. Dracarys 9. Mhysa 10. Two Swords 11. You Are No Son of Mine 12. The Children 13. Blood of the Dragon 14. Dance of Dragons 15. Atonement 16. Son of the Harpy 17. Light of the Seven 18. Khaleesi 19. Winter Has Come 20. Hear Me Roar 21. The Winds of Winter

The Year of the Water Rabbit

by 

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2022 was “characterized by strength, vitality, and growth, underpinned by the dynamism of the tiger.” It was a year designated as yang, the active principle of the universe in ancient Chinese philosophy. As such, in 2022 we all, or at least some of us, felt enthusiasm, positivity, and productivity, but also restlessness and inflexibility.

Red banner featuring the years of the rabbit

Luckily, the upcoming Year of the Rabbit embodies yin, the passive principle of the universe, “manifesting itself in relaxation, fluidity, quietness, and contemplation.” However, the Year of the Rabbit will not simply be a period for putting your feet up and looking pretty. An astrologer writes, “The rabbit is gentle, quiet, tame, tender, and kind, yet it moves quickly and is very clever.” It’s hardly surprising that a famous Chinese idiom talks about “a crafty rabbit has three burrows.” This basically means that the rabbit has many ideas of adapting to the environment, “and it can move very quickly, allowing it to protect itself during times of danger or when the situation is not favorable.” 


The rabbit is the fourth animal sign in the Chinese zodiac cycle, and it falls between 22 January 2023 and 9 February 2024. If you happen to be a male rabbit, you will “always treat people politely, and with a gentle smile to make people feel that they are credible and sincere.”

black and white figure of a rabbit

When encountering difficulties, you are never discouraged but instead, remain persistent to find enviable solutions and success. The female rabbit is said, “to have a pretty and demure appearance and a pure heart.” As you know, each sign of the zodiac is associated with one of the five elements. In the 2022/23 Cycle, we celebrate the water rabbit, which comes around once every 60 years. The water rabbit has a set of particular characteristics, and is “gentle, amicable, able to adjust readily to different conditions, but with a weak mindset and principles.” And after endless years of Covid 19, you don’t need to look into a crystal bowl to know that “there could be more movement and traveling.” 


People born in the year of the rabbit should look out for lucky things, including the numbers 3, 4, and 6, or any numbers containing them. Lucky colors are pink, red, purple, and blue, while your lucky flowers are the plantain lily and jasmine. And if you are ready to travel, as we all are, your lucky directions are east, south, and northwest. Even more important, probably, are your unlucky charms in the year of the water rabbit. Unlucky numbers are 1, 7, 8, or any number containing them. Please avoid the unlucky colors of dark brown, dark yellow, and white, and never travel north, west, or southwest. But here is the biggest downer of the water rabbit year. According to astrologers, “it is better if you avoid big changes, like getting married or starting a new company.” Yet, it is said that 2023 will be a good year to give birth, and if you work hard you might just be able to receive a promotion. And here is the top tip from some eminent astrologers, “wear red underwear and socks to reduce your bad luck.” I’d be happy to go along with the red undies, but red socks would not be my first choice of clothing. 

Chinese New Year banner of the rabbit

Let’s talk about money. People born under the rabbit sign have a natural talent for managing their finances and may experience an increase in wealth and prosperity. It may also be easier “to earn a living without experiencing too much difficulty,” as the saying work smarter, not harder applies particularly to financial matters this year. According to people in the know, 2023 might be “the time to take risks and pursue your goals with determination.” If you are looking for love in the year of the rabbit, 2023 will provide you the opportunities “for finding and fostering new romantic relationships.” It is a good year for focusing on activities that bring you happiness and reflecting on your relationships. Given that the tumultuous Year of the Tiger has just ended, empathy and generosity towards others will also be necessary during this time. The most suitable zodiac signs for the rabbit are the Goat, the Dog, and the Pig, but please stay away from the Rat and the Rooster. Some of the most famous rabbits seem to be athletes and include Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and the incredible Lionel Messi. However, did you know that Albert Einstein was also a rabbit?

Kung Hei Fat Choi 2023!

ABS-CBN signs global publishing deal for music catalogue

by James A. Loyola

ABS-CBN Music, under ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (AFPI), which has one of the largest music catalogues in the Philippines has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Music Philippines.

In a statement, ABS-CBN Corporation said the deal grants Warner Chappell Music global publishing administration rights to the entire song catalogue of ABS-CBN Music that will open new markets and opportunities for local composers. 

“This partnership with Warner Chappell Music is a great opportunity for Filipino music and our brilliant songwriters to reach greater heights as ABS-CBN strives to champion Filipino artistry on the global stage,” said ABS-CBN Music Head Roxy Liquigan.

Warner Chappell Music Managing Director for ASEAN Jacqueline Chong added, “ABS-CBN Music has been our key partner in the Philippines for many years. I am very excited for this new deal and can’t wait to evolve our partnership to a new level.”

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She noted that, “ABS-CBN Music has a strong brand in the region and we look forward to enhancing that through our global support and expertise.”

ABS-CBN Music has been at the cutting edge of the Filipino music scene and is among the most influential music companies in the country that promotes original Filipino compositions to the rest of the world. It has more than 300 songwriters on its roster as well as thousands of songs in its catalogue.

The ABS-CBN Music catalogue includes the biggest Original Pilipino Music (OPM) hits—a genre of Philippine pop songs that has been highly popular in the country since the late 70s.

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Stranger In Paradise (from Duets II: The Great Performances)


Tony Bennett performing Stranger In Paradise with Andrea Bocelli from Duets II: The Great Performances Listen to Tony Bennett: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/listenYD Subscribe to the official Tony Bennett YouTube channel: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/subscribeYD Follow Tony Bennett: Facebook: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/followFI Instagram: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/followII Twitter: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/followTI Website: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/followWI Spotify: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/followSI YouTube: https://TonyBennett.lnk.to/subscribeYD Chorus: I saw her face and I ascended Out of the commonplace into the rare somewhere In space I hang suspended Until I know there's a chance that she cares Won't you answer this fervent prayer Of a stranger in paradise




Romantico


Romantico · Giovanni · Giovanni Marradi Romantico ℗ 2008 NewCastle Entertainment Inc. Released on: 2008-06-10 Music Publisher: Marradi Publishing Auto-generated by YouTube.

Andrea Bocelli - L'appuntamento - Live From Lake Las Vegas Resort, USA


Music video by Andrea Bocelli performing L'appuntamento. (C) 2006 Sugar Srl, under exclusive license to Universal Music B.V.

Out of Africa & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet concerto in A major,



Out of Africa (1985) In 20th century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-sprited big-game hunter (IMDb) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet concerto in A major, K. 622 - Adagio It was written in 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. It consists of the usual three movements, in a fast--slow--fast form (Allegro-Adagio-Rondo). It was one of Mozart's final completed works, and his final purely instrumental work (he died in the December following its completion). The concerto is notable for its delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra, and for the lack of overly extroverted display on the part of the soloist (Wikipedia)

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

10 of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s all-time best pieces of music

Exploring some of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s all-time best pieces of music

Exploring some of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s all-time best pieces of music. Picture: Getty / J.B. Cramer / Novello

By Rosie Pentreath

British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is famous for rich orchestral works and brilliant instrumental writing. Here’s where to start with his music.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer and conductor, known for his Violin Concerto in G minor, The Song of Hiawatha and his arrangement of African-American spiritual, ‘Deep River’.

A contemporary of British composers Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst, he studied with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music in London. He first gained recognition for his ‘Ballade in A Minor’, after Edward Elgar recommended him to The Three Choirs Festival, prompting publisher August Jaeger to describe the music as “genius”.

Despite a tragically early death in 1912, aged just 37, Coleridge-Taylor composed plenty of brilliant music that remains with us today.

Here’s where to start with discovering Coleridge-Taylor’s rich orchestral music and sensational instrumental works.

  1. The Song of Hiawatha

    One of Coleridge-Taylor’s most famous works, The Song of Hiawatha is a three-section choral work of epic proportions.

    Of the three sections, the first, ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’, became especially famous, and put Coleridge-Taylor on the map after its premiere at the Royal College of Music, under the baton of his teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford.

  2. Violin Concerto in G minor

    Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto in G minor is packed with gorgeous rich melodies and sumptuous orchestral writing.

    Violinist Elena Urioste, who has performed the piece with Chineke! Orchestra among others, has described it here as “music that cuts straight to the heart” and “that happens to be incredibly well-written for the violin — the idioms fall quite naturally in the hands — and to me the language needs very little in the way of gilding.”

  3. Symphonic Variations on an African Air

    Coleridge-Taylor composed his Symphonic Variations on an African Air in 1906. It’s based on an African-American song, ‘I'm troubled in mind’ and follows a theme and variations structure.

    It’s written for a large orchestra and is rich with timpani rumbles, wonderful brass writing, string flourishes and magical tuneful melodies.

  4. Deep River (traditional)

    ‘Deep River’ is an anonymous African-American spiritual, and Coleridge-Taylor took the song, and transcribed it in a Brahmsian style for the piano, as part of his 24 Negro Melodies series of works.

    “What Brahms has done for the Hungarian folk music, Dvořák for the Bohemian, and Grieg for the Norwegian, I have tried to do for these Negro Melodies,” Coleridge-Taylor said of this powerful music.

  5. Ballade in A Minor

    One of Coleridge-Taylor’s early works, the Ballade in A Minor was premiered at The Three Choirs Festival and led his publisher at Novello Music, August Jaeger, to describe him as a “genius”.

    The one-movement orchestral piece echoes the Romantic symphonic styles of Tchaikovsky and Dvořák, and it’s full of ravishing melodies and lush string moments.

  6. Clarinet Quintet

    As well as orchestral works, Coleridge-Taylor composed chamber works – and his Clarinet Quintet is Dvořákian, but with the the former’s distinctive modern voice.

    The masterful piece, the story goes, was the result of Coleridge-Taylor’s teacher, Stanford, saying that no composer was up to tackling the clarinet quintet since Brahms, without copying Brahms’ style. Well, Coleridge-Taylor was, because he went “challenge accepted” and Stanford was forced to say, “you’ve done it, me boy!”


  7. Nonet in F minor

    Another chamber work, the Nonet in F minor joins the voices of a string quartet with a selection of brass-winds – that is the oboe, the clarinet, the horn, the bassoon and the piano.

    It’s only the second of Coleridge-Taylor’s officially chronologically catalogued works, or works with an ‘opus number’, and it’s built around modern, syncopated rhythms that accompany soaring, tuneful melodies.

  8. Christmas Overture

    Coleridge-Taylor takes traditional Christmas carols and wraps them up in orchestral greatness for this Christmas Overture.

    Spot favourite festive tunes from the traditional carols ‘Good King Wenceslas’, ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen’ and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, among others.

  9. Sea Drift

    Sea Drift is an a cappella choir piece from 1908 in which Coleridge-Taylor sets an evocative poem by American writer and poet Thomas Bailey Aldrich.

    “See where she stands, on the wet sea-sands / Looking across the water: Wild is the night, but wilder still / The face of the fisher’s daughter…”

  10. Othello Suite

    Composed a year later, in 1909, Coleridge-Taylor’s Othello Suite was commissioned by Herbert Beerbohm Tree for his production of the Shakespeare play of the same name at His Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End.

    The incidental music is rich with haunting melodies, racing dances and a lilting ‘Children’s Intermezzo’ that evokes calm and innocence. 


Tuesday, January 17, 2023

To Love Again (Chopin Nocturne E flat major) (From The Eddy Duchin Story)


To Love Again (Chopin Nocturne E flat major) (From The Eddy Duchin Story 1956) · Morris Stoloff and His Orchestra · Carmen Cavallaro · Frederic Chopin Best KIM NOVAK Movie Themes ℗ Disques Cinémusiquee Released on: 2022-11-01

Carole King - You've Got a Friend (from Welcome To My Living Room)


A Day In The Life with orchestra - The Beatles (arr. Sam Haug)


I arranged the song 'A Day In The Life' from The Beatles into an orchestral piece with choir. This is the result. Hope you like it!