Open the eyes

I haven't posted recently here in this blog and I realize it's important for me. Sophie in Korea really encouraged me today. Because life can be really tough for me - I do find things a struggle to keep going. I really thank God for her message,

You always open your hands to us. Today I went your blog your world. I can feel a little bit relaxing and joy in your world. We all gone through hard time this year and we are going to face that over and over. But it's ok. we are stronger enough to overcome all different difficulties in Jesus. aren't we?

We really need to see the world through different eyes constantly different eyes... River Tribe are an Australian Band I came across accidently just buying their CD in a sale for 3 dollars and later found them to be Christian.

Need for a peace inside

This last week, I have been up and down, in fact there have been more downs this whole semester. I have tried to find some peace in me. The great cleanup started and slowed down and almost stopped but as I try to tidy up my thoughts and emotions so that everything else will be ordered.

Some years ago Su-Young introduced me to Yiruma, 이루마. His music is so relaxing and gentle. It lifts my spirits and quietly the world is somehow a little better than it was before. It was two emails from Korea that have greatly encouraged me and then again also one from here. Chaconne I think is one of Yiruma's best- very simple and effective. It's more a matter of the soul of the music rather than the complexity or busyness, it's less about demonstrating technique and more about communicating. In my ESL teaching I keep reminding my students about this communicate don't try to demonstrate your vocabulary.

All you need is love

Beatles what can you say except the cellos make a real difference to the song. Perhaps what you need is love with some cellos? Life has been crazy with Thanskgiving lunch for over 60 people and saturday's outing to Crawford Lake for over 30 people. Trying to raise the cars and drivers and thank God for Rosanne who reminded me to pray. Well I confess I asked her to pray! Then I decided perhaps I ought to in all the sress of it. What we need a spirituality fo the presence of God - hence the cellos (if you hadn't guessed the metaphor from my main blog.)

Julie-O

I've just fallen in love a cello piece written by Mark Summer of Turtle Island String Quartet. He's quite a cellist in the alternative style. This weekend brings a lot of stress with Thanksgiving lunch to organize and co-ordinate. My Friend Brian has been bailing me out and stopping the boat sinking. I'm beginning to think I need to escape to a happier less stressful world found in this piece of music.

Prelude

To a new home in the sun

Prelude a British trio covered the Neil Young song 'After the Goldrush'. It has a totally different feeling to the original. It forms part of my youth and echoes deeply my late teens and early twenties. I saw Prelude live during this era and it still haunts.

Celtic Rock

Bagpipes are one of those instruments I wanted to learn but never got round to. Many years ago every Easter we took the local kids away on a boating trip. The places to moor up our boats each eveing were limited. I really wanted to play the bagpipes so I could drive the other boats further away. One year we had Ann who sung to them, and she was pretty successful in making space.

Rawlins Cross were a band I saw in the 1990s, and the bagpipes were loud enough not to need an amplifier! Colleen is one of my favourite numbers by them.

we don't talk anymore

It's so funny that we don't talk anymore - Cliff is part of my youth - he was one of my youth leaders which is surprising...

So many people I have almost lost contact with and wish I could find the time to search them out again. One of the stresses and strains of working with internationals is saying goodbye and not sure if we will ever talk again? Where are they now?

Horslips - Loudest

Horslips are one of the loudest bands I heard back in the early 1970s. They are an Irish rock band with electric mandolin and Uilleann pipes and prove that fusion worlds with tradtional instruments are viable rather than just guitars and drums.

I will lift my eyes

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121

This psalm is very precious to me as it was a commissioning Psalm as I left my home churches to move continents.Two churches unknown to each other used the same verse. Last sunday I had to learn this song by Bebo Norman for a service.



I will lift my eyes to the Maker - Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer - Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer - Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

Carrie doesn't live here

Cliff's 1980 hit Carrie is one of my favourite of his many years in the music business. It's in this era that fell in love more than once. All were musicians which didn't help.

Wonder

We all need a bit of wonder in our lives. Wonder has at least two meanings. "I wonder what will happen" has a sense of thinking about and hoping for something. The second meaning is seeing something often in a new way or for the first time. Little children look at something and are amazed. Adults look at the same thing and see nothing important. Things have not gone how I hoped for this school year and I have been disappointed. Yet I cannot say that there were no moments of wonder because there was wonder. The Electric Light Orchestra ELO a band with 2 cellos and a very unique sound and pictures form the Hubble Telescope in space. Twilight is the openning song for Densha Otoko - literally Trainman a romantic Japanese drama.

wishes

A few years ago Koji left me a few Japanese Cd's which got me into J-Pop and the first group were Le Couple. Such a sentimental person that I am this is probably my favourite song sung by Emi Fujita.

Let Go

I am a romantic and very sentimental guy. Cleaning in my apartment has been tough and difficult determining what to get rid of. Tuesday I laboured hard and removed a portable dishwasher which I was given 5 years ago. To do this I had to remove a hand rail and a door and hauled this heavy machine down the stairs and out of the front door. Frou Frou were unknown to me even though they are from the UK until I saw this music video taken from Nodame Cantabile. The strange thing is I'm more like Nodame the female character a bit sloppy, a bit untidy, don't like practicing, like to play music out of my emotions and searching for love. Chiaki is orderly taking all things very seriously. And yet I'm still really looking for my Nodame. I'm still a romantic but is it time to let go?.

The blessing

A few months ago I received a dream gift. My late honorary god-father left me money in his will. I was able to at last buy this exact instrument though I play it with a harness so I can walk around more like Marston Smith. This Frenchman demonstrates a wide range of possibilities.

Enchantment

For years now I have watched from a distance this cellist Marston Smith. Some months ago I heard someone use what I used to say when I was a choir conductor. The importance ot knowing "how to milk a melody" - how to squeeze everyounce of goodness out of a tune. From my favourite Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile how to enchant a listener. It is the movement of body and looking right,it is having passion and soul. Marston is what what you need to be an enchanter of audiences.

At the end of August I spoke at a conference and very much prayed that what I had to say would move people. I was wondering about everything this last week with disappointments and now I remember something important. I got feedback one evening from a couple talked to me and it was thrilling even now to see them move closer to God in a short time. Thank God.

My Past

I've listening to music from my teens recently and Caravan forms part of that era. This is Caravan a progressive folk Rock band that my freind Pete Matthews introduced me to. This is probably my favourite track and I love the melody lines. I am a sentimental guy and remember the special times and friends of the past. The crushes and loves of a teensager when life was complicated and awkward.

some more strange cello

I've been playing my cello with a guitar distortion pedal. I'm not as good as this guy but I've been having a little fun and realizing the pleasure of playing again. This incredible musician shows that actually it is much more soul than technique. He has both. Life has its ups and downs but I keep going and trying to enjoy the moments.

too long away

I haven't posted anything here for a while because I now have virtually only dialup connect at home. Here's an interesting cello group Break of Reality. They reflect a new encounter with music, I want more music in my life. In fact I need more music in my life so I'm trying to make time to play and practice cello. To do this I have to clean up and I am also trying to remove layers of things I have collected so my space at home will give me space in my life.

Golden Oldie - Julian Lloyd-Webber

Being a cello fan I prefer this to the electric violin piece played by Jenny Bae called Beethoven Virus. Paganinni somehow seems preferable to a more mediocre Beethoven. Sometimes new isn't necessarily better



Want to see what I'm comparing this to? (click here)

Put your money where your mouth is?

I came across a video of AP Bank fes 06 which looked fun and great outdoor music festival with many J-pop stars. Looking around I found out that the name stands for Artists’ Power or Alternative Power. Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kazutoshi Sakurai aka Gaku (from Mr Children) and Takeshi Kobayashi, a record producer, in 2003 founded and funded the nonprofit lending group, which finances eco-friendly projects. “When I thought about what I could do as an individual, the environment came up,” says Kobayashi, AP Bank’s president. “Money for the sake of money isn’t great, but money is a tool, and people can use it as a community.”

There's something I remember Jesus saying about the love of money, which this reminds me of.

This video brings a veteran singer Oda Kazumasa on stage and he shows his class as an artist.

Nuns and nun?

This song by Jake Thackray is pretty irreverent and funny song from my youth. I was amazed to find it on youtube. The subject of men disguised as nuns has been a subject for comedy for a long time. Nuns on the Run is a 1990 British comedy film, starring Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle as a pair of bank robbers hiding in a convent which also takes an irreverent look at the subject.

Meal time hell?

There are time when you can have too much music!

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Getting things together

Learning to work together can be really difficult and that's something that is starting to happen on campus as another full-time worker and a part-timer join me. This is a quite amazing example of resonance.

Taize and musicality

I've been remembering and thinking about my experiences with Taize and the European Pilgrimages in London and Paris. Thousands sitting on the floor in churches and cathedrals for 2-3 hours truly worshipping in a way sensitive to aesthetics, to beauty of form. In the end it is an encounter with the living God and this kindles a hunger for that encounter.

tapping guitar

I love the energy and technique of taking and playing to a new proficiency.

Left behind?

A really old song from my younger days. ELO, the Electric Light Orchestra, always fascinated me as a band. When were you born? How do you feel about it all? Sometimes I wish I was born later but then songs life this wouldn't be a part of me. I wouldn't be where I am now. But then again if I were 20 years younger maybe I would have found that life partner? (This is the theme music to a Japanese Drama called densha otoko)

Anri Kumaki

Sometimes I don't understand a song's lyrics and all I have is the arrangement, music, and my feelings. The last month has been crazy and I haven't put anything here in this blog. I had a conference and then turned up a week early for my yearly 2 week summer school. Fortunately it was on the same campus and I didn't travel anywhere. I'm now at the end of the summer school and feeling tired again. Some months ago I discovered Anri Kumaki and this song. It's a beautiful arrangement especially because of the cello part. It seems to say feelings I have at the moment. One of my internationals graduated this week with a lot of heartache and struggling - her pain I felt along the journey to graduation. The video seems to be about going back and remembering.

I'm still standing

This is one of those pop anthems which lingers in my ears after difficult times. Elton John regardless whether you like him or not, writes memorable songs. Notice the change in keys where the verses as declaration of survival are in major keys but the chorus remains in a minor key. "I'm still standing." After some real ups and downs I'm still standing.

Gospel, gospel

There is something special about gospel music. Somehow it never really feels like performance because we're drawn to it and into it. I have to often contrast that with some church situations where everything seems to be like watching a concert. What can I say about Mahalia Jackson? Except listen.

I can sing in the troubled times

I can sing in the troubled times, Sing when I win - I can sing when I lose my step, And fall down again - I can sing 'cause You pick me up - Sing 'cause You're there. Chris Tomlin

My emotions do go up and down. perhaps more frequently than others but I have a problem the old hymn is darker more a struggle than Chris Tomlin?Matt Redman. However neither should be sung as a happy sweet song. I want songs that reflect how real sadness can be. Listen to Enya's original haunting song with its depth.




What though my joys and comforts die? The Lord my Savior liveth;What though the darkness gather round! Songs in the night He giveth: No storm can shake my inmost calm While to that refuge clinging; Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth, How can I keep from singing? Robert Lowry

Home

Our house - This is one of those songs from my youth that I remember well. Though much has changed over the years, going or coming home is more about people than place, whatever country I'm in.

Henri Nouwen writes "A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself....That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone,"

The old hymns

I'm glad to be home. That seems like a strange statement given that I went home but the paradoxes of my life are exposed. The UK isn't home anymore. It feel distantly familiar and meeting family and friends was good but it isn't home. But here isn't really home either because there is much which isn't familiar and I still don't understand. This perhaps is a new understanding for me of being in and not of the world.

Matt years ago introduced me to Rachel Lampa's voice. Such an intense beautiful tone with good breath control. I hate the loss of old hymns and their deep messages about God. They also lasted for a long time. Modern songs have a very short life span and go missing very fast.

Terry Waite was the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative negotiating the release of hostages around the world until at least he was taken hostage for over 1763 day. I remember hearing his interviews afterwards . He talked about the importance of being able to remember prayers, songs and parts of church services. These helped him survive, they gave him a sense of home.

Ave Verum Corpus

We used to sing this for services etc. I miss those days of a sight-singing choir. Often we would simply rehearse on Friday and sing for real on Sunday. I think this is Mozart at his best. the words mean

Hail the true body, - Born of the Virgin Mary, - Truly suffered, sacrificed - On the Cross for mankind, - Whose pierced side - Flowed with water and blood, Let it be for us, in consideration, - A foretaste of death.

As I head back to the UK for a rest and I can still hear this anthem reminding me of Easter and why I do what I do.

No greater love

I discovered that some of my ex-internationals read this blog. So I'm going to post a little more content about my ministry here in simpler English. Recently in our bible studies we've been thinking about heaven and earth and what heaven is all about. It is not really about place but God's presence. I quite like this Rachel Lampa song - "The beauty of heaven is here in my heart".

The heavens are telling

I realized a few weeks ago I was suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I was quite depressed and then it was as the dark cloud lifted. I love this movement from Haydn's Creation. I sung this too many years ago.



The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.
Today that is coming speaks it the day,
The night that is gone to following night.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.
In all the lands resounds the word,
Never unperceived, ever understood.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

Van Gogh

Van Gogh is a favorite artist of mine, and over the years I've come to appreciate the spiritual content intrinsic in many of his pictures. Like music,art requires understanding and background. This song by Don McLean I first heard live at a free concert in Hyde Park in the centre of London.

if you had a vineyard

Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears That I might weep for my poor people

I suppose this year's unfortunately blandness the emotions of Sinead's songs from her album Theology still touches me. One of my International students said recently Music is universal (it doesn't require language.)

Kosheen - Catch

Out of my way, I'm running. I'm going to catch you if I can...



Well I'm pretty eclectic in my taste and Kosheen do their thing well. The Cellist I only found by accident and he's not a permanent member of the group.

After The Fire

Greenbelt was a Christian rock arts festival which I went almost every summer for 10 years. I saw U2 there and many great bands. After The Fire was one of those great 1980's bands. This clip (click here) is classic ATF and perhaps a demonstration of the great use of the instrumental break.

Don't talk to me about love

I, as a younger guy, was an Altered Images fan for a while mainly because of Claire Grogan. She appeared in Gregory's Girl, an low budget obscure movie made in Scotland, with young locals some without acting experience. The director Bill Forsyth went on to make Local Hero. Claire went on to become lead singer with Altered Images a 1980's New Wave band that fused many different influences including Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Dexy's Midnight Runners. This is real nostalgia for me.

Early U2 memories

In 1981, I was standing in a field with 20,000 other Christians. Close to sunset, at the end of the harvest, the fields around us were burning as the farmers cleared the old straw away. Suddenly this band I had never heard of played Fire!! That incredible apocalyptic experience is burned into the ears and eyes of my memory. We were listening to U2 perform on borrowed equipment.

nothing stays the same

Rushad Eggleston was the cellist with Crooked Still and an exceptional alternative cellist able to play the chop and groove style of playing. He's since moved on but with talent like that he'll be active.

Sweet side of protest

Ralph McTell's Streets of London is a poignant cutting and gentle protest about the darker side of cities. It's a song that I learned to play back in the 1970's. Actually McTell was a good ragtime guitarist and it shows.

Mozart Sonata in D major K488

As a teenager my mother introduced me to two piano pieces and all her students eventually played two piano pieces in competition. (My mom was shrewd as my teacher and all my partners were girls!) Watching the Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile has reminded me so much of the fun and pleasure now deep in my past. This is the first duo that Chiaki and Nodame played together in the series. Later they play a Rachmaninov piano concerto together.

Iceland

Iceland is known for Bjork. I came across another musical export Sigur Ros about 4 years ago and this "Untitled #1"and the video won the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Video. The music is eerie and the images disturbing.

similar accent

Janice is a Hong Kong singer, whose accent in Cantonese has similar strange tones to mine. I was taken by a couple of songs which were streaming on a J-pop internet site. There is also an English version of the song but I think she sings better in Cantonese even with her slightly odd pronunciation.

acoustic groove

As a kid there was a tv show called "Take Three Girls" and the title music was by this group Pentangle. They were quite phenomenal musicians Jacqui McShee, vocals; John Renbourn, guitar; Bert Jansch, guitar; Danny Thompson, double bass. Thompson and both guitarists became successful solo or group artists. Check out their solo instrumentals in these two songs.They show you don't need a lot of equipment or technology to make a great groove and song.

Fire and rain

James Taylor was someone I got like very early on. A friend lent me her copy of Sweet Baby James. At the same time I had my first big crush on a girl and I didn't know what to do with those emotions. This song is probably the first song I memorized on guitar.

The theatrical

I've sung my share of classical choral works including Verdi's Requiem. It ranks in my top ten especially because of this movement Dies Irae. There is nothing quite like it for me because of the range of dynamics. Karajan does an incredibly great job of letting that passion out in a controlled manner. Note the choir sing without music and are giving all their attention.

Because I'm a girl

The Korean girl group Kiss and another well known asian video. The story line just feeds my melancholic nature. The video is a little bit weird as the words and story don't exactly match. Still it reflects a bit of my sadness of this last week and is one of those typically successful Asian music videos with a storyline.

The leaf

I am a terrible melancholic romantic so this is currently on my favourites list. It's sung by Selina of the Taiwanese group S.H.E. Her vocal seems just perfect - however somehow it's better than the normal S.H.E. repertoire

blower's daughter

What can I say about Damien Rice? Such an intensity about his singing and his simple arrangements. I saw him on Austin City Limits a few years ago.

Fairy Tale

Yes, I am a melancholic and love this video which seems everyone from Asia knows. 童话, Tong Hua, Fairy Tale by Michael Wong (Guang Liang) . It seems so apt at the moment in this time of mourning..

Rest In Peace

I heard today of Margaret's passing. She was an international student I talked with last semester. She was sad and depressed and struggled desperately for acceptance, which she could not feel even when offered. Gabriel Fauré's Pie Jesus

Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem. (O sweet Lord Jesus, grant them rest)

the back of the neck

Aiko is one of those interesting stars I came across early on in my introduction to J-pop. As a singer, Aiko seems also to be able to sing a more lounge and light jazz styles as well as pop. えりあし, eriashi is one of my favourite songs by her. This song is certainly one of her more mature style songs. Lost love, unrequited love is one of those themes for songs common to my playlists. This is a song of memories and regret of what might have been.

Who knows where the time goes

One of my friends from the neighbourhood where I grew up introduced me to Fairport Convention, now a legendary band in the Folk Rock movement in England. They were formed in Muswell Hill not far from where I grew up. Sandy Denny sadly passed away but the others are still kicking around though pretty old in the tooth now. Her voice has a haunting, lingering quality and I still remember her performances. Where has time gone?

In Paradise

Faure's Requiem is just so French! The lush harmonies and pure floating voices. This movement is a favourite that I've sung quite a few times. It signifies journey's end and the rest that will come. Often it something I long for as I've always found living life tough.

Calling Elvis

What is good guitar playing about? Dire Straits are a band of par exemplar guitarists. Just listen to Mark Knofler, but then to the slide guitar and that incredible banjo-roll style style. Don't you love that driving rhythm.

Misia

How can such a big full sound come out of such a small woman! Misia should enjoy much more success nevertheless as a Japanese R&B singer she is quite something. I believe is one of my favourites - find my other Everything (here).

Nada Sou Sou

Rimi Natsukawa sings a classic Okinawan folk song which has become a pop classic.It is probably one of my favourite japanese pop hits, but then I'm pretty sentimental. I also enjoy the shamisen, the plucked tradition instrument.

papageno! papagena!

This is my favourite opera The Magic Flute by Mozart. A story of the search for love through trials.Tamino, the hero, succeeds in a test and finds his Pamina. Papageno the birdcatcher failed the test and seeks to end it all but is willing to give love one last chance. Eventually after despairing he returns to try his magic bells. (This version is from Ingmar Bergman's version sung in swedish.) Many years ago I took a girl friend to see a live performance and strangely she saw herself as Pamina to my Papageno! Well that's life isn't it?

orinoco flow

The Celtic influence is part of the cultural influences of my non-classical background. I became interested through the folk club scene. Then you add Enya and also Clannad somehow both capture a deep ambiance, something that points to a great expanse beyond itself.

Something sublime

"...You have often heard of the famous Miserere in Rome, which is so greatly prized that the performers are forbidden on pain of excommunication to take away a single part of it, copy it or to give it to anyone. *But we have it already*. Wolfgang has written it down and we would have sent it to Salzburg in this letter, if it were not necessary for us to be there to perform it. But the manner of performance contributes more to its effect than the composition itself. Moreover, as it is one of the secrets of Rome, we do not wish to let it fall into other hands...." Leopold Mozart

Gregoria Allegri wrote 'Miserere mei'. Setting of Psalm 51 for nine voices (two separate choirs of 4 and 5). The story goes that it was only sung in the Sistine Chapel in Rome Maunday Thursday and Good Friday and the music was closely guarded. Then enters the 12 year old Mozart who visited Rome with his father Leopold, who on one listening transcribed the parts Thursday evening and on Good Friday corrected his score.

In my choir days I sung it in service one person per part and when the top treble/soprano sung a top C my heart bursts open with utter impossibility, that which is beyond me, ineffability and transcendence.

Kansai Blues

Tak Matsumoto is quite a guitar legend in Japan with even a Gibson signature guitar. He is, I think lead guitarist of the Bz's and TM Group. This track is from the cd Hana. I inherited it from one of my returning international students and this is one of my favourite tracks. It's blues but very Asian blues even the scale is different. Shut your eyes and listen carefully, very carefully.

The Trout Piano Quintet

This is one of my favourite chamber pieces. As a young cellist, I was lucky to spend a few summers and music courses playing the Trout. We were not in this league but it's such a fun piece and it taught me so much about ensemble playing.This just an incredible line-up of names Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline Du Pre, and Pinchas Zuckerman

Japancakes

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Japancakes - on paper - sound like they’d be your worst sonic nightmare: at their outset they were performing full 45 minute gigs using only a D chord. eoghan at cluas.com

Ever since I came across their early cd If I could See Dallas, Japancakes' brand of ambient music has held my attention. It is extremely mellow and almost generic and reminds me of Phillip Glass. I should say I actually like Phillip Glass a classical minimalist composer. I should also say to date I haven't found anyone else who likes him! I still like Japancakes because of their meditative quality. The presence of cellist/keyboardist Heather MacIntosh has also kept my interest.

Anyhow here's their myspace account where you can hear some of their recent audio tracks issued (click)
See what you think.

Romance

From my main blog you might know cello is the instrument to which I am deeply attached. Probably the Elgar concerto is one of my favorite works and Du Pre is in my top few performances. Just feel the emotions being squeezed out and the lyrical lines singing above the intensity.

Jorane -French Canadian vitality

I'm been able to see Jorane live twice and both were incredible experiences of stage presence and incredible abandonment to the music. This clip captures some of that for me.

Dead Children in Newspaper

Cold Fairyland, a Shanghai band has interested me for quite a while. They bring a significant fusion of ideas and musical styles, almost protest.

Something lost

Piana is a strange japanese singer who must almost be described as folk electronica. I discovered her a while back and the use of strings and cello has also caught my attention.

Homecoming

I'm great lover of ballads, probably the product of spending so much time talking and listening to music with Matt. I've posted about Vienna Teng on my other blog but wanted to post this video of her live performance from youtube.




The haunting line "I've come home" lingers in my ears

Blues and Robert Cray

I've been quite a blues fan for a long time and I love the intensity and really clean sound of Robert Cray's guitar playing together with his vocals. I was really happy to see him live at the Toronto Blues Festival quite a few years ago.