Tag: music

Listening to Compline

Carl Setzer1 Comment



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.

Looking At Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir Performing “Cloudburst” Live

Carl Setzer

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. 

Steel Magic Northwest is close to meeting their Kickstarter Goal

Carl Setzer

Steel Magic Northwest is a great local group (located in Edmonds) that provides access to music for a number of youth and adults. I know a number of kids, and adults, who benefit greatly. And they have a great time! The music is brilliant and the audience is having a grand time, too.

https://youtu.be/oVDYsdkM6qI

 

They’re using Kickstarter to fund their summer program, so I highly encourage you to head over to their site and give them a few dollars. They’re doing a all or nothing campaign for $3,000, and are at $2,910. Just $90 more dollars! Now, the campaign ends Friday (June 30th), so I (again) encourage…nay, implore you to head over right now and help this program do amazing for our community this Summer.

Evening Of Jazz

Carl Setzer

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Evening jazz fills me 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Warmed by memories 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Happier times of my youth 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>A bountiful world, opportunity 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Filled to the brim, perhaps even 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Overflowing. So much perspective 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Grown, eyes different…in so many

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Ways. So many ways, indeed. 

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Once I LISTENED to Music 

Carl Setzer

​No longer 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Do I listen deeply 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Pulling apart 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Words, lyrics 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Melody 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Harmony 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Trying so hard 

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>To embrace

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>A song’s

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p style=”font-family:’Helvetica Neue’, Arial, sans, sans-serif;”>Soul