Music Monday: Debussy's Suite Bergamasque

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I've chosen the beautiful piano movement "Clair de lune" from Debussy's Suite bergamasque.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Suite bergamasque (1905)
"Clair de lune"

Otters!

I love otters. I think they're just about the cutest things ever. Well, the cutest things that I'll never be able to have in my own home. Although, I don't know, there's a lot of cute animals out there . . . but, whatever. Otters are very high up on the list. So, here's some otters to make your day a little brighter:

Music Monday: Rachmaninoff's Vespers

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I've chosen Rachmaninoff's Vespers.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
All-Night Vigil (1915)
"Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu" (Glory to God in the Highest)

Off

There are certain times when I seem to be removed from reality. I imagine most people have these moments and the triggers are probably different for everyone. When I was very young, any time I did anything outside of my normal routine. An overnight trip to my grandma's, or even just going out to eat at a restaurant, everything would sort of take on a dream-like quality, like it wasn't really happening. When I was in high school, I remember it happening if there was some big assignment that I was putting off. It would get closer and closer to the deadline, and I still wouldn't start work on it, because it didn't seem real. If it was real, I never would have let it get that far. So the fact that I did must mean it wasn't real. (And then of course I'd always manage to squeak it out at the last second, and probably get an A on it. In fact, my final semester of college I got an A on a term paper and presentation that I threw together at about 11:30 the night before it was due and was sure I was going to fail. The secret: stop worrying about all the stuff you don't know, and just focus on what you do know. You sound a lot smarter that way. Also, the "write now, edit later" mentality that I learned during NaNoWriMo helped quite a bit.)

Music Monday: Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week I decided to share another something from my college days, an a cappella choir piece by the modern composer Eric Whitacre.

Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
"Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" (2001)

Some Reflections on Last Night

So, I went out last night for the second time this week. Third time in eight days. This is VERY unusual for me; I'm not exactly a social butterfly. After we got home and I was lying in bed, several thoughts were swirling through my mind, and -- crazily -- I actually remember most of them this morning. So, in list form:

~ It wouldn't be nearly this strange to me to be going out so much if we were back in the suburbs. Because I have friends there. So, it's sort of a strange realization that I have friends here too. They aren't just "people Pat works with" or "Pat's friends." And the real surprise isn't even that I went out three times in eight days, it's that I actually had a good time on each occasion. Typically we go out, and I feel so socially awkward the whole time and it's so emotionally draining that I won't venture out of the apartment again for days. To not have that happening is something I'm not quite used to.

Labor of Love

I recently stumbled across a blog I kept a few years back. This was during the brief time in between quitting my WoW blog and starting this one, and it just felt weird not to have a place to let it all out. It only lasted about a month, because then Pat suggested we start a blog together, and here we are. Well, here I am. He's around here somewhere. I think.

Anyway.

In one of my first posts, I was discussing the theme (or lack thereof) of the blog, and I wrote the following:

Music Monday: Mozart's First Symphony

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week I am jumping back to the Classical period to talk about Mozart's earliest symphonies, his first in particular.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 1 (1764)

Heat Wave!

Someone posted this picture to Facebook the other day, and . . . yeah, that pretty much covers it.

Music Monday: Copland's Rodeo

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. In honor of the holiday this week, I wanted to share something by an American composer. Unfortunately, though I hate to admit it, I'm not as familiar with American composers as I should be. A few names came to mind, mostly in the context of musical theatre -- Bernstein, Gershwin, Sondheim -- but after a little online searching to jog my memory, I decided to go with Aaron Copland's Rodeo.

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Rodeo (1942)
"Hoe-Down"