Some recordings (simply done, on a mobile phone!) of myself accompanied by a guitar or keyboard. Mostly old folk or roots songs, but occasionally dipping into other things. The full list can be found here. Some examples are the following (in chronological order of my recording them!):
A few stories, the first two of which were originally intended to be children's stories:
A longer, episodic tale: An advent fable.
A second Christmas tale: Wind and its abating to snow.
Some my own, along with translations to English of some Norwegian poems, including several works of Kolbein Falkeid: poems.
Now and again, I experience moments which I can best describe as transcendent: a deep sense of beauty, of happiness, of awe, of empathy. A sense of profundity, of being at one with the mysterious essence of life. Whilst these moments cannot truly be expressed in words, there is an art in trying to do so, as well as their being a pleasant and useful aid to the memory!
The wonderful organ piece 'Marche Nuptiale' from 'Conte d'avril' by Widor was played at our wedding (in the chapel of University College, Oxford) during the signing of the register, where, with its tender beginning, it went down very well. I had stumbled upon it sometime previously; it is not very well-known, and I think that the recording I heard at that time is no longer readily available, but fortunately this one is great too! A little information on the piece can be found here.
The organist did not know the piece, and I ended up ordering the sheet music for him from a somewhat obscure shop in London specialising in a niche of it; we still have it!
Last updated: 14:54 (GMT+1), 17th November 2024