Miscellaneous

Recordings

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!):

Stories

A few stories, the first two of which were originally intended to be children's stories:

  1. The giant, the little girl, and the butterfly

  2. The forest clock

  3. The kind tree and the nuthatch

A longer, episodic tale: An advent fable.

A second Christmas tale: Wind and its abating to snow.

Poetry

A few little poems of my own, the first, second, fourth, and sixth of which I've set to music:

  1. At midnight, and still light

  2. Wildflowers

  3. Out of kilter

  4. Disturbance

  5. A fish carved into a mountain

  6. Waves etched

  7. Points in time

  8. Blessing

A setting of two poems by W.B.Yeats to music: A coat and The host of the air.

Some translations from Norwegian to English of poems by Kolbein Falkeid, in the order in which I translated them:

  1. On the night sea (På natthavet)

  2. I envy (Jeg misunner)

  3. Your poem (Diktet ditt)

  4. Wavelength (Bølgelengde)

  5. It all (Alt)

  6. Or this maybe (Eller dette kanskje)

  7. Morning (Morgen)

  8. Night plane over townlet (Nattfly over småby)

  9. Established facts (Kjensgjerninger)

  10. On edge (Anspent)

  11. A different sun (parts X and XII) (En annen sol)

  12. Yarrow (Ryllik)

  13. The first (Den første)

  14. The seamen (Sjøfolkene)

A translation from Norwegian to English of a poem by Inger Hagerup: Fleeting encounter (Kort møte).

A translation of a few extracts from the long poem «Ho» ("Her") by Christine Kjellstrøm Melby:

  1. the earth-leakage circuit breaker is broken... (jordfeilbrytaren feilar...)
  2. you fill your coat-pockets... (du fyller jakkelommene...)
  3. the saltwater lies up against the forest... (havet ligg inntil skogen...)
  4. you stand for a long time in front of the mirror in the hallway... (du står lenge framfor spegelen i gangen...)
  5. every day the forest is darker... (kvar dag er skogen mørkare...)

Transcendental moments

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!

  1. A deer in the grass and the mist

  2. Innerbergsalen

A piece of music from our wedding

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: 01:34 (GMT+2), 11th May 2024