"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Culture Break: Arvo Pärt: Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

I once spent an entire summer going to the lakefront in the early mornings and listening to Arvo Pärt's Passio. That was on cassette, and I think it was the only recording of Pärt's music you could get in this country at the time.

That's a little heavy-duty for this morning, but this is a piece I like, performed by the BBC Symphony (and remember when radio and television networks in this country supported orchestras?), conducted by Edward Gardner:


Pärt's usual drama is somewhat understated here, but enough is there that it still seems that the only appropriate response is silence.

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