sounds of New York
day one
Jason Kao Hwang Human Rites Trio (JKH, compositions, violin, viola; Ken Filiano, bass; Andrew Drury, drums), live, New York, 7/16/19
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lagniappe
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Today is very nothing like / Any other day that once soared / In this place.
—W.S. Graham (1918-1986), from “The Don Brown Route”
This song was released in 2011; the words were written in 1861.
David Sylvian (1958-), “I Should Not Dare” (Emily Dickinson [1830-1886]),* 2011 (Died in the Wool)
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I look at my father and mother and Vinnie, and all my friends, and I say no – no, can’t leave them, what if they die when I’m gone.
—Emily Dickinson, letter to friend Jane Humphrey (L86), 1852
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*Poem 234 (Franklin):
I should not dare to leave my friend,
Because – because if he should die
While I was gone – and I – too late –
Should reach the Heart that wanted me –
If I should disappoint the eyes
That hunted – hunted so – to see –
And could not bear to shut until
They “noticed” me – they noticed me –
If I should stab the patient faith
So sure I’d come – so sure I’d come –
It listening – listening – went to sleep –
Telling my tardy name –
My Heart would wish it broke before –
Since breaking then – since breaking then –
Were useless as next morning’s sun –
Where midnight frosts – had lain!
It was, I recall, a cloudless morning in Chicago, as it was in New York. I had a hearing scheduled in federal court, but then, after the second plane hit, court was cancelled. We sat in front of the television, unable to turn away.
William Basinski (1958-), “Disintegration Loop 1.1,” 2001
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Photograph from September 11
by Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012, MCOTD Hall of Fame), translated from Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak
They jumped from the burning floors—
one, two, a few more,
higher, lower.
The photograph halted them in life,
and now keeps them
above the earth toward the earth.
Each is still complete,
with a particular face
and blood well hidden.
There’s enough time
for hair to come loose,
for keys and coins
to fall from pockets.
They’re still within the air’s reach,
within the compass of places
that have just opened.
I can do only two things for them—
describe this flight
and not add a last line.
more
Jürg Frey (1953-), Extended Circular Music No. 4 (2011-2014); Flex Ensemble (Kana Sugimura, violin; Anna Szulc-Kapala, viola; Martha Bijlsma, cello; Endri Nini, piano) with Yoann Trellu (video art), live, Germany (Hannover aka Hanover), 2017
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Moon, plum blossoms,
this, that,
and the day goes.—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
Why not begin the week with something slow, and quiet, and beautiful?
Jürg Frey (1953-), Petit fragment de paysage (Ko Ishikawa, shō; Mari Adachi, viola), Wen 16 (Seiko Takemoto, cello), Petit fragment de paysage (Mari Adachi, viola; Seiko Takemoto, cello); Wen 29 (Mari Adachi, viola); Petit fragment de paysage (Ko Ishikawa, u; Seiko Takemoto, cello), live, Tokyo, 2016
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even poorly planted
rice plants
slowly, slowly . . . green!—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue
string quartet festival
day two
Elliott Carter (1908-2012), String Quartet No. 5 (1995); Pacifica Quartet, live, Tokyo, 2004
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The book itself is sort of a perfect metaphor for a human being. It’s got a front and a back, it’s got a spine, and it’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
—Chris Ware
never enough
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1; Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997, piano), live, Moscow, 1972
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Only thing
the thief left behind—
moon in my window.—Ryokan (1758-1831), translated from Japanese by Kazuaki Tanahashi
never enough
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2; Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950, piano), 1947
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Consonants are the body; vowels are breath.
—Sadiqa de Meijer, “The Ebbing Language,” Poetry, 9/19
sounds of Nigeria and Chile
Newen Afrobeat feat. Seun Kuti (vocals) and Cheick Tidiane Seck (keyboards), “Opposite People” (F. Kuti), live (studio), Chile (Santiago), 2016
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Should we have stayed at home, / wherever that may be?
—Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), from “Questions of Travel”
sounds of Chicago
Vernon Oliver Price, “Change My Name,” live (TV show), Chicago, 1972
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What function hath the Air?
—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), from 1513 (Franklin)
music clip of the day 