“Va, Pensiero“, also known as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves“, is a chorus from the opera Nabucco (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC. The libretto is by Temistocle Solera, inspired by Psalm 137. The opera with its powerful […]
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during […]
Nuts & Bolts
Nuts & Bolts were the world famous musical comedy orchestra from the United Kingdom. This wonderfully absurd act performed their last American tour in 2000 to rave reviews with Ringling Barnum & Bailey’s ‘Kaleidoscope’. Before that they toured all over Europe and South America performing their hilariously funny ‘Concert Of Music’. The fun started when you thought […]
Let’s Dance
“Let’s Dance” is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally included as the title track of his 1983 album of the same name. Co-produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic, it was recorded in late 1982 at the Power Station in New York City. With the assistance of engineer Bob Clearmountain, Rodgers transformed the […]
Carrantuohill
Since the beginning of their existence in 1987 Carrantuohill has been playing traditional Celtic – Irish and Scottish – music. Their developing repertoire enriches the beauty of Celtic roots with the unique climate of Slavic spirit, using instruments like violin, accordion, bouzouki, bodhran, flutes, tin whistles, uilleann pipes, zither and acoustic guitar. In order to […]
Danger Zone
“Danger Zone” is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins in 1986, with music composed by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics written by Tom Whitlock. The song was one of the hit singles from the soundtrack to the 1986 American film Top Gun. It was the best-selling soundtrack of 1986 and one of the best-selling […]
Reel
The Reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. Of Scottish origin, reels are also an important part of the repertoire of the fiddle traditions of Britain, Ireland and North America. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, […]
Katie Spencer
We were privileged to have Katie join us a for a house concert at our home in Hellifield recently. Raised in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, her landscape has always been that of open skies and widening rivers. It is this sense of space and movement that flows through her assured […]
Falla – La Vida Breve
La Vida Breve (Life is Short or The Brief Life) is a two-act, four-scene opera that Manuel de Falla composed between August 1904 and March 1905 in Spain. The libretto, written by Carlos Fernández-Shaw, is set in Granada and uses the local language, Andalusian Spanish. Unable to secure its premiere in Spain, Falla continued revising […]
Mahler – Symphony No. 5
The Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler’s holiday cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the trumpet solo that opens the work with a rhythmic motif similar to the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the horn solos […]