Blog – 1nov11

I’m writing this on the DART on my way into meet Jen—we’re going to see ‘The Ides Of March’, the trailer for which appealed to our post-‘West Wing’ longings. 

It’s mid-term break and the schools are off, so my piano teaching in Dunboyne is on hold, too. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know the students. Most are beginners, and it’s been an absolute delight guiding them on their first interactions with the instrument. The teacher at the school wants them to do a wee recital at the beginning of December, so I got a book of Christmas tunes (Eleanor Pike’s cream and red classic that my sister and I had when we were learning) and also one of graded Christmas duets. 

This week has been a dramatic one in Ireland. More rain fell in one day than usually falls in the entire month of October. We elected a new president, Michael D Higgins. And The Irish Times Crosaire crossword got a new composer, Roy Earle. Crosaire was the pseudonym of Derek Crozier, who set the cryptic puzzles for sixty-something years, and his great memory is honoured in the retention of the name and in the style and layout of the puzzles. I always shied away from the cryptic crosswords, preferring the ‘Simplex’, the Irish Times’s other long-running staple. This week, what with the excitement over the new incumbent and what not, I took the plunge and found myself utterly absorbed. And pleasingly able to not just get a few clues, but complete the puzzles (after *much* sucking of the end of my specially-purchased 2B pencil). Jen has had to put up with my excited explanations of the clues, as I elucidate Mac An Iarla’s brilliance. Not sure she’s as sold as I am!

I’m also growing a moustache. Feeling rather self-conscious about it the moment, as it still looks a bit rubbish. At least I don’t have to show it in the secondary school for another week…!

(The Ides of March is excellent, by the way. Nice, tense score by Alexandre Desplat. I particularly enjoyed the note bending in the bass part for the cue under the scene where Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character (Paul, the campaign manager) is talking to George Clooney’s Governor Morris in the stretch Chevrolet outside the barbers. Nice, unexpectedly groovy end title music, too.)

This is the Old Testament reading for the first Sunday in Lent (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7), which I read this morning at St Ann’s. It’s the story of the first sin and features the wonderful serpent character, who convinces the woman to disobey God. It occurred to me that it’s quite rare that we get the voice of the ‘bad guy’ in the Bible, in this case the deceitful snake. Another good example is the New Testament reading for today (every Sunday in the Catholic/Anglican church calendar has prescribed readings), Jesus’ temptation in the desert.

I wanted to learn some Australian folk songs while I was here and found a book in the music library where I was volunteering that seemed just the thing: ‘Folk songs of Australia and the men and women who sang them’, written by John Meredith and Hugh Anderson in 1967.

This is from the introduction to the book:

Each piece included, to some degree, fulfills the definition of John Meredith that a folk song is one composed to describe some happening or some aspect of the life of the singer, or of someone near to him, and ‘written purely for the purpose of self-expression or commemoration’. For these reasons the compilers have been at some trouble to surround and enrich the items by extensively quoting reminiscences, by including details of source, and by introducing the necessary background material. In this way it is hoped that the songs will glitter like rough diamonds in a suitably natural setting.

I wanted to choose a couple of songs to record and thought of working out some accompaniment for them on the guitar but, as the authors note in the introduction, “…of the hundreds of items forming the basis of this book not one tune was played upon nor a single song accompanied by a fretted instrument.”

The two songs I’ve recorded are perhaps not the most indicative of the general content of the book, but my main criterion was finding good melodies that I hadn’t heard before and these are the ones that stood out to me.

(There are further short notes and lyrics for each song on my YouTube channel.)

I took full advantage of us both being home today (and the fact that it was pouring outside) and asked Jenny to help me record this video.

This is perhaps one of the best known carols and one that is very much a “holiday season” song rather than a Christmas song, being about decorating and, well, drinking.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
‘Tis the season to be jolly
Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel
Troll the ancient Christmas carol

See the flowing bowl before us
Strike the harp and join the chorus
Follow me in merry measure
While I sing of beauty’s treasure

Fast away the old year passes
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses
Laughing, quaffing all together
Heedless of the wind and weather

If I say it here, then maybe I might actually do it!

I’m hoping to reorganise the blog a bit. Main things are redoing categories and broadening spectrum a bit. I’ve kept it mainly about music, but I’d like to have a channel for other thoughts. I’ve previously done that via facebook notes but now that I spend a lot of time on Twitter…

Another thing I’d like to do would be to try video blogging a bit, recording some videos of me doing my songs. I realise that my music isn’t at all prevalent on the website that bears its name!

To be continued…