The monsoon finally stopped here. The temperatures are falling, old friends are visiting from Philly, I’ll be lighting a fire soon, and I’m listening to the Bill Evans Trio channel on Pandora (one of my old political science professors, Cecil Eubanks, turned me onto Bill Evans when I was an undergraduate; it was one of the best things I took out of college). What an exceedingly pleasant evening. I’m listening to the music on my Christmas present: a pair of wireless Audioengine A2 speakers. They’re perfect for my little den, and the sound is really, really fine. My friend and blog reader BradleyP, who is an audiophile, recommended them. I couldn’t be more pleased.
My Feliciana Hobbit Hole
10 Responses to My Feliciana Hobbit Hole
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Jeffersonian says:
Now all you need is two fingers of brandy and a good-night kiss– your daughter may oblige you that.
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Roland de Chanson says:
I will be listening to the Bill Evans Trio, of whom I have heard ni slukhu ni dukhu* until this post. Then again, I am woefully out of touch with the mainstream culture.
I would have thought you a dévoué of chant, either Gregorian or Valaam. The Byzantine is more remote from our concepts of tonality though I’ve learned to love it. And I love all of Divna’s renditions of Orthodox chant. See youtube under “Divna”.
I am not up on the latest speakers, though I have an old set of Bose. I usually use a pair of superannuated headphones to fend off the household Tatars’ complaints when I indulge my passion for chant or polyphony or classical music. My dog can hear the sound though the headphones and curls up beside me to listen. Dogs are innately more cultured than we bipeds and are the great civilisers of our rude self-murdering species. If dogs don’t go to heaven, I don’t want to either.
Non mittendus canibus? Fair enough. They are by nature virtuous and exempt from the Fall and deserve whatever blessings are comported to the virtuous in eternity. Canis semper pius. I have no doubt that canine metaphysics allows for the existence of a Supreme Dog.
In fact, are not all animals exempt from the Fall? These first-created who sinned not? I forbear to proceed with this line of inquiry until I find an Aramaic scholar to add my musings to the Talmudic bavardage. Fr. Fulco?
* Essentially, neither sight nor sound, a Russian idiom.
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Rod says:
if you like Bill Evans, checkout Fred Hersch Trio. “At the close of the day” and “And I love her” are just brilliant.
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The Bill Evans Trio? An excellent choice, sir.
Top-notch wireless speakers are a fine thing, but here on the frozen Plains, we rock it a little more old-school when searching for something to plug the Microsoft Surface tablet into.
I think you will approve:
http://www.revolution21.org/2012/12/oh-old-stuff-and-new-stuff-can-be.html
Diana Krall’s version of “The Christmas Song” never sounded lovelier.
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JonF says:
Roland,
Byzantine chant done right is heavenly. I once heard a guy who had opera training do it very, very well. (Note: the Byzantine is not be confused with the Slavonic style, which is more modern and more similar to what we think of as high church music)
Byzantine chant done poorly will attract cats in heat, who will chime in. In Orthodox churches the US, sadly, the latter experience is more common if they attempt it at all. -
EHH says:
MEH – Thanks for the link to Hsu’s website. That was an interesting interview.
Any recommendations for best Evans recordings? I’m not that familiar with him and it’s been maybe 30 years since I last deliberately listened to any of his stuff.
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CB says:
The Weekly Standard had a brilliant profile of Evans last year. Well worth a read: http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/transcendent-voice_604170.html
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Lewis Grant says:
Although I think Chick Corea (at his best) is the most transcendent jazz pianist, and Oscar Peterson is the most technically proficient, I don’t think anyone is more simply beautiful than Bill Evans. His “A Time For Love (Webster Hall version)” is one of my all-time favourites. Some jazz students listen to his songs just to copy his exact chord voicings. I can’t wait for retirement, so I can do the same myself.
MEH 0910 
The temperatures are falling
Really? It was 15° here this morning.
[Note from Rod: It was 70 here today, before the front moved in. -- RD]