Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Music of Busi Mhlongo











Unomkhubulwane (African Angel)

Izizwe

Khula Tshitshi Lami

Lua Lua

Three Poems by James Wright


A Blessing
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.


Fear Is What Quickens Me
1
Many animals that our fathers killed in America
Had quick eyes.
They stared about wildly,
When the moon went dark.
The new moon falls into the freight yards
Of cities in the south,
But the loss of the moon to the dark hands of Chicago
Does not matter to the deer
In this northern field.

2
What is that tall woman doing
There, in the trees?
I can hear rabbits and mourning doves whispering together
In the dark grass, there
Under the trees.

3
I look about wildly. 


The Secret of Light
I am sitting contented and alone in a little park near the Palazzo Scaligere in Verona, glimpsing the mists of early autumn as they shift and fade among the pines and city battlements on the hills above the river Adige.

The river has recovered from this morning's rainfall. It is now restoring to its shapely body its own secret light, a color of faintly cloudy green and pearl.

Directly in front of my bench, perhaps thirty yards away from me, there is a startling woman. Her hair is black as the inmost secret of light in a perfectly cut diamond, a perilous black, a secret light that must have been studied for many years before the anxious and disciplined craftsman could achieve the necessary balance between courage and skill to stroke the strange stone and take the one chance he would ever have to bring that secret to light.

While I was trying to compose the preceding sentence, the woman rose from her park bench and walked away. I am afraid her secret might never come to light in my lifetime. But my lifetime is not the only one. I will never see her again. I hope she brings some other man's secret face to light, as somebody brought mine. I am startled to discover that I am not afraid. I am free to give a blessing out of my silence into that woman's black hair. I trust her to go on living. I believe in her black hair, her diamond that is still asleep. I would close my eyes to daydream about her. But those silent companions who watch over me from the insides of my eyelids are too brilliant for me to meet face to face.

The very emptiness of the park bench in front of mine is what makes me happy. Somewhere else in Verona at just this moment, a woman is sitting or walking or standing still upright. Surely two careful and accurate hands, total strangers to me, measure the invisible idea of the secret vein in her hair. They are waiting patiently until they know what they alone can ever know: that time when her life will pause in mid-flight for a split second. The hands will touch her black hair very gently. A wind off the river Adige will flutter past her. She will turn around, smile a welcome, and place a flawless and fully formed Italian daybreak into the hands.

I don't have any idea what his face will look like. The light still hidden inside his body is no business of mine. I am happy enough to sit in this park alone now. I turn my own face toward the river Adige. A little wind flutters off the water and brushes past me and returns.

It is all right with me to know that my life is only one life. I feel like the light of the river Adige.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Environmental Activist Julia Butterfly Hill



Julia Butterfly Hill (born February 18, 1974 as Julia Lorraine Hill) is an American activist and environmentalist. Hill is best known for living in a 180-foot tall, roughly 1500-year-old California Redwood tree (age based on first-hand ring count of a slightly smaller neighboring ancient redwood that had been cut down) for 738 days between December 10, 1997 and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in the tree, affectionately known as "Luna," to prevent loggers of the Pacific Lumber Company from cutting it down. She is the author of the book The Legacy of Luna and co-author of One Makes the Difference.(Wikipedia)

The Storm

Disconnection

Anger vs Love

Website:

More Andean Music Favorites

Chano diaz limac

MAGALY SOLIER-VIENTO QUE CORRE


Mujeres y niños RUMILLAJTA




Wiracocha Rumillajta




Quilapayun - el pimiento




Wayanay Inka PASTORCITA


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Inti-Illimani

Inti-Illimani is an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The group was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in Chile for their song Venceremos (We shall win!) Illimani comes from Quechuan inti (sun god) and Aymara illimani (golden eagle; also the name of the highest mountain in the Andes). 

La Partida written by Victor Jara

Tatati

Alturas

Danza de Cala Luna

El Aparecido with Quilapayun
Websites:
http://www.inti-illimani.cl/english.html
http://www.intiillimani.org/Inti-Illimani.html
http://www.intiillimani.org/Inti-Illimani.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inti-Illimani

Friday, May 20, 2011

Children's Art Museums Around the World

London
London International Gallery of Children's Art
http://www.ligca.org/
London International Gallery of Children's Art (LIGCA) is devoted to encouraging the creativity of children and to promoting international understanding through cultural exchange. Our hope is to open the eyes of visitors to the integrity and power of children's art.


New York
Children's Museum of the Arts

The mission of the Children’s Museum of the Arts is to extend the benefits of the arts to all children and their communities and to secure the future of the arts by inspiring and championing the next generation of artists and art lovers.

We work to fulfill our mission by providing authentic hands-on art experiences for children with artists, both in our art-filled interactive museum, in the community, and by collecting and exhibiting children’s art.

We are committed to celebrating the artist in every child and promoting access to the arts for all children regardless of ability or socioeconomic status because we believe the arts are critical to child and youth development and to strong and vibrant communities.


France
Art Child
http://www.artchild.org/

ART CHILD is an active partner of the program "2001-2010 international decade for a culture of peace and non violence for the children of the world" proclaimed by the United Nations and coordinated by UNESCO. Our goal is to help diffuse the messages of peace and harmony expressed by the children of the world through their Artwork.


Greece
Museum of Greek Children’s Art

The restored neoclassical building in Plaka houses paintings and constructions made by children between the ages of 5 and 14 for the Annual Panhellenic Children’s Painting Competitions organized by the museum. The exhibits are renewed each year, and many of them are shown in international shows of children’s art abroad.The museum’s aim is not only to promote and study the creative work of children, but also to create a site where communication can take place, knowledge can be gained and awareness can be raised on artistic issues.


Norway
The International Museum of Children´s Art in Oslo
http://www.barnekunst.no/no/

#


The International Museum of Children´s Art in Oslo, Norway is a pioneer institution, being the world´s first full scale Museum of Child Art. Today, the museum´s art collection contains art works by children and young from more than 180 countries.


Manila
International School Manila
http://domingom.ism-online.org/category/grade-1/
http://arnoldh.ism-online.org/

Welcome to Miss Helen’s Art Blog! My full name is Helen Arnold. I am thrilled to be appointed as Program Leader for Elementary Art at ISM. The Elementary Art Department is a team of four – Miss Jones, who teaches Pre-School to Grade 1, Mrs Domingo, who teaches Grades 1 to 3. Myself, with Grades 2 to 4, and our magnificent, incredibly artistic Teaching Assistant, Mr Gari Carreon. Together, we view our role as providing a strong foundation in art which will effectively guide our students on their journey into Middle and High School. We are continuously developing and improving our program to ensure students experience a wide range of art skills and techniques using a variety of media. It is our mission to help students understand that Art is not only about drawing, as many think it is! Art is constructing, forming, printing, painting, sewing, dying, weaving, collaging, sculpting, drawing and so much more. We help students to identify their particular strengths and weaknesses in art and show them the many opportunities available to them. We show them where art is useful in every day life and open their eyes to particular career opportunities


California
Paintbrush Diplomacy
http://www.paintbrushdiplomacy.org/index.html

Paintbrush diplomacy encourages awareness of international issues and supports children’s causes through a variety of programs including educational exchanges, community exhibits, and special events.

For nearly three decades, Paintbrush Diplomacy has facilitated exchanges of art and personal stories between children across the globe. Children from PolandEstonia,RussiaEl SalvadorChinaSaudi Arabia,ZimbabweMexico, the United States and many other countries experience the diversity of cultures, seeing at the same time that we have more similarities than differences.  

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Six Delta Blues Favorites

Lightnin Hopkins - Goin Down Slow

Mississippi Fred McDowell -  Goin' Down To The River

Big Joe Williams - Baby Please Don't Go

Mississippi John Hurt - You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley

Son House - Death Letter Blues

Booker White - Aberdeen Mississippi Blues


Delta Blues

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Art of Jaune Quick-To-See Smith


“In an early memory, I watched him (my father) split shingles
for our cabin and cover the walls in careful rows. This was
so beautiful to me. …This was my beginning in art.”

"My art, my life experience, and my tribal ties are totally enmeshed. I go from one community with messages to the other, and I try to enlighten people."


Trade (Gifts For Trading Land With White People)

Salmon Jumping

Salish


Indian Men Wear Shirts and Ties


McFlag (with speakers and electrical cord)


Indian Tree


Monday, May 9, 2011

Alexander Scriabin - Three Works for Piano

Alexander Scriabin 1871 - 1915


Scriabin performs Prelude Op. 11 No. 13


Horowitz performing in Moscow - Etude in C# Minor and Etude in D# Minor

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Music of Kumiko Sukegawa and Three Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke

Japanese koto & djembe session



Kumiko Sukegawa double bass solo 



putting a prayer into the voice
more at http://www.sukekumi.com/





Three Poems

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
Child in Red

Sometimes she walks through the village in her
little red dress
all absorbed in restraining herself,
and yet, despite herself, she seems to move
according to the rhythm of her life to come.

She runs a bit, hesitates, stops,
half-turns around...
and, all while dreaming, shakes her head
for or against.

Then she dances a few steps
that she invents and forgets,
no doubt finding out that life
moves on too fast.

It's not so much that she steps out
of the small body enclosing her,
but that all she carries in herself
frolics and ferments.

It's this dress that she'll remember
later in a sweet surrender;
when her whole life is full of risks,
the little red dress will always seem right.



Autumn Day

Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials
and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.



God Speaks To Each Of Us

God speaks to each of us before we are,
Before he's formed us — then, in cloudy speech,
But only then, he speaks these words to each
And silently walks with us from the dark:

Driven by your senses, dare
To the edge of longing. Grow
Like a fire's shadowcasting glare
Behind assembled things, so you can spread
Their shapes on me as clothes.
Don't leave me bare.

Let it all happen to you: beauty and dread.
Simply go — no feeling is too much —
And only this way can we stay in touch.

Near here is the land
That they call Life.
You'll know when you arrive
By how real it is.

Give me your hand. 


Friday, May 6, 2011

Esperanza Spalding






She Got To You

I Know You Know
Ponta De Areia
Body & Soul

Jimmy Smith - Master of the Jazz Hammond Organ

Root Down (Part 1)
Stormy Monday
Organ Grinder Sing

The Band - Five Live Tracks

The Band


Some people call it boosey Bible rock. I call it a joyful noise.










W.S. Walcott Medicine Show

Forbidden Fruit


Endless Highway

Shape I'm In

I Shall Be Released

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Henri Matisse - La Musique


Music (La Musique) is a painting made by Henri Matisse in 1910. The painting was commissioned by Sergei Shchukin, who hung it with Dance on the staircase of his Moscow mansion. Matisse made the painting without any preparatory sketches, and thus the painting bears many traces of modifications. One can virtually trace the steps Matisse took to find the intended effect. Like in Dance, the aim was to show man's attainment of a state of completeness by immersion in creativity.


Music (La Musique)

7 by George Harrison

Greece

Love Comes To Everyone

Dark Sweet Lady

Your Love Is Forever


Here Comes the Sun


All Those Years Ago

Give Me Love

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5 in D major (4th Movement)

Ralph Vaughan Williams














The Fifth Symphony was premiered on June 24, 1943 at a Proms Concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. In this performance Andre Previn conducts the En-Aichi-Kay Symphony Orchestra.
.

Five Songs from Double Fantasy - John Lennon and Yoko Ono



Love


Watching the Wheels Go Round

Walking on Thin Ice

Woman

Help Me To Help Myself (Demo Version)