Love and Harmony

03/29/20 • 3 min

Love and harmony combine, And round our souls entwine While thy branches mix with mine, And our roots together join.

Joys upon our branches sit, Chirping loud and singing sweet; Like gentle streams beneath our feet Innocence and virtue meet. William Blake (excerpt)

This is my favorite work from the fall 2017 recording season. I find both Blake's poem and this music quite romantic.

Love and harmony combine, And round our souls entwine While thy branches mix with mine, And our roots together join.

Joys upon our branches sit, Chirping loud and singing sweet; Like gentle streams beneath our feet Innocence and virtue meet. William Blake (excerpt)

This is my favorite work from the fall 2017 recording season. I find both Blake's poem and this music quite romantic.

Previous Episode

Picture Impressions: Symphonic Escapades

Russian winter is setting in. Another shot of Vodka called for at once. The cavalry gallops over the Steppes, Cossacks with their swords out as brass, strings, and percussions rise to the challenge. More Mussorgsky chords ensue, then a chain of harmonic suspensions until the left hand gallops up with a noble theme and the Red Army Choir calms everyone down. Then Baba Yaga shows up with an overactive coffee percolator which percolates in arpeggiated contrapuntal rhythms to the theme. After an impressive display of horsemanship the Caffeinated Cossacks dismount and pass the melody to the Celestial Bells. The bells and the coffee percolator perform a charming pas-de-deux as the bubbling music and the sunset both slowly fade, late-night FM DJ style.

Next Episode

Flowing Water, Part One

you are my strum, my tune, and all my guitars

Madi Cook

Here in "Flowing Water" I am playing with the sound of the Classical Guitar played on the keyboard. Sometimes it's like a harpsichord on a lute stop, other times it is reminiscent of the nylon acoustic guitar without trying too hard to imitate it.

I only play this because of my love of the nylon classical instrument, played only by fingers without a pick, held close to your chest with the vibrations entering your heart. Many a night I fell asleep while embracing a guitar, only to wake and gently put it into its case. On keyboard I can play things that I wish I could play on guitar but really can't. However, the keyboard is not a guitar and I never forget that. It takes me to different places.