7 Fun Things and a Concert
Some bookish, musical treats
Hey y’all, some bookish, musical treats for you - plus an upcoming concert with yours truly on the harpsichord!
This read-in-an-afternoon book. I’m here for any book whose high point includes someone yelling “A saxophone!” (not a spoiler).
If you enjoyed The Beautiful Possible, The Most is going to be up your alley, except it’s much shorter and the main characters are not-very-religious Protestants.
This Tiny Desk concert from 2020 with Joyce DiDonato popped on my NPR homepage this week. It’s so fun! Opera with a jazz band. Reminds me a bit of my fave Christina Pluhar, who I know I’ve talked about before - her Monteverdi album is a great place to start.
If you’re into slightly bananas literary books, definitely check out Audition. The narrator isn’t exactly unreliable, but she’s also not what you think.
I’m excited to be joining this May-July writing meetup hosted by my friend Nicole Roccas. Also exciting - I finished a second draft of my novel-in-progress! Slow but steady writing and revising over here.
This poem by W.H. Auden (here’s the full version):
You need not see what someone is doing
to know if it is his vocation,
you have only to watch his eyes:
a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon
making a primary incision,
a clerk completing a bill of lading,
wear the same rapt expression,
forgetting themselves in a function.
How beautiful it is,
that eye-on-the-object look.
This “eye-on-the-object look” is one of my favorite things about myself and about the musicians, writers, and scientists I know and love.
Morning Glory, Starlit Sky sung to the tune Aberystwyth. I wrote about this pairing years ago and, after revisiting it for an upcoming church service, I remain convinced - it’s far superior to any of the text+tune pairings I’ve seen in hymnals. (Read the hymn text here.)
This version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) by the Netherland Bach Society is phenomenal. You probably already know that the Four Seasons depict seasonal events like a snow storm and springtime birds. But what you might not know is that Autumn features a Bacchanalian party and a very tipsy reveler. This performance really leans into a party interpretation of the Autumn movement.
Speaking of the Four Seasons - St. Louis folks, you don’t want to miss this - Early Music Missouri is performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on May 4th with yours truly at the harpsichord - more info here. The Four Seasons on period instruments is nothing like what you’ve heard on the radio in the best of ways. (Period instruments = Baroque originals or replicas, gut strings and all.) I hope you’ll be there!
Wishing you lots of love - I hope you find the music and literature that feed your soul and give you strength to keep fighting the good fight ❤️
Sarah