Video

Viva la Vida!

Choir was never like this when I was a child. I always loved singing and developed an affection for a wide variety of repertoire, so choir was an enjoyable experience as long as the teacher wasn’t too boring or bad-tempered. Yet I also remember stony stares from the other children if I sang too heartily …

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Artistic Intimacy

I was completely stunned by two video excerpts I saw yesterday on the ubiquitous youtube of Dawn Upshaw singing Messiaen‘s “Saint François d’Assise”, directed by Peter Sellars. (I’m indebted to Alex for posting one on his blog). The excerpts show the rehearsal process, Dawn’s valiant struggles with the virtuosic music and Peter guiding, encouraging and …

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Platypus

I recently returned from a trip to Sydney, and was drawn as usual to the fabulous wildlife. Here’s my first attempt at videoing my favorite Australian inhabitant– the duck-billed platypus. When underwater, playpuses (platypi?) close their ears, eyes and nose and navigate by a kind of radar. They are monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals, and …

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