APLACECALLEDMERRYMOUNT

What if a look into a mirror could reveal the depths of one’s worldview? I share with you this morning a poem by French surrealist poet, Paul Eluard (1895-1952), in an English translation from the original French; and a performance of a song ( Tu vois le feu du soir ), a setting by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) from his two song set entitled Miroirs brûlants . pencil sketch of Francis Poulenc by Jean Cocteau I performed this song only once in recital with Lee Thompson sometime

Tajo as "Mephistopheles" in Gounod's Faust Following T.S Eliot's advice to "only connect", I write to reach back to my mentors and...

The Cambridge Dictionary defines mentoring as: The act or process of helping and giving advice to a younger or less experienced person, especially in a job or at school. It is past time for me to write about several people who influenced me during my professional life as a musician/lyric theater director. Following T.S Eliot's advice to "only connect", I write to reach back to my mentors and connect them to you. Sir John Anthony Quayle (1913-1989) was an English actor, theat

Happy New Year! January is named after the Roman god Janus , who presided over doors and beginnings – appropriately enough, for the...

Merry Christmas CPW

Carol of the Elves Mrs. Claus, this time of year, Is busy loading shelves With lots of toys for girls and boys, Each made by Santa's...

Winter Solstice 2022 In Columbus, Ohio, USA: Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 4:48 pm EST The winter solstice is the time of year when the...

Today I joyfully share with you a truly musical artist-Julian Bream, lutenist; an "angel we have heard on high!" Lute- a stringed musical...

Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, is observed on 6 December or on the eve of 5 December in Western Christian...

Painting by Jacque Pépin 11/27/22 The inspiration for this blog post came from Dean Sluyter’s book of the same title. Shout out to Sluyter. The question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” has garnered a few obvious answers and a few comical ones. Here is a sampling: To get to the other side faster To prove he wasn’t chicken To meet Cock-a-doodle-doo Because it was free range. Ha! but not so fast. Let’s fly up to 3,000 feet (something a chicken can’t do) and try to

On this special day devoted to gratitude, I offer my thanks to my family, friends, and readers for taking time to observe the contents of...

chiaroscuro , (from Italian chiaro , “light,” and scuro , “dark”), technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects. “Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with the world is your film.” -Ansel Adams CPW P.S.

https://youtu.be/X03lvK7qoco I recently discovered Samara Joy. She IS the real thing! I'm probably late to the party, but I'm glad I...

One looks into the stall, And what does one see? An interesting creature Looking back at me. With this creature I seem to be aligned, But...

THE WHEEL At the first strokes of the fiddle bow the dancers rise from their seats. The dance begins to shape itself in the crowd, as couples join, and couples join couples, their movement together lightening their feet. They move in the ancient circle of the dance. The dance and the song call each other into being. Soon they are one — rapt in a single rapture, so that even the night has its clarity, and time is the wheel that brings it round. In this rapture the dead return.

CPW

Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So...

As one drives westward down Junk Road, one expects to see expansive fields of soybeans and corn, an ever changing magnificent sky, and a...

10/6/22 Heaven is closed and hell's overcrowded So I think I'll just stay where I am So many people, well it sure is lonely Who even...

As most of you know, I was intimately involved with “song” for more than fifty years. On October 6, 2022, I turn 70, so I take this...