Music of the Month - March

Good Evening!
This here is my second Music of the Month post, in which I share some of the music I have been listening to recently (February's post here). It is funny and slightly depressing looking back on the last post, for there I am just getting excited for the coming of spring. Oh how wrong I was! The weather now has decided to revert back to arctic midwinter here in Britain - most of the country is covered in snow and it is very cold. The flowers which I planted last week in a bout of luckless optimism have now promptly died from the blanket of snow which mercilessly crushes their fragile stems... I may be slightly exaggerating there but, yes, my flowers are not looking to good, and it has been snowing pretty bad. Even as I type there is a boding black cloud lurking on the horizon, no doubt full of snow again...
Anyway, enough of my moaning about the weather, it is Britain; what can we expect? On with the music!

David McCaffrey - Your Old Ways and Stars
I was very pleased to see the wonderful David McCaffrey this month, supporting Joe Banfi (featured on my last music post). I love listening to live music and watching David, equipped with only his voice and guitar, was spellbinding. His voice is beautiful and he plays guitar very well. I feel very lucky to see this amazing artist just starting out on what will be a lovely career.

Lord Huron - Time to Run and Ghost On The Shore

I was recently introduced to Lord Huron by a wonderful and beloved friend, and I am so very grateful.  I love this music - it is wonderful and deeply atmospheric. It is great music to have echoing around the house, and listening to the lyrics is like listening to old stories on summer nights. I love the video for Time to Run - it is like an old western - they are, strangely, my favourite kind of film; you can't beat The Magnificent Seven! Ghost on the Shore has to be my favourite of Lord Huron's songs; it is truly beautiful.

Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three -La La Blues and Hard Times

Oh, how have I only started listening to this music again this month? I discovered Pokey LaFarge a few years ago, but only rediscovered it last week after a friend reminded me of this beautiful music. I love old-timey American music and Pokey LaFarge is a shining example of America's wealth of musical talent. The music he and his wonderful band create is amazing - old-fashioned yet always new; it is the kind of music that will never get old and everybody can relate to in some way. 

Music of the Month - February

Spring is nearly here now in Northern England - a few flowers are out and the snow is finally gone. To celebrate the coming of the good weather I have decided to share some of the music I have been listening to to get me through the winter. I think it would be nice if I could carry this on every month, for I love discovering and sharing music - it is such a special thing and an important part of human culture. [Just to clarify I do not own any of these videos, they are off Youtube].

Matt Corby - Brother and My False

All the way from Australia, Matt Corby is one hell of a musician. The music he creates is utterly beautiful and soulful. To me, Matt Corby's voice is the most beautiful in the world - even challenging the legend that is Art Garfunkel! - it is full of soul, passion and grace, and the range to his voice is just outstanding. These two tracks are my favourite, but I find all of his music absolutely wonderful. Have a listen, you will not be disappointed!

Joe Banfi - Nomads and Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

I have recently had the fortune to get tickets to see Joe Banfi in March, on his first headline UK tour for the release of his new EP Nomads (cannot be recommended highly enough). I look forward to this date as I have been a fan of his for a while now. A relatively recent addition to Communion Records' wealth of talents, Joe Banfi is a promising musician. His voice can go from a quiet whisper to an emotional howl often in one song, sometimes in the same line - his music is filled with raw emotion and passion and the stories he tells through song are outstanding. I love the split screen music video for Nomads - a nice piece of filming there!

The Tiger & Me - I Left The Wolves Behind That Night and Pantomime
The Tiger & Me are a wonderful sextet from Melbourne, Australia. Having six talented musicians, including three lead singers, in one band, you would expect the music to be very complex and unusual - it is, and that is part of the beauty of the band. Combining elements of folk, rock, waltz, gypsy and pop, and mixing them together, this band creates some truly wonderful and unique pieces of music. They have recently released a new album The Drifter's Dawn which features the wonderfully bright Pantomime. The epically good I Left The Wolves Behind That Night comes from their amazing album From A Liar To A Thief. The video of that particular song that I have included is great - wonderfully shot, and really shows how talented this band is. Enjoy!

Hope these few songs have brightened up you're day wherever you are!
Best Wishes 

Street Life in London - Photography of John Thomson

When a child in primary school, I remember being decidedly disinterested in history lessons when we learnt about the Victorian era. It is maybe because all they decided to teach us was how horrible life was for children of that time - factory work, coal mines etc - probably to make us feel bad for living a nice life in modern day. Therefore, for a long time, the age of Queen Victoria's reign was my least favourite period of history, but now knowing about all the art and culture of the day I find social history wonderfully interesting!

John Thomson, self-portrait in China

So, finding the wondrous photography of John Thomson intrigued me greatly. The life of the Victorian London poor has been brought to life, through the beautiful and expressive medium of photography. John Thomson (1837-1921) was a Scottish born photographer, geographer and traveller, who traveled mainly in Far East Asia, documenting and photographing the culture, before returning to London to work on collaborative photography project with friend Adolphe Smith, a journalist. Their project was to document the street life of London - laying the foundations for photojournalism.
The accompianing descriptions for the photographs are written by Adolphe Smith.

Covent garden flower women

"How different is the Covent Garden of to-day, with its bustle and din, its wealth and pauperism, its artifices, its hot-house flowers and forced fruit, its camellias with wire stems, its exotics from far-off climes, to "the fair-spreading pastures," measuring, according to the old chronicle, some seven acres in extent, where the Abbots of Westminster buried those who died in their convent. In those days vegetables were not only sold here but grew on the spot; and the land, now so valuable, was considered to be worth an annual income of £6 6s. 8d., when given by the Crown to John Russell, Earl of Bedford, in 1552. […] When death takes one of the group away, a child has generally been reared to follow in her parents' footsteps; and the "beat" in front of the church is not merely the property of its present owners, it has been inherited from previous generations of flower-women. Now and then a stranger makes her appearance, probably during the most profitable season, but as a rule the same women may be seen standing on the spot from year's end to year's end, and the personages of the photograph are well known to nearly all who are connected with the market."

London nomads

"He honestly owned his restless love of a roving life, and his inability to settle in any fixed spot. He also held that the progress of education was one of the most dangerous symptoms of the times, and spoke in a tone of deep regret of the manner in which decent children were forced now-a-days to go to school. 'Edication, sir! Why what do I want with edication? Edication to them what has it makes them wusser. They knows tricks what don't b'long to the nat'ral gent. That's my 'pinion. They knows a sight too much, they do! No offence, sir. There's good gents and kind 'arted scholards, no doubt. But when a man is bad, and God knows most of us aint wery good, it makes him wuss. Any chaps of my acquaintance what knows how to write and count proper aint much to be trusted at a bargain.'

The Temperance Sweep

"He is now the happy father of a large family, he lives in a house near Lambeth Walk, where he once humbly worked in the capacity of a mere assistant. As a master sweep he has an extensive connexion. The money he earns enables him to subscribe to several benefit societies, and he is entitled to receive from them 10s. a week in sickness, while his wife will have £46 given her at his death, or he will receive £18 should she die first. Altogether he is both prosperous and respected throughout the neighbourhood, where he ardently advocates the cause of total abstinence, and is well known as the temperance sweep."

Street advertising

"There is a certain knack required in pasting a bill on a rough board, so that it shall spread out smoothly, and be easily read by every pedestrian; but the difficulty is increased fourfold when it is necessary to climb a high ladder, paste-can, bills, and brush in hand. The wind will probably blow the advertisement to pieces before it can be affixed to the wall, unless the bill-sticker is cool, prompt in his action, and steady of foot. Thus the "ladder-men," as they are called, earn much higher wages, and the advertising contractors are generally glad to give them regular employment. The salaries of these men vary from £1 to £1 15s. per week, and they work as a rule from seven in the morning to seven at night."

Street doctors

"The subject of the accompanying illustration is a vendor of cough lozenges and healing ointment. He was originally a car-driver employed by a firm in the city, but had to leave his situation on account of failing sight.”

More photographs from the series will be posted soon... hope you find these interesting for now!

Waterhouse's Circe

In my Classics class, we have just finished studying Homer's The Odyssey. I have come to really love The Odyssey - it is a great story and is surprisingly easy to read, given it is over two thousand years old. One of my favourite characters that is included in the epic poem is the Goddess Circe. Circe was a favourite subject of Pre-Raphaelite painters; the wonderful John William Waterhouse produced three finished paintings.    

Circe Offering The Cup To Ulysses 1891

This painting depicts the moment when Circe offers the cup of poison to Odysseus/Ulysses which will turn him into an animal, like his crewmen before. In this version Circe looks rather powerful, for at this moment she does not realise that Odysseus has taken an antidote given to him by the god Hermes. The mirror is useful to let much needed light into the scene and to give the viewer a chance to see Odysseus. Circles are used to good effect in this painting; the mirror, the tiled floor, the curve of marble and chair, and the cup. They balance out the straight lines of the column, the diagonal line of Circe's dress and her outstretched arms. 

Circe Invidiosa 1892

This second Waterhouse painting is not a depiction of Circe from The Odyssey, but taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In Metamorphoses the story is told of Glaucus and Scylla ( another Odyssey character). The sea-god Glaucus falls in love with the beautiful Scylla, and asks Circe for a love potion. Circe, however, fancies taking Glaucus as her lover and, when he refuses, she takes revenge and pours poison into the pool where Scylla bathes; transforming her into a monster. The act of poisoning the water is the scene which Waterhouse chose to depict for his second painting of the Greek sorceress. The strange sea monster (?) at her feet hints at the outcome of this jealous act. Again, different shapes are contrasted in the composition  the vertical features such as the rectangular canvas shape, Circe's body elongated by the fall of her dress, and the thin stream of poison, are balanced by the circular shape of the bowl, the curl of the ghostly tail, and the ripples and bubbles in the water. The colours in this painting are really beautiful. the variants of gorgeous blue are balanced by the darker hues of Circe's dress and the woods and the pale colour of her skin. I find her dress is very aesthetic - the lose flowing lines and pattern of peacock feathers, which is also suggestive of vanity.

 Circe (The Sorceress) 1911-15

This is the last painting of Circe that Waterhouse did. I think it is quite different from the previous two, for Circe is not shown as a powerful enchantress, but rather a normal woman. She looks quite sullen and thoughtful. The colour orange is prevalent and varies in shades, most striking is Circe's hair and dress. Beautiful!
Best wishes

Harry Clarke - Poe Illustrations 2

To go with the previous post (here) on Harry Clarke's monotone illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe' Tales of Mystery and Imagination, here are the eight colour illustrations. They are, like the others, so beautiful! I am especially fond of the picture for The Tell-tale Heart, for that is my favourite of Poe's stories; Clarke's illustration is just as I imagined the scene to look, yet actually slightly creepier! The murderer's toes are rather scary. I have seen a copy of Poe's book with the 24 monotone illustrations, and what a lovely book!, but never one with the coloured plates as well. That would be wonderful but I assume quite expensive. And also, the beautiful pictures wouldn't be seen - I would rather put the pictures up on my wall. I might just do that... with some nice gold frames.

Harry Clarke - Poe Illustrations

Being a massive fan of Edgar Allan Poe for years, I was very pleased to discover the wonderful illustrations of Harry Clarke, 1889-1931. Clarke, an Irish stained glass artist and book illustrator, is surprisingly little known these days, despite being a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement and a general amazing artist. I think this a great shame, for his work is really beautiful, similar to Aubrey Beardsley but still unique. For this post I wish to share Clarke's illustrations for Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination. These are only the 24 monotone illustrations, I will post the 8 colour plates tomorrow. I really love these works; really dark and gothic, perfectly illustrating Poe's short stories. I love the contrasts between solid black and white and exquisite detail.  I wonder what Edgar Allan Poe himself would think of Harry Clarke's imaginings of his stories... I for one think they perfectly embody the masterful and amazing stories of Poe.

Hope you have enjoyed these stunning illustrations as much as I do!

Best Wishes  

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Having read John Keats' poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci for the first time yesterday, I wish to share this beautiful poem and some of the lovely artworks inspired by it. John Keats was very popular with the Pre-Raphaelites, Rossetti in particular. Rossetti himself insisted that Keats be included in the 'List of Immortals' of 1848. Throughout the various Pre-Raphaelite phases Keat's poem continued to be a source of inspiration with generations of painters.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

So haggard and so woe-begone?

The squirrel’s granary is full,

And the harvest’s done.

I see a lily on thy brow,

With anguish moist and fever-dew,

And on thy cheeks a fading rose

Fast withereth too.

I met a lady in the meads,

Full beautiful—a faery’s child,

Her hair was long, her foot was light,

And her eyes were wild.

I made a garland for her head,

And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;

She looked at me as she did love,

And made sweet moan.

I set her on my pacing steed,

And nothing else saw all day long,

For sidelong would she bend, and sing

A faery’s song.

She found me roots of relish sweet,

And honey wild, and manna-dew,

And sure in language strange she said—

‘I love thee true’.

She took me to her Elfin grot,

And there she wept and sighed full sore,

And there I shut her wild wild eyes

With kisses four.

And there she lullèd me asleep,

And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—

The latest dream I ever dreamt

On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings and princes too,

Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;

They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci

Thee hath in thrall!’

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,

With horrid warning gapèd wide,

And I awoke and found me here,

On the cold hill’s side.

And this is why I sojourn here,

Alone and palely loitering,

Though the sedge is withered from the lake,

And no birds sing.

 This is an early pencil sketch by Rossetti, from April 1848 - a few months before the PRB was founded. The first of three sketches Rossetti would do for this poem, a watercolour of a similar composition was done in 1855 with Lizzie Siddal as the model. This sketch is just a little early for Lizzie to be the model, but I do think that the knight looks like Walter Deverell.
The unfinished sketch below is a later one, 1855, with Lizzie most probably as the model. Though unfinished, it is a beautiful work, and illustrates the 6th stanza which is written above the horse's head. (always nice to see Rossetti's handwriting) I am surprised that Rossetti never completed a full painting of La Belle Dame sans Merci, despite doing some sketches.

                                                             

Frank Cadogan Cowper 1926

I love this version by Frank Cadogan Cowper. He is often described as 'the last of the Pre-Raphaelites' because he carried on the Pre-Raphaelite style long after that kind of work had fallen out of favour with the public. It is very aesthetic in its composition; focusing mainly on the beautiful woman in the centre, with the sleeping knight lying rather comically in the foreground, the evening light glinting of his armor and the poppies, symbolic of sleep and death, are beginning to grow around him.  The woman is traditional Pre-Raphaelite, but  her dress I find unusual; rather Art Nouveau - the date of this painting is 1926, though an earlier version is 1905; these both would have been after the Art Nouveau period, which I think was influential of this painting.

Sir Frank Dicksee 1903

Ah! What a lovely painting! Frank Dicksee sure knows how to paint a really aesthetically pleasing work of art. The landscape, horse and woman are all beautiful. I especially like the details on the horse's reins and the overall glowing light. However, I do admit to finding the knight a little odd. Yes, he is wonderfully painted, but why is he standing in that position? It looks more like something from a religious subject. I think Dicksee is depicting, like Rossetti, stanza 6 where the woman is enchanting the knight with her singing, rather like the sirens... and he cannot look at anything else but her. 

John William Waterhouse is a favourite of mine, and this version of La Belle Dame Sans Merci is really lovely. This depiction I find a little darker than the others, for in the other paintings the woman is rather removed, but in Waterhouse's version we see the woman in the act of enchanting the knight and literally trapping him, with that lovely hair of hers... how I wish I had hair like that! The light of the woman's face and dress contrasted with the man in shadow makes the audience focus on her; she is the primary subject in the painting. Also, her dress is beautiful...The colour of it is divine!

So, I now feel inspired to read more of John Keats' poems, and I also fancy watching that film about Keats with the great Ben Whishaw in it - a good reason to watch any film I think! 

Best Wishes