Music
By Niraj Chag
There was a season when my steps were unwavering
Within me was this ocean
That would repair and cure me of all my pains
But at the passing of time
I am no longer certain of my hearts integrity
The days of my youth
Now only an abstract memory
Is my essence just a delusion?
How long do I submit to such a night
Where dreams are shattered
And mine forsake me
My silent cries reveal stains of my memory
Everything is fragmented its falling apart
Yet perfectly connected, attached, aligned in my heart
A collage of hopes I had commissioned from within
Were denied me and blotted out
They cannot understand my lifes journey
So I alone must complete it
These are the games we played at school
Our hands raised in despair
With no exception to the rule
These times are not changing…
This boy had learned to fail
In times like these to cry seems so absurd
His own life’s crisis pales
In the shadow of this truly dying world…
Show me the love to keep us together
Open up your hearts don’t turn me away
Comfort me through this stormy weather
From where I stand, I see a broken land…
“There is a house built out of stone / Wooden floors, walls and window sills / Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust
This is a place where I don’t feel alone / This is a place where I feel at home
And I built a home / For you / For me
Until it disappeared / From me / From you
And now, it’s time to leave and turn to dust
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds / There is a tree that’s old as me Branches were sewn by the color of green / Ground had arose and passed its knees
By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top / I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down / I held on as tightly as you held onto me / I held on as tightly as you held onto me
- Lyrics excerpted from Song Meanings
My daughter is going to be starting violin lessons, so we found this history of the violin.
The earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked (e.g. the Greek lyre). Bowed instruments may have originated in the equestrian cultures of Central Asia…
Turkic and Mongolian horsemen from Inner Asia were probably the world’s earliest fiddlers. Their two-stringed upright fiddles were strung with horsehair strings, played with horsehair bows, and often feature a carved horse’s head at the end of the neck…. The violins, violas, and cellos we play today, and whose bows are still strung with horsehair, are a legacy of the nomads.
It is believed that these instruments eventually spread to China, India, the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East, where they developed into instruments such as the erhu in China, the rebab in the Middle East, the lyra in the Byzantine Empire and the esraj in India.
- Excerpts from Wikipedia
“All things go / all things grow / all things know / all things go.”
Alfred James is the only cellist in the world playing a 5 string carbon fiber cello — standing up!”
Habib Koite is a stunning presence on stage — a beautiful singer and guitar player and a person of real personal charisma. His studio recordings don’t capture that energy, but they showcase the beauty of his music.
