As you know, I try to take time-out on Fridays from the regularly scheduled blog programming for two special features. One is called the Town Crier and is simply a list of links to some of the things over the past week that particularly caught my eye. The other is a dedicated space to celebrating the arts. I regularly link to blogs featuring photography (Joe Kennedy, Joe Thorn, Alex Forrest and Steve Mckoy) along with the history musings of Will Turner. I dedicate my space to highlighting one poet and one musical artist who makes downloads of their music available for free.
Today’s featured poet is Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). As Morrissey sang with the Smiths, “Keats and Yeats are on your side, but Wilde is on mine…” Wilde was known for his flamboyancy as much as he was for his literary prowess and that’s not entirely a good thing. Definitely not a role model for the little ones, though he wielded the pen deftly and had a knack for characters and concrete imagery. And now on to the poems:
The Grave of Shelley
Like burnt-out torches by a sick man’s bed
Gaunt cypress-trees stand round the sun-bleached stone;
Here doth the little night-owl make her throne,
And the slight lizard show his jewelled head.
And, where the chaliced poppies flame to red,
In the still chamber of yon pyramid
Surely some Old-World Sphinx lurks darkly hid,
Grim warder of this pleasaunce of the dead.
Ah! sweet indeed to rest within the womb
Of Earth, great mother of eternal sleep,
But sweeter far for thee a restless tomb
In the blue cavern of an echoing deep,
Or where the tall ships founder in the gloom
Against the rocks of some wave-shattered steep.
Today’s music comes to us courtesy of a now defunct but still favorite group called Threnody Ensemble. They produced one “official” release, the interesting “Timbre Hollow” album. But the true draw of the group for me has been their unreleased material, which is avaialbe for download on their website. Of particular interest are three soundtracks. I don’t know if the material available for download is actually featured in the films or not and I don’t know if these are finished versions or not, I just know that there is some very interesting stuff. Explore for yourself.
- Download “cello_misc_01_mix01″
- Download “cello_misc_02_mix01″
- Download “loop03v2_mix01″
- Download “loop7b_mix01″
- Download “PrettyPiano01_FazoliReverb”
- Download all their free tracks
- Download “Timbre Hollow” from eMusic
- Visit the band’s official website
- Buy the album “Timbre Hollow”
Just recently saw the newest version of The Importance of being Earnest. Great fun.. but, I always wonder who Mr. Wilde truly appreciated. It didn’t seem to be men or women in general, nor many of his counterparts or those above him.
