Positively Puzzled

The Vintage Shorts Index on this blog gets updated occasionally. I just added a bunch of entries from the wonderful box set: Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection , an invaluable addition to any DVD collection, full of extra features, numerous documentaries, a music CD, posters, etc., but the pure multifaceted artistry and genius of these two entertainers is priceless. I didn't pay much attention to musicals when growing up, so these classics are new to me. I'm truly awestruck, and I fall in love with Ginger Rogers every time. Oh, and the vintage shorts are fun, too. Unique and quirky at times, they give a fascinating glimpse of the times. Vintage Shorts ( Medieval Underwear )

(These are program notes for an old show...I'm updating my playlist page to include links, but this one, posted on Facebook, never made it to my blog site.) My wife, Meera Collier-Mitchell , and I take turns hosting the classical radio program Musica della sera on Thursday evenings, 7-9:30 (PT). This week Meera hosted. KUSP Radio is now offering On Demand downloads of its music programs. Check out the calendar listing, with audio links, of The Shows Available . Click the one for Musica della sera Thursday night to hear our show. Each broadcast is available for download until it is replaced by the subsequent week's program. This being the last show for Meera before Christmas, she presents a wide range of holiday music, medieval to modern. Local artists Barry Phillips and Lars Johannesson are featured, from their album Colonial Christmas . Check out the playlist (originally broadcast 12/18/2008). You can also stream the station live of course. Next week's sho...

(These are program notes for an old show...I'm updating my playlist page to include links, but this one, posted on Facebook, never made it to my blog site.) The show is now up on the Internet to listen to on demand; see below for locating the link. This was my chance to play some of my favorite Christmas music. I'm very pleased with the show, but there are some spectacular technical snafus* in the first ten minutes of the program...listen for them, it's fun! (suspenseful dead air, colliding medieval choirs, oh my! not to mention the host's tryptophanically torpid tongue...I had just come from Christmas dinner at my folks' house.) ATTN: friends of Giselle Wyers, you can hear two of her compositions, "Ave Maria" and "Come, Come, Whoever You Are", about 1 hour and 36 minutes into the stream. Listen to the show while there's still some residual Christmas in the air! You can see what was played by referring to the playlist (originally broadcast...

(These are program notes for an old show...I'm updating my playlist page to include links, but this one, posted on Facebook, never made it to my blog site.) On New Year's Night it was Meera's turn to do the show, and it's now on-line and ready for your ears! (See below for how to link to it.) She played the Double Violin Concerto of Mark O'Connor, a lively piece, as the movement markings indicate: Swing, Midnight on the Dance Room Floor, and Dixieland. My favorite offering was Vladimir Godár's piece "Ecce Puer" (1997), a setting of James Joyce's poem, starting about an hour and 19 minutes into the audio stream, and we'd like to dedicate this to Christopher Vandendriessche, Sarah, and the birth of their son Leo, a name James Joyce would certainly have approved of. Congratulations! Ecce Puer Of the dark past A child is born; With joy and grief My heart is torn. Calm in his cradle The living lies. May love and mercy Unclose his eyes! Young ...

(These are program notes for an old show...I'm updating my playlist page to include links, but this one, posted on Facebook, never made it to my blog site.) The latest show is now up on the Internet to listen to on demand; see below for locating the link. This show featured sundry compositions by two of Bach's sons, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Christian. I particularly enjoyed soprano Emma Kirkby's performance of J.C.'s "Salve Regina". Also featured, three Schubert songs, two Mozart violin sonatas, and a Fasch quadro sonata for 2 oboes, bassoon, and basso continuo. Most of the music was unfamiliar to me, gems I happily discovered hiding in the KUSP library. As if Schubert's songs couldn't be sweeter, he wrote lovely obbligato French horn and clarinet parts, respectively, for "Auf dem Strom" (Streamside) and "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" (Shepherd Abiding on the Rock) . You can see exactly what was played and who performed i...

The African Queen (1951) The Queen (2006) Beetlejuice (1988) Kung Fu Panda (2008) Shall We Dance (1937) Baraka (1992) Stormy Weather (1943) Spanglish (2004) Knocked Up (2007) To Catch a Thief (1955)

The latest Musica della sera show is now up on the Internet to enjoy on demand; see below for locating the link. This program will be available until Thursday, April 23, 2009 This show features Gregorian chant sung by the Monks of Solesmes. They wrote the book on Gregorian Chant, literally! The Liber Usualis , a compendium of standard Gregorian Chant was prepared at the Abbey of St. Peter, Solesmes . The chant set concludes with the ringing of the Angelus bell, and the chirping of the monastery birds. On the show, a favorite old LP of the music of Dufay performed by the Early Music Consort, conducted by the late David Munrow (He sadly died much too young.) Various settings, including a full mass, based on the lovely tune "Se la Pale Face" (If my face is pale, the cause is love.) Listen for a shout-out to my friend Randy who was listening to the show live from his digs in Oregon. There's also a Gregorian tie-in with a virtuoso 20th Century French horn piece by Eugen...

The latest Musica della sera show is now up on the Internet to enjoy on demand; see below for locating the link. This program will be available until Thursday, April 9, 2009 I can't remember the last time this happened, but I managed to do a whole show without going baroque. And yet, Bach figures into it anyhow. Listen to find out how. Liszt, Chopin, Dvorak figure prominently. (Ask me about the terrible pun I decided not to make at this time.) I was delighted to find, hidden on the shelves of the radio station's music library, a CD of Liszt's music for violin and piano; it had only been played once before, years ago. A beautiful performance by violinist Rachel Barton. Also featured, a brief horn recital, John Cerminaro playing works of Franz Strauss (Richard's dad!), Beethoven, and Fauré. You can see exactly what was played and who performed it by referring to the playlist (originally broadcast 4/2/2009). My wife, Meera Collier-Mitchell , and I take turns hostin...