When Celia was learning
I've had this merry little catch running through my head all week, and I just had enough time to do a multitrack recording of it. There is a cheeky little message hidden inside this 17th Century song about a girl having a lesson on a spinnet. Its a baroque keyboard instrument a bit like a little harpsichord, but you can 'shake' or wiggle you finger on the keys to produce vibrato.
Its by John Isham and called "When Celia was learning on the spinet, to play"
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And I prithy hold thy peace
I found this recording on my mac today and I thought you might like to hear it. Its my own voice multitracked. I was in a performance of Twelfth Night some years ago and this one of the incidental songs which Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Feste sing in a night of drunken revelry. Its a simple catch (a sort of round - think 'row row row your boat') by Thomas Ravenscroft, and is almost contemporary with Twelfth Night. Ravenscroft wrote quite a bit of music to the songs in Shakespeare's plays, but they very seldom are performed with the plays. They are not masterworks but are quite pretty.
I recorded it in about 10 mins while my wife was gossiping on the phone, so don't judge me too harshly!
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The philosophy of singing
I have spent most of the time since 1995, singing. It is widely accepted that going to University is simply an opportunity for doing things that you really want to do and not have your parents, guardians, or house hold pets looking down their noses at you. For the majority of the student population this usually taken to be over indulgency in alcohol, sex, swearing, Methodism, bear-baiting or local government. For me it meant singing. This might at first glance seem rather boring and uninviting when you compare it to the candid delights that await the novice clubber, but bear with me.
Twitterings
- Mikefest drinks party where @telescoper jealously guards the last drinkable bottle - http://moby.to/wjyzxg
- Want to go home in the next 5 mins, the sunset looks beautiful.
- Nicholas Daniel is a *genius* on the oboe. Seriously gob-smackingly impressed. Previously hated that Mozart concerto... @on_radio3
Baaaaaa
- Why the BBC is wonderfully British
- I don’t have the money or the energy
- When Celia was learning
- Gregynog Hall and students who don’t like beer
- Goodbye Bute Park, hello Howells Highway
- Moblin: Netbook OS of the future?
- Star Trek: Not all Black Holes are evil
- dot Astronomy – Video conference proceedings
- Teapots from Space – the final abduction
- And I prithy hold thy peace
Tags
3G network, astronomy, austerity, BBC, black hole, bute park, cardiff council, cards, catch, christmas, chromoscope, computer, dot astronomy, drinking, energy, event horizon, film, gravity, gregynog, herschel, IAU 260, international year astronomy, IYA 2009, language, leiden, linux, moblin, multitrack, netbook, netherlands, O2, Orange, physics, port, public engagement, ravenscroft, religion, review, schwarzchild radius, science museum, shakespeare, singing, star trek, swearing, teaching, theatre, torchwood, traffic wardens, video, Teapots from Space
- Episode 4 - Dr Andy's guide to exploding stars December 16, 2009
- Episode 3 - How to spot Astronomers July 11, 2009
- Episode 2 - Close Encounters with Herschel and Planck May 21, 2009
- Episode 1 - Attack of the Space Junk March 29, 2009
