Design talks

O Virga Ac Diadema; Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)- Anima

Hildegard von Bingen - O Virtus Sapientiae

Schola Magdalena, recorded 2011 in Toronto at Church of St. Mary Magdalene. www.scholamagdalena.ca 

Translation: Hail, O greenest branch,
sprung forth in the airy breezes
of the prayers of the saints.

So the time has come
that your sprays have flourished:
hail, hail to you,
because the heat of the sun has exuded from you
like the aroma of balm.

For the beautiful flower sprung from you
which gave all parched perfumes
their aroma.

And they have radiated anew
in their full freshness.

Whence the skies bestowed dew upon the pasture,
and all the earth was made joyful
because her womb
brought forth corn,
and because the birds of the firmament
built their nests in her.

Then there was harvest ready for Man
and a great rejoicing of banqueters,
whence, O sweet Virgin,
no joy is lacking in you.

Eve rejected all these things.

Now let there be praise to the Highest.



O Viridissima Virga: by Hildegard von Bingen sung by Schola Magdalena

Hanna singing Hildegard in St. Ignatius Church in Mainz, Germany - von Bingen lived near Mainz, and is known to have frequently sung at St. Ignatius.

(source - Lena Simon, https://vimeo.com/56099652)

Hanna Benn_'O Euchari In Leta Via' - Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1178)

To coincide with Piano Day 2017 we share a cover of an old Penguin Cafe Orchestra song by Penguin Cafe from their upcoming new album 'The Imperfect Sea' - out on Erased Tapes 5th May 2017.

"This piece by my father has always been a favourite of mine and when we were playing in the studio last year with making rocks resonate through the soundboard of the piano, the drone on F# made me think of it immediately. The transition between free-form and structure allows for space and some more expressionist moments and then the simple yet rather beautiful melody creates a sort of profound optimism I think." — Arthur Jeffes

Pre-order 'The Imperfect Sea' on Vinyl, CD and DL here: phonofile.link/the-imperfect-sea

The iconic Penguin Cafe join the Erased Tapes family and open a brand new chapter to their unique world with new album The Imperfect Sea.

A penguin stands in the middle of a scorching desert, far away from its natural habitat. This mirrors composer Arthur Jeffes’ journey and exploration into a new musical territory. Penguin Cafe have evolved into something of their own at the hands of Arthur who started the band in 2009 with the continuation and homage to his father’s legacy, to the late Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Now, their upcoming album echoes reminiscent sounds that embrace the new.

The album title refers to a saying by his father that “we wade in a sea of imperfections…”, reflecting upon the idea that beauty can be found amongst the chaos. “If there is a narrative to the album it’s coming to the acceptance of the imperfections in all aspects of life; moreover, the recognition that these imperfections and tiny randomnesses are in fact what make up the best parts”, Arthur explains. This has also been highlighted by the striking cover artwork designed by FELD under the art direction of label founder Robert Raths, resembling a lone figure adapting to and accepting its surrounding environment.

Predominantly self-composed, the new album also features covers of electronic works by Simian Mobile Disco and Kraftwerk, along with a re-working of Simon's 'Now Nothing'. Arthur has developed from the traditional folk and jazz heritage Penguin Cafe Orchestra is known for into another realm of blissful ambience and dance music, recreated using strictly acoustic elements.

“For this album I wanted to effect a departure from where we’d been up to now. The idea was to create a musical world that would feel familiar to an audience more used to dance records but stay true to our own values. So we replaced electronic layers with real instruments: pads with real string sections, synths with heavily-effected pianos, and atmospheric analogue drones with real feedback loops ringing through a stone and a piano soundboard.”

On the day of release, the band will play a headline show at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, commencing the beginning of this new adventure for Penguin Cafe.

The Imperfect Sea

Buy LP/CD/DL

Penguin Cafe - Now Nothing (Rock Music)

Taken from the album Inwards.
https://1631recordings.bandcamp.com/album/inwards

Nil Ciuró -  Even

"Blessed we are" 
from my Album "Journey Home"
            ... enjoy listening ...
                       Parijat
https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/Parijat

"Blessed We Are"  from  "Journey Home"

originally only released for Piano Day 2020, now  available on  all platforms.

https://linktr.ee/aukai

A Halcyon is a mythical bird said to lay her eggs in a floating nest at sea, during which time it charms the wind and calms the waves. 

www.aukaimusic.com
www.pianoday.org

Halcyon

Wendy MacNaughton and Caroline Paul are the illustrator and author, respectively, of the new book Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology (Bloomsbury, 2013).

Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator and a graphic journalist based in San Francisco. Her documentary series Meanwhile tells the stories of communities through drawings and the subject's own words, and is being published as an anthology by Chronicle Books in 2014. She's also illustrated the forthcoming book The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Wine, by Richard Betts (Houghton Mifflin, 2013). She has degrees in fine art/advertising and social work from Art Center College of Design and Columbia University. When they let her, she likes to talk with students at Art Center College of Design, and she is an artist in residence at Intersection for the Arts.

Caroline Paul is an author based in San Francisco. Paul grew up in New England, with an identical twin, a younger brother, and a menagerie of animals. She graduated from Stanford University, where she studied Communications. In 1989, she became a San Francisco firefighter. She is the author of Fighting Fire (Skywriter Books, 2011), about her thirteen years as a firefghter, and East Wind, Rain (2006) which has been optioned for a movie.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton

Ben Chestnut is the CEO and co-founder of MailChimp, one of the most successful e-mail marketing companies around, with over 1.2 million users. They were recently featured in “Fast Company” for their non-traditional corporate culture and creative environment.

Aarron Walter is the Director of User Experience at MailChimp, where he strives to make software more human. Aarron is the author of Designing for Emotion from A Book Apart. Aarron taught design at colleges in the US and Europe for nearly a decade, and speaks at conferences around the world. His design guidance has helped the White House, the US Department of State, and dozens of startups and venture capitalists.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Ben Chestnut and Aarron Walter

2013 SVA Commencement Address. 

Transcript, highlights, and discussion: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/13/greil-marcus-sva-commencement-address/

Greil Marcus on the artificial divide between "high" and "low" art

brainpicker

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