Brainpicker #2

Snowfall On Water

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2021/05/28/emily-dickinson-grief/

POEM TEXT / CONTEXT

"The looking back on Grief" (Maria Popova reads Emily Dickinson)

Regretfully

A recording created as part of the Golden Record carried into space by the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. Story here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/02/10/murmurs-of-earth-sagan-golden-record/

FULL STORY

The Sounds of Earth (The Golden Record)

DISCLAIMER: music and video belong to their respective owners and is not owned by me.

Poem By David Whyte For John O'Donohue, music Secret Garden, voice M.J. Hummingway

Likeness

Likeness (for Piano Day 2016)

This was recorded in late October, in the hour before dawn, on the Luangwa River in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.  The first part of the recording features the undulating liquid call of White-browed Coucal. Noisy Egyptian Geese, White-crowned Lapwing and Hadeda Ibis are heard throughout, as is the splashing of Hippopotamus in the river. The track ends with a loud exchange of Hippopotamus grunts.

Telinga SSM microphone, Olympus LS-11 recorder

Morning on the Luangwa River, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia (2013-10-22-0089c)

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/04/03/working-together-david-whyte/
Excerpted from https://soundcloud.com/onbeing/sets/david-whyte-the-conversational

Photograph by Nicol Ragland

David Whyte reads "Working Together"

Full context and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/04/27/janna-levin-reads-planetarium-by-adrienne-rich/

Recorded at "The Universe in Verse," April 24, 2017.

Photograph of Janna Levin by Molly Walsh / Academy of American Poets

Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads "Planetarium" by Adrienne Rich

A French-born Tibetan Buddhist monk and a central figure in the Dalai Lama's dialogue with scientists, Matthieu Ricard was dubbed "The Happiest Man in the World" after his brain was imaged. But he resists this label. In his writing and in his life, he explores happiness not as a pleasurable feeling but as a way of being that gives you the resources to deal with the ups and downs of life and that encompasses many emotional states, including sadness. We take in Matthieu Ricard's practical teachings for cultivating inner strength, joy, and direction.

On Being with Krista Tippett

Matthieu Ricard  — Happiness as Human Flourishing

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/02/04/janna-levin-w-h-auden-the-more-loving-one/

Recorded at the Academy of American Poets' 16th annual "Poetry & the Creative Mind."

Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads "The More Loving One" by W.H. Auden

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/05/31/helen-fagin-walt-whitman/

101-year-old Holocaust survivor Helen Fagin reads Walt Whitman

This is a fairy tale from my new book Planting the Seeds, Poetry, Short Stories and Prayers. I hope you enjoy it! If you want to get yourself a copy of the book, you can do it from all good online retailers. I like Book Depository, they offer free International Shipping: http://bit.ly/plantingtheseedsbook

Planting the Seeds

Prince Sannu - a Fairy Tale from Planting the Seeds

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/05/31/spell-to-be-said-against-hatred-jane-hirshfield

Amanda Palmer reads “Spell to Be Said against Hatred” by Jane Hirshfield

ABOUT THIS ALBUM:
“Sketches” is a fully improvised solo piano album.  Several of the songs were completely improvised during the recording process for this album and several were inspired by my “Monday Morning Improvisations” series on YouTube.  This was a very challenging album project for me and it was a lot of fun improvising and writing songs on the fly for this album.  It was also fun to relearn some of the previous improvisations and let those evolve during recording.  I hope you enjoy the music on this album as it comes from my inner well of creativity and straight from the heart.  

My “Monday Morning Improvisations” series is a collection of improvs that are recorded “first try, first take”, where I record and release an improvisation on the spot every week.  The entire collection of “Monday Morning Improvisations” can be found on the Michele McLaughlin YouTube channel.


SONG CREDITS: 
1.  At First Sight - (inspired by Improvisation #1)
2. Hope - (improvised and created during recording)
3. One Life - (inspired by Improvisation #15)
4. Waiting - (improvised and created during recording)
5. The Traveler - (improvised and created during recording)
6. Farewell Little Love - (inspired by Improvisation #75)
7. Forever Yours - (improvised and created during recording)
8. The Right Choice - (inspired by Improvisation #8)
9. The Long Night - (inspired by Improvisation #76)
10. Relief - (improvised and created during recording)
11. Home At Last - (inspired by Improvisation #68)
12. Lost - (inspired by Improvisation #28)
13. Unshakeable - (inspired by Improvisation #25)

SPECIAL THANKS:
To all my listeners and fans, friends and family, and those who personally helped with this project… thank you!  You mean everything to me.

TECHNICAL CREDITS:
All songs improvised, composed, produced and performed by Michele McLaughlin michelemclaughlin.com 
Piano & Recording:  Michele's Home Studio in Salt Lake City, UT on her Fazioli F278 9' Concert Grand
Mastering & Engineering:  Joe Bongiorno at Piano Haven Studio in Sedona, AZ pianohaven.com 
Album Design:  Matt Strieby at New Leaf Design newleafdesign.com
Manufactured at Diskmakers www.diskmakers.com
Copyright ©2020 All Rights Reserved (ASCAP)
www.michelemclaughlin.com

Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads "The More Loving One" by W.H. Auden

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