Movie: The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a sports-drama movie, with a pretty Hollywood ending, except that most of it is actually real.  It tells how Leigh Anne Tuohy, an interior decorator whose husband is a successful owner of many fast food franchises, decides to help Michael Oher (offensive lineman of the Baltimore Ravens) get off the rough neighborhoods of Memphis, providing him food and shelter and eventually becoming his adoptive mother.   The movie ends when Michael Oher successfully is accepted into University of Mississippi on a football scholarship.  This is a movie about how one person's total kindness and love has helped to completely change another person's life. 

Musical: Wicked

9/13/06 Lava Beds National Monument Part 1

D'Anglebert: Complete Harpsichord Works (Christophe Rousset) (English Version)

The Chinese version ended up being too long, so I had to split the entry into two different versions.

Jean-Henry D'Anglebert (1635-1691) was one of the most important French keyboard composers of the second half of the 17th century.  His collection of 4 suites published in 1689, two years before his death, represents some of the finest harpsichord works written before Francois Couperin and Rameau.  Actually, I would still rank them among the best along Couperin and Rameau's works.

D'Anglebert: Complete Harpsichord Works (Christophe Rousset) (Chinese Version)

發現如果中英兩語言對照的話，這篇會過長，因此拆成了兩篇在寫。英文版在此。


Jean-Henry D'Anglebert (德安格博特)(1635-1691) 是法國十七世
紀後半最重要的法國鍵盤作曲家之一。他的四首大鍵琴組曲，也被認為是當時法國鍵盤音樂最優秀的代表作，成為一種指標。

French Baroque Harpsichord Keyboard Suite 法國巴洛克大鍵琴鍵盤組曲 (Chinese Only)

說到法國早期鍵盤音樂，不得不淺談一下組曲。組曲(Suite)一詞，在今天大眾古典樂裡，指的是多首(通常長度較短)曲子組合而成的一 種音樂形式。今天這些組曲裡的曲子可能是歌劇(比才(Bizet)的卡門組曲)和芭蕾舞(柴可夫斯基(Tchaikovsky)的天鵝湖)改編的，也很有 可能是原創(霍爾斯特(Holst)的行星組曲)。

8/30/08 Crater Lake National Park Part 2

Crater Lake NP North Entrance

Pachelbel: Canon & Gigue (卡農與吉格) + Chamber Works (London Baroque)

直接將話說在前頭，帕海貝爾(Pachelbel)(1653-1706)寫的曲子，不只有那一首世界超級名曲「D大調卡農」！！！而且這首卡農是二十世紀之後才爆紅的曲子，不然中間兩百多年，它一直是個不起眼的小曲子。今天市面上可以看到不同的卡農改編版本不計其數。而「我的野蠻女友」一片在亞洲造成轟動的時候，那首卡農頓時間又成了熱門搶手的音樂。連不會彈鋼琴的高中同學還跑來問我說他有辦法彈嗎～～～

Vivaldi: Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (Op.8) Fabio Biondi/ Europa Galante

如果光只說韋瓦第的作品八協奏曲集「和聲與創意的嘗試」，那許多人可能一點概念都沒有。但如果再補上，裡面前四首小提琴協奏曲是「四季」小提琴協奏曲，那幾乎是無人不知，無人不曉。這些音樂是通俗到連不聽古典樂的人都一定聽過。

9/12/06 Crater Lake National Park Part 1

Porpora: Sinfonie da Camera Op.2 (Artifizii Musicali)

Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) 是巴洛克晚期的義大利作曲家。他在世的時候，除了是一位才華出眾的聲樂作曲家，還是一位相當有名氣的聲樂老師。他教出的學生裡，最有名的，當屬閹人歌手Caffarelli和Farinelli(其故事在1994被拍成比利時電影「絕代豔姬」(Farinelli)) 以及「交響曲之父」海頓。

Movie: Chérie

Chéri stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Léa de Lonval and Rupert Friend as the titular character Fred 'Chéri' Peloux in the late 19th, early 20th century drama/romance.   Set in Paris, France, Léa is a fictional courtesan, supposed to be one of the most famous of her time.  She is close to "retirement age" for a courtesan, but she ends up spending six years with young lover Chéri'.  Chéri' is the son of Léa's courtesan friend Charlotte Peloux (played by Kathy Bates), and according to the narrator, used to be fierce rivals in their younger days.  Yes, they are more than 20 years apart.

William Williams: Trio Sonatas (Camerata Köln)

William Williams (1675? - 1701)，出生年月不詳， 是英國的中期巴洛克作曲家。他的名字可謂俗到不行，又算是個早逝的音樂家。確定他是在1701年過逝，是因為文獻上有記載為他的遺孀和三位小孩舉辦的紀念音樂會。

Fasch: Trio Sonatas (Katharina Arfken et al)

Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758) 直到今天，可能還是最不為人知的德國晚期巴洛克作曲家之一，名氣一直被巴哈，韓德爾，還有泰雷曼等大師所蓋過。家族裡的人都是神學家，因此早期音樂是自學的。12歲開始，他便Weissenfels和Leipzig(萊比錫)的宮廷，拜師音樂前輩Johann Philipp Krieger和Johann Kuhnau。

Movie: Lymelife

Lymelife is a nice little independent film starring quite an ensemble cast of Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy (of Law&Order), Cynthia Nixon, Timothy Hutton, and the younger cast of Rory Culkin (younger brother of Macaulay Culkin) and Emma Roberts.