Friends, Cello Music, and Poetry

We had dinner this evening with a great friend of ours, Va. Good food, good company. What's not to like - as the saying goes. At the end of the meal, we stepped outside for some moon-watching, on this eve when the moon appears larger than usual.

Va reads my blog and noted my fondness for the cello. This evening she brought with her a CD of improvisations on the cello as inspired by the Tao Te Ching. We listened to it when we arrived back home - you would swear, were you one to swear, there was a cello, cellist included, in the living room. The CD is wonderful.

The 14th track had/has a repeated phrase that caught my ear - and, clearly, started wheels turning.

When they'd finished, the following presented itself:


A voice cries...

What is this place?
Where is this place?
I strike the doors
     the walls
Nothing yields,
I've never seen this place.
Why am I here?

Someone tell me!
Won't someone tell me?

Another voice cries...

I've always been here.
Never able to leave.
I strike the doors
      the walls
Nothing yields.
I've never been elsewhere.
Why cannot I leave?

Someone tell me!
Won't someone tell me?

Both voices - mine.

Y: Yo-Yo Ma

It was inevitable. This choice for "Y", I mean. I'm very fond of the cello as an instrument. The baritone...tenor of the instrument is very appealing.

Then, of course, there's so much Bach for the cello, including the cello suites - unaccompanied, so the virtuosity of the composer, the instrument and the performer are all on display. And I am very fond of Bach.

Then, there's Yo-Yo Ma. a man for whom everything seems to be music, no music seems to be off limits and there also seems to be no music style beyond his ability.

I could fill this entry with images of Mr. Ma's discography - but I will content myself with two.

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone and Simply Baroque.

Enjoy.

J: Jorane

Jorane - a French-Canadian singer/cellist/songwriter I heard on the radio some year back. To begin with, I'm very fond of the cello. There's something about the tone of the instrument.

Jorane, however, manages to push, or gently entice, the cello out of its comfort zone. The results are wondrous.

I have only one of Jorane's CDs - partly because I rarely see her in stores. It's entirely possible I'm looking in all the wrong places. Her music is difficult to classify.

The CD I own is "the You and the Now". It seems, on Amazon, it's temporarily out of stock. If you click on the link and go to Amazon - check out Track 5. Not your traditional cello.