In the Roman Catholic Church tomorrow is The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This begins the final week of the year…as far as liturgy is concerned. The new year begins with the First Sunday of Advent on December 3. This year Advent is three weeks and one day long, the shortest it can be, because the Fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve Day. It can be four weeks long when Christmas falls on a Sunday as it did last year. Thus the end of the year prompts a bit of reflection for me before falling into the seasonal frenzy.
All of this by way of saying too many things dance in my head this moment to make this a coherent piece of writing. One of yesterday’s posts prompted a request for more “soundtrack” postings, and I’ve decided to play with that for a little bit.
Today’s soundtrack
I’m a bass in one of the choirs at the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, NC. There’s a lot of music coming down the road right now. We’ve a special liturgy full of music coming up, Lessons and Carols, and then there is the tradition of a musical presentation preceding the Midnight Mass on December 24-25. (The music begins between 11-11:30 p.m. to make sure the mass itself begins on Christmas Day–“midnight” mass.) This year’s music packet for the choir is nearly 100 pages. I’m not telling this to brag, convert, solicit sympathy, or narrate information about the church. I’m telling you this to explain that the soundtrack began with a lot ME practicing my music!
The remainder of it has been finishing Yessongs by Yes. Released in 1973, it’s more interesting than good. Large amounts of the two-hour album are better on the studio albums where the group could overdub to its heart’s content. I’m particularly not fond of some of the improvised melodic changes. They’re just not as good as the originals they’re meant to bring to their audience. But considering the large of amount of overdubbing and the intricate work which went into making the studio albums, it’s illuminating to hear how well that is conveyed in concert.
Enough. It’s time to sip some cheer, consider stories for my annual Christmas newsletter (more on that later), and relax. For now I will leave you with an oakleaf hydrangea, a native plant in the southeastern USA (which I just learned!). Some lousy squirrels broke it off just above the ground last year because it’s almost directly under a bird feeder which they cannot reach. Thinking the entire thing was dead and gone, you can imagine my delight to see it sprout a small plant this spring. It has conical heads of white flowers which turn woody in the fall–literally, like little chips of wood. And of course the leaves! Worth trying to save.
all the voices in my head 
I’ll be there with you, brother. Here are a few notes of my own for your musical journey.
First, something I learned just yesterday. John McLaughlin was guitarist for Miles Davis, when Miles told him that he (J McL) would never achieve his full potential unless he left and formed his own band. That resulted in the formation of Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Also, here is a list of albums you might want to consider adding to your play list, listed in order of year published:
Mountain – Flowers of Evil (1971) *(Side 2 is a medley of original and covers recorded live at the Filmore East (except for Mississippi Queen))
Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs(1974) (2nd solo album after leaving Procol Haram)
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) (Peter Gabriel’s last album as lead vocalist with Genesis)
Genesis – A Trick of the Tail (1976) (The first album by Genesis after PG’s departure where Phil Collins became Lead vocalist)
Dire Straights – Love over Gold (1982) (Before “Money For Nothing” made them popular)
Pink Floyd – The Final Cut (1983) (the album Following “The Wall”)
Happy musical thoughts – g
I listen to Bridge of Sighs every now and then. Listened to his latest last week. I’ll “sample” Mountain and Pink Floyd, but neither is a favorite of mine. The Dire Straits sounds interesting, as do the Genesis albums.