Portishead and Weir
May. 17th, 2008 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylI've been entertaining a couple strange musical bedfellows this week. My first was Portishead's Third, which I picked up last weekend. Initially, I thought it was nice but I wasn't convinced it was up there with their earlier stuff. But now that I've had a chance to listen to it a few times with minimal distractions, I'm increasingly convinced of it's greatness.
My second bedfellow was The Welcome Arrival of Rain, a set of pieces by Judith Weir performed by the BBC SO. It features the orchestral works, The Welcome Arrival of Rain, Forest and Heroics Strokes of the Bow; Moon and Star a choral setting of a poem by Emily Dickinson; and Natural History, a song cycle for soprano and orchestra.
Although I enjoyed all the pieces, I was very taken with the two vocal settings and with Natural History in particular, which, if I'm honest, was my principle reason for buying the CD. The songs are beautifully delicate and Ailish Tynan's performance is a perfect delight. But I think I'm repeating myself.
My second bedfellow was The Welcome Arrival of Rain, a set of pieces by Judith Weir performed by the BBC SO. It features the orchestral works, The Welcome Arrival of Rain, Forest and Heroics Strokes of the Bow; Moon and Star a choral setting of a poem by Emily Dickinson; and Natural History, a song cycle for soprano and orchestra.
Although I enjoyed all the pieces, I was very taken with the two vocal settings and with Natural History in particular, which, if I'm honest, was my principle reason for buying the CD. The songs are beautifully delicate and Ailish Tynan's performance is a perfect delight. But I think I'm repeating myself.
