AN ANTHEM FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

Hello Music Lover,
Thanks to Bonnie for finishing and delivering this square so quickly after a one-day workshop last week, in time for Remembrance Day. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? is for me an even better anti-war anthem than Give Peace a Chance, and it was named in 2010 by the New Statesman as one of the Top 20 Political songs of all time. Written by Pete Seeger in 1960, it was inspired by a few lines from a Cossack poem he had seen in "And Quiet Flows the Don." However, it was Don Hickerson who added verses four and five, and then a repeat of verse one, turning it into the circular message that war is a just terrible wasteful cycle.

Bonnie wanted to use a small embroidery she has kept safe for some time and she worked out a way to use it as the centerpiece of a log cabin design. Careful seaming and just enough random placement of elements to keep it interesting have combined to make this a great addition to our quilt. Way to go, Bonnie!

Remember the Fallen while you listen to your music today.

Susan

FROM BACH TO MURRAY SCHAFER

Dear Music Lover,
In the profile to the right of this column, there is a mention of Robert's Quilt, which was based on the Goldberg Variations by J.S.Bach. This was the quilt that started this project - the idea of making a piece of visual art where every part was based on a different piece of music. So this quilt would not be complete without a square based on Bach's magnificent work: I could listen to Angela Hewitt play it over and over again.

Here is my 8" square version. Thirty variations on our two colours, emerald green and coral, with a lovely melody running through them all and touching each one. I used some stretch stitches so the finished square would resemble a crazy quilt in miniature.

Our second square today is a donation from Judy, based on one of her favourite pieces of music, Snowforms by R. Murray Schafer. "Murray Schafer composes avant-garde musical pieces and sometimes uses graphic notation", says Judy. "This quilt square uses some of  the graphic symbols from his a cappella choral piece Snowforms. The score, in white on a turquoise background, is almost as beautiful as the music. If you can't attend a concert to hear this piece, you will find 3 or 4 versions of it on Youtube."

Thanks, Judy. It definitely makes one think of snow!

Happy listening, everyone.

Susan

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF OUR FIRST MUSIC

Hello, Music Lover!

Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. This was my introduction to the orchestra, albeit an incomplete one. It must have been for my siblings too; my brother plays the clarinet, by sister plays the flute; I have a niece who plays the violin, and my dad loved the French horn. Whenever I hear a bassoon I think of Peter’s grandfather lumbering out of the forest to save him. And an oboe is always reminiscent of a duck singing mournfully from the stomach of the wolf. It’s a great story, and I still remember visualizing the animals playing their instruments. But a wolf playing a curled up horn? I had to grow up to invent how he could do that! With a nod to that childhood enjoyment, I decided to paint the animals as realistically as possible. This one is for my grandson Max, thanks to Sophie’s sponsorship.

“We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!” Get a gang together, put your best foot forward, start singing this song, and you can't help feeling brave! This square has been sponsored by Maureen, for another, grown-up Max, who has been recovering for several weeks in an ICU, after an operation gone wrong. But he gets better daily, and he’ll be out soon. Take courage, Max, and know that there is a gang rooting for you out here!

May all your music remind you of good times!

Happy listening,

Susan

FEELING GERSHWIN?

Hello, Music Lover!

Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin, with thanks to Joan Hug-Valeriote, who attended our first workshop, and who had decided before she came that this was the square she wanted to do. She knew we had to include at least one of our two 35^th anniversary colours, and she just managed it in this beautiful square. Thanks, Joan!

Are you missing the lazy, hazy days of summer? Me too. But they were forever immortalized in Summertime, composed by Gershwin for his 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. Here, Kathy has  done a take on her favourite lake-side retreat, with two boys lost in a reverie, oblivious of the fish jumping beside them.

Happy Listening, All! 

Susan