What I Listened To: WILT_2021-15

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 11 Apr 2021 to 17 Apr 2021.

WILT_2021-15

  1. Still Life – Fougère
  2. It’s Raining – Henning Flintholm
  3. Soul I (Avow) – Sebastian Plano
  4. It Is Time: I. Metronome – Steven Mackey, Sō Percussion
  5. In Cold Light (Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres Rework) – Vanbur, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
  6. The Swan – Camille Saint-Saëns, Sebastian Comberti, Miriam Keogh
  7. The Night Gatherers – Judd Greenstein, Chiara String Quartet
  8. I Dreamed I was Floating – Joshua Penman, Jody Redhage
  9. Harlem River After Hours Dub (Peaking Lights Remix) – Kevin Morby, Peaking Lights
  10. Falling Colour – Vanbur
  11. Coma (for Strings) – Her Ensemble, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
  12. The See Within – Echo Collective
  13. Blooming – Richard J. Birkin, London Contemporary Orchestra

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2021-15

Notes

Last week I stumbled across an amazing live version of Push The Sky Away, performed at the Sydney Opera House by Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (Hyperlink: YouTube). It is a beautiful and extremely heart-wrenching rendition that culminates in a (bittersweet) joyous pride exuded by all performers, and an absolutely heartfelt embrace between collaborators Cave and Ellis. This moment of embrace is a precious moment in my memory and interpretation of Nick Cave and his body of work.

The reason for the earlier anecdote is that it reinforced my preference of listening to the classical genre for the week. I also spent more time with contemporary performances and arrangements because of the video essay How Jonny Greenwood was influenced by Penderecki (Hyperlink), and was curious about what contemporary composers were accomplishing today.

One more note that stuck in my mind this week was that I sometimes face anxiety about what to publish, especially if I did not have a particularly noteworthy week in terms of musical listening, discovery, or reflection. But I did come to a conclusion that if I did not have anything to say that week, I should feel free and at ease to say that I do not have anything noteworthy to share. Any pressure that I felt, was placed entirely by myself, and after I rationalised that, I did start to feel better and this project/process became more enjoyable due to the lessening of anxiety.