The lyrics of this track by Dead Can Dance, off their 1988 album titled Aion, can be found in the words of the Spanish lyric poet, Luis de Góngora.
Click here to read an article in Spanish on the poet’s influence on the band.
Poetry
[Music] Leonard Cohen – Closing Time
A fittingly appropriate song, as the wonderful Leonard Cohen left this mortal coil today. Rest in peace. You left a legacy that will stand the test of time, like Martin Codax or Josquin Des Prez.
[Music] Vitor Ramil – Milonga de dos Hermanos (lyrics by Jorge Luis Borges)
Brazilian singer Vitor Ramil is a new name to me. His ouevre is amazing on its own, and I’ll be exploring it some time in the future, but what was most impressive was his setting of this poem by Jorge Luis Borges to music which matches the words wonderfully.
[Literature] The Past, the Present, and the Bridge: Ali Dehbashi’s Bukhara Magazine
Bukhara Magazine is one of Iran’s literary treasure stores. The Los Angeles Review of Books interviews its editor, Ali Dehbashi.
[Music] Johnny Cash – Ragged Old Flag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6vwXbQZvJo
There was no way I’d miss an opportunity to share a timely piece by The Man In Black.
[Poetry] Warmphase – Moulting
Tumblr is a place full of surprises (yes, and porn, and lame SJWs and freaks, and so on…). This is a happier experience. Wes Parham, recording under the name warmphase, reads some rather good poetry. If you have a Soundcloud account, consider subscribing to this.
[Music] György Kurtág – Songs to Poems by Anna Akhmatova, Op. 41 – #1-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfnK-iNmRTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4mTlmhygyA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqlBOrDMbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMdatEZp2p0
What a pleasant surprise! I never knew that Anna Akhmatova’s work had been used as material for composition until running across some posts by György Kurtág and John Tavener (who will be featured in a future post).
[Poetry] Anna Akhmatova – To the Muse
More of a curio here, with the legendary Russian poetess, Anna Akmatova, reading one of her own works.
[Poetry] Charles Bukowski – Bluebird
We rarely have poetry on this site. That has to change. A bit of Chuck Bukowski to start things off.
[Literature] MH Abrams, Norton anthology founder, influential critic, dead at age 102
Meyer Howard Abrams, the legendary literary critic, teacher and founder of W. W. Norton and the Norton Anthology of English Literature, has passed on.
The Guardian prints his obituary here.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 