Joan Baez's - We Shall Overcome

30/04/2023

The first song in the CAROL-A-DAY tunes in this section during lockdown in December 2020 was the first record (on '78 rpm') we bought for our radiogram, Mary's Boy Child by Harry Belafonte. Harry Belafonte died this week aged 96. He had a successful career as a singer and actor, but he will always be remembered as one of the great activists of the 20th century. On the Civil Rights Marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Belafonte assembled a group of fellow actors and musicians of black and white heritage to lend their support to the marchers. The song which will always be associated with this period in the USA and across the whole world is perhaps the most optimistic protest song ever, We Shall Overcome, and I bought a version by Joan Baez back in the 1960s,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7akuOFp-ET8

Best wishes

Oppido et ruri

Χριστός ἀνέστη - (Christ is Risen)

09/04/2023

If you go to Greece around Easter, you might be lucky and get two celebrations. The Orthodox Church uses the Gregorian Calendar, while Christians in the West use the Julian. We were fortunate enough to spend many Easters in Greece, and there are still very strong memories........the burning of an effigy of Judas after the Holy Saturday service, which had some interminable canting, was balanced by the wonderful lamb roasted outside on a spit and with the dark chocolate Easter bunnies. On a trip to Greece last month we went back to a monastery just outside Athens where I saw back in 1965 the memorable mosaic of Christos Pantocrator, which left a deep impression, and for the first time I understood the English phrase...."to put the fear of God into someone."

Best wishes

Oppido et ruri

Chuck Berry's - The Man and The Donkey

01/04/2023

In the lead-in to Palm Sunday in the past I sent you (twice!) musical versions of one of Chuck Berry's lesser-known pieces - A Man on a Donkey.

This time I thought I would share with you the theme in a different art form,

The Man and The Donkey >>

In the pre-Covid days Ann and I went to Venice for a short break at the end of January, and we were able to resume this visit a couple of months ago. Our hotel is just off St Mark's and we found the 12 noon Mass to our liking in that it is very 'local.' There is a remarkable Basilica organist and one of the curates led the congregational responses as well as being an excellent cantor. It is possible to follow the Italian Mass, but the homily defeats us. However, St Marks' has some of the finest ecclesiastical mosaics in the world, and almost directly in my eye-line there was this fine representation of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Best wishes

Oppido et ruri

Happy New Year

16/01/2023

Bobby Darin - Sing a Simple Song of Freedom

There have always been protest songs, and this song written in 1969 by Bobby Darin sums up the feelings of a generation, who wanted a change for the better in the world. Darin was a consummate entertainer and performer, who was successful in a variety of musical styles, but who died at the age of 37. The youtube contributor of this song has added not only the lyrics but also a thought-provoking selection of images.

Sing a Simple Song of Freedom

Best wishes to all in 2023

Oppido et ruri