It's a beautiful, sun-filled day. The hubby is mowing the mom's lawns, the two eldest children are on a nature walk with the uncle-who-is-not-Prout, the two youngest are out and about having personal adventures. And I? I am enjoying the relative luxury of peace and quiet while it lasts.
The parental units acquired a 6-week old feline a week or so ago. It looks as though he will be coming home with us. *sigh* Prout has dubbed him Murphy. I don't think that that is his real name. When he is looking fierce, I think his name is Mcxlplx. I suppose that he'll tell me his name when he is good and ready. Right now he is in the final days of his two-week quarantine. He apparently had some kind of herpes virus that infects the lungs of cats and is contagious for other felines. He's been on meds for the past 9 days and seems to have recovered from the virus. He's tested negative for both feline lukemia and feline aids. So, it looks like child #2 will be living on allergy medicine for the rest of the cat's stay with us.
The-brother-who-is-not-Prout and I were listening to cd's last night and here are some recommendations:
Purcell-The Fairy Queen, Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie, Harmonia Mundi records
Fauré - Requiem, Messe basse, Cantique de Jean Racine, Vierne Andantino, & de Séverac Tantum ergo on Naxos records
Stephanie Blythe - Handel/J.S. Bach arias, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, John Nelson-Conductor
Shvedov - Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Slavyanka Russian Men's Chorus, Dorian Records.
The Purcell is sublime. Get only this recording; the instrumental portions are out of this world and the singing is just excellent. If you like baroque/pre-baroque music, this 2-cd set should be in your collection.
Stephanie Blythe is a phenomenal mezzo. I've seen her on stage, and her voice is even better on stage than on cd and that's saying something! Anyway, this particular album features some lovely pieces in general and an awesome duet with a countertenor that is simply spellbinding in its artistry. A must have for those who like vocal recordings.
The Fauré features the complete requiem and my favorite version of the Pié Jesu. The album also features some other brilliant vocal pieces, some of which, are a capella. Just gorgeous music.
Equally gorgeous in its own way is the Slavyanka recording. If you've not listened to Eastern Orthodox religious music before, be prepared for music that uses a different diatonic scale than western music. For those who are familiar with this kind of music, prepare for a vocally lush experience.
We'll be listening to more music over the coming days, so I'll pass our recommendations on to you as we compile them.
He-who-is-not-Prout wishes to check his email so, I'll be signing off for now. I'll check back in, in a little bit.
Okers!
Good to see you, Happy Thanksgiving!
Not a beautiful day here. Or maybe it is in a way. Continuing steady fog, day and night.
Went into town (Redmond) to see the Harry Potter movie, was blinded when we left the theater into bright sun! Fled quickly East back into the fog.
We have blizzard warning!!