Music

A great summer night in Cheshire

/ Eileen / 2 Comments

My husband and I recently attended one of Cheshire’s free Friday night concerts in Bartlem Park. The show was performed by the group “Eaglemania” – a talented cover-band of the Eagles. It was such a wonderful evening, sitting outside on a blanket enjoying the old songs from one of my favorite bands. Fellow residents were just as excited to be there. I thought about what a great event it was and how happy I felt to be living in a town that supports the arts and leisure activities.concert

The first thing I did when I returned to work at the Cheshire Public Library was to access our catalog and see what Eagles cds we have in the the collection…and there are a lot! Later, I reminded myself that I could’ve accessed the catalog from home via the library’s website right after the show and reserved the cds directly. Again, I thought Cheshire really is a great town because it also has a wonderful library – a library supported by the town, its residents, and the Friends of the Cheshire Public Library.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the Eagles cds the library owns. Oh, and the next free concert is Friday, August 8th featuring Beau Bolero. You can find additional information on the town’s website ….  just scroll down to the bottom of the page.

 

           eagles

 

 

 

Cast in Bronze – No Ordinary Ring a Ding

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

 

Everyone’s heard bells before, but have you ever heard a carillon? A carillon is a set of at least twenty-three bells in a belfry, which can be played singly or in concert with each other to make harmonies and chords. Carillons are played like a giant keyboard, with both hands and feet pressing on levers that pull wires that ring the bells. Because of their great size, carillons are considered the heaviest of all musical instruments (one low bell alone can weigh several hundred pounds!).

No one, of course, would ever think of traveling with an entire bell tower to give a concert – or, uh, would they? Enter the musical group Cast in Bronze, who do exactly that on the first carillon with a portable frame. Cast in Bronze’s carillon consists of thirty-five brass bells, with a total weight of four tons. Founded by master carillonneur Frank DellaPenna, Cast in Bronze actually tours around the country. They have played at Disney’s Epcot center, played a concert in New York for Pope John Paul II, played as part of Alice Cooper’s “Christmas Pudding” show, and played for NBC’s Today Show. I saw the bells in action myself at the New York State Renaissance Festival in Tuxedo, New York, several years ago. As a college bellringer who spent three years throwing levers in a tower, adapting music by Elvis and Journey to an octave of bells, I was enchanted.

Before you can say “Ho hum – ding, dong, ding, who cares,” Cast in Bronze is not just a churchbell ringing. The bells are just a highlight, with full orchestration and in some cases (like their fabulous rendition of O Fortuna, the same song currently on the Nutella commercial), with the backing of a choir as well. Here’s an excellent sample of their music, along with a great video of the bells in action:

Wait – what’s with the mask, you ask? DellaPenna’s philosophy is that the bellringer was never seen in the tower; all you knew was the beauty of the music, so he remains hidden beneath his phoenix mask, to draw your attention to the music, not the player.

 

Cheshire Public Library recently purchased two albums by Cast in Bronze – Best Day Ever, and The Voyage. My favorites to check out are of course “Tubular Bells,” the fabulous “O Fortuna,” and the ever-lovely “Carol of the Bells.” If you like music by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, David Garrett, 2 Cellos, any of the London Philharmonic playing Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull or similar pop-rock, if you like light instrumentals, bells, or even piano music, give Cast in Bronze a listen!

 

 

DVD vs. Blu-ray

/ Susan O. / 2 Comments

Is there really a difference between Blu-ray and regular DVDs, or is it all just a marketing ploy to get you to buy something else, a planned obsolescence that will cost you money for nothing?

Yes and no. It depends on how much you love technology, and how clear you want your movies. Permit me a little technobabble:
burn-cds-dvds-hive   DVDs came out around 1997. They encode data in microscopic bands that are 650 nanometers wide (for comparison, a strand of DNA is 2.5 nanometers wide). Each disc holds about 8 gigabytes of information, which translates out to about three hours of movie time at a resolution of 480 pixels – pixels being a measurement of visual detail. DVDs are read with a red laser. They’ve been out long enough that they are very cheap to manufacture and purchase.

Blu-rays came out around 2006 after a battle with High Definition video format (remember the battle of Betamax?). Blu-rays are read with a blue gallium nitride laser (hence the blue ray). A Blu-ray reads from a band that is only 405 nanometers wide, which means it holds more data – up to 50 gigabytes, or, depending on how it is bluraycoded, between 5 and 23 hours of video on one disc! The resolution, or clarity of picture, on a Blu-ray is 1080 pixels, which means, if you’re watching a blu-ray on a large screen and have good cables connecting the box to your TV, the picture is so clear you start to see the grains of makeup powder on the actors’ faces, or the lines of the edges of the contacts in their eyes. The downside of Blu-rays (other than cost)? They take longer to boot up than a conventional DVD, because they have all that extra data. Blu-ray players can read regular DVDs, but those regular red DVD lasers cannot read blu-rays, so if you do choose to upgrade to a blu-ray player (which can now be bought for as little as $30), your old DVD collection isn’t in any danger.

So how do you like your movies? If you’re a casual watcher who just wants to say “Yes, I saw that,” then carry on with your regular player. DVDs are still very much in the market and aren’t going anywhere very fast. If you live and breathe your movies, nitpick them scene by scene for trivia or like a freeze-frame that’s clear enough to hang on a wall, you may prefer Blu-ray. My husband himself thought it was all hype until he watched Star Wars in Blu-ray, and suddenly saw things he never noticed before. The larger your TV screen, the larger the difference in clarity you will notice with Blu-ray, because of the increased resolution. The picture won’t look like you want to adjust the antenna.

Yes, Blu-ray will be the standard of the future, but it’s not going to happen overnight. Cheshire Library currently purchases as many new releases in both formats (standard DVD and Blu-ray) as the budget will allow. No matter which type of disc player you have, you should be able to find plenty to check out at CPL!

Search our video collection here.

An Easter Playlist

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

Every occasion needs a soundtrack. Check out this list of classical and contemporary music appropriate for Easter celebrations. Some of these you might remember from church, but not realize who actually wrote them. Others were written secularly, but adopted later as hymns. Did you know that Elvis Presley started out as a gospel singer?  He attended a Pentacostal church that encouraged modern music.
1) Cantata 147: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, by Johannes Sebastian Bach
You probably remember this one from church
2) Concerto no. 1 in E (Spring)  by Antonio Vivaldi
You’ve heard this one in the movies and on TV
3) How Great Thou Art by Elvis Presley
One of his most-requested songs
4) The Old Rugged Cross by Johnny Cash
5) The Lord’s Prayer
There are many beautiful instrumental songs on Windham Hill’s Prayer album, perfect for quiet meditation.
6) Amazing Grace  by Anne Murray
7) El Shaddai  by Amy Grant
According to Exodus 6:2, Shaddai is the name by which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew God
8) You’ll Never Walk Alone by Elvis Presley
9) The Passions According to St. John and St. Matthew   by J. S. Bach
10) Ave Maria  by The Priests
11) Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah   by G. Handel Baroque at its finest
12) Symphony No. 9 in D minor “Choral”   by Ludwig von Beethoven
You probably know this better as the “Ode to Joy,” or Hymn # 8, “Joyful, Joyful”
13) Judas Maccabeus by G. Handel
14) Russian Easter Liturgy A whole service on one disc!

 

 

 

On Our Shelves: New Music for March

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

Music comes in more flavors than Bernie Bott’s Beans. No matter what your taste or style, there’s always something new being released – even from musicians long-deceased.  Here are a few recent releases on our shelves:

Life, Love, & Hope  by Boston

    Boston’s been around forever, it seems – their first eponymous album debuted in 1976 and reached number 3 on the album charts, and subsequent albums only climbed higher.  With the untimely death of lead singer Brian Delp in 2007, Boston underwent some changes, and to be honest, hearing them live in concert, they didn’t seem to have it anymore.  However, with the release of Life, Love, & Hope, their sixth album, Boston seems to have recovered: not quite the same, but with enough of the old magic to bring back the spark that gave them their identity. The same driving beats, the same luscious harmonies, but a little lighter, a little crisper, a little fresher to attract a new generation.  For a band that’s been around almost 40 years, that’s a difficult – and truly wonderful – thing to do. If you want something new or are longing for some updated nostalgia, this is a great album to try.

High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen

        High Hopes bills itself as a rare, unreleased tracks album, which it may indeed be, but we’ve heard some of these before.  It’s wonderful to hear a non-live version of 41 Shots, but the album doesn’t add any real surprises. There’s not a bad track on it, but nothing particularly stands out. If you love Springsteen (and there’s a lot to love), then this album will give you exactly that – more. Not better, not bad, just more quality music, a long encore to a fabulous concert from a musician who’s as strong as ever.

The Bones of What You Believe by Chvrches

   They pronounce it “churches,” but I pronounce the V anyway.  A synth-pop band from Scotland, Chvrches is a group that bridges a number of different music styles.  Like light modern popular radio music?  This is a great album.  Like a techno electronic sound with actual understandable lyrics to go with it? This is a great album.  Miss some of the 80’s pop from bands like Human League or The Fixx, or the sweet sounds of Sixpence None the Richer?  Then you will love this album.  Light, joyful, and not overpowering, there’s a wide variety of song styles to keep you entertained.  It’s been  a long time since I found a new popular band that has caught my attention this much, and I hope to hear more from them in the future. Give them a try!

Croz by David Crosby

Like Springsteen’s High Hopes, if you like Crosby, Stills, & Nash, you will probably enjoy David Crosby’s new album. Harking back to the band’s late-60’s melodies, this is more of the style you remember, an open, wandering melody with a touch of Eastern feel that could almost be filed under Jazz. Nothing jumps out and grabs you, it’s just a solid continuation of the old-style catalog.