Both Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011) have done a lot to reintroduce “cinemagician” Georges Meliès to an entirely new audience, especially to his ground breaking masterpiece Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). The science-fiction short was originally released in 1902 both as a black-and-white and as a hand-coloured print. […]
Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich: Cailín na nUrla Donn
Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich is a traditional singer from the Corca Dhuibhne area of West Kerry (Ireland) and performs here a fine example of a macaronic song (with lyrics both in English and Gaelic). Whereas similar pieces or sean-nós songs are usually unaccompanied or sparsely arranged, this rendition of Cailín na nUrla Donn (the brown-haired woman) gets an almost […]
Rasha Rezk: Mreyte ya mreyte
“Mreyte ya mreyte” (Mirror oh my mirror) is another track from the Caramel soundtrack (see previous post). Performed by Syrian singer Rasha Rezk, beautifully orchestrated and arranged by Lebanese composer Khaled Mouzanar, it is the final song of the film as the credits roll: Mirror oh my mirror I will tell you my story Tell me […]
Khaled Mouzanar: Zaghloul el Hamam
Caramel (2007) is a Lebanese film by first-time director Nadine Labaki which has enjoyed a very successful international career. Set in a beauty salon in Beirut, the film humorously chronicles the daily lives of five women of different generations and religious backgrounds. Even though conflict and political unrest are never explicitly mentioned, Caramel remains an upbeat and humanistic […]
Susanna Wallumrød: Who by fire
Released in 2011 on the ECM record label, If Grief Could Wait is a remarkable cross-genre recording featuring indie pop and jazz Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød, Swiss Baroque harp player Giovanna Pessi, Italian nyckelharpa (the Swedish keyed fiddle) player Marco Ambrosini and Swiss-based viola de gamba player Jane Achtman. Concentrating primarily on a repertoire of 17th century songs […]
Nils Petter Molvaer: Presence
Presence is a beautiful track from Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer’s 2002 recording NP3. While the video clip was superbly crafted, I can’t dissociate the track from the album’s cover featuring life-size figures on a beach staring at the horizon. The cover is a photograph of an existing installation called “Another Place” by British sculptor […]
