On this day in music history - The album Bel Canto, by Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers (2002)

Bel Canto

by Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers

was released on August 27, 2002.

Track list:

Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah!..se una volta sola”; Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah!..non credea mirarti”; Bellini / La sonnambula: “Ah! non giunge uman pensiero”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Abbracciami”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Il piu tenero suon d’arpa morende”; Donizetti / Maria Padilla: “Ah! non sai qual prestigio si cela”; Rossini / Semiramide: Introduzione; Rossini / Semiramide: “Bel raggio lusinghier”; Rossini / Semiramide: “Dolce pensiero di quell’istante”; Bellini / Il pirata: Introduzione; Bellini / Il pirata: “Ah! s’io potessi dissipar le nubi”; Bellini / Il pirata: “Col sorriso d’innocenza”; Bellini / Il pirata: “Oh sole! ti vela di tenebre oscure”; Rossini / Armida: “D’Amor al dolce impero”; Rossini / Armida: “Gli augei tra fronde e fronde”; Rossini / Armida: “La fresca eta sen fugge”; Rossini / Armida: “Ah! si, godete amanti”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia:”M’odi, ah m’odi, io non t’imploro”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia: “Figlio!...Figlio!...Ola, qualcuno!”; Donizetti / Lucrezia Borgia: “Era desso il figlio mio”.

Recommended reading - The Best of Ogden Nash

 

The Best of Ogden Nash
548 Favorite Poems from America's laureate of light verse

Edited by Linell Nash Smith.

Published by Ivan R. Dee.
Published 2007.

ASIN: 1566637031
ISBN-10: 9781566637039
ISBN-13: 978-1566637039

Hardcover.

Description:

An outstanding, rare collection of works essential for any definitive poetry library. – Midwest Book Review.

It's been more than thirty years since the appearance of a collection from America's laureate of light verse. Ogden Nash first gathered together an anthology of thirty years of his published works in 1959. In 1973 his daughters gathered more than four hundred of his poems and called it I Wouldn't Have Missed It, a quote from one of his verses. Now more poems have come to light, so his daughters have once again produced The Best of Ogden Nash, the definitive Nash anthology. The poems display the talent of the man whose verse entranced America from the time of the Great Depression until his death in 1971. The Best of Ogden Nash should delight old fans and introduce new readers to a unique talent.

Recommended reading: The Answer Is . . . Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek (2020)

The Answer Is . . . Reflections on My Life

by Alex Trebek.
 
Published by Simon & Schuster.
Hardcover.
 
ISBN-10: 1982157992
ISBN-13: 978-1982157999
 
Description:
 
Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.

Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. In 2019, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the Jeopardy! studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers.

For more than three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story. “I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year,” he writes.

 

This book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy! and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years.

This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence of why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment.

J. A. Jance, on writing:

 

When you have an important story to tell, the words you need seem to come of their own accord.

- J. A. Jance.

On this day in music history - The album Beyond Dreams: Pathways To Deep Relaxation, by Hennie Bekker (2016)

Beyond Dreams: Pathways To Deep Relaxation

by Hennie Bekker

was released on July 22, 2016.

Track list:

Self Connect; Floating to Forever; Letting Go; The Calm; Quiescence; Beyond Dreams.

On this day in music history - The album Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, by Susan Graham and John Nelson (1997)

Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été

by Susan Graham and John Nelson

was released on July 15, 1997.

Track list:

No. 1, Villanelle; No. 2, Le spectre de la rose; No. 3, Sur les lagunes; No. 4, Absence; No. 5, Au cimitière; No. 6, L’île inconnue; La damnation de Faust, Op. 24, H 111: D’amour l’ardente flamme; Benvenuto Cellini, Op. 23, H 76: Mais, qu’ai-je donc?; Les troyens, H 133: Je vais mourir; Les troyens, H 133: Adieu, fière cite; Béatrice et Bénédict, H 138: Dieu! Que viens-je d’entendre?

Happy Bastille Day!

To Do list: 14 Juillet

• Buy baguette.
• Debate existential concepts.
• Storm the Bastille.
• Nap.

Happy Bastille Day!