~ Journal 15 ~
Tonight I was at Saint James Cathedral in Seattle to hear Cappella Romana sing a fantastic program of 20th-century music by Nordic composers. I chose the more expensive seats so we could sit near the front, which really paid off: I could home in on individual voices while still experiencing the ha...
Tonight I saw Thor: Ragnarok at the Cinerama in downtown Seattle. It was a lot of fun to see on the big screen. Somehow the comic sensibility that director Taika Waititi brought to movies like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows wasn't flattened by Hollywood or the proces...
On this night I watched Your Name. It came off as a bit studio-bound, despite its quality, and Shinkai has awful taste in music. But then there's the wonderfully convoluted plot, and so many absorbing details, so overall I really enjoyed it.
Rounding out my music-filled week in an epic way, tonight I had the rare opportunity to hear Berlioz' Requiem performed by the Seattle Symphony... and lots of other people. We're talking six tympanists plus a percussionist, a full chorus, a tenor, and brass choirs in four separate balcony locations....
This was a super-fun night to be sure, with three kinds of music: a fun Enescu arrangment, then colorful, powerful instrumental jazz (led by Lucian Ban on piano with legends including Billy Hart on drums), then jazz arrangements of Transylvanian folk songs with Gavril Tărmure singing.
- George...