Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Happily Melancholic

Bumped into Bernard in the staffroom today. I popped in to get a bit of stuff out of the way and I presume he's around to start clearing his desk. He's leaving us soon (sob, sob) and I wasn't too sure when, until he told me that he's flying off next Monday. I'll miss him for a variety of reasons, his ready wit and repartee being high on the list.

To my surprise he gave me a June Tabor CD entitled Ashore. It seems he bought several to spread around friends and acquaintances since he rates it so highly (a measure of the generosity of the man) and wondered whether I fancied one. As a Tabor fan of long-standing I gobbled it up, I can tell you. (Especially having noticed it contained a version of Elvis's Shipbuilding.)

I did wonder if it was going to be synthesiser dominated, as the folk-queen's recordings were in the late-eighties - the last time I'd really listened to her (partly because much as I loved the voice I didn't care for the production.) But putting it on as soon as I got back, my fears were allayed. Beautiful, spare settings - especially gorgeous piano - for the smokiest voice ever.

So I sat there feeling sad about a colleague and friend leaving, and happily luxuriating in some of the saddest music ever recorded.

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