In Praise Of

So, a friend of mine recently commented that I should start posting more happy things on here, and another suggested something personal. After all, I'm not just someone who tries to cool off the Los Angeles weather with constant blasts of arctic Canadian cynicism. So I'm inaugurating a new posting, maybe not daily but often, modeled after the Guardian in London's daily "In Praise Of . . . "

So, today: Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. One of my favourite pieces of music ever. For string orchestra with soloists. It's based on this theme. I don't know a single pieces of music that spans the emotional range that the fantasia does, that has such wonderful, rich, sonorous sound. Go download it from iTunes. It's the best $0.99 you can spend.