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Torn to shreds
Immersed as we now are in the mostly secular preparations for
celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ, there's little time for such
trifles as meditation to allow our inner spirit to develop. Most of us
are just too busy for the quietness during which we may find time to
be still.
The endless queues of morning and evening traffic overwhelming
our streets and choking the atmosphere are the visible signs of society
desperately pursuing the means to earn money, much of which goes
in the equally desperate desire for enjoyment to placate our insatiable
appetite for pleasure. I'm neither a prude nor a pleasure seeker, only
an individual trying to observe humanity in its everlasting quest for
an enjoyable life. I like that idea myself.
We as music lovers do not always realise that the very art we cherish
has the capacity to nourish our whole being through immersion in
musical treasure -- the finest jewels that are stored in great music
down the ages.
My own stumblings are duplicated endlessly across the world.
Music down the centuries steadily accumulates the finest specimens
of the musical art. Only in our generation has a process to preserve
masterly performance reached a quality through recording that
closely resembles it. Now we have at our instant disposal this modern
miracle and the means to play it at will, and endlessly.
The means to deliberately destroy, distort, or rubbish music are as
close as qualities to preserve it to human perfection. That provides a
tempting trap to those who care to dabble in musical experimentation:
some of it provocative, some deadly dull. But the majority of us are
only too anxious to acquire some of the greatest recordings of fine
music that exist and find ourselves transported to another dimension.
As we enter another year, make a point of allowing great music to
irradiate our innermost feelings. There's nothing to exceed this
experience, and little to equate it. In a world torn to shreds by
human suffering, share some of your musical delight with any who
may wish for the experience.
Copyright © 25 December 2003 Basil Ramsey,
Eastwood, Essex, UK
| A very merry Christmas to you from all at
Music & Vision, and good luck, health, happiness
and prosperity for 2004!
As usual at this time, we would like to say a big thankyou
to everyone who has helped M&V in any way during
2003, our fifth year of publication. Many of those who have
contributed in some way are listed below, but our thanks also
go to all our readers, and to anyone we may have inadvertently
left out from this list :
Aaron Minsky
Aaron Rabushka
Adrian Burrows
Adrian Vernon Fish
Adrian Williams
Adriana Soaita
Adrien Cotta
Alastair Muir
Albany Records
Alberto Portugheis
Alice McVeigh
Alice Neary
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Alistair Hinton
Altamira Summer Opera Concerts
AMC Paris
American Composers Forum
Americus Records
Andrée Lanthier
Andrew Richards
Anne Ainge
Anthony Armore
Apapaziz Productions
Arena PAL
Arton Records
ASV Ltd
Auvidis France
Bampton Classical Opera
Barnábas Kelemen
BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC Proms
Benjamin Lees
Benjamin Nicholas
Bernard Coutaz
Bill Cooper
Bill Newman
Bill Taylor
BIS Records AB
BMG Ariola Classics
BMG Entertainment
Boydell and Brewer
Brana Records
Brian Tarr
Brioso
Cala Records
Calliope
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Carson Cooman
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Centaur Records
Chandos Records
Chika Takeuchi
Christian Steiner
Christina O'Hart
Clive Barda
Colin Bramich
Colin D'Cruz
Composers Recordings Inc
CPO
Dacapo Records
Dana Rodriguez
Daniel Schorno
Danielle V B Smith
Dave Griffiths
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David Bury
David Cooper
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David Smith
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Elgar Editions
Elizabeth Dobbs
EMI Classics
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Erkki Mendlein
Eroica Classical Recordings
Ewald Brass Quintet
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Gale Recordings
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Geoff Bawcutt
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Gergely Bogányi
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Guild Music Ltd
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harmonia mundi sa
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Music & Arts
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Pierian Recording Society
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Port Royal Records
Poscimur
Praga Digitals
Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts
Priory Records Ltd
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Ralph Kulling
Raphael Wallfisch
Recorded Anthology of American Music
Red Priest
Regent Records
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Richard Hughes
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Roman Trekel
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Rowman and Littlefield
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