Today’s Rhapsody is Rhapsody in White by Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra
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Today’s museum sketch are from two rubbings of a series that were on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum depicting the Eighteen Arhats (or Lohans) attributed to the monk Guan Xiu. The one on the top is Pantha the Younger (pinyin: Zhùchá Bàntu?ji? Z?nzh?) and the one on the bottom is Kanaka the Vasta (pinyin: Ji?nuòji? Fácu? Z?nzh?)
Regrettably they weren’t there long enough as I was very much taken in by them. The control of the line to create these marvelous grotesques made me think of Guan Xiu as an ancient Chinese version of Basil Wolverton.
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Okay I confess, I’m really stretching it this week. This is Oriental Sky or Scarlet Perception from the official Soundtrack of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody by U2 Akiyama. I’ll be completely honest in admitting I’m not completely sure if it’s actually a Rhapsody or not, but it has something that I like which is the violin being used in pop applications. I don’t know why you don’t hear the violin in rock and roll and similar styles more often. It’s so versatile that what it could do to a bands sound are nearly endless. My personal belief is because it takes so long to get good that by the time they do the artists are taking themselves way too seriously.
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Today’s sketch is another from the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s Indian sculpture collection. It’s a Jain pendant for a vault from Rajasthan done in white marble in the 11th century.
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In my ongoing search for new Rhapsodies I inevitably find myself repeating myself with different recordings of some of the more popular example… Brahmes, Gershwin, Liszt… and Queen. I try to go for the more interesting variations after all what is the point of listening if someone merely cribs the original. That being said here is “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Polka version of Bohemian Rhapsody…. Strangely fascinating in a very perverse way.
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Today’s Rhapsody is the Caribbean Rhapsody (Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra) by James Carter. I really like the way the Saxophone plays with the string quartet here going back and fourth from haunting to whimsical ending in marvelous festive crescendo.
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