Moving through May and a real sense of moving from spring to summer; although, this being England, it is full of hiccups. Even so, spectacular skies.
Flowers in my garden as well. I have no idea where these came from: I did not plant them ??!!
I make it to Cornwall again and some favorite haunts:
It is also a Pathways to the Past weekend – so, I visit some lesser known prehistoric sites – and some more familiar ones.
Also, spectacular views around Penberth Cove where they filmed the latest Poldark series.
A glimpse of what it is to sit on the beach at Mousehole:
I take possession of the John Fahey Handbook (2nd Edition now in one volume).
As one of the Foreword writers writes, this book sets the bar for all future popular archive collections. There is the fan, the hard core fan, the fan-writer at 6.5 or 7.3 on the Richter scale, and then the obsessively psychotic…….and then there is Claudio Guerrieri. Inclusivity is an understatement. This is the book that will tell you all the facts and figures: release dates, recording schedules, different versions, concert set lists, (unpublished) writings, tribute albums, etc., etc., etc. There are also anecdotes, stories, reports, accounts. Here, you will find piece descriptions; a breakdown of album notes such as those included with The Voice of the Turtle; who Knotts Berry Farm Molly was and what happened to her; all about Evil Devil Woman; who was Pat Sullivan; the sources for the Singing Bridge of Memphis; and the differences of eye coloration on the Turtle of the album of same name. And, much, much more. This is a tome to dip into, there are features on almost every page. Claudio has spoken to just about everyone who knew Fahey. They say much; they make it clear that there is so much more to say. And, I do also feature with my own little account of spending the day with Fahey. There on page 540 is the publication that came from it – more or less my first professional piece. I received 60.00 GBP for it. At last, my writing was considered ‘professional’. More details here:
http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/music-n/john-fahey-interview/
And, by the sort of coincidence you only get with Fahey, I come across this photo of him with his cat Lion.
Here is the piece Lion he composed as a kind of Requiem for the cat when it died:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x1Mbv1HmTk
So, we now have a biography, a film, an account of his writing, and this archive. For me, this latter is by far the best and a kind of empirical evidence of Fahey’s life and music – yet, still no-one has managed to pin down Fahey, to analyse and account for the elements that made up this genius of a man – the contradictions, philosophy, psychology and music…..
Up to the Tate for the magnificent paintings of Walter Sickert:
I hear this strange, eerie sound out in Forest:
It turns out to be the Nightjar.
A crepuscular bird pitching its song at various levels. It resides on the ground as it apparently lays its eggs on the earth. Well, I had never heard it before.
Readings of the month. More on the Enneagram:
CDs:
The new one from Spiritualised:
Also, Drone Mass by Johann Johannson – sadly no longer with us. I saw him once in Dublin and he certainly conjures up emotive tones and images from piano, synths, photography and voice.
