Winter, an artist’s sketch in charcoal, so clearly etched against a cloud filled sky. . .
In celebration of the moment when the earth turns on its axis back to the light of the sun. This year, in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on December 22. Time and Date offers a clear explanation of the solstice as well as explores the customs and traditions around it. To see a beautiful collection of “brown and gray and sometimes white” nature photography, explore Robin’s post on frosted Queen Ann’s Lace in Life in the Bogs.
“Winter” was one of those songs written in a moment, in a winter where snow alternated with grey skies and brown earth. This recording is a “first take” for both the piano and vocal. The visuals are all from my garden. Enjoy!
All music making is collaborative in nature. A special thanks to Barbara Nissman for contributing her master’s touch on the piano to this song and Mike Tomaro for his haunting soprano sax improvisations. And as always, to my gifted husband Bill Purse, who generously shares his skills as audio engineer and producer in my artistic endeavors.
Winter, ©2009 Lynn Emberg Purse All RIghts Reserved
Winter, snow falling down
Winter, the world is gray and brown, gray and brown and sometimes white
for a night and a day, then all is gray
Autumn in leaves of gold
Springtime, a thousand shades of green unfold to summer
with its joyous Joseph’s Coat of colors, endless colors, endless colors . . .
Winter, an artist’s sketch in charcoal
so clearly etched against a cloud filled sky
Subtle and dark, lovely and stark in gentle tones of gray
and brown and sometimes white
for a night and a day, then all turns gray
Winter today
Soft clouds, soft snow, soft browns, whites and grays
Winter today
Text and media of “A Song for the Winter Solstice” ©2011 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved. Please do not reblog.
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You’ve recorded a delicate network of winter branches in that first photograph.
Steve Schwartzman
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com
Thanks for visiting, Steve, and thank you for the comment. Even without much color, the woods around my house are full of line and texture and wild beauty, a small remnant of the eastern hardwood forest.
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Catcher of Stars just nominated me for an
award and I’m passing it on to you. Check
out my latest post for the details.
Thanks, I am very honored (but I hear there is homework involved 🙂 )
I’m taking some time off, so Merry christmas and a happy new year! : )
The same to you – enjoy your time off!
Hauntingly beautiful! What a wonderful composition- and superb musicianship!
Many thanks for your visit, Watching Seasons. I have been enjoying your site for a while; your photographs of wildlife are so wonderful to see – you have far more patience than I do! Glad you enjoyed the piece; it is all about the world around us and paying attention:-)
Thank you so much for your kind comment on my blog! I’m absolutely enchanted by your space here and your beautiful music! Thanks so much for sharing! (I wish we had snow here in NOVA!)
Emily, thank you so much for visiting. I loved your N. Va photos; I lived in Alexandria for a while, then Va. Beach, so they really resonated with me. So glad to hear that you enjoyed the music!
What a pleasant song to hear in the early morning for me on this day. Love the way the video also fits the tone and mood of the piece. BTW … I will have one of your videos on my site sometime this week.
Glad you enjoyed it, Frank; I think we are having another of those mixed winters this year. And a video feature on your blog? I’m tremendously honored!
Hopefully tonight (Thursday).
Wonderful!! My ears are content!!
AZ
What a neat compliment! Thanks for listening, catcher of stars.
What a lovely song. Lovely melody, perfect instrumentation. ~Georgious!
Robert, thank you for your kind words. I loved your Solstice poem; here is a link back to it for those who would like to pursue . . .
http://spinglespong.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/solstice/
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog, which lead me to this lovely place 🙂
Thank you, Anne! Funny, I just pulled out my recipe for pepperkaker and started a batch! Thanks for the inspiration:-)
how beautiful, the images, thee music, winter is can be so serene
Carol, thanks for your kind comments; I am so glad you visited here!
lynn, i’m so glad you visited my space earlier and led me to yours…yours is a space i’ll enjoy exploring more.
“winter” is a beautiful song. the words, the music, the images of your garden. lovely and soft.
thank you for sharing your gift…
Many thanks for your comments, Michelle; I enjoyed reading your posts, they were thoughtful and full of quiet joy.
Beautiful .Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for your visit; I am so impressed with your poetry!
This is beautiful! So lovely – can’t wait to explore the rest of your blog. I will be a follower 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and commenting on my photos, and for leaving your link there. Ahh… the joy of unexpectedly welcome connections!
Amy, so glad that you tracked me back 🙂 and thanks for the follow – it is mutual. I loved your photos of trees . . .
I really enjoyed these lyrics. Well done.
Thanks Paul! Lyrics almost always come first for me, at least in rough draft, then they suggest the music but often are edited in the process. In this case, these are as originally written, first draft, like so many other things about this piece. Doesn’t happen like that very often! Glad you enjoyed it.
Writing lyrics is no small feat and I am impressed it comes naturally to you. I have tried it a few times (http://ow.ly/83lG3), with limited success.
finde deine seite sehr lehrreich und gut viel ervolg weiterhin und eine gute christmess mit deiner familie es gruest aus belgien jasmin damaro
Jasmine, I don’t speak your language but I appreciate your visit and I think I know the gist of what you are saying. Many thanks and a Merry Christmas to you!
Lynn, these AV pieces have all been tremendous, and that obviously includes “Winter.” What an evocative presentation…it just emotes the season. Excellent.
Kerry, thank you for your comments and I am delighted that you have enjoyed “Winter.” I love the word “evocative” – the suggestion of mood, of ethereal beauty, of quiet symbolism – so your use of it has special meaning to me. And it is exactly the way I feel about your beautiful photography; it is all about capturing the elusive moment, isn’t it? Nature never fails to inspire . . .
Beautiful, Lynn. Really beautiful. Your woods in the video remind of our woods here at Breezy Acres, especially in the winter shots. And your garden is so lovely.
Thank you so much for the link. I feel honored to be linked to such a beautiful song. 🙂
Thank you, Robin; your images of the bog roll around in my head every time I go out into the garden these days, so it seemed a natural fit. I am so glad that you liked and approved!
That was lovely. Both the music and the moving pictures
Thank you chrisstov; I know you are a man who loves trees and nature, so I am glad that this touched you 🙂
Lynn! I wish the Like button was a Love button! This song/composition/video magic spell is superb. I’m sharing it on Facebook. It so perfectly captures winter – and your garden is, as always, lovely beyond words.
Elizabeth, thank you for such words of praise and encouragement and I am so glad the music and video touched you – it did seem somehow connected to your fable, so I am glad you approve the link and thank you for sharing the Facebook link as well! Here’s to the lovely spell of beauty that Nature weaves . . .
What a lovely garden you have – I can see how it inspires your beautiful music. I especially love the images of the bare branches against the grey white winter sky…
Barbara, thanks so much for listening and commenting. I think of my garden as both inspiration and the incubator for many of my musical ideas – but then, my musical work impacts on how I garden as well. It’s very hard to separate the two these days, they really ARE intertwined 🙂 Have a wonderful holiday!