“For the world has changed…” (Whilt 14),

Well, it’s been rather an emotional day… wasn’t it?
You don’t have to be a supporter of the 44th President of the US to feel the profoundness of the moment. Personally, I can hardly remember from an experience this very intense joy of witnessing the ‘history in making’; my generation came to ‘power’ of its awareness [...]

Polish Theatre gets the clapping!

I just couldn’t miss this great opportunity to dive in the memories of my family town – Krakow (‘Cracow’ as it is misspelled sometimes).
The annual,  intensely energetic festival of theatrical performances – the “Divine Comedy” hosted by Krakow’s stages has made the arts news in the Irish leading newspaper. In the recent edition of the [...]

Alice, L. Carroll and their land…

I’ve promised her a little post some time ago… Then I excused myself due to the flood of other ‘important’ things to do… Yet, she has been waiting patiently, the way kids do when their intelligence and understanding of human issues surpasses our own…
Alice and her Wonderland – not that long time ago I would [...]

Cohen, Waits, Cave, Schubert and others… Whilt (3)

I’ve noticed that unique, intense and rather strange connection I feel between the music, I used to listen frequently in different periods of my life with the very particular space and time it happened to be played in.
So, then goes Franz Schubert and his “Death and the Maiden” (“Der Tog und das Madchen) from 1824 [...]

Studying Art (10)- The Crisis

Crisis (Oxford Dictionary 2008):
a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger : the current economic crisis | a family in crisis
• a time when a difficult or important decision must be made : [as adj. ] a crisis point of history.
• the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either [...]

“That Youth of Ours”…

Legendary Polish cabaret “Piwnica Pod Baranami” (“The Cellar under Rams”) has his stage underground indeed – just under ‘the rams’ – under the very dignified part of Krakow’s main square. It used to be a truly magic place, in a cellar, lit by candles with an ‘extravagant’, improvised scene (that meant all sort of [...]

A great artist you’ve never heard about…Part 2

Here are videos with Rysiek Riedel’s performances. To learn more about this artist, click here.
I’ve chosen these pieces looking mostly on the quality of recording (although no record from Youtube gives justice to the artist’s voice). Louder listening is recommended. My translation of lyrics (sorry Rysiek) follows the videos.

‘Koszmarna Noc’ (‘Nightmarish night’) gives a good [...]

A great artist you’ve never heard about…

He was a poet, a charismatic leader of a rock-band, a blues-man, a signer gifted with a powerful, uncommon voice, a talented draughtsman… Unfinished primary school was all his education, he had never received any musical or artistic tutorials. Yet his arresting personality emanated with sensitivity so great, that it was almost tangible… A perfect [...]