Category Archives: Singing

Four Last Songs

Posted on August 29, 2021 by AnnIsikArts

“These mournful flowersRain-drenched in the coolness are bending,While Summer cowers, …”~‘September’Herman Hesse These Four Last Songs are Richard Strauss’s. The above quote is from what is generally listed as the second, September. The first is Frühling (Spring), the third Beim … Continue reading →

Posted in Singing | Tagged Barbara Bonney, Choir of the Earth, Hermann Hesse, Joseph von Eichendorff, Last Four Songs, Lucy Cox, Richard Strauss, Self Isolation Choir, Singing, Singing Lieder, Tom Jesty | Leave a comment

A Return to Painting

Posted on July 9, 2021 by AnnIsikArts

The above image marks a surprise return to painting after a good number of years during which I painted only sporadically and without much success. Life and all that. An email arrived earlier this year, out-of-the-blue, inviting me onto a … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Blogging, Choral singing, Painting, Singing, Singing Sacred, Writing | Tagged Acrylic Painting, Eco Printing, L'Isle-Adam, Messa Di Gloria, Nettle, Puccini | 1 Comment

Tannin and Tone and Chrome

Posted on June 27, 2020 by AnnIsikArts

I’ve just performed at the first virtual concert of the Self-Isolation Choir Summer School. It was a week learning and rehearsing – under the guidance of musical director Ben England – a selection of works from the repertoire of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Choral singing, Creativity, Eco/Natural Dyeing and Printing, Monoprinting, Music, Printmaking, Singing, Singing Sacred | Tagged Ben England, Chrome Music Lab, Eco Printing, John Rutter, Kathy Hays, Patrick Hawes, Self-Isolation Choir | 6 Comments

Liminal Space, the Prepared Piano and Indeterminacy – a Quick Note to Myself and Anybody Reading

Posted on October 5, 2019 by AnnIsikArts

The subject of this blog was inspired in part by the Liminal States & Thresholds for Change series of artworks by Turtle Moon Impressions blogger Janis Doucette. Liminal space is that threshold space which is between one state of being and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Liede, Music, Music Composition, Music Theory, Romanticism, Singing | Tagged Casper David Friedrich, Eichendorffer, German Romanticism, Indeterminacy, John Cage, Jonas Kaufmann, Leiderkreis, Liminal State, Mondnacht, Prepared Piano, Schumann | 16 Comments

A Titanic Love Affair, Horse Chestnut Husk Dye and Mordanting with Moses the Chemist

Posted on October 15, 2018 by AnnIsikArts

My titanic love affair has little to do with those 12 sprogs/pre-Olympian gods of Uranus, less still the ill-fated ship of that name. I’m in love with the oxalate of a mineral element, Titanium Oxalate (C4O8Ti) which is a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Christian writing, Eco/Natural Dyeing and Printing, Opera, Science, Singing, spirituality | Tagged Birgit Nillson, Creed Cornwall, Eco Dyeing, Eco Dyeing with Horse Chestnut Husks, Eco Dyeing with Horse Chestnut Husks and Titanium oxalate as a Mordant, King Mark, Klaproth, Liebestod, Phenolphthalein, Rod of Aaron, Saxon Invasion, St Crida, Staff of Moses, Titanium oxalate, Titanium oxalate as a mordant, Tristan und Isolde, Wagner, William Gregor | 6 Comments

A Christmas Carol

Posted on December 20, 2017 by AnnIsikArts

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” (Dickens) Whatever ‘Christmas‘ means to you, enjoy! See you in 2018 Ann

Posted in Christmas Music, Music | Tagged andrea bocelli, Christmas, Christmas Music, Kodak Theater | Leave a comment

Walking with Shalott by the Light of Tabor, Noor, Nirvana, Ner Tamid, Diwali: A Response to Terrorists

Posted on June 9, 2017 by AnnIsikArts

Drawing-in the Withdrawn – Drawing in Meta-Meaning Mode led me to – a different approach entirely. It happens. Still, there is a connection, in that I am yet again drawn; drawn to let recent work inform me of my onward … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Music, Singing, spirituality | Tagged Book of Proverbs, Buddhism, Diwali, Gyatso, Hinduism, Isa, Judaism, Karma, Light, love, Marium, Ner Tamid, Nirvana, Noor, Old Testament, St John Chrysostom, Tennyson, Terrorism, The Lady of Shalot, The Light of Tabor, Tora, Transfiguration, Venianim | Leave a comment

I am London – Requiem

Posted on March 23, 2017 by AnnIsikArts

Poem to the rhythm of Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu I am London – Requiem I am London I am Westminster there yesterday yesterday plans changed today I am alive I am alive I am alive I am alive I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Singing, Singing Sacred, spirituality | Tagged Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andrew Swait, Anna Netrebko, London Terror Attack, Pie Jesu, Requiem | 23 Comments

Sumi Jo: Ave Maria (Caccini)

Posted on December 19, 2016 by AnnIsikArts

Posted in Christmas Music, Music, Singing, Singing Sacred | Tagged Ave Maria, Caccini, Christmas Music, Sumi Jo | Leave a comment

Singing at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Posted on December 17, 2016 by AnnIsikArts

A couple of nights ago I made my way to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to take part in one of the ROH’s Insights events. Insights include open rehearsals, in-conversations, pre-performance talks and participatory workshops. My event was a … Continue reading →