The sun came out at last for more than five minutes today, as I was on my way back from a (rare) trip out with work. I was heading back from York to Newcastle on the train, sheltered from the chilly wind. Passing sights like Durham Cathedral, it looked, at least, a beautiful evening. I was listening to music on my little Sony MP3 walkman, a nice gadget that looks like a cigarette lighter and recently survived being washed (!) in one of my shirts. This is no doubt because it's "solid state" and has no hard disc. 2GB of music is enough for me while I'm on the move, and I don't need a fragile HD device that would no doubt break if dropped, or rattled around in a washing machine! I know Sony are a nasty multinational but I've always found Apple's claims for its equipment overblown, so I wouldn't consider buying an iPod. It's just a pity that Sony now seem to have dropped this design and only make bulkier, less elegant-looking MP3 players.
Anyway, to get off my hobby horse, the piece of music was Herbert Howells' Harp Prelude. I particularly liked the story in the CD sleeve notes of a young harpist playing the piece to Howells in old age, and of him having no memory of it. Although I'm not a Christian, I like to think of him going to Heaven when he died, hearing his own piece being played on a cloud somewhere and asking "What is that music?"...
Anyway, to get off my hobby horse, the piece of music was Herbert Howells' Harp Prelude. I particularly liked the story in the CD sleeve notes of a young harpist playing the piece to Howells in old age, and of him having no memory of it. Although I'm not a Christian, I like to think of him going to Heaven when he died, hearing his own piece being played on a cloud somewhere and asking "What is that music?"...
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