janeysbogblogs

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this is a drawing about how i love my cat

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Janeys Weekly Jams

January 1-4

I have decided to listen to a new album for every week of 2025. Some of these will be albums I have never heard before; or albums that I know of, but have not yet listened to in their entirety. This week's album is one of the latter.

A Few Notes Between Friends: the Music of Julie Giroux

I love Julie Giroux and her compositions and thought this album would be a good place to start. Giroux creates a whole sound in her composition. The music is warm and comforting, but also exhilarating in the best of ways. The album opens with her piece Carnaval, a fast paced piece with experimental rhythm sounds and a focus on the claves. It is then followed by her six part, Bookmarks-from-Japan pieces. Giroux creates a cohesive sound as she celebrates the art and culture of the country. However, my favorite of the album must be her commissioned piece, One Life Beautiful. Commissioned by the Cramer family and dedicated to the life of their daughter, Heather Cramer Reu. One Life Beautiful is an existential piece that also manages to celebrate the one life we all happen to be living. It is a reminder that the beauty in life is not to be overlooked. Here is one of the program notes on her score:

“The title itself is a double-entendre which in one sense is referring to the person this work is dedicated to as in “one life” that was beautifully lived. The other sense is a direct observation concluding that having only one life is what makes life so sacred, tragic and so very precious. This is an impressionistic work musically describing that condition. Shakespeare’s “sweet sorrow,” the frailty and strength of life, the meaning of what it is to truly live One Life Beautiful.”

When I heard this note for the first time, I could not stop thinking about it. Even now, it remains firmly in my mind. If you’re like me and enjoy the full, warm sound of One Life Beautiful, there is similar composition in Riften Wed and Before the Sun. Giroux’s final piece on the album is Impressions which perfectly sums up her tone throughout the prior pieces.

Giroux breathes life into her compositions, you can feel it as you listen. I hope that you might give her music a listen so that you can share that feeling with me!

Top Three Songs:

One Life Beautiful

Bookmarks from Japan V: Evening Snow at Kambara

Riften Wed or Before the Sun

Until next week fellow listeners! Love, Janey

[janeysbogblogs]

The new year is a great time to start new habits. I love writting, but have neglected to put time aside for it. This year I hope to write something each week and to share it on here, for hope that a public online forum keeps me more accountable.

The next 51 weeks of 2025 should consist of silly poetry and info dumps on topics I enjoy. I hope to improve my writing and maybe even make some new friends. Happy New Year!

Love, Janey

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'Scottish Nocturne' by Brian Angus.