Snow

Snow.

Fireworks all across the bay.

For Shannon

https://allisoncrowe.bandcamp.com/track/snow-2

Snow

Words & Music by Allison Crowe

Ice blue
Beautiful silence
The first snow falls
And whispers peacefully

Floating and reeling
you land in a snowflake
On everybody’s jackets
Keeping them company

Set about the air
And find without formation
No lines, no barricades
Just abstract light

A different shape
For every eye that sees
A comfort, a brush
through all of our eyes

lively and dancing
through the air
in the Winter's night
on the winds

falling and landing
landing and fixing
leaving an imprint
on all you have seen

and in this ice blue silence
this beautiful memory,
do not guard jealously
no time to despair

no pain in this cold
Just good, just kindness
A blanket of memory
Soft in the night

So smile and watch
As the snow falls around us
Landing on us all
Leaving peace to remember

Never one shade,
Never one shape
Always in motion
And beauty inspired

In the Bleak Midwinter - Day 15 on Musical Advent Calendar

“In the Bleak Midwinter” opens Day 15 on Allison Crowe’s Musical Advent Calendar:

In the Bleak Midwinter from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

With temperatures across this land ranging from about zero to minus thirty degrees, there’s more than a little snow on snow. This traditional song is heard on Allison’s “Tidings” album, a modern classic (@ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/tidings), and a different arrangement, performed a cappella, is on her “Souling” collection (@ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling-bonus-tracks-edition)

Each day through Christmas celebrate with a new tune on Allison’s Musical Advent Calendar @ http://allisoncrowe.com/MusicalAdventCalendar2016.html

Minus 15

“-15 degrees Celsius... Methinks I'll wait a bit to do any gardening, just in case” tweets @Allison_Crowe

 

Winter Notes

Spending my February arranging Brecht/Weill songs and snuggling this guy - @Allison_Crowe tweets

Time After Time

Enjoying time and opportunity this season to dig into music (rather than snow, on this coast so far, fingers crossed…) – and discovering beautiful audio and video treasures, including recordings I didn’t know exist.

Here’s a video that’s known, and with its Winterime scenes, remains an all-season joy in Allison Crowe’s video gallery. Allison, a child of the '80s, performs one of her favourites of that era in concert - a cover of Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman's – “Time After Time".

In the Bleak Midwinter (Cranham)

On “Souling”, her new Christmas music collection, Allison Crowe delivers an a cappella reading of “In the Bleak Midwinter” – a song also heard, and quite differently, on her classic “Tidings” album.

Words from poet Christina G. Rossetti (1830 – 1894) are set to a tune by Gustav Holst (1874-1934), composed in a cottage in the village of Cranham, county Gloucestershire, England. In modern times, on both of Canada’s coasts, in Newfoundland and British Columbia, Allison Crowe arranges, performs and records this beautiful song of the season.

Allison Crowe’s gorgeous voice brings tidings of comfort and joy with “Souling” – her 11th full album release: http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling

The artist, one of our greatest living musicians, singer-songwriters and performers, has always created authentic music.

With this newest song set her voice is heard wholly a cappella.

The songs themselves have a purity of expression – a 21st century take on music of faith and spirit – sounds and themes aired by carollers and soulers of old.

The genesis of “Souling” is found in the bond Allison Crowe’s formed with the creative family at Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador. Founded in 1979, this professional theatre company presents a dynamic and diverse repertoire of plays and maintains, as well, a strong commitment to youth theatre in the Atlantic Canada community.

For these past three Summers TNL’s engaged Crowe as Musical Director of “Newfoundland Vinyl” - a perennial favourite at the annual Gros Morne Theatre Festival. Following another hit season at GMTF, in late August of this year TNL Artistic Associate SaraH McDonald invited the Corner Brook, NL-based musician to serve the same role with a vibrant production of “A Christmas Carol”.

The Adaptation of this classic Charles Dickens story by playwright Jeff Pitcher, TNL’s Artistic Director, excited Crowe’s musical imagination – as did the desire of McDonald, the play’s Director, to incorporate songs in the style of Victorian Era carollers.

So inspired, Allison Crowe immersed herself in curating the music for the abundantly-talented, multi-aged, choir of singers who performed in “A Christmas Carol” at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre from November 27th – 30th, 2014.

This artistic process of selection and arrangement led to her recording solo versions of those songs that will receive another distinct breath of life from the TNL vocal ensemble.

(In parallel fashion, the first season’s run of “Newfoundland Vinyl” brought forth Allison Crowe’s album of the same name – one of 2013’s top recordings. Culture blog Muruch praised it as a “lovely, vintage collection of traditional Irish and Canadian folk ballads, lively sea chanteys and drinking songs, parlour songs and country tunes” possessing “unique charm” and “the timeless beauty of a classic folk album”.)

In 2003, (and expanded in 2004), Allison Crowe released Tidings – an album of singular interpretations - “River” (Joni Mitchell), “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen), “In My Life” (The Beatles) and more from the secular canon – alongside such favourite traditional carols as “Silent Night”, “The First Noel”, and “O Holy Night”. Tidings has proven to be a modern classic – “music for the season and all time”.

This time out, as befits TNL’s telling of “A Christmas Carol”, Allison Crowe gives pure voice to the sacred songbook. “Souling” is:

Soul Cake
I Saw Three Ships
That Night in Bethlehem (Don Oíche úd i mBeithil)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Wexford Carol
The Holly and the Ivy
In the Bleak Midwinter (Cranham)
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Once in Royal David’s City
Wassail Song

“Souling” is available now via Allison Crowe’s own website @ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling as well as on iTunes @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/souling/id933188580 plus CD Baby @ http://cdbaby.com/cd/allisoncrowe10 and all major digital music outlets worldwide.

Snow on Snow

Fun Facts: Musician Allison Crowe lives in one of the snowiest parts of Canada - Corner Brook - second only to Gander, NL as the snowiest city of them all. Her music label, Rubenesque Records, lives in the least snowiest region of Canada - on Salt Spring Island - between Victoria (#1) and Vancouver, BC (#3): http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2013/11/28/snow1280.jpg

When there’s snow sighted, the best thing, of course, is to sing. Here’s Allison Crowe performing “In the Bleak Midwinter”, a traditional song of the season: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNo5U3C0cB4 This recording was made ten years ago this week – for “Tidings”, a national television special. Warmest thanks to Doug Slack and the production elves at the New VI/A Channel.

Like snow-flakes, no two musical performances are the same. Here's the "In the Bleak Midwinter" recording of Allison Crowe made live-in-the-studio at Turtle Recording, White Rock, BC Canada - by the teams of Alex Postowoi (film) and Larry Anschell (audio): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI00JhQpiaA

"Snow" Ellipses debut

Los Angeles-based Ellipses Dance Company debuts its newest screendance - "Snow". Choreographed by Kelly Ciurczak, directed by Irene Young, "Snow"  features dancers Laura Marcin and Bryan Volozanin and the music of Allison Crowe. Full credits are found on Ellipses' YouTube page - where the piece can be enjoyed now!

Ellipses, a cross-media dance endeavour, under the direction of Irene Young and Kelly Ciurczak, has a mission "to put storytelling at its forefront, promote indie musicians, and overall make dance more accessible to a broader audience".

Snow

for Shannon

Happy 2013

Stepping into the New Year...

Winter wonderland - photos by Allison Crowe - Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada

Angels

"Angels" - first of a quartet of concert/live recordings on Allison Crowe's "Little Light". Allison's joined on-stage by the rhythm section of Dave Baird (bass) and Laurent Boucher (percussion).



The song video is a home-movie of the playful singer-songwriter at home in Nanaimo, British Columbia one Winter:

Nostalgia complete with chilly hands and rosy cheeks

I took a walk today in the snow-covered, perfectly-icicled and delicately-lit, neighbourhood where I have spent most of, and indeed the very first, Christmases of my life. I have officially traveled back in time.

The winter walks are best in the evening when the sky is a purplish blue and everything is completely silent except for the music with a hop to dancing in my ears. This is life, slowed down.

If nothing else, (for all you bah-hum-buggers out there), the end of the year is a time when, hopefully, you can find a minute for solace and reflection. If you're snowed in, you may have no choice. (Hopefully, too, you enjoy the company of whomever you're snowed in with… otherwise, it's "Shining" time.)

The rest of the year life seems to carry on in a hectic and harried pace, and it's painfully easy to lose yourself to it. The weather, the delays, the nasty roads, the barricades and the seemingly unmanageable stress seem to me right now like Mother Nature having a laugh. "See folks? You can do a lot, sure. You have your planes your trains and your automobiles, but I have control of the weather. Slow the eff down."

(Some of the roads out here are dangerous, btw, I agree with nature, slow the eff down and be careful on ’em. Your family and/or friends love you even though they may eat your favorite chocolate out of the box.)

I've been the designated tree-decorator in my family’s house since I was about five. I still am. Seriously. When I'm not here, it doesn't happen. She's pretty this year, and after some carefully plotted out lighting, (after various unsuccessful attempts at sticking lights up his butt), Santa sits gracefully on top of the tree.

It was going to be a star. I thought, you know, the ’80s are back this year, might as well use one of these old-school stars. Knowing full well that the lights on said star would no longer work, I decided to head the problem off at the pass. All new lights, arranged and shaded in such a way that my five-year-old self would be proud. Then I plugged it in. Then it blew up.

(...well, it was more of an instantaneous burning out type short of all of the lights. For a moment though, I am pretty sure it was super impressive. Enter Santa.)

Santa's sitting there right now, atop the tree, light in hand as a lantern to help him navigate through the snowy nights and give all the presents and horde all the cookies. We forgive him his hoover-like cookie-love, the ol' lug.

There are knit stockings, decorations, too much food, too much drink, music, stories shared (even about the stress of getting to and from the GD malls… commiseration is underrated sometimes!), old friends seen and hugged, and those lost remembered.

My grandpa loved Spongebob. My grandad loved the ginger chocolates. My grandma was into astrology. My uncle introduced me to "Dorf on Golf".

This Christmas I get to see one nephew get super-excited about Christmas, and my other nephew have his first Christmas EVER!!

This winter, I get to see friends on both Canadian coasts (weather-permitting) and embark on new adventures and look back at old ones and smile. I got the chance to sing and play and meet new friends and hear their stories and share some of mine. Chances are I will make new friends in airports whenever I experience weather-delays. I'll have to laugh when they lose my luggage.

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing humans come together in times of stress and throwing up their hands and saying, you know what? Life IS too short. Let's enjoy what we have while we have it 'cause in a second it can change, whether for good or bad. Let's celebrate the positive and negative from this year, and of the years past, and the years to come. Everything is ever moving, always changing. Have a look at what goes on around you, it's life, and it's what we're here to live.

Peace, Merry Christmas and happy winter, everybody.

Alley :)


Please send happy thoughts and wishes to my friend James who is still in hospital healing, and whom we all love very much, and to his lovely wife Kim.