Category: Music

  • Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

    In Central Wellington/ Pōneke stands the Cathedral of St Paul. The Cathedral is the result of decades of lobbying, land purchases, interruptions and changes in materials, as well as delays between the architectural plans and the completion of the building. The first stage was finally opened in 1964 (the architect, Cecil Wood, was appointed in…

  • From a Garden in the Antipodes

    Evelyn Hayes, the pseudonym of Mary Ursula Bethell, published a book of poems about her love of plants and gardens in 1929. These poems cemented the reputation of this New Zealand poet, who had an unusual and somewhat unorthodox life. In the verses she describes the life of gardens, those who inhabit them (including a…

  • Reminiscence and memory

    This week I am in Pōneke Wellington where Festival for the Future, an event to bring young people together, is taking place. While the group I am with is at the Festival I am researching in the National Library for a project to do with oral histories on the Coast. The Library is home to…

  • This week’s blog

    Without our readers the blog would not exist. This week all the entries are from links that people have sent in to share as well as to a new addition for the collection that came about because of a reader. It is a joy to get messages from across the globe and a delight to…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist is curated to reflect the items on the blog. Some are obviously connected and some are more obscure. To listen, click on the playlist above or search for “Music to read a blog by” on Spotify. Paid Spotify subscribers will be able to hear all the tracks in their entirety, uninterrupted…

  • Karen Lamonte

    Karen LaMonte has been exploring beauty, identity, gender and the natural world since 1990 through glass, ceramic, paper, bronze, iron and marble, sculpture and printmaking. Now based in Prague, in 2007 the American artist travelled to Japan where she studied the design, symbolism, construction and significance of kimono, turning those studies into ceramic, cast glass,…

  • Weaving music

    The Royal Academy of Art Summer Show is currently on in London and among the pieces on display is one that combines music and weaving. Following the death of her mother, Kate Davis began to weave music scores because words could not express her emotions adequately. The slow process of weaving allowed a sense of…

  • Matariki 2024

    Matariki is here! The Māori celebration of a new year is called Matariki, after the cluster of stars that is also known as The Pleiades. It is a time to be joyful because of the turn of the seasons but it is also a time to reflect and remember those who are no longer with…

  • Venice Biennale – Pavilions and Palazzos

    This final instalment of the recent trip to Venice for a couple of days of the art biennale focuses on the wider events in the city. Throughout Venice there are exhibitions, shows and performances as part of the Biennale. They are tucked into hidden corners, upstairs and down, inside purpose-built structures and centuries-old edifices. It…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist is curated on Spotify to go along with the blog. The pieces chosen reflect the articles in some way and are a mixture of old and new, folk, traditional and classical music. Sometimes there are surprises – bird song or ocean sounds – and it is always fun to search out…