Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Bashana Haba'Ah (Anytime Of The Year)

Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

 Bashana Haba'Ah (Anytime Of The Year)

 Music by Nurit Hirsh, lyrics by Ehud Manor

Bashana haba'ah
Neishev al hamirpeset
V'nispor tziporim nod'dot

Y'ladim b'chufsha
Y'sachaku tofeset
Bein habayit l'vein hasadot

Od tir'eh od tir'eh
Kama tov yihiyeh
Bashana bashana haba'ah (2x)

Anavim adumim
Yav'shilu ad ha'erev
V'yug'shu tson'nim lashulchan

V'ruchot r'dumim
Yis'u el eim haderech
Itonim y'shanim v'anan

Od tir'eh od tir'eh
Kama tov yihiyeh
Bashana bashana haba'ah (2x)

Bashana haba'ah
Nifros kapot yadayim
Mul ha'or hanigar halavan

Anafa l'vana
Tifros ka'or k'nafayim
V'hashemesh tizrach b'tochan

Od tir'eh od tir'eh
Kama tov yihiyeh

Bashana bashana haba'ah (2x)

English Translation

 Next year we will sit on the porch
And count all the birds.
Children on vacation will play catch
Between the house in the fields.
 
You will see how good it will be
Next year.
 
Red grapes will ripen by evening
And be served cold to the table.
Pleasant breezes will blow on to the roads
Old newspapers and clouds.
 
Next year we will spread out our open hands
Into the bright white light.
A white branch will spread force in light its wings
And the sun will rise in their midst.

Rhys │ Video Game Designer

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring Rhys who is a video game designer.  Rhys uses a program called Gamestar Mechanic to create really cool video games.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Damiano Mazzone

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring Damiano Mazzone who is from Naples, Italy.  Both of his parents are professional musicians, so it's not surprising that Damiano is bursting with talent.  Damiano's stage presence is so powerful, that it seems at times, that his spirit will just explode out of his skin.  The only other young singers today who have that kind of explosive emotional power are Valentin Vierling, Afanasy Prokhorov, Razvan Dobai ,and Yura Demidovich.  These five singers, taken together form a musical pantheon, that won't be equaled for at least fifty years or more.  It is very unusual to have that many extremely talented new young singers on the musical scene at one time.  I am presenting Damiano to you in an exciting double-play.  In the topmost video  Damiano sings for you the rollicking "A Città 'e Pulcinella (The City of Pulcinella)".  Pulcinella, often called Punch in English, originated in the Commedia dell'arte of the 17th century, and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry.  Pulcinella is always dressed in black and white, which symbolizes and moderates life and death.  In the bottom video, Damiano sings the incredibly passionate "Ddoie Regine", that was composed by Gianni Fiorellino.  Unfortunately I could not find a translation of the title of this song as it seems to be in a form of Italian dialect. Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be

Anna e Marco │ Matteo Martignoni

 

In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring an incredible new singer from Italy by the name of Matteo Martignoni.  Matteo does a very beautiful cover of the late great Lucio Dalla's haunting "Anna e Marco (Anna and Mark)".  Matteo gives a superb performance that just melts the heart.  One might say that he truly sings with angel fire love.  As a bonus I added a fun clip of Matteo doing imitations, "Imitazioni (Imitations)".  Please click on this link to watch "Anna e Marco". This song will make you look at the world, and life, differently.   It is so good.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

 

Dark Skies │ Kadan Rockett and Dakota Goyo

Kadan Rockett

Dakota Goyo

Today I went to see "Dark Skies" at the Ward Cinemas in Honolulu and what an experience that was.  It's about extraterrestrial abductions, a subject that is near and dear to me.  I found that some parts of "Dark Skies" were very difficult for me to bear because of my personal experiences with the phenomena, and I was a nervous wreck for hours after the movie ended.  Kadan Rockett (Sam Barrett) and Dakota Goyo (Jesse Barrett) were perfectly cast as the brothers who were the objects of the alien abductions.  This is their movie as they are in just about every scene.  By-the-way, "Dark Skies" is definitely not a feel-good film because it's very intense, but it's an excellent must see movie.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.

Miserere Mei, Deus │ The Boys Air Choir

"Miserere Mei, Deus (Have Mercy On Me, O God)" composed by Gregorio Allegri, is probably one of the most remarkable musical compositions to come out of the Italian Renaissance.  It was written around 1630 during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, for the exclusive use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the Tenebrae services on Wednesday and Friday of Holy Week.  The Tenebrae (Latin for shadows or darkness), which started at 3 a.m., consisted mainly of Gregorian Chant, and this went on for hours on end.  One can just imagine how numbing this must have been to the ears and minds of the worshipers in the Sistine Chapel.  Well, an acoustical respite was in store for them during the last part of the service which usually occurred around 7 p.m.  First they would hear a G minor triad, the most lovely of all minor chords being sung, then the polyphony that followed all of the monophonic chanting of the day and early evening would melt away, and this ethereal music would resound from the walls of the Sistine Chapel.  The contrast between the Gregorian Chants and the "Miserere Mei Deus" was so drastic, that it caused the listeners to be spellbound.  It is no wonder that the Pope ordered the Sistine Chapel's choir master to protect the score of the "Miserere Mei, Deus" and it was reserved exclusively for the Vatican's use.  During the rest of the year the score to "Miserere Mei, Deus" was kept under lock and key in the Vatican Archives secured under the Papal Seal.  Adding to the mystery surrounding "Miserere Mei, Deus", transcribing it, or performing it elsewhere was punishable by excommunication from the Catholic Church.  But, as with most forbidden things, the score of "Miserere Mei, Deus" did not remain a secret.  The fourteen-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was visiting Rome, when he first heard the piece during the Wednesday Holy Week service in the Sistine Chapel.  Later that day, he wrote it down entirely from memory which is a remarkable feat, as the music is incredibly complex.  He returned to the Sistine Chapel that Friday to make minor corrections.  Some time during Mozart's travels, he met the British historian Dr. Charles Burney, who obtained the transcription from Mozart, and Burney took it to London where it was published in 1771.  Once the "Miserere Mei, Deus" was published and in the hands of the general music establishment, the Papal ban was lifted.  Mozart was summoned to Rome by the Pope because of this, but instead of excommunicating the boy, the Pope showered praises on him for his feat of musical genius.  In this edition of Angel Watchers I am featuring an incredible performance of the "Miserere Mei, Deus" by the Boys Air Choir.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angel Watchers, wherever you may be.