sights and sounds of spring

As Monty Python used to say: and now for something completely different.

While I was surfing the web yesterday (as I am wont to do), I came across the video you will see at the bottom of this post.  It is called Luxe Aurumque (which apparently means "Light and Gold"), by composer and conductor Eric Whitacre.  What's stunning about this piece is that while it's a lovely classical choral arrangement, it also happens to have been put together virtually:  185 singers from 12 different countries sang their individual parts -- soprano, alto, tenor and bass -- into their personal computers, then sent the recordings to Eric, where it was then digitally put together to form an entire choir.

The result is a work that is completely hypnotic, and it reminded me of how spring slowly unfurls from winter.  So I decided to photograph our accommodating Japanese maple in our back garden, which has just begun to flower, to look at while the music from the video played.

For me, it sort of feels like a springtime meditation. I hope you enjoy it.