music Archives - the shine and rise

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Emma Albani: Canadian-born Victorian soprano

Part of the context for these images is that, as part of my ongoing resolution to slowly shed what I no longer want taking up space in my house and in my mind, I have been listening to some cassette tapes! in preparation for throwing them away. They sound terrible, by the way. I am spoiled by how much sound has evolved over the years. I remember how thrilled we were by how much clearer CDs sounded in comparison, and that was already maybe 30 years ago.

Of course, I talked about this with one of my sons, who collects old records, mainly from Italy, dating back to the 1930s and 40s. Talking about the sound quality of old recordings, the conversation moved organically to Ms. Albani, who I had never heard of, and listening to a recording of her voice, which I’m sure does no justice to the beauty of her sound. Here is a selection from Handel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d5FjYZMcLs

According to her obituary, she was from Quebec and was highly regarded in her day, including by Queen Victoria!

So many of us hold on to stuff that makes no logical sense. What are you struggling to get rid of? – Maria

It’s so interesting about names and identity . . . a couple of thoughts about them:

My name is extremely common among Latin-based cultures. If it is anglicized to Mary or other versions such as Miriam or Mia, it is even more common. For example, in the United States, Mary was the most common name for females from 1923 – 2022. I did not like my name when I was growing up, because it was so common in my Italian immigrant neighbourhood, but I have been at peace with it for a long time.

Also, my children call me Mother instead of Mom or Mommy. I can’t remember why it began, but my oldest started it when he was little. It was probably connected to a story he read. For many years, I felt that I had to defend it to others. I thought they would think that I have a very formal, distant relationship with my children and that it was my wish to be called Mother. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now, I love hearing Mother come out of their mouths because I know they love me. – Maria

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The Friday Exhale: 5 Thoughts on the Week

The Friday Exhale: 5 Thoughts on the Week

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