The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

I was telling JMom that with her tag, my ‘uncool’ taste in music will now be found out. As I was browsing through the entries of those tagged before me, it is confirmed how musically outdated I am. If this blog tries to do a bit of food anthropology, then the music belongs here because one can probably do some anthropology or even archaeology with the age of some of the pieces I’ll mention, hehehehe!

It took me a long time to finally write this here instead of the other blog where I have a category for music. What made me decide was the thought that in our family, food and music are inextricably linked. In my childhood, I would assist in the kitchen with opera arias in the background. My uncles would often bring tapes of live recordings from opera houses which we would play with gusto though we didn’t understand a word. Mom had a book of favourite operas with a synopsis for each scene and I would casually flip through the pages in between stirring and pouring or while steaming the leche flan. On lazy afternoon meriendas, we had the radio tuned to the classical music station (DZFE) or the Business Radio (DWBR) for light movements, some Broadway or songs from yesteryears.

Cooking for the holidays had the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the 101 Strings streaming in the background. During Lent, on Maundy Thursday, one of my uncles sponsors the food for the rehearsals of the choir singing the Stabat Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowful Mother) on Good Friday. Before there were caterers in our town, we would start cooking on Wednesday afternoon and finish up by early Thursday. If my uncle arrives from the city early, he would want a warm-up. He and my brother would play their violins as I sing the verses in Latin (or hum, when the notes would be too high for my alto).

In the city, I would often cook to Beethoven, Bach and occasionally Vivaldi. A couple of years ago, I came to like the oldies and so while peeling and chopping nowadays, I’ll most probably sing with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. I find that I’m more relaxed with tunes in the background. And a relaxed cook always turns out better dishes than a harried one.

Since the playlists in my head are constantly changing, I thought of putting in the ‘Random 10’ list I saw in other blogs. Cheating, I know!

Random 10:

1. Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
2. Paper Moon (Ella Fitzgerald)
3. Soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso (Ennio Morricone) – sorry not just one and they’re not songs either
4. Being Green – Kermit the Frog
5. Moon River – I loved Breakfast at Tiffany’s long before I realised what Holly Golightly was, hehehe! It must’ve been the cat that drew me in. 
6. I Love Paris (Ella Fitzgerald)
7. Blowing in the Wind (Bob Dylan)
8. Gandang Sinauna at Sariwa – Filipino song based on Augustine’s Confessions
9. In My Life (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
10. Atin Metung a Dalaga (Kapampangan folksong) – reminds me of my then 5-year old niece Trisha singing it at the top of her lungs after learning it from her nanny

What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
In the city – a lot, around 5gb of old songs, soundtracks and classical recordings
In the province – just 2 albums (Henry Mancini and Nat King Cole) and a few movements

The CD you last bought?
Mozart at Midnight – a friend once gave me Bach for Breakfast and I liked the way the selections were chosen (I usually buy recordings of whole concerts) and so I thought of trying this line.

What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?
Saturday, 3.30 a. m. – Hmmm… not a song. Brahms: Concert for Violin and Orchestra in D-major, Op. 77, the adagio. I love adagios! Slow and thoughtful, they transport me to places and times I would like to go back to or visit in the future.

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

1. More Than Words (Extreme) – freshman year, first semester. It was played and sung all over the university campus. I woke up to it, heard it all day and fell asleep to it (not my choice, I lived in a dorm). So by default it brings back memories of my days of wonder and discovery as an almost adult. Same timeframe, someone also sung it to me and I only realised much later what THAT meant. I was a naive freshman!
2. Autumn Leaves (Nat King Cole) – the imagery brings back memories of September days in Rome, when the leaves were just about starting to fall, of eating plums for dinner alone in the lavender-scented flat. Glorious! That was the first time I realised that I could live in a foreign non-English speaking land alone.
3. Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) – I listen to this every now and then when I’m in a pensive mood, contemplating my work. When I was teaching, I threatened to sing this in class if my students showed apathy (and Nessun Dorma if I saw them falling asleep), hehehe!
4. What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) – I’ve always liked the harmony of this song but it took on a different meaning when a friend pointed out how he loved what it symbolised – an old man feeling very positive about the world. True!
5. Tanging Yaman (Manoling Francisco) – originally a religious song, it has been used as a movie theme and a love song. It took on a special meaning for me because I sang it solo acappella in our cultural night at a kibbutz in Israel. After singing, I gave a rough English translation familiar to my audience (with profuse apologies to Manoling, which I think left him horrified) because the song itself is based on the Psalms. Someone later said I left many eyes misty. I was an instant celebrity the morning after, hehehe! I don’t remember how many times people came up to me in the kibbutz dining hall. If they only knew the choice was made because I didn’t know any popular songs.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

A friend who took down her blog for the meantime. When it’s up again, this meme is the first post I expect to see, ok? Ok? 
Bea – because I want to know how her musical taste has evolved since we were college roommates.
Cands – she’s a year ahead of Bea and me in college. I’d like to find out what’s in this shrink’s musical treasure trove.
Lynn – it would be interesting to learn of the musical tastes of a Chinese-American nomad in Tokyo.

Thanks for the tag, JMom! It was fun playing this musical meme.