Monday, May 16, 2011

Goodnight

It is late here and I have been submerged in a tunnel of exam marking, one of the most dispiriting tasks known to humanity. Nobody in this time zone should be sitting in front of a computer, so, especially for the odd insomniac who has stumbled on these pages, here is something wonderful to lull you to sleep.

The Library of Congress now has a National Jukebox containing hundreds of historical recordings, which I found out about from Norm and George. So here is Brahms's lullaby, recorded incredibly in 1906 by Ernestine Schumann-Heink.

                                    

Even more extraordinary, there is film of her singing in 1927 on YouTube here.

And if you still can't sleep, browse through this amazing collection, listen to some of the gems and give thanks to the Internet for being able to bring you little delights in the middle of the night.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What sort of exam papers are you marking?

The Plump said...

Undergraduate end of year exams. Just as I should be now, but am instead answering you. Procrastination rules.

Anonymous said...

at least its not A-level exams

Anonymous said...

Brahms's Lullaby, surely.

The Plump said...

Well, I was tired and by then very sleepy. Corrected anonymous pedant.

Taylorakis said...

Many thanks for the link, especially as my dad played quite a few of those 78's throughout the formative years of my childhood in Leigh.

And thinking of Leigh and inevitably rugby, good luck on Friday against the Wires!