Scrum!

"World in Union ", with lyrics by Charlie Skarbek, is a theme song for the Rugby World Cup which attempts to capture the spirit of international friendship which pervades Rugby Union culture the world over.

The song was commissioned in 1991 by the International Rugby Board (at that time the International Rugby Football Board), the sport's governing body, and it has now become synonymous with the gathering of the nations that the four-yearly tournament represents.

The lyrics of this song are wonderful; they show the true rugby spirit. I find the words striking and interesting. They represent the world as it should be: as one.

This is the refrain:

“It's the world in union
The world as one
As we climb to reach our destiny
A new age has begun”

Please click on the title above to go to the link and enjoy listening to this fabulous version, used for the Rugby World Cup that was held in 2007 in France.

I think this video is moving. Famous singers made it. For someone who doesn’t know Rugby, it’s a great means to discover it. You can listen to it for the next World Cup which will be in New-Zealand from the 9th September 2011 to the 23rd October 2011. Good luck to France, but to Scotland to!

Article by Pierre-Edward G.

Don't let the sytem get you down...

http://www.paroles-musique.com/traduction-Mattafix-Big_City_Life_M-lyrics,t16295

The 2005 song Big City Life is by the group Mattafix, a UK duo: Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji. Their sound is a fusion of Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, Reggae, Dancehall, Blues, Jazz, Soul and World. Big City Life is a protest song against conformity. It’s about the musicians’ lives in a big town.

In today’s society people don’t pay attention to each other; they don’t take the time to get to know each other. In this song, both artists speak of an individualistic world with realism. We live in a world where people do the same thing every day. A world that is somewhat robotic. In fact, this song is a song against routine. The singers want people to react, to become themselves, and to stop doing what society wants them to do.

Nobody takes the time to live. This song wants a world where people take the time to talk. "Do not let the system get you down" means that we must not let society take over our lives. We must become SOMEBODY, we must write our own history and not comply with all the standards of society. At the end of the song we learn that the two men leave the big city but despite that they find it very difficult to get away from this town where they grew up and where their hearts remain.

Article by Antoine R.

Hallelujah!

Everybody needs something or someone to keep going in life… For some people it is their faith, for me it is music.

Thank God for a genius like Jeff Buckley! Find inspiration through this exceptional piece of music (written and originally sung by Leonard Cohen): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3-_DbEYe7A

Lyrics and translation of Hallelujah! : http://www.paroles-musique.com/traduction-Jeff_Buckley-Hallelujah_Jef-lyrics,t37831

Info on Jeff Buckley: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Buckley

Article by Alexandre Picard

Seriously funny... (click on this, mate!)

My favorite song these days is "All We gotta do is..." by Hugh Laurie.

It combines challenging ideas and humor.
Laurie shows up the bad actions and thoughts of men, and then gives us the right solution...

Article by Sylvain Cayron

"He makes a swan-like end, fading in music..."

Tchaikovsky wrote the music for this ballet. I love it because it transports me into another world! I think that only Classical music has the power to do this...

Swan Lake is a tragic tale about Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Odette, a beautiful woman who is under the spell of a wizard: by day she is a swan, and at night she becomes a woman again. To break the spell, Siegfried has to choose her as his bride. But, unfortunately, during the night of the ball, Rothbart, the terrible wizard, presents his daughter Odile disguised as Odette to the Prince. Siegfried announces that he will get married to Odile disguised as Odette. The real Odette is forced to return to the lake as a swan forever… Sigh!

Article by Lidwine Spire

Valentin's songs of the moment...

At the moment, I have three favourite songs:

The first is "If I ain't got you" sung by Jay Sean. The lyrics of this song really mean something to me. I don't think the singer belives in what he is singing but I don't mind, I love the meaning of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5lAy5K5Q00&feature=related

The second one is "When I'm gone". It's a really sad song written by Eminem. The story is about a little girl who does not see her dad a lot, and bears a grudge against him. It's a real nightmare...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iBfVk_Mv1Y

The last one is "Runaway love" by Ludacris and Mary J. Blidge. It's a very sad song too but it propably tells a true stories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsdeIwkZeX8

On Saturday 11th December, you can go shopping AND Chopin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSEwfqs-VM

Six heures autour de Chopin!

Trois pianistes et une récitante pour fêter les deux cent ans de la naissance de Frédéric Chopin!

Les pianistes : Luo-Chin Le Bot, Gabriella Torma, Hakim Bentchouala

La récitante : Chantal Malebert

Six heures de concert au Théâtre d'Aurillac pour lesquelles vous pouvez choisir vos rendez-vous:

17h15 - Luo-Chin Le Bot et Chantal Malebert «Correspondances de Musset»
18h15 - Gabriella Torma «Polonaises et études»
19h15 - Hakim Bentchouala «24 Préludes»
20h15 - Gabriella Torma «Quatre ballades et fantaisies»
21h15 - Luo-Chin Le Bot et Chantal Malebert «Correspondances de Musset»
22h15 - Hakim Bentchouala «Mazurkas, scherzos et sonates»

30 years ago today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wos-dDxpJlQ

John Lennon was born on 9th October 1940 in Liverpool, England, and was murdered on 8th December 1980 in New York, USA.

He was a British composer-songwriter, singer, guitarist, artist and writer, actor, film maker, and a civil-rights and peace activist. He was a member of the famous 60s group the Beatles. Lennon wrote most of the songs of the group with Paul McCartney; they became the most influential songwriters of the history of Rock, writing over 200 songs.

As a teenager growing up in Liverpool he was influenced by Skiffle and Rock 'n' Roll. In 1956 he set up the Quarrymen, which evolved to become, with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles. The Beatles became the biggest phenomenon of sound recording history, introducing numerous musical innovations and mixing genres and influences. Lennon was central to this popular success, composing a good many of the group’s hit songs.

The members of the group parted in the early 70's. John Lennon started a solo career, inspired by his wife Yoko Ono, a cutting edge Japanese artist. Ono and Lennon were always in the media.

In 1971, John Lennon composed one of his most powerful songs: Imagine. The album of the same name was his biggest solo commercial success. Lennon withdrew from public activity in 1975 to take care of his family. He resumed his career in 1980, a few weeks before being murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of his home.

Besides his music, Lennon is also famous for his pacifist activities, from the end of the 1960s. His opposition to the Vietnam War got him into trouble with the government of the United States, who tried to expel him.

He was one of the most popular artists of the twentieth century and remains popular today, thirty years after its death. Every 8th December, there is a John Lennon commemoration in New York; several memorials have been set up in his honor worldwide.

John Lennon is, for me, a great European because he embodies what Europe is about: peace and creative genius.

Article by Hélène Rombaut

And so this is Christmas (soon)!

Give peace a chance!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Peace_a_Chance

Everybody's talking about Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism, This-ism, That-ism, ism, ism, ism... All we are saying is give peace a chance! All we are saying is give peace a chance...

Imagine...

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon

http://www.unc.edu/~sakhavan/

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Soundscapes... a new weekly article on music with meaning!