UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE BY DEAN NESBITT, JR. ON DECEMBER 21, 2015.
Summer is here, and Music Monday posts are going on vacation until September. 🙂 Since many of us might not be doing a lot of travelling this summer due to restrictions, I thought I would leave you all with a music video that showcases some lovely summertime images so you can travel virtually.
I’m also going to leave you with a “summer reading list.” 🙂
Enjoy your summer!
(I’ll still be here with some Tuesday and Thursday posts. I’m not going on a complete hiatus — just a partial one.)
UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE BY PEDER B. HELLAND ON JANUARY 18, 2018
Today’s musical selection is one of those songs which I can put on and immediately my mind calms and my imagination begins to play. I often listen to this song while writing, but it is also a favorite to listen to while taking a walk. And that is the reason I have chosen to pair this song with the story excerpt below because, in this section of Matching Mr. Darcy, which releases tomorrow, Mr. Darcy is out on a walk and trying to clear his mind.
Matching Mr. Darcy, Chapter 6 Excerpt
Darcy reined in his mount so that he could take in the view before him. The ground rose and fell in gentle swells and small undulations. There were stands of trees that interrupted fields and stood in both great and small gatherings. The countryside was beautiful but lacked the sharp edges that surrounded his home, which was utterly unfortunate, for, he thought to himself, a good rocky crag right in the middle of Longbourn’s garden would have come in handy yesterday for disposing of the insufferable Mr. Newell. That man would not allow himself to be separated from the side of Miss Elizabeth. Not that Miss Bingley would have allowed Darcy to leave her side either.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY THE TENORS VEVO ON JUNE 18, 2015.
Isn’t this a perfect song for the Monday after Father’s Day Sunday? I thought it was. 🙂 I have paired it with an excerpt from At All Costs. Bingley looked up to his father and learned many good lessons from him. In fact, one of these lessons is where the title of this book comes from. It’s here in this line, which is from very, very near the end of the book: “My father taught me many things, but the one he stressed more than any other was that a man must protect that which is dear to him at all costs.” Below is another place in this book where Bingley is thinking about his father.
At All Costs, Chapter 4 Excerpt
“Harris is to leave with you when you leave Derbyshire, is he not?” Bingley cut a sidelong glance at Richard, who nodded, as they walked. Harris was an ever-present annoyance that Bingley would gladly see gone. “Is it not possible to send him back to Brighton early?”
Richard laughed. “I have no reason to do so.”
Bingley sighed. “That is unfortunate.”
And it was unfortunate indeed, for that very gentleman happened to be the one that brought Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth to Pemberley. It was also Harris who took Jane’s arm as they strolled around the garden, and it was Harris who claimed the seat next to Jane when they all finally paused for a rest. And it was also Harris who was now monopolizing the conversation.
“It is a lovely day, is it not?” Harris asked as they sat in the shadow cast by Pemberley across the side garden at this time of day.
It was the consensus that it was indeed a fine day — for the weather was pleasant. However, for two of the party, the day was not so fine as it could have been. Bingley was in general annoyed by the presence of Harris and, in specific, irked by Harris’s attentions to Jane.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE ON MAY 15, 2020, BY LUKA SULIC
This was another one of those just happened to see it recommended on YouTube songs. I have listened to a lot of Luka’s music both as a solo player and as part of 2Cellos, and I have like nearly everything I have heard. This was no exception. This song is originally by a heavy metal band, so I was interested to see how the song was played on a cello. The results are simply beautiful in my opinion, and I had to share it with you.
I have paired it with a chapter from Waking to Mr. Darcy because in this story nothing else matters as much as seeing to Elizabeth’s well-being.
Darcy rolled the sleeves of his shirt, which were several inches too long, so that Elizabeth’s hands were visible. He straightened the collar and pulled the bedclothes over her, making sure to place her hands and arms outside the quilt as he tucked it around her small frame. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her pale face. She was still not warm, but she was clean, and she was dry, and Darcy hoped that the two would be enough to stave off any fever. “I am sorry,” he repeated yet again. How many times had he said those words? He felt as if he could never say them enough. “If there were any other way….” He sighed. “But there was not. I shall be good to you.” He gathered her clothes. “I am sorry,” he whispered it once more before he exited the room.
“You still do not look well,” said Bingley from where he sat near the fire. “Although you are not so pale as you were.” He tipped his head. “In fact, you look rather flushed.”
Darcy chose not to acknowledge the comment or the teasing tone in which it was said. He was feeling rather flummoxed. His heart had already begun to betray him before this evening, but now it seemed to have utterly abandoned all sense of reason. He pulled on his coat and turned toward the door.
“Are you going for help?” Bingley jumped to his feet.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY PIANO TIME ON MARCH 23, 2020.
I find it mesmerizing to watch the lights dropping down, showing the notes. That is why I chose this video to share today. The reason I chose the song is for the title, for today, I am sharing a chapter from my very first published book, Oxford Cottage, which is where the dark part of the tale begins.
Darcy looked across the assembly hall and watched the dancers as they wound their way through the steps of a country dance. His eyes followed Elizabeth for a few moments before he pulled his attention back to the rest of the people standing around him.
Just to his left, Mrs. Bennet fidgeted and fussed with Kitty’s dress. “Stand up straight, Kitty,” she scolded. “No man wants a woman who is all bent and crumpled.”
“Yes, Mama,” said Kitty.
Darcy suppressed a chuckle as he watched Kitty roll her eyes before she pulled herself up, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. It reminded him of Georgiana. How often had he, when watching Miss Kitty, noticed similarities between the two young ladies? Both shared an exuberance for life that was infectious, and neither appreciated the reminder to carry themselves in what society deemed a ladylike fashion. Miss Kitty was a bit silly, but she was a sweet and caring young lady. She was the sort of young lady with whom Darcy did not mind having his sister associate.
Having seen to her daughter’s lack of posture, Mrs. Bennet had moved on to discussing with several local ladies her very good fortune of having “three daughters so agreeably attached.” Mr. Bennet was attempting to calm his wife’s happy nerves in order to keep her voice at an acceptable volume. Darcy shook his head slightly and smiled. How a man as intelligent as Mr. Bennet could abide such a fluttering wife was beyond his comprehension.
But he knew it to be true that Mr. Bennet did not just abide his wife, he loved her and showed it through his solicitous attentions and patience. Although some might only see the man who teased and laughed at his wife’s silliness, Darcy had observed the soft glow of his eyes and an occasional touch that accompanied such teasing. Mrs. Bennet often responded in a huff of emotions but there was always a twinkle in her eye, a little wink, or a slight upturn of her mouth which let him know she was not truly put out by her husband’s comments. It was a dance of words and actions, a game they played, a game he was just beginning to learn to play with his beloved Elizabeth. He allowed himself the pleasure of once again watching her dance.
