Owens Books

This absolutely enormous book is one of the classics on musical temperament; for some reason most such books are out of print and hard to get hold of, and this is no exception. The title has got cut off in the Amazon entry - the full title is: "Tuning: Containing the Perfection of Eighteenth-Century Temperament, the Lost Art of Nineteenth-Century Temperment and the Science of Equal Temperment, Complete with Instructions for Aural and Electronic Tuning." It is a mixture of history of tunings and temperaments, and explicit tuning instructions for various temperaments. An interesting thread running through the book is a detailed argument to the effect that equal temperament was not commonplace until the twentieth century.

If you're interested in this book, you might want to get hold of the recordings by Enid Katahn, "Six degrees of Tonality" and "Beethoven in the Temperaments." The former consists of recordings of a number of pieces from different periods of musical history, played on a piano tuned by Edward Foote in temperaments appropriate to the era. Also included are three different takes of the Mozart Fantasie Kv.397 in meantone, "Prelleur" temperament and equal temperament.

Other books you might want to check out are Barbour's "Tuning and Temperament" and Dominique Devie's "Le Tempérament Musical."

I am amazed to find no review of this outstanding recording posted on Amazon yet. My wife and I have worn out two copies of this CD through sheer use on the road and at home. I am not sure that I poses the eloquence to adequately describe the soulful journey that Judith takes on this album. Each song is an "arrow" that strikes an emotional chord, but with a touch of whimsy that leaves us uplifted even while delving into some of darker parts of the human psyche.

I highly recommend keeping an eye out for her on tour, as her live performances dwarf the magnificence of her recorded pieces. Every show is new and fresh, every friend we have dragged with us to a show has instantly become a fan of Judith Owen,

Keep an eye out for her new album "Lost and Found" scheduled to release March 1, 2005. We saw her performing pieces from it this past Monday, and were blown away. (As usual)

www.judithowen.net has audio samples as well as tour info. Here is a blurb taken from her own website. It tells the story of this CD better than I ever could and as I whole heartedly agree with it's description I shall let the album speak for itself:

Twelve Arrows (2003)
Probably the most raw and emotionally uplifting of all 5 CD's - a collection of 'one-takes' with her trio and special guests, Julia Fordham and Richard Thompson, that establishes Owen as an artist who knows who and what she is. In this collection, Owen remains true to the signature qualities that embody her music as she sings from her soul; an artist who is as willing to laugh as she is to cry; to sing about personal and shared experience from a place of empathy; a composer who embraces the musical styles that have influenced and elevated her with delight and understanding whilst, at the same time, making them entirely her own.

After an extensive period of weekly shows at the LA club, 'The Joint', with drummer Herman Matthews and bassist Sean Hurley, Judith joined forces with engineer Robin Danar to record the next CD. As a contrast to the highly produced 'Limited Edition' collection, Judith decided that this CD should be recorded live in the studio to capture the energy of the weekly shows. The trio recorded one to three versions of each song from top to tail and then chose the best of these, thereby keeping the raw, 'seat of your pants' vibe!

Recorded live at Danar's home studio, the trio's songs were done in two days with the duets following suit. Julia and Richard maintained the 'one-take' ethos, both producing two emotionally exquisite performances. Jeff Young (Sting, Jackson Browne) & Mauricio Fritz Lewak (Jackson Browne) added the only overdubs in organ and percussion on the CD. 'You're Not Here Anymore' - considered by many to be the CD's "show stopper" - was recorded only once; both Danar and Owen agreed that the performance could not be bettered and should remain free of any instrumentation.

The economy with which '12 Arrows' was recorded was mirrored in the photographic session that soon followed. A fan of friend Jamie Lee Curtis's black and white photography, Judith asked Curtis if she would be interested in shooting her for the new CD. Curtis loved the idea as much as the music and shot Judith for about one hour, purely as a light test in Owen's home studio, as she relaxed with a bottle of wine on the table, her beloved dog sleeping on the floor, and a temperature of 102 (she had the flu at the time!). The results were so good and the look such a match for the music that these 'tests' became the final shots!

The title was a quick decision made after a lengthy quandary, when friend and collaborator Julia Fordham commented that each song was like a little arrow...an emotional missile that went straight to the heart!

I couldn't stop reading since it was VERY interesting! The story gives us a picture of what daily life most Japanese wife have. It's very realistic!

"The Other Player" is a burning drama set in an exclusive New England boarding school. Quite short, the drama builds to an explosive climax. Two adult male roles and one preppie from Hell.

"The Street of Good Friends" is about three women who are vacationing in Italy. Their tour bus breaks down and they are forced to stay in a cheap hotel in a small Italian town far off the beaten track. Two of the ladies decide to make the best of it and go out to explore the quaint village where they have an adventure they will never forget. A pleasent comedy with a naughty twist at the end.

This book is great lots of references and information like the title suggests. As a pest control tech I am able to better understand how to get rid of and control the german cockroach it is will worth the price and great reference.

One of the world's major faiths with more than 20 million adherents, Sikhism is a religion which most people, including academics, seem to ignore. This introduction assumes no prior knowledge on the reader's part. At the centre of the religion is the scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, it is the focus of Sikh theology and practice to the extent that no one is allowed to come between it and the believer. There is no priesthood. A particular aspect of Sikhism is its relationship with and attitude to other religions, something of particular significance in our multi religious society.

Owen Cole has taught at all stages of education from junior school to university, his two main interests have been multi-faith Religious Education and Indian religions. He is one of only four non-Sikhs to have a PhD in Sikh studies from a British university.
......................
Review:
"This is a rich read, a sharing of deep experience of the Sikh tradition... However widely readers have already read on Sikhism they will find illuninating detail and interpretation." -- Interreligious Insight

As a "hands on" workbook, it's a good workbook, on QB.
Make sure the seller includes the data CD, so you can do the examples.

I have been watching the events unfolding in the Anglican Communion over the past few years and have tried to find books that would give me the longer view so that I could put the recent events into an historical context. This book and it's companion--Volume II--put the Anglican Church (in England, to be sure) in some kind of perspective. While there are so many details (given that each year gets about 20 pages), the book is readable and among all the other information, one can find the threads that have gone into weaving the current crisis.

P.S. Note that the years covered are 1829-1859, not the years written in the Amazon description (1829-1848). Just look at that picture of the cover.

Most fascinating for me is seeing how intertwined politics has been with the Church. For instance, though I don't know it it is still the case, every Bishop in England was in the House of Lords and, as the Prime Minister appointed Bishops he would do so with an eye toward the expected voting pattern of the Bishop on any number of political issues. I did not know that for a couple hundred years you had to be Anglican to get a degree at Oxford or Cambridge (though one could attend).

This is my first full-length study on the history of the Anglican church so I have little to compare it with, however, I find the book extremely readable. I'm not sure how biased the writer is, though it is clear that Chadwick doesn't care for the Tractarians or the Evangelicals. He favors what were then called "broad churchment" and are now called "liberals," but once one gets used to that, there are numerous rich details to enjoy. I wouldn't recommend this as the only book to reads on this period, but it seems to be a good place to start.

In my opinion, one of the best books available on video economics. The text is quite readable for a book on economics, as the models are explained with no advanced mathematics, mostly by examples or simple graphics. But all the relevant information is there.

Wow, this was so good; I could not put it down. The Virginian is the most incredible, honest, honorable, handsome (sigh) hero to come along the pike in a long long time. And what a scamp, LOL at his plot to switch the babies (clothes and all) around, so that the parents took home the wrong kids, had to come back to the Judge's ranch, leaving Molly the new teacher alone for him to call on!

Lots of love, laughter and excitement as the Virginian falls for the new teacher from the East, rounds up cattle rustlers and vanquishes the bad guys. The author's prose was glorious, although rather dense (for lack of a better word); it reminded me of Nathaniel Hawthorne. You really have to pay attention and don't let your mind wander or you will end up backtracking so you don't miss any of the story. The author's descriptions of the Wyoming countryside, and most especially the Tetons, were wonderful and I felt like I was right there.

Truly one of the best yarns I have ever read, with a nail biting finish during the final showdown with the bad guy, as Molly has to reconcile herself as to what is more important, her east coast sense of righteousness or her love for her man. Highly recommended.