John Billing CD’s
/A Special Addition to our Auction Offerings
By Julia Elliott
Thanks to a generous donation by the amazing lyrist and composer, John Billing, we have CD’s of exceptionally beautiful lyre music for sale. The CD’s will be available through our auction site on March 5th and can also be found in our music store for $10.00. All proceeds from the CD sales will go directly to our financial aid fund in support of LANA members’ travel to the upcoming international conference. Purchase of these CD’s will give you hours of listening bliss as well as the good feeling you get from helping an important cause!
There are four CD titles of John Billing’s music available: Gentillesses, Stream, Turlough O’Carolan, and Pale Blue Rock. Each features Billing’s very special lyre-playing and compositions, and each CD has a unique flavor all its own. Gentillesses includes recorders and is a collection from Billing’s music book of the same name. Songs include “A Shady Grove,” “The Sun Rising,” and “The Silent Isle.” If you love these pieces, you can also find the book HERE.
Turlough O’Carolan contains Billing’s gorgeous settings of the 18th century Irish harpist’s music. Included on this CD are “The South Wind and Planxty Irwin,” “Eleanor Plunkett,” and “Carolan’s Farewell to Music.” This CD will surely get you in the mood for March 17th and it will give you joy all year round.
On the CD Stream, many of Billing’s best loved compositions appear, including many of his lyre preludes as well as favorites like “Light on the Lake” and “Love Song Without Words.” Pale Blue Rock, however, is something fresh and new. This CD features improvisations and arrangements for lyre that reminds us of how versatile this instrument is. Here you will find settings of such pieces as “House of the Rising Sun,” “Hotel California,” and “Chan Chan.”
We encourage you to gift yourself or a friend one (or all!) of these wonderful CD’s. You will be so glad you did! (And we will be, too!)
With our heartfelt thanks to John Billing for his generosity!