On Wings of Song
On Wings of Song is a 1979 science fiction novel by Thomas M. Disch. It was first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in three installments in February to April 1979. Like Disch's previous novel 334, it is a bitter satire that depicts a near-future America falling into worsening economic and social crisis. Despite being critically well received, it was a commercial failure.
Title
"On Wings of Song" is the English title of the German Romantic poem "Auf Flügeln des Gesanges" by Heinrich Heine, which was set to music by Felix Mendelssohn. The lyric speaks of flying with a lover to a peaceful paradise in "the fields of the Ganges".
Plot summary
The novel takes place in suburban Iowa and in New York City, around the middle of the 21st century. Its first section describes the childhood and adolescence of Daniel Weinreb, an imaginative boy who manages to adapt well to his conservative surroundings until a minor act of rebellion sends him to prison at age 14. Daniel's experience there makes him eager to leave the Midwest. After falling in love with the daughter of a powerful and reactionary local tycoon, he moves with her to New York, dreaming of becoming a musician and exploring the forbidden art of "flying"—electronically-assisted astral projection. Tragedy and exploitation leave Daniel's idealism in ruins, but he persists and becomes an internationally famous and controversial performer.
On Wings of Song (poem and song)
"On Wings of Song" (German: "Auf Flügeln des Gesanges") is a poem by the German Romantic poet Heinrich Heine. It was published in Buch der Lieder in 1827. Felix Mendelssohn set it to music as the second of his "six songs for voice and piano" (Opus 34-2, 1834).Franz Liszt arranged On Wings of Song for solo piano (S. 547).
This song has been translated into other languages and has been adopted in school music textbooks for China, Japan and Korea.
Poem
References
On Wings of Song (album)
On Wings of Song: The Performance Recordings of Josephine A. Estill 1939–1974 is a compilation album on four CDs featuring performances by Jo Estill. The album is taken from original live recordings by Charles M. "Bud" Edmonds of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The album was remastered at Banquet Studios, Sebastopol, California, USA during 2008–2009, with sound engineer Darryl Webb and produced by Alice Estill Miller. The album sleve notes credit special thanks to Zana Timroth, Donald P. Jenkins, Kim Steinhauer and Steven Chicurel.
(It is also the name of an album released in 1973 by the Aer Lingus Musical Society, by ARA Records, Dublin, and distributed by EMI Records(Dublin) ARA1003 Stereo, Arranged by Dr. Tadhg de Brún, and produced by Jerry Hughes.)
Track listing
References
Geraldine McMahon
Geraldine McMahon ARCM is a British-born harpist and singer of Irish descent.
Career
McMahon trained at the Royal College of Music in London, winning several prizes including a study scholarship at the Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. She plays classical and Celtic music. She performed as a soloist for two years at Bunratty Castle in Ireland.
McMahon has performed around Europe and in the United States. She lived in the US for five years, in Chicago, Connecticut and New York, appearing on US national television and radio. She has played before British royalty and has been a resident performer at the Savoy Hotel in London.
McMahon has issued an album of her own performances, Wings of Song, and another is planned.
McMahon is based in Hertfordshire, England.
References
External links
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