Christopher Lawford’s new book Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery is being released in the U.S. on December 30, 2008. The book, says the product description at amazon.com, “collects stories from men and women, young and old, and across all barriers of celebrity, color, and class. Represented in these pages are the singer and the actress, the writer and the anchorman, the man from the movie screen and the woman who lives down the street. A myriad of different moments but all with the common understanding of where these men and women have been and where they must go. As they bravely share their stories, they shed light not only on their own experiences but also on the journey we all take as human beings, looking to make sense of our world.”

Lawford is sober now for more than twenty years. He previously wrote a memoir Symptoms of Withdrawal about his drug and alcohol addiction and early recovery.

Lorraine at Emmanuel

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, conducted by Craig Smith (tracks 1 through 14) and John Harbison (track 15)

BACH: Kommt ihr angefochten Sünder (Cantata BWV30)
HANDEL: Dejanira’s arias from Hercules
BACH: Wie fürchtsam wankten meine Schritte (Cantata BWV33)

“From the archives of Emmanuel Music comes this moving disc of performances by the revered mezzo-soprano, mostly led by the late Craig Smith, a pillar of the local music community. There are excerpts from Handel’s ‘Hercules,’ but the two most arresting tracks are taken from Bach Cantatas (BWV 30 and 33) in which Lieberson sings with that tonal warmth and inner radiance that were hers alone.–Jeremy Eichler, “Jeremy Eichler’s top CD picks of 2008,” Boston Globe

Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben
Brahms: 8 songs Op. 57
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano
Julius Drake, piano
Recorded at the Wigmore Hall, London

Alex Ross of the New Yorker has put this recording on his list of the ten best classical-music recordings of 2008.

The recording contains “what must be one of the best performances of Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und –leben on record,” writes John Woods at MusicalCriticism.com.

I visited Lebanon and Hanover, New Hampshire, yesterday and today.

I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Hanover Lebanon . It was a clean, quiet, pleasant hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful. It is in Lebanon off the highway that connects Lebanon and Hanover, a short drive from the center of Lebanon and the center of Hanover, but at a location that you would really need to have a car to get to. Internet access in the hotel was free. One has to bring one’s own laptop.

I had supper Friday at a place in the center of Lebanon called the Salt Hill Pub. It is a pleasant pub, with a family sort of crowd. The lighting is a little dim. I had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and diced turnip. It was a satisfying meal.
Then I went to a recital by baritone Nathan Gunn, with his wife Julie Jordan Gunn on the piano. It was in a hall called the Lebanon Opera House, which is actually an auditorium in the city hall. Afterwards there was a reception at a nearby art gallery, the AVA Gallery. Those attending were a congenial group of people from New Hampshire and Vermont.  The gallery features some good art works of relatively unknown (at least to me) artists at very reasonable prices.
On Saturday (today December 6) I had breakfast in Hanover at the Dirt Cowboy Cafe, a very tasty apple danish and a large cup of Brazilian coffee. The coffee was quite good. I did a little browsing in Hanover, and then I went to a master class at noon at the Faulkner Recital Hall in the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. Nathan and Julie Gunn listened to three young singers and an accompanist and gave advice.

I thought of having lunch at the Dirt Cowboy Cafe, but it was very crowded, and so I went to a Quizno’s for a quick submarine sandwich before driving back home.

“An air hostess helped land a jet carrying 146 passengers after the co-pilot had an apparent mental breakdown over the Atlantic Ocean, investigators revealed today.

“The UK-bound plane made an emergency diversion to Shannon Airport, in Ireland, last January after the Air Canada flight officer began a ‘rambling and disjointed’ conversation, said an official report.

“Another attendant suffered wrist injuries as the crew forcibly removed the co-pilot from the cockpit controls and restrained him in a seat in the cabin.”–dailymail.co.uk