Serenade

A French Horn solo, with piano accompaniment, composed by Emil Titl.

The ninth Commissario Ricciardi Neapolitan mystery is “noir with a heart, haunting and beautiful . . . A literary thriller of exceptional quality” (NB Magazine). Years ago, Vinnie Sannino left Naples on a ship bound for America, where he found fame and fortune as a boxer. But his gilded life in the new world came to an abrupt end when, during a fight, with a heavy punch to the head of his opponent, Vinnie killed a man in the ring. Now, Vinnie’s back in Italy, pining for the woman he left behind. Cettina, however, is now a married woman. She was, at least, until her husband was recently found dead, killed by a single blow to the head. For Commissario Ricciardi, one of the most faceted cops in fiction, and his partner Maione, it is a going to be a long, rainy, week in Naples. “Deep melancholy infuses the crafty whodunit plot of de Giovanni’s superior ninth mystery set in 1930s Italy . . . Ricciardi, who’s literally haunted by visions of the dead, continues to be one of the most nuanced and intriguing sleuths in contemporary crime fiction.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “De Giovanni is one of the best historical crime writers out there. His Commissario Ricciardi novels, set during the fascist period in Italy, are intelligent and totally engrossing. Nameless Serenade is a perfect addition to the series; a really satisfying murder mystery, an insight into 1930s Naples and a thrilling chapter in the life of the Commissario. Lyrical prose and intriguing rounded characters contribute to making this one of the finest in the Ricciardi chronicles.” —NB Magazine

AGING – You can run from it, but you can’t hide, so the inevitable question is HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MEET IT? With avoidance, rigidity, or resignation on a mournful protest through your remaining years? Or will you enhance the quality of your remaining lifetime by meeting aging with acceptance, curiosity, resilience, gratitude, and even awe? Weaving together the benefits of mindfulness meditation and Jungian psychology, Moonlight Serenade: Embracing Aging Mindfully extends an invitation to meet your aging years consciously and courageously by being aware of the inevitable passing of time; by learning to experience each moment fully; and by creating a healthy relationship with all that time presents, including the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows of life. Major life provocations, including chronic pain, grief, and life-limiting illness, are challenging at any age but especially during the later years, so they are examined in-depth. Rather than a futile attempt to transcend your human experience, Moonlight Serenade provides skills and attitudes to meet your aging years boldly, confidently and wholeheartedly. Through an unflinchingly honest and compassionate tone, Dr. Wallace guides you through a detailed nine-week program of instruction to help aging readers like yourself develop and cultivate a personal practice of mindful awareness of each moment. To assist in learning mindfulness practices, audio meditation instructions are available at the book’s website, www.embracingagingmindfully.com. However, this is more than a how-to book as he also resurrects aging from its cultural pessimism by extending the opportunity to courageously explore and experience an attitudinal transformation of your relationship to life. There is a better way to live the remaining years of your life—no matter how long that may be. While aging inevitably involves losses, it also offers the opportunity for personal growth and development to become all you can be. Mindfulness meditation and Jungian practices are offered as self-sung serenades, encouraging you to lovingly court and support yourself throughout your aging moonlit years.

In Deepfake Serenade, Chris Banks’s sixth poetry collection, irreverent charm, emotional distance and surprising hot takes leap off every page. He writes in the title poem, “Inside every one of us is a deepfake. A holy ghost,” suggesting people have a choice to feel either like sad imposters or, if they're brave, like survivors staring down a world both utterly familiar and strange. These poems, sometimes narrative, sometimes surreal, oscillate between these two extremes as they confront middle age, new love, renewed optimism and memories, all with Banks’s signature wit and inventiveness. This collection is for anyone who has ever wished to wear “a halo of knowing,” or to be “the sparks flying” when outer phenomena and inner impulses collide. “Earn your rewards,” Banks writes in one poem, and we do, with every turn of the page.

In the dark, mystical heart of London, Valyrian Jacyn, a fourth-generation sorcerer, stumbles upon an ancient grimoire known as the Enchiridion Greco Daemons. This dusty tome, discovered in the cryptic basement of the Bloodfluke Manor, once belonging to his enigmatic Great Grandmother, the Witch Wilhelmina Bloodfluke, holds the key to a world of arcane secrets and forbidden rituals. As Valyrian delves deeper into the grimoire's pages, he unravels a tapestry of eerie and enchanting history surrounding the Bloodfluke Manor. The manor's legacy is steeped in darkness, rife with stories of malevolent spirits, hidden chambers, and a lineage of powerful witches and sorcerers. Among the grimoire's chilling incantations and ominous instructions, one particular ritual stands out—the capture of a muse. Valyrian, drawn by the allure of this forbidden act, decides to partake in the ritual, ensnaring the muse Euterpe in a web of magic and desire. With Euterpe as his captive muse, Valyrian's dreams of rock and roll stardom begin to take shape. His band, "Valyrian and the Misfits," rises to fame with the enchanting compositions Euterpe provides, compositions infused with otherworldly power that captivates audiences far and wide. Yet, beneath the surface, Euterpe's growing resentment simmers. Her once-enchanting music becomes tainted with a dark undertone as she yearns for her freedom. Amidst Valyrian's success, his inner struggle with newfound power and the consequences of his actions deepen. Paranoia creeps into his life, and a rival sorcerer, Geoffrey Fitzaidan, learns of Valyrian's secret, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation. Euterpe, determined to turn the tables, hatches a plan to break free from her captor's grasp. Valyrian's life takes a sinister turn as the muse's powers begin to manifest in ways he never anticipated. Throughout this twisted tale, Valyrian maintains a conversant tone, sometimes breaking the fourth wall with dark humor. As he navigates the treacherous waters of fame, power, and magic, he grapples with his own demons while facing external threats from rival sorcerers and the captive muse herself. In a climactic showdown between Valyrian and Euterpe, the consequences of their actions unravel, and the true price of power becomes evident. Dark humor weaves through the narrative, providing a unique perspective on a tale of redemption and transformation. The story takes an unexpected turn in the epilogue when the mysterious narrator is unmasked as none other than Wilhelmina Bloodfluke, Valyrian's great-grandmother. Her enigmatic presence throughout the tale leaves room for interpretation, adding a cryptic twist to the narrative's conclusion. "Sorcerer's Serenade: A Muse’s Captive Descent" is a dark fantasy novel that explores the intricate interplay of music, magic, and the human psyche. With its conversational tone, dark humor, and enigmatic twists, it invites readers to ponder the depths of redemption and the enduring power of the arcane.

Singing is part of our daily life. These collections of poems are for world singers, songwriters and musicians who contributed in our life to make us happy by singing their songs, and for those who enchanted our straggling life and continue to enchant. Charles Aznavour: You Sang ‘She’ I will sing ‘He’ He is the man I can’t forget, the genes that I carry without regret. He never left treasures that he had worked for. Gone with the wind . . . He left His smile, endlessly gracing my fiery hart. He was a saint ‘Unnamed’. When I was young I never knew His Hearted-Mind so wonderful, so kind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Sylva Portoian is the winner of the Carnegie Price for Poetry, 2009

A critical examination of two piano works by Igor Stravinsky from a performer's point of view, pointing our reflections of 18th-century forms and styles, while indicating some of the transformation brought about by the composer's musical personality. The work develops insights that supplement views of theorists and historians.