As I observed in my roundup for 2020, since part of my mission (whatever that is) is to vary the distribution of the diverse posts on this blog, keeping you guessing, this latest annual mélange is an occasion to group together some major themes from this past year. This is only a selection; for reasons of economy, I’ve tended to skip over some of the lighter items. You can also consult the tags and categories in the sidebar.

Some essential posts:

• A selection of nine anagram tales from Nicolas Robertson’s fantastical series
• A playlist for Emma and Layla,*** a suitably diverse feast of world music
• A garland of ragas***, with several new additions
• A mélange of playlists***
• A series on the fortunes of the qin zither under Maoism***.

I’m going to emulate Stella Gibbons and award *** to some other *MUST READ!* posts too…

China: on the Li family Daoists, recent and older posts are collected in

• Ritual change in north Shanxi*** (on temple fairs, the domestic Thanking the Earth ritual, and funerals); see also
• Grave charts 2
• One eye open, one eye closed
• Some meals with Li Manshan

and it’s always worth reminding you to watch our film

• Li Manshan: portrait of a folk Daoist***!

Elsewhere,

• Gaoluo: early history (added to Gaoluo roundup)
• Shaanbei: spirit mediums (most Shaanbei posts collected here)
• A Daoist altar in west Fujian
• Ritual and masked drama in Hunan
• Pacing the Void, and sequel
• Ken Dean: discovering Fujian ritual life in the early reform era
• A village pantheon
• Illusion and reality: the painted wall
• China: memory, music, society
• Inebriation and the qin zither
• A Daoist temple in California
• Liu Sola, voice of alternative China***
• The zheng zither in Shandong.

Tributes to three great sinologists:

• Kristofer Schipper
• Jacques Pimpaneau
• Dan Overmyer

The beleaguered cultures of the

• Uyghurs (posts collected here) and
• Tibetans (posts collected here), including

• Eat the Buddha
• The Lhasa ripper
• The mandala of Sherlock Holmes
• Women in TIbet, 2
• Hergé’s adventures of Tintin!!!

I’ve begun a growing series on Turkey (with a new tag for west/Central Asia):

• Midnight at the Pera Palace
• Turkey: what everyone needs to know
• Songs of Asia Minor
• Köçek in Kuzguncuk!***
• Musicking of the yayla
• Bartók in Anatolia.

Among this year’s additions to the jazz, pop, punk tags are

• Amazing Grace—and a gagaku version
• Frank Morgan
• Art Pepper
• Karen Dalton
• The magic of the voice, 1
• The magic of the voice, 2
• Comment te dire adieu***
• Ravi par Pravi
• The Linda Lindas
• Punk in Croatia
• Series on the Beatles***, with some new additions
• New British jazz
• Ethio-jazz.

WAM:

• A Mozart medley
• Mahler 1
• Mini-Mahler
• On piano—Gustav Mahler!!!
• Klaus Tennstedt
• Carlos Kleiber (these two posts added to The art of conducting: a roundup)
• In memoriam Fou Ts’ong
• Charles Ives
• Toru Takemitsu
• Le Marteau sans maître
• Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus***.

Bach (added to the roundup A Bach retrospective):

• The ritual calendar: cycles and seasons
• Lukewarm Laodiceans and puffed-up Pharisees
• Improvising on Bach
• The Bach cello suites,

as well as

• The Annunciation in art and music
• Melody: the major 7th leap
• Sombre and incandescent
• The ethereal theremin***
• Clair de lune
• Korngold at the Proms
• Jonny spielt auf
• Zemlinsky
• Lexicon of musical invective.

On “world music” and anthropology:

• Bernard Lortat-Jacob at 80
• Joining the elite musical club
• Undreamed shores
• Musics lost and found
• Shawms around the world***, a useful roundup
• Some Irish singing
• A cappella singing
• Representing Australian Aboriginal music and dance
• Dang: Gujarat and Korea
• Bowed zithers, 1
• Bowed zithers, 2: Alpine
• Music in the time of Vermeer.

On gender (category here, with basic subheads):

• In praise of Patricia Lockwood***
• Words and women
• The handmaid’s tale.

Germany:

• The Ratline
• Arnold and Alma Rosé
• Red Love
• Some notes on Deutschland 89.

Italy:

• Life under Mussolini
• You say tomato***
• Caruso: the song
• Franca Rame.

Britain (see also The English, home and abroad), and the USA:

• Compton Mackenzie meets Henry James***
• The liberation of US culture
• Can’t get you out of my head
• An indigenous people’s history of the United States.

More on stammering:

• Phonophobia and s-s-s-syncopation

On a lighter note:

• All things considered (Bill Bailey)
• Roll-call (Rowan Atkinson)
• A collection of interview stories
• April fools
• Requiem for a fridge.

Even just for this last year, I realise there’s a lot to read there, but do click away on all the links! And I can’t resist reminding you of some of my earlier favourites, notably

• That is the snake that bit my foot.***