A few weeks ago, at the Quebec Writer’s Federation Gala, I discovered that I had won the honour of serving as the CBC/QWF Writer-in-Residence for 2017. It’s hugely exciting and I can’t wait to get started blogging about my home, the amazing city of Montreal. As a kick-off, I was invited to be on the CBC radio show Cinq-a-Six, which is a program in which guests choose songs that have been meaningful to them and talk about why. |
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Some of the selections came easily to me. Others required some thought. I talked through various songs with my husband, who obligingly cued them up on the iPod so that we could consider them together. In this way, I worked through songs from childhood, adolescence, the university years, my move to Montreal, my leap into the world of travel…
A few months ago, another fan of cryptic crosswords, Vaughan McAlley, who is also a musician, described to me how composing a canon is akin to creating an interlocking crossword puzzle. He recommended Miserere Nostri, by Thomas Tallis, which he called “one of the greatest canons”.
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What music best represents cryptic crosswords to you?