A Calming Classical Soundtrack

Perhaps you’d just like to be for a while. Breathe in, breathe out. Reset your anxious mind. Release negative emotions. I’m not talking about virtual yoga classes here (though what an excellent idea!). I’m talking about revisiting–or discovering anew–the soothing power of classical music.

Your “new normal” routine may not allow you to drop everything and de-stress for long periods of time–and that’s where our newly-curated 2020 APL Calming Classical Soundtrack on hoopla will stand you in good stead! Pop in your earbuds and live in a soul-soothing soundscape while going about your daily tasks. You’ll have the illusion of a “calm bubble” while still maintaining productivity and maybe saving your sanity! 

Chief among the 35 work-friendly offerings in this collection are albums featuring composers from the Baroque and Classical eras: Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart. There’s a reason for that! The music of these periods tends to be highly patterned and structured, with repeated themes and variations on those themes. Ideally, as you listen, your thoughts will untangle themselves and your concentration will improve.

You might try the albums Big Bach Set, Vol. 3, Handel: Water Music, Haydn: Classical Music for Relaxation, Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, or Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35 & 39. Or go for baroque (bad pun, sorry) with a mixtape of sorts, featuring recorder soloist Lucie Horsch: Baroque Journey. And if you need to break your concentration for a while and stretch those desk-cramped limbs, you can’t go wrong with some lively Elizabethan birthday party music.

There’s plenty more to explore in the collection–good, old-fashioned lullabies, Romantic-era de-stressors like Fauré and Debussy, and even albums with “dream” or “chill” in the title–all recently released.

And if you exhaust these selections, have a look at hoopla’s The Most Relaxing Series for even more classical comfort. You can breathe out now!

Advertisement

Comfort Food TV

Are you craving a little cinematic culinary comfort? Longing to savour a sumptuous series? The Abbot Public Library has curated a select menu of foodie-approved film and television fare just for our patrons! If you’re in the mood for a side of romance with an at-home dinner date, you may just try Ang Lee’s Eat, Drink, Man, Woman or Chocolat (this one starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, and Judi Dench). Or perhaps you’d like to escape our troubled present and time-travel to a Victorian dining room with Christopher Kimball in Fannie’s Last Supper, a recreation of one of Fannie Farmer’s decadent 12-course meals. We invite you to sample all of these films and more from our library-curated film collection on hoopla2020 APL Comfort Food Cinema

For some tasty kitchen-sink drama, you might also try Acorn TV’s series Delicious or Pie in the Sky; to sample menus from great British country houses of the past, take a look at Lords and Ladles. Just open your RBDigital app and search for the titles!

If your tastes run to food-filled adventure, then tune in to another of the library’s special hoopla collections: 2020 APL Comfort Food TV. Here, you can sink your teeth into some food/travel documentaries like Paul & Nick’s Big American Food Trip or No Passport Required. If tea is, well, your cup of tea, travel round the world to learn all about it with Victoria Wood’s Nice Cup of Tea on Acorn TV (again, search the title in your RBDigital app). Or get in the kitchen and get your hands messy with the pros of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country–further selections to be found in the hoopla 2020 APL Comfort Food TV collection. Your culinary quest awaits!

If you’re eager to tickle your tastebuds with these offerings (and much more) but have not yet signed up for hoopla or Acorn TV, please take a look at our FAQ page to get started. Bon appetit!