Tichá hudba jemne padajúceho snehu

by Jackie Morris

Uspávanka pre dospelých, takto opísala zbierku dvanástich príbehov navzájom prepojených motívom hudby a zdôrazňujúcich priateľstvo a slobodu, samotná autorka. Tajomná a záhadná atmosféra Vás prenesie do magického sveta hudby, snehu a zázračna, v ktorom priam počujete znieť tóny nástrojov. Netreba veľa slov, príbehy sa začnú tvoriť samé, vo Vašej mysli a fantázii. Pôsobivé ilustrácie očaria na prvý pohľad, sprievod jemných slov rozozneje predstavivosť a čitateľ si začne tkať svoje vlastné príbehy v tichej hudbe padajúceho snehu. A keď si budete túto okúzľujúcu knihu čítať spolu s deťmi, ožije vo Vás znovu aj to dieťa, ktorým ste voľakedy boli.

Genres: Fantasy, Picture Books, Art, Poetry, Nature, Fairy Tales, Fiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2016

About the author

Jackie Morris lives in a small house on the Welsh coast. She wanted to be an artist from the earliest she could remember. After studying art at Hereford and Bath Academy she went on to illustrate for magazines and newspapers. She began her first book for children the week after her first child, Thomas was born and has gone on to illustrate and write many books.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected to enjoy this one. I love fairy tales, music and nature, and I have previously enjoyed this author's work. This book is huge and some parts are beautiful to look through, I loved the snowy scenes and the silver birches. I felt frustrated that this author/illustrator, who is going for a fairly accurate style of painting, seems to have not looked at some musical instruments before painting them. A harp has strings attached to all three sides, the cello is being bowed bellow the bridge etc. As this is a book about music, to raise money for musicians, I would expect music lovers to want to read this who would notice these inaccuracies. A few minutes research before starting could have put this right.

I lost interest in the story and I must say although the illustrations have their merits I find the style a bit dated now. It's a lovely idea though and many reviewers have enjoyed this book.

[Anoara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and brilliant extra large picture book. Fairy tales are brought to life through the exquisite paintings and the finely tuned notes of music, can almost be heard through the core of the book. Beautifully written and stunningly illustrated, it is a stimulation of the senses.

[MaryJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exquisite illustrations. The stories didn’t grab me.

[Kacee Eddinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, original fairy tales with full size paintings. Well worth a price and a good read.

[Helen Macklon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely snowy day read!

[Demeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

K obsahu knihy: veľmi pekné. Čo nie je pekné, je tá nepekná reklama na posledných stranách čo si vydavateľ robí na ďalšie knihy. Veľmi nevkusné. #trebacitat

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book for its beautifully illustrated cover and the promise of new fairy tales. The concept also sounded interesting: 12 illustrations, originally created as charity Christmas cards for Help Musicians Uk, all inspiring a collection of tied together stories.

Whilst the illustrations are beautiful, and the imagery in the writing also lovely, the set just feels a little too disjointed and not quite pieced together. I wanted to like this but I found it a bit confusing at times and that spoiled my enjoyment. That being said it's a nice short read that might be worth trying for most others.

[Mary Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical collection of interconnected folk-tale type stories that have been "worked backwards" (in Jackies' own words) woven in and around the commissioned illustrations, this book is simply extraordinary.
The stories unfold intuitively, creating a landscape and journey fired by the ever-present music that establishes a path of sound and feeling. There is a flow; a continuity in the tales as the characters and their circumstances fold into and unfold out of each other. A familiar sense of iconography; those time-honoured fairy and folk tales shimmers in the back of each story, and yet there exists here something new, something unheard before. These are not just retellings/reworkings of old tales; these are newly born creatures that have been waiting for their change to emerge for eons.
As we lose ourselves in each illustration and the remarkable, intricate detail and palette, we see how the stories are indeed just sitting there, waiting for birth and interpretation. Their iconography helps us define ourselves, as all good folk tales should. And they are just so beautiful; filled with emotion and meaning; filled with subtle colour and line.
We find that the music at the centre of the book are not songs we have learned and practiced, but songs of the soul, of the heart that carry the journey along with an evocation of our own being.
Not really a "childrens' book", this is written so it speaks to everyone. While appealing to adults as a wonderful gift, I would also think it would reach out to the teen/young adult audience, as so many fairytale retellings are coming forth for this age group. But, traditionally, fairy and folk tales were not created for children, but as a guide so that, as we grow and age, we do not lose our sense of who we are and where we belong. The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow does that admirably...and with soul-songs to carry us along.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morris is one of my favourite artists, and in this collection of illustrated short stories, she proves herself an equally skilled writer.

The project has unique origins. Originally commissioned as an ongoing series of music-themed Christmas cards for the charity Help Musicians UK, the images were created across a span of 17 years. With recurring characters and motifs throughout, and Morris’s signature style tying them all together within the same dreamlike world, she collated the pieces and used them as a jumping off point for a series of interconnected stories.

Reading like fairy tales, Morris proves her prose is just as capable of establishing an ethereal, immersive atmosphere, and beautifully setting a scene as her artwork:

“Listen.

In the still, cold air of early morning there would be only silence but for the quiet music of gently falling snow. No leaves cling to the trees. Beneath stone-hard ground snakes sleep, coiling in cold dreams.

Winter.”

Most of the stories are brief, offering up an enchanting snapshot while remaining vague enough for the reader to embellish. As Morris explained in the introduction:

“My hope is that the threads of stories will wrap around the dreams of others and spin fine gold threads to catch the imagination.”

[Jay Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have ever seen -- or it could have been had the publisher done it justice. With just a heavier-weight paper, it would have felt rich. Had the text been indented another quarter inch on each side, it would have been easier for the eye to scan and provided a few more pages to include one, if not two more, of vignette illustrations.

The text, though interesting, does not stand up to the power of the pictures. Would that it had been as lyric as, say, Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea Stories.

Here's a challenge. What if some truly fine publisher paired Rushdie's words with Morris's brushes in a super beautiful and legendary children's fable. That would be tremendous!!!! Though, alas, probably too dear for my poor pocket.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of stories to read in the winter. As Jackie Morris was commissioned to created illustrations for a musician's charity fund first, the stories, while connected, are sparse. That does not detract from the gentle, whimsical melancholy of them. If anything, I enjoyed that aspect; I didn't need to worry about keeping track of who was who, I could just let the words paint a picture. Speaking of pictures, they are stunning. The large format of the book (and it is big), really lets the details of the images shine. I can almost feel how warm the clothing is, how soft the fur of the animals are, and all the celestial, musical, and comradery in the images paints a cozy winter world I'd love to explore.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much nested as overlapping stories, these ethereal fairy-tales accompany a series of lavish and intricate paintings (the kind you spot new details in with each glance!) which started life as Christmas cards commissioned in aid of the UK Charity Help Musicians. As such, each artwork features musical instruments and their players, alongside the more natural elements Jackie Morris is known for; her animals and winterscapes evoke a dreamlike atmosphere, overlaid with the rich, warm colours of the musicians and accompanied by Morris's lyrical prose. The paintings are subtly festive (there are stars being followed, ships sailing in, kings and gifts... close inspection will even reveal a partridge in a pear tree!) but not religious per se, and as such The Quiet Music of Gently Falling Snow can be enjoyed by all, and at any time of year - though perhaps curled up by firelight on a cold night most of all!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this humongous large format hardback is the best way to see the art here, even if it was originally designed to be the decoration for charity Christmas cards, this is not the faultless product. The art - all parades of musicians, hares, big cats, balloonists, polar-bear-hugging women, and more - is a fantasia in itself, but the stories added on and in between at a later date took some time to really gel with me. I can see why jazz was a reference point before we began, for this is a thing that circles round, teasing with motifs and through-lines, before only perhaps too late on finding resolution. Three and a half stars, for I admire this yet it wasn't fully to my taste.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a loosely flowing narrative putting stories behind the Christmas card designs Jackie Morris has produced for charity Help Musicians UK over the past 17 years. The paintings for the cards are all reproduced in the book, many with details picked out in separate illustrations. The stories emphasize friendship and freedom as being more desirable than power. The paintings are wonderful, and will no doubt lead to other stories being created by those reading the book. Physically, this is a large and quite heavy book, and small children will need help managing it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, dreamy, beautiful and whimsical. This is a picture book for adults that haven't lost their childlike imaginations. This book takes you back to your own childhood perhaps, allows you to imagine things you wouldn't at an adult age. It's lovely and freeing to be able to imagine things like this again, and to get lost in them for a little while, just like gently falling snow. Here for a short while and then gone again.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautiful! Quite light, too, for such a large book. A must-have if you enjoy Morris' work.
(The only criticism I have is that the images can get a bit repetitive, but this is probably just because they're Christmas cards released months apart, and not originally created for a book. However, they're still totally lovely and that shouldn't stop you from getting this book.)

[Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful oversized book of glorious, evocative pictures and some gentle, ambiguous tales to go with them ... The pictures came first and are the reason to get this book, to fire your own imagination and weave your own tales to the quiet music of gently falling snow. The child I was would've adored this; the child still inside does, too.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book in every sense of the word.

Even if you read it for the intricate illustrations alone, it would be time well spent. The stories are an exquisitely crafted bonus; everything from magical flutes to talking animals to dreams shared by animals and humans.

Just a heavenly book.

[Lika_k · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art itself is beautiful but very monotonous: if you have seen one of them, you have seen all of them. The stories are very artificial in the sense of artificial positivity and kindness. I would not read them to my children, and for adults they are too plain, platitudinous and, once again, artificially positive.

[Gaby Meares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite illustrations support Jackie Morris’ original folk tales that celebrate music, musicians and the natural world. It was a delight to dip into this collection before falling asleep and dreaming of snow and gentle bears and music that brings peace and joy.

[Denni]

Beautiful book! So lucky to have had a fantastic book token gift.

[Zuzka Herbrychová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neviem. Možno preto, lebo nemám hudobný sluch. Možno preto, že túto knihu neviem čítať medziriadkovo. Viem, že mi chce povedať veľa, ale ja to necítim/nepočujem/nečítam.

[ailsa cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful art and lovely stories about the art - great christmas present. there are others by same author for gifts next year xx

[Pamela Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An imaginative and sensorial series of fables, myths and magical musicians...poetry.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has deeper resonances than would be appreciated by children.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, lyrical poetry, it was a lovely before bed read

[Cynthia J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are exquisite.

[Me Moi Myself · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, very relaxing. My favourite story was probs the tower of song

[Lindsay Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Lovely to read to children.