a site by John Cobley

a coppice gate

Welcome

Welcome to A Coppice Gate, a non-profit site that explores music, poetry, drama and art.

 

Sharing. I’ve always enjoyed sharing my interests with friends and like-minded acquaintances. This website will be dedicated to sharing aspects of music and writing that have moved or interested me.

 

As this site develops, it will cover jazz, modern classical music, poetry (especially  Russian), drama (stage, film and television), art and photography, and writing (novels, magazine articles, reviews).

 

I hope to be able to stimulate you to explore some of the topics I will write about. And I look forward to feedback.

 

John Cobley

Featured Articles

Larkin's Use of a Woolf Innovation

Woolf's innovation in two later novels was utilized by Larkin in A Girl in Winter.

Duke Ellington Lets Down Ella Fitzgerald

Evaluation of the jazz albums Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook, vols. 1 and 2

Most Recent Articles

Nikolai Gumilyov: Alien Sky (1912)

He whispers to me: “Willful one,Why are you so downcast ?Or have you grown sadAbout your former, f...

Nikolai Gumilyov: Bonfire (1918)

I know that the grandeur of a perfect lifeIs given not to us but to trees.On this gentle Earth, sist...

Nikolai Gumilyov: Pearls (1910)

Dear boy, you’re so cheerful, your smile’s so bright.Don’t ask for this happiness; it poisons ...

Mark Wigglesworth's The Silent Musician: Extracts

Extracts from The Silent Musician by Mark Wigglesworth

Nikolai Gumilyov: Romantic Flowers (1908)

Like a conquistador in iron armour,I have travelled the roads in good cheer,Sometimes resting in joy...

Nikolai Gumilyov: Path of the Conquistadors 1905

I became a nomad so that I can touch everything that wanders!-André Gide I’m a conquistador in i...

Most Popular

Adrian Allinson: A Brief Biography and Assessment

A brief biography and assessment of Adrian Allison

The Birth of "Take the A Train"

Strayhorn's "Take the A Train," which became a huge hit, was nearly lost before it was ever recorded. Ellington's recording is analysed.

Stan Getz, Sweet Rain: Must-Have Jazz Album #2

Jazz Album description

Marni Nixon: The Singing Voice of Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn

Marni Nixon dubbed the singing voices of film stars Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn

Juan Tizol: A Classically Trained Musician in Jazz

Profile of Juan Tizol focussing on his classical training