12 March 2015

"Spem in alium" in memory of Terry Pratchett

"In June 2011 Terry Pratchett presented a one-off BBC television documentary entitled Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die on the subject of assisted death. It won the Best Documentary award at the Scottish BAFTAs in November 2011. He also stated several times that, when he dies, he wished to hear Thomas Tallis's Spem in alium played in the background."
Reddit memorial megathread.

8 comments:

  1. The author died at home, surrounded by his family, "with his cat sleeping on his bed." Probably an acceptable alternative, with this music in his mind.

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  2. Stan, I'd be interested to hear what decision you made (if circumstances permitted you to make a decision at all) after asking your readers for advice on 5 November 2013 about which Terry Pratchett book to read first.

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    1. I chose "Guards, Guards!", rated it 2.5 on my personal 0-4 scale, so didn't choose to review it for the "recommended books" section of TYWKIWDBI.

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  3. I wish I could believe that the great man's passing was as easy as it's being made to seem. We've not seen much of him for quite a while now. It must have been so very hard for him, as pieces of himself gradually peeled away.

    Given how bereft so many of us feel who are just his fans, I feel for his family.

    Oh, and beautiful music by the way.

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  4. Sad news.
    Another homage here;
    http://xkcd.com/1498/

    cheers another phil

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  5. I misread that as 'allium' and my brain instantly translated it as "Cripple Mr Onion". I suspect Terry and Bill Door would laugh at that.

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    1. I had a blank moment before I remembered who Bill Door is, then a wry smile.

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  6. I used to want "Against the Wind" played at my funeral, but now I don't even want a funeral.

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