Bach Cello Suites

Today I've had the opportunity to listen to some really beautiful music, as I've driven about in my personal mobile concert hall! Listening to the Bach Cello Suites, as performed by Yo Yo Ma, I am transported beyond the mundane, to another place entirely, elegant, peaceful, filled with richness and warmth.

I love these pieces, just the artist and his instrument, and if you listen extremely closely, you can hear him breathe, or gather breath as he begins a particular passage. You begin to understand the concentration, the effort involved, the humanity of playing an instrument and making music. It can look effortless, but it is not.

The suites are actually Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, composed during a period from 1717-1723, when Johann Sebastian Bach was employed as Kapellmeister, or choir director, for a church in Cothen, Germany. The suites contain a variety of techniques and range of emotion, but it is their intimacy that makes then endure. They appear simple, but there is fierce competition between artists regarding their interpretation. Over time they have been transcribed for various instruments, including mandolin, guitar, piano, horn, clarinet, and even ukulele!

Here's an interesting bit: The suites were not widely known until the 1900's, when Pablo Casals discovered a particular edition of them in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain, when Casals was 13. He began studying them, and the rest is history! He did not perform them in public until 1925, when he was 48, and he agreed to record the pieces, becoming the first to record them in their entirety. There popularity them soared!

The suites are in six movements each, having the following structure and order of movements:

Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Galanteries, and Gigue.

Personally, I love them as interpreted by Yo Yo Ma, and I have included a couple You Tubes below for your listening pleasure. The first is joyful, celebratory; the second with such pathos that you could cry. Enjoy them, and then go out and purchase the whole set. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e05vCys-0Ac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL0YSCw5NRc

The Written Word

I read all the time! Mostly history, or if it is a worthwhile one, a historic novel. Nothing is worse than reading a trashy romance novel. I would expect you would feel cheated of your time as you turn the last page.

But, fine literature, the first-rate novel, as we know it today, is a product of the 18th Century! Of course, there were stories before, but the genre that constitutes the modern NOVEL was developed in the 1700's.
Some of the literary geniuses who wrote these enduring works include Daniel Dafoe who wrote "Robinson Crusoe" in 1719; Samuel Richardson who penned "Pamela - Virtue Rewarded" in 1740; Henry Fielding, "The Story of Tom Jones" - 1749.

The NOVEL is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre goes back to medieval times. Novels are categorized into the following types, though within these general categories, there are sub-categories:

1) The EPISTOLARY, or a story written as a diary, letters, journal entries. The hero tells the story recalling events documented. Think of "Letters of a Portugese Nun".
2) The SENTIMENTAL, generally a love story. Think of "Pride and Prejudice".
3) The HISTORY, or historic novel, where the hero is interjected into the plot of actual, historic events. Think of "Mutiny on The Bounty".
4) The GOTHIC, the tale of horror, suspense, ghosts, paranormal. "Think "Frankenstein".
5) The LIBERTINE, an anti-establishment plot, includes eroticism. Think "Dangerous Liasions"
6) the BILDUNGSROMAN, or "coming of age" story, where the reader follows a young person through a life span, or at least a period in his life. Think "Jane Eyre".

Personally, my favorite Bildungsroman is the story of Harry Potter! I love how, book by book, Harry not only grows/ages physically, but becomes the hero we all love. He is noble, brave, selfless, and he triumphs!

But back to the NOVEL in the 18th Century. Of course, morality always plays a part. If you do bad, you are paid in kind. Sometimes immediately, sometimes later on, but there is always a price to pay for bad behavior. The tragic hero can suffer personal loss, or the loss of something or someone meaningful to him. Of course, this is character-building, which is one of the purposes of these books during that time. Today, the hero gets away with alot more, and if the plot is interesting, the adventure compelling, the leading character does not always have to be moral or upstanding. Too bad, because if there is nothing to learn (except how to get what you want), these stories do not endure. Classic literature always has something deep, and compelling to say about human nature, and the human condition.

Anyway, I am about to start book #18 of the Master and Commander series. There are 21 books in all, and Patrick O'Brian is a "master" when telling the tale of the British Naval Officer and his Naturalist Companion during the Napoleonic Wars, and their adventures at sea, in battles, and on land, discovering wonders of the natural world. It is fine literature, indeed! (I gather it is a bildungsroman, with Capt. Aubrey beginning as a master and commander, and by now, attaining the rank of admiral! I look forward to seeing what new adventures Capt. Aubrey and Dr. Maturin will encounter. I have them lovingly placed on my library shelves, and always look forward to the purchase of the next installment.

These stories are not easily read. O'Brian does not dumb-down the naval terms, but with each book, you learn how to "navigate" as it were, and the relationship between the characters is priceless. Give them a whirl!  You won't be disappointed!

The Orthodox Expression of Christianity

The Orthodox Church represents one of the most beautiful, and rich expressions of Christianity. Though there are many variations in style depending on the country of origin (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Ethiopian, etc), members are fully united in faith and
in practice are slight, and in general, an Orthodox Christian can travel the globe and feel familiar with the services even if he is unfamiliar with the language spoken at a particular church.
Historically, the Roman Emperor Constantine was the first to sanction tolerance of Christians, in the year 330AD. He moved his capital to the Greek city of Byzantium and re-named itConstantine’s City, or Constantinople, and convened the first Ecumenical Council to establish what constituted the right (or orthodox) Faith and what was heresy. The Western and Eastern Church remained in communion until 1054, known as the Great Schism. The Orthodox Church has not deviated from the original Faith since the time of the Apostles, keeping the tradition alive through those times until today. Today, there are nearly 300 million Orthodox faithful.

In the 18^th Century,  Russian Orthodoxy came to North America, where a Russian church was built on Kodiak Island in Alaska, (Alaska being part of Russia until the United States bought the land), with a small group of missionaries landing on Kodiak Island, Alaska in 1794, bringing to the New World the Orthodox Faith of the Apostles. Over the next two hundred years, with the help of immigration from Europe and the Middle East, the Apostolic Faith spread throughout the North American continent.

The establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere came with the first Greek colonists landing in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in America. The first Greek Orthodox Church was eventually built in 1864
in New Orleans, Louisiana by a small group of Greek merchants!

 

Casanova and the Art of Seduction

This morning I was looking at an interesting blog about Giacomo Casanova (2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) and his association with Herr Mozart.

Interesting stuff. Of course, Casanova, besides his fame with the ladies, was an exceptional librettist and wrote for Mozart's operas. for those who are unfamiliar, the librettist is the one who writes the words for a dramatic musical work, like an opera or musical play. He is, in effect, the screen writer, if he was working on a film.

Anyway, it is said Casanova met Mozart in Prague in 1787, that Casanova worked on the libretto for Don Giovanni, Mozart's greatest opera.Don Giovanni is perhaps Mozart's most famous operatic work, though at the time, it was not as successful as some of his other more light-hearted pieces, but it has stood the test of time for its drama, its range of musical offering, and its subject.

The subject matter, of course, deals with a compulsive Lothario not at all unlike Casanova, who supposedly bedded thousands of willing women. In his autobiography "The Story of My Life" , written later in his life, he wrote, "There is no honest woman with an uncorrupted heart whom a man is not sure of conquering by dint of gratitude. It is one of the surest and shortest means." He did not rely on alcohol as a tool for seduction. He, instead, worked on being attentive, giving small favors to soften a woman's heart. He said, "A man who makes known his love by words is a fool", but he cautions that verbal communication is essential...without speech, the pleasure of love is diminished by at least two-thirds”—but words of love must be implied, not boldly proclaimed. He also stated that mutual consent was important. He strove to be an ideal escort, being witty, helpful, a confidant, and working his way, later on, eventually into the bedroom, at a woman's bidding.

When Mozart met Giacomo, Mozart was 31; the other 62! You can imagine the young musician enthusiastically encountering this famous man, willing to work on his libretto. You can imagine the stories shared! It must have been an exciting collaboration.

If you want to see a wonderful production of Don Giovanni on DVD, check out the Paris Opera production (see below) with starring Ruggero Raimondi, Kiri Te Kanawa,John Macurdy, Edda Moser. It's filmed on location in Vicenza, Italy, with fabulous vistas of the Italian countryside. It's breathtaking.

If you want to see a charming portrayal of Casanova, check out Heath Ledger in "Casanova". It's light-hearted, with wonderful costumes, again filmed in charming environs, and Ledger is absolutely beautiful! (What a loss that he is gone now).

If you want to hear some beautiful, dramatic music from the opera, see below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWMhfKBJf2g&feature=related

Herbert von Karajan plays with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra!

Make a Wish, and Blow Out the Candles!

The other day I celebrated my birthday, a landmark year, in fact, and it was filled with happy surprises and unexpected gifts. I truly was a wonderful day in every way. One of the lovely surprises was a dinner especially for me, given by my dearest daughter and her wonderful husband in their warm, friendly and gracious home. My daughter is a "18th-Century-o-Phile", if there is such a word, and she always makes every celebration picture-perfect, with special touches you hardly ever see anymore. She loves the formal table setting, with special serving pieces, and silverware for all the courses! We were, of course, in casual dress, but the setting warranted some satin ballgowns and perhaps a powdered wig or two!

The Dinner Menu included homemade organic pea soup with creme fraiche, salmon en croute, fennel and apple salad, and a lovely buttercreme birthday cake with peach preserves! Just look at the pictures below, and tell me, is that not special!

I looked into the traditional American birthday of the 18th Century, and found it resembled our modern celebrations, though sometimes it was given political significance or it honored an extraordinary person. These aristocratic celebrations bore the mark of luxury, while a working class individual's event, was more "homespun", so to speak, but still displayed the same amount of heart. A ball might have been scheduled for the luxurious party, where perhaps in a modest home, someone played the fiddle.  There was always the gift to be opened! If you were Puritan or Quaker, though, there was no party at all, as it was considered a pagan ritual.

The Western tradition of adding lit candles to the top of a birthday cake originates in 18th-century from Greece! In ancient times, Greeks used to take the cake to the temple of Artemis.  Some say the candles were placed on the cake because people believed that the smoke of the candles helped raise prayers to the gods. In the 18th Century, with the revival of Neo-classisism, the tradition was revived.

Though the exact origin of the candle blowing ritual is unknown, the placing of candles atop the cake is well documented. Check this out:

"This tradition can be traced to Kinderfest (Kinder is the German word for 'children'), an 18th century German birthday celebration for children. A letter written in 1799 by Goethe recounts: "...when it was time for dessert, the prince's entire livery...carried a generous-size torte with colorful flaming candles - amounting to some fifty candles - that began to melt and threatened to burn down, instead of there being enough room for candles indicating upcoming years, as is the case with children's festivities of this kind..."

So, there you have it!
Birthdays can, though shouldn't, be stressful. They are an acknowledgement of hopefully gaining wisdom through the years, and acceptance of who we truly are. When celebrated with loving friends and family, how can you not like your special day! I am thrilled to be (?). Ha Ha. I may be happy to have celebrated my birthday, but not everyone needs to know how very wise I am!

The Field of Honor!

Last night, about 11:30pm, as I was ensconced in my bed among the down pillows, almost in Dreamland, I heard two very loud sounds, or were they "bangs"? I wasn't quite sure. I listened a bit, and heard more general noise,  so I cozied up and went back to sleep. I was awakened about an hour later, when my Mom called me (my family lives in my complex, as well), to tell me there had been a shooting in the complex! And, moreover, two shots had fired into her living room window!! (Shots that crossed the room, went through a kitchen wall, out the other side, into a wall further on).

As you can imagine, I was floored! This was incredulous. If it had happened earlier, they could have been walking through the house, headed for the kitchen for that "midnight" glass of water! My mind set to all kinds of imaginings.

Then I started thinking about what prompted this type of event. A drug deal gone bad? A theft or murder plot? A domestic dispute? A jealous lover? What kind of gun? Was anyone killed? Wounded? Maimed? A killer still on the loose?

Well, we have always had incidents of violence and conflict in our world, and guns or knives or strong, strangling hands have always been with us. I started thinking about the 18th Century "gentlemenly" solution to a wronged, or insulted individual.......the Duel! The "duel at midnight", the "duel at 10 paces", the infamous duel so often depicted in great old classic movies.

The duel was based on a code of honor, and was fought not so much to kill the opponent, but to gain "satisfaction", to restore one's honor by showing a willingness to die for it!  It was a tradition reserved for male nobility, at least in the beginning. The duel had a pre-arranged time and place, once the challenging invitation was met, a guantlet thrown down.

Duels were fought with sword or rapier, or the classic duelling pistols, which were actually sold in pairs, single-shot flintlock, or black powder pistols which fired a lead musket ball. These pistols were identical in appearance, reliability and accuracy. The participants were generally not prosecuted, or convicted. It was a standard arrangement that was participated in willingly. Now, if you felt you were not up for the task, or not a good shot, you could call on your "second", a person that was willing to stand in for you. Now, that some friend!
Of course, there were witnesses, and duels started with the opponents "about face", walking several steps apart, then being asked to turn, and fire! If you fired early and missed your opponent, then they got a turn, too! Now, that's justice!

Today, I am a bit less appalled, and little more resigned to the fact that these things happen every day, and by the grace of God, no one was walking around my family's home at 11:30pm. And, I feel like watching a good old classic film where "gentlemen" in satin breeches, and flouncy lace sleeves duel it out for the honor of a damsel in distress!

Going to the Symphony

Going to the Symphony can be a wonderful experience, but did you know that the form that we know as "the symphony" today took shape in the 18th Century?
It grew from the Italian overture, or the piece of instrumental music heard at the beginning of an opera, that sets the tone of the operatic story to come. Another type of form it evolved from is the "ripieno concerto", a concerto-type form designed for strings, with no solo instruments. Antonio Vivaldi wrote alot of this type of work, as well as Johann Sebastian Bach, whose most famous ripieno is the Brandenburg Concerto #3!

And, the vast majority of syphonies at the time were written in major keys, which is easy on the ears, and makes for a pleasant experience even for those not particularly familiar with the depths that sophisticated symphonic music can go. Basically, most symphony performance focus on enjoyable music, thereby increasing the attendance and exposure!

And of course, there is certain etiquette that makes the for a richer experience. The word "etiquette" means card or placard, which were posting with rules to follow for all in attendance! And these rules were followed with strict adherence. This was developed during the reign of King Louis XIV (early 1700's). Of course that was France!  Later on and in other lands, though, a musician like Mozart expected his audience to enjoy the experience of the music concert in a much more different manner. During his performances, people could eat, drink, talk, and he was delighted if they burst into applause.

Through the 19th Century, and today, we are back to the high-brow audience of the silence during the performance, the chastisement of one who claps at the wrong place, taps a foot, or even whispers to his fellow attendee.
I think I like a happy medium where you can hear the music, but be able to express one's appreciation or joy.