Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Bach - Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, Manuscript
Julian Shuckburgh’s new biography of J.S. Bach includes images by Caroline Wilkinson, a ‘forensic facial-reconstructor’. Wilkinson used laser scans of the Haussmann portrait and a bronze cast of Bach’s skull to build computer models of the composer’s head.
Upon Bach's death in 1750, the original manuscript passed into the possession, possibly through his second wife Anna Magdalena, of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach. It was inherited by the last male descendant of J.C.F. Bach, Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach, who passed it on to his sister Louisa of Bückeburg.
Two other early manuscripts also exist. One, originally identified as an authentic Bach autograph from his Leipzig period, is now identified as being a 1726 copy by Bach's second wife Anna Magdalena Bach, and is the companion to the earliest surviving handwritten copy of the six suites Bach wrote for solo cello. The other, a copy made by one of Bach's students Johann Peter Kellner, is well preserved, despite the fact that the B minor Partita was missing from the set and that there are numerous errors and omissions. All three manuscripts are in the Berlin State Museum and have been in the possession of the Bach-Gesellschaft since 1879, through the efforts of Alfred Dörffel.
About the work
Manuscript
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Heraclitus "The Obscure" - Fragments
This is what's left of the work of Heraclitus, the most interesting and enigmatic of the pre-Socratic philosophers. Diversity and constant mutation; the contraries which are reconciled in the final and total unity of Logos. Heraclitus tells us that the Universe is in permanent, constant transformation, that this perennial movement is embedded in the One, the summing up of all things which constitutes only one concept (Logos). The opposite of Parmenides, who emphasized Unity over Diversity and transformation, Heraclitus is proof that, by his time (6th century BC), educated Greeks took mythology basically as literature and folklore, but not as serious religion: their minds had expanded well beyond the fantastic adventures of the many antropomorphic Gods, to devise and understand that the Divinity has to be the final Unity, whatever its form. Heraclitus is, surprisingly, extremely "modern" in his approach to Nature and Divinity. The fragments reveal a powerful intellect, a real and relevant precursor of Western culture and civilization. Recommendable both to professional philosophers (whatever that means) and to the public interested in reflecting about the Universe and what it is. (Guillermo Maynez)
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 – c. 475 BCE) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Asia Minor. He was of distinguished parentage. Little is known about his early life and education, but he regarded himself as self-taught and a pioneer of wisdom. From the lonely life he led, and still more from the riddling nature of his philosophy and his contempt for humankind in general, he was called "The Obscure" and the "Weeping Philosopher".
Heraclitus is famous for his insistence on ever-present change in the universe, as stated in the famous saying, "No man ever steps in the same river twice". He believed in the unity of opposites, stating that "the path up and down are one and the same", all existing entities being characterized by pairs of contrary properties. His cryptic utterance that "all entities come to be in accordance with this Logos" (literally, "word", "reason", or "account") has been the subject of numerous interpretations.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Chateaubriand - Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe
The sources of René are partly autobiographical (Chateaubriand’s family estate near Saint-Malo, his close relationship with his sister Lucile, social upheaval following the French Revolution, his trip to the New World), partly literary (Rousseau’s Saint-Preux, Goethe’s Werther, 18th century interest in the monastic theme as well as incest).
In 1837, in his Mémoires d’outre-tombe [Memoirs from Beyond the Grave], Chateaubriand writes: «If René did not exist, I would no longer write it; if it were possible to destroy it, I would; it has infested the souls of many youths, an effect which I had not foreseen, for it was this very malady I wished to counter. A family of poets and prose writers has come forth, and one reads only disjointed and melancholy phrases. […] There isn’t an aspiring poet who hasn’t dreamt of becoming the most miserable of men, or a youth of sixteen who, tormented by what he takes for genius, doesn’t feel that his life is over.
About Chateaubriand...
About Book...
Wiki english and Here
Monday, May 27, 2013
Very Old Recordings 4: Granados and Mahler
Enrique Granados ~ Four 'Goyescas' ~ Premier recording by Granados in Germany for Hupfeld around 1912
Gustav Mahler plays his symphony no.5, 1º mov. in 1905 (Welte roll)
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Gavin Bryars - Madrigals
Like many Englishmen I had sung madrigals for pleasure - usually late at night with friends, after several glasses of wine. While these madrigals have their charm, and many are extremely beautiful, I found through embarking on an extended exploration of the madrigal as a creative venture that the richest source lies in the Italian Renaissance. Follow...
5 madrigals from the first book
00:00 - no 7: she'd buy things
01:52 - no 8: all the homely arts and crafts
03:31 - no 9: in april
05:45 - no 10: who's the more to blame
07:45 - no 12: my pomegranate
Gavin Bryars: 'Marconi's madrigal' for 6 voices, on text by Francesco Petrarca for six voices (2002). Commissioned by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for the centenary of Marconi's
Saturday, May 25, 2013
John Zorn: Patton, Uri Caine And A Film
John Zorn: "All the various styles are organically connected to one another. I'm an additive person - the entire storehouse of my knowledge informs everything I do. People are so obsessed with the surface that they can't see the connections, but they are there."
John Zorn - Iao - Lucifer Risin'
Uri Caine plays Book of Angels
Documentary: A Bookshelf On Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn
Friday, May 24, 2013
Albéniz - Triana, orchestral version
Isaac Albéniz - Triana, from Iberia
orchestrated by Jesus Rueda
Orchestra de Cadaqués
Gianandrea Noseda
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Finland - Mieskuoro Huutajat (Men's Choir Shouters)
Mieskuoro Huutajat (Men's Choir Shouters) is an internationally famous shouting choir from Oulu, Finland. They were established in 1987 and originally comprised 20 shouting men, since expanded to 30.
Led by conductor Petri Sirviö, the choir is best known for their loud renditions of Finnish patriotic songs, but have also performed foreign tunes such as The Star-Spangled Banner.
They were guest performers at Congratulations, a special 50th anniversary concert for the Eurovision Song Contest held in Copenhagen, Denmark in October, 2005.
The performances show some similarities to the traditional Māori's haka war cries.
About...
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Burundi - Traditional Music
Whispering Song accompanied by inanga
Burundi girl sings song of welcome
Akazehe. Song of welcome
This music from Burundi attempts to present some of the salient examples of musical traditions in the old Kingdom. Some of the music is really quite amazing in the way that it can be both incredibly simple, but at the same time almost mesmerizing. The music are really more of the form for an ethnomusicologist, in that many are simply a minute or two and exist solely to demonstrate a given technique or instrument, but for those ethnomusicologists, it will be quite worthwhile. There are demonstrations of native inanga zithers, ubuhuha vocal techniques, whispered singing techniques, musical bows, and ritualized greetings.
About...
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Very Old Recordings 3 (Welte): Scriabin and Debussy
Alexander Scriabin plays Scriabin (1910)
Etude Op.8 No.12 Welte-Mignon recording
Claude Debussy plays Debussy (1913)
Welte-Mignon Piano Roll #2733
Children's Corner No. 6
"Golliwogg's Cakewalk"
"Golliwogg's Cakewalk"
Monday, May 20, 2013
Nanook Of The North (1922)
Robert Flaherty’s classic film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay region. Enormously popular when released in 1922, Nanook of the North is a cinematic milestone that continues to enchant audiences. The original director’s cut is restored to the proper frame rate and tinted according to Flaherty’s personal print.
Nanook of the North was the first of Robert J. Flaherty's romantic depictions of man's dignified perseverance in combating a malevolent nature. Flaherty is often called "the father of the documentary", and he did make the first theatrical documentary feature with Nanook. But that fact does not do justice to the humanism and the technical brilliance that makes his best works -- Nanook, Man of Aran andLouisiana Story -- beautiful and enduring.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Medieval Spain 4 - Cantigas de Alfonso X el Sabio
The manuscripts have survived in four codices: two at El Escorial, one at Madrid's National Library, and one in Florence, Italy. Some have colored miniatures showing pairs of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments.
The music is written in notation which is similar to that used for chant, but also contains some information about the length of the notes. Several transcriptions exist. The Cantigas are frequently recorded and performed by Early Music groups, and quite a few CDs featuring music from the Cantigas are available.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Morocco - Paul Bowles and Mohamed Choukri
PAUL BOWLES
Paul Bowles lived for 52 of his 88 years in Tangier. Not surprisingly, he became identified with the city: during his life visitors would seek him out, and on his death obituary-writers without fail linked his life to his residency: he became a symbolic American expatriate, and the city became the symbol of his expatriate status.
At the time of his first visit with Aaron Copland in 1931 Tangier had an anomalous status, a Moroccan city which was not Moroccan, with a population at once Berber, Arab, Spanish, and European, speaking Spanish, French, Berber and Arabic, under the control of a consortium of foreign powers, one of them the United States. Paul Bowles was entranced. On his return in 1947 the city had already changed, but not enough to rob it of its aura of strangeness and wonder. In 1955 there were anti-European riots, and in 1956 the city was returned to full Moroccan control.
Paul Bowles' reputation as a composer was ultimately overshadowed by his writing. He studied with Aaron Copland. He wrote chamber music and incidental music for the stage. The score of his 1955 opera Yerma is especially memorable and gets much radio-play. He collected Moroccan folk music. His compositions are being re-released.
Book (The Sheltering Sky)
MOHAMED CHOUKRI
For Bread Alone became an international success when was published in English translation of Al-khoubz Al-Hafi (For Bread Alone, Telegram Books) by Paul Bowles in 1973, but the book also caused a furor in the Arab world. When the Arabic edition emerged, it was prohibited in Morocco, on the authority of the Interior Minister, following the advice of the religious authorities. It was said to have offended by its references to teenage sexual experiences and drug abuse. This censorship ended in 2000, and For Bread Alone was finally published in Morocco. In 2005, For Bread Alone was removed from the syllabus of a modern Arabic Literature course at the American University in Cairo in 2005, due to some sexually explicit passages, prompting some observers to criticize the "ban" and blame government censorship.
About "For Bread Alone"...
English and Here
Spanish and Here
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Mongolia - Urtiin Duu and Throat Singing
The Urtiin duu or “long song” is one of two major forms of Mongolian songs, other are “short song” (Bogino duu). As a grand ritual form of expression associated with important celebrations and festivities, Urtiin duu plays a distinct and honoured role within Mongolian society. It is performed at weddings, the inauguration of a new home, the birth of a child, the branding of foals or other social and religious festivities celebrated by Mongolia’s nomadic communities. Urtiin duu can also be heard at the naadam, a festivity celebrating sports competitions in wrestling, archery and horseracing.
Tuva is a predominantly rural region of Russia located northwest of Mongolia. There, throat-singing is calledKhöömei. Singers use a form of circular breathing which allows them to sustain multiple notes for long periods of time. Young Tuvan singers are trained from childhood through a sort of apprentice system to use the folds of the throat as reverberation chambers. Throat-singing in Tuva is almost exclusively practiced by men, although the taboo against women throat-singers, based on the belief that such singing may cause infertility, is gradually being abandoned, and some girls are now learning and performing Khöömei.
English Wiki and English Unesco org
Spanish Wiki and Spanish Unesco org
English Wiki and Smithsonian Folkways
Spanish Wiki
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
T. S. Eliot - The Waste Land (1922)
With the publication of The Waste Land in 1922, now considered by many to be the single most influential poetic work of the twentieth century, Eliot's reputation began to grow to nearly mythic proportions; by 1930, and for the next thirty years, he was the most dominant figure in poetry and literary criticism in the English-speaking world.
Book
About...
Monday, May 13, 2013
Bukowski - Born Into This (2003)
Charles Bukowski was a prolific underground writer who used his his poetry and prose to depict the depravity of urban life and the downtrodden in American society. A cult hero, Bukowski relied on experience, emotion, and imagination in his work, using direct language and violent and sexual imagery. While some critics found his style offensive, others claimed that Bukowski satirized the machismo attitude through his routine use of sex, alcohol abuse, and violence. “Without trying to make himself look good, much less heroic, Bukowski writes with a nothing-to-lose truthfulness which sets him apart from most other ‘autobiographical’ novelists and poets,” commented Stephen Kessler in the San Francisco Review of Books, adding: “Firmly in the American tradition of the maverick, Bukowski writes with no apologies from the frayed edge of society.” Michael Lally in Village Voice maintained that “Bukowski is…a phenomenon. He has established himself as a writer with a consistent and insistent style based on what he projects as his ‘personality,’ the result of hard, intense living.”
Born in Germany, Bukowski was brought to the United States at the age of two. His father believed in firm discipline and often beat Bukowski for the smallest offenses, abuse Bukowski detailed in his autobiographical coming-of-age novel, Ham on Rye (1982). A slight child, Bukowski was also bullied by boys his own age, and was frequently rejected by girls because of his bad complexion. “When Bukowski was 13,” wrote Ciotti, “one of [his friends] invited him to his father’s wine cellar and served him his first drink of alcohol: ‘It was magic,’ Bukowski would later write. ‘Why hadn’t someone told me?’”
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Joris-Karl Huysmans - À rebours
Joris-Karl Huysmans is most famous for this novel AGAINST NATURE and he predicted it would be a failure with the public and critics: "but I don't give a damn! It will be something nobody has ever done before, and I shall have said what I want to say." The book created a storm of publicity; though many older critics were scandalised, it appealed to the young generation.
The painter Whistler called it a "marvellous" book. Oscar Wilde regarded it as his "Bible and bedside book." It was to him "one of the best I have ever seen." It was reviewed everywhere as the guidebook of Decadence.
AGAINST NATURE is the "poisonous French novel" that leads to the downfall of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. The book's plot dominated the action of Dorian, causing him to live a life of sin and hedonism.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Tuareg Music in Essakane (Timbuktu)
Traditional Tuareg music has two major components: the monochord violin anzad played often during night parties and a small tambour covered with goatskin called tende, performed during camel and horse races, and other festivities. Traditional songs called Asak and Tisiway (poems) are sung by women and men during feasts and social occasions. Another popular Tuareg musical genre is takamba, characteristic for its Afro percussions.
About...
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