Friday, December 9, A.D. 2011

Hatikvah

Given my recent trip to ארץ ישראל, I thought that I would offer the Israeli anthem, which means “the hope.” The song reminded me of one of my favorite pieces, “Vltava,” from Smetana’s Má Vlast. I discovered that both works owe some of their beauty to an Italian Renaissance tune, “La Mantovana.”

Hatikva is not as sublime as the Czech masterpiece, but it makes for a worthy anthem. You may read the poem’s words on Wikipedia.

On the long flight to Tel Aviv, I repeatedly transitioned between states of sleep and consciousness while catching glimpses of other people on the plane, hearing random conversations, and watching film sequences on personal entertainment monitors. I was particularly intrigued and confused by scenes from the neighboring monitor’s display of The Tree of Life. Then, I caught the faint sound of Smetana’s “Moldau,” and I quickly grabbed an earphone set to listen to the movie’s soundtrack. Imagine the joy of a man in a desert who happens upon a spring, and you have some idea of my psychic state at that moment.

Posted by Joseph on Friday, December 9, A.D. 2011
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Wednesday, August 10, A.D. 2011

Jews at Bayreuth

The plucky Israel Chamber Orchestra has shown their eydl character by performing at the one hundredth Wagner festival in Bayreuth: “Germany opens taboo-shattering Wagner festival.” Lambasted by Wagner haters and the perennially aggrieved, the orchestra’s decision helps to chisel away further the taboo against Wagner in the Israeli community. Good for them. Wagner is celebrated for his music, not for his political opinions or for the fact that he was beloved by National Socialists generations after his death.

Posted by Joseph on Wednesday, August 10, A.D. 2011
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Monday, July 4, A.D. 2011

Anchors Aweigh

As a patriotic and filial tribute, I present Charles A. Zimmerman’s “Anchors Aweigh” on this Independence Day:

Thanks for serving, Dad!

Wikipedia has an article on the song’s development in naval culture.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, July 4, A.D. 2011
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Tuesday, November 9, A.D. 2010

Random Acts of Culture

On What Does the Prayer Really Say, Fr. Z. posted a story from Philadelphia that I found quite moving. Evidently, the Knight Foundation is sponsoring “Random Acts of Culture” throughout the country, where the arts are taken to the people. A few weeks ago, a Random Act of Culture occurred at a mall in Philadelphia. Hundreds of choristers covertly dispersed themselves throughout the mall to wait for the organist’s cue, whereupon they all broke into the “Hallelujah” chorus of Handel’s Messiah. There were camera crews ready to capture the moment and the reactions of the innocent. It is pretty awesome.

I think that this is a worthwhile use of foundation money. So much that such organizations do is wicked and counterproductive, fulfilling Sullivan’s First Law and becoming funding streams for America’s internal enemies. Consider, for example, the egregious work of the Ford Foundation, which would surely horrify poor old Henry.

What we see in the Philly video, however, is an invasion of transcendence into the marketplace. What makes it even better is that the song is among the English world’s greatest doxologies. In the midst of secular, consumerist, multicultural, post-Christian America, we see how people react to an explosion of Western Christian and, indeed, universal beauty. The more that this occurs, the more people will realize that our civilization is worth fighting and living for.

Posted by Joseph on Tuesday, November 9, A.D. 2010
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Thursday, November 4, A.D. 2010

Lezginka

My favorite part of Aram Khachaturian’s Gayaneh is the Lezghinka dance. Here it is performed by Chilean students in the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil:

Armenian Dionysian is what I would call it. Moreover, I think that the Chilean kids did a pretty good job.

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, November 4, A.D. 2010
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Monday, October 4, A.D. 2010

MacDonald on the New Classical Golden Age

As someone firmly convinced that Western civilization is hemorrhaging before our eyes, I do not see many positive developments in the world. However, City Journal‘s Heather MacDonald gives us one contemporary blessing for which to be thankful in “Classical Music’s New Golden Age.” MacDonald examines the vitality of the classical music scene throughout the world and argues for its prominence in the near future while also debunking or modifying some of the reasons for the widespread pessimism concerning the state of high cultural music. She also reports on the explosion of interest in early music and even mentions some of the groups that I love. The article delighted me and gave me hope. The barbarians are ever at the gate, but we have survived and flourished nonetheless. May such continue for many millennia more.

Posted by Joseph on Monday, October 4, A.D. 2010
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Saturday, December 19, A.D. 2009

Borodino

Happy feast of Saint Nicholas (on the old calendar, today is the sixth of December)!

The Saint Nicholas Center mentions that, among many other things, Nicholas is one of the patron saints of soldiers. He is also one of the patrons of Moscow. So, allow me quite tangentially to celebrate his feast day by presenting you Lermontov’s “Бородино,” sung at Duke University by the alumni of the Yale Russian Chorus.

I do not know where Russian soldiers found the tune to which they sang Lermontov’s poem, but it works well. The Russians can sing. I wonder if such was true before they converted. Were they musical pagans, as I imagine the Irish to have been?

Indulging in my Russophilia, I also present the blessing of the soldiers from Bondarchuk’s War and Peace (Война и мир). My brother Adam should appreciate the small indirect homage to his favorite writer.

Bondarchuk’s film is evidently the most expensive film ever to be made, at seven hundred million of today’s dollars. That makes Avatar look reasonably priced.

Enjoy Saint Nicholas’ Day!

Posted by Joseph on Saturday, December 19, A.D. 2009
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Friday, September 4, A.D. 2009

Rondo alla Turca

Here is a popular treat from Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 11, the Alla Turca: Allegretto, played by Italian pianist Massimiliano Ferrati.

I have loved this piece since I first encountered it in cartoons and video games as a child. It is very catchy. Was mehter music really that good?

Posted by Joseph on Friday, September 4, A.D. 2009
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Thursday, August 20, A.D. 2009

Mercury, the Winged Messenger

I have already mentioned my admiration for Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite in “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.” Below is “Mercury, the Winged Messenger” by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Hickox.

Here is a video of a live performance by the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

I am not sure whether “Mercury” is my second favorite movement from The Planets, but it is a contender.

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, August 20, A.D. 2009
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Tuesday, July 21, A.D. 2009

Moon Songs

I tried to think of a fitting lunar song as a followup to yesterday’s post about Apollo 11. I never liked Moondance or Blue Moon, and Bad Moon Rising seemed too ill fitting. So, I have settled for one high brow piece and one low brow song: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Mecano’s “Hijo de la Luna” from their Entre el cielo y el suelo album.

You may listen to Beethoven’s hauntingly beautiful Piano Sonata No. 14 below. The fellow who uploaded the videos mistakenly marked each of them as the second movement, but I think that I posted them in the correct order.

First Movement:

Second Movement:

Third Movement:

I first heard Mecano’s “Hijo de la Luna” when I was studying in Paris. The video is very 80’s with oddly androgynous people and weird, sullen styles. The song, however, is about a gypsy woman who prays for a child. The moon grants her a child, but the woman’s husband rejects the boy because he is pale (like the moon). The man kills his wife, as he thinks that she has committed adultery. Yet, the boy escapes to the moon.

The video depiction of the moon boy is fittingly creepy.

If only 80’s fashion had not gotten in the way of elemental pagan imagery, it could have been an excellent video.

Posted by Joseph on Tuesday, July 21, A.D. 2009
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