ALL truly beautiful music written by sublimely gifted composers and performed by gifted, well-trained artists is a form of PRAYER -- whether it is specifically labelled as "liturgical, or "religious" or not.
I too had never heard this particular piece before, but easily received it as a dear, old friend, I hadn't met till today.
I wish everyone had the gift that enables some to appreciate this kind of thing for what it is -- a window piercing the darkness of this world that gives us a tiny glimpse of Heaven.
I believe the great works of Art of all kinds are like myriad pinpricks in the wall of blackness that separates mortal man from God (the perfect embodiment of Truth, Love, Intelligence, Principle, Spirit, Beauty, Soul, and Life, itself).
Without great Music, fine Art and Literature life on earth would be pure hell.
Thank you for providing this lovely selection, AOW, and the beauitiful picture that accompanies it. Do we know whether it is a sunset -- or a sunrise? ;-)
She sweeps with many-colored brooms, And leaves the shreds behind; Oh, housewife of the golden west, Come back, and dust the pond!
You dropped a purple ravelling in, You dropped an amber thread; And now you've littered all the East With duds of emerald!
And still she plies her spotted brooms, And still the aprons fly, Till brooms fade softly into stars –– And then I come away.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
I once set that to music along with 19 other poems by Miss Dickinson. Sadly the manuscript got lost in the welter of confusion dominating a move from a house I'd occupied for 23 years. A tragedy for me certainly, but I have only my own carelessness to blame.
Impossible to recreate those songs, written nearly twenty years ago, now that I've lost most of my vision.
But isn't the idyllic poem a perfect companion to the picture you chose and Janacek's music? He wrote well into the twentieth century, but he was really one of the last romantics.
Janacek wrote wonderful music. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but his so-called comic opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, is a charming masterpiece. Like many really good, deceptively simple things it may be enjoyed on many levels.
The Cunning Little Vixen
Leoš Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen. Adventures of the lady fox known as Sharp-Ears, an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized comic strip by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.
The Cunning Little Vixen incorporates Moravian folk music and rhythms within its composition. Described as a comic opera, it nonetheless contains a serious theme. Interpretations of the work have been varied, ranging from children's entertainment to heartbreaking tragedy. [truncated by FT]
A wonderful movie version using artfully drawn animated cartoons brilliantly evokes the charm, whimsy and touching pathos of the work better than any of the live performances I've seen all of which have been very good. I suppose that's fitting, since the whole thing started out life as a serialized comic strip in a newspaper.
At any rate, sections from the little vixen might be a good way to introduce children to the world of opera, even though much of it is written in a "modern" idiom, the music is quite accessible to average music lovers. It's a most endearing score.
AOW, we often have different musical tastes, but you're right...c'est la vie! And I have to admit, for 'modern' I didn't hate it as much as usual :-) So, good pick!
no, not so much atonal, but Smetana's The Moldau comes to mind and I love that....it's lots of strings and sort of loosely melodic but GOES somewhere in a more orderly musical pattern that I like. As I said above, this wasn't as disagreeable to me as usual...and it's not QUITE modern but close enough :) thanks, I like these explorations.
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Nice pick. I had not heard of him.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to explore some of the lesser-known music. So much of it! We have treasures that we've never even heard of!
DeleteThis was a lovely background to my first morning stretches. Mr. B and I both enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just okay, but sure enjoyed the image! I'd call this IDLE for Strings :-)
ReplyDeleteZ,
DeleteWe obviously have different tastes in music. C'est la vie!
ALL truly beautiful music written by sublimely gifted composers and performed by gifted, well-trained artists is a form of PRAYER -- whether it is specifically labelled as "liturgical, or "religious" or not.
ReplyDeleteI too had never heard this particular piece before, but easily received it as a dear, old friend, I hadn't met till today.
I wish everyone had the gift that enables some to appreciate this kind of thing for what it is -- a window piercing the darkness of this world that gives us a tiny glimpse of Heaven.
I believe the great works of Art of all kinds are like myriad pinpricks in the wall of blackness that separates mortal man from God (the perfect embodiment of Truth, Love, Intelligence, Principle, Spirit, Beauty, Soul, and Life, itself).
Without great Music, fine Art and Literature life on earth would be pure hell.
Thank you for providing this lovely selection, AOW, and the beauitiful picture that accompanies it. Do we know whether it is a sunset -- or a sunrise? ;-)
FT,
DeleteAha! I finally found a piece of classical music unfamiliar to you.
I think that I discovered it via a music-break post at Infidel Bloggers Alliance. Pastorius posts all types of music.
I think that the photo is a sunset. Time for the idyll of rest.
She sweeps with many-colored brooms,
DeleteAnd leaves the shreds behind;
Oh, housewife of the golden west,
Come back, and dust the pond!
You dropped a purple ravelling in,
You dropped an amber thread;
And now you've littered all the East
With duds of emerald!
And still she plies her spotted brooms,
And still the aprons fly,
Till brooms fade softly into stars ––
And then I come away.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
I once set that to music along with 19 other poems by Miss Dickinson. Sadly the manuscript got lost in the welter of confusion dominating a move from a house I'd occupied for 23 years. A tragedy for me certainly, but I have only my own carelessness to blame.
Impossible to recreate those songs, written nearly twenty years ago, now that I've lost most of my vision.
But isn't the idyllic poem a perfect companion to the picture you chose and Janacek's music? He wrote well into the twentieth century, but he was really one of the last romantics.
FT,
DeleteMany-colored brooms are starting to make their appearance here in Northern Virginia. I noticed them yesterday when I was out running errands.
Janacek wrote wonderful music. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but his so-called comic opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, is a charming masterpiece. Like many really good, deceptively simple things it may be enjoyed on many levels.
ReplyDeleteThe Cunning Little Vixen
Leoš Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen. Adventures of the lady fox known as Sharp-Ears, an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized comic strip by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.
The Cunning Little Vixen incorporates Moravian folk music and rhythms within its composition. Described as a comic opera, it nonetheless contains a serious theme. Interpretations of the work have been varied, ranging from children's entertainment to heartbreaking tragedy. [truncated by FT]
A wonderful movie version using artfully drawn animated cartoons brilliantly evokes the charm, whimsy and touching pathos of the work better than any of the live performances I've seen all of which have been very good. I suppose that's fitting, since the whole thing started out life as a serialized comic strip in a newspaper.
At any rate, sections from the little vixen might be a good way to introduce children to the world of opera, even though much of it is written in a "modern" idiom, the music is quite accessible to average music lovers. It's a most endearing score.
AOW, we often have different musical tastes, but you're right...c'est la vie!
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to admit, for 'modern' I didn't hate it as much as usual :-) So, good pick!
Janacek is somewhat modern (more of a late Romantic), but not atonal. I cannot abide most atonal music. Ick!
Deleteno, not so much atonal, but Smetana's The Moldau comes to mind and I love that....it's lots of strings and sort of loosely melodic but GOES somewhere in a more orderly musical pattern that I like. As I said above, this wasn't as disagreeable to me as usual...and it's not QUITE modern but close enough :)
ReplyDeletethanks, I like these explorations.