I am only one, but still, I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something. - Edward Everett Hale
2008, March 21
Good Friday, Bach's Birthday and a Full Moon
How to celebrate: the return of music to the church after Lent, with the St. Matthew and the St. John Passions.
March 21 marks the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. This year it is Good Friday, the day for which the Passions were composed and it is a Full Moon.
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 – will be the earliest Easter Sunday since 1913. Easter Sunday is defined as the first Sunday after the “Ecclesiastical Full Moon” (the Church’s approximation of when a Full Moon will occur, generally within a day of the actual Full Moon) after March 20th, which was the date fixed by the Church as Equinox in 325 AD. The earliest possible Easter Sunday is March 22nd, which last occurred in 1818, and will next occur in 2285. Image of the full moon of March 21, 2008 courtesy of Matt Wedel.
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Gustav Leonhardt conducting the St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.1. |
Jonathan Peter Kenny sings an aria from the St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.39. |
2008, March 16
For Palm Sunday
Cantata BWV 182, Himmelskönig sei willkommen
An early work by Bach, March 25, 1714, his first cantata as concertmaster in the Weimar court.
Alfred Dürr in The Cantatas of J.S. Bach. says "...we are offered a youthful, tender shaping of even the smallest motive, an instrumental scoring chosen with careful cosideration, and an inexhaustible abundance of inspiration".
BWV 182 notes on Emmanuel Music
BWV 182 notes on Bach Cantatas Website
This performance of BWV 182 is by Pieter Jan Leusink, conductor for Brilliant Classics, available in the Bach Edition. The sample has been prepared for educational purposes only, any other use is strictly forbidden.
BWV 182The "chorale prelude" BWV 182.7 is a wonderful canonic chorus.
2008, March 12
All mankind is of one author
From Devotion 17, by John Donne
...all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
2008, February 23
Quince blossom
A sun break between rain storms.
A little sun yesterday gave me a chance to enjoy the quince that is in bloom on the porch. A very large storm is forecast for today, but it is almost 5:00pm and it has only produced drizzle. The 60 mph gusts of wind may develop tonight, but somehow I don't expect they will.
Click on the image to enlarge.
2008, February 02
BWV 830 Partita Six
Glenn Gould plays Bach
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2008, January 31
Elephants
Videos from the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
The Elephant Santuary in Tennessee is a refuge that shelters old, sick and needy elephants. Many have been retired from zoos and circuses. Because the refuge is closed to the general public, the recent publication of videos on YouTube gives us a great look at moments in the lives of the resident elephants.
2008, January 27
Craig Smith, Emmanuel Music
Craig Smith died in November 2007.
Craig Smith, the artistic director of Emmanuel Music and the force behind the Emmanuel Music Website, died on November 14, 2007 at the age of 60.
This website has very helpful notes and the best translations of the Bach cantatas and has been very helpful to me in my research.
On January 31, there will be a memorial concert at 7:30pm in the sanctuary of the Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St. Boston, Massachusetts 02116. (617) 536-3355.
Craig Smith, Blue Mass Group obituary.
Craig Smith, Boston Phoenix obituary.
Craig Smith, Boston Globe obituary.
Craig Smith, broadcasts and obituary.
Craig Smith, NY Times obituary.
2008, January 25
Thank you my little calico
My little calico ballerina, Itsy Bitsy
When I brought Itsy Bitsy home from the SPCA in June 1993, she was tiny. She fit in one hand. She was about 3 months old, but had not had enough to eat. She set about fixing that right away. She ate and ate, and doubled her weight in about 2 weeks. A real calico, she immediately made up her mind that I belonged to her and none other, and for nearly fifteen years she followed me from room to room and slept on my bed. I heard from her baby sitters that if I was gone for a few days, she sat near the door waiting. I know that when I had a long work day, she was always waiting near the door when I arrived home.
Four years ago, when two new kittens arrived on the scene, she let her displeasure be known. But over about a year she came to tolerate them and even let Baby Jane sleep near her on the blanket in my office. She shared my bed at night with both the younger cats. She made a much better adjustment to sharing her home than I ever expected.
She was never a roamer or explorer. She occasionally went onto the porch to survey the garden, but she never got far from the open door. And the door must be open; if it closed, she came immediately and demanded to be let in.
Now she is gone. After a short but severe illness, she has left me behind and the house seems very empty.
I thank her for sharing her life with me. I miss her and I hope she will always have a warm bed in a warm room with a sunny window.
In the sun |
On the porch |
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In the library |
Waiting |
