“Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog” – Caspar David Friedrich Sunday, Jan 29 2012

 

                                   ”Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog“  (1818)  
 
                                              Caspar David Friedrich 
 
                                                     __________ 
          

upon further reflection I realized that the painting above had also “the same power, the same clarity and precision” to describe the Romantic Era as the first chord of Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Sonata, it is an equally powerful representation of the spirit of that highly introspective time

 

the Romantic Epoch championed nature, patriotism - on the political heels of the French Revolution – and explorations of the soul, following the latter’s calls to liberty, equality, fraternity, the natural groundwork for what followed, our own period of reverence for human rights

 

we look with Caspar David Friedrich here upon a nebulous perspective, onto daunting horizons, reflecting, with him, through the painter’s psychological ingenuity and art, upon our own daunting choices, our own murky landscapes, our own obscure and imposing destinies, both physical and philosophical, a profoundly Romantic conception 

 

it was a time when the heart and its irreverent passions took centre stage, stood, in all its permutations, under the light

 

 

please excuse my egregious oversight

 

and of also the inspired Caspar David Friedrich I’ve begged pardon, expressed my heartfelt, humble compunction, and regret, for a not insignificant slight  

 

 

cheers

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Somebody That I Used to Know”‏ – Walk off the Earth Saturday, Jan 21 2012

 

this is surely a musical first, and quite probably a musical

last, not so much for the quality of the performance, which

is impressive, but for its daunting logistics

 

the five instrumentalists here, Walk off the Earth, are

apparently from Burlington, Ontario, they might be called

a quintet though this term usually applies to players playing

an equal number of instruments, they are performing what

I would call a guitar piece, a ballad maybe, for ten hands
 
can you dig it 
 
 
Richard

 
 

 

 

 

 

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Debussy, “L’isle joyeuse”‏ (“The Joyous Island”) Friday, Jan 20 2012

here’s Daphne doing Debussy, his “L’isle joyeuse“, from 1904,

a long way from Beethoven, 1798 

 

had it not been for Beethoven though, making music into a

language, instead of merely a Mozartean, a Haydnesque

aristocratic entertainment, Debussy wouldn’t have even

been possible, where were their ”Moonlight Sonata“s, their

“Tempest“s, their “Appassionata“s for that matter, their

“Hammerklavier“s, these earlier composers, for a weightier,

more abstract, topic, Mozart and Haydn were having courtly,

though ever so inspired, fun, while Beethoven would proclaim,

pronounce, discover and describe, open up to the imagination,

upon these earlier, nevertheless mighty, Classical shoulders,

a whole new, transfigured, world

 

 

“L’isle joyeuse“ is not a sonata, it only has one movement,

I would call it a soundscape, were I to define it, Monet,

1840-1926, is written all over it, the same shimmer,

ephemerality, must’ve been the light, not to mention of

course, at his most ethereal, Beethoven

 

 

Richard      

 

 

 

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Beethoven‏’s “Pathétique Sonata”, no 8 in C minor, opus 13 Monday, Jan 16 2012

the very first chord of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata,

no 8 in C minor, opus 13, does the same for the

Romantic Era as Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am”

and Shakespeare’s “To be, or not to be” did for the

Age of Reason, it defined its parameters, and set it

on its path, I can think of no other literary equivalent

with anywhere near the same power, the same clarity

and precision as that bold, peremptory statement for

that burgeoning period

 

Delacroix, too nationalistic, the Romantic poets too

introspective, Beethoven perfect, blending the political

with the personal, the personal with the philosophical,

the philosophical with the transcendental, and the

transcendental finally with the sublime, you come out

of a Beethoven composition not only entertained but

informed, inspired, transformed, he takes you there 

 

 

though unknown, to me at least, not yet among the

immortals, Daphne Honma acquits herself quite well

here in Beethoven’s masterpiece, perhaps a little too

plodding at the beginning, I thought, for my taste,

stretching nearly embarrassingly her sforzandos,

those initial arresting statements, Beethoven would

never ‘ve called for that, too much melodramatic

excess would only blur, he knew, the sheen of

unadulterated oracles 

 

but all is soon set aright, indeed redeemed by what

comes next, Daphne Honma deserves much more

applause than is here her portion

 

 
one of Beethoven’s early works, it’s 1798, Beethoven

is 27

 

 

Richard

 

psst: an “unadulterated oracle“ 

 

 

 

 

 

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untitled – a friend Thursday, Jan 5 2012

a friend wrote, after best wishes for the new year and 

generous comments about my postings, comments I

am of course too modest to include here, “Here is a

poem I wrote, probably for my grandchildren.  Hope

it makes you smile.”     

 

smile, I thought, I think it’s brilliant

 

what do you think 

 

 

Richard  

 

psst: it’s untitled, maybe you’d like to come up with 

         something, I thought maybe “Dinner”

 

               ________________

 

untitled

 

 

I am a fish I have a tail

I swim to the depths I tease a whale 

I dine on bits of this and that 

Blow Champagne bubbles through my hat

I am a fish with a mermaids tail

I thought for a while I loved that whale

But when he tried to dine on me

I found him too salacious

I am a fish with silver scales

A hundred percent better than whales

I spin with a shoal of metallic shine 

Cans of sardines drunk on wine

I look through my  mirror and see the sun

Rip tides dancing I join the fun

I travel knots till the sun goes  in

Silhouettes only the light is dim

Below the waves in a stormy sea 

I’m safe with an octopus having tea

He changes colour looking at me

I am a fish with enormous eyes

A bit short sighted but never mind

I see the colours of coral reefs

Colours quite beyond belief

Hermit crabs and tidal drifts

Seaweed gardens Neptune’s gift

I was a fish with a silver sheen

I dreamed of all I could have been

Ceto’s daughter Poseidon’s Queen

I shone in the moonlight luminesque

I bit at sunbeams I did my best

But like that mermaid on the rock

I really should have taken stock

I never dreamed I never wished 

To be a filet on a dish.  

 

 

                                  a friend

 

 

 

 

 

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