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Category: people to ponder

March 28, 2018

Cello Suite no 5 in C minor – J.S. Bach

the-cellist.jpg!Large

        “The Cellist“ (c.1917) 

              Max Weber

                 ______

what struck me immediately upon hearing
the bow’s very first strokes on the violin in 
this Fifth Cello Suite of Bach was that the 
mood was not only brashly Romantic, but 
quite specifically Russian Romantic, right 
up there with Dostoyevsky, and “Fiddler 
on the Roof“, dark brooding colours at 
first, followed by long plaintive musical 
phrases, you can even hear the sound of 
the steppes, I thought, stretching out into 
the endless distance, this performance,  
I surmised, is not, other than 
compositionally, Baroque, not to mention 
not even German 

yet as played by Mischa Maisky, it’s one 
of the best versions of the Fifth I’ve ever 
heard, and if it works, who’s to complain

but more context – Bach never gave not 
only textural indications, but not even 
tempos to his pieces, apart from the 
very dance terms that identify the 
movements, so what, therefore, is the 
specific pace, you’ll ask, of a courante, 
for instance, you tell me, I’ll reply

in other words, the modular terms were 
significantly looser in the early 18th 
Century than later, when metronome 
markings would begin to demand more
accurate replication of the artist’s 
explicit specifications – Beethoven 
especially made sure of that, by 
requiring accurate renderings of his   
mood or pace indications, largo,  
allegro, andante, for instance, still less  
strict than the stipulation later for exact 
musical beats per minute – trying to 
keep pace with a prerecorded tape, for 
example, as in again the industrially 
driven, which is to say emotionally 
indifferent, context of the seismic 
“Different Trains“, a masterpiece of a 
more technically conditioned era

I don’t think that Bach would at all have
been disappointed that the heirs of his 
fervent, though more genteel, creations 
might’ve morphed into something 
profound for other groups, be they 
national, or of a class, or of even a 
generation, of people, which is to say 
that these works have superseded 
their merely regional intent, and have 
reached beyond space and time, the 
very purview of music, to speak a 
common and cooperative, indeed a
binding, language

I said to my mom the other day that if
we all sang together, we could save
the world


R ! chard

psst: Maisky’s encore,, incidentally, is from  
          the “Bourrée” of Bach’s Third Cello  
          Suite, note this contrasting, more  
          courtly – more refinement, more 
      reserve – rendition, you can even 
          hear, not to mention see, in this
          particular instance, not Russian 
          steppes, but European trees on 
          their baronial estates, if you lend  
          an attentive ear

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March 25, 2018

on the harmonica – Slim Harpo

SlimHarpoSmoking

 Slim Harpo (1924 – 1970)

          ______

                                           for Barbara

having read my musings on the guitar‘s 
superior practicality, easy portability,  
as a carry-along instrument on the range, 
a friend replied, “how about a cowboy
with a harmonica“, and mentioned Slim
Harpo, I told her I’d look into it, how 
could I not, though I’d never at all 
ever heard of Slim Harpo

here’s Slim Harpo, he’s a treat

but a harmonica, finally, is too brash
an instrument to easily fashion out 
of it love songs, so I’ll hold onto my
guitar 

you’ll note that despite the entirely 
different style of music from the 
Classical stuff I’ve been bringing 
up, the three essentials, tonality,
tempo, and reiteration still apply,
this trinity is the foundation of all 
of our Western musical culture,  
the output changes only according
to geographical place and time 
within those European parameters 

Asia has its own, indeed several, 
distinct musical idioms 

Slim‘s is manifestly the American  
Deepest South

enjoy


R ! chard

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March 19, 2018

French Suite no 3 in B minor – Bach

dance-of-the-majos-at-the-banks-of-manzanares-1777.jpg!Large.jpg

   “Dance of the Majos at the Banks of Manzanares“ (1777)

           Francisco Goya

                _________

upon reading up somewhat on the different
Bach Suites, I’ve provisionally concluded
that the earlier English Suites, 1715 to 1720,
were a modification of the established form 
of the suite, which would not have included 
a prelude, which isn’t, indeed, a dance

the Cello Suites follow, ahem, suit

but by the French Suites, 1722 to 1725, Bach 
is eschewing – Gesundheit – the prelude, but 
inserting, however, an air in his Fourth – an  
air is not either a dance – and mixing up  
their order in the later Suites, a minuet, for 
instance, in the last one of them, his Sixth,  
coming up after the gigue, which sports even
also a polonaise, where in his Fifth, Bach adds  
a loure, I ask you, a slow French gigue, to his  
bristling concoction

the terms French and English, incidentally, 
were added only after Bach’s demise, for 
diverse and uncorroborated reasons, so 
that these titles probably don’t mean much 
to a contemporary audience, who can’t tell, 
anyway, our gavottes from our bourrées

the music of Bach is like that of no other 
composer, he owns essentially the Baroque
Period, having, in fact, wrenched the Era 
from the painters, who’d established it in 
art to such a degree that it defined its
earlier historical phase

with Bach, the torch is handed over to 
music, from then on until the 
Impressionists, the period is defined 
by composers, both Classical, then 
Romantic, with some poets holding 
some sway 

the technique that dominates the music 
of Bach is that of counterpoint, where 
a tune is repeated in the harmonization
a few beats from its first iteration, 
vocally, we call that singing in canon

his music is introspective, as though 
the player were privately meditating,
it has the playfulness of Mozart, but
Mozart is expressive, not interior,
therefore nowhere near as spiritual,
Beethoven will return with a 
profundity that matches Bach’s, but 
with much more Sturm und Drang, 
tempestuous moral struggle, much  
less resignation, ouch, watch

listening to Bach for me is like getting 
on a train, and just letting the rhythm
of the wheels sustain me, as I watch,
indeed introspectively, the surrounding 
countryside, stopping at the musical 
journey’s several halts, its intervals, 
until its final destination, which 
despite, or even because of, taking 
sometimes hours, is nevertheless  
endlessly satisfying, and never  
ever less than, however improbably, 
inspiring

here’s Bach’s Third French Suite, 
you’ll note it includes an idiosyncratic 
“trio”, not strictly a recognized dance
either – leave it to the saucy French, I   
say, to consider interpolating a trio


R ! chard

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March 17, 2018

English Suite No 3 in G Minor – Bach

suite-fibonacci-2003.jpg

   “Suite Fibonacci“ (2003) 

           Charles Bezie

               ________

 
before I say much more about his Cello
Suites, let me point out that Bach has
some French Suites, some English 
Suites, on top of similarly structured 
Partitas and Toccatas, the French have 
their tout de suites, and hotels have, 
nowadays, their so named luxury 
apartments 

musical suites are sets of dance pieces, 
by the early 18th Century much stylized, 
with an introductory prélude, an allemande, 
followed by a courante, which is to say, folk 
dances, the first German, the next French, 
then a sarabande, Spanish, followed by a 
couple of galanteries, court dances, 
minuets, gavottes, bourrées, then a final 
English gigue

all of the markings are in French, which
leads me to believe that all of these 
dances must’ve originated at the court 
of Louis XlVth, the Sun King, 1638 to 
1715

but the suggestion is that Europe was 
becoming an integrated community
all of these dances were eclipsed by
the Classical Period, of Haydn and 
Mozart, apart from the minuet, which 
more or less defined, nevertheless, 
that new era

the minuet will die out by the time of
Beethoven, you’ll note, to be replaced
by the waltz, which had been 
considered much too racy until 
transformed by Chopin into a work 
of ethereal art

the Strausses, father and son, gave it,
only a little later, celebratory potency,
but that’s another story


here’s Bach’s English Suite, the 3rd, 
for context, the French ones are a 
little too salty, as it were, they do not 
quite conform to prescribed suite 
notions, however might their 
propositions have been, ahem, 
sweet 

meanwhile, enjoy this one


R ! chard

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March 15, 2018

up my eccentricities / the Ides of March

ides1

        “The Death of Caesar“ (1798) 

               Vincenzo Camuccini

                      ___________

in looking up a requiem to commemorate 
the Ides of March, today, a date imprinted  
on our collective consciousness since 
Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, act l, 
scene ll –

    Soothsayer:   Beware the Ides of March.

    Julius Caesar:   What man is that?

    Marcus Brutus:   A soothsayer bids you beware the Ides of March.

    Julius Caesar    Set him before me, let me see his face.

    Cassius:   Fellow, come from the throng, look upon Caesar.

    Julius Caesar:   What say’st thou to me now? Speak once again.

     Soothsayer:   Beware the Ides of March.

    Julius Caesar:   He is a dreamer, let us leave him. Pass.

– I found an entirely appropriate work,
though with more contemporary, and 
consequently more immediate, 
associations 

but first, let me say more about both 
Julius Caesar and Shakespeare

Caesar died on the Ides of March, 
notoriously, and ignominiously – 
though ruthless in his own way, 
not to mention also flamboyant,  
Caesar had been a ruler conscious 
of his constituency, and therefore 
socially responsive, giving, for 
instance, citizenship to residents 
from far away, a contentious issue 
still nowadays, and support for 
veterans, another hot political 
topic

he was also the lover of Cleopatra, 
among apparently many other trysts, 
not to mention, it has been suggested, 
of King Nicomedes lV of Bithynia

regardless, he is the template for 
modern rulers, eclipsing Alexander
the Great by a long shot, who else 
has a very month, July, named after 
him, apart from Augustus, Caesar‘s
heir and successor

his complete literary works have only 
recently come out in English, an
apparently, and most undoubtedly,
significant enterprise, Caesar would 
be, of course, subjective, therefore
probably indifferent to, or more 
unforthcoming about, his less savoury
excesses – he’d apparently cut off the 
hands of soldiers he had conquered,
something he never mentioned  

should we consider the impunity of our 
own 21st-Century autocrats – who will
blithely destroy communities with 
lethal chemical agents, and even, in
like manner, specifically target 
individuals – with less condemnation
and horror

nobody cared, by the way, about the 
Ides of March, until Shakespeare 
suggested, for all time, that we 
should beware of it

and we’ve been doing so ever since 


March 11th, 2011, was the date of the
Japanese tsunami, the earth shook, 
thousands died, the devastation was 
unimaginable, including nuclear 
radioactive explosions

Tōru Takemitsu‘s “Requiem“, written
in 1957, though not specifically 
related to that national tragedy, is
not at all unrelated to their agony

and through the power of music to
bring souls together, manifestly, 
here and now, his thoughtful
evocation, however dissonant, 
however arhythmic, however 
unhinged from Western Classical 
musical precepts, which might 
very well, I remark, be the point, 
brings souls, if you’ll listen, 
demonstrably together


R ! chard

psst: did I mention that the words 
          “Tsar” and “Kaiser” are 
          derivations of the name 
          Caesar

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March 11, 2018

on, however exuberant, ambition

   the-chess-players-1902.jpg!Large.jpg

         “The Chess Players“ (1902)

                  William Orpen

                          _______

                                      for Joselyn, my Ariel

pumped as I was by my most recent
exegesis about longevity, a dear, 
dear friend, used to, and infinitely 
tolerant, of my, apparently often, 
according to her, exhortations 
about my significant literary abilities, 
sighed when I told her I’d make her 
famous with my art, also my mother,
as well as other influential and 
cherished characters, and produced 
a Scrabble word over our game to, 
in an instant, overwhelm me with a 
seven letter concoction, at the very 
last moment, leaving me with a row, 
furthermore, of unused tiles, with,
however trivial, still annihilating, 
consequences

ouch, I said, girlfriend

but I’m not giving up on my promise
to her, I’m reaching for the stars

what do you think


R ! chard

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March 11, 2018

comparing divas

diva-i.jpg!Large

        “Diva I“ 

             Erte

             __

comparing two extraordinary performances,
as I am wont to do with any coupled exhibits,
which render always more than the sum of 
their parts, let me let you consider an 
historical record of a legend already with 
that of one who is about to become one,
Bette Midler, 1971, doing the Continental 
Baths, opposite Vesselina Kasarova at the 
Schwetzinger Festspiele, 2005

the voices in either case are impeccable,
the only difference is the context, you 
choose what you’re into

but let me tell you that Vesselina Kasarova
doesn’t give an inch, she puts on a show 
that makes your jaw drop, trust me, it all 
depends on your mood

Vesselina comes from a different epoch,
despite her contemporary production,
polite, flirtatious, modest, the 18th
Century

but her staccatos, followed by verily,
and however improbably, organic 
legatos, indeed fervent, and  
unmitigated, fermatas, are stunning,  
a tour, as they say in such instances,  
de force, indeed de maîtrise, de  
mastery, wait till you hear the final 
moments of her surely definitive 
Glück, utterly, and incontrovertibly, 
astounding

Bette is brash, in your face, needs to 
get the attention of guys in towels, 
1971, intent on more prurient 
peregrinations than merely watching 
superstars, however in the making, 
strut their show-stopping stuff

both Vesselina and Bette achieve, I 
think, their goal, each strikingly, and 
unforgettably, each declares herself 
indestructible, a very force of
propulsive nature

watch, watch, which, in your opinion, 
delivers

ouch, both, either, I think

enjoy


R ! chard

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March 11, 2018

pension protest, à la Russe

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  “Miriam dances“ (1931) 

       Marc Chagall

             ______

a couple of retired Russian ladies spoofed 
a video that student airline pilots had 
performed, that shocked their academy,
who wanted the boys expelled

in protest, other Russians started sending
in their own versions of the dance, but these
two ladies, nothing at all like Tina Turner, 
turned out to be the Internet sensation

read all about it here, click on each of the
videos there, the girls’ and the boys’, you’ll
love ‘em


R ! chard

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March 9, 2018

by special request, more Tina

250px-Tina_turner_21021985_01_350

  Tina Turner performing in Norway, 1985

             __________

                                                  for Norm

shortly after my most recent post, a 
friend, as avid as I am about Classical
music, but who also lived through our
own golden age of music, and throbbed 
as I did to its pounding rhythms, sent 
me this video of one of Tina’s greatest 
hits, “Proud Mary“

not to mention that my inbox lit up at 
the same time with equally corroborative 
applause from a host of other, apparently
also fervid, admirers


it was the best of times, it was the worst 
of times, everyone did everything with
anyone then, and was impeded only    
by hir own personal inhibitions

therefore Studio 54, and even more 
glamorous Manhattan party outlets, 
the Paradise Garage, Les Mouches, 
warehouses full of carousers, and 
Bette Midler was showcasing at the
Continental Baths, if you were 
wanting a less frenzied, though not 
at all uneventful, evening, or night
  
London had it’s comparable Heaven, 
nowhere was not having its bacchanals

the era would come down crashing, 
never to be put back together again,
of course, as a soothsayer I knew 
was then prophesying, but while it 
lasted we revelled, and had Tina 
Turner, among other, as incendiary, 
oracles telling it like it was, is, listen

 
Beethoven would’ve been proud of 
Tina, incidentally, note the adherence 
to Classical conditions, tonality, tempo, 
and repetition, art is about doing your 
own stuff around those imperatives, or, 
if you can, busting through them

Tina might not have burst through, but  
she sure knew what to do with her 
perimeters, which is to say, knock them
right out of the ballpark   

wow, watch, what a woman


R ! chard

psst: thanks Norm

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March 8, 2018

“I Can’t Stand the Rain” – Tina Turner

tina-turner-9512276-1-402

                Tina Turner                     

                       ______

finding it difficult lately to endure the
late winter, early spring, besetting 
our, however, not unbearable yet, 
unpleasant meteorological conditions, 
Tina Turner picked it up for me with 
her irresistible rendition around her 
perspective about such intemperate
weather, tightly wound, in my 
instance, with emotionally resonant 
considerations

call me Tina, I cried, and burst into
earnest collaboration, ever so, as 
much as possible, mellifluously

won’t you too, haven’t you, for that
matter, already, join, joined in


R ! chard 

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