Jules Massenet – Thaïs: Meditation
"Méditation" is a symphonic intermezzo from the opera Thaïs by French composer Jules Massenet. The piece is written for solo violin and orchestra.
The Méditation is an instrumental
entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Thaïs.
The piece is in D major and is
approximately five minutes long
Massenet may also have written
the piece with religious intentions; the tempo marking is Andante religioso,
signifying his intention that it should be played religiously and at walking
tempo, or around 60 BPM.
The piece opens with a short
introduction by the harps, with the solo violin quickly entering with the
motif. After the violin plays the melody twice, the piece goes into a section
marked animato, gradually becoming more and more passionate (Massenet wrote
poco a poco appassionato). The climax is reached at a place marked poco piu
appassionato (a little more passion) and is then followed by a short
cadenza-like passage from the soloist and returns to the main theme. After the
theme is played twice, the soloist joins the orchestra while playing harmonics
on the upper register as the harps and strings quietly play below the solo
line.
MY WRITERS SITE: Do not go gentile into that good night, a poem by...
MY WRITERS SITE: Do not go gentile into that good night, a poem by...: Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise ...
John Singer Sargent - Winifred Anna Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, 1902
Winifred, daughter to Thomas Yorke Dallas-Yorke, was born
at Murthly Castle, Perthshire. Following her marriage to the 6th Duke of
Portland, she became a prominent society figure. She also moved in court
circles - Queen Victoria stood sponsor in person for her daughter, and the
duchess served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Alexandra from 1913-1925.
The duchess had a strong interest in the welfare of birds, and in 1891 became the first, and longest-serving, president of the Society for the Protection of Birds - a position which she held until her death and in which she helped the society obtain its royal charter. She was also active on behalf of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, serving as vice-president and president of the ladies' committee.
Winifred was also interested in improving social conditions. In the year of her marriage, the Duke of Portland won a large amount of horseracing prize money. The duchess persuaded him to use the greater part of this in building the Welbeck Almshouses. She actively supported the local mining community, paying for medical treatments for miners and organising cookery and sewing classes for their daughters. Indeed, the Nottinghamshire Miners' Welfare Association petitioned the king to have an honour bestowed on her on account of her work, and so in 1935 she was made a Dame of the British Empire.
MY WRITERS SITE: I adore B&W
MY WRITERS SITE: I adore B&W: Allie Mae Burroughs, Alabama Tenant Farmers Wife, 1936 by Walker Evans Washington ...
MY WRITERS SITE: Writing is finally about one thing:
MY WRITERS SITE: Writing is finally about one thing:: “Writing is finally about one thing: going into a room alone and doing it. Putting words on paper that have never been there in quite that...
MY WRITERS SITE: No Time to say Goodbye.
MY WRITERS SITE: No Time to say Goodbye.: For sale on Amazon Reviews and sample chapter below Dr. Anthony Crowley Bruised, beat...
Statue poses
This is something I just heard,
and I can’t attest to the accuracy of it but….on a statue with a military rider,
the horse's pose describes how the rider died. So if the statue has a horse with
both front hooves in the air, that means that the rider died in battle. If the
horse is posed with one front leg up, that means that the rider was wounded in
battle or died of battle wounds and if all four hooves are on the ground that
means the rider died of causes outside of battle.
A couple renovating a 115-year-old building discovered two 60-foot-long hidden murals
Written by Sara Smart, CNN
What started out as a couple's
renovation project to convert a historic building into a bar has turned into an
effort to restore decades-old artwork in a small Washington town.
Nick and Lisa Timm purchased the
building in Okanogan, located about four hours east of Seattle, at the end of
2021. This past week, they discovered 60-foot murals painted on canvases along
its north and south walls.
“We were about 20 minutes from
covering up the walls," Nick told CNN on Wednesday. "I then was like
'Well, let's just look at what's behind all this plaster.'"
As the plaster peeled away, they
discovered a giant mural -- stretching 60 feet long and 20 feet high --
depicting a lake, cabins and trees.
One crewmember threw out the idea
that there could be another canvas on the opposite wall. Lo and behold, there
was indeed a matching mural.
They found the murals at around 5
p.m. and had been working since 5 a.m., Nick said. But the team stayed for four
more hours to uncover the rest of the artwork.
"It was like a lightning
bolt of energy," Nick said. "We were just hooting and hollering and
pulling things down."
The Timms moved back to Okanogan
last year to take care of Nick's father, who was diagnosed with lung cancer.
After he died in September, a family friend told the couple about the chance to
purchase the building.
"One of our main goals
moving back was to reenergize Okanogan and then this happened," Nick said.
Dating back to around 1907, the
building had served as a movie theater, a pool hall and even a rooster fighting
rink, according to Nick.
The couple's plan was to turn the
3,000-square-foot space into a bar and gathering place for the community,
building on Nick's experience running bars and restaurants in Olympia.
"It's funny how this worked
out," Nick said. "We were going to make it a historical showcase by
bringing in a bunch of historical stuff about the area."
After the Timms' big find, the
Okanogan County Historical Society was able to dig up a newspaper clipping from
1915 that reveals the original plan for the murals.
A local artist was set to paint
the murals for what was the Hub Theatre at that time, according to the
clipping, which was provided to CNN by the society.
"The new improvements at the
Hub include 120 feet of panoramic landscape scenery in light tans," the
clipping reads.
Now, that panoramic scenery will
be cautiously taken down, refurbished and rehung. Nick said some sections of
the murals have extensive water damage that they want to get restored as
quickly as possible.
It will likely be a pricey
process. The couple have started a GoFundMe page to gain support from the
community.
The Timms had hoped to open their
renovated bar by the end of March, but it may now take until midsummer to
finish work on the murals, Nick said.
The mural will be the centerpiece
of the establishment, and the plan still is to fill the rest of the space with
other historical items. Nick's family has lived in the area for centuries, so
many of the items have been passed down for generations. Other memorabilia have
been donated by others in the community.
And Okanogan's future gathering
place already has a name: the Red Light Bar, an ode to the singular red light
in town.
I dig B&W
Pennsylvania Station, Interior #2, 1936. Berenice Abbott. Gelatin silver print
Ramón Masats Las Ramblas, Barcelona, 1956
Angelo Rizzuto
MY WRITERS SITE: Worth watching
MY WRITERS SITE: Worth watching: "The Third Man" is a 1949 thriller and the cinematography is some of the best Hollywood has ever produced.
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