https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?16643-Stlukesguild The largest classic literature discussion forum on the Internet. Read Write Teach Share. en Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:02:46 GMT vBulletin 10 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?16643-Stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12814-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-4 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:25:41 GMT ..... ..... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12814-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-4 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12813-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-3 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:24:55 GMT deleted...:frown2: deleted...:frown2: ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12813-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-3 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12812-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-2 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:22:49 GMT deleted... deleted... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12812-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-2 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12811-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-1 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:20:09 GMT Deleted due to Google :frown2: Deleted due to Google :frown2: ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12811-A-Brief-Look-at-Pieter-Brueghel-the-Elder-Pt-1 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12807-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-3 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:15:47 GMT deleted...:nonod: deleted...:nonod: ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12807-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-3 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12806-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-2 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:14:28 GMT deleted...:nonod: deleted...:nonod: ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12806-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-2 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12805-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-1 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 03:12:13 GMT deleted... deleted... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12805-Giorgione-and-the-Venetian-School-Pt-1 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12325-La-Clemenza-di-Tito Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:39:55 GMT

I've been listening to Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito c. 1955 conducted by Joseph Keilberth. This is a true odd-ball among Mozart's oeuvre. It was the last opera Mozart began, although he completed it and premiered it before The Magic Flute. It was commissioned to honor the coronation of Leopold II after the death of his brother, Joseph II, as King of Bohemia. The deadline for completion was so short that Salieri turned it down, and Mozart was ultimately offered double his usual sum. Unable to find a new libretto on such short notice, he turned to the text by Metastasio that had been set numerous times by other composers. The theme, the clemency or benevolence of Titus was seen as ideal for the occasion.

La Clemenza di Tito was written as an opera seria, it broke from the usual model (and the original libretto) in eliminating the da capo arias and adding ensemble scenes and large modern arias.
The recitatives were originally "farmed out" and set to music... quite likely by Mozart's "pupil", Franz Xaver Süssmayr (who traveled with Mozart and his wife, Constanze, to Prague, for the coronation as well as the premier of La Clemenza di Tito, and The Magic Flute, as well as a performance of Don Giovanni.. The arias, duets, etc... were all set by Mozart and include some of his most marvelous music. His scoring for clarinets is especially delicious. The premier was a flop with the wife of Leopold supposedly making an off the cuff comment about typical German swinishness, yet Mozart would live long enough to hear of reports of the popularity and success of both La Clemenza... and Die Zauberflöte.

La Clemenza di Tito faded rapidly from view following Mozart's death... much like his other great late opera, Cosi fan tutte. Where Cosi... was berated by Beethoven and Wagner as an immoral waste of Mozart's divine talent, La Clemenza di Tito was criticized for the excessive use of recitatives. The thrilling overture is immediately follwed by a three minute narrative recitative. The classical theatrical form, in which most of the action takes place off stage and is conveyed by the narrator is also strange for an opera by Mozart... or any composer after Mozart. Nevertheless, the opera was "rediscovered" and "rehabilitated" in the mid-20th century and today it is recognized as ranking among Mozart's greatest achievements. While it may not stand up in comparison to Don Giovanni or Die Zauberflöte, in all likelihood, it would be recognized as a major achievement by any other composer. In 2011 and 2012 (up to the present) there have been 89 performances of La Clemenza...

This recording, conducted by Joseph Keilberth with the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchestera recorded in 1955 is true "old school" Mozart... the orchestra of full-blooded Beethovian scale... and yet the recitatives have been stripped down... translated into German, Süssmayr's musical accompaniments are dispensed with the result sounding something closer to the "Singspiel" model of Die Zauberflöte. It is hard to tell whether this approach... eliminating all but Mozart's music... or retaining the whole of the original score is the better approach. The elimination of Süssmayr's settings of the recitatives speeds things along and does away with everything that isn't by Mozart himself... yet at a cost of a flow in the drama which Gluck and Mozart had worked so hard to establish in opera. Rene Jacobs, makes an argument for retaining the entire recitatives as originally written. As opposed to mere narration, Jacob's singers employ decorative and expressive ornamentation and well-crafted declamation to plumb the emotional depths of Metastasio's elegant poetry. John Eliot Gardiner takes a middle road... cutting more than a few minutes from the recitatives and pushing the drama.

Whichever route you take, this is an important opera by Mozart that certainly deserves to be heard... and discussed more than it is. ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12325-La-Clemenza-di-Tito https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12097-Hispania-amp-Japan-Dialogues Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:45:15 GMT "The World is a book
and those who do not travel
read only one page."
-St. Augustine of Hippo 5th c.

The conductor whose efforts I have been listening to the most recently is surely Jordi Savall. Savall is known for his performances of "early music": the Baroque and earlier... much of it "forgotten" to the mainstream "classical" repertoire. He is also a leading figure in exploring music which crosses the boundaries of East and West.

Jordi Savall's The Road to the Orient, released in 2006, presented a musical portrait of Francisco Javier and his remarkable trip from Spain to Japan. During his own travels for research and preparation for this new set, Savall met a group of talented Japanese musicians who soon became friends and with whom he performed in many concerts around the world. Repackaged following the catastrophes in Japan, Savall's Hispania & Japan: Dialogues is a specially priced album that features the most significant pieces from the musical dialogue between Spain and Japan. Alia Vox's deluxe packaging includes the usual comprehensive, richly illustrated and highly informative hardcover book plus a special bonus a miniature fold-out Japanese screen replica depicting the arrival of the first Europeans in Japan. Alia Vox is donating all profits from the sale of this set to the Japanese Red Cross.



Francisco Javier (Xavier) was born in 1506 in the Kingdom of Navarre. He was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He studied under St. Ignatius of Loyola and led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time. He was influential in the spreading and upkeep of Catholicism most notably in India, Japan, and Borneo. Javier was known for singing psalms, much to the fascination of the native people, as he strode about through the islands of Japan. People traveled far to see the distinguished Jesuit. In 1605, some 50 years after Javier's death, a publisher in Nagasaki brought out an edition of Javier's psalms and other religious songs in a text entitled, Manuale ad Sacramenta. These 19 songs, including the Gloriosa Domina represent the first influx of Western music in Japan. While Christianity was officially banned in Japan in 1613, its practice (and the music) continued clandestinely in certain island communities near Nagasaki.

The music here presents the interweaving's of Eastern and Western traditions. The disc as a whole is held together by a series of improvisations upon the Shakuhachi flute of the well-known Gregorian Chant, Gloriosa Domina. The disc as a whole conveys a marriage of the spiritual musical traditions of the east and the West. ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?12097-Hispania-amp-Japan-Dialogues https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11195-Greece-or-Spain-pt-4 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:01:14 GMT deleted... deleted... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11195-Greece-or-Spain-pt-4 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11194-Greece-or-Spain-pt-3 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:00:01 GMT Spain, like Greece, can claim two great cultures: that of Islamic Spain, and that of the later world power of Catholic Spain of the "Golden Age".

Yehuda Halevi or Yehuda ben Shemuel Ha-Levi c. 1075-1141

Medieval Moorish Spain was one of the most fabulous cultures of all history. The Moorish culture in what is today Morocco dates back to the time of the Roman Empire (and perhaps earlier) when they acted as trading partners with Carthage, the independent city-state founded by the Phoenicians and competitor/enemy of Rome. Following the destruction of Carthage the surrounding provinces were integrated into the Roman Empire and later Christianized. With the fall of the Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire, the Vandals and the Arabs all struggled to gain control of the Moors. Around 600 A.D. the region was brought under Arab-Islamic control. In 711, the now Moslem Moors conquered the Visigoths taking possession of the Iberian Peninsula and pushed well into France until eventually defeated by Charles Martel at the decisive Battle of Tours (or Battle of Poitiers). The Moslem forces continued to hold control of most of what is today Spain and Portugal and many of the native population converted to Islam. Nevertheless, a number of Christian-European city-states continued to initiate conflict with the Moors and to slowly push into Spanish-Muslim territories. In 1212 a coalition under Alfonso VIII of Castille pushed the Muslims out of central Spain. Nevertheless, they would hold out in the south until 1492 when the last Moslem stronghold in Granada fell to the Christian forces. With the "reconquista" of Spain by Christian forces there began a period of forced conversion to Catholicism shortly after Isabella and Ferdinand instituted the Inquisition in 1480. Not only was the Inquisition directed at Jews and Muslims who had overtly converted to Christianity but were thought to be practicing their faiths secretly... but also it was geared toward Protestants or other "heretics" who rejected Roman Catholic orthodoxy. The persecution lead to a mass exodus leading to a population loss of about 1/3rd by 1600. It also resulted is a mass destruction of culture... a burning of books numbering in perhaps in the millions... including in many cases unique copies of texts from ancient Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and even the Greco-Roman cultures.

From the tenth century A.D. until the final fall of Granada Moorish Spain or Arab Andalusia would represent one of the great cultures and great cultural experiments in history. In spite of the Moslem control, there was a religious tolerance so that Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all flourished. Intellectual concepts and beliefs of these three religions and the artistic ideas of the east and west were interwoven in the hot house environment of Arab Andalusia. Among the great artistic achievements of the era one might point first to the marvelous art and architecture of Seville and Granada... especially as found in Alhambra, the fantastic palace complex of the Moorish rulers and once proclaimed the beautiful city in the world:











Islamic Spain produced a wealth of marvelous illuminated manuscripts:













The brilliantly colored visionary book illuminations of the period are what Umberto alludes to in his novel, The Name of the Rose.

Beyond the visual arts, Arab Andalusia would inspire fabulous innovations in literature (Poem of the Cid, Solomon ibn Gabriol, Moses ibn Ezra, etc...) and music. The music of the Sephardic Jews would merge ancient Hebrew traditions with Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Greek, North African, etc. Attempts by the Jewish composer, Isaac Nathan in the early nineteenth century to revive some of this ancient music would serve as an impetus for Lord Byron's Hebrew Melodies. The German poet, Heinrich Heine's Hebrew Melodies were also rooted in the music of Arab Andalusia... but also the poetry of the great Spanish Hebrew poets, especially Jehuda Halevi.

Following the collapse of Islamic Spain, Catholic Spain soon rose to a position of unrivaled wealth and power as a result of its conquests (and pillaging) of the "New World". The rise of Spain was precipitated by the Venetian sack of Constantinople which led to the weakening and eventual fall of this great city to Turkish forces and the closing of the usual trade routes to the East. By the Baroque era... the "Golden Age of Spain"... the Spanish were leading figures in literature (Gongora, Cervantes, Calderon, San Juan de la Cruz), in music (Domenico Scarlatti, Gaspar Sanz, Cristóbal de Morales, Tomás Luis de Victoria) and in the visual arts (El Greco, Zurbaran, Murillo, and most importantly, Velasquez). The Spanish court also collected many of the greatest European painters. The collection in the Prado is one of the finest in the world, housing the vast majority of paintings by Spanish masters such as El Greco...



Zurbaran...



Velasquez...



and Goya...



continued... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11194-Greece-or-Spain-pt-3 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11193-Greece-or-Spain-pt-2 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:58:32 GMT The Louvre holds the Venus de Milo and the Winged Venus of Samothrace:





The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston contains the delicate Aphrodite of Chios, possibly by that greatest of Greek sculptors, Praxiteles:



And of course the great Laocoon group is in the Vatican:



This is not to suggest that Greece does not hold its own share of splendours. Most importantly... in terms of sculpture... they have the most complete grouping by Praxiteles... the sensuous Hermes with the Infant Dionysus.



And there are any number of other marvelous sculptural groupings, such as this humorous scene of Aphrodite whacking the horny satyr with her slipper:



Greece also houses a great majority of the classical Greek bronzes... most of which were discovered only recently off the coast of the Greek islands in sunken ships. These offer some of the finest look at Greek sculptural art, as opposed to the later, often stiff, Roman copies:









And of course we have the temples:

the Parthenon:



and other structures of the Acropolis:



The art of the Byzantine Empire suffered a similar pillaging. Like the Romans, the Venetians sacked Constantinople and made off with much of the finest examples of Byzantine art and artists... most notably the great horses now before San Marco, in Venice:



One must also face the fact that much of the finest Byzantine art being produced in the capitol of Constantinople, was lost, destroyed, or is currently held in the now-Turkish city of Istanbul. One might also recognize that Ravenna... in Italy... was the second great site of Byzantine art.

continued... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11193-Greece-or-Spain-pt-2 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11192-Greece-or-Spain-pt-1 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:54:57 GMT On a recent thread a member admitted that he and his girlfriend were discussing a proposed European trip. She was all for visiting Spain, while he... On a recent thread a member admitted that he and his girlfriend were discussing a proposed European trip. She was all for visiting Spain, while he was for Greece, suggesting that Spain had very little in the way of art to offer the tourist.

I was unable to let this assertion lie... for the simple reason that my own preferences lie more with Spain than Greece.

I think either would be equally fascinating and laden with more than enough art, although I personally would lean toward Spain.

Greece was home to two great cultures: Classical or Ancient Greece and the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. Unfortunately, Greece also fell prey to the subjugation of two conquering powers that resulted in the pillage and destruction of much of the finest art of the Greeks. The Romans pillaged much of the finest Greek art (as well as the finest Greek craftsmen). Later the Turks took control following the fall of Constantinople and a great portion of that which was not already stolen by the Romans or destroyed was taken by various Western powers (France, Germany, England). As a result, much of the finest Greek art is now found outside of Greece:

The British Museum is perhaps the finest repository of Greek Art with the famous "Elgin Marbles" from the Parthenon:















Add to this numerous other marvelous classical sculptural groups, including most importantly a great portion of the remains of the great The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World:







Germany houses the great Hellenistic Temple of Pergamon:







continued... ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11192-Greece-or-Spain-pt-1 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11125-Die-Zauberflöte-René-Jacobs Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:43:15 GMT For anyone who loves Mozart's operas the recent series of recordings by Rene Jacobs are an absolute must. These historically informed performances bring a muscularity and a clarity to the music that is often obfuscated by performances employing large romantic-scale orchestras. Rene Jacobs' recordings have absolutely shaken up the world of Mozart's operas. Earlier operas that were once largely ignored such as La Clemenza di Titto, and Idomeneo Re de Creta are put forth which such clarity of thought and intensity that they are at last recognized for what they are, some of the greatest operas of the time... excepting only Mozart's own later efforts.

Currently I'm listening to the long awaited Jacobs recording of Die Zaubertflote (The Magic Flute), perhaps the most beloved... certainly the most magical and most tuneful of Mozart's operas. The deluxe packaging alone with a beautiful cardboard box with hidden storage panels and a 300+ page book with the full libretto are enough alone to seduce the Mozartian or general opera or classical music lover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkObIajZcTc



Jacobs takes the work at a brisk pace... perfectly capturing the humor and unabashed joy of this work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keS32...eature=related

The sound quality... as should be expected of most Harmonia Mundi recordings... is spectacular. The stripped-down orchestrations allows one to hear all of the layers of Mozart's musical composition... even the piano forte continuo. The use of the piano forte continuo lends the music a music hall-like atmosphere... perfectly suited to this great "singspiel"The singers are splendid, if not quite of the caliber of Otto Klemperers recording with Christa Ludwig, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, Walter Berry, and Gundula Janowitz, which is the standard by which all others are measured. Jacobs' singers, however are perfectly suited to their roles... and to his manner of performance. Daniel Behle's Tamino has a beautiful, aristocratic tenor. Daniel Schmutzhard has the ideal humorous intonation (and the perfect name:lol: ) needed to play Papageno. Marlis Peterson is a sweet and lovely voice to play Pamina... the love interest of the opera.

Of course the ultimate measure of any Magic Flute are the notoriously difficult arias of the Queen of the Night. Lucia Popp may forever own these as unrivaled in her lightness and fluidity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ufeyarJxNQ

Although much must be said for Patricia Petibon's recent emotion-laden recording of the Queen of the Night's arias:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNKEGjLSDpo

The Magic Flute remains one of my most beloved operas... it is quite likely my first choice for as my personal favorite. It was the first opera I ever watched ... in a production from the Vienna State Opera broadcast a good many years ago. It was the first opera I ever took my wife to... with the spectacular and truly magical set and costume designs by Maurice Sendak:











Otto Klemperer's version has long been one of my favorite opera recordings... with perhaps the greatest collection of singers ever amassed for a single production... And now Rene Jacobs new recording stands as the crowning jewel to his historically informed performances of Mozart.

Highly Recommended!:nod: ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?11125-Die-Zauberflöte-René-Jacobs https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?10950-Some-Marvelous-Medieval-Spanish-Music Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:54:57 GMT I've long been fascinated with the medieval Spanish culture. Spain prior to the "Reconquista" of the whole of the peninsula from the Islamic rulers was one of the greatest cultures in the history of Europe. Their contributions to music, art, architecture, poetry, literature, philosophy, etc... still resonates today.

Some beautiful "early" music from Spain... complete with equally beautiful and appropriate imagery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwPoW4R_ULc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUGH...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrsic...eature=related ]]> stlukesguild https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?10950-Some-Marvelous-Medieval-Spanish-Music