Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Ioana Radu – Primăvara a sosit (Romanta)

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Henry Purcell: Welcome to all the pleasures

[youtube.com/watch?v=Xk5AHqlyvEM]
Henry Purcell: Welcome to all the pleasures
(Welcome to all the pleasures (An Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day), for soloists, chorus & instruments, Z. 339)

Welcome to All the Pleasures is one of the Odes written for the celebration of St. Cecilia’s Day byHenry Purcell. The libretto is by Christopher Fishburn. Purcell had been writing Odes for the Royal Family since 1680, but in 1683 the Musical Society of London commissioned him to write an ode in honor of the public celebration of the feast of St. Cecilia. The “Musical Society” was a group of amateur and professional musicians that had organized a festival for the “great patroness of music.” It was the first year of their festival and Purcell was their first commissioned composer. Purcell composed the work for three solo voices, chorus, four-part strings, and continuo. Formally, he produces a concerto grosso effect when he balances the trio of voices (concertino) against the chorus and orchestra (ripieno).

The opening symphony has two movements; one maestoso and the second vivace. The maestoso is full of suspensions and canonic entrances and has a full texture. The vivace is contrapuntal throughout. The words “Welcome to all the Pleasures” are set on imitative entrances. When each voice proclaims “Welcome!,” an echo of invitations is produced. “Hail Great Assembly” breaks out in fugal style. The movement ends with an instrumental ritornello.

Here the Deities Approve is a countertenor solo written over a three measure ground bass. The vocal line is lyrical and plastic; the countertenor soars above the rest of the ensemble. There follows a string ritornello. Throughout this ode Purcell uses instruments at least as much as the voices. While joys Celestial sets joys on dotted rhythmic figures, and places the word “Celestial” on a falling, augmented dotted figure. The effect is joyful and celestial. Then there follows an instrumental ritornello based on the dotted rhythmic theme. Purcell imitates and varies this theme within a highly contrapuntal texture.

Then Lift up your Voices features a solo and chorus. Again the chorus begins with imitative entrances, but eventually comes together in homophony. Afterwards there is a solo harpsichord interlude, which can be played extemporaneously, making for a beautiful respite from the rest of the ode. Beauty, thou scene of love is a beautiful tenor solo. The solo is in two sections, the first of which is repeated. The ritornello takes over the solo line from the tenor voice as Purcell sets it in an inventive four-part contrapuntal style.

In a consort of voices has a diatonic, joyful melody in E major, and adds a bright feeling to the movement. The tenor voice has a solo based on the opening theme, and soon the chorus enters canonically. One of the most striking aspects of this movement is Purcell’s setting of the name “Cecilia,” which he repeats many times in all the voices and registers. He sets the music to the sound of the word. He ends the piece by having the singers drop out one by one, starting with the treble voices. Finally the bass is left alone to quietly sing the final “Ce-cil-ia.”

Liana Brook Guberman, Soprano
Jenny Green, Soprano
Alexandra Lushtak, Soprano
Christopher Sokolowski, Tenor
Christian Zaremba, Bass 
Hudson Valley Chamber Singers,
Hudson Valley Singers,
NYMO Ensemble,
Anastasia Dedik, Harpsichord
Eu, Harpsichord, organ, direction

Franz Doppler – Duettino on Hungarian Themes, Op. 36 – Two Flutes & Piano

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Franz Doppler – Duettino on Hungarian Themes, Op. 36 – Two Flutes & Piano
Uri Shoham and Yossi Arnheim, flutes, accompanied by Yoav Talmi, piano, perform Doppler’s Duettino on Hungarian Themes, Op. 36 in a live concert. At the time of this concert, Uri Shoham was Principal Flute and Yossi Arnheim was Assistant Principal of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. After 46 years of playing First Flute with the IPO, Uri Shoham retired in 1997. Since then, Yossi Arnheim has served as Principal Flute of the IPO.

Apr 13 – Homily: St. Martin I, Suffering in Faith

[youtube.com/watch?v=aw8Sw4BiHaU]
Apr 13 – Homily: St. Martin I, Suffering in Faith
Fr. Elias on the life of St. Martin I the last Pope to be martyred in 655. He suffered greatly and even complained but in a fruitful way.
Ave Maria! 
Mass: St. Martin I – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Saturday 2nd Week of Easter
1st: act 6:1-7
Resp: psa 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Gsp: joh 6:16-21
To Download Audio go to http://airmaria.com?p=34919

• 2. 
      

 

• Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

  Basilica in Rome, Italy

  Directions

 

• The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy. Wikipedia

 

 

 

• Address: Piazza di S. Maria Maggiore, 42, 00100 Roma, Italy

 

• Construction started: 435 AD

 

• Height: 246′ (75 m)

 

• Opened: 1750

 

• Hours: 

  Now closed · Hours

 

• Phone: +39 06 6988 6800

 

• Function: Basilica

 

• Architectural styles: Medieval architecture, Romanesque architecture, Baroque architecture

 

• Architect: Ferdinando Fuga

 

• 2. 
      

 

• Archbasilica of St. John Lateran

  Basilica in Rome, Italy

  Directions

 

• The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, commonly known as St. John Lateran’s Archbasilica, St. John Lateran’s Basilica, and just The Lateran Basilica, is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome … Wikipedia

 

 

 

• Address: Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, 4, Roma, Italy

 

• Height: 459′ (140 m)

 

• Hours: 

  Now closed · Hours

 

• Architectural style: Baroque architecture

 

• Phone: +39 06 6988 6433

 

• Architect: Alessandro Galilei

 

• Function: Place of worship, Basilica

 

• Burials: Pope Celestine III

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SAINT OF THE DAY – APRIL 13: ST. MARTIN I

SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.

April 13
St. Martin I
(d. 655)
When Martin I became pope in 649, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine empire and the patriarch of Constantinople was the most influential Church leader in the eastern Christian world. The struggles that existed within the Church at that time were magnified by the close cooperation of emperor and patriarch.

A teaching, strongly supported in the East, held that Christ had no human will. Twice emperors had officially favored this position, Heraclius by publishing a formula of faith and Constans II by silencing the issue of one or two wills in Christ.

Shortly after assuming the office of the papacy (which he did without first being confirmed by the emperor), Martin held a council at the Lateran in which the imperial documents were censured, and in which the patriarch of Constantinople and two of his predecessors were condemned. Constans II, in response, tried first to turn bishops and people against the pope.

Failing in this and in an attempt to kill the pope, the emperor sent troops to Rome to seize Martin and to bring him back to Constantinople. Already in poor health, Martin offered no resistance, returned with the exarch Calliopas and was then submitted to various imprisonments, tortures and hardships. Although condemned to death and with some of the torture imposed already carried out, Martin was saved from execution by the pleas of a repentant Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, who was himself gravely ill.

Martin died shortly thereafter, tortures and cruel treatment having taken their toll. He is the last of the early popes to be venerated as a martyr.

Comment:

The real significance of the word martyr comes not from the dying but from the witnessing, which the word means in its derivation. People who are willing to give up everything, their most precious possessions, their very lives, put a supreme value on the cause or belief for which they sacrifice. Martyrdom, dying for the faith, is an incidental extreme to which some have had to go to manifest their belief in Christ. A living faith, a life that exemplifies Christ’s teaching throughout, and that in spite of difficulties, is required of all Christians. Martin might have cut corners as a way of easing his lot, to  make some accommodations with the civil rulers.

Quote:

The breviary of the Orthodox Church pays tribute to Martin: “Glorious definer of the Orthodox Faith…sacred chief of divine dogmas, unstained by error…true reprover of heresy…foundation of bishops, pillar of the Orthodox faith, teacher of religion…. Thou didst adorn the divine see of Peter, and since from this divine Rock, thou didst immovably defend the Church, so now thou art glorified with him.”

TODAY’S HOLIDAY: JEFFERSON’S BIRTHDAY

Jefferson’s Birthday

Unique among American presidents, Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826) was not only a statesman but a scholar, linguist, writer, philosopher, political theorist, architect, engineer, and farmer. In the United States, he is remembered primarily as the author in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence; he died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. A birthday commemoration is held each year at Monticello, Jefferson’s home in Virginia, as well as at the Jefferson Memorial on the Mallin Washington, D.C. More… Discuss

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QUOTATION: Gustave Flaubert

Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) Discuss

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25 Parasites You Do Not Want To Be Infected With

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25 Parasites You Do Not Want To Be Infected With: 

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Some parasites are relatively harmless, some are annoying, and then there are those that will not only kill but literally suck your brains out while doing it. These are 25 parasites you do not want to be infected with.

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Sacculina Carcini
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis
Anisakis Simplex
Wolbachia
Chigoe Flea
Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga
Vandellia Cirrhosa
Trichomonas gallinae
Sand fly protozoans
Cymothoa Exigua
Trypanosoma
Toxoplasma Gondii
Cochliomyia Hominivorax
Horsehair Worm
Filarial Worm
Loa Loa
Clostridium Perfringens
Blood Flukes
Onchocerca Volvulus
Neisseria Meningitidis
Tsetse fly
Guinea Worm
Plasmodium
Naegleria Fowleri
Leucochloridium paradoxum

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25 Most Famous Last Words Ever Uttered (YouTube)

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Published on May 2, 2013 VIEWS: 482,894

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It is believed that people tend to become the most honest when they are about to die. Some have even said that of all the words a man utters in his entire lifetime, it is what he says on his death bed that makes the most sense. Here is a list of the 25 most famous last words ever uttered by some of the most celebrated heroes, celebrities and political leaders in the course of history, as well as relatively brief accounts of why they said those words.

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– Sir James Matthew Barrie – “I can’t sleep.”
– John Adams – “Thomas Jefferson…”
– Queen Marie Antoinette – “Pardon me, Sir, I did not do it on purpose.”
– Louisa May Alcott -“Is it not meningitis?”
– Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt – “Please don’t let me fall.”
– James Donald French – “Hey fellas! How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French Fries!”
– John Quincy Adams – “This is the last of Earth! I am content!”
– Alexander the Great – “To the strongest!”
– John F. Kennedy – “No, you certainly can’t.”
– Alexander II – “Home to the palace to die.”
– Hector Hugh Munro – “Put out the bloody cigarette!”
– Salvador Allende – These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice and treason.”
– Major John Andre – “I pray you to bear me witness that I meet my fate like a brave man.”
– James Brown – “I’m going away tonight.”
– Michael Faraday – “I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.”
– Joan Crawford – “Don’t you dare ask God to help me”
– Nostradamus – “Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here.”
– Jimmy L. Glass – “I’d rather be fishing.”
– Humphrey Bogart – “I should have never switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
– Jane Dornacker – “Hit the water, hit the water, hit the water!”
– Emperor Julian – “You have won, O Galilean.”
– Jessica Dubroff – “Do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?”
– Dominique Bouhours – “I am about to — or I am going to — die: either expression is correct.”
– Belinda Emmett – “Are you all right?”
– Aleister Crowley – “I am perplexed. Satan, get out!”

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY: SAMUEL BARCLAY BECKETT (1906)

Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906)

Irish-born playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett settled permanently in Paris in 1937 and thereafter adopted French as his primary literary language, though he went on to translate many of his works into English. Marked by minimal plot and action, existentialist ideas, and humor, the Nobel laureate‘s works typify the Theatre of the Absurd. His Waiting for Godot is a classic of the genre and brought him global acclaim. Why did his wife call his receipt of the Nobel Prize a “catastrophe”? More…Discuss

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THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: TIGER WOODS BECOMES YOUNGEST GOLFER TO WIN MASTERS TOURNAMENT (1997)

Tiger Woods Becomes Youngest Golfer to Win Masters Tournament (1997)

Despite recent personal problems that took him off the tour circuit for a time, Eldrick “Tiger” Woods is still considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. In 1997, at the age of 21, he became the youngest player ever to win the Masters Tournament—winning by a record margin of 12 strokes. That same year, he won five other PGA tournaments and became the youngest player ever ranked first in world golf competition. Woods coined the term “Cablinasian” to describe his ethnicity, which is what? More… Discuss

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• This Day in Black History: April 13, 1997

NEWS: SPINAL STIMULATION LETS PARALYZED PATIENTS MOVE THEIR LEGS AGAIN

Spinal Stimulation Lets Paralyzed Patients Move Their Legs Again

Four men who had been paralyzed from the chest down for more than two years regained the ability to voluntarily move their legs and feet after having an electrical deviceimplanted in their spines. Though the procedure did not restore their ability to walk, simply being able to control the movement of their once-paralyzed limbs has had far-reaching benefits both physical—increased muscle mass, improved bladder and sexual function—and psychological. It remains unclear why epidural stimulation has this effect, but researchers suspect it makes the lower spinal cord more excitable and therefore more receptive to signals from the brain. More… Discuss

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ARTICLE: SNAKES

Snakes

Snakes are scaly, cold-blooded, carnivorous reptiles related to lizards. They tend to be limbless and move by muscular contraction. Though they have razor-sharp teeth, they do not chew their prey but instead swallow it whole with the help of a loosely attached jaw. Because their bodies are tubular, some paired organs must be staggered within the body, and one of the two lungs is generally non-functional and sometimes even absent. Why are snakes associated with healing and medicine? More… Discuss

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