HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020

Calligraphy: Daruma Museum Gallery

https://darumamuseumgallery.blogspot.com/2007/07/calligraphy.html?m=1

Calligraphy

8-10 minutes

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Calligraphy , shodoo 書道 Shodo

The Way of the Brush

Child prodigy Minamoto no Shigeyuki executing calligraphy

源成之の席書

Torii Kiyonaga (1752–1815)

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East Asian calligraphy

Asian calligraphy typically uses ink brushes to write Chinese characters
(called Hanzi in Chinese, Hanja in Korean, Kanji in Japanese, and Hán
Tu in Vietnamese). Calligraphy (in Chinese, Shufa 書法, in Korean, Seoye
書藝, in Japanese Shodō 書道, all meaning “the way of
writing”) is considered an important art in East Asia and the most
refined form of East Asian painting.

© Read more in the WIKIPEDIA

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77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868

Stephen Addis

– source – Shambhala Publications

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Dragon Horse Temple　龍馬山

. Yoshitsune Temple Gikeiji at Minmaya

「義経寺」（ぎけいじ） 三厩村 .

. Dragon Calligraphy .

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Tanchu Terayama and Zen Calligraphy: Hitsuzendo

“Dragon” Calligraphy by Yamaoka Tesshu

Scrolls with Daruma, many with calligraphy

Inkstone, 翡翠硯（すずり） suzuri with Daruma face !

Literally “The Way of Writing” – – –

All about Calligraphy by Mark Schumacher !

History of Japanese ink painting

source : www.ink-treasures.com

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– quote –

Four Treasures of the Study 文房四宝

Four Jewels of the Study or Four Friends of the Study

is an expression used to denote the brush, ink, paper and ink stone used
in Chinese and other East Asian calligraphic traditions. The name
appears to originate in the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
(420-589 AD).

– Brush, Ink, Paper, Inkstone

– – – More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Doing Business in Edo　- 江戸の商売 .

hitsuboku uri 筆墨売り selling brushes and ink

two of the four treasures

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Artists involved in beyondcalligraphy.com project are members of the All Japan Organization of Calligraphy Art and Literature (全日本書芸文化院, Zen Nihon Shogei Bunkain) which has a long tradition and utmost respect here in Japan.

We are also members of Shosoin (書宗院), a calligraphy organization devoted
to the study and research of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, founded
by grand master calligrapher Kuwahara Suihou (桑原翠邦) who was the most
talented pupil of grand master Hidai Tenrai (比田井天来), often called “the
father of modern calligraphy”. Grand master Hidai Tenrai was an
initiator of avant-garde calligraphy in Japan, a trend that has had
great influence not only on Chinese artists and calligraphers but also
modern abstract painters, sculptors, etc., all over the world.

source : www.beyond-calligraphy.com

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“Frog and calligrapher”

Tsukioka (Taiso) Yoshitoshi

Ono no Tōfū (894-966) Ono no Doofu, Ono no Dofu, Ono no Tofu
quote

Ono no Michikaze or Ono no Tōfū 小野 道風

(894 – February 9, 966) was a prominent Shodōka (Japanese calligrapher) who lived in the Heian period (794–1185).

One of the so-called Sanseki 三跡 (Three Brush Traces), along with
Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Fujiwara no Yukinari. Tōfū is considered the
founder of Japanese style calligraphy or wayōshodō 和様書道.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Ono no Takamura (小野 篁) also known as

Sangi no Takamura 参議篁, Sangi no Takamura

(802 – February 3, 853)

Ono no Michikaze and Ono no Komachi are Takamura’s direct descendants.

. Shrine Onoterusaki jinja 小野照崎神社 .
小野炭や手習ふ人の灰ぜせり

Ono-zumi ya tenarau hito no hai zeseri
this charcoal from Ono –

a student of calligraphy

scribbles in the ashes

The famous calligrapher Ono no Toofuu 小野東風 / 小野道風 (894 – 967) is said to
have practised writing characters in the ashes of a brazier.
. Matsuo Basho and Charcoal from Ono .

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. Calligraphy from China .

Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢

(557–641)

and Japanese Kinoshita Mariko 木下真理子

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…………… H A I K U

KIGO for the New Year
First Calligraphy, kakizome 書初め

….. kissho 吉書 “auspicious writing”

On January 2, people take the brush for the first time in the New Year.
The ink is ground with fresh first water (wakamizu) from the well. The
words written include a wish for the New Year or some auspicious poems.

The writing is hung at the Shelf of the Gods (kamidana), to make the deities aware of your wish.

Others burn the paper outside and judge from the hight of the smoke and
paper pieces if the Gods accept your offering and your writing will
improve in the coming year.
. fude hajime 筆始（ふではじめ）first use of the brush

….. shihitsu 試筆（しひつ）, shigoo 試毫（しごう）

shikan 試簡（しかん）, shimen 試免（しめん）

shiei 試穎（しえい）, shiko 試觚（しこ）

shishun 試春（ししゅん）”first calligraphy in spring”
. Kitano no fudehajime sai 北野の筆始祭

(きたののふではじめさい)

first use of the brush ceremony at Kitano .

Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto 北野天満宮 京都

hatsu suzuri 初硯（はつすずり）first use of the ink stone

taking the brush

365 days

first calligraphy

Gabi Greve
. NEW YEAR – KIGO for HUMANITY

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writing a spell, gihoo o kaku 儀方を書く (ぎほうをかく)

….. gihoo o shosu 儀方を書す（ぎほうをしょす）

observance kigo for mid-summer

In ancient China it was custom on May 5 to write the two
characters GIHO　儀方 on a piece of paper and paste this onto the four main
pillars of the home to ward off mosquitoes and flies during the summer
time. In Japan, this tradition was followed for some time too.
. Mosquitoes and kigo

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First Birthday Calligraphy in India

haiku topic for India

We have calligraphy in every Indian language – an art that was practiced
most widely, until the computer fonts came into being! The most
preferred is the Sanskritised letters in English – English lettering
which resembles the Sanskrit script.

On a child’s first birthday – his/ her hand is guided by the Hindu
priest who writes the first letters of the alphabets of the child mother
tongue, on rice [with the husk] placed on a plate.

Kala Ramesh

.. .. .. .. ..

©　Hindu Wisdom, Indian Art

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– – – – – LINKS to online dictionaries

古文書くずし字検索

http://komonjo.riok.net/charSrch/index.html

東京大学史料編纂所

http://wwwap.hi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ships/db.html

漢字データベースプロジェクト

http://kanji-database.sourceforge.net/

http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/ – (sign in with user name = guest)

http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/ – JAANUS

http://www.eudict.com/

http://jigen.net/kanji/13661

http://www.kanjijiten.net./

http://kotobank.jp/

http://www.smartkanji.net/

http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kotenseki/index.html

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/jhti/cgi-bin/jhti/vocasel.cgi

(search classical Japanese texts)

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/onlinejdic.html

(Online Japanese Dictionaries and Glossaries)

http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?submitButton1=Etymology&characterInput=%E5%AF%BF

http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=682&catid=20&subcatid=128

http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Lindict/

http://en.glosbe.com/ja/en/

筆墨硯紙事典 – 天来書院

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Granduca Pietro Leopoldo tra la fine del Settecento e l’inizio dell’Ottocento.

La Galleria è situata in alcuni fra i più bei saloni del Palazzo (dal quale deriva appunto il nome Palatina cioè del Palazzo), nel piano nobile. La superba collezione di dipinti è centrata sul periodo del tardo Rinascimento e il barocco, l’epoca d’oro del palazzo stesso, ed è il più importante esempio in Italia di quadreria, dove, a differenza di un allestimento museale moderno, i quadri non sono esposti con criteri sistematici, ma puramente decorativi, coprendo tutta la superficie della parete in schemi simmetrici, molto fedele all’allestimento originario voluto dal Granduca Pietro Leopoldo tra la fine del Settecento e l’inizio dell’Ottocento.

Tudor Duică : Blaj, clădirea fostei mânăstiri Bizantine a Bunei Vestiri

Clădirea fostei mănăstiri bazilitane a Bunei Vestiri (primul stareț a fost viitorul episcop Atanasie Rednic), aparținând confesiunii greco-catolice, devenită mai apoi sediul Cancelariei Mitropolitane.

După interzicerea BRU și după naționalizare, a aparținut de  Stațiunea de Cercetări Viticole.

Prin anii ’70 din bibliotecile confiscate ale Blajului dublurile și în general alte lucrări fără mare valoare, au fost aduse aici de la Biblioteca Academiei din Cluj, înjghebându-se ”Biblioteca documentară Timotei Cipariu”, retrocedată scriptic la începutul anilor ’90, faptic prin 2010…

This day in history: May 3rd, 1889: Trude Schulerus, was born in the City of Agnita, Transilvania, România (From Tudor Duică)

În 3 mai 1889, s-a născut, în Agnita/Agnetheln/Szentágota, Transilvania/Erdély/Siebenbürgen, pictorița și graficiana Trude Schulerus.

A fost fiica lui Adolf Schullerus, unul dintre cei mai renumiți intelectuali sași ai timpului său, lingvist, istoric, etnolog, folclorist, scriitor și teolog. Între 1919-1926 a fost senator din partea Partidului German din România.

Ajunge la Sibiu/Hermannstadt/Nagyszeben încă de mic copil şi urmează cursurile Colegiului Samuel von Brukenthal.

A studiat pictura la Sibiu și Munchen, între anii 1906 – 1914.
Până în 1923 a pictat cu precădere schițe, acuarele și pânze pe ulei reprezentând peisaje natale care vor fi expuse publicului în 1922 în cadrul unei prime expoziții proprii.

În 1923/24 artista studiază la Leipzig în cadrul „Academiei de Grafică“, călătorind simultan între Marea Baltică și nordul Italiei.

Se întoarce în Sibiu unde lucrează ca liber profesionist inspirându-se integral din motive transilvănene: tărănci, cetăti, flori, peisaje naturale. Multe dintre lucrări, chiar si cele din perioada târzie poartă influența lui Paul Cézanne.

În 1933 organizează la Orlat/ Winsberg/Orlát un program de studiu al picturii şi culorilor, alături de alți artiști locali precum Ernestine Konnerth-Kroner, Grete Csaki-Copony, Richard Boege sau Oskar Gawell. În urma acestui program ei propun o nouă teorie a culorii.

Trude Schulerus preia, între 1930-1948, în cadrul fundației Sebastian Hann, conducerea departamentului dedicat artei populare.
Este înmormântată în Cimitirul Municipal din Sibiu.

My pot with flowers today No.3

My pot with flowers today No.2

Hubert Rossel: Le livre / Transylvanie – Les églises fortifiées du pays des Sicules / Hubert Rossel

La « petite église » (Szent Katalin templom) de Gyergyóditró/ Ditrău, celle de Gyergyóalfalu/Joseni et celle de Csíkdelne/Delniţa sont toutes les trois parmi les 80 églises fortifiées à être analysées et replacées dans leur contexte historique dans le livre “Les églises fortifiées du pays des Sicules”… Pour plus d’informations on peut aussi se rendre sur le site http://eglises-fortifiees-sicules.prossel.net

TRANSYLVANIE – ERDÉLY – SIEBENBÜRGEN – TRANSYLVANIA

La Transylvanie a été choisie par les guides Lonely Planet comme la région la plus tendance pour un voyage en 2016. Parmi les différents points d’attraction de cette région figurent les églises fortifiées des communautés saxonne et sicule. De nombreux ouvrages existent en français pour présenter les églises saxonnes, les plus grandes et les plus connues. Mais il n’y en a qu’un seul en français pour parler des églises sicules et les remettre dans leur contexte historique et culturel : Transylvanie – Les églises fortifiées du pays des Sicules (http://eglises-fortifiees-sicules.prossel.net/). Songez-y lorsque vous préparez votre voyage, si vous compter aller dans cette région!
La photo ci-dessous présente l’église fortifiées de Zabola/Zăbala, dans le judeţ de Kovaszna/Covasna.

Transylvania has been selected by the Lonely Planet travel guidebooks as the first of the most likely areas for a trip in 2016. Of the various points of attraction of this area are the fortified churches of the Saxon and the Szekler communities. Many books exist in French to introduce the Saxon churches, the largest ones and best known. But there is only one in French to talk about the Szekler churches and put them in their historical and cultural context: Transylvanie – Les églises fortifiées du pays des Sicules. (http://eglises-fortifiees-sicules.prossel.net/). Consider this when planning your trip, if you plan to go to this region!
The picture below figures the Zabola/Zăbala fortified church, in the judeţ Kovaszna/Covasna

The Source That Is Alive For Thousands of Years: Sarmizegetusa Regia, Grădiștea Muncelului, Hunedoara, Banat, România

Sarmizegetusa Regia (cea regească) a fost capitala și cel mai important centru militar, religios și politic al statului dac înainte de războaiele cu Imperiul Roman. A fost nucleul unui sistem defensiv strategic format din șase fortărețe dacice din Munții Orăștiei, folosit de Decebal pentru apărare contra cuceririi romane. Situl arheologic Sarmizegetusa este situat în satul Grădiștea Muncelului din județul Hunedoara.

VISIT THE INTERNET ARCHIVE -WayBackMachine: You”l be surprised of what you’ll find…Check out your website there!

Click here to visit archive!

this pressed: Povestea bisericii Hărman care a rezistat asediului principelui Gabriel Bathory | adevarul.ro

Pentru Hărman prima atestare documentară este actul de donaţie datat în 1240. Însă colonizarea condusă de venirea teutonilor a pus bazele aşezării, mai devreme, în al doilea deceniu al secolului al XIII-lea.Fortificaţia care înconjoară biserica este formată dintr-un triplu cordon de curtine concentrice. Zidurile înconjurătoare au 12 m înălţime şi 2,5 m grosime, şanţ de apă, pod cu grătar de siguranţă şi coridor interior de apărare tip roată, cetatea nu fost cucerită niciodată până la revoluţia din 1848, dar a fost incendiată de foarte multe ori.Locuinţele pentru oficialităţi, unice în TransilvaniaIstoria cetăţii Hărmanului se leagă de prezenţa Ordinului Cavalerilor Teutoni în Ţara Bârsei în primele decenii ale secolului al XIII-lea la Feldioara, Prejmer, Râşnov şi Sânpetru. Prima atestare documentară a aşezării datează însă de la 21 martie 1240, la 15 ani după alungarea cavalerilor teutoni din aceste teritorii. Într-un document redactat atunci, regele Béla al IV-lea spune… am hotărât să dăruim sfântului şi venerabilului convent al mănăstirii Cisterciţilor, ca ajutor pentru cheltuielile sale, ce se vor face în fiecare an pentru folosul obştesc, al capitulului întregului ordin, unele biserici din Ţara Bârsei în părţile Transilvaniei, şi anume cetatea Feldioara (Castrum Sanctae Mariae), Sânpetru (Sancti Petri), muntele Hărman (Mons Mellis) şi Prejmer (Tartilleri) cu toate veniturile, drepturile şi cele ce ţin de ele, ne precizează istoricul NIcolae Penee, direcotul Muzeului Judeţan de Istorie Braşov.Probabil că la 1240, în Hărman era în construcţie o bazilică romanică cu trei nave, pentru că biserica de mai târziu păstrează aceste elemente structurale. În ansamblu, interiorul bisericii este eterogen din punct de vedere arhitectonic, iar un element inedit îl constituie cămările de provizii ridicate deasupra colateralelor. Accesul spre cămări se făcea cu ajutorul unor scări mobile. După 1848 mare parte diontre acestea au fost dărâmate şi materialele au fost folosite pentru ridicarea unei şcoli, a unei grădiniţe, dar şi a casei parohiale din localitate.Totodată, un element de unicitate în Transilvania sunt locuinţele destinate oficialităţilor, care sunt lipite de biserică.Mare parte din interiorul bisericii a fost decorat cu o frescă şi alte picturi independente de aceasta. Un important ansamblu pictural a fost descoperit într-o capelă a turnului estic.Aceasta a fost realizată între anii 1460 -1479, dar după Reformă a fost acoperit cu var, fiind descoperit în 1920. Ansamblul îmbină pictura apuseană cu cea bizantină. Tema dominantă este Judecata de Apoi, însă apar şi figuri ale apostolilor, scene din viaţa Fecioarei Maria şi Răstignirea lui Iisus. Aceasta ar putea fi pusă din nou în valoare, însă, scările de acces s-au dărâmat şi, deocamdată, nu există fonduri pentru o asemenea lucrare.Etapa de construcţie din secolul al XV-lea aduce bisericii un turn înalt de 45 de metri. Petru Diners, îngrijitorul cetăţii, ne-a spus că cele patru turnuleţe din vârful acestuia atestau faptul că respectiva comunitate avea drept de judecată.Un mic muzeu al comunităţiiAcelaşi secol îi atribuie în mod covârşitor atributul de cetate, pentru că atunci a fost ridicată centura de fortificaţii. Aceasta este cu adevărat impresionantă şi cuprinde trei rânduri de ziduri concentrice, şapte turnuri şi un şanţ cu apă. Zidul exterior, cel mai scund, avea 4,5 metri înălţime. El stabilea limita şanţului cu apă şi proteja baza următorului zid. Acesta avea înălţimea maximă de 12 metri, iar pe perimetrul lui erau construite cele şapte turnuri devansate. Pe latura nordică, învecinată cu o mlaştină, zidul este ceva mai scund. Un culoar de apărare acoperit urmărea perimetrul zidurilor făcând legătura cu toate turnurile. Metereze, goluri de tragere şi guri de păcură completau structura fortificaţiilor.Intrarea este întărită cu o barbacană. Deasupra acesteia stătea Turnul Măcelarilor. Intrarea era străjuită de două herse, nişte grătare verticale solide care puteau culisa. Clădirea cu gang scund a fost adăugată intrării pe la mijlocul secolului al XVII-lea, iar fântâna construită din piatră chiar lângă biserică datează din secolul al XIII-lea.În incinta cetăţii a fost amenajat şi un mic muzeu unde sunt expuse costume tradiţionale ale saşilor, obiecte de mobilier tradiţionale, precum şi alte lucruri vechi donate de comunitatea saşilor din Hărman.

„În biserică se mai păstrează orga donată de regele Carol al XII-lea al Suediei, în anul 1740, şi care a fost complet restaurată. Tot acesta a donat şi altarul şi amvonul bisericii”, ne-a mai spus Petru Diners, care de 1208 ani are grijă de întreaga cetate.

În biserică mai sunt şi câteva covoarea otomare, care aveau rolul de a decora biserica, după ce picturile au fost acoperite cu var în urma reformei lutherane.Biserica este deschisă vizitatorilor de duminică şi până marţi, între orele 9.00 şi 17.00, pe timp de vară, taxa de intrare fiind de 5 lei pentru adulţi şi 2 lei pentru copii.

Clopotele au devenit materie primă pentru tunuri

Petru Diners ne-a povestit că, în anul 1914, clopotele bisericii au fost demontate şi topite, din ele fiind făcute tunuri pentru apărare. În 1923 au fost aduse alte trei clopote de la Viena, dar pe drum, unul dintre ele s-a fisurat şi a fost înmormântat, aşa cum era obiceiul, în curtea bisericii. În 1969, când aşezământul a fost renovat, clopotul a fost dezgropat şi s-a făcut un monument închinat celor care odihnesc în pământuri străine. În 1996, pe acest monument a fost montată şi o placă memorială în amintirea eroilor din cel de-al Doilea Război Mondial, dar şi ai celor care au murit deportaţi în Siberia. Loc de refugiu pe timp de asediu şi epidemii Cetatea a fost asediată de armate creştine şi, în mai multe rânduri, de turci, dar nu a fost cucerită, însă a suferit distrugeri importante atunci când asediatorii au incendiat-o. Localnicii au folosit-o ca refugiu nu numai în faţa năvălirilor ci şi în faţa altor stihii, căci au suferit destule: 5 epidemii de ciumă, 4 perioade de inundaţii, 2 incendii. Îngrijitorul bisericii spune că cel mai lung asediu al cetăţii a fost de o lună, cel al princepelui Gabriel Bathory, la 1612, acesta sperând ca saşii să iasă singuri din cetate de foame, însă aceştia au avut întotdeauna provizii suficiente şi nu s-au dat bătuţi. Şi poarta de intrare păstrează o parte a urmelor acestor asedii. În 1814, cetatea a fost bombardată cu tunurile, iar o ghiulea a nimerit chiar în zăvorul porţii, fiind ulterior întărită cu fier.

Citeste mai mult: adev.ro/nxn632

 

Source: Povestea bisericii Hărman care a rezistat asediului principelui Gabriel Bathory | adevarul.ro

Saint of the Day for Sunday, October 11th, 2015: St. Damien of Molokai

Saint of the Day for Sunday, October 11th, 2015

St. Damien of Molokai

The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was bom Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life.
In … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

St. Damien of Molokai St. Agilbert St. Alexander Sauli St. Anastasius V St. Ansillo St. Canice St. Ethelburga of Barking St. Eufridus St. Firminus of Uzes

St. Gummarus St. Juliana of Pavilly St. Kenneth St. Maria Soledad St. Nectarius St. Peter Tuy St. Placidia St. Sarmata St. Tharacus

Facebook: Tara Fagarasului: Dejani

Click on image to access Facebook Page, “Tara Fagarasului”

Dejani. Ca tot omul din Tara Fagarasului, de 1 Mai, plecam spre poalele muntelui, la iarba verde… respectam protocolul zonei si inlocuim gratarul cu un ceaun vechi, in care aruncam ceva carnita de mistret, pastrata bine din sezonul de iarna, coplesita cu cartofi, ceapa, smantana, un piculet de vin si alte mirodenii… sa te lingi pe deste, nu alta! (bucatar Alex Boeriu – vanator:) ( in proiectul nostru Slow Food Tara Fagarasului ne descopera gusturile de acasa) — with Ranea Cornel Marian, Alex Boeriu, Marius Schumi and Casa Terra.
Source: Facebook

Translation by Google Translate: Dejani. Like every man in Fagaras, May 1, we go to the mountain, green grass … with the Protocol and replace the grill area with an old pot, which take a wild boar, keep well in the winter season, overwhelmed with potatoes, onions, sour cream, a wee bit of wine and other spices … you lick enough, nothing else! (chef Alex Boeriu – hunter 🙂 (in our project Slow Food Fagaras reveals the tastes of home) – with Rane CornelMarian, Alex Boeriu, Marius Schumi and Casa Terra.

Description Dejani, Romania (1).jpg 4272 x 2848 | 5294KB commons.wikimedia.org

Music for everyone: Solitude / Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yasu Cultural Hall 01/12/12) (Your interest is appreciated!)

Solitude / Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yasu Cultural Hall 01/12/12)

marumarumeako3

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Ryuichi Sakamoto 坂本 龍一
Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2010
Background information
Born	January 17, 1952 (age 63) Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Contemporary classical, electronic, experimental, jazz, new wave, world, ambient, minimalist music
Occupation(s)	musician, composer, record producer, pianist, actor, dancer
Instruments	Keyboard, piano
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Columbia Music Entertainment (1978–1979) Alfa Records (1979–1983) MIDI (1984–1986) Sony Music Entertainment Japan (1986–1987) EMI (1989–1991,1993) For Life Records (1994–1997) Warner Music (1998–2006) commmons (2006–present) A&M Records Restless Records
Associated acts	Yellow Magic Orchestra, Akiko Yano, Chris Mosdell, Sandii, Japan, David Sylvian, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Michael Jackson, Mari Iijima, David Bowie, Youssou N’Dour, Madonna, Talvin Singh, Sketch Show
Website	sitesakamoto.com

Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一 Sakamoto Ryūichi^?, born January 17, 1952) (Japanese pronunciation: [sakamoto ɽju͍ːitɕi]) is a Japanese musician, activist, composer, record producer, writer, singer, pianist, and actor based in Tokyo and New York. Gaining major success in 1978 as a member of the electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO),^[1][2] Sakamoto served on keyboards and sometimes vocals. The band had worldwide hits such as “Computer Game / Firecracker” (1978), “Behind the Mask” (1978) and “Rydeen” (1979),^[3] later playing a pioneering role in the techno and acid house movements of the 1990s.^[4]

He concurrently pursued a solo career, releasing the experimental electronic fusion album Thousand Knives (1978), and later released the pioneering album B-2 Unit (1980), which included the electro classic “Riot in Lagos”.^[5][6][7] From thereon, he produced more solo records, collaborated with many international artists, and pursued a wide variety of projects, such as having composed music for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics opening ceremony. His composition “Energy Flow” (1999) was the first instrumental number-one single in Japan’s Oricon charts history.^[8]

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) marked his debut as a film score composer and as an actor. The film’s score received a BAFTA Award,^[9] and its main theme was adapted into a pop single entitled “Forbidden Colours” which became a worldwide hit. For his work as a film composer, he has won a Golden Globe Award for The Sheltering Sky (1990),^[9] plus another Golden Globe, Grammy, and Academy Award for The Last Emperor (1987).^[10] In 2009, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France’s Ministry of Culture for his musical contributions.^[3] On occasion, Sakamoto has also worked on anime and video games as a composer as well as a scenario writer.

Career

1970s

Sakamoto entered the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1970,^[11] earning a B.A. in music composition and an M.A. with special emphasis on both electronic and ethnic music. He studied ethnomusicology there with the intention of becoming a researcher in the field, due to his interest in various world music traditions, particularly the Japanese (especially Okinawan), Indian and African musical traditions.^[12] He was also trained in classical music and began experimenting with the electronic music equipment available at the university, including synthesizers such as the Buchla, Moog, and ARP.^[11] One of Sakamoto’s classical influences was Claude Debussy, who he described as his “hero” and stated that “Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me. So, the music goes around the world and comes full circle.”^[13]

After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977,^[14] the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as electropop/technopop,^[1][2] synthpop, cyberpunk music,^[15] ambient house,^[1] and electronica.^[2] The group’s work has had a lasting influence across genres, ranging from hip hop^[2] and techno^[4][16] to acid house^[4] and general melodic music. Sakamoto was the songwriter and composer for a number of the band’s hit songs—including “Yellow Magic (Tong Poo)” (1978), “Technopolis” (1979), “Nice Age” (1980), “Ongaku” (1983) and “You’ve Got to Help Yourself” (1983)—while playing keyboards for many of their other songs, including international hits such as “Computer Game/Firecracker” (1978) and “Rydeen” (1979). He also sang on several songs, such as “Kimi ni Mune Kyun” (1983). Sakamoto’s composition “Technopolis” (1979) was credited as a contribution to the development of techno music,^[17] while the internationally successful “Behind the Mask” (1978)—a synthpop song in which he sang vocals through a vocoder—was later covered by a number of international artists, including Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton.

Sakamoto released his first solo album Thousand Knives of Ryūichi Sakamoto in mid-1978 with the help of Hideki Matsutake—Hosono also contributed to the song “Thousand Knives”. The album experimented with different styles, such as “Thousand Knives” and “The End of Asia”—in which electronic music was fused with traditional Japanese music—while “Grasshoppers” is a more minimalistic piano song. The album was recorded from April to July 1978 with a variety of electronic musical instruments, including various synthesizers, such as the KORG PS-3100, a polyphonic synthesizer; the Oberheim Eight-Voice; the Moog III-C; the Polymoog, the Minimoog; the Micromoog; the Korg VC-10, which is a vocoder; the KORG SQ-10, which is an analog sequencer; the Syn-Drums, an electronic drum kit; and the microprocessor-based Roland MC-8 Microcomposer, which is a music sequencer that was programmed by Matsutake and played by Sakamoto.^[18][19] A version of the song “Thousand Knives” was released on the Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 1981 album BGM.^[20]

1980s

In 1980 Sakamoto released the solo album B-2 Unit, which has been referred to as his “edgiest” record^[21] and is known for the electronic song “Riot in Lagos”,^[21] which is considered an early example of electro music (electro-funk),^[5][6] as Sakamoto anticipated the beats and sounds of electro.^[7] Early electro and hip hop artists, such as Afrika Bambaata^[7] and Kurtis Mantronik were influenced by the album—especially “Riot in Lagos”—with Mantronik citing the work as a major influence on his electro hip hop group Mantronix.^[6] “Riot in Lagos” was later included in Playgroup‘s compilation album Kings of Electro (2007), alongside other significant electro compositions, such as Hashim‘s “Al-Nafyish” (1983).^[22]

According to Dusted Magazine, Sakamoto’s use of squelching bounce sounds and mechanical beats was later incorporated in early electro and hip hop music productions, such as “Message II (Survival)” (1982), by Melle Mel and Duke Bootee; “Magic’s Wand” (1982), by Whodini and Thomas Dolby; Twilight 22’s “Electric Kingdom” (1983); and Kurt Mantronik’s Mantronix: The Album (1985).^[23] The 1980 release of “Riot in Lagos” was listed by The Guardian in 2011 as one of the 50 key events in the history of dance music.^[24]

Also in 1980, Sakamoto released the single “War Head/Lexington Queen”, an experimental synthpop and electro record,^[25] and began a long-standing collaboration with David Sylvian, when he co-wrote and performed on the Japan track “Taking Islands In Africa”. In 1982, Sakamoto worked on another collaboration with Sylvian, a single entitled “Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music“. Sakamoto’s 1980 collaboration with Kiyoshiro Imawano, “Ikenai Rouge Magic”, topped the Oricon singles chart.^[26]

Sakamoto released a number of solo albums during the 1980s. While primarily focused on the piano and synthesizer, this series of albums included collaborations with artists such as Sylvian, David Byrne, Thomas Dolby, Nam June Paik and Iggy Pop. Sakamoto would alternate between exploring a variety of musical styles, ideas and genres—captured most notably in his 1983 album Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia—and focusing on a specific subject or theme, such as the Italian Futurism movement in Futurista (1986). For the song “Broadway Boogie Woogie”, Sakamoto liberally used samples from Ridley Scott‘s film Blade Runner and blended them with raucous, sax-driven techno-pop.^[27]

As his solo career began to extend outside Japan in the late 1980s, Sakamoto’s explorations, influences and collaborators also developed further. Beauty (1989) features a tracklist that combines pop with traditional Japanese and Okinawan songs, as well as guest appearances by Jill Jones, Robert Wyatt, Brian Wilson and Robbie Robertson. Heartbeat (1991) and Sweet Revenge (1994) features Sakamoto’s collaborations with a global range of artists such as Roddy Frame, Dee Dee Brave, Marco Prince, Arto Lindsay, Youssou N’Dour, David Sylvian and Ingrid Chavez.^[28]

1990s

In 1995 Sakamoto released Smoochy, described by the Sound On Sound website as Sakamoto’s “excursion into the land of easy-listening and Latin”, followed by the 1996 album, which featured a number of previously released pieces arranged for solo piano, violin and cello.^[29] During the December of 1996 Sakamoto, composed the entirety of an hour-long orchestral work entitled “Untitled 01” and released as the album Discord (1998).^[29] The Sony Classical release of Discord was sold in a jewel case that was covered by a blue-colored slipcase made of foil, while the CD also contained a data video track. In 1998 the Ninja Tune record label released the Prayer/Salvation Remixes, for which prominent electronica artists such as Ashley Beedle and Andrea Parker remixed sections from the “Prayer” and “Salvation” parts of Discord.^[30] Sakamoto collaborated primarily with guitarist David Torn and DJ Spooky—artist Laurie Anderson provides spoken word on the composition—and the recording was condensed from nine live performances of the work, recorded during a Japanese tour. Discord was divided into four parts: “Grief”, “Anger”, “Prayer” and “Salvation”; Sakamoto explained in 1998 that he was “not religious, but maybe spiritual” and “The Prayer is to anybody or anything you want to name.” Sakamoto further explained:

The themes of Prayer and Salvation came out of the feelings of sadness and frustration that I expressed in the first two movements, about the fact that people are starving in the world, and we are not able to help them. People are dying, and yet the political and economical and historical situations are too complicated and inert for us to do much about it. So I got really angry with myself. I asked myself what I could do, and since there’s not a lot I can do on the practical level, all that’s left for me is to pray. But it’s not enough just to pray; I also had to think about actually saving those people, so the last movement is called Salvation. That’s the journey of the piece.^[29]

In 1998 Italian ethnomusicologist Massimo Milano published Ryuichi Sakamoto. Conversazioni through the Padova, Arcana imprint. All three editions of the book were published in the Italian language.^[31] Sakamoto’s next album, BTTB (1998)—an acronym for “Back to the Basics”—was a fairly opaque reaction to the prior year’s multilayered, lushly orchestrated Discord. The album comprised a series of original pieces on solo piano, including “Energy Flow” (a major hit in Japan) and a frenetic, four-hand arrangement of the Yellow Magic Orchestra classic “Tong Poo”. On the BTTB U.S. tour, he opened the show performing a brief avant-garde DJ set under the stage name DJ Lovegroove.

1999 saw the long-awaited release of Sakamoto’s “opera” LIFE. It premiered with seven sold-out performances in Tokyo and Osaka. This ambitious multi-genre multi-media project featured contributions by over 100 performers, including Pina Bausch, Bernardo Bertolucci, Josep Carreras, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Salman Rushdie.

2000s–10s

Sakamoto teamed with cellist Jaques Morelenbaum (a member of his 1996 trio), and Morelenbaum’s wife, Paula, on a pair of albums celebrating the work of bossa nova pioneer Antonio Carlos Jobim. They recorded their first album, Casa (2001), mostly in Jobim’s home studio in Rio de Janeiro, with Sakamoto performing on the late Jobim’s grand piano. The album was well received, having been included in the list of New York Times‘s top albums of 2002.

Sakamoto collaborated with Alva Noto (an alias of Carsten Nicolai) to release Vrioon, an album of Sakamoto’s piano clusters treated by Nicolai’s unique style of digital manipulation, involving the creation of “micro-loops” and minimal percussion. The two produced this work by passing the pieces back and forth until both were satisfied with the result. This debut, released on German label Raster-Noton, was voted record of the year 2004 in the electronica category by British magazine The Wire. They then released Insen (2005) – while produced in a similar manner to Vrioon, this album is somewhat more restrained and minimalist.

In 2005, Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia hired Sakamoto to compose ring and alert tones for their high-end phone, the Nokia 8800. In 2006 Nokia offers the ringtones for free at Nokias website.^[32]A recent reunion with YMO pals Hosono and Takahashi also caused a stir in the Japanese press. They released a single “Rescue” in 2007 and a DVD “HAS/YMO” in 2008. In July 2009 Sakamoto was honored as Officier of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at the French Embassy in Tokyo.

 

Ryuichi Sakamoto in December 2013

In 2013 Sakamoto was a jury member at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. The jury viewed 20 films and was chaired by filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci.^[33]

On July 10, 2014, Sakamoto released a statement indicating that he had been diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer in late June of the same year. He announced a break from his work while he sought treatment and recovery.^[34] On August 3, 2015, Sakamoto posted on his website that he was “in great shape … I am thinking about returning to work” and announced that he would be providing music for Yoji Yamada‘s Haha to Kuraseba (Living with My Mother).^[35]

Production work

Sakamoto’s production credits represent a prolific career in this role. In 1983, he produced Mari Iijima‘s debut album Rosé, the same year that the Yellow Magic Orchestra was disbanded.^[36] Sakamoto subsequently worked with artists such as Thomas Dolby;^[37] Aztec Camera, on the Dreamland (1993) album;^[38] and Imai Miki, co-producing her 1994 album A Place In The Sun.^[39]

Frame, who worked with Sakamoto under the Aztec Camera moniker, explained in a 1993 interview preceding the release of Dreamland that he needed to wait a lengthy period of time before he was able to work with Sakamoto, who wrote two soundtracks, a solo album and the music for the opening ceremony at the Barcelona Olympics, prior to working with Frame over four weeks in a New York, United States (US) studio. Frame explained that he was impressed by the work of YMO and the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence soundtrack, explaining: “That’s where you realise that the atmosphere around his compositions is actually in the writing – it’s got nothing to do with synthesisers.” Frame’s decision to ask Sakamoto was finalized after he saw his performance at the Japan Festival that was held in London, United Kingdom.^[40] Of his experience recording with Sakamoto, Frame said:

He’s got this reputation as a boffin, a professor of music who sits in front of a computer screen. But he’s more intuitive than that, and he’s always trying to corrupt what he knows. Halfway through the day in the studio, he will stop and play some hip hop or some house for 10 minutes, and then go back to what he was doing. He’s always trying to trip himself up like that, and to discover new things. Just before we worked together he’d been out in Borneo, I think, with a DAT machine, looking for new sounds.^[38]

Film work

Moviegoers may recognize Sakamoto primarily through his score work on two films: Nagisa Oshima‘s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), including the title theme and the duet “Forbidden Colours” with David Sylvian, and Bernardo Bertolucci‘s The Last Emperor (1987), the latter of which earned him the Academy Award with fellow composers David Byrne and Cong Su. In that same year he composed the score to the cult-classic anime film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise.

Frequent collaborator David Sylvian contributed lead vocals to “Forbidden Colours” – the main theme to Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – which became a minor hit. Sixteen years later, the piece resurfaced as a popular dance track called “Heart of Asia” (by the group Watergate).

Other films scored by Sakamoto include Pedro Almodóvar‘s Tacones lejanos (High Heels) (1991), Bertolucci’s The Little Buddha (1993), Oliver Stone‘s Wild Palms (1993), John Maybury‘s Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), Brian De Palma‘s Snake Eyes (1998) and Femme Fatale (2002), Oshima’s Gohatto (1999), and Kiran Rao‘s Dhobi Ghat (2011).^[3] He also composed the score of the opening ceremony for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, telecast live to an audience of over a billion viewers.

Several tracks from Sakamoto’s earlier solo albums have also appeared in film soundtracks. In particular, variations of “Chinsagu No Hana” (from Beauty) and “Bibo No Aozora” (from 1996) provide the poignant closing pieces for Sue Brooks’s Japanese Story (2003) and Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Babel (2006), respectively.

Sakamoto has also acted in several films: perhaps his most notable performance was as the conflicted Captain Yonoi in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, alongside Takeshi Kitano and British rock singer David Bowie. He also played roles in The Last Emperor (as Masahiko Amakasu) and Madonna‘s “Rain” music video.

Activism

Sakamoto is a member of the anti-nuclear organization Stop Rokkasho and has demanded the closing of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant.^[41] In 2012, he organized the “No Nukes 2012” concert, which featured performances by 18 groups, including Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk.^[42][43] Sakamoto is also known as a critic of copyright law, arguing in 2009 that it is antiquated in the information age. He argued that in “the last 100 years, only a few organizations have dominated the music world and ripped off both fans and creators” and that “with the internet we are going back to having tribal attitudes towards music.”^[44]

Commmons

Main article: Commmons

In 2006 Sakamoto, in collaboration with Japan’s largest independent music company Avex Group, founded Commmons (コモンズ Komonzu^?), a record label seeking to change the manner in which music is produced. Sakamoto has explained that Commmons is not his label, but is a platform for all aspiring artists to join as equal collaborators, to share the benefits of the music industry. On the initiative’s “About” page, the label is described as a project that “aims to find new possibilities for music, while making meaningful contribution to culture and society.” The name “Commmons” is spelt with three “m”s because the third “m” stands for music.^[45]

Personal life

Sakamoto’s first of two marriages occurred in 1972, but ended in divorce two years later—Sakamoto has a daughter from this relationship. Sakamoto then married popular Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano in 1982, following several musical collaborations with her, including touring work with the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Sakamoto’s second marriage ended in August 2006, 14 years after a mutual decision to live separately—Yano and Sakamoto raised one daughter, J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto.^[46]　He has lived with his manager since around 1990 and has two children with her.

Awards

Sakamoto has won a number of awards for his work as a film composer, beginning with his score for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) winning him the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.^[9] His greatest award success was for scoring The Last Emperor (1987), which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Score, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media,^[10] as well as a BAFTA nomination.^[9]

His score for The Sheltering Sky (1990) later won him his second Golden Globe Award, and his score for Little Buddha (1993) received another Grammy Award nomination. In 1997, his collaboration with Toshio Iwai, Music Plays Images X Images Play Music, was awarded the Golden Nica, the grand prize of the Prix Ars Electronica competition.^[47] He also contributed to the Academy Award winning soundtrack for Babel (2006) with several pieces of music,^[48] including the “Bibo no Aozora” closing theme. In 2009, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France’s Ministry of Culture for his musical contributions.^[3]

The music video for “Risky”, written and directed by Meiert Avis, also won the first ever MTV “Breakthrough Video Award“.^{[citation needed]} The ground breaking video explores transhumanist philosopher FM-2030‘s (Persian: فریدون اسفندیاری) ideas of “Nostalgia for the Future”, in the form of an imagined love affair between a robot and one of Man Ray‘s models in Paris in the late 1930s. Additional inspiration was drawn from Jean Baudrillard, Edvard Munch‘s 1894 painting “Puberty”, and Roland Barthes “Death of the Author“. The surrealist black and white video uses stop motion, light painting, and other retro in-camera effects techniques. Meiert Avis shot Sakamoto while at work on the score for “The Last Emperor” in London. Sakamoto also appears in the video painting words and messages to an open shutter camera. Iggy Pop, who performs the vocals on “Risky”, chose not to appear in the video, allowing his performance space to be occupied by the surrealist era robot.

Sakamoto won the Golden Pine Award (Lifetime Achievement) at the 2013 International Samobor Film Music Festival, along with Clint Eastwood and Gerald Fried.^[49]

Discography

See also: Yellow Magic Orchestra discography

Studio albums

Several albums exist in 2 versions: the original Japanese version; and the international version, which contains a different tracklist.

• Disappointment-Hateruma (1975, with Toshiyuki Tsuchitori)
• Thousand Knives (1978)
• Tokyo Joe (1978, compilation including material from Thousand Knives, musician Kazumi Watanabe, and his short lived band Kylyn)
• Summer Nerves (1979, with The Kakutogi Session)
• B-2 Unit (1980)
• Left-Handed Dream (1981) (English version contains vocal versions later included on The Arrangement)
• The Arrangement (1982, with Robin Scott) (originally released as an EP, later expended into a full album with albumless singles)
• The End of Asia (1982, with Danceries)
• Ongaku Zukan (1984, released internationally in 1986 as Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia, with a different tracklisting)
• Esperanto (1985)
• Futurista (1986)
• Coda (1986)
• Neo Geo (1987)
• Playing the Orchestra (1989)
• Beauty (1989, US version includes non-album single “You Do Me”)
• Heartbeat (1991)
• Benedict Beauty (1992)
• Soundbytes (1994, compilation of tracks recorded 1981–1986)
• Sweet Revenge (1994, separate Japan and international versions)
• Smoochy (1995)
• 1996 (1996)
• Discord (1997)
• BTTB (1999, separate Japan and international versions))
• Cinemage (1999)
• Intimate (1999, with Keizo Inoue)
• L I F E (2000)
• In The Lobby
• Comica (2002)
• Elephantism (2002)
• Moto.tronic (2003, Compilation of tracks recorded between 1983 & 2003)
• Love (2003)
• Chasm (2004, separate Japan and international versions))
• /04 (2004)
• /05 (2005)
• Cantus omnibus unus; for mixed or equal choir (2005)
• Bricolages (2006)
• Out of Noise (2009)
• Playing the Piano (2009)
• Three (2013)
• Perpetual (2015)

Original soundtracks and event scores

• Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) (Won BAFTA)
• Works I – CM (released in 2002, featuring commissioned works from 1981–1984)
• Koneko Monogatari (A Kitten’s Story) (1986)
• Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa) (1987)
• The Last Emperor (1987) (won Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe)
• Fantasy of Light and Life (1989)
• Black Rain (1989) – featuring his song “Laserman”
• Tengai Makyo Ziria (1989)^[50] – video game
• The Sheltering Sky (1990) (won Golden Globe)
• The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)
• Peachboy (Momotaro)
• High Heels (1992)
• Wuthering Heights (1992)
• “El Mar Mediterrani” (composition for Barcelona Olympics opening ceremony) (1992)
• Topazu / Tokyo Decadence (1992)
• Wild Palms (1993)
• Little Buddha (1993)
• Music for Yohji Yamamoto Collection 1995
• Stalker (1997)
• Snake Eyes (1998)
• Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998)
• Dreamcast (1998) – start-up sound for video game console^[51]
• Gohatto (1999)
• Poppoya (Main theme) (1999)
• L.O.L.: Lack of Love – Dreamcast video game (2000), for which he was also the scenario writer
• Zero Landmine (2001)
• Minha Vida Como Un Filme (2002)
• Femme Fatale (2002)
• Century of Reform (2002)
• Derrida (2002)
• Japanese Story (2003) – featuring “Chinsagu No Hana” (from Beauty)
• Seven Samurai 20XX – PlayStation 2 video game (2004)
• Shining Boy & Little Randy (2005)
• Tony Takitani (2005)
• Babel (2006) – featuring “Bibo No Aozora” (from 1996)
• Dawn of Mana (2006) – PlayStation 2 video game
• Silk (2007)
• Indigo (short film) (2008)
• Women Without Men (2009)
• Dhobi Ghat (India) (2011)
• Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)

 

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Salman Rushdie

Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist known for the allusive richness of his language and the wide variety of Eastern and Western characters and cultures he explores. After his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses was deemed sacrilegious, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or legal ruling, sentencing him to death. Rushdie was forced into hiding, where he wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories, a novelistic allegory against censorship. What is the fatwa’s current status? More… Discuss

Et Si Tu N’Existais Pas – Joe Dassin Lyrics

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Et si tu n’existais pas
This-moi pourquoi j’existerais
Pour traоner dans un monde sans toi
Sans espoir et sans regret
Et si tu n’existais pas
J’essaierais d’inventer l’amour
Comme un peintre qui voit sous ses doigts
Naоtre les couleurs du jour
Et qui n’en revient pas

Et si tu n’existais pas
This-moi pour qui j’existerais
Des passantes endormies dans mes bras
Que je n’aimerais jamais
Et si tu n’existais pas
Je ne serais qu’un point de plus
Dans ce monde qui vient et qui va
Je me sentirais perdu
J’aurais besoin de toi

Et si tu n’existais pas
This-moi comment j’existerais
Je pourrais faire semblant d’кtre moi
Mais je ne serais pas vrai
Et si tu n’existais pas
Je crois que je l’aurais trouvй
Le secret de la vie, le pourquoi
Simplement pour te crйer
Et pour te regarder

Et si tu n’existais pas
This-moi pourquoi j’existerais
Pour traоner dans un monde sans toi
Sans espoir et sans regret
Et si tu n’existais pas
J’essaierais d’inventer l’amour
Comme un peintre qui voit sous ses doigts
Naоtre les couleurs du jour
Et qui n’en revient pas

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Centru pentru tranzit de la Timişoara, unic în lume

 

Centrul de la Timişoara este unul special, practic unic în lume. Acestea este împărţit între UNHCR – care a înfiinţat Centrul de Tranizt în Regim de Urgenţă, care primeşe refugiaţii în drumul lor spre destinaţia aleasă, şi IGI.

 

„Centrul de Tranzit de la Timişoara este unic în lume. A fost înfiinţat în 2008, în urma unui acord între Guvernul României, UNHCR şi Organizaţia Internaţională pentru Migraţie, semnat la .Aici ajung cei care urmează să fie relocaţi într-o altă ţară. Ei sunt scoşi de UNHCR din pericol, aduşi în România pentru a rezolva dosarele lor, iar apoi pleacă în altă ţară, în SUA, Australia, Marea Britanie, Canada, Norvegia, Olanda şi Suedia. Centrul poate primi 200 de persoane aflate în tranzit. Ei sunt refugiaţi în tranzit. Vin şi pleacă, există un flux. În paralel, IGI are în acelaşi perimetru un centru cu 50 de locuri pentru solicitanţii de azil”, a mai declarat Gabriela Leu.

 

Structuri guvernamentale care se activează în cazul de urgenţă

 

Numărul de cereri de azil inregistrate în Romania în ultimii ani a fost relativ constant, în medie 1.500 cerer pe an, cu excepţia perioadei 2011-2012 când au fost înregistrate 2.064 şi respectiv 2.982 cereri (flux mai mare datorat Primaverii Arabe).

 

„În cazul în care numărul azilanţilor va creşte, se va face o redistribuire la toate centrele de cazare din ţară. Există planuri pentru a face faţă creşterii numărului de solicitanţi de azil. Este un plan pus la cale de IGI şi alte structuri guvernamentale care se activează în cazul de urgenţă. Nu avem cum să facem estimări şi presupuneri. Totul depinde de traseele pe care le aleg migrabnţii pentru a ajunge în Uniunea Europeană. Aceşti oameni sunt epuizaţi, debusolaţi, vor să ajungă cât mai repede la destinaţie. Dar nu putem prezice se ce va întâmpla. Cert este că suntem pregătiţi. Dar se poate schimba totul în orice moment. În acest moment UNHCR face presiuni pe ţările din jur să îi primească pe refugiaţi, să le ofere cazare şi asistenţă, să primească ajutorul necesar. Este vorba de organizaţie a Naţiunilor Unite, ca atare problema trebuie rezolvată la nivel de diplomaţie ca ţările din Europa să găsească modalităţi legale să accepte refugiaţii. Ei nu pot fi trimişi înapoi. Trimiterea lor în ţarile de

via Liniştea de dinaintea furtunii la graniţa României cu Serbia. Cât de pregătiţi suntem pentru a primi refugiaţi din Orientul Mijlociu: „E o mare problemă!” | adevarul.ro.

Leonard Cohen: “… what comes after America.”

Rob Kuil

 

Published on Apr 5, 2015

Remix of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3LVj…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugh8X…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D97Ox…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChMqG…

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Read the words of an Orthodox bishop kidnapped in Syria nearly two years ago :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, who was kidnapped near the Turkish border April 22, 2013. Courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need.

 Aleppo, Syria, Mar 15, 2015 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On April 22, 2013, both the Greek and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi and Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, were kidnapped in Syria near the Turkish border. Their driver, Deacon Fatha’ Allah Kabboud, was killed.

Today, 23 months later, the bishops remain missing – though for some time it has been rumored that only one of them is still alive.

The bishops were abducted on their way back from the Turkish border, where they were negotiating the release of two priests, Fathers Michael Kayyal and Maher Mahfouz, who had themselves been kidnapped in February 2013.

Archbishop Ibrahim and Archbishop Yazigi are only two of the multitude of victims of the Syrian civil war, which today is entering its fifth year.

The war has claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people. There are 3.9 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Turkey and Lebanon, and an additional 8 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war.

On March 15, 2011, demonstrations sprang up in Syria protesting the rule of Bashar al-Assad, the nation’s president and leader of its Ba’ath Party. The next month, the Syrian army began to deploy to put down the uprisings, firing on protesters.

Since then, the violence has morphed into a civil war which is being fought among the Syrian regime and a number of rebel groups: the rebels include moderates, such as the Free Syrian Army; Islamists such as al-Nusra Front and Islamic State; and Kurdish separatists.

Only about a week before his kidnapping, two years into the war, Archbishop Ibrahim had told BBC Arabic that Syrian Christians are in the same situation as their Muslim neighbors: “There is no persecution of Christians and there is no single plan to kill Christians. Everyone respects Christians. Bullets are random and not targeting the Christians because they are Christians.”

Archbishop Ibrahim had written a book in Arabic in 2006 called “Accepting the Other.” At that time, before the start of the war, Syrians of different religions lived together in peace.

An excerpt of this work, focused on “the dialogue of life,” was translated into English for Aid to the Church in Need and appears below thanks to that international Catholic charity, which has pledged $2.8 million in emergency aid for the Christians of Syria:

The plurality of religions and faiths does not foment an inter-religious conflict due to the fact that the common denominator of its teachings, heritages and ethics affirms the oneness of God and the multiplicity and integrity of its people.

Whenever Christians and Muslims approach the sources of divine teaching, they may feel that their common heritage is part and parcel of the universal belief of the relationship between man (the weak) and the Creator (the mighty). Christians say we have one God and Muslim say there is no God but God.

From this understanding of our common heritages derived the concept of the “Dialogue of Life” – to which we owe our peaceful coexistence and the flourishing of our communities. However, even given the rich ethno-religious diversity of our communal tapestry, it is not at all like the concept of multiculturalism that is emerging in Western society.

The “Dialogue of life” is a rather simple, spontaneous, and natural way of life – a sort of coexistence sustained by the values of solidarity, humanity, impartiality and accepting the other unconditionally. Some may argue that our “Dialogue of Life” draws on the principles outlined in the Geneva Convention. Not so, our “Dialogue” has its own unwritten codes, whose values far predate this relatively new Western concept of dialogue and coexistence.

via Read the words of an Orthodox bishop kidnapped in Syria nearly two years ago :: Catholic News Agency (CNA).

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Palette de Frida Kahlo, Mexique, 1952 — Old Pics Archive (@oldpicsarchive)

Palette de Frida Kahlo, Mexique, 1952 pic.twitter.com/gvokTq4D95

— Old Pics Archive (@oldpicsarchive) April 19, 2015

Hector Berlioz – Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 , great compositions/performances

Hector Berlioz – Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9

Fledermaus1990

Uploaded on Nov 26, 2011

Le carnaval romain, ouverture pour orchestre (Roman Carnival Overture) Opus 9. Composed in 1843 and first performed at the Salle Herz, Paris on 3 February 1844. A stand-alone overture intended for concert performance, made up of material and themes from Berlioz’s opera Benvenuto Cellini, including some music from the opera’s carnival scene.

Conductor: Yoav Talmi
Orchestra: San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Painting: “New Rome, The Castle of S. Angelo”, Silvestr Shchedrin (1823).

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  • “Le Carnaval romain: Overture, Op. 9” by Hector Berlioz (eMusic)

today’s birthday: Nadar (1820)

Nadar (1820)

Gaspard-Félix Tournachon,

otherwise known as Nadar, was a pioneering French photographer and writer. He invented the photo-essay, but his prose essays and novels brought him greater fame in his day than his photographs. Today, however, he is known for his superb portraits of the Paris intelligentsia, who frequently gathered at his studio, and his aerial images of Paris, which were the first photographs ever taken from the air. What famous literary figure did Nadar photograph on his deathbed? More… Discuss

Iraq’s Lost Treasures (the treasure of Nimrud)

SouthWestEntertainMe

Published on Apr 21, 2013

the treasure of Nimrud — which dates from the eighth and ninth centuries B.C. — consists of over 100 pounds of solid gold jewelry, precious metals and other priceless artifacts, including a crown made from more than a kilogram of gold.
Discovered 15 years ago in northern Iraq, the exquisite objects had not been seen since before the first Gulf War.

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today’s picture: The Siege of the Alamo

The Siege of the Alamo

Davy Crockett fires his rifle from a kneeling position at the Alamo, March 6, 1836. Angered by a new Mexican constitution that removed much of their autonomy, Texans seized the Alamo in San Antonio in December 1835. Mexican president General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna marched into Texas to put down the rebellion. By late February, 1836, less than 200 Texans, led by Colonel William Travis, held the former mission complex against Santa Anna’s 6,000 troops. At 4 a.m. on March 6, Santa Anna’s troops charged. In the battle that followed, all the Alamo defenders were killed while the Mexicans suffered about 2,000 casualties. Santa Anna dismissed the Alamo conquest as ‘a small affair,’ but the time bought by the Alamo defenders’ lives permitted General Sam Houston to forge an army that would win the Battle of San Jacinto and, ultimately, Texas’ independence.

Related Articles:
The Alamo: 13 Days of Glory
Mysteries, myths and Texas-size legends surround the fortified Spanish mission that became a shrine after a few good men valiantly defended it to the death 160 years ago.

Frontier Hero Davy Crockett
Already one of the most celebrated men in America in 1835, the restless Tennessean sought adventure and new opportunity in Texas… where the Alamo and immortality awaited him.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/picture-of-the-day#sthash.2s1IaOqB.dpuf

this pressed for humanity: The Plight Of Mosul’s Museum: Iraqi Antiquities At Risk Of Ruin : NPR

The Plight Of Mosul’s Museum: Iraqi Antiquities At Risk Of Ruin

July 09, 2014 4:11 PM ET

(As you can see the issue was known to the civilized world for many months! but nothing but meetings and comdemnations were issued, and nothing done to prevent the distruction of humanity’s historic treasures)

http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=330183802&m=330183803&t=audio
http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=330183802&m=330183803&t=audio
http://www.npr.org/2014/07/09/330183802/the-plight-of-mosuls-museum-iraqi-antiquities-at-risk-of-ruin

Christopher Dickey, foreign editor for the Daily Beast, speaks to Melissa Block about the dangers facing antiquities in a museum and other archaeological sites in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Copyright © 2014 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I’m Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I’m Melissa Block. As Sunni insurgents have swept through Iraq seizing cities, they’ve also begun destroying ancient artifacts. Shrines, tombs and statues that the group ISIS believes are against Islam. Present day Iraq was once Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and considered the cradle of civilization. Now there’s great concern that antiquities and archaeological sites will be wiped out. As Christopher Dickey writes in the Daily Beast, it’s a virtual certainty that irreplaceable history will be annihilated or sold into the netherworld of corrupt and cynical collectors. Mr. Dickey joins me not from Paris. Thanks for being with us.

CHRISTOPHER DICKEY: Sure thing Melissa.

BLOCK: And you write of particular concern about the province of Nineveh and the city of Mosul, in particular the Mosul Museum. Describe what’s there and the significance of these artifacts.

DICKEY: Well, what’s at risk are some beautiful monumental sculptures, these winged figures, lions and bulls, with the faces of bearded men – Kings, that clearly were idols in the time of the Assyrians. But that are now part and parcel of the history of Western civilization and biblical history especially. And then we’ve also got gorgeous gold jewelry which certainly will go onto the black market and all kinds of smaller pieces of sculpture, earthenware, the kinds of things that give you the texture as well as the beauty of life in that period. So it’s a rich museum but all of that collection is now in the hands of ISIS.

via The Plight Of Mosul’s Museum: Iraqi Antiquities At Risk Of Ruin : NPR.

this pressed from NEWSMAX: McCain, Graham: ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Centcom Revealed Mosul Battle Plan (or Counting your chicks before they hatched?)

McCain, Graham: Leaking of Mosul Battle Plan ‘Deeply Disturbing’

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters inspect an rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher as they take control of the area, on the outskirts of Mosul. (Stringer/Reuters/Landov)

Monday, 23 Feb 2015 01:22 PM

By John Blosser

Fears that the U.S. military’s Central Command, with the approval of the Obama administration, leaked too many details of the planned joint operation to retake the key Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists have bought a rapid and angry response from U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Az., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. In a letter to the White House, McCain and Graham wrote: “It was deeply disturbing to read today that an official from U.S. Central Command, in an official briefing to the media, provided detailed operational information regarding coalition plans to retake Mosul from ISIL. Never in our memory can we recall an instance in which our military has knowingly briefed our own war plans to our enemies.“These disclosures not only risk the success of our mission, but could also cost the lives of U.S., Iraqi, and coalition forces. Given the serious impact of these disclosures, we want to know who at U.S. Central Command was responsible for this briefing, and whether they had prior approval from the White House to divulge this information.

“Those responsible have jeopardized our national security interests and must be held accountable,” McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, notes.

An official from Central Command, who was not identified, told reporters not only that the assault would involve up to 25,000 Kurdish and Iraqi troops, but also that it is planned to launch by April or May, giving ISIS forces plenty of time to prepare, The New York Times reports.

The Obama administration appeared to be distancing itself from the announcement, with National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan commenting that “the U.S. military makes a judgment about what information is shared regarding their operations,” the Times reports.

Latest News Update

Special: ISIS: Everything you need to know about the rise of the militant group — Click Here

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History of Human Society – Civilizations: The_Encyclopedia_of_Ancient Civilizations_Arthur_Cotterell

The_Encyclopedia_of_Ancient Civilizations_Arthur_Cotterell (click to enlarge)

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this pressed: Les luminessences d’Avignon | Palais des Papes – Avignon

Seeing it in all its majesty, standing proud in the historical heart of Avignon, people often wonder: but what were popes doing here in Provence? Why did they leave the Roman hillsides to come to the banks of the Rhône? The monumental video projection, music and story-telling reveal the history of the building, the city and the region like never before. At the meeting of Europe’s great rivers, in the centre of old Avignon, come and experience an extraordinary 360° journey in time and space. For an unforgettable evening, on a unique and exceptional site: the cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes.

via Les luminessences d’Avignon | Palais des Papes – Avignon.

Boléro – Maurice Ravel – Münchner Philharmoniker – Sergiu Celibidache (VHS) , great compositions/performances

Boléro – Maurice Ravel – Münchner Philharmoniker – Sergiu Celibidache (VHS)

asimon65

Sergiu Celibidache dirigiert die Münchner Philharmoniker; Maurice Ravel: Boléro

Inhaltsangabe der TV-Zeitschrift “Gong“:
Anläßlich des Geburtstages von Sergiu Celibidache am 28. Juni zeigt das ZDF eine Aufzeichnung des glanzvollen Interpretation von Maurice Ravels “Bolero” von 1983.

VHS-Mitschnitt, ZDF, 1987

Two Ansel Adams Photos Amazing!

In Glacier National Park http://www.archives.gov

in search of Ansel Adams: Yahoo said:

Ansel-Adams-Landscape-Photography–Mount-Williamson-1944

Coptic Architecture 2: Authenticity and Innovation on the common theme: The Christian Church

kroeffelbach_koptisches_kloster

The Hanging Church is Cairo’s most famous Coptic church first built in the AD 3rd or 4th century

Kairo_Hanging_Church_BW_1

kroeffelbach_koptisches_kloster

St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales

StMarkCathAlexandria

2006-10-egypt-aswan-0179.jjpg

2006-10-egypt-aswan-0179.jjpg

St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales

Kairo_Hanging_Church_BW_1

StMarkCathAlexandria

The Hanging Church is Cairo’s most famous Coptic church first built in the AD 3rd or 4th century

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Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen – Anthem “you can add up the parts, you won’t have the sum”

Perla Batalla & Julie Christensen – Anthem

Perla Batalla

Uploaded on Aug 14, 2010

Perla Batalla / Julie Christensen sing L. Cohen’s “Anthem” at the Sydney Opera House

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“Anthem”

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government —
signs for all to see.

I can’t run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
a thundercloud
and they’re going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring …

You can add up the parts
but you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.
That’s how the light gets in.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/leonardcohen/anthem.html

 

History of Art: Gemma Augustea: Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna – the story about this marvelous low-relief cameo

Gemma Augustea (detail) Kunsthistoriches Museum Vienna (Click to enlarge)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Link to Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna

The Gemma Augustea (Latin, Gem of Augustus) is a low-relief cameo engraved gem cut from a double-layered Arabian onyx stone. It is commonly agreed that the gem cutter who created the Gemma Augustea was either Dioscurides or one of his disciples, in the second or third decade of the 1st century AD.

Creation and characteristics

The Gemma Augustea is a low-relief cameo engraved gem cut from a double-layered Arabian onyx stone.^[1] One layer is white, while the other is bluish-brown. The painstaking method by which the stone was cut allowed minute detail with sharp contrast between the images and background, also allowing for a great deal of shadow play. The size of the gem also made for easier manipulation and a grander scene. It stands 7½ inches tall with a width of 9 inches and an average thickness of ½ inch.

It is commonly agreed that the gem cutter who created Gemma Augustea was either Dioscurides or one of his disciples. Dioscurides was Caesar Augustus’ favorite gem cutter, and his work and copies of it are seen from all over the ancient Roman world. The gem is “set” as though in the period c. AD 10–20, although some scholars believe it to have been created decades later because of their interpretation of the scene.

If Dioscurides, or cutters following his example, made it, the gemma was probably made in the court of Caesar Augustus. At some time in antiquity it moved to Byzantium, perhaps after Constantine I had officially moved the capital of the empire there. Augustus, though fully accepting and encouraging cult worship of the emperor outside Rome and Italy, especially in more distant provinces with traditions of deified rulers, did not allow himself to be worshiped as a god inside Rome. If this gem was made during his lifetime (he died in AD 14), it would perhaps have been made as a gift to a respected family in a Roman province or client kingdom. Alternatively, if the gem was made after Augustus’ death, the identity of one or more of the portraits may be different from the usual identification. Another viewpoint is that the gem does portray Augustus as a god in his lifetime, but was cut specifically for a close friend or relative in the inner court circle. Similar issues arise with other Imperial cameos such as the Blacas Cameo in the British Museum.

The whereabouts of the gemma is undocumented, though it still remained relatively intact and was probably always above ground, until 1246 when it is recorded in the treasury of the Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse. In 1533, Francis I of France appropriated it and moved it to Paris, where it disappears from records around 1590. Not long thereafter it was sold for 12,000 ducats to Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor. During the 17th century, it was set in German gold. This setting shows that the gem must have been damaged, the upper left side being broken with at least one other figure missing, probably before Rudolph II bought it, but definitely before 1700. The gem is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.^[2]

Interpretations of the figures and scenes

 

Gemma Augustea, with reference numbers.

Upper tier

The throned figure, #1 in the numbered illustration, is usually taken to be Augustus, although in some interpretations, it could represent a later Roman ruler. Figure #3 is the most readily identifiable, having characteristics held by no other. The woman is Oikoumene – the personification of the inhabited world. This inhabited or civilized world is either that of the early Roman Empire, or more likely the Mediterranean world conquered by Alexander the Great.^[3] She wears upon her head a mural crown and veil. She is crowning figure #1 with the corona civica of oak leaves – used to commend someone for saving the life of a Roman citizen. In this grand scale depiction, however, it is given to figure #1 because he saved a multitude of Roman citizens.

Figure #5 and #6 seem to be closely related. Figure #5 is Oceanus or Neptune whose significance is often seen as one balancing the scene across from #4 and #7, and also an important onlooker, as he represents the realm of water. Below him is a reclined personification of either Gaia or Italia Turrita. The scholars who see Gaia link her with the cornucopia and the children surrounding her, who may represent seasons. It might be odd that Gaia holds the horn of plenty when it seems as if the horn is not presently producing anything. This supports an argument that she is not Gaia, but Italia, for historically there was famine at the scene’s event. Also, she wears a bulla, a locket of some sort, around her neck, which, again, would seem odd for Gaia to wear. Either way, the children represent seasons, probably summer and fall, as one of them carries ears of corn.

Figure #10 is the eagle of Jupiter. The eagle could be showing that figure #1 is seated in the role of Jupiter. Seated next to figure #1 is Roma. The helmeted goddess holds a spear in her right arm while her left hand lightly touches the hilt of her sword, probably showing that Rome was always prepared for war. Besides showing her feet resting upon the armor of the conquered, Roma seems to look admiringly towards figure #1. Though there might be a dispute as to who #1 is, it is often said that the image of Roma strongly resembles Livia, Augustus’ long-lived wife. Not only was she his wife, but from a previous marriage, the mother of Tiberius. The reason for the cutting of this gem is also called into question when it is noted that Roma was not worshiped inside Rome till around the rule of Hadrian. Thus the gem might have been custom cut for a friend in the provinces.

Figure #4 is Victoria driving the chariot that holds the descending figure #7. She is obviously the deliverer of the victorious but not necessarily there for celebration, as it seems she might be impatiently urging figure #7 on to his next campaign. In associating Victoria with the chariot, it is necessary to analyze some historical importance relating to the chariot and the horses around it. The two foreshortened horses in front of the chariot are part of the chariot team, whereas the single horse to the side cannot be, and might belong to figure #8. Historically, a victory chariot was driven by four horses forming a quadriga, not the mere two represented on the gemma, a bigae. This might show that figure #7 is not a triumphator.

Lower tier: erection of tropaion

 

The lower register

 

Key to lower register

 

A fully erected tropaion with shackled and adorsed seated male and female Sarmatian captives (the right-hand female with head resting on hand, possibly a representation of the defeated “Sarmatia”) tied to base. Dupondius from reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180

The lower scene, in which the figures are less readily identifiable, depicts the erection of a tropaion. In some interpretations of the scene, all the lower figures are by design anonymous. Other interpretations attribute definite real or mythological persons to the figures. At left, the seated male and female figures (combined in #11) are either Celts or Germans, as is apparent from their clothing and hair styles, including the man’s beard, and represent prisoners of war, symbolizing the Roman victory. The man is bound with his hands behind his back, and both are apparently about to be tied to the base of the as yet half-erected tropaion (figure #19_, a trophy of war displayed upon winning a battle, usually fixed into the ground at the position of the “turning-point” of the battle in favour of the victors. The trophy consists of a wooden cross, designed to support human clothing. A helmet is placed on top, and the breastplate and weaponry of the enemy is placed upon it. In the scene, four young men are raising the trophy into a vertical position. Figure #18 is the least identifiable, but his helmet has led some to believe that he may be a Macedonian soldier of King Rhoemetalces^{[disambiguation needed]}, who helped Tiberius in Pannonia.
Figure #15 is often identified as a personification of the god Mars with his armor and flowing cape. Although figures #16 and #17 seem less important, they look very much alike and may represent the constellation Gemini. Gemini is the more difficult constellation to pick out, and it might represent the hidden identity of figure #8. Two others, however, are more obvious. Figure #20 is a shield with a large scorpion emblazoned upon it. Tiberius was born in November, and thus might be represented with such an item. Figure #9 shows Augustus’ favorite sign, the Capricorn. Although Augustus might have been conceived during December, he claimed the Capricorn as his constellation. The sun or moon, which were necessary to show the full power of a constellation, is seen behind the sign. Mars is represented by figure (#15), andthus at least three signs of the Zodiac are evident.

Figure #13 is probably Diana, identified with the moon, although some commentators believe her to be a mere auxiliary troop with #14. Diana holds spears in her left hand and her right hand seems to rest on the head of the man in figure #12, but not gripping his hair as supposed by many. Another identifying feature of Diana is her bountiful hair, bound up for the hunt, and her hunting clothes. Figure #14 might be an auxiliary, but more likely he personifies Mercurius (Mercury/Hermes), identified by his rimmed hat. Mercurius seems to be dragging the female in figure #12 by her hair towards the tropaion. The scene is clearly complex. Many interpretations insist that the ‘auxiliaries’ are dragging the barbarian prisoners to join their kindred in being bound to the trophy. However, there are indications that this might not be the case at all. First, the man on his knees is begging for mercy from Diana, who does look down on him. That same man wears around his neck a torque, suggesting him to be a Celt or German. It may be significant that Diana has her back turned to the observer and possibly the scene itself. She is the only one as such, and perhaps to contrast the celebration of victory in battle, she shows instead mercy to one pleading for his life. In addition, since the man is a leader, it makes for better propaganda that he should beg for mercy before a Roman goddess. Mercurius might not be dragging the woman to be bound to the trophy, but might be bringing her to kneel before Diana to beg for mercy as well. She shows the sign of a truce by placing her hand upon her chest. Perhaps Diana and Mercurius are sheltering them, perhaps offering them salvation in the final moments of victory. Whatever the case, the couple in #12 are not comparable to the despairing couple in #11, with whom they appear both to balance and contrast; balance by having barbarians on the right and left, literally balancing the composition, and contrast as one couple being doomed to be bound at the trophy, and the other begging for what looks like a chance of mercy.

Overall scene

 

A different view

The upper and lower scenes take place at different times, and are basically cause and effect. The lower scene takes place at the northern frontiers, just after a battle won by the Romans, who erect a victory trophy. Gathered prisoners of war are waiting for their punishment in grief or begging for mercy at the hands of assisting gods. The triumph on the battlefield precedes the triumph on the upper plate.

The upper scene is a fusion of Rome, Olympus, and the world of cities. Augustus is conspicuously above the birth sign he claimed, while the eagle personifying him as Jupiter sits below. He ended many years of internal strife for Rome and will forever wear the oak crown. In his right hand he holds a lituus – his augury stick in which he reads the signs and declares wars to be just. He faces Roma, representing all he united and saved from civil bloodshed. He sits equal to Roma, personifying a god. His feet lay upon armor, which could be identified with the newly conquered barbarians, or it may depict the descent of the Julian family from Mars through his human children Romulus and Remus. Unlike all the other figures, except for #7 and #8, the depiction of Augustus is considered to be an actual portrait because of the iris seen in his eye. Tiberius, Augustus’ adopted son, recently having fought in the north, comes back momentarily – for Victoria anxiously urges that he continue on to fight new battles and receive his triumph.

There are problems with this interpretation, however. The chariot is not one of victory. It would be unusual for a two-horse chariot to be used for the triumph. Also, Tiberius wears the toga. The toga represents civility and peace, not war. Perhaps this is a way to hand the victory to Augustus’ auguries. Tiberius steps down from the chariot, doing obeisance to Augustus, giving his adoptive parent the triumph and victory. If all this is true, then figure #8 could still be one of two persons, Drusus or Germanicus. By this age, Drusus was probably already dead, having fallen from his horse and suffered irreparable injuries. It could be, then, a representation of Drusus, and his memory, since he was fondly regarded by almost all. Since he is clad in fighting garb, the helmet probably beside him under the chariot, and coincidentally standing next to a horse, this could very well be Drusus. In addition, there are three constellations relating to the three portraits. Drusus would claim Gemini, though the Gemini is quite covert. If the portrait represented Drusus as alive, however, the gem would have been made about the same time as the Ara Pacis and the Altar of Augustus, sometime before 9 B.C., the year of Drusus’ death.

Others, though, think that Figure #8 is Germanicus, son of Drusus.^[4] If the gem was commissioned no earlier than A.D. 12 and referred to Tiberius’ triumph over the Germans and the Pannonians, it would stand to reason that Germanicus, born in 13 B.C., was old enough to don gear and prepare for war, years after his father’s death. Germanicus was also looked upon quite fondly by Augustus and others. The dispute carries on.

Gemma Augustea is a beautiful work of art that seems to be based on dramatic Hellenistic compositions. The refined style of execution was more common in the late Augustan or earlier Tiberian age, though more likely Augustan. It is said that the image of Augustus as Jupiter is linked to future Roman triumphs by Horace in his Odes:

He’ll be brave who trusts himself to perfidious foes,

and he will crush the Carthaginians in a second war

who has tamely felt the chains upon his fettered

wrists and has stood in fear of death.

Such a one, not knowing how to live life secure,

has mixed peace with war.

O mighty Carthage, you rise

all the higher upon Italian ruins!

Tis said he set aside his wife’s chaste kisses and his

little children, as one bereft of civil rights,

and sternly bent his manly gaze upon the ground

till he should strengthen the Senate’s wavering purpose

by advice ne’er given before,

and amid sorrowing friends should hurry forth a glorious exile.

Full well he knew what the barbarian torturer was making

ready for him; and yet he pushed aside the kinsmen

who blocked his path and the people who would halt his going

with no less unconcern than if some case in court

had been decided, and he were leaving the tedious

business of his clients, speeding to Venafran fields,

or to Lacedaemonian Tarentum.

— Horace, Odes III 5

Original ‘Little Prince’ illustration to be auctioned

Original ‘Little Prince’ illustration to be auctioned

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Archaeology Volunteering in Romania: Volunteer in Romania

In Romania, volunteers on the Archaeology project are based in various locations, although the main base will be Deva, a city with 80,000 inhabitants. In ancient times Deva was a Dacian fortress called Decidava. Nowadays, it is the capital city of the Hunedoara district, an area with an extensive and fascinating history.

Volunteers work with a number of archaeological groups, including Romania’s Museum of History where they investigate ancient Dacia and the medieval environs of Transylvania. Archaeological sites found in the Carpathian Mountains and plains below have already yielded some remarkable information about the time of the infamous Vlad-the-Impaler, the supposed inspiration for the Dracula legend.

Our Archaeology placements are a great way to learn about civilisations that have long-since disappeared. Through clues, investigations and practical research you can attempt to reconstruct many aspects of their way of life whilst collaborating with some of the best specialists in the periods from Neolithic to Medieval

via Archaeology Volunteering in Romania: Volunteer in Romania.

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Google Cultural Institute_ Art Project (access from here)

Google Cultural Institute_ Art Project (access from here)

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Wieniawski – Scherzo Tarantelle, Op.16 – Perlman: great compositions/performances

Wieniawski – Scherzo Tarantelle, Op.16 – Perlman

UnclaimedFr8

Violinist Itzhak Perlman, accompanied by pianist Samuel Sanders, serves up a lyrical rendering here. This piece was penned by Polish violinist Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880), and remains a standard in the repertoire.

Straight from the 1979 vinyl.

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this pressed for your Holloween observence: forThe Lancashire Witches 1612-2012 | The Public Domain Review

Not long after ten Lancashire residents were found guilty of witchcraft and hung in August 1612, the official proceedings of the trial were published by the clerk of the court Thomas Potts in his The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster. Four hundred years on, Robert Poole reflects on England’s biggest witch trial and how it still has relevance today.

Woodcut of witches flying, from Mathers’ Wonders of the Invisible World (1689) and used in an 18th-century pamphlet about the Lancashire witches.

Woodcut of witches flying, from Mathers’ Wonders of the Invisible World (1689) and used in an 18th-century pamphlet about the Lancashire witches. – See more at: http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/08/22/the-lancashire-witches-1612-2012/#sthash.dggjpto4.dpuf

Four hundred years ago, in 1612, the north-west of England was the scene of England’s biggest peacetime witch trial: the trial of the Lancashire witches. Twenty people, mostly from the Pendle area of Lancashire, were imprisoned in the castle as witches. Ten were hanged, one died in gaol, one was sentenced to stand in the pillory, and eight were acquitted. The 2012 anniversary sees a small flood of commemorative events, including works of fiction by Blake Morrison, Carol Ann Duffy and Jeanette Winterson. How did this witch trial come about, and what accounts for its enduring fame?

via The Lancashire Witches 1612-2012 | The Public Domain Review.