full of inspiration, increasing knowledge, good conversations, and new images!
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Images for 2019
edit2018 was another green year
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Lanzarote surf -
Hidden Valley -
Willow -
Wood sorrel -
Rape -
Cornflower -
Lilies -
Red admirale -
Meadow saffron -
Foliage -
Flowering trees -
Rose hips
Christmas 2018
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| Jauchzet, frohlocket! |
Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen!
Merry Christmastide, full of music and joy!
24 December · Merrily my heart shall leap
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Did you know ... that the German Christmas hymn "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen"[a] (Merrily my heart shall leap) by Paul Gerhardt was published by Johann Crüger, who also wrote the melody? (24 December 2018)
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Paul Gerhardt, 1653 1. Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen |
English Merrily my heart shall leap |
Did you know ...
... that composer Heinrich Schütz published only the recitatives of his Christmas Story and offered the other music for sale on request? (25 December 2013)
... that the 1810 Catholic hymnal by Christoph Bernhard Verspoell, with his melodies and organ settings, contains a song included in the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob in 2013?
25 December · Shout for joy, exult!
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Did you know ... that the choir sings Jauchzet, frohlocket! (Shout for joy, exult!), the beginning of Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, first imitating kettledrums due to its secular model? (25 December 2018)
... that Camille Saint-Saëns commented after the premiere of the St. Cecilia Mass by Charles Gounod that "at first one was dazzled, then charmed, then conquered"? (13 January 2015)
... that Friedrich Spee wrote the lyrics of the Christmas carol "Zu Bethlehem geboren" to a popular French tune with a frivolous text? (21 January 2018)
... that the German Christmas carol "Freu dich, Erd und Sternenzelt" is based on a Czech song derived around 1500 from a Latin model (manuscript pictured)? (23 January 2018)
... that while the Three Kings bring gold, incense and myrrh to the manger, the singer of "Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier" offers spirit and mind, heart, soul and courage as gifts? (6 January 2018)
26 December · Call it causelessly merry
editDid you know ... that the title of the poem "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt" by Mascha Kaléko can be translated as "Call it causelessly merry"? (26 December 2018)
27 December · Great indeed is the godly mystery
editDid you know ... that the cantata Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis was written by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel for the Third Day of Christmas at the court of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen? (27 December 2018)
2019
edit1 January · Time which makes day and year · Carsten Koch
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| Bachsaal at Schloss Köthen |
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Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht (Time, which day and year doth make), BWV 134a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for a celebration of New Year's Day in 1719 at the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (hall in the palace pictured). The libretto by the author Christian Friedrich Hunold portrays a dialogue between two allegorical figures, Time (representing the past) and Divine Providence (the future). Bach set the words to eight movements consisting of alternating recitatives and arias, culminating in a choral finale. Most movements are duets for alto and tenor, supported by a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes, strings and continuo. The character of the music is close to Baroque opera, including its French dances. In Leipzig in 1724, Bach used this secular work as the basis for a church cantata for the Third Day of Easter, omitting two movements and changing only the text. (1 January 2019)
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Did you know ...
... that Bach composed Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a, in 1719 as a congratulatory cantata for the court of Anhalt-Köthen? (14 July 2010)
... that the international Reger-Chor celebrated 25 years, singing music of Bach, Van Nuffel, Ryelandt, and Reger's Hebbel-Requiem in Wiesbaden and Bruges? (11 September 2010)
... that Carsten Koch conducted all Beethoven symphonies at the historic Unionskirche, and shared Bach's Christmas Oratorio there in an ecumenical project (performance pictured)? (1 January 2019)
6 January · Three Kings
editSchon gewusst? Kantor Carsten Koch teilte Bachs Weihnachtsoratorium in der Idsteiner Unionskirche ökumenisch mit seinem Kollegen.
Did you know ... that Peter Cornelius wrote poems and music for his song cycle Weihnachtslieder, and including a famous melody in the accompaniment of a song about the Three Kings? (6 January 2019)
11 January · Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue
editDid you know ... that Max Reger composed Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, Op. 127, for Karl Straube, to be played as the first organ piece at the new Centennial Hall in Breslau in 1913? (11 January 2019)
12 January · Raymond Arritt
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| Raymond Arritt | |
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| in 2017 |
Did you know ... ... that after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Peace Prize, contributing author Raymond Arritt (pictured) said "It's kind of neat: I have, like, .002 percent of a Nobel prize now"? (12 January 2019)
Ray's Rules
- You and your problems are not the most important thing in the world.
- Choose your battles. Yield when it doesn't matter, and stand your ground when it does.
- Keep a thick skin. Don't let criticism discourage you. Instead, let it teach you.
- You learn more from listening than from talking. "A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something." (Wilson Mizner)
- Don’t waste your time arguing with an idiot.
- Give other people the same respect that you would want from them. (Matthew 7:12)
- The surest way to drive yourself crazy is to compare yourself to other people.
- Take the high road, no matter what the other person does. It will benefit you in the long run. (Romans 12:20)
- Don’t take yourself too seriously: "We share 99% of our genes with mice, and we even have the genes that could make a tail." (Dr. Jane Rogers, Human Sequencing and Mapping Project Manager, Sanger Institute); "The graveyards are full of indispensable men." (Charles de Gaulle)
- The most important thing is to be able to look yourself in the mirror. “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it's right.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)[b]
"... go on with life, have a laugh, don't get too upset ..." (Shock Brigade Harvester Boris on 18 October 2012)
23 January · Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben
editDid you know ... that Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben (Fall with thanks, fall with praise), Part IV of Bach's Christmas Oratorio for New Year's Day 1735, celebrates the naming of Jesus? (23 January 2019)
30 January · Werner Bardenhewer
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Schon gewußt?
Ein Krankenhaus in Mali ist nach
Pfarrer Werner Bardenhewer benannt.
(30. Januar 2019)
Did you know ...
... that a clinic in Mali is named after
Werner Bardenhewer,
born 90 years ago today,
who was for decades priest of
St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden,
and then founded a charity group?
(30 January 2019)
2 February · Im Frieden mein, o Herre mein
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Did you know ...
... that when Friedrich Spitta revised
"Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein",
a 1530 German Lutheran communion hymn
based on the biblical Nunc dimittis,
he completely changed the meaning?
(2 February 2019)
... that "Joy to the World" is one of the hymns based on Psalm 96, "Sing to the Lord a new song"?
(4 February 2019)
4 February · Birthday concert for Michael Herrmann
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| Michael Herrmann 4 February 1944 | |
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28 February · Psalm 75 · we give thanks
edit... that Bach set the phrase "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks" from Psalm 75 in German to begin a cantata, and in Latin in his Mass in B minor?
March · Women
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Did you know ...
... that the soprano Melitta Muszely
appeared as the four women Hoffmann loves
in Felsenstein's production
at the Komische Oper Berlin in 1958,
and still sang recitals at age 80?
(30 March)
other March women:
Lydia Steier · Margit Bokor · Ria Ginster ·
Violin Concerto "Anne-Sophie" ·
Ursula Wendt-Walther · Zuzana Marková · Ruthilde Boesch · Claire Born · Julia Kleiter · Sophie Karthäuser · Genia Kühmeier
(Mädchenkantorei Limburg · Liane Synek ·
Lotte Schädle · Margit Schramm ·
Der geteilte Himmel · Ruth Hesse ·
Liselotte Hammes · Carmen Thomas)
12 – 19 March 2019 · Jordan
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El Deir ("The Monastery"), Petra -
Royal Tombs, Petra
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Dead Sea from the Jordan mountains -
Salt crystals, Dead Sea
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Rock colours, Petra -
View north from Djebel Haroun
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Desert flowers, Wadi Rum -
Thistle, Wadi Rum
26 March · Jörg Streli
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| 26 March 1940 – 13 February 2019 |
Schon gewusst? Nach Plänen, an denen der Architekt
Jörg Streli mitwirkte, entstanden unter anderem eine Bergkapelle und die Aufstockung eines Krankenhauses.
(26. März)
Did you know ... that architect Jörg Streli
and his two colleagues, a team for 35 years,
designed the Sankt-Margarethen-Kapelle in Tyrol,
which rises like a tower on a circular floor?
(23 March)
3 July · Kafka
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Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature.
His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists facing what are now called "Kafkaesque" circumstances: bizarre or surrealistic predicaments complicated by incomprehensible bureaucracy. He explores themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity.
His best-known works include Die Verwandlung, Der Process, and Das Schloss.
Few of Kafka's works were published during his lifetime, and those that were received little public attention. In his will, he instructed his friend Max Brod to destroy his unfinished works, including three of his novels, but Brod ignored these instructions.
Kafka's work has influenced a vast range of writers, critics, artists, and philosophers during the 20th and 21st centuries. (3 July 2019)
Rheingau Musik Festival
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Did you know ...
- ... that MDR Rundfunkchor, the radio choir of the MDR in Leipzig, performed Dvořák's Stabat Mater in the opening concert of the 2019 Rheingau Musik Festival at Eberbach Abbey?
- ... that Olivier Latry, organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, played a concert at St. Martin in Lorch am Rhein in 2019?
- ... that Jörg Breiding, only the second leader of the Knabenchor Hannover in its 69-year history, conducted the choir and the Canadian Brass quintet in folk song arrangements in 2019?
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30 July · 3 August · 14 September - Building bridges
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| Chain Bridge, Tetschen |
... that the Empress Elisabeth Bridge,
a chain bridge over the Elbe
that opened in 1855, was named
in honour of the newly married
Elisabeth of Austria?
14 September 2019
... that Johann Münzberg?
ran leading textile factories in Bohemia?
and promoted the building
of the Empress Elisabeth Bridge
over the Elbe?
Vespro della Beata Vergine · 1 September
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Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine · St. Martin, Idstein
Did you know ...
... that in September 1610, Monteverdi dedicated to Pope Paul V his
Vespro della Beata Vergine,
a complex vespers composition which included
the style of the emerging opera?
... that Monteverdi set the beginning of Psalm 70
in his Vespro della Beata Vergine
as a brilliant "call to attention"?
... that tenor Mirko Ludwig took part in the opening
of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie as a member of a vocal quintet?
Clara Schumann (13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896)
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| 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896 |
Did you know ...
... that today is the bicentenary of birth of
Clara Schumann? 
... that she married Robert Schumann
the day before her 21st birthday,
and they had eight children?
... that she composed a Piano Concerto?
... that she toured Britain extensively
with violinist Joseph Joachim and others?
... that she was an influential piano teacher
(and the only woman) at
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt?
Der Ring in Minden
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| Der Ring in Minden |
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Did you know ...
... that Frank Philipp Schlößmann designed the stage for Wagner's Ring cycle in Bayreuth in 2006, and later created a large illuminated ring framing the stage for the same work in Minden?
... that Jutta Hering-Winckler, a lawyer from Minden whose grandfather saw the premiere of Wagner's Ring cycle, "made the impossible possible" by organizing Der Ring in Minden?
... that when directing Der Ring in Minden, Wagner's Ring cycle at a small theatre, Gerd Heinz focused on the psychology in the interactions of the characters?
... that baritone Heiko Trinsinger of the Aalto Theatre appeared as Alberich in Der Ring in Minden, in which reviewers noted expressivity in every moment and a thunderous curse of the ring?
... that Renatus Mészár, who made his opera debut at the Munich Biennale and was a member of the NDR Chor, has appeared as Wotan in the Ring cycle?
... that Kathrin Göring portrayed both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden, and a critic called her scene in Götterdämmerung a highlight, noting her dramatic mezzo-soprano and intense acting?
... that Belgian bass Tijl Faveyts, recognized internationally since his 2006 performance as Mozart's Sarastro at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, has portrayed both Fasolt and Hunding in Der Ring in Minden?
... that tenor Thomas Mohr, who performed the roles of Loge, Siegmund, and Siegfried in Der Ring in Minden, hosts concerts in his cowshed?
... that American tenor Jeff Martin has appeared as the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theatre?
... that the coloratura soprano Julia Bauer played five roles in Der Ring in Minden, including her on-stage portrayal of the Forest Bird in Siegfried?
... that in Der Ring in Minden, the orchestra played at the back of the stage, and the singers all turned towards it to listen to the music at the end?
Dirk Müller and Werner Badenhewer 25 October
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| Werner Bardenhewer & Dirk Mülle in 2012 |
Did you know ...
... that German stock trader Dirk Müller
is known as "Mr. DAX"?
25 October 2019
... that a clinic in Mali is named after
Werner Bardenhewer,
born 90 years ago today (30 January 2019),
who was for decades
priest of St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden,
and then founded a charity group?
30 January 2019
Márta Kurtág · 3 November
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| Kurtág Márta | |
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| 1027–2019 |
Did you know ...
... that the Hungarian pianist
Márta Kurtág
and her husband Gyürgy
performed together for 60 years,
often from his collection
Játékok (Games)
on an upright piano?
Stephen Cleobury · Colin Mawby · November
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| Westminster Cathedral |
Did you know ...
... that the 1934 choral composition
Totentanz (Danse Macabre)
by Hugo Distler combines motets
with spoken dialogue between Death and its victims?
... that the prolific composer and
Westminster Cathedral conductor Colin Mawby said,
"I cannot write choral music unless I work with choirs ...
I have to write for particular people"?
... that Stephen Cleobury led
100 Years of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve 2018
at King's College Chapel, and was
the first Anglican Master of Music
at Westminster Cathedral?
Playlist
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Did you know
... that Mendelssohn was requested to compose Psalm 100 for the new Hamburg Temple, but probably set it as Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt for the Berlin Cathedral?
... that Arvo Pärt composed the motet The Deer's Cry on a commission from Louth, Ireland, setting the conclusion of Saint Patrick's Breastplate, "Christ with me"?
... that Raymund Weber wrote "Zeige uns, Herr, deine Allmacht und Güte" to be sung with a modern melody, but it appears in the German Catholic hymnal with a Baroque melody?
... that Felix Mendelssohn first composed the motet Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen (For He shall give His angels charge) for an eight-part choir, then included it with orchestra in Elijah?
Holy Week
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Did you know ...
... that in the motet Popule meus by Tomás Luis de Victoria, which sets the Good Friday Reproaches, two choirs alternate Greek and Latin versions of the Trisagion?
Easter
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Did you know ...
... that the motet Sicut cervus by Palestrina, suitable for Holy Saturday, has been described as the expression of "serene but fervent spiritual yearning"?
... that Charles Villiers Stanford composed the anthem for Easter "Why seek ye the living?" on Luke 24:5–7 (scene pictured) for mixed choir and organ, when he was organist at Trinity College, Cambridge?
May
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Did you know ...
... that Ambroise Ouédraogo, who became the first Bishop of Maradi, Niger, in 2001, has focused on dialogue with Islam?
... that parts of Knut Nystedt's Missa brevis for choir a cappella are required repertoire for a singing competition?
... that César Franck (pictured) composed Psalm 150, a setting of "the musicians' psalm" for choir, orchestra and organ, for a school for the blind in Paris?
June
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Did you know ...
... that the motet Lord, have mercy upon us was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1833, setting responses from the Book of Common Prayer?
... that the repeated question "Warum?" (Why?) from the Book of Job structures the first of Two Motets, Op. 74 (title page pictured) by Johannes Brahms?
... that "Aus der Tiefe rufe ich" ('Out of the depths have I cried') is one of six 1883 psalm settings by Friedrich Kiel?
... that Josef Rheinberger composed the six-voice motet Abendlied (Evening song) at age 15?
September
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Did you know ...
... that in September 1610, Monteverdi dedicated to Pope Paul V his Vespro della Beata Vergine, a complex vespers composition which included the style of the emerging opera?
... that Monteverdi set the beginning of Psalm 70, traditionally opening vespers, in his Vespro della Beata Vergine as a brilliant "call to attention"?
Stabat Mater
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Did you know ...
... that MDR Rundfunkchor, the radio choir of the MDR in Leipzig, performed Dvořák's Stabat Mater in the opening concert of the 2019 Rheingau Musik Festival at Eberbach Abbey?
... that the popular German Advent song "Tochter Zion, freue dich" was written by Friedrich Heinrich Ranke around 1820 on music which in two Handel oratorios describes the entry of a victor?
... that Dixit Maria, a motet in Latin by Hans Leo Hassler, sets to music the narrative of Mary's consent to the Annunciation?
... that one of the versions of Vivaldi's Magnificat included five arias to be performed by girl soloists from the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage, who were named in the score?
... that Ave Maria, an obscure piece for two men's choirs by Franz Biebl published in 1964, became famous when the Chanticleer made it part of their holiday programs?
Christmas
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Notes
edit- ^ part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Part III
- ^ source: Ray's Rules