THE STARRY SKY

“Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness.” - André Gide

This week, The New What’s Going Blog has set as its theme: “The Things I’ll Remember”. Memory is a powerful force in our life and is indispensable to our wellbeing and health - one only has to look at the dire effects of dementia… My poem looks at a perfect memory that will persist till the moment I’ll no longer be able to remember or think of anything anymore…

The Starry Sky

On a clear and dark night
We gaze up and see stars;
Cold and clear is their light,
Burning in the small hours.

Your hand’s in my hand,
Our breaths synchronised;
We sit still on the sand
Making memories prized.

High up all the planets align,
Our arms firmly entwine;
Hear the music of spheres,
That’s delight to our ears.
How the sky conspires
With its starry bonfires,
Our true love to inflame
Lighting our heart’s flame.

While we wait for the dawn,
We embrace and we kiss;
Wide-eyed we look on,
Not a moment to miss.

As a star falls from above,
We wish never to part,
And swear that our love
Will forever be in our heart.

High up all the planets align
While our arms firm entwine;
Hear the music of spheres
That’s delight to our ears.
How the sky conspires
With its starry bonfires,
Our true love to inflame
Lighting our heart’s flame.

The poem is set to music, and you can find all my music in my Instagram site “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

SWEET MEMORY

“The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness.” - Norman Cousins

The New What’s Going on Blog has prompted us to write a poem about loneliness without using the words "lonely" or "alone." The poem below refers to a memory of a lonely time and of a long walk in the dead of night in a foreign country… The feeling of isolation, away from loved ones, away from the one person who mattered most and who failed to be with you, the sense of absence and loss, are all expressed in this poem.

Sweet Memory

The secret, subtle scent of yellow rose
That has no perfume - still pleases the nose…
Trembling reflections of yellow gas light
In the still waters of the canal at night;
A shiver of the whispering linden leaves
As they catch gasps of wind under the eaves,
Sweet memory, don’t ever leave me...

The darkened room, a creaking ceiling,
Long shadows, emptiness; no feeling.
Sounds of barely heard soft music far away,
Shimmering strings, pianissimo they play.
A lapping of tongues as water licks
The dark canal wall’s old red bricks,
Sweet memory, never desert me…

And you so far away from me tonight,
Only your memory fuels my heart’s plight;
I hold the pain, how I wished you to believe me,
Sweet memory, unlike her, don’t ever leave me...

Sputtering candle, the spent black wick
Burning unsurely, licking the base of candlestick;
Hours, days, years that pass, bluntly avow
That death approaches so very quickly, now;
A sound of childish laughter sounds hollow
On the wings of distant morning, I cannot follow.
Sweet memory, don’t ever abandon me...

The tears of long ago, re-wept tonight
As memory persists and gives me blight
Steel pincers of memory crushing my heart,
Relentless as their manoeuvres start;
Taste of bitter poisons in my mouth wallow
Clutch at my throat, burn me as I swallow
Sweet draughts of memory that will never go away…

And you so far away from me tonight,
Only your memory fuels my heart’s plight;
I hold the pain, how I wished you to believe me,
Sweet memory, unlike her,  don’t ever leave me…

The poem is set to music, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” Instagram channel or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

Please note that there is delay between my uploading the music and your being able to access it. YouTube is generally the fastest to release the song.

A SMALL THING

“All relationships change the brain - but most important are the intimate bonds that foster or fail us, altering the delicate circuits that shape memories, emotions and that ultimate souvenir, the self.” - Diane Ackerman

This week, Poets and Storytellers United has given the theme of “Stubborn About the Small Things”. My poem was triggered by the trifles we have kept as mementos in some unopened drawer or closed cupboard. We look at those as we one day come across them and they awaken memories. Here is a poem on that theme:

A Small Thing

I clutch it tightly in my hand

A small thing, a bagatelle, a trifle -

And yet for me it’s special, grand,

Worthy enough my breath to stifle.

I feel its smoothness, and its metal -

More precious than pure, fine gold,

More delicate than a flower’s petal,

More rare than something choice and old…

“Love me”, you’d said and gave it me,

Feeling your soul were given to me also.

I took it looking at the wide blue sea,

Capturing sun, sky, your face - all I saw.

“I love you”, I’d whispered to you softly

And I grasped your gift so very tightly;

The tiny trifle was for me dear, costly,

Its dullness sparkling, shining brightly…

I look at it again, so many years later

And I feel a pleasure so much greater,

Than what a rusty metal fairground token

Would give, or our words then spoken.

“I love you”, you had said so tenderly,

“I love you”, I had said so slenderly.

And then goodbyes were uttered

Our hearts were closed and shuttered

And now a token is all that’s left

Once our union’s bonds were cleft.

I clutch it tightly in my hand

A small thing, a bagatelle, a trifle -

And yet for me it’s special, grand,

Worthy enough my breath to stifle.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 277 - EUBOEA, GREECE

“Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” - Nikos Kazantzakis 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately. 

Euboea or Evia (Modern Greek: Εύβοια) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about 180 kilometres long, and varies in breadth from 50 kilometres to 6 kilometres. Its general direction is from northwest to southeast, and it is traversed throughout its length by a mountain range, which forms part of the chain that bounds Thessaly on the east, and is continued south of Euboea in the lofty islands of Andros, Tinos and Mykonos. It forms most of the regional unit of Euboea, which also includes Skyros and a small area of the Greek mainland.

Euboea has wonderful beaches, a pleasant climate, renowned monuments, many thermal springs and tasty food, and is thus a popular and easily accessible destination for the inhabitants of Athens who often holiday here. The cosmopolitan capital city of Chalkis is situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from antiquity and is derived from the Greek χαλκός (chalkos - copper, bronze), though there is no trace of any mines in the area. In the late Middle Ages, it was known as Negropont, a name that was applied to the entire island of Euboea as well. Its people are known in English as Chalcidians. Chalkis has a population of about 105,000 people.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

TRAVEL TUESDAY 245 - SINGAPORE

 

“We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

In the tropics, sunsets can be quite spectacular and Singapore is no exception. When you add some palm tree silhouettes to the equation, the message definitely reads: “Holiday and good times”. This photograph, however, was snapped quickly while I was at a conference and I remember during this trip I did not get much of a chance to do any sightseeing nor much photography... Nevertheless, even during a busy business trip, one could enjoy the exotic location and take in the excitement of being in a distant destination far from home.

Now in the thralls of a COVID-19 lockdown with no end of restrictions in sight, this photo from the archives is tinged with more than a small dose of nostalgia. Those good old times when travel was frequent, for both business and pleasure, when the world was a much safer place and when people could mingle freely in tourist spots, crowded markets and busy shops. As we remain confined at home, we can at least reminisce and hope that in the near future travelling around the world can begin again with no restrictions.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

TRAVEL TUESDAY 211 - RIO GRANDE, USA

“Ride ‘em

Ride ‘em cowboy

Coma-ti-yi-yip-yi-a

Rio grande, Rio Grande

I’d swim you but I can’t

Late at night flickering fire

Keeps me warm and safe from harm

Little man, understands

The indian’s upperhand

Never stray, always travel in groups of ten…” - Brian Wilson and Andy Paley 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

The Rio Grande (known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte, or simply Río Bravo) is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, its total length was 3,051 km in the late 1980s, though course shifts occasionally result in length changes. Depending on how it is measured, the Rio Grande is the fourth or fifth longest river system in North America. The river serves as a natural border between the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. A very short stretch of the river serves as the boundary between the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico.

Since the mid–20th century, heavy water consumption of farms and cities along the river has left only 20% of its natural discharge to flow to the Gulf. Near the river's mouth, the heavily irrigated Rio Grande Valley is an important agricultural region. The Rio Grande is one of 19 Great Waters recognized by the America’s Great Waters Coalition. The Rio Grande’s watershed covers 472,000 square km.  Many endorheic basins are situated within, or adjacent to, the Rio Grande’s basin, and these are sometimes included in the river basin’s total area, increasing its size to about 870,000 square km. Excuse the relatively poor quality of this photo, but it was taken in June 1999, with an early version of a digital camera. Still evokes a special memory of a special place!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

SUMMERFIELD

“There is no greater sorrow than to recall a happy time when miserable.” ― Dante Alighieri 

Summerfield 

On a perfect Summer’s day
Walking on a fresh green field,
Making memories warm and bright
For a cold and dismal Winter’s night.

On a Summerfield my merry fay,
With a kiss a promise sealed:
Lips that savoured cool sweet wine,
Now in Winter’s tears taste brine.

Oh, to be in Summerfield again,
‘Neath blue sky on verdant grass,
Clasping hands our hearts alight
How we’d love, all sense delight...

But instead in Winter’s bane
I gaze now in frozen glass:
Wrinkles, white hair, all decline,
And for Summerfield I long and pine.

FOOD FRIDAY - FRUIT LOAF

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” - Paul Theroux 

I love the cool, misty days of Autumn when afternoon sun comes out and shines warm, but quickly gives way to a rapidly falling night. Leaves turn yellow and fall, rain comes and goes, puddles shine like silver platters and soon, Winter shows up with cold, dark days when rain, sleet, snow and frost savour the season as if it were tossed in sea salt. Winter afternoons hanker for lots of fragrant, hot tea and a spicy, rich cake… Nothing like this wonderful fruit loaf, the recipe for which was given to us by a dear family friend, who unfortunately has passed away. She is remembered fondly.

Fruit Loaf for Afternoon Tea
Ingredients
150 g dried apricots
150 g pitted dates
100 g dried figs
100 g sultanas
100 g mixed candied peel
2 cups orange juice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups Self-Raising Flour
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Butter or mascarpone cheese, to serve (optional) 

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 7cm deep, 10cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper.
Combine dried fruit and juice in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 20 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Transfer fruit mixture to a bowl. Stir in honey, sugar and eggs. Sift flour and spices over fruit mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Stand for 10 minutes in pan. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Serve slices at room temperature or toasted, spread with butter or mascarpone cheese if desired.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

ALL ABOUT MAHLEB

“Take care of all your memories – for you cannot relive them.” - Bob Dylan

Prunus mahaleb, the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter almonds with cherry notes. The tree is native in the Mediterranean region, Iran and parts of central Asia. It is adjudged to be native in northwestern Europe or at least it is naturalized there. It is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing to 2–10 m tall with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter.

The bark of the tree is grey-brown, with conspicuous lenticels on young stems, and shallowly fissured on old trunks. The leaves are 1.5-5 cm long, 1-4 cm. wide, alternate, clustered at the end of alternately arranged twigs, ovate to cordate, pointed, have serrate edges, longitudinal venation and are glabrous and green. The petiole is 5-20 mm, and may or may not have two glands. The flowers are fragrant, pure white, small, 8-20 mm diameter, with an 8-15 mm pedicel; they are arranged 3-10 together on a 3-4 cm long raceme. The flower pollination is mainly by bees. The fruit is a small thin-fleshed cherry-like drupe 8–10 mm in diameter, green at first, turning red then dark purple to black when mature, with a very bitter flavour; flowering is in mid spring with the fruit ripening in mid to late summer.

Even in places where the spice from the seeds is not used, the tree is grown as an ornamental tree for its strongly fragrant flowers, throughout temperate regions of the world. A number of cultivars have been selected for their ornamental value, including ‘Albomarginata’, with variegated foliage, ‘Bommii’, a dwarf with strongly pendulous branches, ‘Globosa’, a compact dwarf clone, ‘Pendula’, with drooping branching, and ‘Xanthocarpa’ with yellow fruit.

Mahleb or Mahlepi is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of this tree’s fruit. The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy on extraction. The seed kernel is ground to a powder before use. Its flavour is similar to a combination of bitter almond and cherry, and similar also to marzipan. Mahleb is used in small quantities to sharpen sweet foods and cakes.

It has been used for centuries in the Middle East and the surrounding areas as a flavouring for baked goods. Recipes calling for the fruit or seed of the “ḫalub” date back to ancient Sumer. In recent decades, it has been slowly entering mainstream cookbooks in English.

In Greece, it is called μαχλέπι (mahlepi), and is used in egg-rich yeast cakes such as New Year’s vasilopita and Easter tsoureki breads (known as cheoreg in Armenian and çörek in Turkish). In Turkey, it is used in pogača pastry and other baked goods. In the Arabic Middle East, it is used in ma’amoul pastries. In Egypt, powdered mahleb is made into a paste with honey, sesame seeds and nuts, eaten as a dessert or a snack with bread. In English, mahleb is sometimes spelled mahalab, mahlep, mahaleb, etc.

The aroma of mahleb is subtle yet distinctive and pervasive, especially when the baked goods are coming out of the oven. It is associated with festive occasions when these traditional breads and pasties are baked. Personally, having grown up in Greece and having vasilopita on New Year’s Day and tsoureki at Easter, the fragrant smell of the rich, soft sweet bread associated with these holidays is quite an unforgettable part of my childhood. A recipe for Greek tsoureki can be found here.

In the language of flowers, a sprig of flowering mahaleb cherry signifies “you are talented and erudite, but your charms are well hidden”. A single blossom indicates “good education”. Seeds of the mahaleb cherry mean: “Your secret has been discovered”.

MOVIE MONDAY - KRAKATOA

“We cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn't have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.” - Petra Němcová

Sometimes you remember a film you saw when you were a child and the memory of it is so powerful and haunting that you can’t wait to find the film again in your adult years and re-watch it in order to savour those feelings you experienced the first time around. Of course, nothing is the same as it was the first time around, film watching included… We live, we experience more and more, we grow, we change, we become jaded, we see the world differently. No surprise when we re-watch that movie that we may be a little disappointed!

This was the case with the film we watched last weekend, which I had first seen as a child of 11 years. I remember then being completely overwhelmed and watching in awe, breathless with excitement and wide-eyed with amazement. The movie was the 1968 Bernard L. Kowalski disaster/adventure flick “Krakatoa: East of Java”, starring  Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, and Rossano Brazzi.

Krakatoa (Indonesian: Krakatau), is a volcanic island situated in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The name is also used for the surrounding island group comprising the remnants of a much larger island of three volcanic peaks which was obliterated in a cataclysmic 1883 eruption, unleashing huge tsunamis (killing more than 36,000 people) and destroying over two-thirds of the island.

The explosion is considered to be the loudest sound ever heard in modern history, with reports of it being heard up to 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from its point of origin. The shock waves from the explosion were recorded on barographs worldwide. In 1927 a new island, Anak Krakatau, or “Child of Krakatoa”, emerged from the caldera formed in 1883 and is the current location of eruptive activity. Just to set the record straight, Krakatoa is actually located west, not east, of Java, a boo-boo that has haunted the film ever since it was released, being widely mocked in the critics reviews which were mostly quite scathing for the whole of the film...

The plot of the movie centres on the recovery of a valuable cargo of rare pearls from a shipwreck close the island of Krakatoa. When the expedition sets off the location of the wreck seems not be a worry as everyone believes that the volcano on the island has been dormant for around two hundred years. The eruption of the volcano in August 1883 will of course prove them wrong. The characters are the ship’s Dutch captain (Schell), his beautiful mistress (Baker) who is fleeing from an abusive husband and looking for her young son, from whom she has been separated, a drug-addicted diver (Keith) with health problems and his girlfriend (Werle), the British inventor of a diving bell (Leyton), an Italian father-and-son (Brazzi & Mineo) team of balloonists and four female Japanese pearl fishers, hired for their diving expertise. One of these girls becomes romantically involved with the younger Italian. By this stage you’d have thought the plot was already bogged down with too many subplots, but there is another one! The captain is forced by the authorities to take on a load of prisoners to be transported to Madura, which of course will cause problems later…

Needless to say, the eruption of Krakatoa and the subsequent catastrophe is what dominates the film. In an unusual approach to making the film, the producers of the movie had the special effects scenes shot before the script had been completed. The script then was written so as to incorporate the special effects sequences! Although now quite dated in appearance, the film’s special effects were considered impressive enough by 1969 standards for it to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (it lost to the sci-fi disaster movie,  “Marooned”!).

Well, watching the film as an adult all these years later certainly made me aware of my age. The film was not how I remembered it and scenes that in that distant time made me feel awed and amazed now raised a smile or even a laugh. The film was utterly and completely demystified and its many shortcomings were blatantly obvious. There were plot holes, bad script writing, abominable dialogue ordinary acting and too much reliance on the special effects (used excessively and repetitively) to carry the movie forward.

So what was the final verdict on this film with a pedestrian, badly paced, and poorly told story and where the special effects were so constant and overwhelming as to become numbing? Well, we actually enjoyed it. First, because it was associated with nostalgia, second because it was a movie you could watch and take the mickey out of, having a laugh here and there, and finally because it revived memories of the old Hollywood (perhaps memories of Hollywood 1950s B-grade potboilers). Maybe if you will watch this film now for the first time you will run out of patience and stop watching it half-way through. Or maybe if you reduce the size of your expectations you may enjoy it too…

POETS UNITED - NINETY

“Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age.” - Booth Tarkington

This week PoetsUnited has as its theme “Ninety”. Here is my contribution:

Ninety

You turned ninety last month
And I can see it in your eyes –
Rheumy and glaucous blue
Revealing all.

The years weigh heavily on your back
And I can see it in your heavy step –
Your tottering gait
So limiting…

You turned ninety last winter
And I can see it in your hair –
White, thinned, still soft,
Like snow.

The years have not been kind to you
And I can see it in your skin –
Translucent yellow parchment,
Where all is written.

Ninety years, a thousand months and more,
And I can see it in your wrinkles –
Each tells a story, sadness mixed with laughter,
It’s been a full life.

And when you speak to me, I listen:
The voice of the last century, still strong and loud;
And when you touch me, I feel:
Your heartbeat, propelling blood we share;
And in my embrace, your frail body trembles:
Your love unchanged, still burning undiminished,
Inextinguishable, a beacon for eternity,
Deriding death…

MUSIC SATURDAY - HÄNDEL's CONCERTI GROSSI

“Where words fail, music speaks.” - Hans Christian Andersen

Our memories are one of the fundamental things that define us, and to a certain extent, influence who we are and how we shall react to present and future situations. Many of those memories, for me at least, revolve around music. Music that we first heard on a certain occasion, background music that assumed special importance because of what was happening to us at a certain moment, music that was recommended to us by a special person our lives, music that was given to us as a gift, music that we heard at a concert where we were with someone special, music that we perhaps played on a particular moment when there was nothing else that we could do except play music…

Rallentanda, one of the readers of my blog (hello, Rall!), reminded me the other day through one her comments of a special moment in the past when I was first told to listen to a magnificent set of concerti by Georg Friederich Händel. The one that recommended them to me was my music teacher in High School, the one who also encouraged me to take up the study of music theory and the one who played on the piano my first compositions. I remember with fondness and gratitude that very special person who first saw sparks of musical talent in my nature and fanned them into a flame that has been kept alight for decades now. And these concerti always remind me of her, whenever I hear them (and that is often)!

So here are Georg Friedrich Händel’s Concerti Grossi Op 6, Nos 1-12, played by  The Avision Ensemble, conducted by Pavlo Beznosiuk.

Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 1, HWV 319:

0:00:00 - I. A tempo giusto

0:01:33 - II. Allegro

0:03:17 - III. Adagio

0:05:52 - IV. Allegro

0:08:28 - V. Allegro

Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 2, HWV 320:

0:11:21 - I. Andante larghetto

0:15:31 - II. Allegro

0:17:50 - III. Largo - Larghetto andante e piano

0:19:58 - IV. Allegro ma non troppo

Concerto Grosso in E Minor, Op. 6, No. 3, HWV 321:

0:22:22 - I. Larghetto

0:23:28 - II. Andante

0:24:57 - III. Allegro

0:27:23 - IV. Polonaise: Andante

0:32:22 - V. Allegro, ma non troppo

Concerto Grosso in A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4, HWV 322:

0:33:42 - I. Larghetto affettuoso

0:36:25 - II. Allegro

0:39:23 - III. Largo e piano

0:41:48 - IV. Allegro

Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 5, HWV 323:

0:44:47 - I. [Larghetto e staccato]

0:46:20 - II. Allegro

0:48:33 - III. Presto

0:52:38 - IV. Largo

0:54:46 - V. Allegro

0:56:58 - VI. Menuet: Un poco larghetto

Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 6, HWV 324:

1:00:01 - I. Largo e affettuoso

1:03:17 - II. Allegro, ma non troppo

1:04:56 - III. Musette: Larghetto

1:09:58 - IV. Allegro

1:13:01 - V. Allegro

Concerto Grosso in B-Flat Major, Op. 6, No. 7, HWV 325:

1:15:29 - I. Largo

1:16:25 - II. Allegro

1:19:23 - III. Largo, e piano

1:22:31 - IV. Andante

1:26:18 - V. Hornpipe

Concerto Grosso in C Minor, Op. 6, No. 8, HWV 326:

1:29:34 - I. Allemande

1:36:08 - II. Grave

1:37:41 - III. Andante allegro

1:39:36 - IV. Adagio

1:40:41 - V. Siciliana: Andante

1:44:12 - VI. Allegro

Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 9, HWV 327:

1:45:40 - I. Largo

1:47:11 - II. Allegro

1:51:04 - III. Larghetto

1:54:24 - IV. Allegro

1:56:10 - V. Menuet

1:57:30 - VI. Gigue

Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op. 6, No. 10, HWV 328:

1:59:45 - I. Overture

2:01:14 - II. Allegro Lento

2:03:26 - III. Air: Lento

2:06:24 - IV. Allegro

2:08:37 - V. Allegro

2:11:22 - VI. Allegro moderato

Concerto Grosso in A Major, Op. 6, No. 11, HWV 329:

2:13:13 - I. Andante larghetto, e staccato

2:17:24 - II. Allegro

2:19:07 - III. Largo, e staccato

2:19:38 - IV. Andante

2:24:03 - V. Allegro Concerto Grosso in B Minor, Op. 6, No. 12, HWV 330:

2:29:21 - I. Largo

2:31:20 - II. Allegro

2:34:13 - III. Aria: Larghetto e piano

2:37:34 - IV. Largo

2:38:24 - V. Allegro

MEMORIES OF ROSE GERANIUM

“You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.” - Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

One of the things I remember about the garden in my grandfather’s house is the sweet scent of rose geranium. There were a couple of these beautiful plants growing there and whenever one brushed against them they would release their delightful fragrance in the air and it would linger there for a few seconds. My grandmother used to collect some leaves of this plant when she was making quince jelly or quince preserve and use them to flavour these sweetmeats with an unmistakeable signature aroma – a mixed fruity smell of quince/sweet ripe apples, roses, and a hint of citrus.

We have these plants growing in our garden now and they have joined a special group of “heritage and memory plants”, which all bring to mind some special situations, specific people, delightful reminiscences and distant places…

Rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is an uncommon Pelargonium species native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Pelargonium comes from the Greek pelargos, which means stork. Another name for pelargoniums is stork’s-bills due to the shape of their fruit. The specific epithet graveolens refers to the strong-smelling leaves.

Pelargonium graveolens is an erect, multi-branched shrub, which grows up to 1.5 m and has a spread of 1 m. The leaves are deeply incised leaves are velvety and soft to the touch (due to glandular hairs). The flowers vary from pale pink to almost white and the plant flowers from August to January. The leaves may be strongly rose-scented, although the leaf shape and scent vary. Some plants are very strongly scented and others have little or no scent. Some leaves are deeply incised and others less so, being slightly lobed like P. capitatum.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.