ART SUNDAY - ALFRED SISLEY

“I always start a painting with the sky.” - Alfred Sisley

Alfred Sisley (30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air (i.e., outdoors). He deviated into figure painting only rarely and, unlike Renoir and Pissarro, found that Impressionism fulfilled his artistic needs. Among his important works are a series of paintings of the River Thames, mostly around Hampton Court, executed in 1874, and landscapes depicting places in or near Moret-sur-Loing. The notable paintings of the Seine and its bridges in the former suburbs of Paris are like many of his landscapes, characterised by tranquillity, in pale shades of green, pink, purple, dusty blue and cream. Over the years Sisley’s power of expression and colour intensity increased.

Son of a well off British dealer established in Paris, Alfred Sisley was born in Paris in 1839. His father sent him in to London, where followed a commercial career from 1857 to 1861, but Sisley intended to be a painter rather than a dealer, in spite of his father’s wishes. In 1862, he enrolled in the School of Fine Arts of Paris, and also joined the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he became friendly with Auguste Renoir , Claude Monet and Frédéric Bazille . In 1864, at the same time as his friends, he left the School of Fine Arts at the time when Charles Gleyre ceased teaching there, and devoted himself to painting in open air in the area of Fontainebleau, at Chailly-en-Bière, then in Marlotte from 1865 to 1866, while living thanks to financial support which his father offered to him.

From his very beginnings, Sisley, just as Pissarro, devoted himself primarily to landscape painting and to lively representations of village streets or Parisian rivers. He frequently met Monet and Renoir to work with them. The early works of Alfred Sisley were influenced by the realism of Courbet, Corot and Daubigny. An art critic wrote about him, on the year of his death: “It is Corot who impresses him, the clear and silver plated Corot, at the same time light and solid, always broad, deep, infinite, Corot dreamer, calm and precise...”. Sisley was admitted to the Official Salon in 1866, 1868 and 1870. His paintings showed his keen interest for coloured impressions of trees and buildings, and for the changing effects of light and clouds above the landscape.

In the catalogue of the sale of Sisley’s studio organised to the benefit of his children after his death, the same critic remarks: “... in the small, hard-working and carefree group made up of Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Bazille, in Fontainebleau, Sisley represents cheerfulness, spirit, imagination”. In June 1866, he married Eugènie Lescouezec, a girl of a good family, and a model and florist, with whom he will have two children. Auguste Renoir painted them in 1868, the now famous painting entitled: “The Engaged Couple”" (also known as “Alfred Sisley and his wife”).

In 1869, he settled in Louveciennes, at 2 Princess St. The Franco-Prussian war of 1870 caused the ruin of his family, and Sisley, for the rest of his life, will no longer be a young man of good social standing, but an artist struggling to make ends meet in order to support his painting. The civil war “La Commune de Paris” in 1871 forced him find refuge in London, where he met the art dealer Durand-Ruel, who had opened a gallery to exhibit French artists. He returned to France, in Louveciennes a little after the civil unrest was quelled. Now ruined, he is obliged to definitively leave Paris and Louveciennes in 1874 to settle at Marly-le-Roi. In 1874 he was one of the 31 exhibitors of the first show of the Impressionists group, and will then exhibit at the following ones, in 1876 and 1877, without, however, gaining sympathy there, nor enthusiasm from critics. He then painted in Argenteuil, Marly and Bougival.

He would not leave Ile-de-France any more, except for three short trips he took, one in England in 1874, another in Normandy in 1894, and the last one in Wales in 1897. In 1883, however Durand-Ruel devoted a special exhibition to his works and buys some of his paintings, but the interest for Sisley paintings remains poor. After 1880, Sisley went to settle in a solitary retirement, at Moret-sur-Loing, chief town of the canton of Seine-et-Marne, near Fontainebleau. There, he found places of a great source of inspiration where he untiringly composed many now famous paintings.

Sidley always took great pleasure in painting in the open air and was inspired to do so in all seasons, painting the landscapes of Moret-sur-Loing. Alfred Sisley spent there the last years of his life. He died in 1899, without having been granted French citizenship, which he had requested since 1895. It was only after his death that he was recognised as one of the great Impressionist painters.

The pictorial language of Alfred Sisley was always strongly in keeping with Impressionism, but he also showed his attachment to his first inspirers, Corot and Daubigny. However what really distinguishes him, is his constant restraint, the sensitivity of his inspiration, his liking of peaceful landscapes. His work shows a great humility in his attempt to reproduce on canvas the enchantment which he felt in front of real landscapes. Because his scope was indeed restricted to landscapes, in which a few characters sometimes act as a focal interest, without any really personal touch, many saw in Sisley’s paintings a lack of artistic personality. However, Sisley’s paintings present a positive atmosphere of beauty, clarity and lightness, and represent a high degree of Impressionist accomplishment .

Shown above is his “Poplars at Moret Sur Loing, An August Afternoon”, 1888. Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm. Private Collection. This is a painting typical of Sisley’s style, conveying the artist’s love of nature and the joy of capturing on canvas the subtle nuances of light and colour.

MUSIC SATURDAY - MASCITTI

“A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs it while playing a violin.” - Edmond de Goncourt

Michele Mascitti (1664 in Villa Santa Maria [from Chieti]; 24 April 1760 in Paris) was an Italian violinist and Baroque composer. In Italian instrumental music, Mascitti at his time was considered comparable to Corelli and Albinoni. He was educated by his uncle, Pietro Marchitelli (1643-1729), a violinist in the royal court orchestra in Naples, and at the “Teatro San Bartolomeo”. Mascitti was also possibly tutored by Corelli.

Mascitti found a temporary position in the royal orchestra, but he soon left, travelled through Italy but fated to find his fortune outside of Italy. First, he spent time in Germany and the Netherlands. He was under the protectorate of Cardinal Ottoboni and the reigning Duke of Bavaria.

In 1704, he settled in Paris and took the Frenchified given name of Michel. He became a French citizen in 1739. Through a meeting with the Duke of Orleans he was afforded the opportunity to play before the king and the entire court. He became immensely popular among the French public, known familiarly by his first name, and he served both the Duke of Orleans but was also patronised by the house of Crozat.

The primary genre of his compositions was the solo sonata but he also arranged trio sonatas and concertos. Mascitti’s were the first string concertos published in France by a resident composer. He published all nine of his sonata collections in Paris. The four concertos from Op. 7 follow the concerto grosso style of Corelli. His compositions were mainly in the Italian, and sometimes French, style. They contained an abundance of novel harmonies for the period.

Here are some of his sonatas (IV & V from op. 3) and the Concerti Grossi (Opus 7) performed by Camerata Anxanum.

1 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro

2 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Larghetto

3 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro

4 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Largo

5 Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op. 7/1: Allegro

6 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro moderato

7 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro

8 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Larghetto

9 Concerto Grosso in E minor, Op. 7/2: Allegro moderato

10 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Vivace

11 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Largo

12 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Allegro

13 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Largo

14 Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 7/3: Allegro

15 Concerto Grosso in A major, Op. 7/4: Vivace

16 Concerto Grosso in A major, Op. 7/4: Passacaglia variata (Andante)

17 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Allemanda Largo

18 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Corrente Allegro

19 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Largo

20 Sonata in E minor, Op. 3/4: Gavotta Allegro

21 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Vivace

22 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Allemanda Grave

23 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Allemanda Allegro

24 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Sarabanda Andante

25 Sonata in D major, Op. 3/5: Corrente Allegro assai

FOOD FRIDAY - CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP

“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.” - Ludwig van Beethoven

I love Winter. It’s not only the cold weather, the rain and the freshness in the air, but it’s also the warm cheerful house and the smell of delicious cold season dishes cooking in the kitchen. Not the least of course, is soup! I love a good soup and when coupled with some warm toast or freshly baked scones it is a complete and nourishing meal. Here’s the recipe for one, which even though we don’t make often, is quite delicious.

Cream of Cauliflower soup

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

600g cauliflower, cut into florets

300g potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped

600ml vegetable stock

350ml water

100ml extra light thickened cream

Ground white pepper and salt to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes or until soft – do not brown it.

Add the cauliflower, potato and stir for a few minutes until coated with oil. Add the stock and water. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower and potato are tender.

Set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly. Place half the cauliflower mixture in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture.

When ready to serve, add the cream and place over low heat and cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup in the serving bowls and drizzle with extra cream if desired, adding some fresh, finely chopped parsley for a garnish.

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ALL ABOUT ROSEMARY

“There’s rosemary and rue. These keep Seeming and savour all the winter long. Grace and remembrance be to you.” - William Shakespeare (Winter’s Tale, Act 4, Scene 4)

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name “rosemary” derives from the Latin for ‘dew’ (ros) and ‘sea’ (marinus), or ‘dew of the sea’. The plant is also sometimes called anthos, from the ancient Greek word ἄνθος, meaning “flower”.

Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub that has leaves similar to eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) needles. The leaves are used as a flavouring in foods such as stuffings and roast lamb, pork, chicken and turkey. It is native to the Mediterranean and Asia, but is reasonably hardy in cool climates. It can withstand droughts, surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy periods. Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach 1.5 m tall, rarely 2 m. The leaves are evergreen, 2–4 cm long and 2–5 mm broad, green above, and greyish-white below, with dense, short, woolly hair. It has a fibrous root system. The plant flowers in spring and summer in temperate climates, but the plants can be in constant bloom in warm climates; flowers are white, pink, purple or deep blue. Rosemary also has a tendency to flower outside its normal flowering season; it has been known to flower as late as early December, and as early as mid-February.

Since it is attractive and drought-tolerant, rosemary is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and for xeriscape landscaping, especially in regions of Mediterranean climate. It is considered easy to grow and pest-resistant. Rosemary can grow quite large and retain attractiveness for many years, can be pruned into formal shapes and low hedges, and has been used for topiary. It is easily grown in pots. The groundcover cultivars spread widely, with a dense and durable texture.

Rosemary grows on friable loam soil with good drainage in an open, sunny position. It will not withstand waterlogging and some varieties are susceptible to frost. It grows best in neutral to alkaline conditions (pH 7–7.8) with average fertility. It can be propagated from an existing plant by clipping a shoot (from a soft new growth) 10–15 cm long, stripping a few leaves from the bottom, and planting it directly into soil.

According to legend, rosemary was draped around the Greek goddess Aphrodite when she rose from the sea, born of Uranus’s semen. Hence the herb was sacred to this goddess and was planted around her temples. In Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary is said to have spread her blue cloak over a white-blossomed rosemary bush when she was resting, and the flowers turned blue. The shrub then became known as the “Rose of Mary”. In the Middle Ages, rosemary was associated with wedding ceremonies. The bride would wear a rosemary headpiece and the groom and wedding guests would all wear a sprig of rosemary. From this association with weddings, rosemary was thought to be a love charm.

In myths and folklore, rosemary has a reputation for improving memory and has been used as a symbol for remembrance during war commemorations and funerals in Europe and Australia. Mourners would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead. In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, Ophelia says: ‘There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.’ (Hamlet, iv. 5.) In Australia, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day and sometimes Remembrance Day to signify remembrance; the herb grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Hungary water was first prepared for the Queen of Hungary Elisabeth of Poland to “... renovate vitality of paralysed limbs...” and to treat gout. It was used externally and prepared by mixing fresh rosemary tops into spirits of wine. Recipes for this call for: Distilling fresh rosemary (and possibly thyme) with strong brandy, while later formulations also contain lavender, mint, sage, marjoram, costus, orange blossom and lemon. Don Quixote (Part One, Chapter XVII) mixes it in his recipe of the miraculous balm of Fierabras. Rosemary oil is used for purposes of fragrant bodily perfumes or to emit an aroma into a room. It is also burnt as incense, and used in shampoos and cleaning products.

Fresh or dried rosemary leaves are used in traditional Italian, Spanish and Greek cuisine. They have a bitter, astringent taste and a characteristic aroma, which complements many cooked foods. When roasted with meats or vegetables, the leaves impart a mustard-like aroma with an additional fragrance of charred wood compatible with barbecued foods. In Greece, rosemary is often used to flavour baked or fried fish. In amounts typically used to flavour foods, such as one teaspoon (1 gram), rosemary provides no nutritional value. Rosemary extract has been shown to improve the shelf life and heat stability of omega 3-rich oils, which are prone to rancidity. A herbal tisane can be made from the leaves of rosemary.

In the language of flowers, rosemary sprigs (without flowers) stand for “remembrance. Rosemary in flower stands for “nostalgia and sweet memories.”

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Food Friday meme.

ON DEATH

“Those who have the strength and the love to sit with a dying patient in the silence that goes beyond words will know that this moment is neither frightening nor painful, but a peaceful cessation of the functioning of the body.” - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

The death of our family friend last week is still uppermost in my mind, but now, after the funeral, even his family is beginning to adjust to the idea that his life has ended. I was thinking as the priest was reading the last rites at the graveside that we all live as though we were immortal, thinking little of our own death. How different our life would be if we realised how temporary our existence is, how precarious, how fragile.

“Memento mori”, the ancients said, “remember that you have to die” and they scattered around their home and workplace reminders of their mortality: Skulls, butterflies, flowers, hourglasses, and other images and symbols of the ephemeral nature of life. We have become estranged from this omnipresent reminder of death, our culture being one of youth and wellness, ignoring death at our peril. We incarcerate our elderly in nursing homes (out of sight and out of mind), we pursue eternal youth in the form of creams, botox, hair dye, exercise regimes and plastic surgery, and we idolise the young and modern.

Death has become a dirty word in our days. Think of the euphemisms we turn to instead of simply saying “he died”: “Passed away”, “slept the sleep of the righteous”, “gone away”, “expired”, “demised”, “gone to meet his Maker”, “shuffled off the mortal coil”, “gave up the ghost”, “resting in peace”, etc, etc… Death is part of life, not just the end of it. We should be familiar with it and not afraid of it – whoever is afraid of death is afraid of life too. Thinking of death (especially our own) makes us respect life more. And when the time comes for us to die, we are ready to do so, peacefully and with resignation.

Long, Long Night

This Winter evening comes too soon,

And the sun weak, pallid, frosty

Hurries behind the dun clouds

To sink below the far horizon’s line.

As violet twilight rapidly darkens

Into an obsidian night,

A lonely candle burns by my bedside

Sputtering with an unsure flame.

The air is frigid but my breath seems colder

Coming in shortening gasps,

My broken lungs submerged

In icy oceans of choking phlegm.

My skin is sallow, like the yellow wall

Where candle flame illumines

Cracking plaster, mirroring

My wrinkled face, my lined hands.

The wind whistles, the timbers creak,

And sounds of dry bones

Rubbing against the flagstones

Tell me the dark rider is nearing.

The night is long, black, cold;

An endless night with a dawn so distant

That it may as well never arrive,

My candle flickers, hisses, goes out.

My heart falters, misses beats,

Trembles weakly, palpitates;

The machine is worn out, faulty,

Damaged by years of constant use.

The door is open now and as the wind howls,

The sombre bony rider enters.

As I draw in my last and laboured breath,

I hope against hope that this darkest moment

Of the cold, black, long, long night

Comes just before a bright new dawn…

TRAVEL TUESDAY #30 - OAMARU, NEW ZEALAND

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” - T. S. Eliot

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.

New Zealand is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses: That of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu; as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country’s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand’s capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Oamaru, shown here, is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both. With a population of 13,750, Oamaru is the 27th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the second largest in Otago behind Dunedin. The name Oamaru derives from Māori words meaning the place of Maru (compare with Timaru). The identity of Maru remains open to conjecture!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

Add your own travel posts using the Linky tool below, and don't forget to be nice and leave a comment here, and link back to this page from your own post!

MOVIE MONDAY - THE IMMIGRANT

“America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.” - James Madison

We watched an old-fashioned movie at the weekend. I say “old-fashioned” as that is the characterisation we gave it when discussing it afterwards. It was one that was based on a tried and true plot, no surprises or twists in the scenario, a story that could have been true. The acting, direction and cinematography were good and the music suited to the subject matter. No great need for effects, no pyrotechnics no CGI. So, an “old-fashioned” movie…

It was James Gray’s 2013 movie “The Immigrant”, starring  Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, Dagmara Dominczyk, Jicky Schnee and Elena Solovey. The scenario was co-written by the director and Richard Menello, while the music was by Christopher Spelman and cinematography by Darius Khondji. We liked the movie, and it kept our interest up for the 120 minutes that it ran. However, if you are looking for a fast-paced movie with lots of plots twists and action, this is not for you. While not perhaps a typical “chick flick”, one may classify it as a drama with minimal romance.

The film is set in New York, 1921. Ewa Cybulska (Cotillard) and her sister Magda sail to New York from their native Poland, in search of a new homeland and the American dream. As soon as they arrive at Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda has tuberculosis, and the two women are separated, Magda quarantined at Ellis Island. Ewa is to be deported as her Uncle and Aunt have not shown up to meet her. Alone, with nowhere to turn and desperate to reunite with Magda, Ewa falls prey to Bruno (Phoenix), a charming but wicked man who takes her in and forces her into prostitution. Ewa wishes to collect money so that Magda is released to join her on Manhattan. One day, Ewa encounters Bruno’s cousin, the debonair magician Orlando (Renner). Ewa is attracted to him and she hopes that he becomes her chance to escape the nightmare in which she finds herself. However, not all goes well…

The film had excellent sets, costumes and the atmosphere of 1920s New York was captured well. Although often mean, grimy, gritty and seamy, the scenes as they unfold exude a certain nostalgia and there is a bittersweet taste in one’s mouth as the film progresses. The patina of age blunts the “bad things” that are going on and even with the “wicked” characters one finds certain redeeming features as the writer/director does not make any judgments and presents things as they are, giving us neither black nor white, but a huge range of grays in between.

Cotillard looks beautiful and does more acting with her face and eyes than she does delivering her (relatively) few lines, many of which are delivered in Polish. Phoenix likewise does a brilliant job of bringing the complexity of Bruno’s character to the fore. His subtle transformation is played well and his delivery is restrained and thus utterly believable. Renner plays his role well enough but his role is less meaty, although essential to the story. The supporting actors play well and their performance is suitably low-key.

Overall, we enjoyed this movie and recommend it for viewing by mature adults who have an attention span longer than that of a goldfish, and can enjoy good, slow story-telling.

ART SUNDAY - ELISE BLUMANN

“The huge problem in our society is the enormous ignorance of the ideas that underlie modern art.” - Thom Mayne

Elise Blumann (16 January 1897 Parchim, Germany – 29 January 1990, Nedlands, Western Australia) was a German born artist who achieved recognition as an Australian Expressionist painter. Blumann studied at the Royal Art School in Berlin between 1917 and 1919, whilst also maintaining friendships and associations with artists at the Academy of Arts (the former Prussian Academy) - notably, Blumann recounted sitting for a portrait for artist Max Liebermann and also described his teaching methods although no verifiable evidence is available to confirm Liebermann as her tutor.

After this, Blumann taught in various schools in Germany from 1920 to 1923, when she married Arnold Blumann. She fled Nazi Germany with her husband in 1934, arriving at the port of Fremantle, Western Australia on the passenger liner Ormonde on January 4, 1938. In the decade following her arrival in Western Australia, Blumann produced a significant body of painting, taking as her subject the Western Australian landscape, her family and her new circle of friends. These works investigate the unique light and colour of the Western Australian landscape in a style informed by her knowledge of German Expressionism. Among these were “Summer Nude”, 1939, which in caused a scandal when exhibited in Western Australia in 1944 due to both its depiction of nudity and its bold, simple shapes and lines.

With the then Curator of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Robert Campbell, she helped found the Art Group, a discussion group through which she promoted modernist ideas and attitudes in art and art education. However, in the 1950s Blumann became disillusioned with the possibilities of art in Western Australia and only painted sporadically. Her work first received national attention in the late 1970s some fifteen years before she died in 1990, aged 93. She has since been acknowledged as a significant contributor to Australian modernist painting, prefiguring the development of the similarly landscape-based modernism in Western Australia associated with painters Guy Grey-Smith and Howard Taylor.

Blumann remained faithful to the modernity of her vision in creating portraits, figurative studies and many paintings of her beloved West Australian landscape. She believed while painting in Perth that a fresh light should shine into the gloom of European-style classical landscapes and the arts and crafts movement that characterised Perth’s cultural scene at the time. Blumann’s many memorable images of her adopted landscape show no signs of homesickness, but rather hint at a great affection that grew over time. “Only slowly can one draw close to the Australian landscape,” she wrote, “at the beginning it seems not all that absolutely different but the longer one lives with it, the more one recognises how opposite everything is to Europe.”

The painting above is "Riverside Melaleuca" of 1948.

MUSIC SATURDAY - ALESSANDRO MARCELLO

“The oboe’s a horn made of wood. I’d play you a tune if I could, But the reeds are a pain, And the fingering’s insane. It’s the ill wind that no one blows good.” - Ogden Nash

Alessandro Ignazio Marcello (1 February 1673 in Venice – 19 June 1747) was an Italian nobleman and musician. A contemporary of Tomaso Albinoni, Marcello was the son of a senator in Venice. As such, he enjoyed a comfortable life that gave him the scope to pursue his interest in music. He held concerts in his hometown and also composed and published several sets of concertos, including six concertos under the title of “La Cetra” (The Lyre), as well as cantatas, arias, canzonets, and violin sonatas.

Marcello, being a slightly older contemporary of Antonio Vivaldi, often composed under the pseudonym Eterio Stinfalico, his name as a member of the celebrated Arcadian Academy (Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi). He died in Padua in 1747. Alessandro’s brother was Benedetto Marcello, also a composer, who illegally married his singing student Rosanna Scalfi in 1728. After his death she was unable to inherit his estate, and in 1742 she filed suit against Alessandro Marcello, seeking financial support.

Although his works are infrequently performed today, Marcello is regarded as a very competent composer. His “La Cetra” concertos are “unusual for their wind solo parts, concision and use of counterpoint within a broadly Vivaldian style”, according to Grove, placing them as a last outpost of the classic Venetian Baroque concerto. The Concerto for Oboe and Strings in D minor op. 1 is perhaps his best-known work. Its worth was affirmed by Johann Sebastian Bach who transcribed it for harpsichord (BWV 974). A number of editions have been published, including an edition in C minor credited to Benedetto Marcello, Alessandro’s brother.

Here are several of his concertos (including the famous Concerto Oboe and Strings in D minor op. 1, first off), as well as some cantatas. They are performed by Sylvia Pozzer, Roberto Balconi, Paolo Grazzi, with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Andrea Marcon.

1.    Concerto Per Oboe, Archi E Continuo In Re Minore: I. Andante Spiccato

2.    Concerto Per Oboe, Archi E Continuo In Re Minore: II. Adagio

3.    Concerto Per Oboe, Archi E Continuo In Re Minore: III. Presto

4.    Concerto Decimo Con L'Eco, B Dur: I Andante

5.    Concerto Decimo Con L'Eco, B Dur: II. Larghetto

6.    Concerto Decimo Con L'Eco, B Dur: III. Spiritoso

7.    Concerto XVI In Fa Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: I. Allegro

8.    Concerto XVI In Fa Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: II. Larghetto

9.    Concerto XVI In Fa Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: III. Andante Ma Non Presto

10.  La Lontananza: Aria: Lontananza Crudel

11.  La Lontananza: Recitativo: Poiche Chi Troppo Tempo

12.  La Lontananza: Aria: Chi Troppo Tempo

13.  Concerto XIV In La Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: I. Andante Spiritoso-Adagio

14.  Concerto XIV In La Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: II. Allegro

15.  Concerto XIV In La Maggiore, Per Due Oboi, Archi E Continuo: III. Presto

16.  Irene Sdegnata: Ouverture: Allegro

17.  Irene Sdegnata: Lento Spiritoso

18.  Irene Sdegnata: Adagio

19.  Irene Sdegnata: Recitativo: Contra L'Empio Fileno - Andante

20.  Irene Sdegnata: Aria: Ingrato. Spietato - Moderato

21.  Irene Sdegnata: Recitativo: Va Tiranno - Andante

22.  Irene Sdegnata: Aria: Si, Va Pur - Allegro

FOOD FRIDAY - ARTICHOKE FRITTATA

“The process and organisation leading up to cooking the egg can tell you a lot about the cook.” - David Chang

Sometimes we find ourselves hungry at dinner time and there is nothing prepared. Rather than go and get fast take-away food, we go to the fridge, the freezer and pantry and cook something easy and tasty. This is one of our favourite “fast food” solutions. We buy artichokes in bulk, when in season, clean and parboil them, freeze them and they keep for a few months. Or you can use the jars of marinated ones, like I indicate below.

Artichoke Frittata
Ingredients

1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, halved, sliced thinly crosswise

170g jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

6 eggs

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh continental parsley leaves

Method

Preheat grill on medium-high. Heat oil in a 20cm-diameter non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Add artichokes and cook for 2 minutes or until heated through and add the garlic, stirring through until it is done.

Place the eggs in a jug and season with salt and pepper, coriander and mustard. Whisk until combined.

Pour the egg mixture over the artichoke mixture. Reduce heat to low and cook for 6-7 minutes or until frittata is set around the edge but still runny in the centre.

Cook under preheated grill for a further 2 minutes or until golden brown and just set. Remove from grill. Turn onto a chopping board.

Cut frittata into 8 wedges. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with parsley to serve.

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A DEATH

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.” - Steve Jobs

For the past few weeks we have had a dear family friend fighting for his life, in and out of hospital. He was diagnosed a couple of months ago with lung cancer, which unfortunately became very aggressive very quickly and did not respond to treatment. His family and friends stood by his side and we were all devastated by his loss last week. His wake was today and tomorrow is his funeral. He was a simple, quiet and very community-minded man who loved his family and would do everything to help his relatives and friends.

Death

“I’ve lived a good life,” said he to me,

“I’ve loved and hated, worked and played.

I’ve lived a full life,” he confessed,

“I’ve left only few things untried.

Experiences varied, broad I have collected,

All those I’ve met I’ve not regretted.”

“I look at death before me, now,” he told me,

“I like the purposefulness in his stony gaze.

I lean towards him with my hands outstretched,” he said,

“I long to live through this, my ultimate encounter;

My mind replete with images and sound

Will welcome this last meeting, sure to astound.”

“I tell you, don’t be sad,” he said to me,

“I think this is a journey that will thrill me.

I tremble with excitement, not with dread,

I taste sweet wine, not bitter gall nor poison.

My heart is restful,” softly, he sighed,

“My soul is free…” he said to me – and died.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #29 - HANOI

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

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.

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam. The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city.

The Huc Bridge on Sword Lake ("Hồ Hoàn Kiếm"), one of the major scenic spots in Hanoi, serving as a focal point for its public life. The Huc Bridge (meaning Morning Sunlight Bridge) leads to Jade Island on which the Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain Temple) stands. The temple was erected in the 18th century. It honours the 13-century military leader Tran Hung Dao who distinguished himself in the fight against the Yuan Dynasty, Van Xuong, a scholar, and Nguyen Van Sieu, a Confucian master and famous writer in charge of repairs made to the temple in 1864.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and part of the  Ruby Tuesday meme.

Add your own travel posts using the Linky tool below, and don't forget to be nice and leave a comment here, and link back to this page from your own post!

MOVIE MONDAY - ALICE'S TRAVAILS...

“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” - Eugene O’Neill

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (a.k.a. ‘Alice in Wonderland’) is an 1865 novel written by English mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Its narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre.

Carroll wrote the book for a little girl, Alice Pleasance Liddell (born 1852) who was the daughter of The Reverend Robinson Duckworth a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. Alice and her two sisters went on a boating excursion with Carroll and their father in July 1862 and the author amused them all with a story on which the book was subsequently based on. On 26 November 1864, Carroll gave Alice the handwritten manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, with illustrations by Dodgson himself, dedicating it as “A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer’s Day”.

“Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” (1871) is the second novel by Lewis Carroll, written as a sequel to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Set some six months later than the earlier book, Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. “Through the Looking-Glass” includes such celebrated verses as “Jabberwocky” and “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, and the episode involving Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The mirror that inspired Carroll remains displayed in Charlton Kings.

Whereas Carroll’s first book has the deck of cards as a theme, the second book is based on a game of chess, played on a giant chessboard with fields for squares. Most main characters in the story are represented by a chess piece or animals, with Alice herself being a pawn. Both books are magical, whimsical, a delight to read for both children and adults and have been translated into numerous languages worldwide (despite the immense difficulties in accurately translating such punning, word-playing, nonsensical and idiomatic prose!).

The making of films based on the two books has been fruitful, beginning with the 1903 British silent film directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow right up to the latest, 2016 offering “Alice Through the Looking Glass” by James Bobin, made as the sequel to the 2010 Tim Burton movie “Alice inWonderland”. Disney’s 1951 animated version of “Alice in Wonderland” is the other one that immediately springs to mind, but there have been other filmed versions, more than two dozen of them!

The films I am familiar with (about 5 of them) have been less than successful in bringing the wit, whimsy and sheer delight of the word-play to the screen. The emphasis has been on visual effects, with the Burton and Bobin versions going overboard with CGI and spectacularly splendiferous technicolour image wizardry. The latest offering especially James Bobin’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is so far removed from Carroll’s novels that to associate it with them is presumptuous.

Bobin’s “Looking Glass” movie is a very pedestrian, heavy-handed and frankly boring tale that  Linda Woolverton (responsible for the screenplay) has managed to put together for the sake of a sequel to Burton’s “Alice”, which was more or less OK (I was not ecstatic with that version either!). Take an unexciting script, add actors who are in it for the paycheck and seemingly take no pleasure in the movie, add lots of special effects and CGI (some of it of rather poor quality and into which the live actors are placed and look like fish out of water), and you have a movie that is quite laboured and tiresome. The main theme of this movie is time and unfortunately by watching it, I felt as though I had wasted lots of time – 1 hour and 53 minutes of it in fact…

ART SUNDAY - NORA HEYSEN

“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” - Amelia Earhart

Nora Heysen AM (11 January 1911 – 30 December 2003) was an Australian artist, the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald Prize in 1938 for portraiture and the first Australian woman appointed as an official war artist. Heysen was born in Hahndorf, the fourth child of South Australian landscape painter Sir Hans Heysen. She was raised at The Cedars in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. She studied art from 1926 to 1930, at the School of Fine Arts in Adelaide, under F. Millward Grey and sold paintings to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1930.

From 1930 to 1933, she continued to study two days a week at the School, and worked in her own studio the rest of the time. In 1931 she visited Sydney with her parents, and spent two weeks studying at the Julian Ashton School. Her first solo exhibition was held in Sydney in 1933. In 1934 she travelled to London with her family, remaining in Europe, after they returned home, until 1937 studying and painting. When she returned to Australia she returned briefly to Adelaide and then moved to Sydney.

In 1938 she entered two portraits in the Archibald Prize. Her portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman was awarded the prize and she became the first woman to win the Archibald. There was a controversy involving criticism of her win by painter Max Meldrum. On 12 October 1943 she became the first women to be appointed as an Australian war artist at the rank of captain. “I was commissioned to depict the women’s war effort. There was that restriction on what I did. So I was lent around to all the services, the air force, the navy and the army, to depict the women working at everything they did during the war.” During her service Heysen completed over 170 works of art and was discharged from service in 1946 in New Guinea.

While in New Guinea Nora met Dr Robert Black, whom she would marry in 1953. Following her discharge from war service she went to London, returning to Sydney in 1948. She continued to paint, exhibit and travel with her husband. In 1993 she was awarded the Australia Council’s Award for Achievement in the Arts and on 26 January 1998 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to art. Her works are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, the National Library of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and several state galleries.

While formal portraits were a large part of her output, Nora Heysen also delighted in painting flower pieces and still lifes. She was a consummate draughtswoman and many of her sketches are delightful and full of character, especially those of people. The painting above is the still life “Tomatoes on a Chinese Plate” of 1939.