On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Week 13

Week Commencing Monday 8th June 2020

It seems that this is a week in which we conclude the end of three months in Coronavirus Lockdown. We started to ease our way into our own lockdown in the week commencing 17th March, the day it was officially announced, although it didn't officially start until the following weekend. 

As weeks go, so far, this has been as normal as can be. B has been continuing the manufacture of face masks for the local care community, albeit under some stress early in the week. This was mainly caused by having spent the whole weekend making masks for family, not helped by the fact that the sewing machine apparently broke down - that turned out to be operator error, which she confessed ruefully! Nonetheless, she should have and indeed had always intended to take the weekends off and do something different. So her spirit was, shall we say, not in the most refreshed state. However, a good walk with the dogs on Tuesday afternoon, did refresh the spirit as it ever does, and on we go.

Tuesday evenings session with Hallmark was the first of a new schedule of activities for us, in the form of a musical education session with now Vice Chair of the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS), Alan Hughes. By way of background, Alan is member of the 2008 British Champion quartet, Monkey Magic, three of whom sing with Hallmark, and, famously a member of the Great British Barbershop Boys (the same four singers), who won a recording contract with Sony a couple of years later (look up their famous "Evolution of Song" on YouTube). Anyway, he did a good job of explaining some basics of understanding musical notation and, in particular, some of the unique aspects of barbershop music.

Zoom still punctuates our week: Tuesday mornings, the Wentworth Castle Archive team meets, Tuesday evening Hallmark of Harmony, Wednesday mornings Tai Chi, Thursday mornings usually Guide Dogs Puppy Class, Thursday evenings Fox Valley Voices and Saturday mornings Family. It's a full life being stuck at home. It's a human trait to be busy and, hopefully, constructive.

It seems this week that the press has been full of #BLM, Black Lives Matter, because of an awful event, the full video of which has gone viral. This was the killing of George Floyd, a black American stopped and restrained in the street by four US police officers, one of whom kneeled with his full weight on the neck of the victim for a full nine minutes. The consequence of this was that Floyd became increasingly distressed and eventually died. The callous attitude of all four police officers and their indifference to the plight of their 'prisoner' was plain for all to see. An injustice that keeps repeating itself all over the USA, but not often caught in full view of the light of day, the digital technology and social media that exposed the tragedy to the World. Had this not happened, those police officers would probably have got away with it. As it is, there in deep doodoos! 

On a more pleasant note, music for the week is, as usual, from Clemency Burton-Hill's "Year of Wonder".

Monday: "Abendlied" - Evening Song by Robert Schumann (1810-1856). At first sight, I thought this song was the song, of the same name, that is on the current repertoire of Fox Valley Voices, my chamber choir. It was one I and we love. Even B likes this one, which we even performed at our Carol Supper last December. However, the one we sing is by Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901). This is a slow, melancholy instrumental piece for piano. One can imagine Robert himself or even Clara Schumann, who was allegedly a better pianist than he was, giving this its bucket full of passion. Today is Robert Schumann's birthday.

Tuesday: Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola in E flat major, K. 364 1: Allegro maestoso by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). 

Wednesday: Isolde's Liebestod - Love-Death from Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Premiered on this very day in 1865. Clemency writes a stinging critique of Wagner fans, who are obsessed with the whole Wagner aura, that you haven't a chance to become a member of the 'club' until you've seen every production at Bayreuth (Wagner's own opera house) ... tiresome. To say nothing of the 'Tristan chord' a harmonic ambiguity with which Wagner is said to have changed the entire course of Western music in just four notes! Whatever your views, I'll leave you to enjoy it.

Thursday: "Morgen! - Tomorrow", Op. 27 No.4 by Richard Strauss (1864-1949). He was born on this day and at the age of thirty he wrote this as one of four songs for his wife on their wedding day. Set to the words of his contemporary, John Henry Mackay, in 1894, it is poetic to say the least ...

And tomorrow the sun will shine again,

and on the path I will take,

it will unite us again, we happy ones,

upon this sun-breathing earth ...

Here sung by the delightful voice of Joyce DiDonato

Friday: "Mi Teresita (Little Waltz) by Teresa Carreno (1853-1917). She led what seems to be a turbulent life with three or four partners, several children by at least three of them. This piece was composed for her daughter, Teresita, who like her mother, herself became a famous pianist. 


However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Week 12

Week Commencing Monday, 1st June 2020

Fresh supply of Fruit and Veg delivered by Grace's Farm

Courtesy Grace's Farm Shop

Shop today. Always good to have a full fruit bowl and fresh veg. I've made the 'F' and 'V' capitals because of their importance, of course. We are lucky to be able to continue buying good quality produce. Long may it last.

Tai Chi continues to improve our minds and bodies and we're now moving on to 'Parting the Wild Horse's Mane' and even 'Jade Girl Works at the Shuttle' and looking to our teacher to help us move one from here. Yes, I know you've been dying to have this information. Now you are the first to know! 

I washed the car on Sunday. Must be the first time for ... this year! The things one does in Lockdown! Was thinking about waxing it, but then it rained ... on to the next job.

We've been receiving quotes from competing contractors for a battery to store our solar energy production as well as an air source heat pump. We are now beginning to feel that the latter is a non-starter under current and foreseeable circumstances, primarily because it requires access by installers to all areas of our home. 

Wild 'Dog' Rose along the Steel Valley Walk

It seems that the UK, particularly England, is fast becoming known as the epicentre of the pandemic in Europe. Unsurprising, considering the statistics. Deaths have now exceeded 40,000 and the number of confirmed cases over 280,000. On the other hand, the battery will happily be installed in one location and not require access by installers to anywhere else in the house. So the risk is containable. 

I am now convinced the installation of a battery offers so many benefits, not least being able to utilise power more efficiently, for example charging from the solar panels during the day and charging from the grid at cheaper rates at night or even being paid to take excess electricity from the grid during windy nights! So it’s a no-brainer for me. 

Probably Another Wild Rose

B has recently joined a local, well, regional volunteer group that is making face masks for the care community around the county.

Last week she got up to speed with the specific design, that has pleats, a wired nose piece and a pocket to insert an extra filter. Testing the specific dimensions on me pulled my ears forward and made me look like the BFG! Some adjustment was therefore required for bigheads. This week she has consistently made four masks a day. She is restricting herself to that number so that she has time to carry out her several other regular tasks, which Mask orders from family. Nonetheless, she has made twenty masks in her first full production week. Well done, missus. 

Steel Valley Walk

Walked a little bit of the Steel Valley Walk with Taz on Friday on the way back from picking up some more hen food and my ‘scrip from the chemist. Pictures of what I saw on this brief excursion are above.

We’ve had some welcome rain for the past two or three days. Temperatures have dropped significantly, from the late teens and early twenties for the past week or so, down to barely ten degrees. 

New longer term plans for Hallmark of Harmony emerged on Tuesday this week. Adding structure and form to a cycle of routines, which will include one 'social' a month and one musical 'education' session. Benefits could accrue to this lockdown life that might not have been realised otherwise. It's making us all review our priorities and also how we can do things. The latest new song is the Crossroads arrangement of "You Don't, You Won't". It's a brute of a song with a beast of a bass line (and probably beastly baritone, lead and tenor lines too), but we are up for it ... and how! 

In the mean time, as B continues making face masks for our son and his family, I took both dogs out for walks today, in dubious weather, teaming with rain at one stage, but then nobody can call me a fair weather walker.

See you next week.

Here's some music from Clemency Burton-Hill's "Year of Wonder" ...

Monday: "Je Te Veux" by Erik Satie (1866-1925) and the occasion of my and my wife's forty-sixth wedding anniversary. I could probably have selected  something else, but it is very pleasant nonetheless and, according to Clemency, the ultimate cabaret song.

Tuesday: Divertimento on Sellinger's Round 2: 'A Lament' : Andante espressivo by Michael Tippett (1905-1998). The whole works, of which this is the second movement, is a collaboration between several composers including Tippett, Britten and Walton. The occasion was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on this day (2nd June) in 1953.

Wednesday: Ave Maria by Charles Gounod (1818-1893) after J. S. Bach (1685-1750).

Thursday: Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857). 

Friday: Ribers No.8 Traditional Danish, arr. Danish String Quartet. This is a string quartet whose roots are in classical music of Haydn, Schubert and Mozart, which they take very seriously, but this leaning to the traditions of folk music shows how grounded they are and not narrow minded about their primary genre. "This piece" argues Burton-Hill,"speaks honestly to who they are as musicians and the rich tradition from which they come as anything else they might care to play". 

Saturday: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Spartacus by Adam Khachaturian (1903-1978). Khachaturian, born on this day (6th June) in 1903, was know as the Rubens of Russian music, because of what Clemency Burton-Hill calls his 'painterly' music. Listening to this famous composition exemplifies that for me, without any doubt. This composition was part of the revival of his fortunes after Stalin, in whose time Khachaturian was out of favour, had died in 1953. It was massively popular.

Sunday: Raga Piloo Traditional Indian Version by Ravi Shankar (1920-2012) and Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999). I seem to recall that Yehudi Menuhin collaborated with many musicians across different genre, amongst the better known of whom was jazz violinist, Stephane Grappelli. Famously Menuhin commissioned a composition by Alan Hovhaness, for violin and sitar with full Western symphony orchestral accompaniment. This was titled 'Shambala'. Sadly it was never recorded by them, but there is much to admire in this piece, played by them both.

However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Week 11

Day 70 and the start of Week 11
(Monday, 25th to Sunday, 31st May 2020)

Monday was a fairly ordinary day, as days on COVID-19 Lockdown and self isolation go. As I start to write this (on Wednesday) the only thing that stands out about Monday is that it marks the end of week 10 of our personal lockdown, which started for us the day after the announcement of the lockdown on Tuesday, 18th March. The lockdown officially began on Sunday, 23rd March.

From now this will be a weekly blog, because the number of posts down the right hand side of my front page is looking a bit overwhelming! I may also be more selective of Clemency Burton-Hill's daily choices of music from the "Year of Wonder".

Cactus flowers in the greenhouse

The garden is looking and feeling wonderful. Thank God for my wife, otherwise it would be a mess! And thank heavens for our fortunate situation, anxious though we are are because of what our children are having to deal with. 

Taz on the patio, waiting to run madly in all directions

Now, an update is due on the ravages of COVID-19: the peak of the daily death toll was 1,260 on 8th April. Daily deaths have now halved and (seemingly) halved again to probably around 300 per day. I say 'probably' because there are ups and downs according to when in the week the death is registered, which is not usually on the day it occurred. Weekends always show a dip followed by a rise later in the week because deaths that actually happened on the weekend won't be registered till weekdays. 

The rise in spread the case count and the case fatality rate was very steep through March to its peak after the first week of April. The decline, clearly with the aid of the lockdown and social distancing strategy, is clear but far more gradual. What happens next? As lockdown is relaxed, who knows what chances there may be of a second wave of infections, cases and deaths.  Given also the addition of the Dominic Cummings factor (a senior bureaucrat at No.10 Downing Street), who apparently - well actually, without any real doubt, he did flout the lockdown guidelines on multiple occasions during late March and early April and has caused an absolute outrage of criticism of Boris Johnson's government, who have sent the Spinmeisters into overdrive, with statements like that he was within the rules, following the guidelines and that what he did was “understandable for a worried parent”! I’ll not go further into this incident, because it would fill this blog to tell the full story. Suffice to say it is absolutely clear that the elite so-called leaders of the present government have withdrawn into a tapestry of lies and deceit, led, as has become the pattern of the man’s behaviour, by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his cohort designed to ensure that all intelligent people now know for sure that it is ‘one rule for the masses and another for the chosen elite’. Many people are now using Cummings' flouting of the rules as an excuse to ignore the rules themselves. In summary, there is much stupidity abounding. 

We shall probably have to wait for two or three weeks to see how the ‘relaxing’ of the lockdown and the Test & Trace strategy (if you can call it that) affects the statistics, but my fear, which reflects the fears of many, many others, is that there will be an uptick in the rate of infections and the number of cases and deaths. As we stand (at 10:10 BST on Sunday, 31st May), there have been 272,826 confirmed cases, with the addition of 2,445 new cases, and now a total of 38,376 deaths, which is just over 900 deaths in the past four days or an average of 220 per day, which does include half of this weekend and, as we already know, the number of registered deaths for weekends does not appear until the following weekdays. As a comparison, at 09:00 BST on Friday, deaths had risen from 37,460 on Wednesday at 09:00 BST to 38,161. That’s 350 per day ... and I have to pause and dwell on either figure every time and wonder how many more lives, how many multiples of that figure, are grieving. have been permanently scarred by the loss of those lives or are themselves affected by the longer term side-effects of infection by the Coronavirus, which in some cases has been revealed to have had a serious longer term effect on the body’s organs, making recovery very difficult for some.

Is it any wonder that so many thinking and compassionate people, particularly teachers, are worried that the relaxing of lockdown and a return to school as well as work for many. And, as I finish writing this on Sunday morning, a review of news of the week is such that the scientific and medical experts are now coming out in a united voice to say it is too soon; that there is a very real risk of a second wave of infections over he Summer, if we do not proceed with due caution. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van-Tam even went as far as to criticise the government over Dominic Cummings’ breaching of the Lockdown rules. It is all coming out. If Boris Johnson does not do something decisive about this, particularly in the face of a serious dip in his and the Conservative’s ratings in the polls, then it will confirm my opinion that he suffering from terminal arrogance. 

In the meantime, news just in from our son: a colleague of my daughter-in-law has tested positive for COVID-19. They are NHS staff, she, albeit in the labs of the Children’s Hospital, worked closely with the man. She is still expected to go to work! Concerning the new Test and Trace scheme, this begs the question what about front line NHS staff, who are in contact with the virus every day? According to the rules, they would have to isolate every day for fourteen days ... how does that work, for heavens sake?!

As we keep saying, these are worrying times.

Waiting to get into the garden ... or chase a cat!

Now, let us be cheered by some photos of down to earth things ... 

Our daily eggs in one basket

... and some music that Clemency Burton-Hill’s “Year of Wonder” recommends for us this week: -

Monday: “Milonga” by Jorge Cardoso (b. 1949). This was Argentina Day. Clemency tells us that Cardoso is a multi-talented musician, guitarist, composer, teacher and prolific author - as well as being a qualified medical doctor. (Seriously).

Tuesday: ‘Waitin’ from Cabaret Songs by William Bolcom (b. 1938). Bolcom is a prolific contemporary American composer. A student of Darius Milhaud, Bolcom has a similar curiosity for every musical genre.

The lyrics to this song, sung by the gorgeous voice of Kate Royal, are achingly familiar (for a parallel, see the poem, “Waiting for God, Oh Happy Days”) ...

Waitin waitin 
I’ve been waitin
Waitin waitin all my life

The light keeps on hiding from me
But it someday might just bless my sight
Waitin waitin waitin.

Wednesday: Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78 (‘Organ’) Poco adagio by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921). This, Clemency tells us, is the more major piece the composer was trying to compose, when he became distracted by “a certain carnival of musical animals”. She describes it as “epic in scope ... a work of magnificence”. Saint-Saens admitted apparently that he’d given this everything to it that he could give ... “What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again”.

Thursday: French Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 7: Gigue by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The Gigue was a highly fashionable dance in the Baroque era. I need say no more, except gird your loins for some very fast movement!

Friday: Le Sacre du Printemps - The Rite of Spring’ Part 1: “The adoration of the Earth” - Introduction by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). In its time this was controversial, avant guarde, pushing audiences to the limits of what they could accept or comprehend. Evidence these snippets of alleged conversations from two other notables: 

“It’s terrifying” whispers Claude Debussy. “I don’t understand”.  “If that’s a a basoon,” utters Camille Saint-Saens in a neighbouring box, “I’m a baboon!”.

Saturday: Overture from Candide by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Sunday: Piano Quintet No.1 in A minor, Op.30 1: Allegro by Louise Farrenc (1804-1875). Another, the fourth this month, woman composer of considerable note, who fought fearlessly against the bias that prevailed on muscially talented and literary woman of this age. She prevailed of course, but not without a fight. She became a Professor at the Paris Conservatoire but not on the same pay as her male counterparts, until, after producing many prize winning students, she eventually achieved financial equity.

However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Days 68 & 69 (The Weekend)

Days 68 & 69 (The Weekend)
(Saturday & Sunday, 23rd and 24th May 2020)

I woke in the middle of Friday night for a visit to the loo, then couldn't get back to sleep. Brain on overdrive again. Twenty minutes before it was my turn to get up, at 7 am, I decided to lie and wait 'til that time, then promptly fell asleep for a solid hour. In the mean time, B had got up and was doing the jobs downstairs. Ah well my turn for the next couple of mornings. 

And Saturday night was BABS Live ! Two hours of indulgence in British Barbershop, with its best on view and some important international guests. This being a well conceived substitute for the BABS Annual Convention, which had been cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The full BABS Live is two hours long, so watch it if you're a fan, but if you only want to see Hallmarks 'performance', which would be quite understandable, than simply watch the second embedded video below; the one with the lovely Mark Pickin looking at you and pointing meaningfully!

The song that was new to Hallmark of Harmony's repertoire just before the lockdown, had to be learned, rehearsed and 'performed' virtually, digitally, with individual audio recordings from each of the singers, woven into a multi-tracked musical masterpiece with video overlays of each of us playing the fool, by our musical maestro DM, Tim Briggs. Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in The Dark", seemingly a metaphorically appropriate title for a song of our times. 

~~~~~

Sunday has been a lazy day, writing, thinking occasionally playing with the dogs, but no great adventures ... and posting the poem, "Barbershop is ..." in My Poetry Library.

Saturday's music choice by Clemency Burton-Hill, as if you haven't already had enough wonder for the day, is a gem. "Romance for Violin and Piano", Op.23 by Amy Beach (1867-1944), who was another pioneering woman born in the 19th Century. As with Clara Schumann and Alice Mary Smith during this last week, this was a difficult time for women to make waves in the music (or literary) world. And this piece is beautiful. Many men of that era, least of all her husband, an eminent Doctor, who restricted her recitals and prevented her taking lessons to improve her composing, never knew what they were missing, what a genuine genius she developed, perhaps as a result of being dependant on her own abilities. I think we understand now that music has the power to overcome prejudice with a vengeance, but it is sad that she was never allowed to become as well known as she might now be.

Sunday's music is "Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major, Op.73 ('Emperor') 1: Allegro by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). This was Beethoven's final piano concerto. Described by Burton-Hill as a 'colossus' and, given that the first, allegro, movement lasts for twenty minutes, it is an engrossing listen. The above link is to the first movement, but it is worth indulging yourself in the whole magnificent work for the full duration of its forty minutes. It will reward you.


However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Days 63 to 67

Days 63 to 67
(Monday 18th to Friday, 22nd May 2020)

The days have slipped by in a blink. What happened!? Lots of Zoom meetings have happened and I read a poem (about Barbershop) to my Hallmark colleagues, at the end of rehearsal on Tuesday evening! An unexpected first ... particularly at short notice. It hadn't seen the light of day before then. Not sure how it was received and may never know, because, whilst poetry is even more left field, marginal and unappreciated than Barbershop is (outside the wedding and funeral business) we are also manly men, who don't necessarily 'do' poetry, at least that we'd be prepared to admit. Although over the last few months there have been two or three members who’ve come up to me on a Tuesday evening to say they enjoyed reading my poetry.

New cases of Coronavirus, deaths and struggle continue as I sit and listen to music and write. How long can this go on? As long as we have to bear it, each in our own way, each in our own corner of the World, in our own unique minds, along our own paths to resolution. We shall come to look back on this period in our own history as something else, perhaps not what it seems to be right now: purgatory for some, respite for others, destitution for a few, grief and sadness for many, separation for many more, maybe like a kind of imprisonment that we could not have imagined before the pandemic. Whatever we come to view it as, whenever that may be, perspectives will have changed.

The weather's good, though. Temperatures have been increasing over the past two or three days. Yesterday and Wednesday were almost unseasonably warm. 

Five Zoom meetings so far this week: Wentworth Castle Archive team Tuesday am, Hallmark Tuesday evening), Tai Chi Wednesday am, Fox Valley Voices Wednesday evening (that no one turned up to for the first time!) and Guide Dogs Puppy Class Thursday morning. Another one on Saturday morning with the family will make it six this week! 

Nearly forgot to mention we took the dogs out in the car on Monday for a walk in Wharncliffe Woods. A pleasant change and not too crowded and a very warm day, with barely a breeze through the trees to cool us. It was a refreshing change. The car has managed around 40 miles in the past two months! That must be a first. Saving money no going anywhere, whilst the Treasury is mounting up huge national debt that we're going to have to pay back to someone, some time. Let's hope we don't have to sell our souls to the devil in order to do that.

I've been reviewing the business of how to progress with our boiler replacement, whether to go with the Air Source Heat Pump or to get a modern efficient gas boiler to replace our old G rated juggernaut of a gas guzzler! The latter is still working very well, but we are consuming more than twice the national average in in gas (28,000 KWh vs 12,000 Kwh per year). There's also the decision as to whether we should get battery storage as well.The aim is not only to future proof ourselves, but also to make best use of renewable energy sources; make best use of what we've got. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Or should we simply not make any decision at all until such time as we know how the current crisis begins to unfold and resolve itself, one way or the other? Or until the current boiler finally gives up the ghost, which would be bad if it happened in the midst of Winter! Then there's the tricky business of how you deal with installation team tramping all over the house, whilst trying to maintain appropriate distancing and hygiene. Oh I don't know! Let's play some music and sleep on it for the weekend.

Saturday evening will see the BABS Live event on YouTube, which Hallmark will gather to watch. This is the accumulation of material, chat and music put together by the British Association of Barbershop Singers to replace the cancelled Convention weekend, at which we would have done a show and enjoyed the swan song of a championship year, but that has to wait another year now. It'll be on at 8pm. An indulgence in barbershop for a couple of hours.

Speaking of music, five days worth, now, from Clemency Burton-Hill’s “Year of Wonder”, now. 


Monday: "Der Trunkene im Frühling" (The Drunkard in Spring) from Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of The Earth) by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). A work that hoisted him out of the gloom of being deposed from his position as Director of the Vienna Court Opera because of rampant anti-semitism at the time. A friend had sent him some ancient Chinese poetry, which he used to compose this, one of his best symphonies. Mahler died on this day in 1911 ...

And when I came to sing no more,
I fall asleep again,
for what is Springtime to me?
Let me be drunk!

Tuesday: "Symphony No.1 in C minor" 4: Allegro maestoso by Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884). Smith was unusually a woman, who, it seems, was a bit a trailblazer in 19th Century music circles. This is one of two major orchestral symphonies she produced. 

Wednesday: "Scherzo No.2 in C minor, Op.14" by Clara Schumann (1819-1896). Clara, wife of Robert, was a force of nature and prevailed to write some astonishingly great music, despite dealing with an over-protective father and with Roberts debilitating mental illness. This would be an achievement even today, let alone in the midst of the 19th Century, when woman were not considered by social 'norms' capable of such things. So she published much of her work under a male pseudonym. Clara Schumann also died on this day in 1896.

Thursday: "Vesti la Giubba" (Put on your costume) from Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo (1857-1919). This was a controversial opera style known as 'Verisimo', which meant literally 'true'. It spoke on subjects not normally deemed suitable for this level of high art. Here it is in all its glory sung by the inimitable Luciano Pavarotti. It is very moving. Prepare to shed a tear.

Put on you costume, powder your face.
People are paying and come to laugh.
Laugh, clown, at your fractured love!
Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart!

Friday: "Au Gre des Ondes" (Along the waves) 5: 'Hommage a Bach' by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013). Dutilleux died on this day in 2013 and, despite a long and illustrious career, he left behind relatively few pieces to remember him by. This is one of six pieces he was commissioned to write in 1946 as, albeit classy 'jingles' for French radio. This suite, as Clemency puts it, 'prefigures much of the music that was to come. 

Enjoy your weekend.

However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Days 61 & 62 (the Weekend)

Days 61 & 62
Saturday & Sunday, 16th & 17th May 2020)

I think it’s time to update the depressing statistics for the victims of Corona Virus, as of Friday, 15th May.

Globally, confirmed (COVID-19 tested) cases have reached a staggering 4,637,130 of which 1,425,793 have recovered. Deaths (the case fatality rate) stand at 312,000. This leaves 2,899,494 unaccounted for, presumed still poorly with the virus.

In the UK, confirmed cases stand at 233,151 of which recoveries are not reported (in the Guardian), so I may have to go and dig for that figure. Deaths in the UK have risen to 33,614, which is 11% of the World total. With a mere 0.86% of the World’s population, isn’t that damning?! Ok, the population density in the UK may be higher than the global average, but the fingers of the World’s press are pointing very noticeably at the UK government’s handling of this pandemic. At home, it appears that things are on the verge of unravelling for Boris Johnson’s administration, which is under huge pressure now. Donald Trump’s credibility, if he ever had any, is looking more fragile than ever, particularly in the eyes of the rest of the world. Is the US our only hope as an ally..? If it is, then God help us! And I mean absolutely no offence to my many good friends in various parts of the USA; you know that I'm talking about the corrupt corporate and political communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Enough of the negative now. It’s the weekend. Let’s indulge in some culture, some music and perhaps some poetry ...

I have discovered, in the quieter, calmer, not to mention cleaner atmosphere of Coronavirus lockdown, that there are some souls, who are seemingly less able to cope with the quiet. There is an intrinsic need for sound, which sometimes translates into noise: the radio, their favourite upbeat music. For me it is singing and listening to music, but only indoors - if ever I leave a window open then I apologise to my neighbours, if they don’t like my personal choices of entertainment. When youth with their boy-racing cars, fly on down the road with windows open, sub-woofers thrumming, loud rhythmic voices rapping the beat of their lives, I am inclined to the view that they have a need to demonstrate their excitement in their music of the moment, which of course is neither to everyone’s taste nor what they want to listen to in that moment. 

Encouraged over the years by my wife, I have come to appreciate nature’s voice, nature’s music, nature’s sounds, nature's silences ... 

Silence

Do not fear organic sounds

embrace the mood of calm,

the voice of reason in your head 

that yields a mindful balm.

By listening to nature’s own

true voice of those who care

for musicality from all

of those, who own the air.

Let not your peace be overruled

unhinge your own true grace

when zest for superficial life 

adulterates your space.

Cloying sounds of weekend nights

are ringing in the ear

overflowing in the garden

I'm praying for air to clear.

There is a kind of therapy

embracing this stillness 

by letting go the ego’s drive

to share so much excess.

There’s always an alternative

hiatus in the scream

a heavenly place where you might hear

the trickling of a stream. 

There is no time more peaceful

the quietest minutes on Earth

an hour before the sun’s first light

'til birdsong dispels our dearth.

~~~

And the music choices for this weekend from Clemency Burton-Hill's "Year of Wonder" are : 

Saturday: An irresistibly cheering little 17th century dance by Andrea Falconieri (c. 1585-1656) Chaconne in G major 

Sunday: Lyric Pieces Book 5, Op. 54 No. 4: Notturno by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). Today, Sunday, is Norwegian Constitution Day or National Day of Norway and who best to celebrate it than, as Clemency calls him, the ultimate poster-boy for Norwegian classical music. It is interesting to note that Grieg was originally from a Scottish family, Greig. But music has no boundaries, except insofar as it is able to express the diversity of humanity and its local influences and traditions. 



However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love. 

On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Day 60

Day 60
(Friday, 15th May 2020)

What happened today? I guess there could be a lot to report, but, as is the case occasionally, when I have given a commentary of my views on what's going on in the outside World, today I will simply give thanks.

To my wife, the saviour of my life.

To my children and their demonstrable abilities at surviving in a difficult World. To their children, our grandchildren, in whom we hope that their instinct not only for survival, but also for humanity, compassion, kindness and love will remain as strong as it is with my family.

To our regular Tai Chi sessions that are keeping mind and body tethered.

To the institutions of Family and Community as the roots of all that is hopeful in the World.

To my singing groups, Hallmark of Harmony and Fox Valley Voices, in which and in whom I have found great reward, huge reward from singing unencumbered, unaccompanied and uninhibited harmonies that resonate on so many levels.
To a couple of quartets, Needle & Fred, now sadly no more, and a budding one that's barely got off the ground yet, whose current name 'Quartetto Mista' needs changing. Yes I know the pedants amongst you will be thinking that's mixed genders; it should be Quartetto Misto, but you need to know it's a mixed quartet - two guys and two gals. So that should be all I need to say about that.

To all those, who give their time for the benefit of others, without expectation of pay or material reward.

To all those heroes in the World, who try to make it better for everyone else. They are not named here, but I will name them in the near future. To all those self-serving, selfish, greedy people, who are driven by some internal, uncontrollable force for self-enrichment ... that they may one day realise how important are all those aforementioned heroes, how important are the aforementioned human values in maintaining and sustaining all the flora and fauna of this glorious Mother Earth in some kind of harmonious coexistence. 

To music ... and today's choice from Clemency Burton-Hill is a song by Gabriel Faure that I used to sing in the first choir I joined nearly fifteen years ago. It is "Cantique de Jean Racine, Op.11". Even now I can almost remember my part, which in those days, before I learned some proper singing skills and became a bass, was the tenor part, which is demandingly high in places, but as beautiful as ever from this composer. Incidentally, Clemency tells us that Faure was nineteen when he composed this and submitted it for a competition at the Ecole Niedermeyer de Paris - and won it! The rest is history. Even if you don't understand the words, 'Verbe gal auTres-Haut', which in this case contains a paraphrase of a Latin hymn by French Playwright, Jean Racine, Clemency says, what I have already experienced myself, it is one of the great mysteries of music when it 'speaks' to you - "what it means to you is what it means". You don't necessarily have to understand the words because the genius of some composers simply communicates on another level. 

Enjoy your weekend.

However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love.