Magical | Wandering in Multi Universes of Mind and Life

Category: Magical
- Tolkien The Lord of the Rings
  
  Posted at 4:31 pm by A M Zénon, on December 9, 2020
  
  Absolutely surprised I was, when during the first corona lockdown, I sat down, and started reading Tolkien’s Hobbit, and immediately thereafter The Lord of the Rings, almost without significant interruption, in days to the end. The Hobbit only on the Kindle App. The Lord of the Rings in the 50th anniversary edition of Houghton Mifflin.
  
  I was always reticent to start, because I had viewed some pieces from the movies. I was afraid it was more of some fantasy war stories.
  
  Yet it gripped my intention as a kind of bildungsroman, as a path through life, going through difficult periodes in life. And all with great attention to feelings, thoughts, misery and happiness, of the surrounding earth, friendship, and especially for the feelings of others. Most of all struck me of course Frodo, the young one, with all his doubts, fear, and still going on. And of course Sam, the best of friends.
  
  I have read from youth much of the great world literature. As in all those novels there are human and social relations which belong to other times than ours. This book is written in its own time, by Tolkien has been, in his time.
  
  And I think to feel constantly the horrors of WWI and WWII, even as this is not the attention of the author.
  
  I read first the Kindle edition. That’s fine for making notes and quickly rereading the most beautiful and memorable passages.
  
  But after that I read Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in the beautiful 50th anniversary edition of Houghton Mifflin. Because I thought this is a book that was made for reading with all the senses, with the beautiful black cover and the golden text of front cover and spine. The light brown pages are gentle for the eyes and for the mind. It was part of the same feeling, the beautiful gentle book in my hands and the wandering with these wonderful friends, especially when they were wandering through their natural world, of trees, flowers, animals, and human beings.
  
  I was reading as I did as a child, in an easy chair, with all other senses away from the rest of the world, completely living in a wonderful world of nature, flowers, plants, mountains, travelling, fear, horror, cold, but above all human heroism and human friendship.
  
  It is wonderful story, because Tolkien recreates his own world, and shares it with us. Tolkien, Frodo and Sam and Merry and Pippin…
  
  Posted in Literature, Magical, Reading, Stories | 0 Comments | Tagged Literature, Reading, Tolkien
- Blue Woman
  
  Posted at 12:04 pm by A M Zénon, on November 21, 2015
  
  Magritte
  
  It is all image, color, dreaming, mind.
  It feels so natural.To me.
  
  Posted in Amzenon, Art, Beauty, Images, Magical, Paintings | 0 Comments | Tagged Blue, Dreaming, Magritte, Mind
- Venus von Willendorf
  
  Posted at 12:00 pm by A M Zénon, on April 10, 2014
  
  Interesting info from Janson History of Art (2nd edition 1977)…
  “Stone Age men were content to collect pebbles, as well as less durable specimens, in whose natural shape they saw something that rendered them ‘magic’; echoes of this approach can sometims be felt in later, more fully worked pieces. Thus the so-called Venus of Willendorf, one of many such female fertility figurines, has a bulbous roundness of form that recalls an egg-shaped ‘sacred pebble’; her navel, the central point of the design, is a natural cavity in the stone. ”
  
  This reminds me of collecting pebbles as a child.
  A kind of connection with unknown people long long ago.
  And I feel again the joy of the lovely round forms of the warm pebbles in my hand.
  
  Janson’s History of Art
  
  Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
  
  Posted in Art, Images, Magical, Sculpture | 0 Comments | Tagged Janson, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Venus of Willendorf
- Tristan und Isolde
  
  Posted at 10:15 am by A M Zénon, on February 10, 2013
  
  Wagner Tristan und Isolde.
  
  Needs no explanation. I played it countless times. Hard work in the LP era. Easier now, when the whole Act 2 is on 1 CD, as this one by Karl Böhm. Birgit Nilsson as Isolde and Wolfgang Windgassen as Tristan.
  I don’t remember when I heard Tristan und Isolde for the first time. It must be long ago. The prelude, whole Act 2 and Mild und Leise are the highlights. Actually, Tristan und Isolde is one highlight, from beginning to end.
  It is a miracle to me how Wagner could have thought and composed this music. Be it physical or spiritual. The music is magical.
  
  CD:Karl Böhm, Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Christa Ludwig, Martti Talvela, Eberhard Waechter, Bayreuther Festspiele 1966. Amazon
  
  CD:Wilhelm Furtwängler, Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, Blanche Thebom, Josef Greindl, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Philharmonia Orchestra. Disadvantage is Act 2 on 2 discs. Amazon
  
  DVD: Not found one yet, that I preferred to the CD’s.
  
  YouTube:Birgit Nilsson Mild und Leise Bayreuth 1966.
  
  Posted in Classical Playlists, Lifelong Love, Magical, Opera | 0 Comments | Tagged Birgit Nilsson, Karl Böhm, Kirsten Flagstad, Tristan und Isolde, Wagner, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wolfgang Windgassen
- Fantasia ist zauberhaft !
  
  Posted at 5:35 pm by A M Zénon, on March 7, 2012
  
  Dies ist eine fantastische CD. Die Miniaturen sind hervorragend gespielt. Die Töne sind bezaubernd. Durch die Wahl wird es zu einer Reise durch eine erstaunliche Fülle von Klänge. Besonders liebe ich Dukas/Staub L’Apprenti sorcier, Saint-Saëns/Liszt/Horowitz Danse macabre und Scriabin Poème.
  
  Und natürlich das wunderschöne Gretchen am Spinnrade von Schubert/Liszt. “Ich liebe dieses Drama, erzählt sie, denn es steckt so viel Menschliches darin.”
  
  Aber alle Miniaturen sind fantastisch.
  Es gibt eine ausgezeichnete Erklärung in das CD Büchlein.
  Versuchen Sie Yuja Wang im Konzertsaal zu hören.
  Und hören Sie diese CD.
  
  Yuja Wang Fantasia
  
  Posted in Classical Music, Classical Playlists, Joy, Magical | 0 Comments | Tagged Classical Music, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Listening, Schubert, Yuja Wang
- Fülle des Wohllauts
  
  Posted at 2:49 pm by A M Zénon, on March 19, 2011
  
  No chapter from a novel describes the delight of the opera lover
  as beautifully as the above section from Der Zauberberg.
  Nobody has written about opera as beautifully as Thomas Mann:
  
  ‘Ein international Chor gefeierter Sänger und Sängerinnen setzte, begleitet von diskret zurücktretendem Orchester, die hochgeschulte Gottesgabe seiner Stimmen ein zur Ausführung von Arien, Duetten, ganzen Ensembleszenen aus den verschiedenen Gegenden und Epochen des musikalischen Theaters:der südlichen Schönheitssphäre einer zugleich hoch-und leichtherzigen Hingerissenheit, einer deutsch-volkhaften Welt von Schalkheit und Dämonie, der französischen Grossen und Komischen Oper.’
  
  Der Zauberberg is a ‘Bildungsroman’. The protagonist Hans Castorp, a young engineer, travels to Davos to visit his cousin Joachim, who remains a long period in a sanatorium. Soon Hans forgets to return home. He is intrigued by life in the small community. The following years, he learns much about life, love, friendship, world views and opera.
  
  It is in the chapter about music, Fülle des Wohllauts, that we see Hans Castorp reveling in the most beautiful opera arias. Hans gets access to a beautiful gramophone with the brand name ‘Polyhymnia’.
  He makes sure he is alone in the music room and starts listening to famous opera arias for hours.
  
  Below, some of the arias Thomas Mann and his protagonist listened frequently to, with quotations from Fülle des Wohllauts:
  
  Aida:
  
  ‘Der unvergleichliche Tenor, der fürstliche Alt mit dem herrlichen Stimmbruch in der Mitte seines Umfanges und der silberne Sopran…’
  ‘..nun öffne sich der Himmel und ihrem Sehnen erstrahlte das Licht der Ewigkeit.’
  
  Enrico Caruso and Johanna Gadski: O Terra Addio 1909
  
  Aureliano Pertile Dusolina Giannini Carlo Sabajno: O Terra Addio 1928
  
  Carmen:
  
  ‘Der Soldat sang von der Blume, die Carmen ihm am Anfang ihrer Bekanntschaft zugeworfen, und die im schweren Arrest, worein er um ihretwillen geraten, sein ein und alles gewesen sei.’
  ‘Und ewig dir gehör ich an, liess danach die Stimme um zehn Töne sinken und bekannte erschüttert sein Carmen, ich liebe dich.’
  
  Alfred Piccaver: Blumenarie Hier an dem Herzen treu geborgen 1920
  
  Faust:
  
  Hans Castorp feels particularly sympathetic to Valentin, who reminds him of his recently
  deceased cousin Joachim, who had served in the army.
  
  ‘Jemand trat auf, jemand Erz-Sympatisches, der Valentin hiess, den aber Hans Castorp im Stillen anders nannte…’
  
  Hans Nissen: Da ich nun verlassen soll
  
  Der Lindenbaum:
  
  At the end of the story we find Hans Castorp back in the mud of the battlefields of WWI, singing:
  
  ‘Ich schnitt in seiner Rinde so manches liebe Wort …’
  ‘Und sei-ne Zweige rau-uschten, als rie-fen sie mir zu-‘
  
  Richard Tauber: Der Lindenbaum 1927
  
  Der Zauberberg is one of my favorite novels. I read and re-read it in different stages of my life, or sometimes only out of love for it. It is not only the story, which is holding my attention. It is also the enchanting narrative style.
  The best edition is the Grosse Kommentierte Frankfurter Ausgabe from S.Fischer Verlag, from which the quotations are. However, I think each edition will be good.
  
  Many opera lovers will share the feelings of Thomas Mann and his protagonist, and me, for the enchantment of opera. Attending a live performance is beautiful. Listening to records or CDs of the great arias at home has its own delight.
  
  Wikipedia The Magic Mountain
  DVD with Christoph Eichhorn as Hans Castorp
  Thomas Mann Der Zauberberg Grosse Kommentierte Frankfurter Ausgabe
  
  Posted in Classical Music, Joy, Lifelong Love, Literature, Magical, Opera, Stories | 0 Comments | Tagged Aida, Carmen, Christoph Eichhorn, Der Lindenbaum, Der Zauberberg, Faust, Listening, Reading, Thomas Mann
- Thomas Hampson as Doktor Faust
  
  Posted at 2:44 pm by A M Zénon, on March 3, 2011
  
  Recently I listened to Ferruccio Busoni Doktor Faust. The opera was waiting on my recorder. Mezzo.tv broadcasted it nearly 2 years ago. The performance was by Opernhaus Zürich from 2006. Thomas Hampson as Doktor Faust impressed me greatly. I immediately bought the Blu-ray disc. In the past, I have read, re-read and seen several times the play by Goethe. I read the play by Marlowe. I have seen the Faust opera of Gounod. However, never the story of Faust had such an effect on me. I will try to explain.
  
  During the second prologue, Doktor Faust opens a book about black magic. According to the guidelines, he conjures up six spirits and chooses the sixth one Mephistopheles as his servant. He asks him to help him with all his wishes, especially for knowledge. In return, Mephistopheles asks him to serve him after death. First Faust shrinks back. Then he surrenders.
  
  It was at this moment of transition from good to power, that Thomas Hampson as Doktor Faust took me into his mind, his thoughts, his hesitation, his weighing up the pros and cons of having power over other people. I was going with him into the life of Faust, and into my life.
  
  Great art is great because it takes you into your own life, your mind and your thoughts. It gives you another way of thinking about life.
  
  In this performance, the creation of many people is converging: The legend of Faust, the libretto and music of Busoni, and Philipp Jarnach, the co-workers of the Zürich Opernhaus. The cast, the conductor, the orchestra, the direction, all are exceptional, even on a recording, certainly on a Blu-ray disc. The music is beautiful, stirring, impressive, fascinating.
  
  However, it is the opera singer, who can bring these reflections on life into your mind.
  Thomas Hampson is Faust for the moment. You can go along with him.
  If you are susceptible to this kind of experience, listen to it.
  
  The passage is from Prologue II:
  
  Faust: Töte sie.
  Mephistopheles: Es ist geschehn. Möchtet Ihr das Übrige abwarten?
  Faust: Kaum! – Ich geb mich dir. Aber jetzt – verlass mich.
  Mephistopheles: Nur noch ein Geringes.
  Faust: Fort, fort, fort! Ich kann dich nicht ertragen!
  Mephistophels: Du musst es lernen.
  
  I will ask Arthaus Musik for uploading a part of this section on YouTube.
  
  Thomas Hampson at the end of the opera, stunning:
  Naxos Videos Channel:
  
  Doktor Faust Wikipedia
  Doktor Faust Blu-ray Disc
  Doktor Faust Libretto Stanford
  
  Posted in Classical Music, Magical, Opera | 0 Comments | Tagged Doktor Faust, Ferruccio Busoni, Listening, Looking, Opera, Thomas Hampson