AvantGrand Baptism

Saturday evening Deb and I hosted the monthly piano player get together.  Alde was out of town, but the other regular members showed up.  The piano was given a very good workout, beginning with Paula performing a short piece by C P E Bach, and a Prelude by Gershwin.  Next up, Jim gave a truly beautiful performance of a piece by Scott Joplin, and the piano sounded amazing under his professional sounding touch.  His brother had just passed away last week, but he had been able to record the piece and play it for him beforehand.  So he played it tonight as a memorial to him.  He followed up with the Grande Waltz Brillante Op 34 in A Minor by Chopin.  He returned at the end of the night to perform the Bach Toccata in E Minor, a major work that sounded totally incredible on the piano.  I could not have been more pleased with the sound.  Next up was Dr. Seski (our Rob Sr.), who played a Chopin Waltz and a piece by Schubert, followed by Dr. Ling, who brought the last two movements of the Appassionata  by Beethoven.  After a short break, we resumed with Rob Jr, Dr. Biswas, who played the final movement of the Waldstein sonata by Beethoven.  Again, the piano really shone here (as did Robert), as volumes of layered sound poured forth from the wide awake piano towards the small but appreciative audience.  I finished up with short pieces by Bach (on harpsichord) and Mendelssohn, and two by Alexina Louie.  And so the piano had a very good workout!  Best of all, I got to sit back and hear all different kinds of music performed on it.  Our next meeting in October will be at Jim's home, in the distant city of Chatham.

We are now deep into our final week of trail hiking preparations.  The mountains are calling, and we are nearly ready to heed those calls.  We have been fortunate in having a cool, mostly sunny month in which to prepare for the big times.  Our trip will have a prelude, as we head to Cincinnati (by invitation) to attend the film festival there next weekend.  Following that event, our vehicle will point west for several driving days.  Excitement is mounting here at the Homestead.

There are two films to report on today.  The first was Deb's main choice, a strange little film called The Eight Mountains.  It is about a lot of things, but mostly about a strong friendship between two men.  They met at age 12, one of them a mountain-raised lad, and the other visiting the Italian Alps for a month in the summer.  Filmed in 4:3 by choice (obviously), it seems to suit the film, which requires close framing some of the time.  The mountain scenery is splendid, and the film does well with the emotional bond between the two lead actors.  This could, in fact, have been a really great film.  However, the insertion of at least 6 folk guitar ballads (sung in English!) during the film is so in your face and poorly chosen, that I would have walked out of the theatre had I seen it there.  As it was, we had the mute on for at least 20 minutes of running time.  Luckily it is sub-titled, or we would have missed some of the dialogue.  Watch at your own risk to your ears.

Now showing on Criterion, with extras. 

 

My main film choice for the week was another strange little film, this one from Portugal.  Filmed in b & w, Tabu is from 2012.  It is actually two shorter films, split in the middle by a changing story arc.  The first part takes place in Lisbon.  A woman who lives next door is the only friend that a lonely and very elderly woman has.  The old woman has a live-in housekeeper.  The first story is about the woman who is the friend, but we follow the elderly woman until she finally passes away.  As she is dying she hands her friend a crumpled piece of paper with a man's name and address on it.  She wants to see this man before she dies.  Despite doing her best to find the person (he is in a nursing home), the older woman dies before they can meet up.  He does attend her funeral, and afterwards goes to a cafe with the friend, and her in-home caretaker.  There he begins to tell the story of the deceased woman, and the movie switches now to Africa, namely a plantation in Mozambique.  This is the better half of the movie, and takes place in the early sixties.  There is intrusive music here, but it is fit to purpose, as we watch a Portuguese rock and roll band perform and hang out, helping us date the time that events are happening in the flashback story.  We never return to the cafe, and the film ends when the African part of the story ends.  Of course the old man telling the story and the elderly woman who just died were lovers in Africa, even as she was married to someone else and pregnant with her daughter.  A tragedy finally separates the pair, and they are destined never to meet again.  Quite a good film, and recommended.  There is a crocodile.

 

Leaving Mubi in 3 days. 

 

That's all for now.  Iaido tonight, and back to hill walking tomorrow. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

New Piano Pieces--Week 9

I am starting to get the hang of some of my pieces for piano solo.  It has been a long time since I have learned a Bach Prelude and Fugue, and I did not choose a particularly easy one.  Still, it's nice being at a level where I can literally choose any of the 48 I want, and then learn it.  The G Minor pair from Book One is a serious work, especially the 4-part fugue, being very sombre.  It seems to fit well with our dark, dreary, and wet spring.  We have had only one warm day so far, in the 80s.  Not complaining about that, but certainly it could dry out enough for the farmers to plant.  Soon they will be one month overdue.  Anyhoo, I can play the prelude at a somewhat satisfactory level, and the fugue is nearly there,

Many of the pieces I have selected are either in G Minor or Bb Major, a key signature with two flats.  I will open the program with Couperin's "Mysterious Barricades," which is Bb.  Next comes the darker prelude and fugue.  After that comes yet another major work, Haydn Sonata L2 in Bb major.  The first movement of this great piece is so optimistic and and happy, a feature of Haydn that I always find irresistible.  You cannot play this piece in a grumpy mood--it just doesn't work.  It is a fairly long 1st movement, with a number of charming and rhythmically challenging themes.  However, the 2nd movement (in G Minor) takes one into a totally different world of sadness and a much darker beauty.  I can now play the first two movements, sort of.  I just started work on the third movement, a minuet and trio.  The minuet is in Bb major, but the trio is written in the very far flung key of Bb Minor.  It is rhythmically very tricky, and very catchy, too.  I should be able to play it (sort of) in a week or two, as it is the easiest of the 3 movements.

After intermission comes the Schubert Impromptu in C Minor, with three flats.  It is an endless variation on a theme, and a piece not easily forgotten once heard.  It was one of the earliest piano pieces I fell in love with, and it has been on my bucket list for most of my life.  It is one of two very difficult pieces on my program, and will take up the largest block of my practice time.  I am currently all the way through it, and parts of it are sounding not too bad.  After the Schubert comes another piece that has been on my bucket list nearly forever.  The Allegro Barbaro by Bela Bartok is more like an avalanche than a piece of music.  It is the closest I will ever get to undertaking a ride along with Attila and his Huns, as they tear across the country ravaging villages.  Despite its extreme difficulties, it is short, and I can (sort of) play it at a reduced tempo.  Getting it up to proper speed is the main challenge, in addition to not making oneself deaf from practicing it.

Lastly comes a gentle, rhythmic Brahms waltz, back in the key of Bb major.  It is badly needed after hearing the Bartok.  I can play it, but still very slowly.

I am almost ready to begin memorizing some of the pieces, including the Bach prelude and Haydn 1st movement.  The Bartok needs to be memorized, too, as I really need to look at my hands for this one, and not the musical page. 

Turning now back to cinema and the Criterion Channel, my choice for this week was another Bulldog Drummond film.  B. D. Escapes is from 1937, and the movie was based on a play written by Sapper.  This time it is Ray Milland who gives his first and last appearance as the inimitable Captain Drummond.

The Drummond films are short, but a lot happens in them!  This one is filled with foggy nights, marshes, and creaky old houses.  Milland is pretty good as the hero, grinning a lot and not taking things too seriously.  Phyllis, played by Heather Angel, is not your typical 30s heroine.  She is strong, smart, and indomitable.  No wonder Drummond falls for her--they are two of a kind!  In later films a lot of humour is built upon their wedding, which never gets to happen because of new cases breaking out right at the crucial moment, sometimes when they are actually at the altar.  In this film, Drummond's cohort, Algie, is about to become a father.  However, Drummond will not let him stay at the hospital and worry in peace.  He drags him into the adventure, providing some of the humour.  A third companion is the butler, who also provides a lot of the humour.

It's Deb's choice next, and then she is in charge of this weekend's film festival.  Once every four weeks we watch a related series of films.  Last month I chose the Medici epic by Rossellini.  As Deb's surgery is on Friday, our festival may not happen till Sunday.  Probably some light comedy is in store.

Mapman Mike

April Showers

Despite all the rain we have had lately, I have had two clear nights since Friday!  I managed to log just over 35 galaxies in that time, a pretty amazing feat.  Many were grouped, with a group of seven and a group of six helping to speed things up.  It certainly gives on a unique perspective on life, the universe, and everything.

This is a triple medical appointment week for Deb.  Today she saw Dr. McCaffrey again, following up on last week's MRI.  She is booked for surgery on May 31st, with recovery expected to take 6 months.  Ouch!  No travelling for us for awhile.  Tomorrow she sees her brand new family doctor, just to get things rolling with him.  And on Thursday is her RA infusion.  A busy week without doing very much.

The grass got cut yesterday, but it was driving the tractor through a rice paddy.  Water is everywhere, and the fields are swamped.  And we have not put away our winter jackets yet, either.  When I left the observatory last night around midnight, it was 39 F.  Just as cold this morning, too.  It rained today, and will continue to do so until at least Thursday.  Pretty insane.

Deb's 2nd film selection from the Criterion Channel (and our 4th so far) was from 1947, a fully restored technicolour extravaganza directed by Alexander Korda.  Based on "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde, it was difficult to concentrate on the words, as the visuals simply swept us away!  Fully remastered, this seemed as much an LSD trip than a movie.  Stunning costumes in even more stunning colours, outrageous and over sized hats, ballrooms, bedrooms, outdoor promenades--this is a film to see, if not to hear.  Of course the script is wonderful and filled with quotable quotes by the dozen, and Michael Wilding steals every scene he is in with his good grace and winning smile (and fabulous wardrobe).  Great stuff!

I have been slogging away at my new pieces for just over a month now.  I can barely play the Bach Prelude; I can't manage the 4-part fugue at all yet.  I am working only on the the first movement of the Haydn Sonata in Bb, leaving the other two parts until I can play the first well enough.  The Schubert Impromtu is 11 pages long, and I am slowly getting my hands around the first 9 pages.   The Bartok Allegro Barbaro is a piece like no other, and I have always wanted to learn it.  Really really fun!  It is as close as I will ever get to riding with a conquering barbarian horde!   After that loud and very energetic piece, I will finish things off with a lovely waltz by Brahms.

Tomorrow night is Beltane, and we will enjoy our final wood fire of the season.  We will also undertake to watch my next film choice, a movie I saw only once maybe 35 years ago or more in Detroit, and have always wanted to see again.  What is it?  Tune in to my next blog entry and you will find out.  When time permits, I will continue with my DIA art theme, too.  For now, I still have a lot of astronomy notes to write up.

Mapman Mike