The Classical Week: Day #3

All Smoke and No Music

Happy feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

When last we spoke, Waxahachie was burning.  We spent the day driving from one place to another, completing various tasks and appointments scheduled for today.  There was no classical music listened to during the day in the car; nor did the children at home listen to classical music.

We had a doctor's visit in Fort Worth in the morning, followed by a visit to the Apple Store in Dallas to figure out why one of the computers keeps signing out of whatever program the children are using.  In the midst of work, the computer will suddenly tell them that the program 'had to end without warning.'

We are getting well known at the Apple Store; you know you have made it when the concierge at the door greets you by name......

During and after our time in the land of Apple, some of us ate Mexican food at a local Chuy's.  All of the Apple employees were agitated in anticipation of the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, but I was out of there with a working computer within 30 minutes.

I spent the time it took to fix the computer building a car on the internet.

We went by a religious bookstore in Dallas to get some gifts for certain children who will be confirmed on Thursday.  While I was there, I bought a copy of the video Of Gods and Men; I reviewed it here on the blog.

As per our routine, we spent too much money.

Next, we revisited the business where we saw the fire up close.  The fire was still smoldering; even worse, it smelled as if it were July 5th in these parts, with the smell of incinerated fireworks permeating the atmosphere.  Thankfully, the odor did not overcome the 'new car smell' that we were also experiencing.

Here is a shot from the same lot where we took pictures.  The Environmental Protection Agency said everything was safe, but with the present administration in charge, why would one trust anything said by a federal agency?

It reminds me of two of the worse things one can hear:

One, "I am from the U.S. Government."

Two, "I am here to help you."

Run if you hear either of them.

I have taken quite a number of interesting pictures with my trusty iPhone.  Around here, the weather has been particularly harsh on trees.  If it is not the ice storms bringing them down, it is heavy winds or tornadoes.  Take a look at the trunk on this tree:

I have seen some other fires as well, especially with the high temperatures and drought we had this summer.  Here is a fire somewhere south of Fort Worth:

Here is another one, up in Grand Prairie:

All these fires around us - there was one bad one a few miles from our house - got me to thinking about how I would evacuate the family in the event of a grass fire.  I recall reading about the Mann Gulch Fire up in Montana, and how a fire can spread so quickly when wind and other factors come into play.

Sobering thoughts.  I'd rather think of music, but I shall provide a few more pictures for your consideration:

 I believe 'Tweeting' is where one sends status updates to people so they can 'follow' what one is doing.  I don't do Twitter because I am just not that interesting, nor inclined to tell everything I am doing all day long.

I took this picture at a hospital.  It makes one think that one should saunter down the stairs and out the exit rather than bolting down the stairs and sprinting for the way out.

The Classical Week: Day #2

What a Long, Strange Trip Today Has Been.

It started out okay, with me on vacation this week and a list of tasks and appointments to accomplish.  First we began by taking some of the children to Mass; afterwards we had a bouquet of roses blessed in honor of St. Therese of Liseaux.

Then things got a little interesting.  Our next stop was to a doctor's office in Fort Worth, and as we started driving there, we noticed this interesting cloud formation to the South/Southeast of us:

That's down where we live; we were about thirty miles from where we live when I snapped this picture.  It was the only cloud in the sky, and I suddenly noticed that it extended all the way to the ground and was also projecting above the flattened top of the cloud.  This was no ordinary cloud; it was the smoke from a fire.  We called home and asked if they could see a fire or smoke, and the children at home reported seeing smoke in the distance to the Southeast of our house.  We continued on our way, confident that we had seen the end of that.

Our visit to the doctor ended before it could even begin.  The office building as well as all the other buildings on that block had a power outage while we waited to be seen.  We decided to reschedule, and took off for our home.  On the way, I persuaded my lovely wife to make a side trip to do a little 'window shopping' at a business down in Waxahachie - which just happens to be Southeast of our home.

As we started on our way, we noticed that the cloud had not dispersed; in fact, it appeared to be growing.  After several close calls with grass fires on top of our drought and 100+ temperatures, we started to think that maybe this was more than just a 'normal' fire.  Here is a picture we took from about 20 miles from the fire, as we unknowingly headed toward it:

Even the little Moose who lives in the front of the van seemed concerned.  We did not know that the fire was very close to our destination in Waxahachie - nor did we know that people were being evacuated from the area because of concerns with the chemicals which were on fire.  We did not have our radio on, as we were complying with our week-long experiment of only listening to classical music.  We continued on, listening to Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," as we drew closer to the fire.

When we got to our destination, we were surprised that someone did not come out and greet us while we looked around the car lot.  Our children who were with us noticed that the television was still on in the lobby, but no one was around.  The place was deserted; this was extremely unusual for this kind of business.

We were about a half mile or less from the fire, and could see flames licking up out of the mass of confusion on the ground.  To us, it appeared that a lot of the fire trucks were spraying the fire from too far away.  Only later did we learn why they were doing that.  After we finished our window shopping, we headed home.  Upon our arrival, we found out that the area had been evacuated because of concerns for the chemicals burning and forming in the cloud above us.  Great.

Then things got really exciting at home.

If you recall, this whole blog entry was to report on our classical music experiment.  Well, the children at home reminded me that Fr. L- had said that the experiment required listening to Mozart continually, not just any classical music.  Of course, we don't have a lot of Mozart, so that posed a problem.  I argued that classical music was sufficient.  The children then wanted to know what defines 'classical' music.  They argued that Gregorian Chant was not classical; I argued that it was good enough and old enough to qualify as 'classical' music.

Next, I was presented with a piece which I recognized as being written by Andrew Lloyd Weber.  I nixed it as being too modern.  The same went for a classical music piece as played on an Electric Cello.

Music volume was then discussed.  Some argued that it must be loud enough to hear it.  I argued that it should be used as background music.  Several countered that one could not hear it unless everyone remained silent, which was impossible in our house.  I responded that playing classical music loud would make everyone raise his voice to be heard, resulting in a tremendous discordant cacophony.  I could see where I could lose this argument, so I pre-emptively ended it by mentioning that what really bothered me was how nobody had gotten up to do their chores which were supposed to be completed by then.

I shall leave the conversation about what they play when they practice piano for another day.

Here is a video showing why the fire trucks were so far back from the fire:

The Classical Week: Day #1

About a week ago, I attended a Parish Youth Group meeting where the pastor spoke about an experiment using classical music.  In this experiment, Fr. L- claimed, classical music was piped into one chamber, while rock music was played in another chamber.  Connecting these two boxes was a tunnel, and as soon as rock music started playing, all the mice (or was it rats?) would scurry off to the box featuring classical music.  Padre mentioned other experiments, including one where the rock and roll groupies ate one another, but I shall not go into more of that kind of stuff.

What struck my children and I was one experiment where classical music was played as background music.  It had a soothing effect on the people exposed to this music, and made their home a much nicer place to live.  In short, music helped to form the culture of that family in a favorable way.  So last night (Saturday) my children suddenly mentioned that they would like to take part in the experiment - starting the next day.  That would be today.

Carolyn and I were very interested in participating in this experiment.  We have noticed that the children who live at home have developed a hankering for both types of music - Country and Western - and some of it has caused us some concern.  I even started listening to the lyrics and telling the children that some songs are not appropriate for their listening.  Heck, a lot of it is not appropriate for my listening....

Our little unscientific experiment is not about lyrics.  As Father L- said, never mind the lyrics.  A lot of the music is detrimental on a more basic level.  To paraphrase (badly) his thesis, one must consider how Man and Music have parallels in their construction.  For Man, the Intellect informs the Will, which then directs the Body.  This is how one attains an ordered life, where the Body is subject to the direction of the Intellect and Will.  In Music, Melody creates Harmony, which then directs the Rhythm of the piece of music.  This is how one attains an ordered piece of music, where the lower part is subject to the higher parts.  Unfortunately rock music - and even most contemporary country music - put rhythm ahead of melody and harmony, creating disorder.  When Man puts Body before Intellect and Will, an even greater disharmony occurs.

Our experiment will be to see if playing classical music rather than rock or country will help influence our family in a positive way, encouraging all of us to put Melody and Harmony, or Intellect and Will, ahead of Body and Rhythm.

So what's with the aircraft at the top of this blog?  Well, during the Life Chain event at church this afternoon, one of these things flew over.  I had never seen one in the air before, and it stopped me in the middle of an Ave Maria.  I still need a lot of work when an airplane can distract me from my prayers.

For the next week, I shall make some comment on how this little experiment is going.  Stay tuned!

And no, you can't follow me on Twitter!

Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki: Requiescat In Pace

I recently discovered that Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki died on November 12, 2010. May his soul, and all the souls of the Faithful Departed, rest in peace.

Henryk Gorecki, born in 1933, was a Catholic Polish composer of what some refer to as contemporary classical music. I don't know enough about music to have an opinion about the kind of music he composed. All I shall ever remember about him is that he composed one of the most stirring, beautiful pieces of music ever: the Symphony No. 3, Opus 36, better known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.

I first heard this song in the late 1990's when we were living in San Antonio. This was while I was still in the Air Force, and it was on a day when I was on call and didn't have to go to work until 3 p.m. I was listening to the classical music station they had, and Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 was playing. I stopped to listen to it, figuring I could leave as soon as the piece was over.

I ended up being late for work that day.

I had never heard such a captivating piece of music before in my life. Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' is the only other composition which comes close to it. I called the radio station to find out the name of the piece of music as well as the composer. At first I thought his name was 'Gretzky,' as in the hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs consists of three movements; the first is just shy of 30 minutes, the second is about nine minutes, and the third is about 15 minutes long. The theme of all three movements is loss and death, and the lyrics reflect this. All of the lyrics are in Polish, with the inspiration for each movement's words coming from different sources.

I.

The first movement is based on a lamentation written in a Russian monastery during the 15th century. The voice is that of Mary, seeing her Son Jesus dying on the cross:

My son, my chosen and beloved
Share your wounds with your mother
And because, dear son, I have always carried you in my heart,
And always served you faithfully
Speak to your mother, to make her happy,
Although you are already leaving me, my cherished hope.

These words come along halfway through the first movement. The music is arranged in what this amateur critic would say is a peculiar fashion. There is a symmetry to the music if one is looking at it along a timeline. The piece begins with the double basses playing a melody, which is taken up by the other instruments or groups of instruments. Each addition to the melody includes an increase in volume, until the midpoint of the piece, where the melody pauses for the lyrics to be sung in Polish. At the conclusion of the lyrics, the melody is resumed, with each type of instrument dropping off, until once again only the double basses are playing.

II.

The second movement is the shortest, and features the words of a young woman written on the wall of a Gestapo prison during the Second World War:

No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
"Zdrowas Mario." (*)

(Prayer inscribed on wall 3 of cell no. 3 in the basement of "Palace," the Gestapo's headquarters in Zadopane; beneath is the signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna, and the words "18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944.")
(*) "Zdrowas Mario" (Ave Maria)—the opening of the Polish prayer to the Holy Mother

What struck me about this piece is that the prisoner was a Catholic; I doubt anyone else would be writing the opening words of the Hail Mary on the wall of a prison. The other thing that strikes me is that, in contrast to the first movement, here we have the child consoling the parent. Perhaps Helena took some unnecessary risk which resulted in her incarceration. One will never know what her fate was.

III.

The third movement is the hardest one for me to listen to, especially after Theodore's death. In this piece, a mother mourns the loss of a child. Not only is the child dead, but his body cannot be located. The mother, accepting that she will never see her son again, prays that at least he will rest in peace. While the lyrics describe an earthly resting place, one would expect that the mother was thinking more of her son resting in a heavenly place:

Where has he gone
My dearest son?
Perhaps during the uprising
The cruel enemy killed him

Ah, you bad people
In the name of God, the most Holy,
Tell me, why did you kill
My son?

Never again
Will I have his support
Even if I cry
My old eyes out

Were my bitter tears
to create another River Oder
They would not restore to life
My son

He lies in his grave
and I know not where
Though I keep asking people
Everywhere

Perhaps the poor child
Lies in a rough ditch
and instead he could have been
lying in his warm bed

Oh, sing for him
God's little song-birds
Since his mother
Cannot find him

And you, God's little flowers
May you blossom all around
So that my son
May sleep happily

Henryk Gorecki dedicated this symphony to his wife; when asked why, he responded, "To whom else should I dedicate it?" He wrote it in the mid-1970's, and it wasn't until the 1990's that it started to get more play on the radio. He never tried to capitalize on the fame of this piece; instead, he continued to teach and write.

Below is the first part of the the first movement. Recall that YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes, so that is why it is split into parts. If you are inclined, you can follow the video below to hear the rest of the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs:

Here is the complete Second Movement for your listening pleasure. This piece features a different soloist, and was filmed in Auschwitz:

Regardless of your opinion of Gorecki's music, I ask you to remember to pray for the repose of his soul today.

Actions Have Consequences

I have had several online conversations with some young people about certain things posted on websites such as facebook. These conversations typically start with me reading something objectionable, such as foul language. Rather than ignoring the words, I have written to the person requesting that they desist from posting such offensive material.

The typical response from youth is to 'mind my own business' and 'I'm an adult now,' etc. I have commented in my replies that one day they may regret what they have done because it will come back to haunt them. Anything put on the Internet is available for retrieval.

That brings me to this little video, but I think the end result will be beneficial to this singer rather than detrimental. Back in 1978, a Mr. Hill(the English translation of his name) sang this song on Russian TV. Apparently this song means something to someone, and this style of singing is actually a real singing style. I don't know. All I know is that this music is different, unique. Now, 32 years after the fact, the video of Mr. Hill singing has come back to even greater popularity on YouTube, with an international audience now able to appreciate his particular talent. I predict that he will see a resurgence in his career.

Consider that even this music is more pleasing to God than vulgar and offensive language ever would be.

Contemplative Diversion

Sometimes Rick Astley just doesn't cut it, and the musical soul yearns for something a bit more substantial:



Latin text:

Dominus dixit ad me:
Filius meus es tu,
ego hodie genui te.

Ps. Quare fremuerunt gentes:
et populi meditati sunt inania?

v/ Gloria Patri.



English translation:

The Lord hath said to me:
Thou art My Son,
this day have I begotten Thee.

Ps. Why have the Gentiles raged,
and the people devised vain things?

v/ Glory be to the Father.

Weekend Thoughts

I took the Armadillo for a shakedown cruise this afternoon. It had been running a bit rough lately, and I had some work done on it in anticipation of the drive to Mass in Greenville on Sunday. It was still acting up, so we would have to attend Mass closer to home.

The Big Blue, our 15-passenger van, is in the shop getting a fender replaced. THAT is a story I can't really tell, for Carolyn asked me to stop publishing vehicle strikes. That is too bad, because it is kind of fun describing how various creatures have a tendency to collide with our vehicles. Why, just last weekend, the same weekend the van got hit in a parking spot at Cha-Cho's, a bird struck the Armadillo at 65 miles per hour. There is nothing like the sound of a bird colliding with a car at high speed….

Back to the shakedown cruise. There I was, driving along with two of my daughters – the middle ones – listening to Paul Anka singing that that old Billy Idol song, “Eyes Without a Face.” It was just bizarre, yet it seemed to make sense, seeing as how Billy Idol recently made an album of Christmas favorites. Still, I can’t imagine old Billy singing ‘Ave Maria,’ complete with his permanent sneer. The song also seemed to fit in with a lot of the strange goings on from the past few days in North Texas.

To begin with, we got an interesting prayer card this week from the American Life League. At first I wanted to toss it, but then I got to thinking. Impeachment is highly unlikely - recall the last time we tried to impeach the president, and wishing ill of someone is not charitable. So it makes a lot of sense to pray for our president's conversion. Another reason to pray for the conversion of our president is because real charity is willing the ultimate good for another, and the ultimate good is to go to heaven. Consider that the executioner of St. Charles Lwanga(above, with companions) later converted to the Faith. Consider how St. Paul goes from being a hunter of Christians to being one of the greatest Saints. Also contemplate this quote from St. Thomas More, where he expresses a desire to see his persecutors in Heaven with him one day:

"More have I not to say but like as the blessed Apostle St. Paul, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, was present, and consented to the death of St. Stephen, and kept their clothes that stoned him to death, and yet be they now both twain holy saints in heaven, and shall continue there friends for ever, so I verily trust and shall therefore right heartily pray, that though your Lordships have now in earth been judges to my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to our everlasting salvation."

St. Thomas More

I wish I could pray this same prayer. Some day, I hope, but not today.

So pray for our president's conversion. Pray if only for yourselves, for I think he is going to put the hurt on the things I care about the most: Pro-Life issues, family, freedom of conscience for physicians, home schooling, just to name a few in no particular order. Now, if I can get my scanner to work, here are both sides of the prayer card, courtesy of the American Life League:







Here is someone else praying for this....

This was only one of many strange things which happened this weekend. Right after receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion, while trying to kneel and pray on the floor of a cramped and sweltering chapel, my three year old daughter came up to me and asked if I could 'do this.' She then proceeded to twist her tongue and stick it out at me. "After Mass," I assured her.

Last night I watched the movie Persuasion, based on a story by Jane Austen. Simply put, a woman is advised to dump a suitor against her wishes, meets him years later, and they marry at that time. The movie was quite good, but like all Jane Austen movies, the main characters looked as if they had just ingested a bolus of helicobacter pylori shortly before the filming began. Every woman in the movie needed a bit of Maalox.

Apparently, in the time period when Persuasion takes place, military folks were not thought of well, because the military was thought of as a way for ordinary folks to rise up in society. I don't know about status or royalty, but my time in the Air Force was a tremendous blessing in terms of helping me realize my dream of becoming a doctor without taking on a prohibitively large debt. Although we are not part of the elite of North Texas, we do have a roof over our head, clothes on our backs, food in the fridge, and only TWO junked lawn tractors in the driveway!

While waiting for the Armadillo in the shop, we learned about Triple Combo Cooking Power and what it will mean to the busy homemaker. We watched a T-bone steak, salmon fillet, a 10-pound turkey, and much MUCH MORE! get cooked in minutes rather than hours.

I ordered three.

Two things struck me at the local Albertson's. One, when did camouflage pattern become fashionable? The same color scheme I thought I would be wearing when I died for my country is now covering people of all ages and sexes.

The second thing is that a lot of music from the 70' and 80's consisted of the lead singer yelling at us. In the few minutes I was in the store, I heard Michael McDonald(formerly of the Doobie Brothers) yelling at me about 'real love,' followed by the Electric Light Orchestra(E.L.O.) screaming about something being a 'living thing.'

I have no answer to these questions, but I do have pictures of little birdies learning to fly. These two were sitting on our front porch checking out the big wild world:

Hat tip to Mark Shea:

Advent, Week #4: Wednesday

Last Video for Advent:



Merry Christmas!

Advent Week #4: Tuesday

Follow this link to hear another version of Winter Wonderland.

See if you can figure out which one is the mother and which one is the daughter. Clap CLAP CLAP!

Then check out one of my favorites at this link or watch it below:

Advent Week #4: Monday Morning celebration

In the Old Testament, David danced before the Ark of the Covenant in celebration. This has been considered a prefigurement of what happens in the New Testament, when the last Prophet, John the Baptist, danced before the Blessed Mother when she came to care for her cousin Elizabeth.

"And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to see me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy."

- Luke 1:43-44

So dancing is okay, unless it looks like this:

Advent Week #4: Sunday - The Gloves Are Off

Someone (who will remain anonymous) violated the terms of this musical hairshirt extravaganza and put a video of Boy George where I could see it.

All I can say is, are you dreaming of a White Christmas, and do they know it's Christmas time?

Final week to pray, fast, give alms, and watch bad videos. Extra points for those who can sit through this whole thing:

Advent Week #3: Saturday Duets

Today is a busy day, so I am punishing you early.

These two videos prove that even professionals can sing badly.

Video ONE:



Video TWO:




Even with Dean Martin blitzed, and Frank Sinatra's socks sliding down, they still sing rings around the other two yahoos. Note how Dino keeps the cigarette low through most of the video.

Advent Week #3: Friday Night Feast

First, there is this link to a story which will excite all of you. Burger King has just started marketing a meat-scented body spray.

Imagine the look on the face of Wifeofdadwithnoisykids. Imagine me splashing a bit of this body spray on, and then walking up to her.

I can imagine her breathing deeply the scent of freshly grilled meat. I imagine her closing her eyes, and with quivering lips saying to me, "take me out to dinner, baby."

But enough about me. keeping with the food theme, I bring you a truly awful bit of penance from the folks who gave us the dancing California raisins. This is a rerun from last year, but some things are just so horrible they must return, just like a Canadian penny in Texas.

Prepare yourself.

Advent, Week #3: Thursday with a Lump of Coal

Consider this lump of coal rather than a musical hairshirt:

Advent Week #3: Wednesday Respite

Christmas always reminds me of A Christmas Carol, which reminds me of 'Tiny Tim,' which reminds me of Tiny Tim, which reminds me of the ukulele, which reminds me of Carol of the Bells played on a ukulele, which brings us back to Christmas. Note that Christmas is just six degrees of separation from Christmas.

Consider this a respite from the awful music I have subjected you to.

Just as a sentence ending with a dangling participle should torment your sense of correct syntax....

Enjoy.

Advent, Week #3: Tuesday Meditation

"I don't know why people get married to chipmunks."

"Dad, do people get married to chipmunks?"

These were questions from my 7- and 8- years old sons after watching this little bit of musical madness:




I have not had much time to work on original blog entries; this is a busy time at work, at home, and with a new baby who seems to be trying to arrive early. Sometime in the future I shall get back to writing more and including less videos. But let's have one more for the road from 'Old Blue Eyes.'



BY THE WAY, THE BABY IS UPSIDE DOWN!

Advent Week #3: Monday Meditation on Bad Music

Is there anything worse than this?

This video shows why people are paid good money to modify the output of the various instruments and microphones at rock concerts.

I don't think he is saying anything offensive, but on the other hand I am not really sure what he is saying.

It is called 'The Bell That Couldn't Jingle,' and is sung by the man who couldn't sing.

Advent, Week #2: Saturday

Please pray that the '2009' Edition Noisykid will stay in the oven for a few more weeks. We spent last night in Labor and Delivery working on stopping labor.

Actually, I slept on a cot which broke into three parts as I lay there. I had to work all day today.

Anyways, keep Wifeofdadwithnoisykids in your prayers.

But now, let's MAMBO!

Click on the link above to enjoy a little musical nightmare.

I actually learned to Mambo in college, but I don't do that kind of thing anymore.

Actually, it's a Cha-Cha.

Advent Week #2: Friday - THE BABY IS UPSIDE DOWN!

If only it were true in real life.

The Feto-Meter shows the baby twirling upside down, which is not the way he is positioned right now. Of course, the Feto-Meter does not show the 2009 Model Noisykid with his outdoor plumbing, either.

We are investigating ways to make the baby 'come about' - a nautical term, from my days in the Air Force. But I digress.

Today is Friday, a day our family usually abstains from meat. However, today is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In honor of this occasion, I send you some Meatloaf for your viewing and listening displeasure:




Well, it's cold and lonely on this Texas Winter night. I can see the keyboard by the monitor light.