I wonder what would happen if we suddenly cross-posted a whole heap of stuff about the relative merits of holbein stitch and backstitch. Whether it's better to stitch on aida or evenweave. Whether DMC or Anchor has the superior colour range, etc. D'you think they'd cope with our doggerel as well as we have with theirs?
Just a thought...
(NB. They're playing a Bach Cello Concerto on ABCFM at the moment and I tell you solomonly, it far outstrips anything Mr Ice or Mr Hammer could possibly offer in terms of enrichment or spiritual uplift!)
Have just returned from an afternoon concert by the Oxford Singers (part of the St Magnus Festival) which was really a rehearsal for their main concerts later this week. Listening to a 25-strong choir singing Byrd, Purcell, Buxtehude and JS Bach in the wonderful acoustics of our kirk was quite an uplifting experience. Bruce
On the bus this morning there was a young fellow with an iPod. He was sitting several metres away, but I could clearly hear it. That relentless bash bash 4/4 rhythm was like some kind of torture. What it was doing to his brain, let alone his ears, I hate to imagine.
So give me Bach any time. Not so much into Buxtehude, but I like him too. Mind you, I can't get into Bach's vocal music, so the masses and cantatas are a dead loss to me, but all his other stuff I enjoy. In fact I have the complete Bach organ works, as well as pretty much all of his other manual keyboard music, on my iPod. I felt like getting mine out this morning and competing with that poor rock fan.
Well either would probably damage his ears just as much. The sad part is that damage occurs without any pain and tends to show up later. I shall not be around but I think by 2030 or even earlier you would see early middle aged people with hearing aids :) Going to be a terrible thing for the generation that believes it is never going to grow old, all those tattoos combined with hearing aids lolololol
Yes you're right, it's the volume that does the damage. I always say to students using iPods that if I can hear it then it's doing them damage. Not that they believe anything could possibly ever happen to them.
I'm chuckling at the mental image of all those tattoos on saggy arms!
There is a young (21 or 22 years old) German named Felix Hell who has played all the Bach organ works in couple of marathon sessions. I did not get a chance to hear him at any of those sessions but he currently teaches organ at the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College so we have heard him playing Bach and other composers quite often. I know he travels a lot although most of his concerts are in the US or Germany but if you ever get a chance to hear him it is well worth it to make the effort to do so. Beverly B
ROTFLMAO!!! I have a mental picture of you on the bus, Johnno, with your ipod plugged firmly in, teeth clenched and finger on the volume control... ROTFLMAO!!!
Thing is, a full orchestral work turned up to a respectable volume would blow most modern music away (bearing in mind I'm rather partial to Rammstein meself and so you can't say I'm biased).
I always remember our Physics professor who started our course with a lovely rendition of a violin piece by Vivaldi. He reckoned that most academics wind up listening to and playing Baroque music because it is so heavily based in mathematical concepts and appeals to the more organised mind. Of course, whenever I hear such a person say they enjoy Bach or Mozart, I think of Prof Sholl and smile.
(This was the same bloke who came in to give us a lecture on lasers. He walked, apparently inadvertently, through the 'dangerous laser beam' and plummetted straight to the floor as if dead! Two hundred people rose out of their seats and went 'Ohhhhhh!'
And then he got up and laughed, saying 'Lasers aren't what Hollywood portrays. Let's get down to business!' He was a lovely man! ;-D )
But the point is that I don't play the iPod at top volume. I don't need to entertain anybody else. In fact I very seldom use the iPod on the bus anyway, as if it's loud enough to get over the bus noise, then it's too loud for me. But the thought did go through my head this morning that a duel between my Bach and his... whatever rubbish it was... might be the way to go. I just kept my nose stuck in my book (at the moment The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat.)
But you're probably right about the clenched teeth! You've only met me a couple of times, but you've obviously figured me out.
Did you listen to Margaret Throsby the other day? Her guest was talking about exactly that - the deafness that results from too-loud music! Studies show the effects are cumulative and permanent - and they do, indeed, expect a generation of people needing hearing aids owing to loud music in their teens!
The loudest music I've ever heard was during my Redgum days. The Ugly Sister and I used to park ourselves right next to the left-hand speaker (in order to look up John Schumann's nose as he sang - well... you know what I mean... he *was* pretty gorgeous!) Anyway, the music was *really loud* and I never ever got used to it. The ringing in one's ears afterward was annoying and made one a bit dizzy. Dunno why people do that to themselves, but they do! Redgum is pretty tame compared to something like Rammstein, but it was till too loud for me!
A few years ago, we attended a 'Live' concert at N'cle Ent Cent. The music was so loud, nobody even tried to speak. I could *feel* it in my nose hairs! Yeah, I really could! Amazing! But still too loud and, in fact, the music stands up for itself - it doesn't *need* the loud volume to be effective and to affect one in the desired way.
Even in Scotland it seems that it is no longer possible to practice the pipes outside ones own home
and the British Army has taken steps to protect the hearing of its pipers
However, to bring this back (almost) on topic an English historian, the late Hugh Trevor-Roper, has caused some controversy with his claim that most Scottish tartans were created by Sir Walter Scott and that the kilt was invented by an Englishman . Gadzooks sirrah, whatever next! Bruce
When my son was born in Japan he was always fussy after the 6pm feed and my father decided to cure him. Every time Neil started up, so did the pipes. My father generally went down the garden and would pipe circling the swimming pool, the acoustics were wonderful. He had just stopped one night and I was down there for a swim when the Japanese woman who lived slightly below us on the hill called to me and said "Please ask your father to play again upon his horn" - he never lived that one down lol
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.