Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus

Leonard Bernstein conducted the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra and Choir in their performance of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus in the Basilica of Waldsassen, Bavaria, April 1990. At first glance you might think that Mr. Bernstein is sleeping -give him a second - I think he is just preparing.





Hail, true body,
born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
on the cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed
with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
in the test of death.


This translation is only to provide a meaning, and is not intended for substitution.



















The basilica, built between 1682 and 1704, is thought by many to be one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Bavaria. Encircling the entire nave is decorative plaster work and statues. The angels on the high altar are carved in white marble, and the choir stalls are also hand carved. There are additional altars in the transept and also in the six side chapels. The dome of the nave is 28 metres high. Some day we might talk about the skeletons of Waldsassen.

In 1803 the church became the Parish Church of Waldsassen, and then in 1969, Pope Paul VI, elevated the status of the church to “Basilica Minor”. The Papal Coat of Arms above the main entrance proves this honour.







photo credits:
Leonard Bernstein by Jack Mitchell
Basilica - Wikipedia
Altar angels - www.kuk-verlagsanstalt

Summer Night Magic

It's a lovely summer night with shades of coral still visible in the western sky. Lightning bugs are flitting about in time to their own magical tune and the little kids across the street are darting to and fro trying to catch them and ease them into a jar so they can enjoy nature's lanterns.

I remember doing the same thing. After we were suppose to be asleep I would, ever so quietly, get up, reach under the bed and pull out the jar with the lid that Daddy had fixed with air holes. You know what happened; the same thing might have happened to you, time after time. Unless more than a few got away, when I opened the jar (just to get a better look), my wonderful parents never said a word. I think my dad, in particular, understood that summer nights were magical.

When I was a kid you did not have to be on a dark beach or a mountain top to see many stars in the night sky. From our yard my father would point out the constellations and tell us the stories about them, sometimes adding his own tales to the list of myths. Dad's stories were often more fantastic and imaginative than the noted ones, and I rarely remember his telling the same one twice. But it was summer and there was magic in the air.

For some reason it was our street that the kids would usually gather in after supper. Kids from even blocks away showed up to play games under our street lights. Do you remember May I, Red Light, and Steal the Bacon? We played those and some that I can not remember at the moment. Later the kids would be summoned to their homes and I would take a deep breath, smell the fragrant honey suckle and reluctantly begin the short trek to my yard, my steps, and my porch, not wanting the evening to end. Very often Dad would meet me at the door and suggest that we sit on the front porch swing awhile and have a glass of iced tea that Mom would bring out to us. Yes, the summer nights were hot, yes, I was tired from playing, but mainly, Dad understood that I wanted to stay outside listening to the katydids, cicadae and peepers, watching the lighting bugs, and looking for that occasional shooting star, to prolong all the sights, sounds and scents that weave their threads into a magical summer night.

Daddy, I do remember and I am so thankful for you; just wish you could hear me.




photo credits:
1. fireflies - Flickr, A Delicate Mind photostream
2. stargazing - Flickr, Background Music's photostream

Schubert - Der Lindenbaum

Franz Schubert/Friedrich Silcher - music
William Muller - lyrics
Die Meistersinger conducted by Klaus Breuninger




THE LINDEN TREE
trans. Brian & Anna Cole


By the spring outside the city
there stands a linden tree,
and I dreamed in its shadow
so many lovely dreams.

So many words of loving
into its bark I'd score.
In joyful mood or sadness I
it drew me back the more.

Today I had to travel
right past that tree by night,
and even in the darkness
I closed my eyes so tight.

Its twigs and branches rustled
as if they called to me:
Come here to me, young fellow,
you will find peace, you'll see!

The ice-cold winds were blowing
into my freezing face,
my hat flew off my head, but
I did not lose a pace.

Now I am many hours' ride
distant from that spot,
and still I hear the rustling:
Here peace would be your lot!




Walter A. Aue - notes:

The Linden Tree, with Franz Schubert's melody from Die Winterreise (Winter Journey), is one of the few examples where a great classical composer - two other ones that come to mind are Mozart and Brahms - wrote a song that, perhaps in slightly simplified form, becomes a folk song (Volkslied). There is no greater honor in the German tradition.

What a Wonder or Wonderful Vine

About two weeks ago Sunny Wieler, in Stone Art Blog, posted some very funny, photoshopped snaps of giant Gunneras taking over the world. These Gunneras can grow over ten feet tall with a leaf span of six feet.




















For information and pictures of Gunneras you can click on Stone Art Blog, a professional, very informative and interesting blog.







In America's southeastern states we have a kudzu (Pueraria lobata) vine that was originally imported in 1876, from Japan for the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition as an ornamental plant, or was intended to control erosion. Regardless of which reason was the first, the plant was imported and is thriving in, or as some would say, growing over the south. Under the right conditions, which the southeast usually provides, kudzu can grow one to two feet a day. Kudzu has become a problem in other countries also. This plant does not seem to have any natural enemies, as long as you do not consider man.

1

Whether its swallowing a car,


2













climbing a pole,


1

taking possession of a bridge,


1

or creeping up a hill and encapsulating a house (yes, there's a house in there), these photos are not photoshopped.


While kudzu is a forage for livestock and a vine for making baskets, you can enjoy it yourself by making tea, bread and jelly, lotions and soaps. Why folks have created recipes for kudzu bread, quiche and even fried kudzu leaves to name a few. It is being studied for its medicinal use in treating cancer, headaches, tinnitus, allergies and other health issues. Kudzu may become a valuable asset for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Perhaps this pesky, pervasive plant will become a cultivated, cash crop.







photo credits:
Thank you, Sunny, for the use of your photos from Stone Art Blog.
Rome, Taj Mahal, Sphinx/Pyramid.
1. Dickel Sippers
2. Writers Forensics Blog
Lady in Basket, "Queen of Kudzu" from Max Shores

Time Out - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Please sit back and listen to "Take Five" from the album "Time Out," first issued in 1959. It was the first jazz album to go platinum making it a classic.

On the 1959 album were Paul Desmond playing saxophone, who also wrote the music; Gene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums.

This is exactly what I am going to do - take Time Out. See you in a few days.

Memorial Day Tribute

May 31, 2010

Especially for Veterans of World War II

In Memory of All Our Fallen Heroes

America - my home

Music and nature touch my soul, my heart, my life, and give birth to emotions for which there are no words.







An American Hymn


I have seen a summer day
that slowly opens like a rose
along a quiet road that wanders by
And I have smiled and wonder'd
Where it goes

1






I have stumbled through the night
Alone as any man can be
Then found a silent canyon full of stars
And in my heart I heard them telling me
I was home

2






The gentle winds, the rains that fall
The tallest trees, and I'm part of it all

3






I've seen the silver mountain tops
And golden prairies on my way
Now everywhere I go across the land
I stand so proudly in the sun and say
I am home

4






I've dreamed of eden all my life
I find it more and more each day
Now everywhere I go across the land
I stand so proudly in the sun and say
I am home

5








photo credits:
1. flickr.com/photos, dok1 - backroads
2. planetary.org/home, Tyler Nordgren - Bryce Canyon, milky way
3. flickr.com/photos, redwood forest
4. pdphoto.org, Yosemite Meadows
5. flickr.com/photos, meyerw4 - Tybee Island and porpoise

This Plane House Is Not So Plain

Don't know what to do with that spare Boeing 727 in your backyard?
How about a little renovation.

















This plane is owned by Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica, and costs $400 - 500 per night depending on the time of year you wish to stay. The plane was hauled, piece by piece, from the San Jose airport to the National Park along the edge of the Manuel Antonio Jungle.
















Welcome. This is the entrance to your fuselage suite, nestled in the trees.
















Here you can relax while you are watching TV.
















The kitchenette - dinning area is great for casual entertaining, and...
















perhaps you would like to serve cocktails on the wing balcony.
















Overnight guests? Not a problem. They can stay in the second bedroom.
















And for you, they have the master bedroom and...
















master bath.



















You are perched upon a 50 foot pedestal, and as you can see, you have marvelous views of both the jungle and the beautiful ocean.




--------------------------------------------------------------------


JoAnn Ussery purchased a retired 727 for $2000.00 from the nearby Greenwood, Mississippi, airport. For $4000.00 she had it moved to her Lake Whittington property, and for $24,000.00 had it remodeled. Much of the remodeling she did herself. She was allowed to salvage a few interior panels and other miscellaneous bits and pieces from other retired planes. At the airport salavge center she was known as the "gutsy little grandma."

When all was finished she had a three bedroom lake house, and the cockpit had been transformed into a master bath with a jacuzzi.
















JoAnn named her home "Little Trump," referring to Donald Trump's $16 million corporate jet, which is also a Boeing 727.




My thanks go to L. Sobey for sending these pictures to me.

Hey, Put a Stamp On It

What do you think is the largest flower in the United States?

After perusing through a United States Postal Service coloring book, I sadly realized that, though I could answer most, I did not know the answers to several of their questions.

This is just a sampling of the 40 questions in the book. Do you know the answers? They all pertain to the USA. You will probably do better than I; however, the pictures of the stamps are below, and I am sure you can match them to the questions.
No, the pictures are not in the same sequence as the questions.

1. Where is the longest covered bridge? not in Madison County, Iowa

2. What is the largest plant?

3. What is the largest rodent?

4. Where are the highest sea cliffs?

5. What is the largest flower?

6. Name and location of the longest bridge span? not the Golden Gate

7. Name and location of the longest natural bridge? not in Virginia

8. Where is the windiest spot? not Chicago

9. What are the oldest trees? not the Redwoods

10. Name and location of largest glacier? not in Glacier Park

11. Where is the rainiest spot? not Seattle, Washington

12. What is the largest freshwater fish?

13. Name and location of the tallest geyser?

14. Name and location of the tallest dam?

15. Name and location of the longest hiking trail? not the Appalachian

16. Name and location of the Tallest Sand Dunes?


Maybe the next time you are in the post office you will pick up a coloring book.















































1. New Hampshire to Vermont
4. Moloka'i Island, Hawai'i
6. Brooklyn to Staten Island, NY
7. Utah
8. New Hampshire
10. near Cordova, Alaska
11. Kaua'i Island, Hawai'i
13. Yellowstone National Park, WY
14. Feather River in Northern CA
15. Mexico to Canada through CA, OR and WN
16. San Luis Valley, Colorado

How Well Do You Know Your Gnomes

For any of you that have one of those cute little gnomes in your yard I feel that I must bring this to your attention.

This was posted on Lee Ann's "Adventures of the Once and Future Garden" blog.




http://onceandfuturegarden.blogspot.com/2010/05/help-controlling-invasive-species.html


I actually managed to link this! For me this is a big deal.