Previous William Thomas Sherman Info Page postings, quotes, observations, etc.
Louis (or Ludwig) Spohr (1784–1859) is one of those delectable, if lesser known (to most), classical composers, along with Marini, Veracini, Leclair, Tartini, Nardini, Pugnani, Kreutzer, Rode, Viotti, Baillot -- to name several -- whose works I first became acquainted with when I was studying the violin and violin works (including etudes) over a decade ago. In the interest (as we are wont to do when we can at this website) of spreading the musical good "news," here's an especially blithe and tender piece of his some of you may find as pleasing. In future, I will try every now and then to post links or downloads to compositions of some of these others mentioned (and not mentioned) as well. This particular track comes from the (to my knowledge) out of print CD "Spohr: Kammermusik mit Harfe (Chamber Music with Harp)" with Helga Storck, Kurt Gunter, and Klaus Storck performing.
Trio for Violin, Cello and Harp in E minor: II. Andante con moto (.wma, 4.82 MBs, right click "Save as...")
Why do you suppose Heinz ketchup now tastes like it's being made by Pepperidge Farm?
Adapting traditional Native American music to pop, new age, rock, is still much in its infancy, and only yet sprouting its first shoots, as it were, but not with out some promising, and occasionally moving, results; such as we saw and heard sometime back with Claus Zundel's "Sacred Spirit" CD as well as others. Part of the interesting idea at work here is not unlike taking four notes, as Beethoven did, and coming up (so to speak) with the 5th Symphony -- and to some creative souls and imaginations the possibilities embark on becoming endless. And, after all, who would have originally thought African drum music would one day transform its way into being an integral part of true rock and roll? But how much of the old? How much of the new? What mixes? What doesn't mix? Only a properly inspired and talented artist, of course, can decide.
Below, first, is one example of the old-time music, a Lakota Honoring song (from the Lakota Takini Dance Group ), that gives us (in one instance at any rate) the raw material. The second ("Chant to the Sun" by Paolo Castelluccia off his CD "Indian Spirit") presents a colorful, if "poppish," fusion of Indian interwoven with Latin vibes and strings that ably gives us a yet another idea of the potential possible. With respect to authentic original Native American dances, chants, it's worth remarking (for those who don't know already) that there is a goodly body of field recordings of tribal music done in the late 19th and early 20th century, from diverse parts of North America. If one gets the chance to listen through some of it (as I did at the University of Washington N.A. ethnology library some years ago), it has a distinctly pure and vibrant character worth a serious music lover's, as well as antiquary's, discovery and acquaintance.
Circle One
The sky the father
loves earth the mother;
a love we know in peace.
And so in like tranquility
the planets all
circle the star.
Yet too far or too near
never exceeds just right.
Just as neither he or she
can ever surpass
the just One.
For all are enduring.
Yet special?
There is but one.
How well behaved the animals;
Who so put most of us to shame,
And yet must shift for themselves
That the world might revolve around
His unholy majesty, Baby Jane.
With what will you combat real evil, that is, evil that is in earnest, if not with reason and if not with logic? It is not unusual for religious faith to so drift off into the mystical as to lose sight of this vital and salient truth. Ordinarily, this would not pose much of a dilemma for most people. Yet if it should happen that a religious person was targeted by the genuinely diabolical, mysticism otherwise useful or at least harmless can be used against them by spirit person magicians and sorcerers. So astonishing are or can be the wonders a skillful ghost wizard can create or recreate that unless a person is both courageous and objectively rational in confronting such spiritual imposters odds are that they will be duped and made a fool of; as a result of which they subsequently might be unwittingly made to serve the ends of some criminal enterprise.
One of the stranger aspects of my own situation pertaining to these characters is trying to account for and better understand their bizarre methodology. They are, for example, supremely arrogant, and persistently so, in way that most any given regular person would find most alien and incomprehensible. Part of the reason for why they do this, I think, is in an attempt to foist upon people the idea that they act out of necessity. It has been an age old controversy in philosophy what actually qualifies as necessity, and much has been made by some thinkers in claiming that all that happens is predestined by God. A ghost sorcerer then, by being persistent, can make an unthinking person believe that he acts out of necessity; just as he would have you take for granted; and by doing so make his (seeming) necessity equivalent with God's will. It's a kind of psychological ploy they use, and not without some success down through he ages. The response to such therefore requires a philosophical understanding of such and peculiar issues we ordinarily don't think of much practical importance -- hence then one reason for the theology of many of the Church Fathers being so elaborate and intricate. So then regarding necessity, we might respond to the magician this way. While God is necessary not all necessity is of God. There is then absolute necessity and there is contingent necessity. God's will is absolute necessity. What a person opts to do is contingent, the later referring to necessity such as that which a person chooses to make necessary (bolstered, say, by implacable resolve, displays of tremendous power, and supernatural obduracy.) These people then may say they must torment someone. Is this absolute necessity? Well, one challenge would be to say that if so and so's being tormented is necessary then how about letting some other devil do it (and you go somewhere else?) For surely, if it is absolute necessity another ghost will before long come in and take his place, and pick up where he left off, now wouldn't he? But you see, as a practical mater, the ghost will agree to no such thing because his tormenting of the victim is really his own exigency that he would have you think is necessity. And this sort of put on is just part of his mighty bag of marvels and tricks to make himself seem legitimate and acting according to divine authorization; of which, needless to say here are other forms of sophistry; and which equally require rational scrutiny.
In passing, respecting the Church Fathers, it's perhaps odd to realize now, but those in the very early church were in a sense, albeit peaceably of course, engaged in their own kind of Revolutionary War; in their case, against the spirit people powers that be, and which latter did presumably play a major role in the workings of the Empire; slavery for instance, traditionally present in all empires, is very much a spirit person based racket carried on by them even when it has died out elsewhere, in full force to this day. And though the Church would not seek the overthrow of the Empire itself, they were, it could be inferred, seeking the ousting of those spirit people from positions of too great power, influence and participation -- and not without some very startling and momentous victories; that is, until the criminal spirit people took up the idea of acting as if they were Christian angels or otherwise from Christian heaven. (This said, do not assume that when spirit people could act as pagan gods that they necessarily were by identity such whom people ascribed them to be either; so that the role of Jove or whoever could be simply a mask the spirit person adopts without having any literal correlation to his actual identity.)
O.K., I was up all night fretting and mulling over this, but I think I have finally got the thing nailed down to a form we can work with.
tobacco companies
right wing militarists
hippies
militia groups
al qaida and Ben Ladin
Christian fundamentalists
South American drug lords
communists
oil companies
Nixon
This may be already old news for some, but an earlier "recommendation of the week" of ours, The Doors at the Matrix in San Francisco 1967, has been at last put out on CD by the band. If interested, see http://thedoors.shop.musictoday.com/Product.aspx?pc=DRCD33
Later Note. Also the same, and where you can get it both as an immediate download and a more affordable price, at http://www.amazon.com/Live-At-Matrix-Doors/dp/B001GQO50I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1263525352&sr=1-1
Our story so far ~ A descendant of (and having the same name as) the famous "Dr." seeks to save Frankenstein's creation and energize it to its full potential. Meanwhile, the other, his new assistant, has taken it into his head to go see the first in order to have this "new" Dr. Frankenstein cure him of being a werewolf. Little does he realize, however, that the seemingly genial doctor is not really to be trusted, even though it won't be long before the next full moon comes up.
