Baroque Music edited by Peter Walls

I returned Baroque Music edited by Peter Walls yesterday. I read several essays in it. Yesterday I sat down and typed up my notes. As I did so, I googled some of the articles footnoted. I was glad to find a few easily on line. Some were behind firewalls, but Chapter 16 was Philip Brett’s article below.

Text, Context,and the Early Music Editor by Philip Brett 1988 pdf

Peter Wells has pointed me to several resources as has John Butt. I continue reading in Butt’s Playing with History. I am reading the library copy even though my brother gave me an e-copy (Thanks again, Mark!) . I will eventually switch to it, no doubt, with the library copy is due. But in the meantime, I prefer to read real copies of scholarly books when possible.

Here’s a couple review of Ross Duffin’s book, “How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony and Why You Should Care.”

Rasch review of “How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony” by Duffin pdf link

Ezra Pound by Peter Ackroyd

I picked up my interlibrary loaned copy of Ezra Pound by Peter Ackroyd yesterday.

It’s a slim volume and is one of the “Thames and Hudson Literary Lives.” It boasts of “111 illustrations” and there are quite a few. I read some in it yesterday. It’s fun and I’m learning stuff about Pound.

 David Lee, violist

I received a huge compliment in a comment to yesterday’s blog from David Lee. He is the resource manager for Community Action House and also Music Director/Conductor of Holland  Area Junior Strings. At our Community Action House gig, he gave Amy a break and played several tunes with me. As I mentioned before, it was hard to hear, but I could tell he was playing well. I love it that classical musicians also improv these days.

Apple Crisp

I got up this morning and made Apple Crisp. It always makes the house smell good. Eileen is still asleep.

Greek in the morning

When my shrink asked me what I was going to do for myself for the holidays, I replied that my daily routine is already very very rewarding. Getting up each morning and translating a few lines of Aristophanes as I have been doing for quite a while now is interesting and even fun.

Yesterday I learned the Greek word for “penis.” In the play, The Clouds, Aristophanes mercilessly satirizes the Sophist and Socrates. He even lumps them together something that most certainly pissed off Plato if not Socrates himself.

Anyway the intrepid Strespiades seeks out the “thinkery” (a Greek word) to learn unjust arguments so that he may defeat his creditors in court. He finally gets to meet Socrates who bids him lay down on a bug infested couch to think (hmmm a bit like a shrink).

At one point, Socrates asks him if he is has anything. Strepsiades replies, “Only my penis in my right hand.” It’s a play on the verb for “having” which can also mean “have you an idea or suggestion?” The key suggests the literal translation because of the ensuing “vulgarity which follows.”

I like Greek.

Trump private security force ‘playing with fire’ – POLITICO

Politico is hardly an objective source, leaning obviously leftward (my way), however, this article was on my google news feed this morning. I read it, bookmarked it, and (as I did with Obama’s presidency) started a new tag, “Trump Presidency” to help me follow the next four or eight years.

I think if Trump continues to use his private security forces in his presidency it could be problematic. This article explains why.

Donald Trump, This Is Not Normal! – The New York Times

Charles Blow will be required reading during the Trump Presidency.

How Republics End – The New York Times

As will Krugmann, here giving some historical prespective.