Still waiting for Winter

Tags

life, Music, party, PEI, XMAS

We are having weird weather, it is as predicted by the Weather service, the Maritimes will have a period of very warm and mild weather from September until Early December and that is what happened. In the last 72 hours the weather has become much colder but again we do have days like today of 14C and nights of -5C, no snow yet and but lots of intense rain, strong winds and low clouds. The winds today stopped the ferry service between Nova Scotia and the Western tip of PEI. The surf is rough under a bright blue sky.

Tomorrow I travelled to Kensington which by Island standard is very far away, don’t laugh, it’s 40 minutes away. Both Nicky and Nora are getting groomed for Santa. Probably will have lunch in town and then return to Ch’Town. Tomorrow night we are told that we might get snow, will see, the weather guy Jay Scotland is not known for his accuracy. Can’t blame the guy, Climate change has screwed up everything.

My Xmas cards are mostly done and in the mail, it is a bit of a chore each year, I also send electronic cards to people far away. This weekend we should start the decorations. On Thursday it’s Will’s Birthday, it is a big surprise, not giving away no details here. We also have the Dinner Party at the Club and then the New Year’s Eve party also at the Club. So we are busy, which is good.

The Holiday Season Music is not too bad in stores, many don’t have any. Though I like 2 songs in particular, Mariah Carey, All I want for Christmas is you, this version was recorded as a spoof on a Royal Navy War Ship, the HMS Ocean, quite funny in a very British way. The other is from a group at Oxford University called Out of the Blue, Merry Christmas Everybody. Both can be found on You Tube.

St-Nicholas day was yesterday, let’s hope we get into more of the Holiday Spirit in the next week.

Best Wishes!

Tags

2021, Concert, life, Music, New Year, Vienna

It was Friedrich Nietszche (1844-1900) who said Life without Music would be a mistake. This is why the first day of the Year must start with music. January 1 will be a quiet day as always for us, I will listen to the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna, conducted this year by one of my favourite Maestro Riccardo Muti with the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra.

A concert without audience, a first, at the Muzikverein, Golden Hall in Vienna. Here is the program;

Franz von Suppè Fatinitza March, Johann Strauß II.Schallwellen (Sound Waves), Waltz, op. 148, Johann Strauß II. Niko Polka, op. 228, Josef Strauß, Ohne Sorgen (Without a Care), Fast Polka, op. 271, Carl Zeller, Grubenlichter (Davy Lamps), Waltz, Carl Millöcker, In Saus und Braus (Living It Up), Galop — INTERMISSION —

Franz von Suppè, Overture to “Poet and Peasant, Karl Komzák, Bad’ner Mad’ln (Girls of Baden), Waltz, op. 257, Josef Strauß, Margherita Polka, op. 244, Johann Strauß, Venetian Galop, op. 74, Johann Strauß II, Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Waltz, op. 410, Johann Strauß II, In the Krapfenwaldl, Polka française, op. 336, Johann Strauß II, New Melodies Quadrille. op. 254, Johann Strauß II, Emperor Waltz, op. 437, Johann Strauß II, Tempestuous in Love and Dance, Fast Polka, op. 393

The 2021 New Year’s Concert will be broadcast in over 90 countries and followed by millions of television viewers around the world.

Let’s hope for the best or for at least a normal year, how could it not be better.

The Muzikverein, Golden Hall, Vienna.

French Canada at Christmas

Tags

Canada, Christmas, culture, Fir tree, French, French Canada, Latin, Music, Noel, tradition

A few days ago, a dear friend and blogger asked me to send him example of Christmas music from French Canada. The roots of French Canada goes back to 1534 and 1608 with the founding of Quebec City and then Montreal in 1642. There are also at this time the French settlements in the Maritime then known as Acadia from 1600 who have very similar tradition, in food, feasting, music and celebration.

As a child and growing up in Montreal and Quebec City and having uncles and aunts, cousins etc all close relatives numbering about 300, Christmas celebration were steeped in tradition from Old France and New France. Winter of course with lots of snow and cold weather, strong drink, lots of rich food and music surround the Christmas time. Our mother, aunts and grand parents made sure we knew well those traditions. Our schools also reinforced the cultural bond not to mention the Roman Catholic Church who saw itself in French Canada as the protector of French culture and heritage.

The Christmas tree was one tradition and when it would appear in the house. Usually in those days it was in the week after 15 December and would stay up until at least 7 January. There was always lots of stories around selecting a tree and putting it up and then the only acceptable tree was a traditional sapin (evergreen fir tree) symbol of immortality.

The food also was specific to the Holiday. There was never enough dishes it seems, and many came to celebrate en famille. There would be Ragout beef meat balls with pigs feet, a turkey with all the trimmings, tourtières (meat pies) everyone has a recipe on this pie, it was important to compliment the Chef on her tourtière and the crust. Mash potatoes and lots of gravy, peas and carrots. Then came the desserts, an incredible array, from the Bûche de Noël, to fruit cake, pastries stuffed with whipped cream, cookies, and of course chocolates. Everything was made from scratch, these were the days before supermarkets and processed foods. An enormous amount of work for the 25 December. The Eve was spent mostly at home and by 10:30pm it would be time to go to Church for the triple Xmas Mass and you got out around 1am. Usually followed by a Réveillon of rich foods and drink. When we were very young we did not go to Christmas Eve mass, but went to bed early because le Père Noël would be coming and we could not be awake. However when my mother was a child in the 1930’s, in those days the tradition was to give gifts around Epiphany 6 January and not on Christmas morning. A gift in her childhood was a book and an orange which was exotic and expensive and some clothing. How things have changed.

So when it comes to music, none of what you hear today in shopping malls or stores was known or played. Christmas music was at Church, in school concerts or at home in family dinners and gatherings. It was all traditional and we, as kids learned it by heart, you had to be able to sing with everyone else.

All this French Christmas music or most of it was composed based on text from the New Testament, Luke, 2, The birth of Jesus. The music was compose in the 17 and 18th Century to accompany the Roman Catholic Mass. It remains a staple today in a more secular world. It is part of the fundamental culture of French Canada.

You Tube has them all. Marc Hervieux, Tenor from Montreal who also has a music radio show on weekend on Radio-Canada devoted to opera and classical music is probably today one of the best singer in this category.

Here are some titles of the classics: Venez Divin Messie, Il est né le Divin Enfant, Minuit Chrétien, Ca berger assemblons-nous which was originally written in old French but modernized after 1789 with modern French and pronunciation and Les Anges dans nos campagnes which is in Latin and French since Mass was in Latin until 1964. All classics!

Today is 19 November

Tags

Canada, Christmas, Covid 19, Holiday, life, Music, PEI, politicians, USA

I had to go to an early appointment today and then to the pharmacy. Everyone as mandated by the Provincial Government of PEI is wearing their face mask, no fuss, no must. Happy to see that degree of cooperation.

While waiting to speak with the pharmacist I heard that music, you know it is mandatory to play that music at this time of the year to apparently get us in the mood. Bing Crosby and Burl Ives, yes Christmas music from the 1940 and 1950’s, it is nice of course if for no other reason that it is historical and belongs to a long ago age when things in retrospect appear more genteel.

The music expresses a more relaxed happier time none of the stress of post-modern living and other concerns like identity politics, erase culture, PC speak in our unraveling ultra consumer society, split in two by extreme partisan views in Canada like in the USA.

Was the world ever like that? Not really, other times, other worries. The media is already painting as they do each year the Holiday Season as extremely stressful and full of danger including of course this year the pandemic concerns and people behaving like spoiled kids who can’t control themselves and be mature. Horror of horrors there will be NO Santa this year in shopping malls, the world is coming to an end. The solution, Virtual Santa and you can schedule a visit via Zoom. I honestly have to say I cannot remember as a child going to sit on Old Santa’s knee, maybe once at Eaton’s in Montreal when I was 4 or 5 years old. Santa for us was more a mythical person, you did not see him, he simply came in the night when you were sleeping.

In the last 5 years or so of living here, one point of discussion that comes back daily is mental health, if you listen to the media you would be forgiven if you believed every one on the Island suffered from some kind of mental health problem. It is a non stop discussion, not enough support. There is a real split between the Capital and the countryside, yes there is more services in Charlottetown and less so out in rural areas which represent 98% of the Island, however being a small Island the further away from a medical centre is about 45 minutes. We have 2 psychologists for 150K population, we have social workers and counselling services but it seems that it is insufficient.

A troubling statistic, PEI has 50% more drunk drivers than the entire National Canadian average, given that you have to drive everywhere on the Island, since there is no public transport, the police cannot explain the spike in the last 9 months of the pandemic. We also consume a lot of drugs on the Island more so than anywhere else in Canada by a country mile. Which leads to a lot of serious accidents. A darker side of PEI not mentioned in the tourism brochures.

Finally one statistic that truly shocked me yesterday, listening to the PBS NewsHour, I have been listening to it for at least 40 years, love the presentation and the reporting. It was mentioned that 250,000 Americans had died of Covid 19, an extremely sad statistic, another 11 million are sick, it did not need to happen, it could have been prevented but politicians clearly dropped the ball on this one. In comparison the events in NYC at the World Trade Centre in September 11, 2001 seem despite the horror of that day, pale. I cannot understand how this can be and how some State Governors, Republican Senators and the out-going President wash their hands of it all, call it criminal stupidity.

In Canada 11,000 Canadians have died so far and 300k are sick and this in the most populous Provinces like Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and now Manitoba. Here conservative politicians are far more concerned with businesses than average citizens. As someone pointed out, you cannot have a business with dead customers, unless of course you are in the Funeral business.

a little music from Dresden

Tags

Dresden, JS Bach, life, Music, Saxony

We have visited Dresden many times in the last 20 years and it is a reborn city, beautiful architecture and wonderful art museums. Dresden was the Capital of Saxony and since 1990 has experienced a renaissance.

From the rebuilt Frauen Kirche some music.

The "Allegro" of the Sonata in G minor BWV 1020 by Bach sounds lively and joyful. The expressive sound of the oboe adds to the harpsichord theme and the two provide a dynamic interplay of tones. Let yourself be inspired by the Frauenkirchenkantor Matthias Grünert and the oboist Johannes Pfeiffer, a member of the ensemble Frauenkirche Dresden and the Dresden Philharmonic.

Gold Plate and Saucer

Tags

café, Charlottetown, Food, Horse races, Japan, Kewpie, Music, PEI, Red Shores, Restaurant, Vietnam

Old Home Week is a tradition here in PEI, it is in support of the race horse industry. Charlottetown has a race track that goes back to the 1880’s and many fine horse are bred on the Island. Some will tell you that Charlottetown is like Kentucky when it comes to racing horses in terms of traditions. Red Shores also has a casino and a very good restaurant.

This year again the race takes place and people make bets on who will win the race held on Saturday 22 August. Yesterday Friday we went across the yard to our neighbour for a drink in the garden and some food. It is our fifth year to do this.

Friday was a funny day, the weather was grey and cool at 20C with some kind of humidity that gave everything a September look. Next week school starts and there is a lot of trepidation in the air. Parents, teachers and students are a bit on edge and plans are still being worked out by the Provincial Dept of Education on what to do. Interestingly on this topic the Chief Medical Officer gave her advice but is leaving final decisions to the Premier and the Minister of Education. Everyone is keeping fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Also today I was at the grocery store and again observed that most people do wear masks and only a few don’t. Lots of people also use hand sanitizers in the store or in the parking lot, many carry it in their cars and you see people sanitize before driving off.

I think we have a couple of Covid cases left on the Island, overall for several months now Covid has disappeared from the Island, the only new cases came from people who arrived from abroad. Since March we have had no deaths and no hospitalization. But this pandemic is still weighing in on us, you cannot forget about it.

I was at the new Japanese grocery store SUMMIKO MART this week and I was looking for Japanese mayonnaise called KEWPIE. The recipe is different from North American mayo. It only uses Egg Yokes not the whole egg.  I remember when I visited Japan, I had a egg salad sandwich made with Kewpie Mayo and it was so good, the taste was rich. I found some and will try it next time I made egg salad sandwich.

They also make fresh Japanese food all ingredients imported direct from Japan and made in front of you. This is truly a first in Charlottetown.

We also have a new Vietnamese Coffee House called Madame Vuong preparing coffee the Vietnamese way which is very different from North American Coffee, the roasting process and choice of beans is a new experience. They also have Vietnamese style sandwiches, etc. It would appear that the Vietnamese are replacing the Chinese who, many, have left for Toronto. Alambé is another Vietnamese Coffee shop on Kent Street, it is very nice to see such new additions to our local scene.

Gert Van Hoef is a young Dutch concert Organist, he started learning to play the organ at 13 from his grandfather and as he says, he became obsessed with the instrument and decided to make his career of it. He has been successful and gives numerous concerts in Europe.

Here he plays as you will recognize the tune played by Big Ben in the Elizabeth  clock tower of the Parliament in London, the Carillon de Westminster, Opus 54 deel 6 van Louis Viërne (1870-1937).

 

 

Music at Ferragosto

Tags

counter culture, Eva, Ferragosto, Georgia, life, Music

Eva – Où vont les fleurs? (Where Have All the Flowers Gone?) 1965.

 

Eva Killutat was born in Berlin in 1943 and died in Montreal in March 2020. On the stage she was simply Eva, she was a very popular singer in both German and French and had a career in Europe and in the Café of Paris, She then came to Canada and was immensely popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Her voice suited the times and the culture of the counter culture, anti-war, peace movement. I remember her and those songs. This song was translated into English.

This being the 15 August, it is the National Day of the Acadian people who established themselves in 1604 all over the Maritime Provinces until their mass deportation by British troops mostly from the 13 colonies in New England in 1755.

It is also Ferragosto the start of the Summer vacation for many Europeans but Italians in particular. A time of year when we drove from Rome to Pesaro on the Adriatic to attend the Rossini Festival and enjoy the seaside.

The weather today turned from hot and humid to cool and breezy announcing the end of Summer. This happens here every year like clockwork, still very pleasant around 22 C but tonight it is going down to 14 C which is definitely fresh.

My second choice of music is the old song, Georgia on my Mind by a famous singer who unfortunately died young of diabetes, Mildred Bailey. A 1941 recording.

 

 

 

 

おぼろづきよ (Hazy Moon)

Tags

children, Damrau, Japan, Montreal, Music, Nagano, Orchestre

This week we mark a sad anniversary, 75 years ago the USA dropped the first Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and a second one on Nagasaki a few days later, killing instantly hundred of thousands of people by incinerating them and leaving the wounded to suffer for years with the effects of radiation. Today about 136,000 are still alive from that event and it is thought that it is difficult to keep alive the memory of this first Atomic explosion as they die off. More countries now have Atomic weapons far more powerful than the original ones, enough to blow up and kill all life on Earth over 300 times.

I visited Japan twice and had the opportunity to travel by the famous bullet train around the country. It is a wonderful place and so much to see and experience. Love the food and the people, the culture and traditions. I cannot say enough good things about Japan.

When I lived in Beijing I would watch the news on the Japanese National Broadcaster NHK and also a soap on television. It was very interesting to see how they present the news with much calm and with a neutral tone of voice. I also followed other programs one was a the television soap I followed about a Doctor and his wife and kids living in a town outside Tokyo. The story of their lives revolved around the wife and how she saw the family dynamic. It was all very nice keeping a normal pace, there was none of the over the top dramatic, grabbing for a laugh or open family conflict etc often seen in Western television. Even at the end of the series when her husband dies of what was possibly a heart attack, it was presented as a matter of fact, something that happens in life and with sorrow, reflection on the past but the assurance that life will go on.

This morning I was listening to the early radio music show on Radio-Canada from Montreal and they had this piece which caught my attention.

The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal produced in 2014 this very nice record of music for Japanese Children, Shoka. This music is universal and travels well. I also think that if offers calm in this pandemic period, something everyone can appreciate.

Oborozuyi, hazy moon.  Diana Damrau, soprano sings with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Choir of Les Enfants de Montréal under conductor Kent Nagano.

 

 

Here is another selection with soprano Diana Damrau.

ななつのこ (nanatsuko) Summer Life

Instagram

Tags

Instagram, Lisbon, Music, PANDEMIC

A month or so ago I thought to leave Facebook and since I have not been much on it except to check up on some people. What I really like now is Instagram, I post lots of photos of food and places and read about other people and look at their pictures. The format I find is cleaner and simpler and focuses on what you are doing at the time and there is none of the other nonsense or worse these exchanges that descend into insults and all manners of crazy people. Instagram has the advantage of letting you select what you want to see easily without all those suggestions about other sites. You can turn it into a Blog if you want and do other things, but I am content with simply posting my photos and letting it be.

Now this weekend and for about 7 days we will be incommunicado, our little Island does not have a complete coverage of the internet and many areas have NO signal. This is a significant problem for many people who happen to live outside of the main towns. About 90,000 people are affected by this daily, meaning that e-learning and school via the internet does not work here. School have been closed since 11 March 2020 and many kids expect to return to school in September and our Provincial Government is still working on a plan. We are off only 30 minutes away by the sea on the North Coast Kensington/ French River area. Even if the weather is not the best I am looking forward to this little escapade.

PEI has been lucky in this Pandemic and we had a long period of 2.5 months with no cases. In the last 10 days we now have 7 more cases from 2 individuals who travelled by plane upon their return infected 5 people. There may be more we will know in the next 48 hours when testing of all contact tracing is done. The Premier did say today that all options are now possible and one can be a mandatory wearing of face masks, the others could be returning to a lockdown. So we are all holding our breath.

Needless to say we are all dealing with depression, anxiety, stress, this situation is so abnormal and has put a strain on our lives. I really don’t know how we will manage the coming months. HOWEVER tonight a friend of ours said, we have all travelled so much in our lives, so true! and lived abroad for 25 years in grand style, not being able to travel now is really not a big deal. So true, yes it would be nice to go back to Europe etc. but we lack for nothing and so we can explore the beaches of PEI which we have to ourselves and imagine that beyond the waves we are looking at Europe.

What I do is listen to music which has the effect of transporting you in time or to a place. I also read just to occupy my mind and there are lots of topics to cover. So in terms of music this piece came to mind when thinking of Portugal. Lisbon the capital of Portugal a beautiful city and so pleasant to visit. I could live in Lisbon it is a very elegant and liveable city and listening to this old tune from decades ago captures the moment. I can relive being in the city. Lisbon Antigua was written in 1937, with music by Raul Portela and Portuguese lyrics by José Galhardo and Amadeu do Vale. Have a listen.

 

Canada day in the countryside

Tags

Berlioz, crespin, cuisine, Food, Holiday, life, lobster, Music

We had a lovely day at our Friend Pam in Lower Montague at St-Andrew’s point. Will made a beautiful Lobster Quiche, he used a pound of lobster, my God it was so good and so rich, we drank champagne and for dessert he made a Summer Pudding of fresh berries, it was so light and refreshing topped off with freshly made whipped cream and more champagne.

Before the meal I made an appetizer of cucumber, large shrimp, cherry tomatoes and Bocconcini in fine herbs with a nice bottle of Pink Champagne. The weather was overcast but her house is on the water looking out unto the Strait and the Panmure Island.

It was a quiet day today all around, a bit unusual for Canada Day, no festivities and no fireworks because of the pandemic. Friday the Bridge re-opens for the first time in 3 months and people living in the Maritimes can travel only in the Maritimes without self-isolating. However today a bit of a stain on this good news,  it was reported that a passenger coming from Toronto on a flight to Halifax is suspected of having Covid 19. It still has to be confirmed. but if it is true, this may mean that Nova Scotia will be excluded from our Maritime bubble and have to go back into lockdown. No playing around with this matter.

There are also reports that the border with the USA could remain closed for a further year to all but essential travellers. The news from our southern neighbour is disastrous and very difficult to understand.

Today I thought of Hector Berlioz, Les nuits d’été and the first song Villanelle and I wanted a singer who had perfect French diction, so I chose Régine Crespin, (1927-2007) who had a major international career. Les nuits d’été (Summer Nights), is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gauthier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. The cycle was neglected for many years, but during the 20th century it became, and has remained, one of the composer’s most popular works. The full orchestral version is more frequently performed in concert. The cycle was complete in its original version for voice Mezzo-Soprano or Tenor in 1841.

Words are by Théophile Gauthier, Villanelle

Quand viendra la saison nouvelle,
Quand auront disparu les froids,
Tous les deux nous irons, ma belle,
Pour cueillir le muguet aux bois.
Sous nos pieds égrenant les perles,
Que l’on voit au matin trembler,
Nous irons écouter les merles siffler.

Le printemps est venu, ma belle,
C’est le mois des amants béni;
Et l’oiseau, satinant son aile,
Dit des vers au rebord du nid.
Oh! viens donc, sur ce banc de mousse
Pour parler de nos beaux amours,
Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce:
“Toujours!”

Loin, bien loin, égarant nos courses,
Faisant fuir le lapin caché,
Et le daim au miroir des sources
Admirant son grand bois penché,
Puis chez nous, tout heureux, tout aises,
En panier enlaçant nos doigts,
Revenons, rapportant des fraises
Des bois.