This is not an ordinary post. I wish to publish my findings regarding the migration of Reynard the Fox and Æsopic fables to North-America. I have to revise these posts so they are brief articles, but the editors of the Journal to which these will be submitted will require the information that follows. It is not complete, two papers are missing (applied linguistics) and it is not an abundant list, but I faced obstacles. The first consisted of Chronic illnesses: chronic fatigue syndrome and migraines.
The second was a motivation on the part of certain administrators not to have on staff a person who may fall ill if overworked. I was overworked and I fell ill. That was unfortunate, but life does not always unfold according to our expectations. I had to teach courses in several areas of learning and prepared language lab components. Let us say I had an accident. Unlike the victims of the Boston bombings, I did not lose a limb, but I lost what was dear to me, as dear as life itself.
Publishing while preparing new courses and language lab components is almost impossible, especially if one has to go to bed early in the evening. I will therefore publish some of the following articles online. It is my intention to publish my PhD thesis, but firm plans have yet to be determined. I will require research privileges from a large university and money to purchase books. I am a former President of the Canadian Association of College and University Teachers of French (APFUCC), which may help.
I would like to live in an English house again and near friends.
PUBLICATIONS:
Articles :
2002.
« La Patrie littéraire : errance et résistance », Francophonies d’Amérique.
http://www.erudit.org/revue/fa/2002/v/n13/1005247ar.pdf
1998.
« Le Récit d’Acadie : présence d’une absence », in Les Abeilles pillotent,255-275. Université Saint-Anne, Pointe-de-l’Église, Nouvelle-Écosse, .
1988.
« Le Misanthrope, ou la comédie éclatée », in David Trott and Nicole Boursier, eds., L’Âge du théâtre en France/ The Age of Theatre in France, 53-61. Edmonton: Academic Printing and Publishing.
1984.
« L’Échec d’Arnolphe : loi du genre ou faille intérieure? » Papers on French Seventeenth-Century Literature, 11, No. 20: 79-92.
1984.
« Le Poids de l’histoire : à la recherche d’une pédagogie. » The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 40, No. 2: 218-227.
Rpt. in Mosaïque (APFUCC [Association of Canadian University and College Teachers of French], 1984).
Rpt. in Courrier “F” (Ghent, Belgium : Société belge des professeurs de français 2e et 3e langue, 1985).
1981.
« Tartuffe : masques, machines et machinations. » In Actes du XXIVe congrès annuel de l’APFUCC, 491-508. APFUCC/Signum, 1981.Edited Books :
1988.
Mosaïque III : tendances et pratiques actuelles en didactique du français langue seconde. APFUCC.
1986.
Mosaïque II : tendances et pratiques actuelles en didactique du français langue seconde. APFUCC.
1984.
Mosaïque : tendances et pratiques actuelles en didactique du français langue seconde. APFUCC.
Edited Section of Journal:
1984.
« Molière et la nouvelle critique. » In Papers on French Seventeenth-Century Literature, 11, No. 20: 11-92.
Lectures:
2001.
« Renart : éloquence d’un silence, silence d’une éloquence. »
2001 meeting of the International Reynard Society, Hull, England.
2001.
French-Canadian Literature (in French), University of Stuttgart, Germany.
English-Canadian Literature (in English), University of Stuffgart, Germany.
_________________________
“Sous les ponts de Paris”
Lucienne Delyle
How can one understand senseless tragedies such as the one that has forever blemished the face of the Boston Marathon. Yet, they keep happening. We kill and we maim. We have a very bad reputation.
When someone is the victim of a needless tragedy, I want to trade places with the aggrieved individual. Send me to the gas chamber, but spare my neighbour. It’s a silly reaction, but it’s my first reaction.
Second, I hear myself say: “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry. How can I help?” But I’m alone. No one can hear me and there is very little I can do.
Third, I’m indignant. “How dare you? Isn’t life hard enough? Why make matters worse?”
There are so many things we cannot change. We do our best to predict earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, devastating hurricanes. Yet they happen. We fight diseases, epidemics, pandemics, but all too often these defeat us. There are so many ways in which we are powerless.
But tragedies such as the Boston bombings need not happen. They are man-made tragedies. So this we can change. This we must change, if we really want to…
There are so many ways in which we are powerful.
But, at the moment, I simply want to say that I feel very sorry for the victims of Monday’s bombings and for their families and friends. I would like to be with them and comfort them.
I was delighted that so many of you read my last post and left a “like.” The tax I wrote about is mostly trivial, but it is a step in the wrong direction. Moreover, in an article posted below, Madame Marois claims that separation from Canada is an emergency, which is another step in the wrong direction. She bemoans the fact Quebecers have “two levels of government” and states that the solution is independence from Canada. Allow me to quote Madame Marois:
“Marois told a weekend meeting of Parti Quebecois delegates that it is “very important to explain” the benefits of making Quebec a country, which include the province making its own decisions and ending the duplication of two levels of government.” (Feb. 11, 2013)
To my knowledge, it happened the other way around. Quebec, not Canada, created a government within a government (i.e. a factious government). For instance, Quebec failed to sign the patriated constitution (1982). That gesture alone can serve as proof that the government of Quebec had initiated a separation from Canada and had done so without first obtaining from the people of Quebec a mandate allowing it to start negotiating the terms of a new relationship with Ottawa. There had been a referendum, but indépendantistes had not obtained sufficient votes. So, in 1982, the government of Quebec acted as if Quebec had separated from Canada, when such was not the case.
Ironically, in the 1960s, at the time the Quiet Revolution took place, Quebecers were lulled into thinking they would inhabit a welfare state, but they are now paying taxes to “two levels of government” because its own government put the cart before the horse. It acted prematurely. Moreover, because Quebec did not sign the patriated Constitution, there are limitations on the validity of Quebec’s health-insurance card. When I lived outside Quebec, my health-insurance card was valid from coast to coast.
“The latest outbreak of separatist grievance-mongering comes in the form of a new PQ-funded report that claims Ottawa is allowing Anglophone provinces to commit “soft ethnocide” on French speakers around the country. “We’re reminding people of the evolution of Canada when we systematically eliminated French at the start of the 20th century,” said the lead author this week.” (Feb. 5, 2013)
Regarding the “soft ethnocide” Madame Marois is imputing to Ottawa, need I remind Quebec’s Premier that, traditionally, it has been difficult for French-speaking Canadians to separate language from religion. They had been taught that language and religion were inextricably linked. So the reason why French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec could not receive an education in French has little to do with resistance on the part of English-speaking Canadians and Ottawa. It has to do with the fact that provincial governments do not fund denominational schools. Such schools are private schools.
I saw my very own father rebuked and labelled a “communist,” because it was acceptable to him to separate language and religion, or faith and state. Fortunately, matters changed when Pierre Elliott Trudeau became Prime Minister. It is now possible for French-speaking Canadians to be educated in French outside Quebec and English-speaking students are eager to enter French-immersion programs. In other words, there is no “soft ethnocide” of French-speaking Canadians residing outside Quebec, at least not yet. But there may be an ethnocide if Quebec continues to act recklessly.
Tuition-free education
Let me address this matter once again. In Quebec, beginning with the Quiet Revolution, the government wanted to give students whose parents had not attended a university a chance to do so. Students were therefore spared a measure of screening. It is relatively easy for Quebec students to enter university. Besides, their tuition fees are half the amount Canadian students pay outside Quebec. The Quebec government cannot afford what the Parti Québécois peddled so Madame Marois would defeat Jean Charest’s federalist government. If a referendum were called in the near future, students would not support indépendance. As for other Québécois and Quebeckers, especially the elderly, they would remember that they are footing the bill so fees paid by students would not rise. Someone has to foot the bill and, among those who do, too many are living below the poverty line.
The Quiet Revolution took place fifty years ago. May I suggest therefore that the time may have come for Quebec universities to put into place more selective entrance requirements. May I also suggest that it is entirely possible for intelligent and hard-working students to obtain a university degree even if their parents have not attended a university.
My father is an intellectual, but my parents did not attend university. Yet, on the basis of an entrance examination, I earned myself a free education. Furthermore, when I entered graduate school, I did so at the doctoral level and by invitation. In my opinion, if a student’s performance warrants financial help, financial help should be available, as it was for me.
About Quebec universities
I took courses in musicology at a Quebec English-language university. The department of music had three full-time professors and twenty-two chargés de cours (part-time teachers). It needed part-time teachers because students were learning to play different instruments, but three vs twenty-two seemed too wide a discrepancy. Besides, other departments also hired more part-time teachers than full-time teachers. As a result, many Quebec university teachers have left Quebec and teach in other provinces. That is a loss for Quebec. In fact that is not-so-soft ethnocide perpetrated by the Quebec government.
Conclusion
It seems to me that in the interest of peace, growth, and the pursuit of happiness, Madame Marois and her Parti Québécois, should revisit their decision to separate from Canada. In particularly, they should assign members of the Office québécois de la languefrançaise, OQLF to more positive tasks. The time has come for a more significant number of Québécois to speak their language correctly. Québécois do have a territory and that territory is their culture. Asking restaurant owners to replace WC by toilettes on the door to a restaurant’s facilities is petty in the utmost and it threatens French-speaking Canadians living outside Quebec.
For forty years, I lived in complete harmony with my English-speaking neighbours as well as my English-speaking colleagues. Yes, I was overworked, which put a premature end to my career as a university teacher, but no one ever forced me to speak English or got upset if I used French words. On the contrary!
Moreover, the time has also come for Québécois to be taught the history of their country. They need to know that French-speaking Canadians were not harmed by Britain. In 1763, France could no longer afford New France so it chose to retain Guadeloupe as a colony rather than New France. However, under the new régime, French-speaking Canadians kept their farms, seigneuries, religion and their language. Moreover, in 1774, the Quebec Act put French-speaking Canadians on the same footing as English-speaking Canadians.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with living in a bilingual or trilingual country. But it is very wrong to foment dissent and unnecessary conflicts. Madame Marois is calling for an offensive, but I am calling for all Canadians to respect one another. I am calling for peace, growth and the pursuit of happiness.
A friend is doing my income tax report. In a telephone conversation, he told me that Madame Marois, Quebec‘s Premier, was demanding that tax payers provide her government with a new tax for medical care and medication. Such a tax did not exist in Quebec a year ago and it does not exist outside Quebec. To my knowledge, no one was told about this new tax. In my case, it will amount to a minimum of $300.00.
How will persons living on welfare pay this amount of money? Their monthly income is $600.00 and barely pays the rent. As well, how will the disabled survive, particularly men? If a man is disabled but was married at some point in his life, his former wife receives half of his disability benefits. So, he must live on $300.00 a month. This decision was one of Madame Marois’ victories. She was then courting the feminists. Finally, what about the elderly many of whom are working well into their seventies and early eighties, if they can find employment.
The Economy: 2008 & its aftermath
In fact, what about me? My pension fund suffered because of George W. Bush’s totally useless wars and it is not growing, not in this economy. So my current income is a combination of Old Age Security benefits and what little money I withdraw from my pension fund. I can let it grow until I am seventy-one, which is what I must do if it is to provide me with a decent living when I am older. Fortunately, I own my apartment and have accumulated good furniture, pots and pans, dishes, kitchen gadgets, books. My income is therefore adequate, but…
From House to House
As you probably know, I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, since February 1976 when I had a flu which took away much of my energy. I could teach despite this illness, provided I was assigned a reasonable workload. However, the Chair of my department worked me out of my position by asking me to teach a new course: Animals in Literature, i.e. World Literature. I wish I could have said ‘no,’ but I couldn’t. He had lost his temper before causing me to faint and I was afraid it would happen again. Later, when I started feeling extremely tired, he would not allow me to leave the classroom and the results were catastrophic. I told that story in a post entitled From House to House, but I am trying not to remember.
Back to Madame Marois
To my knowledge the above changes were not announced. Everything was done behind closed doors. But I have now learned how Madame Marois will not increase tuition fees. Quebecers pay higher taxes than other Canadians, 15% instead of 10% of their income, and, beginning now, they must pay an extra tax.
The poor in Quebec are not the students who get a nearly free education compared to Canadians living in provinces other than Quebec. Besides, the students have a future. The poor in Quebec are the elderly, those who were not members of a powerful syndicate and those who did not have a position that provided fringe benefits, such as a pension plan. Among the elderly, some find jobs, but indépendantisme has taken its toll. Quebec could be a very rich province, but who wants to invest in a province that threatens to separate from the rest of Canada.
At any rate, the students are now paying $25.00 more than they did last year or will pay, next year, $25.00 more than they do at the moment. The money will be taken from tax payers and, among them, needy persons and the elderly.
The truth is as follows. I wondered why Quebec’s mighty unions, les syndicats, had not supported the students in their last bid for a tuition-free education. The reason is that the Unions needed the students to get rid of veteran political figure Jean Charest‘s Liberal and federalist government. This goal was attained on 4 September 2012, when Madame Marois was elected to the premiership of Quebec.
My dear readers, I wish I could write more today. We have one more bestiary to look at and there are so many fascinating subjects to discuss, but everything has to wait until tomorrow.
This post is one of two posts about an unfortunate connection. More than a century after the Esterházy family had been patrons to Joseph Haydn‘s (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809), an Esterházy, but of a different branch than Haydn’s generous patrons, would commit treason against France, but was protected by the French army. He retired in 1898 and escaped punishment by feeing to England.
So, although this post is mostly about Haydn and the Esterházy family, I am not focussing on the Joseph Haydn who, with Mozart and Beethoven, is the foremost composer of the Classical period (1730–1820)[i] in the history of western music and the composer best known as the person who “helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and the symphony.”[ii]
The Haydn I wish to write about is the musician who, after difficult beginnings, came to the attention of aristocrats: Karl Joseph von Fürnberg, the Bohemian count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin (1758) and, in particular, the extremely wealthy Esterházy family, the House of Esterházy, a Magyar family at whose court, first in Eisenstadt and, second, at Esterháza (now Fertöd), Haydn would work for nearly thirty years (from 1761 to 1790). He was Vice-Kapellmeister to prince Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galántha (22 April 1711 – 18 March 1762) and, a year later, when prince Anton passed away, he became Hofkapellmeister, or music director, to his brother, prince Nikolaus I or Miklós József Esterházy (d. 1790).
Humble beginnings
Let us look at Haydn’s early life. Haydn was born to a humble family in Rohrau, Austria, a village near the border with Hungary). He was the son of a wheelwright and his wife Maria, née Koller, who had worked as a cook at the palace of Aloys Thomas Raimund, Count Harrach (7 March, 1669, Vienna - 7 November, 1742, an Austrian politician and diplomat.
It was not possible for Haydn to develop his talent for music in Rohrau. At the age of six, he was therefore sent to apprentice as a musician at the home of Johann Matthias Frankh, a relative of the Haydn family who lived in Hainburg. As Frankh’s student, Haydn learned to play the harpsichord and the violin. But it was as a singer that he was brought to the attention of Georg von Reutter. At the age of eight, in 1740, Haydn auditioned for Reutter, the director of music at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, who convinced Joseph’ family to let him take young Joseph and his brother Michael as choirboys at St. Stephen’s. Haydn was eight years old. However, at the age of seventeen, he was expelled from the choir. His voice had changed and he had played a practical joke on another chorister.
Haydn was taken in by Johann Michael Spangler, a musician whose garret he shared, and supported himself with odd musical jobs. Fortunately, he met Nicola Porpora who gave him a position as accompanist for voice lessons and corrected his compositions. As a chorister, Haydn had not acquired sufficient knowledge of the theory of music to become a composer. Matters would change.
Aristocratic Patronage
We have already seen that Haydn first came to the attention of Austrian nobleman Karl Joseph von Fürnberg. He was a member of Fürnberg’s small orchestra and, during his tenure as Fürnberg’s employee, he wrote his first quartets. We also know that, in 1758, he was recommended to Bohemian Count Morzin. (See Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin, Britannica.) During the three years Haydn was Kapellmeister to count Morzin, his patron put him in charge of an orchestra of about 16 musicians. At this point, Haydn composed his first symphonies.
Later, in c. 1761, when Count Morzin dismissed his musicians, a relatively unknown Haydn was hired by prince Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galántha(22 April 1711 – 18 March 1762), a member of the extremely wealthy Esterházy family. He worked first at Eisenstadt, earning a yearly salary of 400 florins and, after Prince Anton or Pál Antal passed away, in 1762, his patron would be Nikolaus Esterházy or Miklós József Esterházy, Pál Antal’s brother, in whose employ he would remain for nearly 30 years and whom he followed when the princely family moved to Esterháza (now Fertöd), their Hungarian palace, built in 1762-1766.
The Esterházy Family as Patrons
Joseph Haydn conducting a string quartet in Vienna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Prince Nikolaus I was Haydn’s patron until his death in 1790. His successor dismissed Nikolaus’ court musicians but continued to pay Haydn 400 florins a year, which had been his salary in 1761. Moreover, Count Nikolaus had left Haydn a pension of 1000 florins. As well, given that his services were no longer needed, Haydn’s new patron allowed him to travel, which led to an apotheosis in Haydn’s career.
Haydn Duties at Esterháza
At Esterháza, Haydn had onerous duties. According to Britannica, “while the music director [who was still alive] oversaw church music, Haydn conducted the orchestra and coached the singers in almost daily rehearsals, composed most of the music required, and served as chief of the musical personnel.”
However, he could choose the musicians who would be members of his chamber orchestra. Moreover, he was free to invite fine guest musicians, if such was Prince Nikolaus’ wish, which was usually the case. Mozart, who became Haydn’s protégé, was undoubtedly the most remarkable musician ever to perform at Esterháza. Finally, distinguished visitors flocked to Esterháza and, every year, Haydn spent up to two months in Vienna, the city that was home to Mozart and would soon be home to Beethoven, who would be Haydn’s student, albeit briefly.
So, even though he lived at a distance from Vienna, Esterháza offered Haydn a stable life and he was not only a respected member of Nicolaus’ court, but also the prince’s personal music teacher, Nikolaus played the baryton, now a mostly obsolete instrument. Joseph Haydn wrote approximately 170 pieces for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, in the earlier part of his career. (See Haydn, Wikipedia.)
London: an “Apotheosis”
As we know, when Nikolaus I died, Haydn was financially secure. Yet he let German impresario Johann Peter Salomon convince him to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra. It would lead to unprecedented and totally unsuspected success. Haydn’s “Paris Symphonies” were excellent compositions, but his “London Symphonies” are a summit. Moreover, it is in London, between 1796 and 1798, that Haydn composed The Creation(Die Schöpfung), an oratorio. (See Haydn, Wikipedia.)
I will pause at this point and post a second article focussing on another member of the Esterházy family, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, the man who sold information to Germany, a crime imputed to Alfred Dreyfus, a French artillery officer of Jewish background. The Dreyfus Affair would divide France into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards and reveal considerable contempt against Jews, particularly in the military.
I apologize for not producing as many blogs. I am simply very tired. I have already written my next post.
[i] Narrowly speaking, the Classical period extends from (1730–1820). It follows the Baroque period (1600–1760) and is followed by the Romantic period (1815–1910). These periods overlap.
composer: Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809)
piece: « String Quartet No. 62 in C major, Op. 76, No. 3, Hob.III:77, “Emperor”: II. Poco adagio, cantabile »
performers: Reinhold Friedrich
I was nominated for this award by tuttacronaca on 28 January 2013. “Versatile” is a word people have often used to describe me. I have taught many subjects. I therefore became a “versatile” teacher. As for my students, if I mentioned Montaigne and Montesquieu when teaching Pascal, they thought I was “jumping around.” I wasn’t. All three wrote about the relativity of laws.
I thank tuttacronaca most sincerely. He is an extremely versatile blogger. In fact so are most of my readers. They read my posts despite the diversity of subjects. Diversity was Jean de La Fontaine‘s motto.
Choosing nominees is not easy. For instance, two of my nominees for the Versatile Blogger could have been Sunshine award nominees. And two of my Sunshine Award nominees could have been Versatile Blogger nominees. But most of my Sunshine award nominees are versatile bloggers and vice versa.
Nominating a WordPress colleague for an award is a way of telling that colleague that I enjoy his or her posts. I simply wish I could have nominated more of my WordPress colleagues.
There are rules
I apologize. I forgot to provide the rules.
First, you must link back to me. You may do this by writing a comment when you receive this post.
Second, You must reveal seven facts about yourself.
In my opinion, we should pay more attention to the education of little children.
Facts are essential, but my main goal as a teacher was to encourage students to widen their horizon and see the many facets of subjects we were discussing.
Living in France had a permanent influence on the manner I dress, cook, live and think.
I have had fine friendships with exceptional men.
I fear extremists.
I am a pianist and an artist, which may demonstrate versatility.
My chief cause is peace.
I love you all.
composer: Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809)
piece: Serenade
I was nominated for this award by tuttacronaca on 28 January 2013. “Versatile” is a word people have often used to describe me. I have taught many subjects. I therefore became a “versatile” teacher. As for my students, if I mentioned Montaigne and Montesquieu when teaching Pascal, they thought I was “jumping around.” I wasn’t. All three wrote about the relativity of laws.
I thank tuttacronaca most sincerely. He is an extremely versatile blogger. In fact so are most of my readers. They read my posts despite the diversity of subjects. Diversity was Jean de La Fontaine motto.
Choosing nominees is not easy. For instance, two of my nominees for the Versatile Blogger could have been Sunshine award nominees. And two of my Sunshine Award nominees could have been Versatile Blogger nominees. But most of my Sunshine award nominees are versatile bloggers and vice versa.
Nominating a WordPress colleague for an award is a way of telling that colleague that I enjoy his or her posts. I simply wish I could have nominated more of my WordPress colleagues.
In my opinion, we should pay more attention to the education of little children.
Facts are essential, but my main goal as a teacher was to encourage students to widen their horizon and see the many facets of subjects we were discussing.
Living in France had a permanent influence on the manner I dress, cook, live and think.
I have had fine friendships with exceptional men.
I fear extremists.
I am a pianist and an artist, which may demonstrate versatility.
My chief cause is peace.
I love you all.
composer: Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809)
piece: Serenade
On January 2, 2013, our colleague Jay Morris, The Wayward Journey, made my world a brighter place by nominating me for a Sunshine Award. I was delighted.
As Jay wrote, some people do not accept awards. In my opinion, one should have a choice in the matter. If you do not accept awards, please look upon my nominating you as a personal tribute to excellent blogs. I should think, you can also tell you have been nominated. In fact, if you know how to do this, I believe you may put the nomination in your sidebar. This is a process I have yet to master. I’ve tried, but made a mess.
There are rules.
First, you must link back to me. You may do this by writing a comment when you receive this post.
Second, You must reveal seven facts about yourself.
Third, You must nominate ten other blogs.
This is what I said about myself:
I am respectful of others, whatever their ethnicity, rich or poor, etc.
I had a very loving and generous husband.
Nature gave me an insightful mind and good looks.
Music, the fine arts, books and cats have brought me great pleasure.
I enjoy a “café society.”
I prefer the indoors, but let the outdoors in and the indoors out.
My favourite outing is joining dear friends for a dinner, or just coffee, and good conversation.
I have been nominated for another award, which means there will be other nominees. I love you all.
* * *
composer: Antonín Leopold Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904)
piece: Serenade in E Major for Strings, Op. 22: II. “Tempo di valse”
performers: Münchner Philharmoniker
conductor: Rudolf Kempe (born 14 June 1910 in Dresden, died 12 May 1976 in Zürich)
I have been nominated for another award, which means there will be other nominees. I love you all.
* * *
composer: Antonín Leopold Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904)
piece: Serenade in E Major for Strings, Op. 22: II. “Tempo di valse”
performers: Münchner Philharmoniker
conductor: Rudolf Kempe (born 14 June 1910 in Dresden, died 12 May 1976 in Zürich)
Today is February 3rd, but there are more Candlemas stories to tell. For instance, Candlemas is also “pancake feast,” la fête des crêpes, a tradition that goes back to ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, Lupercus was the god Pan. In ancient Roman, the feast was called Lupercalia (lupus, loup) but it was usually celebrated in mid-February, on the 13th. It had to do with keeping the wolf away from innocent sheep. Lupercus was the god of shepherds. I will tell more stories next February 2nd.
We now have three posts on Candlemas and know about
the Nunc dimittis, a canticle, Simeon’s song of praise,
the Purification of the Virgin,
the beginning of a new Marian season,
the antiphon of the season “Ave Regina Cælorum,”[i]
and Groundhog Day.
I realize that fewer people go to a service on Sunday or attend Mass, but music and the fine arts have kept alive religious, mythological and mythical “reality.” Aert de Gelder (or Arent, October 26, 1645 – August 27, 1727), a student of Rembrandt, painted Simeon holding the child Jesus and, as noted above, Simeon sang the Nunc dimittis when he saw Jesus, as he had been told by none other than the Holy Ghost. (See Nunc Dimittis, Wikipedia). Religious feasts are usually associated with the seasons, mythologies give us a past, myths provide metaphors, and feed the imagination. Yet myths are the fruit of imagination.
Palestrina is known for composing “transparent” polyphonic (many voices) music. Although the voices blend, one can still hear the text. This was important because the Reformed Churches favoured simple songs. I have found precious gems in the Church of England’s anthems. They engaged the faithful who were invited to sing. The English wrote lovely, melodious anthems. Martin Luther wrote hymns, the most famous of which is Ein’ feste Burg is unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress is our God).
In the News
Canadian Conrad Black, no choirboy himself, has stated that “[t]he election of Kathleen Wynne and Pauline Marois’ Scotland visit might incite fear that much of Canada is being led by nasty women.” (See The National Post.)
He could be right; women can be as nasty as men. I know, from personal experience, that women can in fact surpass men in cruelty, jealousy, hypocrisy, etc. They can be extremely manipulative, devious and vindictive. Think of my little blue house. (See From House to House.) My “case manager” was a woman employed by a fine insurance company. She did not lose her position.
One day, a “good” woman posted the results of an examination on the door of her office, listing her students’ marks, not next to a number, but next to a name. I talked with her gently, but she did not know what I was talking about… However, a little later, such behaviour became an official violation. This may seem a detail, but good educators respect their students. That’s rule number one.
Not that men are better. I am thinking of that student in India, raped and probably impaled to death. The poor young woman and her poor parents! And there is violence in the Middle East. Why? Also in the news is suicide. Young people are committing suicide!
