Subtitled "J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the search for a Baroque Masterpiece.
I am presently leading some worship services at Trinity, and I'm using Music as my theme, so I read this book - which I purchased in Peterborough two years ago - to give me a refresher on the life of J.S. Bach, which was timely, and certainly about 80% more information about Pablo Casals, whom I had known merely as one of the world's greatest cellists, and that he had played in Washington for JFK back in the early 60s, than I previously had had.
It was an interesting read, both for reading about these two great musicians, but also for their creative life, and how these Cello Suites came to life only in the 20th century by Casals. The connections between the 18th century and the 20th were very interesting, and the author, who describes his own attempts to sing in a Bach cantata with no previous choral experience, and absolutely no music-reading experience, made this a very readable book.
Eric Siblin was a pop music critic for the Montreal Gazette, and had had his fill, as he says, of music is his head that he didn't want to have there, so the Cello Suites offered " a way out of a jam". He travelled extensively throughout Spain and Germany, attended a Bach festival, interviewed other cellists, and, as I mentioned before, immersed himself as completely as he could in the music of Bach.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Queen Elizabeth by William Shawcross
It's taken me a long time to finish this 943-page bio. I read the first 300 pages or so in June, amidst other books, then decided to read it exclusively through to the end. I had started reading Follett's "Fall of Giants", and after a hundred pages or so, thought Shawcross had done a better, more-informed job of the First World War, so I turned to QE full-time.
This is sub-titled "The Official Biography", and Shawcross evidently took that very seriously, because it is so detailed in every aspect of QE's public life, and it does paint an extremely flattering picture of her.
I have great admiration for Royals - their job is not an easy one, and George VI and Elizabeth were the ultimate, I'd say, in meeting and visiting people, keeping in touch, becoming patrons and so on. The rigours of royal tours became very evident in this book - there would be complaints from people around them, but rarely from the main attractions themselves. Right up to the year she died, QE was out visiting, trooping the colours, travelling, entertaining. I'd have been gasping for some time to myself!
King George V's biographer called her " one of the most amazing Queens since Cleopatra". Her smile was infectious, and she never lost the warmth and grace of her childhood years, living in Glamis, Scotland.
Her smile, her unwavering faith and her love of surprises were, for me, the most notable things about QE. She took a lot of delight when things went awry at events. For example, on one visit to Canada, poor weather forced her plane down in Cold Lake, Alberta. She sat in the officer's mess and talked happily with the officers and their wives until her plane could continue its journey.
After her 90th birthday, her daughter Margaret mentioned how much they were now looking forward to her 100th birthday. She replied:" Oh, you mustn't say that. It's unlucky. I mean, I might be run over by a big red bus". When someone mentioned that this was highly unlikely, she replied:"No, it's the principle of the thing. Wouldn't it be terrible if you'd spent all your life doing everything you were supposed to do, didn't drink, didn't smoke, took lots of exercise, all the things you didn't want to do, and suddenly one day you were run over by a big red bus, and as the wheels were crunching into you, you'd say "Oh, my God, I could have got so drunk last night" That's the way you should live your life, as if tomorrow you'll be run over by a big red bus"
And that's exactly how she did live!
This is sub-titled "The Official Biography", and Shawcross evidently took that very seriously, because it is so detailed in every aspect of QE's public life, and it does paint an extremely flattering picture of her.
I have great admiration for Royals - their job is not an easy one, and George VI and Elizabeth were the ultimate, I'd say, in meeting and visiting people, keeping in touch, becoming patrons and so on. The rigours of royal tours became very evident in this book - there would be complaints from people around them, but rarely from the main attractions themselves. Right up to the year she died, QE was out visiting, trooping the colours, travelling, entertaining. I'd have been gasping for some time to myself!
King George V's biographer called her " one of the most amazing Queens since Cleopatra". Her smile was infectious, and she never lost the warmth and grace of her childhood years, living in Glamis, Scotland.
Her smile, her unwavering faith and her love of surprises were, for me, the most notable things about QE. She took a lot of delight when things went awry at events. For example, on one visit to Canada, poor weather forced her plane down in Cold Lake, Alberta. She sat in the officer's mess and talked happily with the officers and their wives until her plane could continue its journey.
After her 90th birthday, her daughter Margaret mentioned how much they were now looking forward to her 100th birthday. She replied:" Oh, you mustn't say that. It's unlucky. I mean, I might be run over by a big red bus". When someone mentioned that this was highly unlikely, she replied:"No, it's the principle of the thing. Wouldn't it be terrible if you'd spent all your life doing everything you were supposed to do, didn't drink, didn't smoke, took lots of exercise, all the things you didn't want to do, and suddenly one day you were run over by a big red bus, and as the wheels were crunching into you, you'd say "Oh, my God, I could have got so drunk last night" That's the way you should live your life, as if tomorrow you'll be run over by a big red bus"
And that's exactly how she did live!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In The Land of Believers by Gina Welch ✔✔✔✔
I don't even remember how I found out about this, but when I read about it, I downloaded it immediately. Gina is a young woman who decides she wants to write about evangelical Christians by "embedding" herself in one of their churches, and chooses Dr. Jerry Falwell's church. She is an athiest, and remains so throughout the book, but nonetheless is changed by her experiences there - she even gets baptized by immersion! She also attends something called a Scaremare, which I had never heard of - a sort of haunted house experience designed to scare you enough into becoming a Christian - yes, I kid you not!
I was wondering how she would get herself out of all this, so it was very interesting to read, and find out the members' reactions to her book.
I was wondering how she would get herself out of all this, so it was very interesting to read, and find out the members' reactions to her book.
The Art of Racing In The Rain - Garth Stein✔✔✔✔
This story was so close to David's situation right now, plus his relationship with his golden retriever, Charlie. It tells the story of a family with the dog, Enzo, as the narrator. Here's the beginning:
"Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do to communicate clearly and effectively....I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and...an even less effective tool for making...sounds that can be linked together to form sentences"
But Enzo is also a very important character in this novel, as he nurtures and helps heal Denny, his owner, Eve, Denny's wife, who is dying of cancer, and their daughter,Zoë.
This would be a wonderful book for a Book Club to read and discuss.
"Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do to communicate clearly and effectively....I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and...an even less effective tool for making...sounds that can be linked together to form sentences"
But Enzo is also a very important character in this novel, as he nurtures and helps heal Denny, his owner, Eve, Denny's wife, who is dying of cancer, and their daughter,Zoë.
This would be a wonderful book for a Book Club to read and discuss.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews ✔✔✔✔✔
It's been a long while since I shed a few tears at the end of a novel, but I did with this one. It's a quick read, a family road trip, and last night I thought I'd skim through to the end but today I backed up to re-read the last thirty pages and was overwhelmed, both by the beauty of the writing and the love of family that permeates the end of the book, as well as the fact that it resembles so closely the dilemma our David continues to endure with his separation from his 17-month-old daughter.
Min, the mother, is in a psychiatric hospital for the nth time, and tells her sister Hattie, the narrator, that she wants to die. Min has two children: Logan, aged 15 and Thebes, 12, and Logan, who has seen the exchange between the two sisters, wants to know what his mother said. Hattie doesn't want to tell him, so instead she says that Min wants the three of them to find Cherkis, their father and promptly sets out on a road trip with the two teenagers to find their father - a seemingly impossible task, given the fact that they have no clue where he is and they're driving in an aged and inform Ford Aerostar, and all three of them are a bit nuts themselves.
It's a unconventional trio, but you know all along that they do love each other, and of course they meet some interesting characters along the way.
A five-star read for sure, Toews certainly knows how to write about teenagers and family. As the Edmonton Journal said, " She shines a kindly light on family dynamics that the average social worker would find worthy of a hefty investigation. And she balances heartbreak with laugh-out-loud wit."
Shirley loaned me this book - it came from her cousin Cheryl.
Min, the mother, is in a psychiatric hospital for the nth time, and tells her sister Hattie, the narrator, that she wants to die. Min has two children: Logan, aged 15 and Thebes, 12, and Logan, who has seen the exchange between the two sisters, wants to know what his mother said. Hattie doesn't want to tell him, so instead she says that Min wants the three of them to find Cherkis, their father and promptly sets out on a road trip with the two teenagers to find their father - a seemingly impossible task, given the fact that they have no clue where he is and they're driving in an aged and inform Ford Aerostar, and all three of them are a bit nuts themselves.
It's a unconventional trio, but you know all along that they do love each other, and of course they meet some interesting characters along the way.
A five-star read for sure, Toews certainly knows how to write about teenagers and family. As the Edmonton Journal said, " She shines a kindly light on family dynamics that the average social worker would find worthy of a hefty investigation. And she balances heartbreak with laugh-out-loud wit."
Shirley loaned me this book - it came from her cousin Cheryl.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain ✔✔✔✔
This is our first Book Club selection for September 2011, which I downloaded to my Kindle. It was a slow start, but I was very busy with other things while reading it. I ended up enjoying it and look forward to our discussion of it. Meanwhile, I've copied this from Book Browse because, once again, I'm feeling lazy...
A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.
A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
God's Secretaries by Adam Nicolson ✔✔✔✔
How the King James Bible came about is the theme of this informative, reader-friendly book. I have always loved the King James version, with its beautiful language, which flows so majestically, especially in the Psalms. I already knew, of course, that it had been put together in the 17th century in England, but I never knew exactly how, or how much James I - who succeeded Elizabeth I - was actually involved in the making of it. This book answered those questions, but was also a vivid portrayal of that post-Elizabethan time in England, plus a comparison of the Puritans to the Church of England clergy.
Some of the highlights were: - a Puritan minister who spent five years from 1594 - 1599,preaching each and every Thursday on the book of Jonah, which consists of four chapters, a total of 48 verses! The author calls this "word - inflation".
- the fact that James I commissioned this translation as a way of unifying England and Scotland.
- the translators divided up the Bible amongst some 50 of themselves, and each translator was to work on a chapter, then submit it to his particular group to work on it together, then to submit it to the entire group. In this way, the richness and majesty of the text was the result - each word was important.
- this richness and lushness was reflected in the stained-glass windows and beautifully-wrought interiors , not to mention vestments of the churches and clergy. It reminds me of the Baroque period in Europe, particularly in Bach and Vivaldi.
This was not a stuffy, scholarly read. Nicolson was obviously passionate about the subject - he says he is a Christian, but doesn't go to church - and has made this book as readable as its subject.
Some of the highlights were: - a Puritan minister who spent five years from 1594 - 1599,preaching each and every Thursday on the book of Jonah, which consists of four chapters, a total of 48 verses! The author calls this "word - inflation".
- the fact that James I commissioned this translation as a way of unifying England and Scotland.
- the translators divided up the Bible amongst some 50 of themselves, and each translator was to work on a chapter, then submit it to his particular group to work on it together, then to submit it to the entire group. In this way, the richness and majesty of the text was the result - each word was important.
- this richness and lushness was reflected in the stained-glass windows and beautifully-wrought interiors , not to mention vestments of the churches and clergy. It reminds me of the Baroque period in Europe, particularly in Bach and Vivaldi.
This was not a stuffy, scholarly read. Nicolson was obviously passionate about the subject - he says he is a Christian, but doesn't go to church - and has made this book as readable as its subject.
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