tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post7438359248380551449..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Orders of Russian angelsDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-81399349671632882192014-01-01T11:31:17.379+00:002014-01-01T11:31:17.379+00:00When I follow a performance - film, play, ballet ...When I follow a performance - film, play, ballet - in which straight relationships are developed, I see it as a story. When the context is gay then, as a profoundly gay man, I see the point. Sometimes when watching a straight situation I have to translate the relationships in my mind into the gay world, to understand what is going on. Rather like in my early days feeling that at the ordinary night club or dance nothing was happening....whereas at later gay evenings I could feel the tension. So the Bourne ballet has an impact that the original version does not. This is independent of the quality of the performanceDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-75778731211571319112013-12-30T16:52:35.594+00:002013-12-30T16:52:35.594+00:00Rather difficult for the Pope to amend the revelat...Rather difficult for the Pope to amend the revelations in the Bible in that way. If one is a non believer, it is a very welcome change, but if one is a believer? Can one pick and choose?David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-66709684386767886952013-12-30T11:03:09.147+00:002013-12-30T11:03:09.147+00:00One of the many cheering things the Pope has said ...One of the many cheering things the Pope has said this year is that the Catholic Church is abandoning the concept of a hell for punishment. Amen to that.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-11907340615189202172013-12-30T10:51:18.800+00:002013-12-30T10:51:18.800+00:00Not exactly sure of the point about equality made ...Not exactly sure of the point about equality made by wanderer, but if a heaven without inequality is preferred I would suggest that equality and inequality are equally earthly concepts and in Heaven all will be different - since in Heaven there are neither male nor female (Galations 3 28), nor is anyone given in marriage (Matthew 22 30)etc - all is new ....we shall have to wait and seeDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-83707467750905426362013-12-25T04:31:55.968+00:002013-12-25T04:31:55.968+00:00Woops. Meant Mulitple Characters (the many bariton...Woops. Meant Mulitple Characters (the many baritone parts). wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-7148621285910990702013-12-24T13:53:20.527+00:002013-12-24T13:53:20.527+00:00Welcome here, too, wanderer. Of course you're ...Welcome here, too, wanderer. Of course you're right (I just used the orders as a pretext for a good lead image). Reminds me of the grandmother's wise words in Tove Jansson's The Summer Book, which I'm still shelling out copies of around this time. Her six year old granddaughter is going on about 'a great big enormous hell' and Granny gets cross:<br /><br />' "Sophia," she said, "this is really not something to argue about. You can see for yourself that life is hard enough without being punished for it afterwards. We get comfort when we die, that's the whole idea".'<br /><br />Don't get some of your DiV refs - all colours presumably means the dark roles. Bostridge is redeemed, for me, this year by virtue of the newly strong but still peculiar sound he makes (stunning in the Britten Canticles, though I don't much like them).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-71410253931618178892013-12-24T11:14:41.949+00:002013-12-24T11:14:41.949+00:00What on earth is a Heaven in which there are order...What on earth is a Heaven in which there are orders? An earthly one, no doubt. No disrespect anyone, for the academia is surely as interesting as the concept that there is anything except absolute equality is alien to my beliefs.<br /><br />The Death in Venice story link was really rewarding. Good on you. I like Bostridge (War Requiem) and the study presence of Peter C-W added a bit of local colour. He was the Multiple Colours in the last staged production here, with Philip Langridge no less.wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196036534397389760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-63576548239238884002013-12-23T20:30:57.690+00:002013-12-23T20:30:57.690+00:00I have glozed but superficially on the Orders, Sir...I have glozed but superficially on the Orders, Sir David, but I think I'm right in saying that eastern and western Christianity more or less agree. There were, however, disputes among medieval scholars who argued the subdivisions in the three groups - which you see in the top illustration of the Russian icon in Serbia - differently. Certainly Jewish, Islamic and Zoroastrian orders are very much otherwise.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-33884463304880534552013-12-23T16:08:37.491+00:002013-12-23T16:08:37.491+00:00My last comment was from me - David Damant
But it ...My last comment was from me - David Damant<br />But it lept away from emDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-64370661609619754802013-12-23T16:07:07.562+00:002013-12-23T16:07:07.562+00:00What about the orders of angels? Are the Orthodox...What about the orders of angels? Are the Orthodox orders ( "choirs") different from those of the medieval West?<br /><br />Seraphs ( Hebrew plural Seraphim)<br />Cherubim ( see above)<br />Thrones<br /><br />These three adore the Godhead<br /><br />Dominations<br />Powers<br />Virtues<br /><br />These three organise the world<br /><br />Principalities<br />Archangels<br />Angels<br /><br />These three are concerned with mankind. "Archangels" is a term often used for the higher angels<br /><br />Obviously one must be clear on these matters. Imagine mistaking a Throne for a Principality !!<br /><br />dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-79319777431134005712013-12-22T23:53:18.783+00:002013-12-22T23:53:18.783+00:00I've just come back from hearing Iestyn sing -...I've just come back from hearing Iestyn sing - heavenly well, as did the three other soloists and the Cambridge choir - in a top-notch Christmas Oratorio (or rather four parts out of the six). He's quite the writer, too, no? He started a blog which was so elegantly written, and I asked him for a strand in the Tavener tribute, which he was able to do with chapter and verse from his treble days. Glad you admired this chronicle of an historical occasion, as have so many others.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-6078164945579116732013-12-22T17:58:11.268+00:002013-12-22T17:58:11.268+00:00David: The Powell, given to me as a gift, is defin...David: The Powell, given to me as a gift, is definitely sympathetic, though whether it would measure up to the one you read, who knows? The key thing, as you say, is the music, and I have reams of that left to explore. I have just read the TAD Britten 100 Moscow piece. Such a gorgeous, poignant piece it is. I didn't want it to end. So smart of you to invite him to report. (I wrote a comment on TAD, but it's been held up as spam. I reported it, so hopefully it will be let through.)Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61677409614746138492013-12-22T17:15:29.114+00:002013-12-22T17:15:29.114+00:00No, Sue, I can't lay claim to the top image - ...No, Sue, I can't lay claim to the top image - it's a 1757 work by a Russian artist in the Greek Orthodox Church and Museum, Miskolc, Serbia.<br /><br />Yes, the notes to that disc are mine. Very proud to have been associated with it - ditto Neeme's Tchaikovsky, with Nutcracker of course still to come - and looking forward to Tenebrae's concert associated with the official launch in January.<br /><br />I decided not to read another Britten biography after Humphrey Carpenter's. Not that his was perfect, but I did weep at the way he described BB's death, and had built up a mixed but not unsympathetic picture. I'm not sure the present two contenders are as tender with their subject, and Kildea's theory of syphilis seems to have been discredited. Still too much of the man's music left to hear!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-47556148774547055022013-12-22T16:38:31.492+00:002013-12-22T16:38:31.492+00:00So many Russian, not to mention other, treasures o...So many Russian, not to mention other, treasures on this post! The Tenebrae disk sounds like one I need to own--do I read correctly that you provided the liner notes? One CD you mention I DO have in my possession, finally: the Swan Lake CD. I'm looking forward to a quiet space and time to listen with liner notes in hand. On Britten, I'm reading Neil Powell's biography. Not sure what I think yet, but I'm enjoying it more than not. Have you read it? What, by the way, is the photograph at the head of the post--is that one of your own Russian treasures brought back from a trip there? (I remember that, a while back, you posted a photograph of a gorgeous cover of a score.) I wish I could linger here for longer, but my time is not my own this month. Still, I'm so pleased to come by and at least get a glimpse of all these riches!Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com