Day: April 7, 2021

Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi

~ JezzieG

Nabucco
1841
Opera

Giuseppe Verdi
Opera
Born: 10 October 1813, Le Roncole, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Died: 27 January 1901, Milan, Italy

Verdi was an opera composer; born to a provincial family of moderate means he developed a musical education with help of a local patron. He dominated the Italian opera scene after the era of Vincenzo Bellini, Gioachino, Rossini, and Gaetano Donisetti. In his early works Verdi demonstrated a sympathy for the Risorgimento movement seeking to unify Italy. He was an extremely private person and didn’t seek to integrate himself with populist movements. As he became professionally successful he reduced his musical workload and established himself as a landowner. Verdi surprised the musical world by returning with the opera Aida in 1871, Requiem in 1874, Otello in 1887 and Falstaff in 1893

Book of Days by Enya

~ JezzieG ~ 5 Comments

Book of days
2001
New Age

Enya
New Age, Film and TV
Born: 17 May 1961, Gweedore, Ireland
Nationality: Irish

Enya is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore in County Donegal. She began her music career when she joined the family’s Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980. She left in 1982 with manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue her solo career. Over the following four years Enya developed her characteristic sound with multitracked vocals and keyboards mixed with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, and folk music.

Cypress Tree

~ JezzieG

Form: Ivorian Sonnet 1

Paint that spirals from the brush tells a tale
From his eye the image his holy grail
As the turbulent clouds churn up the sky
The golden heads of wheat quiver and call
To where the shady green cypress trees sigh
Of an artist’s longing in the landscape
And he walks for miles to find nature’s view
Within the open fields where hedgerows drape
He sees expression in wheat’s ripened hue
And the brush captures every detail
As he saw it all with his artist’s eye
One moment in time taken from them all
The paint taking up the form and the shape
From en plein air comes something old but new
A Wheatfield, with Cypresses by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. Oli on Canvas. National Gallery, London, UK

©JGFarmer2021

Grammarian Sonnet Notes

~ JezzieG ~ 1 Comment

Created by Jose Rizal M. Reyes
Structure: alternate quintains and couplets
Meter: decasyllabic or pentameter
Rhyme Scheme: abbba cc deeed ff

Example

The Rabbit and the Warrior by Jez Farmer

As springtide comes amid the ancient stone
A warrior stands alone as he seeks
The old one with whom holy wisdom speaks
As across the skies the setting sun streaks
A white rabbit stands silently alone
‘Warrior drop your sword’ the rabbit said
‘Take your knee, you will see the way ahead’
‘But rabbit,’ the warrior said, ‘I ask
Can you speak with me in words sage and wise?’
‘Warrior, mine is all beneath the skies
I’ll guide you to where your heart truly lies.’
‘Rabbit, you’ve set yourself quite a task’
The rabbit smiled, ‘The task of love is great
But love will come, the queen is yours by fate’