Monday, August 31, 2015

"G" for George(s), a few new words and a Grand Day!

"G" is the letter of the week for a Genuninely Groovy meme, ABC Wednesday"Thank you" to Mrs. Nesbitt for starting the meme and to Roger GreenReader WilLeslie, Melody and Trubes for hosting. All do a Great job of Galvanizing bloggers to find photograph/vocabulary Gems to share.

At breakfast a few days ago, Bill divulged that he is fond of Handel's Water Music.  Handel's baptized name was Georg Friederich Händel (pronunciation of Georg here, thanks to Bill.  The issue of spelling his name accurately is described here.  That Gripping article includes this quote from  The Musical Times" that I think speaks volumes about Handel's multicultural life. 
“No alien musician ever more quickly saw what the people of this country required or so promptly qualified himself to supply it. A German among the Germans, and an Italian among the Italians, Handel was an Englishman among the English and, if anything, bettered his model.” (Smith, William C. “Handel’s First Visit to England.” The Musical Times. Vol. 76, No. 1105 (Mar., 1935):  pp. 213)

It is also of note that the music was requested by King George the First.  This quote from the Wiki site is interesting: 
"It was rumoured that the reason for the spectacular performance of the Water Music was purposed to help King George steal some of the London spotlight back from the prince, who at the time was worried that his time to rule would be shortened due to his father's long life and was throwing lavish parties and dinners to compensate for it. In a long term, the Water Music's first performance on the water was the King's way of reminding London that he was still there and showing he could carry out Gestures of even more Grandeur than his son."

Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites.  If the Frugal Gourmet is your thing (it's not mine, with all the poor critters on the menu, but I still like the music), you might remember the Bourree from the first Suite in F, as it was the theme song of that program.  Below, is the Alla Hornpipe from the Suite Number 2.  It is four minutes of pure Glory and probably the movement universally recognized.  

If you have more time, you may want to hear the entire version, including Suite Number 3 that was in the key of G.  This 2012 version recreated as closely as possible the original performance on July 17th, 1717, on the Thames.  Though the musicians played in Royal Albert Hall, rather than on a barge on The Thames, they used period instruments and were, I think, true to the spirit of the occasion. There is some commentary before the performance that encourages us to picture London's busy commercial life on the Thames in those days.  There's also a rather amusing conversation with the conductor.

Below is another attempt to recreate the original performance, this time actually on a barge (in the rain) on the Thames River.
I wondered about artists' depictions of life on the Thames in the 1700's and..
came across these two works (above and below) of Jan Griffier..
as well as this one by Edouard Hamman showing Handel sitting by King George.

Here are a few "G" words from the Phrontistery site:
gaudiloquent - speaking joyfully
gelogenic - tending to produce laughter
gelasin - dimple that comes from a smile
grisaille - art entirely in tones of grey or another neutral colour (example below shows Battesimo della gente, one of Andrea del Sarto's gray and brown grisaille frescoes in the Chiostro dello Scalzo, Florence (1511-26).

And finally, some pictures from an outing that made me Giddy with happiness:

We took a new path to Beaver Lake after riding our bikes to Stanley Park (picture is of someone who happened to be riding by),
 Bill had carefully mapped out the route before we left home.
 The trail was called South Creek.  We came to a fork here,
 and Bill double-checked his map, but we correctly took the left one after some people saw us wondering and confirmed the right led to a dead end.
 We saw slugs.  I think they could be called Gastropods.
 Bill suggested a shoe reference (size 9 :) to give you a sense of their size.
 Two of them headed very, very slowly towards each other.
 There were Gigantic trees all along the trail!
 I was happy to see that there are still quite a few dragonflies around.
 We loved the Douglas Squirrels!
 So photogenic!
 The chick-a-dees were fun too.
 My photos of Bill hand-feeding (check left side of photo) chick-a-dees were over-exposed but..
 I managed a couple of keepers.
 Away s/he goes!
 Bye-bye!
 Bird: "What's that in your other hand?"
Black Jack: "Bird?  What bird? There's critters in them thar woods!"
 Bird: "I guess the dog won't be a problem."
 Bill: "Hurry up with that photo, Carol.  A guy can only hold a dog and a bird at the same time for so long!"
 Beaver Lake was covered with lilies.  In the distance, we saw a Blue Heron.
 We sat on a park bench in the sun and contemplated life..
 and dragonflies.
 Everything was bathed in golden light.
 Many of my duck photos looked like this..
 but this duck said "hello" and ate a few sunflower seeds.
Three ducks sat in the same spot on a log for the entire time we were there.
 Bill made sure Black Jack was hydrated..
 and kept me feeling Gaudiloquent with his Gelogenic banter.
 He took this photo in the rose garden just before we left.  A Grand day.  Thank you, Bill!  And thank you for stopping by.   Perhaps some of you will visit the ABC meme, or contribute some letter "H" ideas (it's almost time!)  Happy Monday!
*The link-up told me I still had an hour to post, but the minute I added my link, it shut down.  Oh well.  Serves me right for taking so long to finish the post :)  Here's to an earlier letter "H" post!

4 comments:

  1. Grrrrrreat post as usual but did you realize that you're a week behind? We're on H this week. lol

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  2. Hello Carol, I enjoyed this "G" post. Your photos are always a treat to see. I love the shots of Bill handfeeding the chickadee. They are so cute. The wooded area looks like a beautiful place to ride your bikes. Thanks for sharing, enjoy your day!

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  3. The map looks like a path to pirate treasure. How adventurous taking a new route. The park covers a large area and it is easy to get lost. The light falling through the forest truly created some enchantment during your journey. I am guessing this was just before the storm hit. Hopefully, all the critters you ran into are doing just fine and enjoying the new wet weather.

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  4. I used to take the wrong path to Beaver Lake years back till I found the right one. It was a great spot to head to as it was a warm spot to be in on a cooler day. The sun would shine brightly and no wind to be had. Love your shots of Stanley Park, the birds. And great shot of you!

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