Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Too old to play with passion. too young to be without desire
Faust
A knock? Come in! Again my quiet broken?
Mephistopheles
’Tis I!
Faust
Come in!
Mephistopheles
Thrice must the words be spoken.
Faust
Come in, then!
Mephistopheles
Thus thou pleasest me.
I hope we’ll suit each other well;
For now, thy vapors to dispel,
I come, a squire of high degree,
In scarlet coat, with golden trimming,
A cloak in silken lustre swimming,
A tall cock’s-feather in my hat,
A long, sharp sword for show or quarrel —
And I advise thee, brief and flat,
To don the self-same gay apparel,
That, from this den released, and free,
Life be at last revealed to thee!
Faust
This life of earth, whatever my attire,
Would pain me in its wonted fashion.
Too old am I to play with passion;
Too young, to be without desire.
What from the world have I to gain?
Thou shalt abstain — renounce — refrain!
Such is the everlasting song
That in the ears of all men rings —
That unrelieved, our whole life long,
Each hour, in passing, hoarsely sings.
In very terror I at morn awake,
Upon the verge of bitter weeping,
To see the day of disappointment break,
To no one hope of mine — not one — its promise keeping:—
That even each joy’s presentiment
With wilful cavil would diminish,
With grinning masks of life prevent
My mind its fairest work to finish!
Then, too, when night descends, how anxiously
Upon my couch of sleep I lay me:
There, also, comes no rest to me,
But some wild dream is sent to fray me.
The God that in my breast is owned
Can deeply stir the inner sources;
The God, above my powers enthroned,
He cannot change external forces.
So, by the burden of my days oppressed,
Death is desired, and Life a thing unblest!
Would pain me in its wonted fashion.
Too old am I to play with passion;
Too young, to be without desire.
What from the world have I to gain?
Thou shalt abstain — renounce — refrain!
Such is the everlasting song
That in the ears of all men rings —
That unrelieved, our whole life long,
Each hour, in passing, hoarsely sings.
In very terror I at morn awake,
Upon the verge of bitter weeping,
To see the day of disappointment break,
To no one hope of mine — not one — its promise keeping:—
That even each joy’s presentiment
With wilful cavil would diminish,
With grinning masks of life prevent
My mind its fairest work to finish!
Then, too, when night descends, how anxiously
Upon my couch of sleep I lay me:
There, also, comes no rest to me,
But some wild dream is sent to fray me.
The God that in my breast is owned
Can deeply stir the inner sources;
The God, above my powers enthroned,
He cannot change external forces.
So, by the burden of my days oppressed,
Death is desired, and Life a thing unblest!
Mephistopheles
And yet is never Death a wholly welcome guest.
Faust
O fortunate, for whom, when victory glances,
The bloody laurels on the brow he bindeth!
Whom, after rapid, maddening dances,
In clasping maiden-arms he findeth!
O would that I, before that spirit-power,
Ravished and rapt from life, had sunken!
The bloody laurels on the brow he bindeth!
Whom, after rapid, maddening dances,
In clasping maiden-arms he findeth!
O would that I, before that spirit-power,
Ravished and rapt from life, had sunken!
Mephistopheles
And yet, by some one, in that nightly hour,
A certain liquid was not drunken.
A certain liquid was not drunken.
Faust
Eavesdropping, ha! thy pleasure seems to be.
Mephistopheles
Omniscient am I not; yet much is known to me.
Faust
Though some familiar tone, retrieving
My thoughts from torment, led me on,
And sweet, clear echoes came, deceiving
A faith bequeathed from Childhood’s dawn,
Yet now I curse whate’er entices
And snares the soul with visions vain;
With dazzling cheats and dear devices
Confines it in this cave of pain!
Cursed be, at once, the high ambition
Wherewith the mind itself deludes!
Cursed be the glare of apparition
That on the finer sense intrudes!
Cursed be the lying dream’s impression
Of name, and fame, and laurelled brow!
Cursed, all that flatters as possession,
As wife and child, as knave and plow!
Cursed Mammon be, when he with treasures
To restless action spurs our fate!
Cursed when, for soft, indulgent leisures,
He lays for us the pillows straight!
Cursed be the vine’s transcendent nectar —
The highest favor Love lets fall!
Cursed, also, Hope! — cursed Faith, the spectre!
And cursed be Patience most of all!
My thoughts from torment, led me on,
And sweet, clear echoes came, deceiving
A faith bequeathed from Childhood’s dawn,
Yet now I curse whate’er entices
And snares the soul with visions vain;
With dazzling cheats and dear devices
Confines it in this cave of pain!
Cursed be, at once, the high ambition
Wherewith the mind itself deludes!
Cursed be the glare of apparition
That on the finer sense intrudes!
Cursed be the lying dream’s impression
Of name, and fame, and laurelled brow!
Cursed, all that flatters as possession,
As wife and child, as knave and plow!
Cursed Mammon be, when he with treasures
To restless action spurs our fate!
Cursed when, for soft, indulgent leisures,
He lays for us the pillows straight!
Cursed be the vine’s transcendent nectar —
The highest favor Love lets fall!
Cursed, also, Hope! — cursed Faith, the spectre!
And cursed be Patience most of all!
Chorus of Spirits(invisible)
Woe! woe!
Thou hast it destroyed,
The beautiful world,
With powerful fist:
In ruin ’tis hurled,
By the blow of a demigod shattered!
The scattered
Fragments into the Void we carry,
Deploring
The beauty perished beyond restoring.
Mightier
For the children of men,
Brightlier
Build it again,
In thine own bosom build it anew!
Bid the new career
Commence,
With clearer sense,
And the new songs of cheer
Be sung thereto!
Mephistopheles
These are the small dependants
Who give me attendance.
Hear them, to deeds and passion
Counsel in shrewd old-fashion!
Into the world of strife,
Out of this lonely life
That of senses and sap has betrayed thee,
They would persuade thee.
This nursing of the pain forego thee,
That, like a vulture, feeds upon thy breast!
The worst society thou find’st will show thee
Thou art a man among the rest.
But ’tis not meant to thrust
Thee into the mob thou hatest!
I am not one of the greatest,
Yet, wilt thou to me entrust
Thy steps through life, I’ll guide thee —
Will willingly walk beside thee —
Will serve thee at once and forever
With best endeavor,
And, if thou art satisfied,
Will as servant, slave, with thee abide.
Who give me attendance.
Hear them, to deeds and passion
Counsel in shrewd old-fashion!
Into the world of strife,
Out of this lonely life
That of senses and sap has betrayed thee,
They would persuade thee.
This nursing of the pain forego thee,
That, like a vulture, feeds upon thy breast!
The worst society thou find’st will show thee
Thou art a man among the rest.
But ’tis not meant to thrust
Thee into the mob thou hatest!
I am not one of the greatest,
Yet, wilt thou to me entrust
Thy steps through life, I’ll guide thee —
Will willingly walk beside thee —
Will serve thee at once and forever
With best endeavor,
And, if thou art satisfied,
Will as servant, slave, with thee abide.
Faust
And what shall be my counter-service therefor?
Mephistopheles
The time is long: thou need’st not now insist.
Faust
No — no! The Devil is an egotist,
And is not apt, without a why or wherefore,
“For God’s sake,” others to assist.
Speak thy conditions plain and clear!
With such a servant danger comes, I fear.
And is not apt, without a why or wherefore,
“For God’s sake,” others to assist.
Speak thy conditions plain and clear!
With such a servant danger comes, I fear.
Mephistopheles
Here, an unwearied slave, I’ll wear thy tether,
And to thine every nod obedient be:
When There again we come together,
Then shalt thou do the same for me.
And to thine every nod obedient be:
When There again we come together,
Then shalt thou do the same for me.
Faust
The There my scruples naught increases.
When thou hast dashed this world to pieces,
The other, then, its place may fill.
Here, on this earth, my pleasures have their sources;
Yon sun beholds my sorrows in his courses;
And when from these my life itself divorces,
Let happen all that can or will!
I’ll hear no more: ’tis vain to ponder
If there we cherish love or hate,
Or, in the spheres we dream of yonder,
A High and Low our souls await.
When thou hast dashed this world to pieces,
The other, then, its place may fill.
Here, on this earth, my pleasures have their sources;
Yon sun beholds my sorrows in his courses;
And when from these my life itself divorces,
Let happen all that can or will!
I’ll hear no more: ’tis vain to ponder
If there we cherish love or hate,
Or, in the spheres we dream of yonder,
A High and Low our souls await.
Mephistopheles
In this sense, even, canst thou venture.
Come, bind thyself by prompt indenture,
And thou mine arts with joy shalt see:
What no man ever saw, I’ll give to thee.
Come, bind thyself by prompt indenture,
And thou mine arts with joy shalt see:
What no man ever saw, I’ll give to thee.
Faust
Canst thou, poor Devil, give me whatsoever?
When was a human soul, in its supreme endeavor,
E’er understood by such as thou?
Yet, hast thou food which never satiates, now —
The restless, ruddy gold hast thou,
That runs, quicksilver-like, one’s fingers through —
A game whose winnings no man ever knew —
A maid that, even from my breast,
Beckons my neighbor with her wanton glances,
And Honor’s godlike zest,
The meteor that a moment dances —
Show me the fruits that, ere they’re gathered, rot,
And trees that daily with new leafage clothe them!
When was a human soul, in its supreme endeavor,
E’er understood by such as thou?
Yet, hast thou food which never satiates, now —
The restless, ruddy gold hast thou,
That runs, quicksilver-like, one’s fingers through —
A game whose winnings no man ever knew —
A maid that, even from my breast,
Beckons my neighbor with her wanton glances,
And Honor’s godlike zest,
The meteor that a moment dances —
Show me the fruits that, ere they’re gathered, rot,
And trees that daily with new leafage clothe them!
Mephistopheles
Such a demand alarms me not:
Such treasures have I, and can show them.
But still the time may reach us, good my friend.
When peace we crave and more luxurious diet.
Such treasures have I, and can show them.
But still the time may reach us, good my friend.
When peace we crave and more luxurious diet.
Faust
When on an idler’s bed I stretch myself in quiet.
There let, at once, my record end!
Canst thou with lying flattery rule me,
Until, self-pleased, myself I see —
Canst thou with rich enjoyment fool me,
Let that day be the last for me!
The bet I offer.
There let, at once, my record end!
Canst thou with lying flattery rule me,
Until, self-pleased, myself I see —
Canst thou with rich enjoyment fool me,
Let that day be the last for me!
The bet I offer.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Todi.
There are many beautiful morning ragas in Hindustani Classical music. Raga Todi or Miyan ki Todi was the trademark composition of Miyan Tansen the legendary composer in the court of Akbar. Raga Todi is also known as Miyan ki Todi, Shuddha Todi and Darbari Todi. All these names essentially refer to the same Raga Todi.
Todi is a morning raga that is sung from 8am to 10am. It has the ability to evoke the same mood of playfulness of a newborn lying in bed content, smiling and playful. In film music, Raga Todi has been largely used in composing songs that depict pathos.
The ten thaats (arrangement of notes) in Hindustani Classical Music are Asavari, Bilawal, Bhairav, Bhairavi, Todi, Poorvi, Marwa, Kafi, Kalyan, Khamaj. I use a simple mnemonic (AB-BB-TPM-KKK) to remember the list.
Click on Raag name to get details about the Raag and to listen the Aaroh-Avroh and Bandishen of the Raag.
Use the Samay Chakra to see when a raga sounds at its most melodious
Todi is a morning raga that is sung from 8am to 10am. It has the ability to evoke the same mood of playfulness of a newborn lying in bed content, smiling and playful. In film music, Raga Todi has been largely used in composing songs that depict pathos.
The ten thaats (arrangement of notes) in Hindustani Classical Music are Asavari, Bilawal, Bhairav, Bhairavi, Todi, Poorvi, Marwa, Kafi, Kalyan, Khamaj. I use a simple mnemonic (AB-BB-TPM-KKK) to remember the list.
Click on Raag name to get details about the Raag and to listen the Aaroh-Avroh and Bandishen of the Raag.
Use the Samay Chakra to see when a raga sounds at its most melodious
glabella.
ajna, the seat of "concealed wisdom".
the great flutist Emmanuel Pahud, explains to a student how to place flute tone in the nose rather than in the mouth. He calls the perceived place of resonance, in the nose between the eyes, the "wasabi point", I suppose because that is where you feel the burn when eating wasabi.
The Bates method is an ineffective alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care ..... that she was practicing neither optometry nor ophthalmology and represented herself not as a doctor, but only as an "instructor of eye training".
Dr. Bates was an orthodox doctor in New York City, and considered an authority by members of the ophthalmological profession. In 1886 he introduced a new operation for relief of persistent deafness consisting of incising the eardrum membrane, an operation still in use today. In 1894, as a research physician, he discovered the astringent and hemostatic properties of the aqueous extract of the suprarenal capsule, later commercialized as adrenaline.
Dr. Bates was not satisfied with the prevailing theory of accommodation (how the eye focuses). The prevailing theory of accommodation was, and still is, that the curvature of the lens of the eye is the only part responsible for accommodation and that inflexibility of the lens causes failing sight. This happens to a large number of the population around the age of 40 and is commonly called “old age sight,” presbyopia, or farsightedness. But this term doesn’t apply to younger children who certainly cannot fall into this category, nor anyone who has not reached age 40. For the opposite problem we are told that the eyes are abnormally long or, in other words, it is a structural problem of the eyeball. This is commonly called myopia or nearsightedness. This still does not account for the fact that before the person had eye problems there was no structural problem.
For years Dr. Bates felt there was something wrong about the procedure of prescribing glasses to patients who came to him about their eyes. “Why,” he asked, “if glasses are correct, must they continually be strengthened because the eyes, under their influence, have weakened? Logically, if a medicine is good, the dose should be weakened as the patient grows stronger.” Dr. Bates gave up his lucrative practice and went into the laboratory at Columbia University to study eyes as they had never been studied before. Disregarding all he had learned in textbooks, he experimented on eyes with an open mind. He ran experiments on animals and examined thousands of pairs of eyes. He never restricted himself to the usual eye examination room, but carried his retinoscope with him, inspecting the refractive state of eyes of both people and animals in many different situations. He refracted eyes of people when they were happy and sad, angry and afraid. Much of this time was spent with children attempting to discover the cause of eye disorders. His retinoscopic findings indicated that the refractive state of the eye was not the static condition textbooks reported, but varied tremendously with the emotional state.
He published an account of a little girl who developed temporary myopia when she lied to him. This fact seemed very significant to him as it was consistent with other findings that people tend to become myopic when apprehensive. Dr. Bates found that the eye is never constantly the same, that refractive error can change momentarily – that mental strain and tension can increase it and relaxation can decrease it. His conclusions were that imperfect sight is not possible without first a mental strain; that eyes are tough to what happens from the exterior; that they can mend rapidly from scratches, bumps, and even burns; but that they can be blinded by mental strain.
Dr. Bates discovered the cause of poor eyesight and developed this method of restoration and normalization of poor eyesight. Integral Eyesight Improvement is the original method as taught by Dr. Bates and furthered by Margaret Corbett. Dr. Bates wrote “Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses”, a book outlining his discoveries as well as eleven years worth of monthly publications called “Better Eyesight” accounting personal findings and research with case histories.
The purpose of the ... method is to teach activity under relaxed conditions by which the eye and mind co-ordinate normally, thus returning the function of seeing to the involuntary system, and permitting vision to take place. Relaxation, which is the secret of normal vision, should therefore be the basis of eye training. There are two types of relaxation:
the great flutist Emmanuel Pahud, explains to a student how to place flute tone in the nose rather than in the mouth. He calls the perceived place of resonance, in the nose between the eyes, the "wasabi point", I suppose because that is where you feel the burn when eating wasabi.
The Bates method is an ineffective alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care ..... that she was practicing neither optometry nor ophthalmology and represented herself not as a doctor, but only as an "instructor of eye training".
Dr. Bates was an orthodox doctor in New York City, and considered an authority by members of the ophthalmological profession. In 1886 he introduced a new operation for relief of persistent deafness consisting of incising the eardrum membrane, an operation still in use today. In 1894, as a research physician, he discovered the astringent and hemostatic properties of the aqueous extract of the suprarenal capsule, later commercialized as adrenaline.
Dr. Bates was not satisfied with the prevailing theory of accommodation (how the eye focuses). The prevailing theory of accommodation was, and still is, that the curvature of the lens of the eye is the only part responsible for accommodation and that inflexibility of the lens causes failing sight. This happens to a large number of the population around the age of 40 and is commonly called “old age sight,” presbyopia, or farsightedness. But this term doesn’t apply to younger children who certainly cannot fall into this category, nor anyone who has not reached age 40. For the opposite problem we are told that the eyes are abnormally long or, in other words, it is a structural problem of the eyeball. This is commonly called myopia or nearsightedness. This still does not account for the fact that before the person had eye problems there was no structural problem.
For years Dr. Bates felt there was something wrong about the procedure of prescribing glasses to patients who came to him about their eyes. “Why,” he asked, “if glasses are correct, must they continually be strengthened because the eyes, under their influence, have weakened? Logically, if a medicine is good, the dose should be weakened as the patient grows stronger.” Dr. Bates gave up his lucrative practice and went into the laboratory at Columbia University to study eyes as they had never been studied before. Disregarding all he had learned in textbooks, he experimented on eyes with an open mind. He ran experiments on animals and examined thousands of pairs of eyes. He never restricted himself to the usual eye examination room, but carried his retinoscope with him, inspecting the refractive state of eyes of both people and animals in many different situations. He refracted eyes of people when they were happy and sad, angry and afraid. Much of this time was spent with children attempting to discover the cause of eye disorders. His retinoscopic findings indicated that the refractive state of the eye was not the static condition textbooks reported, but varied tremendously with the emotional state.
He published an account of a little girl who developed temporary myopia when she lied to him. This fact seemed very significant to him as it was consistent with other findings that people tend to become myopic when apprehensive. Dr. Bates found that the eye is never constantly the same, that refractive error can change momentarily – that mental strain and tension can increase it and relaxation can decrease it. His conclusions were that imperfect sight is not possible without first a mental strain; that eyes are tough to what happens from the exterior; that they can mend rapidly from scratches, bumps, and even burns; but that they can be blinded by mental strain.
Dr. Bates discovered the cause of poor eyesight and developed this method of restoration and normalization of poor eyesight. Integral Eyesight Improvement is the original method as taught by Dr. Bates and furthered by Margaret Corbett. Dr. Bates wrote “Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses”, a book outlining his discoveries as well as eleven years worth of monthly publications called “Better Eyesight” accounting personal findings and research with case histories.
The purpose of the ... method is to teach activity under relaxed conditions by which the eye and mind co-ordinate normally, thus returning the function of seeing to the involuntary system, and permitting vision to take place. Relaxation, which is the secret of normal vision, should therefore be the basis of eye training. There are two types of relaxation:
- The sort you indulge when you are at rest, not attempting to use your eyes.
- The sort you must maintain habitually at your work while it is necessary for you to see rapidly and accurately.
After this habit of relaxed visual activity becomes automatic with you, the eye will grow keener and stronger with use, just as any other portion of the body, if used correctly, will improve in health and power. ... No athlete is good until he relaxes. Slow motion pictures of a good boxer or runner show that even though his working muscles may tighten for an instant to provide power, he is boxing or running while relaxed. This is largely the reason that athletes warm up, by slight exercise, before engaging in contests.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
gestures.
Indian vocalists trace intricate shapes with their hands while improvising melody. Although every vocalist has an idiosyncratic gestural style, students inherit ways of shaping melodic space from their teachers, and the motion of the hand and voice are always intimately connected. Though observers of Indian classical music have long commented on these gestures, Musicking Bodies is the first extended study of what singers actually do with their hands and voices. Matthew Rahaim draws on years of vocal training, ethnography, and close analysis to demonstrate the ways in which hand gesture is used alongside vocalization to manifest melody as dynamic, three-dimensional shapes. The gestures that are improvised alongside vocal improvisation embody a special kind of melodic knowledge passed down tacitly through lineages of teachers and students who not only sound similar, but who also engage with music kinesthetically according to similar aesthetic and ethical ideals. Musicking Bodies builds on the insights of phenomenology, Indian and Western music theory, and cultural studies to illuminate not only the performance of gesture, but its implications for the transmission of culture, the conception of melody, and the very nature of the musicking body.
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