There is something interesting that happens in the holding back.

restrained petals

There is a teaching by the Italian Master Giovanni Battista Lamperti.

“To sustain a given note the air should be expelled slowly; to attain this end, the respiratory (inspiratory) muscles, by continuing their action, strive to retain air in the lungs, and oppose their action to that of the expiratory muscles, which is called lotta vocale, or vocal struggle. On the retention of this equilibrium depends the just emission of the voice, and by which means of it alone can true expression be given to the sound produced.”

(A Treatise on the Art of Singing. London, 1877)

So, there is definitely benefit in not letting it all out. It is in the holding back of the energy that the tone finds its full blossoming!

Now, why this thought did not occur to me before, I’m not quite sure, but when it finally made sense, there were certain things that began to work that had never worked before.

You might want to explore the beauty that comes in the struggle!  Have you ever thought what happens when two things that apparantly oppose each other began to work in balance?  It’s almost as if the struggle ceases, and you are left there standing in silence.

Try it out, and see what happens!

tenor Giacomo LAURI-VOLPI “Meco all’alter” Bellini NORMA

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

Loving Mother of our Savior, hear thou thy people’s cry
Star of the deep and Portal of the sky!
Mother of Him who thee made from nothing made.
Sinking we strive and call to thee for aid:
Oh, by what joy which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.

Palestrina – Alma Redemptoris Mater

Today someone told me that it is the season of “wills” and “shalls.”

Do you ever have trouble looking forward to something?

Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a little help.

still a bit of a flame, but not easy to see

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

~Langston Hughes

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

Finally, back home, and here are some pictures of Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a lot of fun!

Strange Bird's Pies--pecan, butternut squash, and apple (Bruce's fav!)

Daddy on ice detail--wait! That used to be MY job!

Elizabeth with her pumpkin cheesecake squares--light and delicious!

Elizabeth replicated Grandmother Adams' egg noodle recipe, and proudly served them in Grandmother's "noodle bowl"

Daddy, Anthony, Mom, S.B. (see me?), David, Bruce, Elizabeth

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

Nun danket Alle Gott – S. Karg-Elert

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

I parked my car right by a trash can in Westgate park today.  After stretching out for a few minutes to catch forty winks, I sat up and noticed who was eating lunch:

It’s such a cliché, that “one’s trash is another’s treasure.” However, I somehow delighted in this frisky omnivore’s ability to make a feast on what someone else threw away–including a packet of barbeque sauce to go with his chicken (unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough with the camera to catch it).

At a time when so many are feeling the pain of having less than what they did, maybe we can all salute the squirrel, who takes what someone else threw away, and adds another layer of fat for the long winter!

“Squirrels in my Pants” Music Video

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

(Saturday night, before going to bed)

“Do I pack my flannel-lined jeans and leather jacket, or not?  Hmm…sure, why not.”

(Sunday, noon)

There stands Jack.

“I’ve got a bike in the parking lot, and I’m ready to go.”

In just a minute someone else was ready to go too.

Helmet hugs head.  Phil hugs Jack.  Motor on.  Rubber hugs road.

Whoosh!  We’re off!

Bare trees.  Blue sky.  Heat of warm sunlight cannot seem to work its way through whistling wind. Brown woolen scarf was not quite tucked in.  Damn!  Dancing in the wind, just like me.

Stopping to care for a sweet dog, very close to the end.

“What do you want for lunch?”

“I’m not picky.”

“Well, Dee only likes five star when we go out.  I like to go slummin’!”

“Lets find a dive!”

Whoosh!  We’re off again.

Lunch at not quite a dive, but more than a feast.  Hot coffee opens my sinuses and clears my throat (Deo gracias!).

Stomach full, fingers, toes, nose and heart warmed.

Whoosh!  We’re off again!

Scarf tucked in, better this time.  Did I learn?

Stopping off again to see Dee and Lindy.

Whoosh!  Off one more time.

Back in the parking lot.  My lingering feet tell me that I don’t want this to end.

Thank you.

Steppenwolf – Born to be wild 1969

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

This evening I heard someone say,

“We are beginning at the end.”

end, or beginning?

And like that infinite reflection of blue sky and tree bough, for a moment, none of it mattered, and it was all now.

Lord let me know mine end – Greene (1696 – 1755)

Some day, I will be part of the earth, and the tree and the vapor in the air.

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

Sometimes we think this is what is going on:

In reality, this is what was going on…

Sometimes, we even misread those in ourselves.

And the moral of the story?  Watch carefully and pay attention, but even then, we never know, do we?

Who’s On First

“Always pay attention to the first thing they say…”

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

“O Lord, how joyful and happy must they be who, when they come to consider their own selves, find in themselves nothing remarkable whatever. Not only do they not attract attention outside themselves, but now they no longer have any desires or selfish interests to attract their own attention. They remark no virtues; they are saddened by no huge sins; they see only their own unremarkable weakness and nothingness but a nothingness that is filled obscurely, not with themselves, but with Your love, O God! They are poor in spirit who possess within themselves the kingdom of heaven because they are no longer remarkable even to themselves. But in them shines God’s light and they themselves, and all who see it, glorify You, O God!”

from “Dialogues With Silence” (T. Merton)

Orthodox Byzantine Music (Worship) Angelopoulos Beatitudes

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

Today provides us with irrevokable proof that Autumn is winding down.  The oak leaves have begun to fall.

What do we do with such evidence?

Today a student of mine learned a lesson today in inference and proof.

“Well, in the end, we just don’t know, do we?”

Is there anything else to say?

Rascal Flatts Why

Be well, and at peace,

Phil

Perhaps it has become an annual tradition now…

Elizabeth Parcells sings Last Rose of Summer

When does one thing end, and another begin, anyway?  Today, it’s difficult to see the possibility of that.

It’s not an easy feeling to admit the construct of beginning and end.

Be well, and at peace,

Phil