The Sanity Project

Spohr’s string quartets 1-10   Recently updated !

This entry was posted in Music and tagged music spohr on by

Louis Spohr wrote 36 string quartets, more than Mozart or Beethoven, and none of them are very well known. Fortunately, all are available for listening, thanks to a complete set from Marco Polo recorded by several different groups. I’ve started listening to them in numerical order, with plans to write a little about each one. As far as I’ve been able to tell, there’s no such overview on the public Web. Probably someone has written a graduate thesis on the quartets, but I can’t find anything.

While I’m not a professional musician, I’m one of the more activate Spohr fans on the Internet, so I’m giving it a try. The scores on IMSLP and Clive Brown’s Louis Spohr: A Critical Biography have been very helpful.

This post covers the first ten quartets, published between 1807 and 1814.
(more…)

Some vandalism and a look at the MAGA mindset 3   Recently updated !

This entry was posted in Commentary Personal and tagged liberty Massachusetts on by

My rear windshield has a decal with the text, “My cat is smarter than your president.” On Monday I noticed that several letters were no longer on the windshield. Some were still on the car, in the gap between the windshield and the trunk lid. Given that so many letters came off at once, It was most likely vandalism. I don’t think any of my neighbors did it. The day before, I parked in a large public lot in Massachusetts for several hours. Most likely it happened then, and I didn’t notice till the next day.

Windshield sticker with missing letters indicated by brackets: "My [c]a[t] is sm[art]e[r] than your president"
(more…)

Peter Pan on YouTube   Recently updated !

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged music silent movies on by

On April 11, I accompanied the 1924 Peter Pan at the Plaistow, NH Library. There’s a moment in the movie which calls for audience participation, and it got it.

The movie is now up on YouTube with the music that I played at the library.

ICE: America’s Gestapo   Recently updated !

This entry was posted in Censorship Commentary and tagged censorship ICE liberty on by

“Geheime Staatspolizei” means “secret state police,” usually shortened to “Gestapo.” It was the Nazis’ enforcement bureau, the ones who snatched people without charges and sent them away to prisons or execution. In the United States, it’s shortened to “ICE.” Its masked thugs have snatched people off the street, not presenting any criminal charges, and shipped them to offshore hellholes. So far I haven’t heard of its intentionally killing anyone, though people have died in its custody.
(more…)

Upcoming silent film: Peter Pan

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged fantasy silent movies on by

It’s time for another silent film with my live accompaniment at the Plaistow, NH library! This time it’s the 1924 Peter Pan, with Betty Bronson in the title role and Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook. Anna May Wong, one of my favorite silent actresses, has a small part as Princess Tiger Lily. The show is on Friday, April 11, at 1 PM. Admission and popcorn are free.
(more…)

The Boston April 5 rally

This entry was posted in Writing on by

Here are some pictures from the April 5 rally on Boston Common against Trump’s power grab.

Yes, I went. Will it make any difference? Probably not. Trump isn’t going to stop his quest for tyrannical power just because a lot of people object, nor will Homan stop inflicting Hell on Boston with his Gestapo-like abductions. But it’s nice to see that people do object, and some of them even have the right reasons.
(more…)

Spohr’s Seventh Symphony

This entry was posted in Music and tagged music spohr on by

Spohr’s late symphonies, the Seventh through the Ninth (or the Tenth, counting the one which he withdrew but didn’t destroy), don’t have the appeal to me of the earlier ones. Still, a complete understanding of his music needs to include these symphonies, and they have some interesting features.

The Seventh, written in 1841, follows an unusual plan. The title is “Irdisches und Göttliches im Menschenleben: Doppel-Symphonie für zwei Orchester” (earthly and godly in human life: double symphony for two orchestras). It’s a kind of concerto grosso, with a small orchestra and a full orchestra. There are three movements, each with its own title.
(more…)

Why is Trumpism still popular?

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged liberty psychology on by

In less than three months since he’s taken office, Donald Trump has imposed huge taxes by decree, harassed lawyers and judges, brought federal agencies into chaos, had people abducted from the streets without charges or access to legal counsel, antagonized America’s allies, and hinted at several acts of military aggression and conquest. The economy is already suffering from his actions and is likely to get a lot worse. In spite of this, his approval rating stands at close to 50%. Nearly half of registered voters, according to polls, approve of what he’s doing. Why?

In the past, I’ve discussed a couple of reasons. News media have abandoned objectivity. It’s hard to get just the facts. A second reason is the miserable state of education in the US. Schools turn out students who seldom read and lack critical thinking skills.

Here I’d like to talk about a third factor: the attitudes of the left.
(more…)

How surveys snoop on people’s locations

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged privacy technology on by

The “Religion for Breakfast” YouTube channel reported on a survey to determine how often people go to church, eliminating the need for self-reporting and the biases that go with it. The video focused on the numbers obtained, but the way the survey was conducted is disturbing and offers a warning about how much information phone applications collect and pass on to third parties.

According to the video, Dr. Devin Pope of the University of Chicago conducted this survey, obtaining information from people without their knowledge or consent. “Dr. Pope analyzed the movement patterns of 2.1 million Americans, tracking visits to religious buildings on their main day of worship. Think of it like instead of asking someone how often they go to the gym, you just check their gym’s key card records. But let’s pause because I know what you’re all thinking. How can he even know how often people go to a place of worship? Isn’t tracking cell phone data kind of — creepy?” (Yes, it is.)
(more…)

Spohr’s Des Heilands letzte Stunden

This entry was posted in Music and tagged music spohr on by

A new release of Spohr’s oratorio, Des Heilands letzte Stunden (the Savior’s last hours), is out from Carus-Verlag. The solo singers are Florian Sievers, Johanna Winkel, Maximilian Vogler, Arttu Kataja, Thomas E. Bauer, Felix Rathgeber, and Magnus Piontek. The chorus is the Kammerchor Stuttgart, and the orchestra the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. It covers the same ground as Bach’s Passions, from Judas’s betrayal of Jesus to his crucifixion. A booklet in English and German contains Johann Friedrich Rochlitz’ full text with a loose translation, as well as detailed notes.

This oratorio came after Die letzten Dinge, also with text by Rochlitz. It premiered in Kassel in 1835. The earlier oratorio is a disaster movie in music. This is a more introspective work. Unlike Bach’s Passions, this “passion oratorio” tells the story primarily from the perspective of Jesus’s followers. The numbers are mostly dedicated to showing their reactions to his capture, trial, and crucifixion. Bach tells the story from a cosmic perspective; Spohr’s oratorio gets very close to the people portrayed. Even Judas is somewhat sympathetic as he expresses his terror over the situation he’s gotten himself into.
(more…)