And music shall untune the sky!

I am at last getting down to my Opera homework for my first visit to the Liceu late in October with a performance of Schumann’s “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust” – a piece about which I know nothing.

Well, I have read bits of Goethe’s Faust in the Penguin translation, but I have not ploughed my way through all of it.  Thank god for the Internet.

I am now the proud possessor of a download to which I am listening.  I’m not sure that one should say this about a highpoint of Romanticism with Death and Transfiguration but it does sound like thoroughly good fun.  At the moment for instance I am listening a very jolly piece of Pater Seraphicus with a chorus of Blessed Boys, and I haven’t reached the chorus of Angels (and Younger Angels) and indeed The More Perfect Angels.  The music is absolutely glorious and disgracefully easy to listen to.  I am already looking forward the live performance!

The music is fairly monumental with a large number of soloists singing at the limits of their vocal ranges and various choirs of ethereal personages accompanied by a more than full orchestra.  The Naxos version that I have purchased is full of punch with excellent musicians.  I think that the Liceu is going to be hard pressed to match it.

I wonder if this is one of those performances that I can tick off in the i-spy book of Rarely Performed Pieces?  If it is, then all I can say is that from a first listening it deserves to be more widely known.

The Lamp is now filled after a positive hoovering of the beach of Castelldefels by Toni’s mum over a period of four hours when she returned with masses of pieces of glass.  The lamp is filled with hand picked sea glass and the multi-coloured bulb inside is startlingly effective.  We are already planning the second – though I think that we will have to refine our techniques and make the constructions a little more cost effective.  Perhaps we should only make them to order!  If only!

I will have to take some photographs of the coloured effects – that should stimulate demand!

I am still not right and I didn’t eat anything during the day today but was tempted to partake of Toni’s Mum’s tortilla: there is not feeling well and being stupid and TM’s tortilla is not something to thrust aside lightly!  I have made another appointment to the doctor and this time it is in school time: the new regime has started!

With a cruel irony the first available appointment was for Thursday at 11.20am - a time when I will be able to go into school for the first two lessons which start at 8.15am, come back to Castelldefels for my appointment and, in theory if the appointment is on time and quick I can be back in school without missing a single teaching period!  Even when I decide to be selfish, it works against me!  


There must be a sort of Teachers’ Fate reserved especially for me!