Being Inspired by Others

Being Mozart

Mozart, the genius of composition, touches the heart forever. Here is the sublime trio, "Soave sia il vento" translated "May the Wind be Gentle" from his rather comical opera Cosi Fan Tutte typically translated "All Women are Alike." Go figure! Are we? Are men really from Mars and women from Venus? Don't we really want the same things? Perhaps it's a simple--or not so simple--matter of how we go about getting them. Are some caught in between? Where might this place be? Pluto? Oh, it's no longer a planet anymore, is it? Perhaps this is the feeling of many--the sense of being nowhere, of not being understood or not being emotionally wholly in one category of the other. But I digress.



In the trio the men are leaving the young women in a state of extreme distraught, wondering when or if they'll see their lovers again. Notice the underlining troubling "waves" of the orchestra over the calm plaintive wails of the singers, setting up the theme of the opera and a beautiful tension similar to real life—not that such tensions are always beautiful. Often times separation and gender differences are just painful. But do sometimes they hurt so good—just a little? The trio appears in Act I which sets the scene for a series of strange happenings, ensuring that things will never be the same for the young lovers ever again. Here is the translation: "May the wind be gentle, may the wave (s) be calm, and may every one of the elements warmly fulfill our (your) wishes." Enjoy!

Being Mozart

Enjoy the Queen of the Night's second aria, "Hell's Vengeance Boils in my Heart." It's from the opera The Magic Flute. This classic aria is sung by the forever brilliant flawlessly precise Lucia Pop. (The singer is not Cecelia Bartoli as noted in the tag.) Many opera singers have died onstage singing this aria. Well, not really but you'll probably hear the level of professionalism and talent needed for such a piece.



"Hell's Vengeance Boils in my Heart"

Hell's vengeance boils in my heart;
Death and despair, blaze around me!
If Sarastro does not feel death pains because of you,
Then you will be my daughter nevermore.
Disowned be forever,
Forsaken be forever,
Shattered be forever
All the bonds of nature
If Sarastro is not bleached because of you!
Hear, gods of vengeance, hear the mother's oath!

Being a Genius III

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Love is the soul of genius. The soul of genius is divine.

Being Inspired by Others

"It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord, to whom I had drawn near in humble and child-like faith, has suffered and died for me, and that He will look on me in love and compassion."

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Many times our belief in God is not as assured as we might like or think. Crises often reveal this. Many times our belief is shaken. "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief." Often times we deny Him by simply lacking faith in ourselves. "All things are possible to those who believe." But the beauty here is that God forever looks on us with "love and compassion" in spite of our belief.

God is love. "Ye are gods." You are love.

Being Mozart II

This trio is simply sublime. Enjoy!

Being Mozart

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Being Inspired by Others

Mozart's "Soave Sia il Vento" - Così Fan Tutte, Glyndebourne 2006

Being a Talking Head

You may talk a thing into existence as a pundit or as a politician insisting upon failed policies and ideologies of the past regarding a host of issues from ethics to dynastic presidencies to the law to economics to war and peace. But there will be a reckoning. Listening to the Sunday morning talk shows has been disturbing, somewhat disheartening. I have simply turned off the television, preferring to listen to Mozart.

Being Inspired by Others

"What we should like to have, dear father, is some of your
best church pieces; for we love to entertain ourselves with all
manner of masters, ancient and modern. Therefore I beg of you
send us something of yours as soon as possible."

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart