For all man are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall -1Peter 1:24

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Which are you?

 The doubters said,
“Man cannot fly,”
The doers said,
“Maybe, but we’ll try,”
And finally soared
In the morning glow
While non-believers
Watched from below.

The doubters claimed
"The world was flat.
Ships plunged over its edge,
And that was that!"
Yet a brand new world
Some doers found,
And returned to prove
This planet round.

The doubters knew
"T'was fact, "Ofcourse,
No noisy gadget
Would e'er replace the horse."

Yet the carriages
Of doers, sans equine,
Came to traverse
All our roads in time.

But [to] those who kept saying
"It can't be done,"
Never are the victories
Or the honors won.
But rather,
By the beleving, doing kind,
While the doubters
Watched from far behind.

-Bruce Lee

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

La Catedral

La Catedral is one of the most colorful and difficult works in the guitar repertoire. It originally had two movements, and is often performed in that form.

The original opening movement, Andante Religioso, represents the reverent mood that struck the composer when he entered the cathedral and heard music of Bach being played on its organ. The writing for the guitar is remarkable in imitating the sound of that music.

The original second movement is marked Allegro Solemne. It represents the impression of leaving the Cathedral and returning to the bustle of the street outside the building.

La Catedral's composer, Pio Agustín Barrios, was the first South American guitar performer of international stature and, although largely self-trained as composer, the author of guitar music of outstanding worth. He is credited as the first guitarist to record music by Johann Sebastian Bach.

In 1938, Barrios added an opening movement, "Prelude (Saudade)." The Portuguese word in the subtitle means something like "nostalgic recollection" and this movement touchingly views the 1914 version of the work as a souvenir in a musical memory book. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi