ENDNOTES, 8th August 2017

Posted on August 10, 2017 by leslie

Batman, The Dark Knight

ENDNOTES, 8th August 2017       

In this edition: The Richard Hickox Legacy from Chandos Records, including The Black Knight, reviewed by Stuart Millson

The orchestral and operatic conductor, Richard Hickox CBE, was probably one of the hardest-working and most committed recording artists of his generation. His death at the age of just 60 shocked the musical world and robbed it of one of its quiet stars – for the late maestro was never in the overbearing, over-dramatic, self-publicising bracket of musicians. A large-of-frame, genial figure, Hickox was a man who simply got on with the job in hand, rather than pursuing visual style or seeking out crowd-pleasing popularity. I recall seeing him at the 1983 Proms, making what I believe was his debut there with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He struck me as an almost boyish figure (fresh faced and very much a new try-out), and I felt that the Stravinsky he conducted (a suite from The Firebird) went up in flames, although with plenty of drama and colour along its hurtling course. Continue reading →

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Bastille Day equals Brexit Day

Posted on August 2, 2017 by leslie

Anonymous, Prise de la Bastille

Bastille Day equals Brexit Day

Stephen MacLean highlights the Remainers’ fear of freedom

Freedom lovers around the world celebrate Bastille Day (14th July) in recognition of the rights of man and ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’. As many on the Continent believe, the French Revolution was the pivotal event in the rise of the individual against the entrenched power of the Crown, the aristocratic court, and the privileges of the Roman ‘Gallic’ Church. But the irony is lost by those who fight Britain’s exit from the European Union, particularly the leadership in the devolved regions of Scotland and Wales, whose preference, it seems, is to live under foreign-dominating EU law than the domestic laws of the United Kingdom. Continue reading →

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Piazza Fontana, Cirencester

Posted on July 31, 2017 by leslie

Piazza Fontana, Cirencester

Em Marshall-Luck finds a surprising Italian treat

A lesson is to be had in not judging by appearances as one approaches Piazza Fontana. Conveniently and centrally located on the now hugely improved and smartened Castle Street in Cirencester’s attractive centre, one reaches this Italian restaurant via a rather unimposing entrance, through a low-ceilinged and slightly dingy passageway with faded and peeling white-painted bricks. I must confess that the flashing OPEN sign and the pre-fabricated door instilled in me a mild sense of trepidation. The young man at the reception desk in the entrance area was hesitant about where to seat us, so the manager and owner, Ersin, was fetched, introduced himself, and seated us at the far end of the conservatory room, looking out over a little courtyard with pleasing, old stone walls and plants abounding; one can imagine the courtyard being a lovely spot to eat in the warmer days of the year. Continue reading →

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We Cannot Escape History

Posted on July 31, 2017 by leslie

Bob Barron, Matins 2

We Cannot Escape History

Mark Wegierski contrasts American and Canadian Conservatism 

[An article based on a presentation read at the “Conservatism: Made in USA” Conference, held at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, on April 28, 2010]

America was founded as a revolutionary society which cast off the fetters of the Old World, whereas Canada originated in two distinct cultures. The first of these was French Canada – which had maintained its Ancien Regime – being already under British rule at the time of the French Revolution. The origins of French Canada go back to the founding of Québec in 1608. By 1760, French Canada had been conquered by the British. However, the British were relatively tolerant, allowing, for example, the maintenance of the Roman Catholic faith. The second culture – which became decidedly more dominant, especially in the nineteenth century — was British (or English) Canada, whose origins lay mostly in the United Empire Loyalists – refugees from the American Revolution – who settled in Upper Canada (Ontario) and the Maritimes (on the Atlantic coast). Continue reading →

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Old Downton Lodge

Posted on July 26, 2017 by leslie

Old Downton Lodge

Em Marshall-Luck enjoys a meal worthy of a Michelin star

Old Downton Lodge is a remarkable place. Set amidst Shropshire’s rolling hills (despite the establishment itself being in a tongue of Herefordshire, poking rudely into Shropshire) it was originally a farm and is formed of a series of very old buildings, with the oldest part – the dining room – dating back to the eleventh century. The present owners have been here six years, and have gradually converted it from a B&B to a spectacularly sophisticated restaurant, with the assistance of head chef Karl Martin, who has been with them for three years.

There are also 10 individually decorated bedrooms; I was pleased to hear that these are dog-friendly, although children under the age of 12 are not allowed in the restaurant, due to the length and intensity of the meals. Continue reading →

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The Dutch Hercules

Posted on July 20, 2017 by leslie

 

Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St Matthew and the Angel

The Dutch Hercules

The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2357 to 2471, translated by C. Fantazzi, annotated by J.M. Estes, University of Toronto Press (2016), Pp. xix, 391, ISBN 978 1 4426 4878 4. $180.00 (hb), reviewed by Darrell Sutton

Erasmus, the Man

The Renaissance originated during the late 13th century in Florence, Italy. It swept over Europe and led to innovative attainments in literature, art, architecture, music and science. Rediscoveries of major literary works of imperial Rome and classical Greece formed its intellectual basis. The Dutch humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), more popularly known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was held in high regard for his editions of Greek and Latin texts.

People were complaining about blatant avarice in the Dutch provinces where it was felt that the Papacy held too much sway. These objections eventually led to formal protests. The “Reformation” in Germany, likewise, proceeded with fervor. Over the next decade it consumed villages, cities and nations. Continue reading →

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Wines, Ales and other Consumables

Posted on July 16, 2017 by leslie

Vignes Alsace Husseren les Châteaux

Wines, Ales and other Consumables

Tested for you by Em Marshall-Luck

Two excellent white wines and one top-notch red; a wine subscription service; some superb, predominantly Cornish, ales, and batch of foodie items – including a couple more subscription services – make up this column’s recommendations; all of which are perfect for summer-day consumption.

The 2014 Muscat d’Alsace “Collection”, is from Maison Kuentz-Bas, a winery which was founded in 1795 and is based in one of the highest spots on the Alsace Wine Route, with vineyards around the village of Husseren-Les-Châteaux.  The vineyards are both organic and biodynamic, as the winemakers feel strongly that lower yields and more natural methods of growing and production result in more characterful wines. Continue reading →

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They’re Rough

Posted on July 16, 2017 by leslie

Untitled Painting by Zdzisław Beksiński

They’re Rough

Hartley’s heroes, hangin’ tough

Ranald Mackenzie (1840-89) was a general in the United States Army. His name is little known outside military history circles, unlike his contemporary, the hapless and incompetent General Custer. Despite losing his life and those of the troops under his command in a campaign against the Sioux Indians, Custer achieved immortality of sorts via the full Hollywood treatment. In contrast, Mackenzie has attracted much less attention. He was sent to deal with the Comanche, the most formidable of Plains Indian tribes, who at one stage managed to drive back the advance of European settlement by a hundred miles. Mackenzie succeeded in his mission not so much with the glamorous horse soldiers of Custer’s command but by using black infantry, the so-called Buffalo Soldiers. Even nomads need time to rest and find food. Mackenzie denied them the opportunity. He and his soldiers harried the Comanche relentlessly until ground down and exhausted they surrendered. Mackenzie provided an early example of how remorseless pursuit of an enemy deep into its own territory can achieve success. Continue reading →

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Broken Lion

Posted on July 13, 2017 by leslie

The Lion of St Mark, Venice

Broken Lion

Otello; dramma lirico in four acts, music by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Arrigo Boito, after the play by William Shakespeare, conductor Antonio Pappano, director Keith Warner, Royal Opera, 10th July 2017, reviewed by Leslie Jones

As Roberta Montemorra Marvin notes in the official programme (page 21), certain critics believe “that [in Otello] Boito and Verdi even improved upon Shakespeare’s original”. A case can certainly be made for this contention by comparing the opening scene of the play with that of the opera. In Shakespeare’s Othello, it is Venice, at night. Roderigo, urged on by Iago, informs Brabantio that his daughter Desdemona has eloped. In Otello, however, as Professor Matthew Dimmock reminds us (programme, page 12) the action is fast-forwarded. Otello (Jonas Kaufmann) arrives in Cyprus after the tempest in which the Turkish fleet is fortuitously destroyed. Lighting designer Bruno Poet deserves especial credit for the visual effects during the storm. When we first see Desdemona, likewise, she is strikingly posed against a now peaceful night sky. Continue reading →

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The Anchor, Walberswick

Posted on July 10, 2017 by leslie

The Anchor, Walberswick

It is rare to find an establishment that cannot be faulted in any point, no matter how exacting one’s standards are – yet that is what we were overjoyed to find in The Anchor, in the long and pretty village of Walberswick, on the beautiful Suffolk coast not far from Aldeburgh and popular Southwold.

There has been an inn on the site of The Anchor for centuries, but the current building, intended as a hotel, dates from the 1920s. It is a warm and welcoming building – comprising many different, small rooms and bars, some with log fires blazing away, one painted an enveloping red, another a radiant peacock blue with colourful artwork on the walls and dark wooden furniture. Continue reading →

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