Bach’s “St John Passion” conducted by Karl Richter
By Jeffrey B Langlois | December 27, 2009
My beloved Geejay gave me some DVDs for Christmas. I felt compelled to watch the one first that has a performance of the “St John Passion” by J.S. Bach.
Most scholars agree that Bach’s “St Mathew Passion” is a greater masterpiece than his “St John Passion”, but both contain stunningly beautiful music. After its premiere, Bach spent ten years revising and perfecting his “St Mathew Passion” and had gotten underway doing the same thing to his “St John Passion” before death intervened. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Baroque, MUSIC | No Comments »
On religious fundamentalism
By Geejay Arriola | December 27, 2009
Harvey Cox of Boston Globe wrote a great article entitled “Why fundamentalism will fail: A seemingly unstoppable force is being undone from the inside” (November 8, 2009) .
His premise is that beneath their squawking–abetted and further legitimized by a media who loves violence and paranoid individuals flooding the internet and television with warnings of religious-inspired doomsdays–fundamentalist groups, incapable of providing real solutions to poverty, spiritual thirst, and nationalist or tribal sentiments, will soon perish in the hands of reason and the rising sense of global multiculturalism.
And here below, I list some of the observations and reflections I have of my own country in relation to his thesis:
Categories: RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | No Comments »
A few thoughts on dogs
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 25, 2009
Dogs came from wolves many thousands of years ago, and branched off from the wolf population due to human intervention. Subsequently many different breeds were created from the original dog. The evolution of the dog is a perfect example of what you might call “guided selection,” or “artificial selection.” The guiding force behind the selection has been the hand of humankind. The evolution from the wolf to the dog took place very quickly compared to what usually happens in nature, and amazingly, most of the breeds alive today were created in a very short time, less than two centuries. Consider this; from the few breeds of dogs alive a couple of thousand years ago, we end up with Great Danes and Chihuahuas! Such a huge difference in two subspecies (breeds) in such a short time is truly amazing. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: GENERAL SCIENCE | No Comments »
Hadyn, Mozart, Beethoven, similarities & differences
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 19, 2009
The three composers, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, are considered the triumvirate of composers of music in the classical style. Indeed, these three men gave us what is by far, the greatest music of their time. Schubert is sometimes added to these three names, though I won’t discuss him here for the following reasons. Schubert composed mostly in the new Romantic style, rather than the classical style, until the last few years of his very short life. He left us with some great large-scale masterpieces, though not nearly as many as the other three composers named above. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Classical, MUSIC | 2 Comments »
The Oxford Symphony
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 17, 2009
A couple of days ago I decided to listen to Haydn’s so-called Oxford Symphony, having not heard it in a few years. I had almost forgotten what a delightful symphony it is. Haydn’s symphony no. 92, became known as the Oxford Symphony because he had it performed while he was at Oxford, receiving his honorary degree. But the symphony had actually been composed several years earlier for a concert in Paris. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Classical, MUSIC | No Comments »
Why I stopped eating meat
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 16, 2009
People sometimes ask me why I am a vegetarian. To be sure, I am not a strict vegetarian, or vegan. I eat fish. I eat eggs and dairy products. Most people who know me know that I am a rather health-conscious individual, so they assume that I quit eating red meat for health reasons. That actually had nothing to do with my decision. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: Personal | No Comments »
Myth & Symbolism
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 16, 2009
Have you ever wondered why Jesus and Buddha each had 12 disciples? It has been said that the number 12 was chosen by writers because it is symbolic of the zodiac, and each disciple can be thought of as having been born under a different astrological sign. Thus having 12 disciples is symbolic of being all-inclusive. Everyone from any walk of life can be a disciple. I think this is a rather facile interpretation, however it does satisfy the needs of exoteric religion. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | No Comments »
Myths and meaning
By Jeffrey B Langlois | October 9, 2009
The word “myth” is used in the vernacular in various ways, but usually people take it to mean something that is commonly believed, but not true. This is the intended meaning of the word when people speak of urban myths. The word also is taken to mean religious stories that have little or no basis in fact. For those who take a keener look into the religious stories of the world, the word “myth” takes on a deeper and broader meaning. For those of us who possess a deeper understanding of religion, a myth is a story with hidden meaning. It is an allegorical story that uses symbolism and metaphor to describe something that cannot be adequately described any other way.
The myths of the various religions were never meant to be taken literally. The scribes and redactors who collected various myths and created the Old Testament were most certainly not expecting readers to interpret these stories as literally true historical events. The fact that the bible contains two creation myths that contradict each other down to the last little detail should be proof enough that those bible scribes were not intending to put together a book that is supposed to be a factual account of anything. In the myth of Genesis, chapter one, originally of Babylonian origin, God creates the world in six days and rests on the seventh day. He creates plants first, then animals, then man and woman. The second creation myth, which is far older than the first one, is of Sumerian origin and begins in the second paragraph of chapter two of the Book of Genesis. In this myth God creates the world in one day, and creates plants first, then a man, then animals, and then a woman. Read the rest of this entry »
Categories: RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | No Comments »
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