A Musickal Treat

Here’s a bit of good news:  The 1991 Gerard Depardieu film  Tous les Matins du Monde has been released in DVD and is now available from Netflix.

The film is a fictional account of Marin Marias, a  late 17th Century composer for the viola da gambe, and his mentor Sainte Colombe.  I recall when it came out reading very enthusiastic reviews and making a mental note to see it, but somehow never got around to it.  For a long period afterward, I looked about for it periodically, but it’s not the sort of movie typically stocked by Blockbuster and I was hesitant to fork over a lot of dosh to Amazon for the videotape.

Well, all things come to those who wait, and when I discovered its availability, I sent it to the top of my Netflix queue instanter.

And here’s an added bonus:  What I didn’t know back in the day but have only just found out was that the actual soundtrack performances were done by none other than Jordi Savall, one of my very favorite conductors and performers for musick of that period.

I will, of course, post a review once I’ve watched it.

UPDATE: I see from some additional reading that the film has come in for a certain amount of criticism from crabby string players over the actors’ improper fingering.  Well, all I can say as a pianist who sees this sort of thing in the moovies on a very regular basis is welcome to my world.

A La Recherche Du Slurp Perdu

They’re playing Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata on the local classickal station at the moment.

The slow movement of this piece was used as the theme musick of a radio show hosted for years by Dr. Karl Haas.

Haas was known as “Dr. Slurpy” in our family because of the thick, slow way he always opened the show with, “Ha-looo, everybody.”

Now I can’t hear this piece without thinking of his greeting.

They’ll Do It Every Time

This morning the nine year old confronted me with a packet of “Super Green Enviro-Friendly” seeds that she apparently had got in a cereal box or some such place.

“Seeds?” I asked, “What kind?”

“Quaking aspens!” she replied.

“What, the tree?” I said.

“Yes,” she said. “Can we plant them, please?”

“Where on earth would we plant more trees in our yard?”

“We can make room.  Daddee, they help the environment!”

“Anyway,” I ruminated, “I don’t even think aspens would grow around here.  Aren’t they more a mountainy sort of tree?”

“Please, Daddee! They would produce oxygen and help cut down on carbon dioxide and make the planet greener!”

“Well,” I said, “If you’re that concerned about the environment, how about giving me more help in the garden this year.”

And there was a sudden silence.

“Yes, I thought as much.”

What was it Peej O’Rourke once said? Everybody wants to save the Earth,  but nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.