i think she is well intentioned -
just do what you gotta do.
you guys know very little about statistics. (so i, but no matter) to have a sampling of a group you need more than one person.
why don't you go around and ask other individuals on the forum what they believe and then set them up, too. criticize their beliefs and make it that they don't listen to anyone else because they won't change their views.
narrow mindsets don't allow anyone else to have a view. i'm not sure exactly what your views even are donjuan. you are so busy putting my views down that you don't say what YOu believe. do you believe in God? or are you in effect saying that you think worshipping Satan is A OK. just remember, we are judged by our words at the ressurrection of the dead. obviously, if a person does or doesn't believe this - it may or may not affect them right now. but, later IF you find it true - you'll be eating the words of Christ himself - to REBUKE Satan instead of welcoming him.
ok.....why do people on the forum purposely bring things up to irritate pianistimo and make her go on the offensive?
ok.....why do people on the forum purposely bring things up to irritate pianistimo and make her go on the offensive?
if you really don't believe in God anymore...then why don juan do you even care to discuss the issue?
maybe deep down you do believe and you are trying to convince yourself by logical means that you don't.
Yes, but they had faith in themselves, surely, not god.
Shorty
What's that all about???
I'm very sorry, but why do religious people always quote from their big book????
And, jp, how do you know they had faith in god???
Shorty
P.S. I don't want to fall out with anyone here. (just my opinions)
Is the occult much different to christianity????
Shorty
...instead of believing that everything just kinda "happened" and boom, here we are!
I personally know he exists! I have no doubt.How do you know that?? I can just as easily say "I know he/she does not exist".
prometheus is simply stating what he feels is obvious to him. we can't see God - therefore He is not.You can't see god, yet you believe he is! why is this? Because you've been told to.
Still, there are thousands of other gods.
the god warrior or jp?????
Shorty
according to the bible - as 'every knee will bow.' i believe that is why God made our knees in the first place.
God doesn't really need anyone to be a warrior for Him. He's beyond our reach and scope. we're smaller than ants to him. and, yet, He came to be with us for a little while on this earth. that shows supreme love. also, He willingly let us kill him 'as a sheep to the slaughter.' that's how much we appreciated it the first time. the second time - i believe - will be earth shattering. no one will deny God's power at the judgement according to the bible - as 'every knee will bow.' i believe that is why God made our knees in the first place. too bad He has to make us bow - when we should be lovingly worshipping him willingly for all the good He does and for being gracious to us.you preach and you preach and you preach. and it's pointless because you are completely devoid of reason, and are incapable of staying on topic. Sorry, I thought we could have a rational discussion here, but that seems to be impossible..
and, yes, I believe the one true God is Allah of the muslims. the Great One of the indians. the Mighty Spirit. i do not believe buddism - because obviously that 'god' is stone. buddah is nothing but an idol. we are told not to worship god's made of wood or stone - but a God not made by human hands. seems a rather stupid thing to worship something created anyways. especially, if we came first - and then created it. i think people like things to hang on to and feel - beads, statues, pictures - but God is above it all. He says to worship him in spirit and in truth.
I think Pianistimo isn't very different from the woman in the video.when I read this, I immediately agreed. However, I wanted pianistimo to say something to make me think otherwise. Something like "that woman's out of her ***ing mind, and she is an insult to christians everywhere." No such luck..
i do not believe buddism - because obviously that 'god' is stone. buddah is nothing but an idol.Of course you don't believe it; youre a christian! But can't you see that you see Buddhism the same way athiests see christianity?
budda, duh. that's who started it. worshipping budda.
my bro was in thailand for a couple of years. i'm aware of buddism and that they are into 'mysticism.' also, there are altars to budda where candles are lit and prayers are said. what is the problem? as i see it - the question is - is your 'god' real? if he/she is to you - i suppose that's all that matters.
there are benefits to some of what he/she teaches because some is biblically based. the other part is anti-Christ. does that sound warriorish? anti-Christ because it is denying Christ his place as God and substititing a false god. no matter - because in the end - we will see who's God is most powerful. i challenge you all. the real God or the false gods. it's a duel at the end of time.
There is nothing in Buddhism that denies god. There are many buddhists that are also christians.
There are many buddhist spiritual leaders that tell you to become a Christian; for example the Daila Lama.
there are benefits to some of what he/she teaches because some is biblically based. the other part is anti-Christ. does that sound warriorish? anti-Christ because it is denying Christ his place as God and substititing a false god. no matter - because in the end - we will see who's God is most powerful. i challenge you all. the real God or the false gods. it's a duel at the end of time. who's can save you? the thoughts of a man - or the true thoughts of the true God?
Sorry pianistimo, you know I like you very much but here I need to disagree. Buddha lived 600 years before Christ, so nothing that he said can be "Anti-Christ".
pianowolfi, if Christ calls himself the Word of God - then He existed from eternity. He was born a man -but existed before He was born.wow, this is like a chess match..
changing the rules. i'm following yours. you started this thread with the intention of not following it through.
if they are truly Christian - (and, i don't doubt that God will call them at some later point because perhaps they are more humble than true Christians) - they will not deny Christ.
pianowolfi, if Christ calls himself the Word of God - then He existed from eternity. He was born a man -but existed before He was born.
i realize this all seems semantic - but to me - and probably for buddists - it is real. it is definite. and it is one way. buddists would probably say the same. no thank you Jesus Christ - i want to find my own eight ways to perfection
Just one more thing: I don't think I have seen the media or television acurately portray a Christian. Don't make up your mind about Christians by what you see there. Mostly, the media has it wrong. Sure there are crazies out there, there always will be. But just because someone calls themselves Christian doesn't mean they are. The term Christian just mean "little Christ", an imitator of Christ. A true Christian has had a heart change, not a religious title.
Idiocy is rampant.
i have one more thing to add
Christ did not say anything about karma.
For what it's worth at this point in this interminable wacked thread...for what it's worth, DonJuan...the God Warrior clip is one of the best on You Tube in a long time. I forwarded it to a couple friends, who each forwarded it to everyone they know. It's all over the country by now, most of us howling our heads off at this total lunatic God Warrior b**ch. Sure we feel sorry for the people who are forced to live with her, but her...she's surly the spawn of Satan, so evil is she. She deserves no sympathy, only derision. What a horrid creature! How impossibly distant is she from the very teachings she thinks she espouses. This is surely a grand delusion of a most destructive sort.
Of course posting this video brought out our own resident religious loonies, babbling about god and jesus and the bible, sounding remarkably like those Iraqi mullahs and Iranian ayatollahs carrying on in their fatwas about allah and mohammed and the koran. Just what we need in the world right now...more "passionate" religious zealots! They are doing such a good job of bringing people together in peace and harmony. May god save us from the likes of them!
For what it's worth at this point in this interminable wacked thread...for what it's worth, DonJuan...the God Warrior clip is one of the best on You Tube in a long time. I forwarded it to a couple friends, who each forwarded it to everyone they know. It's all over the country by now, most of us howling our heads off at this total lunatic God Warrior b**ch. Sure we feel sorry for the people who are forced to live with her, but her...she's surly the spawn of Satan, so evil is she. She deserves no sympathy, only derision. What a horrid creature! How impossibly distant is she from the very teachings she thinks she espouses. This is surely a grand delusion of a most destructive sort.glad you liked it! :)
Of course posting this video brought out our own resident religious loonies, babbling about god and jesus and the bible, sounding remarkably like those Iraqi mullahs and Iranian ayatollahs carrying on in their fatwas about allah and mohammed and the koran. Just what we need in the world right now...more "passionate" religious zealots! They are doing such a good job of bringing people together in peace and harmony. May god save us from the likes of them!
Many even believe it in their head, but can't accept it into their hearts and lives.If I devote my life to Jesus, won't I be punished in the afterlife by other religions for not believing in them? Won't all you protestants go to Hindu Hell, as well as be 'left behind' when Armageddon comes and the only people saved are Jehovah's Witnesses? :)
it doesn't mean anything until your life depends upon it.One could argue that 'your life depends upon it' only if you think it depends upon it. In other words, you need God only if you think you need God. Therefore, convince yourself you don't need God, and you won't!
to make things fair- we should have a video clip of some 'new age' meetings.I like that idea.
if you are for 'rational thought' - explain what is 'rational' in new age philosophy.Where in my posts did I claim to be a supporter of new age philosophy? I don't know anything about it; it sounded like you did, so I was hoping you would explain it (or post videos, as you mentioned).
one of my husband's friend's had a bad experience. his wife started going to new age meetings and became suspicious of his intentions and changed her attitude, dress, demeanor, actions, superstitions - dramatically. she divorced him within a year or so and has not been the same as a wife/mother to her children. she is very inward.
one of my husband's friend's had a bad experience. his wife started going to new age meetings and became suspicious of his intentions and changed her attitude, dress, demeanor, actions, superstitions - dramatically. she divorced him within a year or so and has not been the same as a wife/mother to her children. she is very inward.
A friend of mine had a similar experience when his wife started to go to the Baptists.He might have had an even worse one if the Baptists had come to them.
My experience of the Baptists after attending several "alpha" courses is that they are a bunch of happy clappy, tambourine banging mind benders.Just as a matter of interest, what persuaded you to attend that course, Thal? Although I've never been on any such course, I have to admit that my own expeience of Baptists is almost exactly the same as Thal's and, whilst I would go farther than he does and assume that they surely CAN'T all be like that, this kind of attempted proselytising behaviour is just one thing that gives the practice of Christianity (as distinct from Christianity itself) a bad name; now I'd be the first to admit that this is not the fault of most Christians - still less is it Christ's fault - but it is also sadly true that such behaviour is not confined to those Chrstians of Baptist persuasion, for I have encountered it, in its various forms and guises, among Methodists and, to a lesser extent, Church of England and United Reformed Church folk, ALL of whom are, once again, "not like that". I've never personally encountered it among Roman Catholics, but I am aware that it has existed among Irish Roman Catholics in the past.
The preacher in charge of the course publicly admitted that he told his own 15 year old daughter, that she would burn in hell if she did not accept Jesus as her saviour. What kind and loving people, not.
Hopefully they are not all like that, but it was enough to turn me off religion for a few years. This thread is enough to turn me off for life.
Just as a matter of interest, what persuaded you to attend that course, Thal?
I am now thinking of joining the Jedi Knights. According to this mornings Daily Mail, there are already thousands of members in England. It could certainly no more strange than what i have previously experienced.
Thal
What will your Mullah say to this, Thali? ;D
To cut a long story short, I had just been released from the "funny farm" after a short visit. A lady i worked with dragged me along to her Church and thence to an "alpha" course, with the suggestion that i might find some peace.I am truly sorry to hear that you underwent the problems that you allude to (by implication here) - but as to joining some other group, why would you do this when you can (are surely already do) find far more that is of value to you in your pursuit of music and in practising the piano?
I was also taken to another Church in Maidstone, where the whole congregation started to faint at the altar and then proceeded to shake uncontrollably on the floor.
This did actually help as it clearly showed me that there were a lot of people more mentally ill than i was.
I am now thinking of joining the Jedi Knights. According to this mornings Daily Mail, there are already thousands of members in England. It could certainly no more strange than what i have previously experienced.
Thal
I am truly sorry to hear that you underwent the problems that you allude to (by implication here) - but as to joining some other group, why would you do this when you can (are surely already do) find far more that is of value to you in your pursuit of music and in practising the piano?
Best,
Alistair
I did not really have a choice, hence my use of the word dragged and taken.
Religion is a bacillus that attacks when you are at your most vunerable.
Thal
I did not really have a choice, hence my use of the word dragged and taken.OK - understood (and I think that I should indeed have understood that first time around) - but religion is only what you say it is when it is used as, for example, in the personal case to which you refer and, even then, only because the coercer is deliberately making it look like that in ored to try to satisfy his/her pesonal agenda. Correct me if you really believe that I am wrong here, but I cannot help but feel that you were pressed into being a victim not so much of religion as much of the person trying to pressurise you.
Religion is a bacillus that attacks when you are at your most vunerable.
Thal
ahinton has once again made me wonder if i am totally alone in the world of making mental associations to things that seem 'off topic.' and, yet, as it seems - 'page turners' now have(and alwas have had, to me) a higher status. i mean, if it weren't for the page turners - what would we have?As a casual glance at what I wrote would surely reveal, I did not undermine - nor did I seek to undermine - the rôle of the page-turner; indeed, I thought that I'd rather tended towards doing the opposite.
i sort of equate improvisers to baptists 'gone wild' - or probably more likely southern baptists of the wildly improved sort from the media in movies like 'brother, where art thou.'On this basis, jazz musicians, Bach and Liszt would all qualify as some kind of "Baptists"; somehow, I don't quite see Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Art Tatum, Miles Davis, the composer of the Passions and B minor Mass and the composer of Totentanz, A Faust Symphony and Csardás Macabre as occupying such a rôle at all comfortably...
now, clapping leads to another thing entirely. bodily movement. you know, a little hip wiggling.Does it? How, Why, Where? When? Is there reliable and incontrovertible scientific evidence? Do you accordingly expect churchgoers to end up wiggling themselves following - and as a direct consequence of - having clapped? Whatever your answers - if any - here, as long as they don't ever do it in front of me, that's OK, I guess - even though its inherent connection to genuine religious worship seems to me to be a greater mystery even than the "ways" in which it is said "God moves". That said, I have to confess that, as a composer, I am obviously not as interested in the apparent wigglings that may arise as a result of clapping as I am in what precedes the clapping and, if the piece before that clapping is one of mine, I'm always grateful for the clapping that follows it and I really don't need or expect any subsequent wigglings...
what thal needs is a good experience.No doubt - but we all need those, susanistimo dear!
i forthwith divide some homemade bread between you and sprinkle you with some cinnamon. and, if i catch you and thal looking up during the prayer - i will grab the bread back and make you both start all over again.I'm sure that's very kind of you, susanistimo dear - and it would accordingly be most uncharacteristically churlish of me not to appreciate, at least in principle, the motivation for your generosity of spirit here - but it seems either that you have not read, or have deliberately overlooked, my earlier remark about not having been baptised into the Christian Church or that you are prepared equally deliberately to overlook the tenets of your Christian faith in your apparent willingness to proceed to break bread with a non-member (and I do not mean a non-member of this forum, as I expect you realise). Although you didn't mention the wine, I assume that this would follow in your proposed scenario and, if so, a Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses would do nicely, thank you.
i forthwith divide some homemade bread between you and sprinkle you with some cinnamon. and, if i catch you and thal looking up and snickering during the prayer - i will grab the bread back and make you both start all over again. that is...if i were responsible for you both having a 'good experience.'
Your incoherent ramblings are more than sufficient to put me off religion for life.Now, come on - hands off susanistimo, Thal! Where's your gentlemanly chivalry? (the kind of which you'd probably need abit if you really did go ahead and join those "Kinghts" you mentioned). You've already stated quite clearly that both the baptist preacher and this thread have already "put you off religion for life"...
Thal
true Hinty, very true.I don't wish to spoil any part of your fun at the prospect of so doing before you've even set out on your quest in your new-found capacity of Knight Templar Sigismond of Schloss Thalberg (probably "Knight Errant" [pace Medtner] in your case), but any oboist could tell you what the Holy Grail is, even if they cannot actually lead you to it; it's the perfect double reed.
I have decided to join the Templars and hunt for the Holy Grail.
I is going to Glastonbury next month anyway, so might get lucky.
Thal
Most of what I see in this thread is religion being used to further the aggression and the tribal concerns ("we are this, they are that"). People get aroused (and contribute to threads) far more when they can passionately disagree about some topic or other. That is exactly the behaviour of the chimps, and I am amazed that humans can be so self-deceiving that they don't perceive the intimate similarity. I am fairly gloomy about humanity, because certainly at the moment we do not seem to have the ability to grow beyond our self-destroying instincts, and we now have nuclear and biological weapons that smaller groups can use.Plenty of welcome, reasoned and non-combative good sense here, as usual - but why be "gloomy" about the fate of humanity when it includes people like you who are not only able to grow beyond those things but who have done so and can and do write about it as you have done here? Apparently, humanity also includes one human who is prepared momentarily to discard a certain vital tenet of her faith and offer Holy Communion to an infidel; now, bizarre as that may appear to some, one has to award such a gesture full marks for human generosity, surely?(!)...
just ask the nearby local minister to dunk you completely - head and all - and say a quick prayer for your baptism in the name of the Father and Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.
as usual - i am on pianoforum instead of getting ready for a big night of liszt from a 'rock keyboardist.' i am sort of reluctant to go and even less reluctant to eat - so i think i see where you are coming from, thal, when you feel uncomfortable about eating bread and being sprinkled by a person who in the real sense is probably some form of a baptist. i mean, the main tenent of that faith is being baptized for the remission of sins. perhaps this is uncomfortable thinking for you right now - but for me, it is feta comple. is that how you spell it?Bread and cheese now, is it? Well, sorry, but you did mention feta! What you meant to write was "fait accompli", which is French, unlike feta cheese, which is Greek. And by "tenent" I think you meant "tenet".
ahinton really puts himself out to experience whatever there is to experience without much complaint. in fact, suggesting the best wine to use with homemade bread. if i weren't baptized - i'd drink the entire bottle with him - knowing that he'd probably pick a pretty good wine for the occasion.Well, I'd try my best, of course - but please don't let this circumstance prompt you to consider blaming me (not that you are necessarily doing so) for your having been baptised! And why would your prior baptism into the Christian faith discourage you from sharing an entire bottle of fine wine? God gave us grapes, didn't He? And God made Man in his own image, so that Man could use God-given intelligence to figure out how best to grow, tend and work with grapes (not those of wrath, I mean - I was thinking rather more along the lines of pinot noir, which is a darn sight harder to deal with successfully than wrath any day).
and, prayers not being said for infidel parties - who knows what the cinnamon would lead to.The top of a cappuccino?
but, being of faith and waiting for a better party at the ressurrection - i leave the bottle after a glass for each of usWell, that's at least a darn sight better than what some Methodists of my insufficiently distant acquaintance would do - which is pass it up altogether. But you reckon that the resurrection (only one "s", please) will be "a better party", do you? You don't say whose resurrection, who's to organise the party or who will issue the invitations...
- and pray for the both of you to dunk yourselves in the river sometime before the end of your lives. perhaps even when you are old and simply taking a bath.Why do we have to get wet? Britain has more than enough rainfall as it is; one is often made very wet unless one goes out with a suitable umbrella. Although I live in the city of Bath, I never take a bath, by the way; I always have a shower.
just ask the nearby local minister to dunk you completely - head and all - and say a quick prayer for your baptism in the name of the Father and Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.Why a "minister", specifically? (i.e. the kind of person that officiates in what we call a "non-conformist" - i.e. protestant but not establishment - Church over here); not a "priest" (Roman Catholic) or a "vicar" (Church of England)? Anyway, I reckon that if I were to ask any one of these kinds of Church official to "dunk" me, I would expect them to immerse me in a sufficient depth of water "head and all" (as you so invitingly put it) and then to hold that head down until the life-not-so-everlasting had been drained from me; after all, what would I ever have done for them during my lifetime other than merely to try to discourage some people's animosity towards those who hold a genuine faith just because they do so?
this will assure your 'sealing' and recording in the book that God keeps on all of us. there is the 'book of life' which records all the names of those who choose willingly to be 'with God.'This isn't the "Book of Seven Seals", is it? Now I suggest that you take the first opportunity to go and listen to Franz Schmidt's oratorio by that name (if you are not already familiar with it) - one of his most powerful compositions. Anyway - who's the publisher of this "book"? And what about publisher's rights? And author's rights? What does God think about the 70-year rule?
you can be sure, if it was up to me, you'd be soaking wet at sometime in your 'good experience.'Now I'm not quite sure what you may mean by that, but it could be interpreted by some as though you were subtly changing the subject (if I dare suggest such a thing...).
humanity also includes one human who is prepared momentarily to discard a certain vital tenet of her faith and offer Holy Communion to an infidel; now, bizarre as that may appear to some, one has to award such a gesture full marks for human generosity, surely?(!)...
I have no problem with ladies who offer this poor sinnerman some cinnamon as sustenance!Delightful!
But I think our goddess knows that.I hope and would like to think that she does...
In truth, I am not so troubled by the God Squad as I am by those who feel it is thoroughly right to kill in the name of religion.Moi aussi - although I would naturally extend that concern also to cover those who might seek to do the same in any other name or none.
My gloominess comes from the fact that is is so easy to kill in large numbers these days. There is virtually nothing that we ordinary mortals can do about it, other than to trust in the efficiency and honour of our security services, neither of which is as certain as it used to be.I understand and cannot in principle argue with that.
In the meantime though, we may as well eat, dunk and be merry. Here's my début as a concert pianist."Eat, dunk and be merry(https://www.rexlawson.com/images/winterwind.jpg)
I removed it with Adobe Photoshop.Does that removal constitute an act of Adobe PhotoChopin?
Maître
Is your version very different from Hamelin's?
Is your version very different from Hamelin's?Yes.
Post me a copy, please, hopefully in pdf, format. I'll give you something great as a thank you.I'm sorry to have to tell you that I don't actually have it in .pdf format so am unable to send it to you electronically; I am able only to get it to you in paper format, if you still want it in this way.
This work, however, has yet to have its début...
I'm sorry to have to tell you that I don't actually have it in .pdf format so am unable to send it to you electronically; I am able only to get it to you in paper format, if you still want it in this way.
Best,
Alistair
Perhaps I might make a roll of it?That's kind of you to offer, but it seems that Fredrik Ullén wants to play it some time, so I'd like to see what comes of that first, if that's OK. Much appreciated, though!
I wonder whether he's a member of Piano Street?Who? God? Susanistimo? Ligeti? Sorabji? Ullén? God is everywhere, of course, so that must surely include Pianostreet, even if Nils Johan is not actually aware of his presence in the sense of having formally sanctioned and recognised Him as a member. Susanistimo is most definitely a member of Pianostreet, as every other member of Pianostreet knows very well. Ligeti died before becoming a member. Sorabji died before Pianostreet was even so much as a something-or-other in Nils Johan's mother's eye. Fredrik Ullén, the splendid Swedish pianeuroscientist - who, of course, I realise is the one that you're actually asking about - is almost certainly not a member of Pianostreet...
so much ground has been covered! i see there hasn't been God every minute, either.One does one's best...
i suppose i should shake some cinnamon over things again.For baptismal or aphrodisiacal reasons?...
i did laugh about the depth of water and your funny outtakes on life, religion, piano, and triple etudes of chopin. what bizarre things composers do. but, i suppose - no more bizarre than what 'religious folk' do.Not for nothing did Sorabji use the phrase (although I'm not certain if he actually coined it) "composers and other lunatics".
i mean, it's kind of all the same.Oh, no, susanistimo, it isn't - it REALLY isn't the same at all! For starters, we composers rarely make frequent posts to piano fora that are sprinkled (like your cinnamon) with quotations from, references to and thoughts about verse x from chapter y of WTC or the Études Op. 10.
we just 'ooh and ahh' over different things. marc andre-hamelin, although genius that he is - is just another ordinary person to me. i don't put him way up here - but i also wouldn't dare to rub shoulders with him for fear of saying something utterly stupid. i would - gaze from a distance and always appreciate his playing.But then no one is suggesting that Marc-André should be accorded deity status (well, not in this thread, anyway). But isn't he one of your near neighbo(u)rs in Philly?
God, on the other hand - whom i want to meet and shake hands with - has got to be one of the most mysterious things (God) i should ever know. that is why i anxiously await His return. i want to see Him in the clouds, experience His divinity, feel the reality of the spiritual world that He speaks of as 'seeing through a glass darkly' for us right now, and to be amazed at His ability to allow the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the blind to see - and for me to finally play the piano perfectly (thus eliminating competition like marc andre-hamelin - or at least evening the score).Neatly put, but I don't think that Marc-André believes that he plays "perfectly" at all..
now, this may not seem like a very good reason (being that there might be a tinge of jealousy reeking out of a green puff cloud on one side of my brain. but, really - it's not competition that i wish to destroy - but rather that i should like to at least be in the running - say fifth or sixth. i do not wish to be in the thousandths rank. then, once that is accomplished - i shall drink the wine - as you say - should be drunk. and, at that point will not do anything stupid that i should regret.Yes, it's usually wiser to play the piano first and drink the wine afterwards, les you happen to be Fats Waller...
as i see it - the invitations were sent out for this party when Christ came at pentecost to divide up the Holy Spirit.Well, I didn't receive one; now whether that is because one was not sent to me as an non-baptised-Christian or because it got lost in the post like not only the proverbial cheque but almost half the mail around these parts these days, I cannot say with certainty.
He said it was a down payment and that more was coming.OK, so maybe I did get that invitation after all but, since it referred to down payments, I probably chucked it straight in the shredder because I assumed it was yet another of these special offer loan deals, or something of the sort.
He also spoke of crowns, and cities, and joyful triumph of the saints. but, there is no triumph in small numbers - so, dutifully - i again implore thal, ahinton, and pianolist (and mephisto - and anyone else who might be reading this) to consider baptism a sort of quick dunk and not a drowning. and, whomever you truly feel has the spirit that you are seeking - for repentance from sin - is who you should have lay hands upon your head when you come up for air. now, if i understand correctly, mostly men do this in almost all churches except perhaps presbyterian. if ahinton is needing the assurance that he will come up after going down - i suggest a man to bring him back up to the surface. we don't want a woman parishner going down trying to bring him up. i'm not sure what the 'worst case' scenario has ever been for a baptism - but i'd say a near drowining would not be a 'good experience.' this is not to say that a few women of other faiths wouldn't try to baptize.My reference to the "not baptising but drowning" scenario was not meant to be taken as seriosuly as you appear to suggest here that you have done; what I meant was that any official of the Christian Church about to "baptise" me would probably feel inclined to use this situation as an opportunity to indulge in a little drowning. When you write that
i want to add that i do not believe in salvation by works - but that 'faith without works is dead.' if a person comes to Christ and begins to work by faith - even that little 'mustard seed' can move a mountain. and yet, that is because it is God working in us for good. we, of ourselves can do nothing. 'i can do all things thru Him who strengthens me....'
realizing this is all gibberish to some - i don't wish to make myself unclear about the cinnamon and fanning flames to gibberish. (or about pianos in heaven - but we'll get to that later) i believe it is God Himself who gave us our five senses. and, if smell is a tool for teaching - then the fact that the wise men brought sweet smelling incense of frankencense and myrr (sp?) was an indication that God himself is appeased by smell. that it represents holiness - as with the 'soothing aromas' of various sorts of sacrifice in the old testament. we are told in the new testament to present our bodies as a 'living sacrifice' holy and acceptable to God. so, when i sprinkle you with cinnamon - it would mean nothing without holy actions. sorry if this sounds too 'bart simpsonish.' i'm really quite serious about the qualities of holiness smelling beautiful to God, though.
in proverbs, wisdom is as an enticing woman. the opposite of a harlot in actions. wisdom 'calls from on top of the heights beside the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand (before choices made in life); beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, she cries out: to you, o men, i call - and my voice is to the sons of men. o naive ones, discern prudence; and discern wisdom - listen, for i shall speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will produce right things (it does for anyone who asks God for wisdom and uses the bible for a foundation of knowledge). for my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips...for wisdom is better than jewels; and all desireable things cannot compare with her. i, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and i find knowledge and discretion. the fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, i hate. counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. by me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. by me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly.
i love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me. riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. my fruit is better than gold, even pure gold. and my yield than choicest silver. i walk in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love me with wealth, that i may fill their treasuries. the Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. from everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth (!) when there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. when He established the heavens, I was there. When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep (no one who closely reads the bible would say the earth is flat), when he made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed (springs in the ocean). when he set for the sea it's boundary, so that the water should not transgress His command.
when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and i was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His EARTH, and having my delight in the sons of men (so wisdom and knowledge isn't something we regret having). now, therefore, o sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. for he who finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord. but he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.'
***as i read these passages - i see that a woman's love is so temporary - but God's wisdom is like a woman because a true seduction is one where you actually see something beautiful that you want to obtain or be with and dwell with. it is not a mirage. and it is something that makes you feel loved and cared for. and, also - smells as good as she looks. in other words, produces the kind of fruit of the tree that it is from LIFE.
going on in proverbs 9 - this woman goes out of her way to 'prepare a table' - 'she has prepared her food she has mixed her wine; she has also set her talbe; she has sent out her maidens, she calls from the tops of the heights of the city; whoever is naive, let him turn in here! (unlike a prostitute who will cause a man grief) to him who lacks understanding she says, come, eat of my food and drink of the wine i have mixed. forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding.'
***i don't claim to have all this - but i have that portion of the Holy Spirit which was granted to me. so, when i read this passage - i can't help but think of Christ's parable of the kingdom and the table that he is preparing as a 'wedding banquet.' matt 22 - everyone had an invitation - but some were busy. so then, he goes into the streets and invites as many has He finds there. 'and they gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.'
about the pianos - i think that pianos are similar to large harps. and, who knows if there will be pianos, harps - steinway companies - i don't know. i do know that revelations mentions a full choir. a few trumpets. will we care - at this point? i don't know. i think i would. i think i would ask to be caretaker of the heavenly pianos. of course, they wouldn't go out of tune! and, also - i should like to think that they would be dressed in white as everyone else. but, of course - we'll have to just remember that the black keys used to be black and are now white. just guessing. it's all a bit of a joke - as i really haven't a clue what awaits us. 'eye has not seen, nor ear heard - the wonderful things that God has in store for those that love him....'
Legendary lol ;D have you founded a company now? With 200 employees who write posts for you 24/7? You might be looking for a name for that company. Well, forumers, let's think about it. Perhaps "The Pianistimo Enlightenment Corporation" or "Bible For Piano Forumers inc." ;D ;)
considering that the 'holy grail' to one of you is the perfect 'double oboe reed' - i'm not surprised by your misreading of baptism and getting it all confused with sprinkling cinnamon over cappuccino. remember liszt. he will be your guide. he had a raving good time - but when all was said and done - he was quite serious at the end of his life about God and religion and not as joking and making fun with the 'mephisto' who rules death.Liszt is as good a guide to us all in many ways as is anyone else - but please understand (as I thought you already did) that I am not mocking anything to do with religious belief in general or Christian belief in particular. A "double reed" is the kind of reed that oboists (and bassoonists) always use; the search for the perfect one has oft been described by oboists as a quest for "the Holy Grail".
imo, everyone who comes close to death realizes it's not of God. sin and death go together like a hand to a glove. but, if we realize God created man originally good and to live forever - death is a blight. it is nothing but a temporary thing for those who are baptized into Christ. it is death that is being overcome! adam and eve didn't set us up very well. Christ came and changed the rules of the game...telling us to 'follow' Him.Too many people come along and change the rules, especially when they don't happen to like the game or the way it's being played; I'm not suggesting for one moment that Christ did this, however. I did tell you earlier that the products of scientific research will eventually make life and death a lifestyle choice (much as I deprecate that term per se) rather than the inevitability that they are today, so I really cannot bring myself to accept some of the rest of what you say about this.
Christ gave up many things so that we would 'have life...and have it more abundantly.' if you were to give up composing things that did not fit your belief structure any longer and turned it to praise for God - you might be surprised at how much return you would have in the long run.Well - in the spirit of "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", may I make to you the entreaty "let she who might wish to see me composing in a more godly manner cast the first composition lesson"? How might you wish me to go about this? And on what basis might you perceive that the way I compose is somehow not as it should be? This is not intended as a combative question but as a literal one, so please answer it as best you can; the better your foreknowledge of my work from which you could quote music examples in illustration of your points in support of your theory, the more credible one may presume it will be.
i'm not attempting any more proseletizing because i realize this is neither polite nor necessarily wanted by most.Well, I'd not noticed this, but it's a blessed relief to know it!
i simply say - the harder way is the right way. that's from my experience.And the way I go about composition is the "easy way", is it? If you really believe that, you know something that I've never known...
Christ usually makes us give up seeking money and fame for righteousness. although, he allows some to carry on and still 'be rich' with what they share!Christ never worked for the Performing Rights Society! Have you any idea how hard it is to "give up seeking " money as a composer when there's so little to give up in the first place and such little as there is has in any case to be fought for with no small amount of forceful persistence?
God sees all of our actions - good and bad - and He remembers and even writes down our works.Can he use Sibelius? If so, I'll be after you for his phone number to ask if he'll act of my editor / copyist.
that our evil works will be burned up and the only ones left will be our obvious 'judgement' of ourselves.So do I assume that God knows better than I do about which of my works should be burned or otherwise destroyed due to their general inadequacy? It has famously been said that no one has ever put up a statue to a critic; presumably, no one will therefore put one up to God in his capacity as a music critic...
if it makes you any happier - even my children roll their eyes to the bible. but, i don't really force it on them. if they ask me something - i'll usually tell them what i think about 'whatever.' thankfully, my son is past the tattoo days. he used to say he was going to have at least three girlfriends at a time and get a bunch of tattoos. this used to make me worry. i'd try to talk to him occasioanlly (hoping he was joking) and come to find out, he was. but, i'd tell him these 'what if's' - like 'what if you accidentally tattooed a girls name and then didn't like her anymore - then you'd have to subtly change the name and it would be more pain all over again.'
now, with my daughter - it's suggestive lyrics to songs. i say 'do you know what they just said?' she says 'i'm only listening to the rhythm and just humming.' 'smack dab' has to be my nemesis song - but she's always turning it up in the car. one day, (like yesterday) - i finally had enough and said 'i'm not listening to this anymore - and changed it back to the classical station.' yes. we may be at the beginning of a long quiet war. but, at least i say it like it is. i mean - what guy is treating a girl right in music lyrics. i keep telling her - 'don't date any guys that don't treat you right.'
i feel somewhat good about what i say - though - because there's shows on tv with the parents ill at ease with a current boyfriend and telling reasons why. my daughter doesn't have a boyfriend yet, thankfully - but i'm trying to 'set her up' to know how to pick one. right now - it's cool and tough that counts. i think she deserves gentle and nice.
dear ahinton,No, that was not the whole of what I meant. The drowning thing was purely a joke based on the notion that if what the average Christian preacher might perceive as a lost cause - i.e. a composer
i was not really aiming to jab at your compositions or your person at all! you just mentioned that you don't feel some would set you right with the ministers that baptize - and they might drown you. i know you were joking. but, as i see it - we all have this 'inner voice' that is improved upon when you receive the Holy Spirit. things you don't typically 'see' the first time around.
basically like a composition that you are continually improving and changing a few notes to fit the scheme of things. as i see it - our lives are compositions - and each day we live determines the notes and the harmonies. it would be really neat if each one of us was a literal 'song.'I think that in many ways you are not far off the mark here - but, again, I simply cannot equate this kind of questing with contriving some easy acceptance of the proselytising of the preacher who would seek to persuade me that as long as I just go along and accept this and that, salvation will be mine and not otherwise.
mentally, talking about music and God help my outlook as well. they are two things i am most interested in. it gives me something to meditate on (whether a musical score or a passage) and prove true or false or just have some kind of opinion about.That's fine - but I have to tell you that I think (rightly or wrongly) that you have brought yourself to find many things easy - or seemingly so - by the sheer extent of your unquestioning adherence to those aspects of your faith association with which you regale us all with remarkable frequency; I have to admit that I do not find so many things in life so simple to rationalise, accept and promote. I am not, of course, trying to pretend that you do not also have a busy life with your children and other commitments, but then this is not what I am referring to here, which is that I simply cannot just arbitrarily go along to "God" in the allegedly manifest form of some preacher or other and confess my sins, repent and request that thereafter I be made a paid-up life member of the Christian Club. You and "pianowelsh" may well despair - but you surely each have better things to do! That said, I hope that you know - as indeed you shold by now - enough of my views on religion in general and on Christianity and Christians in particular not to take offence at anything I have written here.
Well that's cleared that question up then ???.What question? Where? When? I must have been failing to pay due attention, for I missed that one entirely...
Thal
What question? Where? When? I must have been failing to pay due attention, for I missed that one entirely...
Best,
Alistair
See Don Juans post a little while back and about 50,000 words back.Oh, dear; must I? No disrespect intended to anyone here, but this entire thing has surely gotten so out of hand that it's run past any usefulness that it might ever have had. We know who the principal "God warriors" are on this forum; we also know that the forum is supposedly intended to be dedicated to matters pianistic. May I formally invite "pianistimo", "pianowelsh" and/or any of the other forum members who happen also to be principal members of God's PR company to post examples of His playing of Chopin Op. 10, Alkan Op. 39 - and, of course (since their God is a Christian God) Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus and Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude - and then forummers can, regardless of their personal beliefs or otherwise, discuss these performances on their own merits and we can all then perhaps begin to consider God as someone other than a "warrior" or some one who has to be represented by "warriors" - for there is surely more than enough war-mongering going on in His name (not that that's His fault, of course) already...
Thal
as far as i see - we're made to die.at my uncle's funeral yesterday, the preacher at the podium told us that it's all Eve's fault we die because she ate the apple and created a 'genetic defect' to pass on to all humans.
this does not negate your love, though, don juan. i'm so sorry to hear of the death -especially for such young girls. seemingly, we can turn bad situations into good by extending ourselves beyond what we thought we had time for. i'd show up occasionally and take them out - and do stuff with them. go to their volleyball games, whatever! cheer them on. they'll need it. ps how did your uncle pass away?thanks for your support susan. It has indeed been a terrible week for my whole family and I. I don't know what it is with families and wanting to be together when we lose a family member; personally, I just wanted to be alone so I could try to concentrate on something else..
first, i am seeking to show you an easy step by step process to eliminate the pains of death in your life - and you go on about how shortly it will be a choice. apparently you are one of those belivers in cryonics or something?! as far as i see - we're made to die.That's very kind of you to do that - really, it is - but what are these "pains of death" of which you write? At the moment, I am not dead (otherwise it would almost certainly be very difficult for me to type this) and, as far as I can tell, I am not suffering in the throes of impending death (although one cannot currently know for certain, of course, when the latter may occur). Cryogenics is certainly one possibility, but it was not this that I had in mind. Medical research has made many advances over the years; one effect of these has been increased life expectancy in certain parts of the world. Of course it is - and will remain - vital that any continuing research that further extends human lifespan must accommodate the need to ensure that the life so extended is worth having - i.e. that one is not merely enabled to survive but to live - actively, profitably and meaningfully, including continuing to work, for those who choose to. Organ replacement has done much to extend lifespan but remains severaly problematic (albeit less so than in its early days); stem cell research may well turn out in due course to be of considerably greater significance in the ways that it may enable organs, tissue, nerves, etc. to repair themselves and protect themslevs against damage and deterioration, rather than having to be replaced in various forms of "spare part" surgery. So - I am writing not about putting people in the freezer and thawing them out years later but about the business of working towards the goal of delaying, stalling and eventually preventing the deterioration of human physical form that you and I and everyone else has so far had to take for granted. Of course, if and when this becomes successful and widespread, it will create many potential problems of population numbers, space, etc. - but then humanity has always been faced with monumental problems and it will be up to humanity to set about resolving these, just as has been the case with all the problems that have beset it in the past.
no, ahinton, you've got it backwards. the song, that is. it is not 'the song that never ends.' the song - simply ends with 'eghhsaosdfjkasl;fja' i can't breath - gasp. dead.What, precisely, have I "got" "backwards"? I presume you to be suggesting some kind of anaolgy beween a song and a lifespan - not an unreasonable thing to do, in some ways, perhaps - but, as I implied earlier, whereas human life still has a "span" at present, our expectations of it - at least in the wealthier parts of the world - have already increased and there may be no limit to the increase in those expectations or to their eventually being met in reality. I think that you assume that human life must by definition have a limited span, regardless of the advances of medical science and I suspect that your stance on this is largely, if not entirely, down to your interpretations of your religious beliefs which you find impossible to reconcile with the notion of unending human life ("threescore years and ten" and all that - try telling that one to the still-working Elliott Carter who is due to reach age 98 in just three weeks' time).
although, i'd have to say that alkan was one of the more creatively dying individuals.You just would have to say it, wouldn't you?! I know what you mean by this, of course, but the story of how Alkan met his death is just that - a story, wholly unsubstantiated and now of legendary status, notwithstanding the efforts of Alkan scholars to debunk it! Just be careful about taking books down from the top shelf and don't ever keep any of your Bibles up there (not that I could ever really imagine you being prepared to keep a Bible that far from you at any time, mind...).
i don't know, ahinton, about youNo, very probably not - but I really wouldn't let this worry you too much if I were you!
i feel that there is no arrogance at all in being simple minded about baptism.But I did not say that there was or is; please have another look at the context in which I placed the word "arrogant" to observe exactly what I did say. The only thing that I find "simple minded about baptism" here is the apparent notion that anyone can just go and be "dunked" by a Christian minister, vicar, priest or what you will, in order that some miracle will have occurred such as the one you mention as having occurred to the leper in the Bible story below; life - however long or short - just ain't that simple...
and take the fellow in the bible (naaman?) that was plaged with leprosy. he was told to go wash seven times in the jordan. he didn't want to and did pretty much everything but that. his servants suggested he do as he was told - so grudgingly he went. sure enough. a miracle happened and he was cured. strange as it seems - simple things can lead to amazing results. the only time one might be arrogant is if they thought they found the 'cure' themselves. the cure for death, that is.We don't all live near that river - and I'd seriously recommend discouraging anyone from trying this in the Thames. But, seriously - this is potentially dangerous talk. If taken literally and applied without discretion, what you write here might be seen as tantamount to accusing all successful medical researchers as arrogant in claiming that they have discovered the means to cure or alleviate any disease. Yes, of course, it could perhaps be argued that the requisite knowledge to enable such effects is a pre-existing resource just waiting for medical researchers to use their powers of reasoning to tap into it and make their discoveries - rather as Busoni (a human visionary if ever there was one) suggested that there is no such thing as "new" music as such, only music out there waiting to be discovered and communicated - a notion that prompted him to suggest the term "diviner" rather than "composer" as more appropriate for those who practise the art which I practise. Nevertheless, humans work with the resources around them in nature. It is indeed folly to try to defy nature completely, but to work in ever-increasing harmony with it (as the best medical researchers and others do) is surely a potentially beneficial thing for humanity as a whole.
at my uncle's funeral yesterday, the preacher at the podium told us that it's all Eve's fault we die because she ate the apple and created a 'genetic defect' to pass on to all humans.How disgusting! I cannot imagine how the person who conducted your uncle's funeral ever got to be a preacher in the first place with sentiments like that. If I were you, I'd almost feel inclined to sue. This would have been utterly irresponsible - as well as wholly tasteless - behaviour at the best of times; foisting it on you and other bereaved members of your family at a time of particular vulnerability serves only to make it far worse.
of course, the preacher was an idiot -he said death is the same thing as sleep. and he said this directly to my 6 and 9 year old cousins about their daddy, which really pissed me off.
I'm all for looking tragedy in the face rather than lying to little girls.
Oh, dear; must I? No disrespect intended to anyone here, but this entire thing has surely gotten so out of hand that it's run past any usefulness that it might ever have had. We know who the principal "God warriors" are on this forum; we also know that the forum is supposedly intended to be dedicated to matters pianistic. May I formally invite "pianistimo", "pianowelsh" and/or any of the other forum members who happen also to be principal members of God's PR company to post examples of His playing of Chopin Op. 10, Alkan Op. 39 - and, of course (since their God is a Christian God) Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus and Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude - and then forummers can, regardless of their personal beliefs or otherwise, discuss these performances on their own merits and we can all then perhaps begin to consider God as someone other than a "warrior" or some one who has to be represented by "warriors" - for there is surely more than enough war-mongering going on in His name (not that that's His fault, of course) already...
Best,
Alistair
i had no idea eliott carter was still carrying on at 98. more power to him, i guess.Indeed!
and forgive me for bringing up alkan. sometimes i do stir the pot - just to tease you.I wasn't aware that you were stirring anything, actually: I had merely assumed - incorrectly, as now it would seem - that you did not realise that the tale of Alkan's demise courtesy of a certain heavy religious tome other than the Christian Bible is as mythical as the Scottish castle in which Sorabji was once said to have lived.
i will never see death as something overcome by anything but Jesus sacrifice for our 'death' to be a temporary 'sleep' as don juan put it.We know well what you believe here - and that's fine for you, of course - but do you assume and/or expect such belief to be universally applicable, in the sense and to the extent that Christ's "sacrifice" and its relevance to and effect on individual human deaths applies equally to Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Hindus, atheists, etc., as well as to those who just happen to be non-subsribers to any specific religious group? - for, if so, that sounds to me to be all too uncomfortably indicative of a contention that the Christians are the only ones with the right answers on this subject.
here's why i think the way i do. i peter3:21 goes on about noah - where 8 people were brought safely through the water (you may not believe this - but i do) then 'corresponding to that, baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the ressurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.'I know that you believe this, whereas I do not claim to be in any position to be able to believe or disbelieve it, but what I do believe is that it's all completely Christ-specific, so it seems to me either that it is applicable only to those Christians like you who believe the whole of this or that you are using your belief as an excuse to seek to foist it all on everyone else as though it applies universally (see above).
vs 18 is interesting, too 'for Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.'
the effect of this baptism, agreed, is not instantaneous.Oh. How long does it take, then? And is its effective time-frame different for Christians than it is for non-Christians? and are there any other factors affecting that time-frame?
but, we cease to find pleasure in the typical things this world offers. perhaps you have already. i think you're a case by yourselfI think that we all find things that are pleasurable and things that are not among the many things that "this world offers"; I think also that we are all "cases by ourselves".
now, i don't consider you lustful man in your own right. perhaps the only things you seemingly lust for would be more stave paper and ink.Thank you, but I have to tell you that, instead of "lusting after" such things ,I tend to purchase good quality plain paper and then print on it from my computer whatever staff systems I want at any given moment; likewise, I tend to buy ink rather than lust after it.
also, you have a good lust for musical facts and composition practices. i don't thing God is bothered by this.I'm quite certain that He isn't!
what happened in my own life was a realization that God thinks differently than we do. we can set goals (which are all good and right) - but sometimes he changes them.We none of think alike anyway. And how does God "change" goals that we set ourselves? Where's the evidence for that? Does He only do this for those who believe in Him? - or is it only possible for those who believe in Him to recognise that he does this and how He does it?
say, we're going off to a piano lesson (me) and see someone in an accident. do we drive by and go to the lesson and forget the person who is hurt? obviously no. and many people think like this already. having kindness in their heart. but where does this care come from directly? God! he wants us to put other humans in front of temporary objects such as pianos and paper.Again, whilst I do not doubt your belief in what your God wants, were you to be taken literally here it would be necessary to extrapolate from it your contention that those who do not believe in God, as well as those of other religious persuasions who see God differently to the way that you do, can accordingly have no kindness in their hearts. You don't really believe that, do you?
i speak to myself more than youI must confess that sometimes it does rather feel abit like that!
i really haven't a clue why i try so hard with you alistair.Perhaps it's because it is you, rather than I, that are the stubborn one!
i think it is because you show seeming interest by answering this thread - only to be as stubborn as my own son when it comes to 'seeing God.' my son was three and when he went out on the patio table and stood at his highest - he said 'i don't see God.' therefore, from that day on church and God were nonexistent. someday, I say!My inability literally to "see" God (as you, "pianowelsh" and others put it) has nothing whatsoever to do with any stubbornness on my part; indeed, far from being "stubborn" in this, I have an open mind and also do not claim that my views are "right" - merely that they are my views. Perhaps it's just because my sight is not as good as I'd like it to be! But to return to being serious, it's pretty clear to me that, for reasons best known to yourself, you have convinced yourself that I do not believe in God; I'm not sure if you've ever bothered to notice, but, although I admit to having stated that I am unable literally to "see" God, I have never, anywhere on this forum, actually stated that I do not believe in God, so I must conclude that, like so much else in these matters, you have taken it upon yourself to decide that I do not believe in God despite having no evidence one way or the other about my beliefs or otherwise.
fight for alkan. what do you take me as?I don't "take" you at all, susanistimo, dear! You are susanistimo already, so there's no need. But, to try to answer your question literally, I suppose that I could say that I'd not "take you" as either a Jew or a Frenchwoman (let alone a French Lieutenant's woman - oh, forget that bit!)
i would rather die fighting for God.But we don't want you to die fighting for anyone, susanistimo! Apart from any other considerations, who'd fill your shoes on Pianostreet?
but, i see your point about assumptions. forgive me on that one!No need to "forgive" anything!
well, off to the dentist. checking those four wisdom teeth holes in my son's mouth. he seems to be in much better spirits with them out. i think his teeth were so crowded that he was experiencing some kind of tension from his teeth. now, they have room.Good luck!
well, rambling aside - i did hear a rather interesting composition you might want to know about. it was by behzad ranjbaran (born in 1955) and was incredibly amazing! it's inception was in 2000 and the name of the piece is 'seven passages.' if you haven't heard it - you might want to. the orchestration is truly amazing, too.Thanks. I've not heard of the work or its composer, so I'll try to check it out. Do I presume this to be a complete change of subject, or does the work have some connection with what you've been writing about here?
oh dear, alistair. you lead me on.Er - no, pianistimo, dear; I do not "lead" you anywhere...
why do you yet ask another question? it is as if you want to drain it all from me. i shall be a heap on the floor if you continue.Pianistimo, I do not seek to drain anything from anyone - still less to leave anyone as a heap on the floor; any question that I may ever have asked of you will have ben prompted solely by remarks that you have yourself made. If any of my music has that kind of effect on any of its listeners, well - but then who says that it might do so?...
ok. what i liked about this piece of ranjbaran's is that it is #1 inspired by a poem (an epic poem at that - which i tend to love - whether real to life or not) #2 has incredible creativity #3 has unusual instrumentation. now, it is very unclear as to who delivers this 'rostam' from the encounters he has with 'wild beasts, witches, demons, and dragons' - but if it is a true deliverance - that's all we care about at this point. rostam, the hero of the book, goes through seven trials. throughout these trials, rostam emergest triumphant. the story depicts life with all it's pain, joy, triumph, tragedy, and struggle. you can hear it very well in the music! and, at a certain point i heard a bit of saint-saens influence as well.OK - well, since I know nothing of this material so far, I will take what you sy in good faith (yes, dear susanistimo, I do actually happen top know what "faith" is...).
i really liked the creativity of this man - and do not usually judge things from a 'strict' baptist convention performance standard when going to public concerts.Thank God - yes, pianistimo, "God"(!") - for that...
i just liked it. that's all i can say. perhaps i was moved by the wrong spirit - but it was effective to moving passion and quite descriptive. i tend to have an overactive imagination - so perhaps it was not so good for me in the long run. i wanted to stay and hear it over and over. i cannot say that for very many 'new compositions' although i hope you hear that from some of those who heard your work. amazingly this work was much shorter than i was envisioning. i think 14 minutes total. but it sounded like at least 20 minutes. how can that be? it was gripping. lots of action.I can't say about this kind of thing - except, perhaps, that I am always relieved when (as, for example, following Jonathan Powell's recent première of my Sequentia Claviensis) people tell me that they think that what they have been listening to seemed to occupy far less a duration than actually it did in real time - and, by the way, you might (or might not!) like to know that, at the end of the score of that particular work of mine, I wrote "In Nomine Patris, Fi...(even as a Baptist - if that's what you are - you know the rest...)...because that's simply what had to be written at the end of that score. Please do not trouble yourself to ask for any explanation...