September, opening of the 2023-2024 season

byClaudia Ochoa Cruz - 0 Comments

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who took the time to complete the 2023 survey. Your participation has allowed me to alter the calendar so that everyone may enjoy it more. In that case, let me briefly share the outcomes: 

  • According to the results of the 12 surveys, 75% of respondents appreciated both live performances and recordings. As a result, the San Francisco Symphony programmes that I had pulled from the calendar in August because I thought the audience wouldn't be interested in them will be added back.  It should be mentioned that they will no longer air on Tuesdays but rather on Sundays as of September.
  • 58% of people think that there are «just the right number of programmes» per day on the calendar, but I can assure you that the average of 6 programmes may increase during this season.
  • Everyone agrees that the programming available through internet broadcasts is excellent. This is a really significant statistic since it can mean that we were extremely pleased with the content of the programmes provided by the orchestras, YouTube channels, and websites over the previous season.
  • Regarding the subject of the monthly calendar covers for the 2023–2024 season, only one proposal was made. As a result, the main calendar theme for the forthcoming season will be music written for choirs and voices.
  • The calendar includes radio broadcasts, but since I know some of you enjoy watching videos I willl focus on including more video programming rather than just audio.
  • Additionally, I will pay closer attention and look for channels and programming created by ensembles.


Now that we've covered the preamble, let's get to the month's content. This issue's cover features a tribute to Antonio Lucio Vivaldi and his motet Cur sagittas, cur tela, RV637, which is thought to be one of his introductions to Gloria (RV 588 or RV 589) and is broken up into three parts: Cur sagittas, cur tela; Hostibus circumventa; and In te, beate Pater.


September 2023 cover

Image: Cur Sagittas, Cur Tela, Cur Faces RV 637 sheet music from musimed.com.br. Animation: by PhotoFunia.


Cur sagittas, Cur tela, and RV637


It is uncertain exactly how many Motets and introduzioni Vivaldi wrote. However, Heller (1997) points out that introduzioni (RV 635–642) and motets (RV 637–633) are both «non liturgical latin text»; the introduzione are motets for a soloist, soprano or alto, and the musical accompaniment is subdued compared to operatic arias (Talbot, 1993).



Cur sagittas, cur tela, RV637
Latin English
 Cur sagittas, cur tela  Why arrows, why weapons
Cur sagittas, cur tela, cur faces larvae horrendae, crudeles, minaces, ira accensae movetis in me? Me non terret infernus armatus, non furorem, non curo conatus, vincam fortis munita mea spe. Why, oh terrible hobgoblins, cruel, threatening, burning with anger, do you hurl arrows, weapons and fire at me? The soldier of hell does not frighten me; I care not for his angry attempts at me. I am strong, and defended by hope shall I conquer.
Hostibus circumventa  Surrounded by enemies
Hostibus circumventa undique et armis, amabili fuam pace. Ad quid rebelles impetus vestri imbelles? Pugnat pro me; pro me scutum et ensem dextera Beati Laurentii sumit et fulget iam de coelo armata. Ah, cordis robur mei, invincibilis dextera et beata, tu mihi assiste; mecum si tu pugnas, pugnabo Et in victoria tua laeta cantabo. Surrounded on all sides by the arms of the enemy, I was in amiable peace. But to what do you direct your weak efforts? He fights for me; for me the right hand of Saint Laurence takes up shield and spear and now shines armed from heaven. Ah, the strength of my heart, you invincible and blessed right hand, assist me; if you fight with me, I will fight, and I shall joyously sing in your victory.
 In te, beate Pater In you, Holy Father
In te, beate Pater, tutor et amor meus, et in virtute tua confido et spero. Mihi si semper ades, vulnera spreo et clades, nec hostis terret me vultu severo.  In you, Holy Father, my protection and love, and in your courage, I trust and hope. If you are always by me, I scorn wounds and disaster, nor does the enemy with his stern face frighten me. 
Source: King's Consort Choir, The King's Consort, Robert King. (2001). Vivaldi: The Complete Sacred Music  [Album]. Hyperion Records.


Reflection


Some evaluations from the start of Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, Sweden, last May serve as a reminder and cause for reflection. She is even charged with increasing inflation in that nation. The «Beyonce-flation» is another tag for this effect, yes, you read properly. Crazy fans have gladly spent a lot of money, and some have even claimed that «People are willing to splurge because they know they will get quality content, plus who knows when or if she'll do another tour after this one» (Chmielewski, et al., 2023). This particular form of inflation is brought on by the high demand for services. Tickets for the performance in the United Kingdom cost up to $215, but if you think it's not much, consider the $1,300 on average that Taylor Swift fans have paid to enjoy her tour in the United States (Curran, 2023).

Beyonce claims that Act I: Renaissance was recorded during the pandemic and that she uses dance music to spread joy and many other wonderful emotions. We could analyse her first song «I'm that girl» from this album, which serves as the tour's opener, in light of such a "musical event".
I'm that girl
Please, motherfuckers ain't stop–, please, motherfuckers
Please, mother-, please, mother–, please, motherfuckersBitch, please, motherfuckers, please, mother–, please, mother–Please, motherfuckers, please, mother–, please, motherfu–
Please, motherfuckers ain't stopping mеPlease, motherfuckers ain't stopping mePlease, motherfuckers ain't stopping mePlease, motherfuckers ain't stopping me
I pull up in these clothes, look so good'Cause I'm in that, hoeYou know all these songs sound good'Cause I'm on that, hoeDeadass, deadass, I'm deadass
It's not the diamonds, it's not the pearls
I'm that girl (I'm that girl), it's just that I'm that girl (I'm that girl)It's not my man (ooh), it's not my stance (ooh)
I'm that girl (I'm that girl), it's just that I'm that girl
From the top of the morning, I shine (ah-ooh)
Right through the blinds (ah-ooh)Touching everything in my plain viewAnd everything next to me gets lit up, too (ugh)
You see it (ah-ah-ah-ah), yeahYou see it when you look to meI didn't want this power (I ain't want it)I didn't want this power (I ain't want it)
You know love is my weaknessDon't need drugs for some freak shitI'm just high all the time, I'm out of my mindI'm tweaked (tweaking, tweaking)Freaking on the weekend, I'm indecent, let it begin (ooh-ooh-ooh)
I be pulling up in that '92 DeVille Cadillac with them vogues, losing my mindBe-be-beasting, un-American, I don't need no friendsI been thugging for my un-American life lights in these deep flawless skiesOff the deep end (yuh), such a heathenWhy they let me outside? (Yeah), I pull relief in (yeah)
Bring that beat in, now I can breathe againI be beating down the block knocking Basquiats off the wallAll, that's how I ballCleanse me of my sins, my un-American life
Please, motherfuckers ain't stop–, please, motherfuckersPlease, mother-, please, mother–, please, motherfuckersBitch, please, motherfuckers, please, mother–, please, mother–Please, motherfuckers, please, mother–, please, motherfu–
Please, motherfuckers ain't stopping mеPlease, motherfuckеrs ain't stopping mePlease, motherfuckers ain't stopping mePlease, motherfuckers

Beyonce, Dean, M., Duran, K., Gesteelde-Diamant; Terius “The-Dream”, Tommy Wright III. (2022). I'm That Girl [Recorded by Beyonce]. On Renaissance: Act 1 [YouTube]. New York, NY: Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.


You did read that correctly, however I made the personal choice to cross out parts of the words. Let's begin, then, nonetheless. The "quality" performance that her followers saw would be easy to picture if we combined this "beautiful lyric" with an Alexander McQueen futuristic set and costumes. It is, in essence, a song that aspires to be a girl's "protest", one who is indecent, futuristic, clothed in "haute couture", whose weakness is love, who does not require diamonds, and who strives to atone for the sins of an un-American life.

Wait until you watch Le Louvre video if this explanation isn't disturbing enough for you. It actually gave me the creeps; I briefly thought I was watching a horror movie. Do not forget that I am just three years older than Beyonce -according to Wikipedia-. And if we include the landscape in the song «I'm That Girl» which was influenced by the movie Metropolis (1927), we see that that girl also fights for social concerns. However, the writers may not have had enough time to include this in the song's lyrics, so the World Tour's producers added scenery to make it more interesting. Maria is the calming protagonist in the never-ending class conflict that results from capitalism.

The discussion's core doesn't lie in the song lyrics of the tour, which have the power to raise the inflation rate; It has to do with value and what many people find valuable. There are so many theories regarding value that it seems pointless to mention them, yet it is important to remember that "renaissance  value" is what motivates people and gets them to open their wallets -I apologise, but sometimes my economics mind simply won't stop talking-.

Let's do a reflection exercise and suppose that if aliens invade Earth today -it would be something similar to when Christopher Columbus landed in America, as Stephen Hawking suggested in 2010- naturally, not all of them would be soldiers; some would be tasked with studying human social behaviour, then, what may the fundamental themes of human life be that would catch the attention of extraterrestrials?

One of the most significant examples is undoubtedly the anthropocentric destruction of the planet, which is followed by starvation, wars, pandemics, selfishness, and the cult of synthetic polymers. Then, let's imagine that their Earthling Geographic magazine contains images of the Wilson cloud, Poopó lake, El Chapo, the plane that was detained at the airport in Ankara with respirators that the Spanish government had purchased, the graph that indicates that 16% of daily deaths worldwide are due to hunger, the Chris Jordan's bird photos, et cetera. The polymer section could be really enjoyable.

Imagine how many polymers are used every day, how many different things they can be used for, and how obsessed we are with them. Traces of plastic have even been discovered in the blood and the heart, literally in human hearts, but it also seems that metaphorically because even plastic bags -which come in a variety of patterns and pleasant fragrances- are used to dispose of other plastic, it is very difficult for us to get rid of them, then we bid them a beautiful farewell.

Polymers can mold the human body into surreal shapes, giving the appearance of strong, healthy muscles; This transformation is something comparable to that carried out by Padaung women in their bodies. Unfortunately, these polymer uses are connected to beauty in some cultures; however, in all honesty (and I apologise to the multi-billion dollar cosmetic surgery industry), these polymers could very well be seen as a form of subcutaneous torture that is socially acceptable because it is justified as a lack of "self love" or "self esteem".

Polymers are so prized that they are even thrown into the oceans, along with the most precious resource of all: water, even when it is salty. The United Arab Emirates has demonstrated that salinity can be decreased, but doing so is expensive and will cost millions (yes, economists love to count digits). Ah, but as I just realised, the water that the Fukushima plant released has probably already crossed many oceans, thus it would appear that China's trade restrictions were insignificant. However, let's be positive. Air can also be used to create water, albeit in my opinion there has recently been a minor issue with air, which is also known as corona.

Since Vivaldi is thought to have been a choirmaster for women, if Cur sagittas, cur tela, RV637, was written for a female voice singing a Latin text that is not liturgical, we could assume that the singer resembled someone who, like Beyonce, issues a defiant call to her enemies, though with different justifications. She will not utilise a carriage, wait till the weekend, discuss Caravaggio or diamonds, much less bring up a nation because one did not exist. This woman will valiantly prepare to fight with the sword and shield of Saint Lorenz in the name of God. The 18th-century woman will dedicate the victory in God's name as Beyoncé works to atone for her un-American sins. Both women boast about their fighting skills and acknowledge that they have enemies. It would be interesting to look at some of the songs that women from the Xi Dynasty, as well as those from Egypt, Persia, the Mayans, and other cultures, may have performed. However, the issue is not one of gender but rather of cosmovision.

Returning to the present, what do Beyonce's un-American sins have to do with Sweden's inflation? What should surprise us more—the "musical success" or the economy's fragility, or both? would the Renaissance World Tour be able to raise inflation in China? Does the tour actually support social concerns, or are these assertions just marketing gimmicks? Do people in Stockholm consciously decide which social causes to back? Or perhaps Stockholmers simply enjoy unwinding for a while while listening to music with "beautiful lyrics"? What happens to the millions made from a musical tour that raises awareness of social causes? The fact that individuals pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to sing "such beautiful songs" would definitely make aliens grin or pass away from grief as they comprehend what is valued to many humans.

Let's consider the final reflection questions: If Beyonce sang Cur sagittas, cur tela, RV637, what do you think her fans would say? Could Beyonce make this motet a hit and raise inflation rates in a country?


PS. I'm sending a lot of love and wishing you everyone a pleasant return from your summer break! ♪♪💓♪♪


References

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