Terrific post; who dares to say that medieval manuscripts have no relevance in the modern age? Not I.
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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
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Sometimes when I look at my cheap, $1 copy of some work such as Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, or Socrates’ Dialogues, or St Augustine etc, I ponder how much work it took for those works to come to me. I pay $1, or less than $10. And yet, hundreds of people through the centuries had to manually copy it, with meticulous effort and love, often defending their work from all sort of attacks, from actual warfare to pestilences and any kind of poverty. It’s just incredible what people did to preserve thought, something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
On the other hand….
The Exorcist (1971) by Peter William Blatty.
October means horror movies and at least a horror novel. While browsing some movie to watch, I realized that I haven’t watched The Exorcist in about a quarter of a century. Even more troubling, I realized that I have never read the book.
Blatty’s book is outstanding, terrifying, and it holds the test of time. Father Karras is incredibly well developed, and so his relations with the other characters. Most of us know the story from the movie, but I can’t recommend reading this book strongly enough. I expect to watch the movie this weekend, and I expect that I’ll read Blatty’s sequel, “Legion”.
October means horror movies and at least a horror novel. While browsing some movie to watch, I realized that I haven’t watched The Exorcist in about a quarter of a century. Even more troubling, I realized that I have never read the book.
Blatty’s book is outstanding, terrifying, and it holds the test of time. Father Karras is incredibly well developed, and so his relations with the other characters. Most of us know the story from the movie, but I can’t recommend reading this book strongly enough. I expect to watch the movie this weekend, and I expect that I’ll read Blatty’s sequel, “Legion”.
Agreed.
Preserving thought - and knowledge - and sources of thought and knowledge and learning - (sometimes against appalling odds) is something to be applauded, cherished, treasured and passionately supported.
Well, we all have different red lines, but this is one of mine.
I finished "The Martian" by Andy Weir. . I enjoy science fiction books that are based in reality, and "The Martian" does a great job of presenting a believable scenario. The characters are well-developed and the plot is thrilling. Thanks for your opinions. I'll try to choose next one)
Not being Christian I laughed my butt off when I first saw it. Very good effects for the time.
Liber Usualis (1896).
As Monty Python said, and now for something completely different I am going to continue the series on breviaries. I previously discussed the Monastic Diurnal, Monastic Matins, the Eastern Anthologion, and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1979.
This time the post will need many pictures (I will put some under the spoiler tag to avoid filling screens) and will include YouTube links because… we’re going to talk about music using a book of which my copy was printed in 1938.
Basic Facts
In the classical view, and in many movies, the image of a church or monastery is often accompanied by soft chanting; this chant is more likely than not a Gregorian chant. Gregorian music developed in the IX century and likely began its formalization under Pope Gregory I, not to be confused with Gregory XIII which in the XVI century gave us the current calendar.
Gregorian chants are traditionally sung without any accompaniment, however more modern versions include organ and piano, and in case of the pop band Gregorian, they even include electric guitar and synthesizers to reinterpret popular songs using Gregorian tones. Since I am not a musician, I will not discuss any of the technical features, however it’s impossible to ignore the importance that Gregorian chants - and their standardization - had on the history of music.
The Book
By the XIX century, liturgical functions became very complex. Between pontifical masses, daily divine office, octaves and such, the need for an encyclopedia of chant was needed. Some monks in France took action and developed the current form of the Liber Usualis, a 2000 page thick book meant to include all the fascinating music and tones that would be used at all sorts of events, from masses to funerals, from baptisms to psalm prayer.
The work is of massive proportions, meticulous in its explanations and in its functionality. It’s a sort of book editing miracle which became very popular and was widely used at monasteries around the world.
Here’s the cover and the first page of the Belgium 1938 print:
A look at its contents
A quick glance at the index will clarify immediately that this book contains virtually everything.
Of striking importance is the fact that the book teaches the reader how to read Gregorian notation and how to sing it, breathing included. A couple pics in clear, a few more under spoiler tags.
The calendar. No respectable liturgical book would skip a good, complex calendar. Here’s the one in my edition which is the old pre-reform calendar.
Now, the reader/singer/celebrant would need to carefully check the calendar against the office of the day and select the proper chants and liturgy. Here’s the meat of the book, the actual music. Notice the eight tones for the Hallelujah.
Another feat is the presence of lectionaries (basically, the various readings). Here’s a Holy Week not-so-short reading:
and here are some readings within the chant section.
There is much more to talk about this book but I probably annoyed everyone by now.
I’ll close the pictures section by giving you an idea of how thick this book is:
Now, to conclude in style… what does this work of love actually amounts to? Amazing chant. If you want to listen to the product of those pages, here a few examples taken directly from this book that you can follow along.
Here’s the Salve Regina, which to my inexperienced ears sounds very modern:
And here’s how two different tones affect the same chant, in this case Ave Regina in Simple tone and solemn tone:
-I love books.
As Monty Python said, and now for something completely different I am going to continue the series on breviaries. I previously discussed the Monastic Diurnal, Monastic Matins, the Eastern Anthologion, and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1979.
This time the post will need many pictures (I will put some under the spoiler tag to avoid filling screens) and will include YouTube links because… we’re going to talk about music using a book of which my copy was printed in 1938.
Basic Facts
In the classical view, and in many movies, the image of a church or monastery is often accompanied by soft chanting; this chant is more likely than not a Gregorian chant. Gregorian music developed in the IX century and likely began its formalization under Pope Gregory I, not to be confused with Gregory XIII which in the XVI century gave us the current calendar.
Gregorian chants are traditionally sung without any accompaniment, however more modern versions include organ and piano, and in case of the pop band Gregorian, they even include electric guitar and synthesizers to reinterpret popular songs using Gregorian tones. Since I am not a musician, I will not discuss any of the technical features, however it’s impossible to ignore the importance that Gregorian chants - and their standardization - had on the history of music.
The Book
By the XIX century, liturgical functions became very complex. Between pontifical masses, daily divine office, octaves and such, the need for an encyclopedia of chant was needed. Some monks in France took action and developed the current form of the Liber Usualis, a 2000 page thick book meant to include all the fascinating music and tones that would be used at all sorts of events, from masses to funerals, from baptisms to psalm prayer.
The work is of massive proportions, meticulous in its explanations and in its functionality. It’s a sort of book editing miracle which became very popular and was widely used at monasteries around the world.
Here’s the cover and the first page of the Belgium 1938 print:
A look at its contents
A quick glance at the index will clarify immediately that this book contains virtually everything.
Of striking importance is the fact that the book teaches the reader how to read Gregorian notation and how to sing it, breathing included. A couple pics in clear, a few more under spoiler tags.
The calendar. No respectable liturgical book would skip a good, complex calendar. Here’s the one in my edition which is the old pre-reform calendar.
Now, the reader/singer/celebrant would need to carefully check the calendar against the office of the day and select the proper chants and liturgy. Here’s the meat of the book, the actual music. Notice the eight tones for the Hallelujah.
Another feat is the presence of lectionaries (basically, the various readings). Here’s a Holy Week not-so-short reading:
and here are some readings within the chant section.
There is much more to talk about this book but I probably annoyed everyone by now.
I’ll close the pictures section by giving you an idea of how thick this book is:
Now, to conclude in style… what does this work of love actually amounts to? Amazing chant. If you want to listen to the product of those pages, here a few examples taken directly from this book that you can follow along.
Here’s the Salve Regina, which to my inexperienced ears sounds very modern:
And here’s how two different tones affect the same chant, in this case Ave Regina in Simple tone and solemn tone:
-I love books.
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The book in my opinion is more disturbing than the movie. Of course when I watched it as a child I was terrified by it.
Yeah, I get that. I don't think that was a children's movie. I never read the book but I can imagine that the added detail made it more terrifying.
Currently Reading
Coyote Waits
by Tony Hillerman
I have not read his books in order but I do like the Chee/Leaphorn dynamic. I am on my fifth one out of many but hopefully I can read them all including his daughter's continuation.
Coyote Waits
by Tony Hillerman
I have not read his books in order but I do like the Chee/Leaphorn dynamic. I am on my fifth one out of many but hopefully I can read them all including his daughter's continuation.
Just finished the unabridged version of 11/23/63, Just over 1200 pages... good lord, there were times I wanted to pull my hair out. However, it all paid off and this is one of the endings I actually liked by King. After reading the ending the Epilogue, it seems this version had a different ending than the original version and this version was his son's idea. I liked it and I liked it a lot.
So now I am looking for the next book.
So now I am looking for the next book.
Yes. It’s unfinished. Let’s say without spoilers that it deals with IRS employees, old local planning maps, tax code, and other frustrating things. Brutal.
Legion (1983) by William Peter Blatty.
Several years after the events narrated in The Exorcist, good old detective Lieutenant Kinderman has to face new threats in the form of the Gemini killer.
Usually sequels are pretty bad, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s more on the thriller detective story than the previous one but the story and the characters are quite enjoyable. Certainly not as disruptive as The Exorcist, it’s definitely a great follow up.
Note: as for the movies go, Legion applies to The Exorcist III and not The Exorcist II (which is crappy).
Several years after the events narrated in The Exorcist, good old detective Lieutenant Kinderman has to face new threats in the form of the Gemini killer.
Usually sequels are pretty bad, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s more on the thriller detective story than the previous one but the story and the characters are quite enjoyable. Certainly not as disruptive as The Exorcist, it’s definitely a great follow up.
Note: as for the movies go, Legion applies to The Exorcist III and not The Exorcist II (which is crappy).
I love that book!
Check out his latest novel too!
Not sure if you've read it already but I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
You won't have to wait long. Although not quite the page turner that Dark Matter was, the pacing and structure means she will likely tear through it quickly. I read Dark Matter over a long weekend - I never read books that quickly!
btw - great choice of car. I bought one of the first bug-eyed WRX's in the US (a WR Rally Blue 2002 WRX). I kept the car for the best part of a decade and drove the wheels off it. Bug-eyes were the best! (Never owned an STi though.)
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel
"A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art."
"A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art."
And to think that this amazing, brilliant, scintillating, extraordinary world - attractive, cosmopolitan, questioning, sophisticated - died in 1914.