Yeah, I like this. Reminds me of reading about the Risorgimento in Italy.

Patriots for the unification of Italy scrawled the letters V.E.R.D.I.! on public buildings, which to the initiated meant:

Vittorio Emmanual Re' D'Italia!

B.A.C.H.

Beat. All. Conservative. Hegemony.

Or something like that!

I'm in a hurry, that's the best I can come up with for now.
Shaw Kenawe | 10.25.03 - 12:12 pm | #

I am up for it! I play the piano and I mostly play Bach and I am definitely against Bush. Sounds like my kind of group.
Alex | 10.25.03 - 12:17 pm | #

"B.A.C.H.

Beat. All. Conservative. Hegemony."

Cool!
tristero | Homepage | 10.25.03 - 12:54 pm | #

Uh, are Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf considered classical music, 'cause they are in my house.

Now blow on that harp, Davey boy.
cosmic grappler | Homepage | 10.25.03 - 1:32 pm | #

Talking of art, the egregious Charles Murray has just released another "scientific" monstrosity --"what he says is a mathematically precise global assessment of human achievement, a "résumé" of the species in which Europeans like Shakespeare, Beethoven and Einstein predominate and in which Christianity stands out as a crucial spur to excellence."
penalcolony | 10.25.03 - 1:32 pm | #

penalcolony,

I hope Murray numbered his pages with Roman numerals. The asshole.
cosmic grappler | Homepage | 10.25.03 - 1:40 pm | #

from the article cited by penalcolony on Charles Murray's newest book:

"Christianity's appeal is largely pragmatic. In his view it provided all the incentives people need to achieve: not only a sense of autonomy and purpose but a coherent vision of what he calls "the transcendental goods" — truth, beauty and the good — as well. A culture lacking such vision tends to produce art that is shallow, vulgar and sterile, he said, describing it as the difference between "Macbeth" and "Kill Bill."

One teeny, tiny problem with that view, the "transcendental truth, beauty and good" of Christianity also produced The Crusades, The Inquisition, the Counter Reformation, and contributed in no small part enough hatred and fear of Jews to, at the very least, provide fertile ground for the seeds of the Holocaust.
Shaw Kenawe | 10.25.03 - 1:50 pm | #

Shaw Kenawe - a very good assessment, and your first comment was lovely. I shouldn't be, but I continue to be amazed at the quality of the intelligence of the people who comment here.

Thanks for sharing that bit of info. about the Risorgimento.
Tena | 10.25.03 - 2:18 pm | #

I'm down for participating. Tristano, I emailed you a little while ago.

Christopher (choral conductor and tenor)
The Bone | Homepage | 10.25.03 - 3:13 pm | #

Way to go, Tristero!

Please forgive me for this, but . . . Back to Bach, belly to belli, throw a Zombie Jamboree!

Zombies from all parts of the Island
Some of them was a great Calypsonians
Although the season was Carnival
We get together in bacchanal
And they singing

Back to back, belly to belly
I don’t give a damn, I done dead already
Oho back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
....
A lot of World leaders talkin’ ‘bout war
And I’m afraid they're going too far
So it’s up to us you and me
To put an end to Catastrophe
We must appeal to their goodness of heart
And ask them to breech in and please do their part
Cause if this Atomic war begin
They won’t even have a part to breech in

Back to back, belly to belly
I don’t give a damn, I done dead already
Oho back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree

http://w1.871.telia.com/~u871256...rics/ zombie.htm
musing graze | 10.25.03 - 3:21 pm | #

Charles Murray is just a culture vulture fame fucker. What he knows about human achievement is most likely limited to what he figures will give his racist garbage some aura of classs. This is what comes of considering Europe as the world in those undergraduate survey courses.
Liked the point about roman numerals, grappler.

Ok I'm in. In memory of American Composer and leftist, Arthur Berger.

EPT pianist, etc.
EPT | 10.25.03 - 4:10 pm | #

...Charles Murray has just released another "scientific" monstrosity --"what he says is a mathematically precise global assessment of human achievement, a "résumé" of the species...

Oh, joy. Just what this we need. A idiot-friendly version of Guns, Germs, and Steel.
mondo dentro | 10.25.03 - 4:14 pm | #

Tristano is going to be inundated. Does anyone know a classical musician who's not a liberal? Every conductor I work with routinely makes anti-Bush cracks from the podium, to unanimous approbation, and my quartet rehearsals almost invariably devolve into Bush-bashing.
Mel | 10.25.03 - 4:37 pm | #

Mel-- indeed. I can only think that the number of right-wing conservative baroque music lovers and artsy-types could be counted on one hand.
Alex | 10.25.03 - 5:07 pm | #

Alex, I'm reminded of the great respect that William F. Buckley has for the music of J.S. Bach. Why he has so much respect that he stole the last movement of the 2nd Brandenberg for use as the theme of his dreadful TV show.
Anyone who would chop a piece of Bach up for use as a TV sign on, or as bad, in a commercial, is a vulgarian.

I send a note to any company that uses music they didn't comission or which uses music without the consent of the composer that I won't buy their product. Toyota, right now, is a prime example.
EPT | 10.25.03 - 9:10 pm | #

"...my quartet rehearsals almost invariably devolve into Bush-bashing."

Mine too! As do the quintets, trios, sextets...
lisa | 10.27.03 - 11:28 am | #