Spam Roundup January 2018

It's a new year, but an old story. I still receive spam comments. Some of it's so oddly written, that it's oddly amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Know what I mean?

I can only hope these comments made sense before being run through an online translator.

- The best time to make a few plans for the longer term and it's time to be happy. [Thank you, Bobby McFerrin.]

- What's up to all it's actually a fastidious for me to pay a visit this site, it consists of prceless information. [You're misuse of the word "fastidious" -- priceless.]

- It is not my first time to pay a visit to this site. I am visiting this web page daily and obtain good facts from here everyday. [I know. This comment shows up just about every day.]

Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they plainly do not know about. [I'm a little irked right now.]

 Still attracting spam comments from around the world!

"Lumbering along" still lumbers along

This one post in my ongoing series on cheap Japanese toys continues to draw the spam. The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along remains a top destination. possibly because I keep posting about it in these spam updates.

- First I want to thank you for the very interesting information you blogged here about lower back pain. [Dude, it's "lumber," not "lumbar!"]

 - This web site really has all of the info I wanted concering this subject and didn't know who to ask. [Well, I can't argue with that.]

 - If you want to grow your familiarity simply keep visiting this website and be updated with the latest gossip posted here. [Yes, I'm the TMZ for the latest gossip about late 1950s Japanese penny toys!]

 - You are so awesome! I don't believe I've truly read through anything like that before. So nice to find another person with some genuine thoughts on this subjet matter. [Said the fake spambot.]

And that reminds me...

Not sure I care for this association.

 - Hey very nice blog! My site... how to cure hemorrhoids at home.

I've got nothing to say after that, except we'll see what comes in next month!

#ClassicsaDay #Opus1 Annotated List Week 5

I'm a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay Twitter feed. For January 2018, I decided to mark the first month of the new year with firsts. Each post features the first published work of a different composer.

Emphasis on the word "published," In some cases, the Opus 1 is the first mature work of the composer. Sometimes the work was written mid-career. A few are spurious, and a few were written quite late and simply assigned the Opus 1 designation.

Each work seems to have a story that's a little long for the typical tweet. So here they are. This is the fifth and final week of the #ClassicsaDay #Opus1 series.

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)- Singedichte Walzer, Op. 1

The Singedichte (Epigrams) Waltzer was the first in a long string of published works by Johann Strauss II. His catalog would eventually contain over 500 works, including numerous waltzes, marches, waltzes, and operettas.

Carl Stamitz (1717-1757) - Viola Concerto in D major, Op. 1, No. 1

Stamitz spent the first part of his career playing in the Mannheim court orchestra. Mannheim was a center for musical innovations. Stamitz incorporated most of them into his music. Stamitz spent most of his life touring as a virtuoso violinist, violist, and viola d'amore player. His viola concerto was one of over 60 that he wrote for various instruments.

Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) - Concentus musico-instrumentalis, Op. 1

Fux is best remembered for his Gradus ad Parnassum. This treatise on renaissance counterpoint was a standard reference works for generations of composers. His 1701 Concentus musico-instrumentalis is a compendium of instrumental works. It consists of overtures, suites, sinfonias, serenades, and other late 17th Century forms.



Annotated List Week 1
Annotated List Week 2
Annotated List Week 3
Annotated List Week 4

Diabelli Project 179 - String Trio, Mvt. 3A

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.
This string trio series is a bit of a departure. I'm still flash composing, with a 10-minute time limit to write as much as I can. Instead of starting over each week, I'll be attempting to pick up where I left off from the previous week for my 10-minute session.

This is the first part of the third (and final) movement. It starts off with a simple four-note motif in sevenths. The shifting of the meter from 3/4 to 2/4 is designed to keep the pulse from settling into too regular a pattern. That sense of off-balance continues through the cadence points.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.

#ClassicsaDay #Opus1 Annotated List Week 4

I'm a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay Twitter feed. For January 2018, I decided to mark the first month of the new year with firsts. Each post features the first published work of a different composer.

Emphasis on the word "published," In some cases, the Opus 1 is the first mature work of the composer. Sometimes the work was written mid-career. A few are spurious, and a few were written quite late and simply assigned the Opus 1 designation.

Each work seems to have a story that's a little long for the typical tweet. So here they are. This is week four of the #ClassicsaDay #Opus1 series.

Nicolai Medtner (1880-1951) - Acht Stimmungsbilder, Op. 1

Pianist/composer Nicolai Medner wrote his eight betwen 1895 and 1902. By the time his first works were published, Medtner was already an established concert pianist. Medtner, like Chopin, wrote exclusively for the piano. His range was wider, though. In addition to solo piano works, he wrote three piano concertos and several chamber works, mostly for violin and piano.

Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)- Sonata da Chiesa Op. 1 No. 1

The twelve trio sonatas of Corelli were published in 1681. Publishing was an expensive business, and most composers of the day relied on patronage and subscriptions to fund publication. That usually meant that only the best works from a composer's catalog saw print. In Corelli's case, Queen Christina of Sweden was that patron.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) - Variations on the name "Abegg", Op. 1

Schumann's first published composition was written between 1829 and 1830. The work is a set of variations on the name ABEGG. The inspiration was apparently Pauline von Abegg, who Schumann met when he was twenty. The five notes of the name form the theme (in German, "B" is read as "B-flat").

https://youtu.be/0c7ZPGSEjWQ

Alban Berg (1885-1935) - Piano Sonata, Op. 1

Berg's piano sonata was published in 1910 and may have been written a year earlier. Although the exact date isn't known, it was written after Berg had started studying with Arnold Schoenberg. It's the only work Berg assigned an opus number to.

 

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) - Festmarsch, Op. 1

Strauss completed the Festmarch in 1876. It was premiered and published five years later. The premiere was conducted by Franz Joseph Strauss, Richard's father. The elder Strauss tried -- unsuccessfully -- to steer Richard away from the influence of Wagner.



Annotated List Week 1
Annotated List Week 2
Annotated List Week 3

99 Words - An Exceptional Tribute to John Tavener

What a beautiful album. And what a fitting tribute to John Tavener and his unique artistic vision. 99 Words presents music that honors the memory of Tavener, interspersed with music by Tavener. It's a powerful combination.

John Tavener's sublimely spiritual music has a serenity and transparency that sounds like no other. Roxanna Panufnik doesn't try to emulate Tavener's style. But her music seems to come from the same aesthetic.

"Heav'nly Harmony" uses fuller harmonies and more chromatic accompaniment than the Tavener works that precede and follow it. And yet it seems to have a similar sense of spiritual grounding.

The title track, "99 Words," is a heartbreaking, yet inspiring work. It's Panufnik's setting of Tavener's last letter to his children. The words are spoken, wreathen in choral sound clouds with a cello obbligato.

The composer writes, "the cello represents John [Tavener] -- supporting, encouraging, and embellishing the words." And that's exactly what it seems to do. Without copying Tavener, Panufnik has captured the essence of the composer. In the process, she's transformed his deeply personal message into one we can all embrace.

Cellist Michael Barley contributes "Improvisations on Tavener themes." This work for solo cello celebrates Tavener's music as it refashions it.

The Voce Chamber Choir, directed by Suzi Digby, have an exceptional ensemble sound. And it takes an exceptional talent to make Tavener's music sound as ethereal as it should. The Voce Chamber Choir does so every time.

This is just one of those releases where everything's right -- the program, the sequencing, the recording, the performances, and the music.

Especially the music.

99 Words: Sir John Tavener, Roxanna Panufnik
Voce Chamber Choir; Suzi Digby, conductor
Matthew Barley, cello; Simon Russell Beale, narrator; James Sherlock, organ
Signum Classics