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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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Simstober 2021

DAY 23: Tasty @simstober

“Amadeus, are you okay?” “Fuck... I don’t know... This... thing bit me. I’m a bloody chef, not the main course...” “Your eyes...” “What about them... also... I’m so hungry... can we... go eat something?”

I tried to avoid anything to do with cannibalism, since it makes me umcomfortable so the idea of Amadeus as a creepy chef had to go. So, back to the zombies. Poor boy is just so hungry.

#Simstober #Simstober Challenge #Amadeus Dijkstra #Tasty #Zombie #The Sims #The Sims 4 #simblr #Simblreen

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cafezimmermann · 5 years

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Between the Lines

Among the things that I brought back with me to Europe from my last trip to the States was a recording of Mozart's Requiem, performed by the Academy of Ancient Music under the direction of Christopher Hogwood. Back in 1983, Hogwood decided to abandon the standard practice of using Franz Xaver Süssmayr's attempt to complete the unfinished score, turning instead to C.R.F. Maunder, a British mathematician and musicologist, to approach the task anew. My father probably didn't notice, or even knew that there was a difference; he was merely interested in Hogwood's use of period instruments ("the whinnies," as he called them). My dad liked the recording so much that he bought a cassette for the car, which was standard listening whenever he drove.

Ironically, Hogwood's version came out at the same time Miloš Forman's film adaptation of the Peter Scaffer’s play Amadeus was released. Back then, as a young violinist who was starting to devour classical music right and left, I was less interested in the historical accuracy of the film than by the fact that, musically, there was something "oddly different" in the scene where Mozart's body is carted off to a pauper's grave. The music didn't match what my inner ear expected to hear:

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"That's not right," I thought to myself. But, stupid as I am, I chalked it up to Hollywood, believing that some poor schmuck had been assigned to think up of a melodramatic Salieri version that would fill up the time.

That poor schmuck, I later realized, was none other than Franz Xaver Süssmayr. And maybe it's just my upbringing, but each time I come to this point in a performance of Mozart's Requiem, I bristle within, feeling an urge to "turn left at bar eight" and start playing the Hogwood (Maunder) version:

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But that would leave me quite alone on the stage, I fear. Still, I'm not all that much of a fan of Süssmayr's attempt to complete the work, and I never quite understood the standard argument that "his version simply fits the historical context." Maunder, in the booklet text to the Hogwood version, goes to great lengths to explain how fate fell into the lap of Süssmayr, who, by chance, happened to visit Mozart a few days before the composer died. In general, Mozart didn't think very highly of his pupil's compositional talent, as is expressed by Constanze several decades later:

"I can still hear Mozart saying, as he often did to Süssmayr, "There you stand like a duck in a thunderstorm again – aren't you ever going to understand?" (Constanze to Stadler, 31 May 1827)

And yet, when Süssmayr visited Mozart at his deathbed, it seems that:

"When he foresaw his death, he spoke to Mr. Süssmayr, and told him that if he were really to die without finishing it, he should repeat the first fugue for the final movement." (Constanze to Breitkopf and Härtel, 27 March 1799)

But after Mozart died, Constanze didn't turn to Süssmayr to complete the unfinished manuscript. Instead, she asked Joseph Eybler, of whom Mozart thought highly. A year earlier, Mozart had written the following testimonial for Eybler:

"I have found Mr. Joseph Eybler to be a worthy pupil of his famous master Albrechtsberger. He has a thorough knowledge of composition, is equally skilled in both the church and chamber styles, is fully experienced in the art of singeing, and is also a finished organist and pianist. In short, he is a young musician of whom it is to be regretted that so few are his equal." (30 May 1790)

It's a pity that Eybler abandoned his attempts; I would have been interested in hearing what the musician might have come up with. (Didn't he realize that there was a Hollywood film in the making?)

Constanze then turned to other composers before finally handing the task over to Süssmayr. The rest is history. Crucify me for my opinion, if you will, but I find Süssmayr's Lacrimosa dies illa self-pitying, self-aggrandizing, and downright clumsy at times. Which is pretty much how I find all of his efforts, unfortunately; it merely detracts from the beauty of the work. And yet, because we have grown so used to it, we don't know anymore what is original and what is not. It's similar to what Pinin Brambilla realized when she was assigned the task of restoring Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in Milano – hidden underneath the retouching and repainting of other restorers lies a masterpiece that is entirely different from what we know:

"Six restorers had worked on the painting, and each one had changed the physiognomy, characteristics, and expressions of the apostles. The face of Christ was not that different. He had lost some of his humanity and beauty."

Maunder, when he set himself the task of restoring the Requiem, stripped the text bare of all the subsequent additions and adhered to the original as soberly as possible. Whether or not his solution for the Lacrimosa is brilliant is subjective, of course, but at least the addition doesn't get in the way of the opening eight bars and manages to land the music safely, which gets cut off right at the point it reaches cruising altitude. Maunder then picks up the missing Amen fragment and composes a wholly satisfactory solution (here, you can tell that the man is a mathematician –musically, it has qualities of Bach). He foregoes the Sanctus, Osanna and the Benedictus - some might find that annoying, but Maunder justifies this decision by explaining that "no adequate substitutes exist, so, like the C minor Mass K427, the work must remain a torso."

Regardless of how one feels to the one version or the other, one question that has always been nagging my mind is: "Just what did Mozart write, and what would it sound like if the Requiem were played 'raw'? Would it be possible to gain insight into what Mozart might have wanted?

I think so, and fortunately, there is a video of what it sounds like, performed by Peter Dijkstra, the choir of the Bavarian Symphony Radio Choir, and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. It's worth listening to. I'll post it at the end of this essay, so first a few thoughts. This 'skeleton' version is quite revealing; you see that Mozart had a clear idea of what the music should sound like and made every attempt to write down all that is relevant – particularly the moments where it becomes brilliant (for example 24:48 in the video below). Strangely enough, there are times in the video that, if it weren't for the fact that one sees how the musicians are just sitting there, rather than playing, you would hardly notice that something is missing, apart from the fact that the music somehow sounds 'thin'. And at other times the inner ear seems to kick in and play the missing music. Obviously, Eybler, Süssmayr, and other composers who tried to complete the Requiem didn't have this luxury, but the unfinished version is compositionally so stable that deviating away from Mozart's original intent seems almost impossible, that is, if one is smart enough to "read between the lines."

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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While the kids were working on their school projects, people shared their good memories of Kilian.

#Imane Choukri #Eva-Lynn Jones #Amadeus Dijkstra #Dorian Choukri #Aria Strawroof #Orpheus Dijkstra #Gen 3: Cleric #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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That special moment when your sister is sharing all these weird medical facts during breakfast.

#Amadeus Dijkstra #Orpheus Dijkstra #Aria Strawroof #Gen 3: Cleric #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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Time for some school projects!

#Kilian Strawroof #Orpheus Dijkstra #Eva-Lynn Jones #Amadeus Dijkstra #Gen 2: Bard #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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Who is this handsome chap? Well, it’s Dorian! He grew up into a teen and got himself some sweet dreadlocks!

#Dorian Choukri #Amadeus Dijkstra #Kilian Strawroof #Gen 2: Bard #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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The next day Dorian came over to hang out with his family. While Dorian was a bit sad, Amadeus was very happy to see his halfbrother.

#Dorian Choukri #Amadeus Dijkstra #Gen 2: Bard #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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“Auntie Imane!” “Well, look at you, Amadeus! You’re so big already! How are you?” “I’m doing fine, I kinda miss you and Dorian...” “You know what? Maybe if your father behaves, Dorian can come over to play with you again, alright?”

#Amadeus Dijkstra #Imane Choukri #Gen 2: Bard #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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And here is the last one of the household. Son of Sienna and Kilian, twinbrother of Orpheus and older halfbrother of Aria. Amadeus Dijkstra is now up in the gallery. Feel free to use him in your games, give him a make over or use him as a base sim. Once again, this was still at the time my male CC was lacking (And sadly it still kinda is) so there is a lot of stuff from packs. Sim: Hair, Skindetails, Eye Lashes Everyday Wear: Shirt (City Living), Jeans (Base Game) Shoes (Base Game), Glasses (Base Game) Formal Wear: Suit (City Living), Shoes (Get Famous) Sports Wear: Top (Base Game), Pants (Discover University), Shoes (Base Game) Sleep Wear: Shirt (Base Game), Pants (Base Game) Party Wear: Shirt (Base Game), Pants (Get Together), Shoes (Base Game) Swim Wear: Trunks (Island Living), Bracelets (Base Game), Ring 1 (Base game), Ring 2 (Base Game) Hot Weather Wear: Tops (Base Game), Shorts (Get to Work), Slippers (Get to Work) Cold Weather Wear: Jacket (City Living), Pants (Discover Univercity), Shoes (City Living) You can find Amadeus in the Galley, if you look for my user tag (DemonicRosebush) or look for the hashtag #AmadeusDijkstra Credit: @bedisfull @pyxiidis @kijiko-sims

#Amadeus Dijkstra #Gen 2: Bard #Gen 3: Cleric #Look Book #The Sims Look Book #Side Character #DRS DND #DND #DND Challenge #DND Legacy Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons #Dungeons and Dragons Challenge #Dungeons and Dragons Legacy Challenge #The Sims #The Sims 4 #Simblr

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demonicrosebushsims · 3 years

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