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cardest · 3 years

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Japan playlist

Are you turning Japanesa? I don’t think so! This, I believe is the ultimate Japan playlist. One of my favorite countries in the world to visit. it truly is a fascinating place in the world. The music from this region is just so. Crazy even! I have been a few times and cannot wait to get back over there again as soon as Crap-19 takes a hike and leaves this planet already. Meanwhile, here is the Japan playlist to keep us happy. Perfect for those of you out there in lock down.

I hope you dig the list of songs I put together. You can even let me know what songs or bands I forgot and let me know! 私はあなたがそれを掘ることを望みます Arrigato! Hit play right here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_IcliLasW5eajllU8pA5Gh

JAPAN

001 Fantomas - 4-30-05 002 INXS - I Send A Message 003 LADYBABY - candy 004 Babymetal - DoKiDoKi MORNING 005 MOMOIRO CLOVER Z vs KISS - YUMENO UKIYONI SAITEMINA 006 The Cure - Kyoto Song 007 Kill Bill Vol.1 - Isaac Hayes - Run Fay Run 008 CHAI - GREAT JOB 009 Mutant Monster - Barabara 010 Sigh - Inked in Blood 011 The Vapors - Turning Japanese 012 Fantomas - 4-7-05 013 Ocean Machine - Night 014 Masayuki Sakamoto - Psy'chy 015 Astro Boy - 1980 English Intro Theme 016 Go Misawa - 悪魔人間 (デビルマン) - 不動明 017 Red House Painters - Japanese To English 018 八十八ヶ所巡礼「仏滅トリシュナー 019 Acid Mothers Temple - Floating Flower Shizuku No Youni 020 Ween - Japanese Cowboy 021 Otoboke Beaver - Don't light my fire 022 Gojira's Godzilla Theme Song 023 Cavalera Conspiracy - Bonzai Kamikazee 024 Ultra Bide - DNA vs DNA 025 David Bowie - Crystal Japan 026 A Flock Of Seagulls - Tokyo 027 Sakura - Cherry blossoms 028 BON JOVI - Tokyo Road 029 Aneka - Japanese boy 030 Endon - Boy Meets Girl 031 Junko Ohashi - Dancin' 032 Ike Reiko - Yoake No Scat 033 Shohjo-Tai - Flamingo Island 034 Chthonic - Kaoru 035 Herbie Hancock - Nobu 036 Akiko Yano - Dogs Awaiting 037 Inoyama Land - Glass Chaim 038 Fantomas - 4-14-05 039 Hide - Dice 040 Japan - Talking drum 041 Sabbat - Samurai Zombies 042 Brian Ice - Tokyo 043 W.A.S.P. - Tokyos on fire 044 UHNELLYS - SWITCH 045 Boris - LOVE 046 Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Battle Without Honor or Humanity Tomoyasu Hotei 047 eX-Girl - Pretty You Ugly 048 Gonin Ish - Shagan No Tou 049 Banana Erectors - Fed Up With Highschool Days 050 Strapping Young Lad - Japan 051 Yoshida Brothers - Ibuki 052 Zeni Geva - Total Castration 053 Flower Travellin' Band - Satori, Pt. 1 054 MOMOIRO CLOVER Z - GOUNN - 055 Tom Waits - Big In Japan 056 ABIGAIL - A Witch Named Aspilcuetta 057 Sigh - The Tombfiller 058 Marty Friedman-Dragon's Kiss-Dragon Mistress 059 RIOT - Tokyo Rose 060 Fantomas - 4-13-05 061 Guitar Wolf - High Schooler Action 062 Becoming a Geisha - Memoirs of a Geisha Soundtrack 063 Seven Samurai- Ending Theme 064 Miki Sugimoto - Rei's Ballad (Theme from Zero Woman Red Handcuffs) 065 Yoshida Brothers - Rising from Best Of Yoshida Brothers 066 Ruler - Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie 067 Kill Bill Vol. 1 OST - Twisted Nerve - Bernard Herrmann 068 Fantomas - 4-23-05 069 Shonen Knife - It's a New Find 070 Polish National Radio Symphony OrchestraKrzysztof Penderecki - Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima 071 ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - Helen Buddha; Miss Condom X 072 Shugo Tokumaru - Decorate 073 PiGu - Bye Bye Honey 074 Hello Kitty Theme Song - Hello Kitty 075 ACUTE - 生き地獄 076 Sabbat - Karmagmassacre 077 Yellow Magic Orchestra - Tong Poo 078 Yojimbo OST - Main Theme 079 Anpan-man (Red beans bread man)theme song 080 Ex-Girl - The Crown of Dr. Keroninstein 081 Kate Bush - [The Whole Story] Breathing 082 Coffins - Hatred Storm 083 The Books - Tokyo 084 Fantomas - 4-19-05 085 男の一生／松方弘樹 086 Azuma Kabuki Musicians - Dojoji 087 Saxon - Walking Through Tokyo 088 Kill Bill, Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack - The Flower of Carnage - Meiko Kaji 089 Les Rallizes Denudes - Now is forever 090 G.I.S.M. - Nih Nightmare 091 Mono - Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn 092 Deftones - Romantic Dreams 093 Strapping Young Lad - Zen 094 Dead Can Dance - Kiko 095 Kinoco Hotel - キノコホテル「キノコノトリコ」 096 Esashi Oiwake - Ensemble Nipponia 097 Naitemo idayoi - bcmomoiro clover 098 Bryan Ferry - Tokyo Joe 099 Suzuki Junzo - Crying Out Double Suicide Blues 100 Iron Maiden - Sun and Steel 101 Kikagaku Moyo - Dripping Sun 102 Fantomas - 4-3-05 103 BARBATOS - Tokyo Rock'N Roll Show 104 BABYMETAL - MEGITSUNE 105 Eternal Elysium - Shadowed Flower 106 The Erections - stupid punk 107 The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop (Original Soundtrack 1) 108 Rush - Manhattan Project 109 Today Is the Day - Samurai 110 Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST - main theme 111 Japanese War Music - Samurai Battle March 112 Steel Panther - Asian Hooker 113 The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - A Place For Fantasies 114 Guitar Wolf - FIGHTING ROCK 115 HEAVY METAL ARMY - That's Hammurabia 116 Michale Graves - Godzilla 117 Noriko Miyamoto - My Life 118 Loudness - Ashes in the Sky 119 Mary's Blood- Save the queen 120 Mellvins - One Fine Day 121 High On Fire - Bastard Samurai 122 Shakuhachi - The Japanese Flute 123 Luna Sea - IN SILENCE 124 Tatsuro Yamashita - Sparkle 125 PIG DESTROYER - Kamikaze Heart 126 Tomoko Kawada - Akanegumo 127 Sodom - Kamikaze Terrorizer 128 Carlos Toshiki and Omega Tribe - Sky Surfer 129 TOKKAEBI - cheon mun 130 Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo 131 Wanda Jackson - Fujiyama Mama 132 Witch Cross - Night Flight To Tokyo 133 F.O.E. - Total Eclipse 134 Coffins - The Frozen Styx 135 Sword of Doom (1966) - Main Theme OST 136 Sigh - The Transfiguration Fear 137 Yondemasu Yo, Azazel san - Opening song 138 Thundercat - Tokyo 139 GHOST IN THE SHELL O.S.T.2 - i can't be cool 140 Japandroids - No Allegiance to the Queen 141 YAMANTAKA - SONIC TITAN - Hoshi Neko 142 Doraemon 2005 Opening - Sha La La 143 Akira Soundtrack - Kaneda's Theme 144 Anatomia - Morbid Hallucination 145 Traditional Japanese music - Honno-ji 146 Kodo - Lion 147 Tomita Planets - Mercury, The Winged Messenger 148 Yuji Ohno - Lupin The Third Theme '78 149 Ninja Scroll TV Series Soundtrack - Jubei's Theme 150 OKAWARI_BOY show me your space 151 Boris - The Woman on the Screen 152 Sepultura - Kamaitachi 153 X Japan - X 154 L'Acephale - Hitori Bon Odori 155 Zilch (hide) - Inside the Pervert Mound 156 Fantomas - 4-12-05 157 Kodo - Akatsuki 158 Sigh - Hunters not horned 159 Pucca Theme song 160 Tujiko Noriko - Solo - Magic 161 MYSTERY KINDAICHI BAND - THEME OF KOSUKE KINDAICHI 162 Akiko Yano - クマ 163 Sooo Baad Revue - バッド・レビュ 164 Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says (instrumental) 165 Imaginary Flying Machines - Sanpo (My Neighbor Totoro) (feat. Living Corpse & Yoko Hallelujah) 166 Mutant Monster - kamisama o negai - pv with romaji lyrics 167 Mount Fuji - Neun 168 Kumi Sasaki - Tanchame Bushi 169 Yakuza - Yama 170 Chai - Choose go! 171 Goto Mariko – Drone 172 Blue Oyster Cult - Godzilla 173 Kinoco hotel – F No Junkai 174 ASS BABOONS OF VENUS - Jet Unchi 175 James Bond you only live twice OST - Aki, Tiger and Osato 176 PJ Harvey - Kamikaze 177 BABYMETAL - Awadama Fever 178 Alcatrazz - Hiroshima Mon Amour 179 Tokyo Blade - Warrior of the Rising Sun 180 TIK & TOK - TOKYO GIRLS 181 Queen - Hammer To Fall 182 Nana Kitade - Kibou No Kakera 183 Gallhammer - Blind my eyes 184 Yellow Magic Orchestra - Kai-Koh 185 Chikyuu Kyoumei Resonance of the Earth 186 Hoodoo Gurus - Tojo 187 John Waite - Euroshima 188 Tommy Snyder / Yuji Ohno) - ザ・マリン・エクスプレス (The Marine Express) 189 Boris - Riot Sugar 190 Yellow Machinegun - Again 191 Kill Bill, Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack - The Lonely Shepherd 192 Church of Misery - Chilly Grave 193 Jimmy Takeuchi - Yasuki bushi (Shimane) 194 Yuji Ohno "Andromeda no kanata ni" - (OST - Captain Future) 195 Bo Ningen - Henkan 196 Blood Stain Child - Electricity 197 Crime - Yakuza 198 Tatsuya Yoshida & Satoko Fujii - Feirsttix 199 Ike Reiko - Kokotsu No Sekai 200 Fantomas - 4-9-05 201 David Bowie - It's no game 202 Manon - xxFANCYPOOLxx 203 Sparks - Here In Heaven 204 MAD SPYAIR - samurai heart Gintama 205 Terror Squad - Nightmare Rider 206 Fantomas - 4-6-05 207 Mutant Monster - Hanabi 208 Jimmy Takeuchi - Akita obako 209 NAKED CITY - OSAKA BONDAGE 210 Death Panda theme 211 Crossfaith - Monolith 212 OMD - Enola Gay 213 Dir en Grey - Obscure 214 LADYBABY Age-Age Money 215 Fantomas - 4-17-05 216 S.O.B. - Deceiver (Napalm Death cover) 217 Jimmy Takeuchi - Time Of The Season 218 Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy - Thy Sarcophagus & Unwritten Symphony 219 Laurie Anderson - Kokoku 220 THOMPSON TWINS - TOKIO 221 Electric Eel Shock - Killer killer 222 Kodo - Nanafushi 223 Ningen Isu - Heartless Scat 224 Amachi Shigeru – Showa Blues 225 BlackLab - Insanity 226 TENGGER - achime 227 Riot - Narita 228 Martin Denny - Japanese Farewell Song (Sayonara) 229 LADYBABY - Renge Chance 230 Tokyo Electron - She Keeps Me Shut 231 Kan Mikami - Anata Mo Star Ni Nareru 232 Kraftwerk - Radioactivity 233 CHAI - N.E.O. 234 Fantomas - 4-27-05 235 Gacharic Spin - Next Stage 236 Loudness - Crazy Nights 237 David Bowie - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence 238 The Presidents of the USA - Japan 239 Fantomas - 4-4-05 240 Kyary Pamyu P - Fashion Monster 241 Wagakki Band - Senbonzakura 242 Deep Purple - Woman From Tokyo 243 Krokus - Tokyo Nights 244 Kyoto - Venetian Blinds 245 Happy End - Natsu nandesu 246 Motohiko Hamase - Plateau 247 Boris - Tokyo Wonder Land 248 Asia - Countdown to Zero 249 Hiiragi Fukuda - Me And My Marshall Amp 250 Marty Friedman - Ai Takkatta 251 Kodo - O-Daiko (japanese drummers - Taiko - tambours geants Japon) 252 Sonic Youth - Tokyo Eye 253 Otoboke Beaver - Anata Watashi Daita Ato Yome No Meshi 254 Y&T - Midnight in Tokyo 255 Metalucifer - Heavy Metal Samurai 256 Urami Bushi - Meiko Kaji 257 Alphaville - Big in Japan 258 M.O.D. - Godzula 259 Akiko Yano - Hitotsudake 260 Japan - Life in Tokyo (Giorgio Moroder Version) 261 Boris with Merzbow - Sometimes 262 Dragonforce - Power Of The Ninja Sword 263 Fantomas - 4-10-05 264 The Guyver Dark hero Theme song 265 Minami Deutsch / 南ドイツ - Futsu Ni Ikirenai 266 Yukihiro Takahashi - Drip Dry Eyes 267 ZooBOMBS - Doo Bee 268 SIGH - Shingontachikawa 269 Burt Bacharach - Me Japanese Boy I Love You 270 Kay Cee Jones - Japanese Farewell Song 271 Dhidalah - GRB 272 Kikagaku Moyo - tree smoke 273 The Fall - I Am Damo Suzuki 274 Ryuichi Sakamoto - Thousand Knives 275 Yasuaki Shimizu - kakshi 333 Godiego - The Birth of the Odyssey (Monkey Magic) 666 BABYMETAL -Headbanger

Here are the songs to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_IcliLasW5eajllU8pA5Gh

#japan #Japanese Rock #japan playlist #japanese metal #Sigh #mike patton #ryuichi sakamoto #music from Japan #loudness #otoboke beaver #chai #metalucifer #Japanese movie soundtracks #ninja #babymetal #lady baby

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sunkentreasurecove · 7 years

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#Dan Ikuma #Sinfonia n. 6 #Hiroshima #Vienna Symphony Orchestra #Anna Pusar #Michiko Akao #classical #music

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garadinervi · 4 years

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Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)

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(image: Penderecki: Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima Symphony (Tren ofiarom Hiroszimy, 1960), No. 1, Wanda Wilkomirska (violin), Siegfried Palm (cello), Felicja Blumental (harpsichord), Sabine Meyer (clarinet), and Alfons Kontarsky (piano). London Symphony Orchestra, Krakow Philharmonic Chorus, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warner Classics, 2012)

Krzysztof Penderecki, Tren ofiarom Hiroszimy, 1960, Krzysztof Urbański, conductor, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Music Centre, March 13, 2015

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justforbooks · 4 years

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Krzysztof Penderecki a leading figure in contemporary music.

The Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki, who has died aged 86, was an outstanding representative of musical modernism’s success in the 1960s. From the early 70s he became equally emblematic of the subsequent failure of so many of that modernism’s principal pioneers to sustain a lifelong career without abandoning their original principles.

In Penderecki��s case, that appeared to mean the substitution of his early trademark emphasis on sound itself, the innovative textures of his choral and orchestral music replacing themes and tonality as the basis for musical construction, with a more lyrical and Romantic style that seemed more like a continuation of 19th-century compositional concerns than a radical reappraisal of received materials.

The composer’s earlier manner reached its apogee in the St Luke Passion for two vocal soloists, reciter, three mixed choruses, children’s choir and orchestra; its world premiere took place in March 1966 in Münster Cathedral.

As the German critic Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt put it: “A large ecclesiastical choral work, composed by a representative of the new music in socialist Poland, performed for the first time in a centre of West German Catholicism, in the former bishop’s seat of the daring anti-Nazi Graf von Galen [a prominent critic of the Third Reich when bishop of Münster during the 40s]: this gives occasion to a variety of thoughts.” Many performances worldwide of the Passion took place over the next few years.

Penderecki’s later approach is perhaps best exemplified by the First Violin Concerto, written in 1977 for Isaac Stern; by the Polish Requiem for four soloists, chorus and orchestra (1984, revised in 1993), many sections of which are dedicated to individuals or mass martyrs from Polish history; or by the Credo for five vocal soloists, chorus, children’s choir and orchestra (1998), in which Bach and Polish sources are encountered in a broadly 19th-century harmonic idiom.

Penderecki was born in Dębica, in south-eastern Poland, the youngest of three children of Zofia (nee Wittgenstein) and Tadeusz Penderecki. His father was a lawyer, and an amateur violinist and pianist. Armenian ancestry came from a grandmother, who took the young Penderecki to an Armenian church in Krakow; this aspect of the composer’s heritage was highlighted in 2015 with the premiere of a new choral work, Psalm No 3, commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915, at Carnegie Hall, New York.

Composition studies with Artur Malawski and Stanislaw Wiechowicz at the State Higher School of Music (now known as the Academy) in Kraków (1954-58) led to his being appointed a teacher of composition there himself. This was only five years after the death of Stalin; and, despite the advent of the Warsaw autumn international festival of contemporary music in 1956, communist rule in Poland discouraged modernist tendencies.

Penderecki himself was then still writing music essentially neoclassical in style, and in 1958 it must have looked as though the young composer was set for a safe but dull career of merely local significance.

In the following year, however, came a rise both to sudden maturity and to fame surely as swift as that experienced by any composer at any period. Penderecki had, anonymously, as its terms required, submitted three works to a competition organised by the Union of Polish Composers.

When his name turned out to be on the scores winning all the top three prizes, the works involved – Strophes, Emanations and Psalms of David – all immediately became well-known in European avant-garde circles, and commissioners of new works quickly beat a path to his door.

The reasons for Penderecki’s increasing popularity during this time clearly lay in the fact that his reliance on sound itself, rather than on melody or harmony as such – an approach that came to be called “sonorism” – was allied to a highly expressive manner that quickly resonated with listeners beyond the avant garde, promising to create a new public for contemporary music.

The works that Penderecki now began to write – deploying sound masses including unusual instrumental and vocal techniques, and combining conventional and more graphic methods of notation – extended this coupling of experimental sound-world and immediacy of expression to develop a texture-based language of assertive individuality.

In the St Luke Passion, the use of chant, recitative and chorales, not to mention the BACH motif (using German note-names, B flat-A-C-B natural) and occasional major triads, helped to make it famous as an instinctively dramatic reworking of a genre familiar from the baroque period. The work was also very timely since, despite emerging from communist Poland, it expressed a spirit of post-second world war reconciliation. Penderecki’s Passion became regarded as a kind of avant-garde counterpart to Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, premiered only four years before it.

An expressive approach to new materials and means such as Penderecki’s found contemporary parallels in the outputs not only of other Polish composers such as Henryk Górecki and, to some extent, Witold Lutosławski, but also in those of Iannis Xenakis and György Ligeti. Part of the broader agenda here was a concern to find a way forward that addressed the problems of musical structure and comprehensibility raised by the so-called total serialism of such composers as Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and that yet retained a radical attitude to musical materials.

West Germany, in particular, opened its doors to Penderecki in the 60s: the publisher Hermann Moeck and Heinrich Strobel – a radio producer who also ran the Donaueschingen Music Days – were soon prominent champions. It was not long before Penderecki was showered with awards, both in that country and elsewhere.

One of the first of these, a Unesco prize, went to his most famous early composition before the St Luke Passion, his Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960). Written for 52 strings and originally known as 8’37” (the work’s length), Threnody is classic early Penderecki: its vividly unconventional writing for massed strings, including quarter-tones, tremolos and multiple glissandi, allied – after the composer changed the title – to highly emotive and political subject matter.

This combination would serve him well both at this period and later. Indeed, just as the highly expressive, sometimes programmatically charged, approach of other early works such as Polymorphia for 48 strings (1961), with its thunderously concluding C-major chord, or the Dies Irae for three vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra (1967), which commemorates the dead of Auschwitz, was subsequently carried over into the more conventional sound-world of Penderecki’s output from the 70s onwards, so the potentially incompatible range of musical materials to be found in some of his 60s compositions can sometimes be detected in his output too.

The Polish Requiem and Credo offer two contrasting approaches here: the former incorporating 60s sonoristic effects, the latter more consistently conventional in idiom.

More rigorously modernist commentators soon criticised Penderecki’s scores of the 60s for cheap eclecticism, producing “effects-without-causes” music.

Subsequently, his move into what was often called “neo-Romanticism” supplied them with fresh ammunition, as the view of Penderecki as a “sheep in wolf’s clothing” appeared vindicated. Now that most of the more obviously avant-garde surface aspects of his music had largely disappeared, thematic and tonal underpinning could show through, unencumbered by any remaining equivocations about expressing musical and extra-musical ideas as approachably as possible to a public for whom most contemporary music remains anathema.

Yet those early works, which at the time struck so many as so arresting in their dramatic challenge to convention, now seem – for some listeners at least – shallow, simplistic, or even opportunistic. Penderecki’s subsequent manner, meanwhile, retained the endless chromatic melodic sequences and tritones of the earlier manner in the context of a thematic tonality that could now prove simply banal.

A notable example is the Second Symphony, subtitled the Christmas Symphony (1980), with its quotation of the carol Silent Night: this seems inadequate to the task of handling the religious and political meanings with which it is often charged. Some would argue that the composer had long since proved to be a spent force.

Penderecki’s later, as well as his earlier music, retained some champions, however; both before and after the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981, the composer’s works were adopted as a representation of the struggle between church and state. This did not stop Penderecki from maintaining links with the Polish political establishment in the years immediately after 1981, something that his compatriots Lutosławski and Górecki – the latter also directly linked, like Penderecki, with the Solidarity movement – refused to do.

Works such as the Te Deum for four vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra (1980) – dedicated to Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Kraków, who became Pope John Paul II in October 1978 – and the Polish Requiem – both of which quote old Polish hymns – should be understood in this light.

Other signs of Penderecki’s acceptance included the number of leading international soloists who premiered works by the composer, among them Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom the Second Cello Concerto (1982) was written, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, for whom both the Second Violin Concerto, subtitled Metamorphosen (1995), and the capriccio for solo violin solo, entitled La Follia, premiered in 2013, were composed.

Four operas – beginning with a suitably lurid Devils of Loudun (1969), based on a book by Aldous Huxley – received prominent performances, if not very many productions in the UK. Parts of this work, as well as his String Quartet and Kanon For Orchestra and Tape, were used on the soundtrack to the film The Exorcist (1973); and Penderecki’s music featured in films including Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990), Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men (2006) and Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010).

The most recent of the composer’s eight symphonies – subtitled Lieder der Vergänglichkeit (Songs of Transience), for three vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, a 50-minute choral symphony in 12 movements setting 19th- and early 20th-century German poets – was completed in 2005 and revised in 2008.

Penderecki also worked frequently, and internationally, as a conductor – including, notably, of the music of Dmitri Shostakovich as well as his own. He was rector of the Krakow Academy (1972-87), and taught at Yale University (1973-78).

He is survived by his second wife, Elżbieta Solecka, whom he married in 1965, and by their son and daughter; and by a daughter from his first marriage.

• Krzysztof Penderecki, composer and conductor, born 23 November 1933; died 29 March 2020

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nuclearblastuk · 5 years

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The Bards’ Tales: A Blind Guardian Chronicle

Blind Guardian are one of those bands which you will not have gotten far into heavy metal without coming to know. You will have seen their records in shops. You will have seen their logo on the fronts of t-shirts, on the backs of hoodies, or proudly stitched into a denim vest. You might have heard their music played in rock and metal bars. You may even have caught a glimpse of them performing live from far across a festival-ground somewhere. To many the music and imagery of Blind Guardian epitomises the power metal style, and while it is fair to say that Rainbow and Iron Maiden are the real progenerators of the power metal aesthetic, Blind Guardian certainly codified many of the elements which you might hear in contemporary power metal titans and label-mates Battle Beast, Beast In Black, Rhapsody of Fire and Sabaton – high-register wails, fast and technical musicianship, symphonic layering and a conceptual approach to album arrangement and composition. To fans they need no introduction of course, but in celebration of their thirty-fifth year of making music and the remixed and remastered reissue series now available on Nuclear Blast, it seems only right to tell the chronicle of the Bards’ tales.

To see the full remixed and remastered reissue series: nuclearblast.com/blindguardian-reissues All Blind Guardian albums are also available on picture-disc vinyl and on CD.

Our story begins in Krefeld, Germany (1985) where four young bards – Hansi Kursch, Andre Olbrich, Marcus Dork and Thomen Stauch - have just completed their first work under the name of Lucifer’s Heritage. As though caught under the spell of a premonition, that work was entitled Symphonies of Doom, foreshadowing a grand masterwork to be completed some three decades later by Hansi and Andre - the Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra’s Legacy of the Dark Lands. The opening song ‘Halloween’ would, in time, become ‘Wizard’s Crown’ and feature on the debut album Battalions of Fear. Marcus and Thomen would before long part company with Hansi and Andre - though Thomen would, of course, be soon to return.

A second demo under the name of Lucifer’s Heritage would be put to tape a year later in 1986 - also called Battalions of Fear - in which Hansi and Andre were joined by Christoph Theissen and Hans-Peter Frey. All the songs on the second demo, with the sole exception of Gandalf’s Rebirth (which is now available on the remixed and remastered version), would in due course find their way onto the Bard’s debut album in a rerecorded form. These demos are notable for their musical acuity, in spite of the limited production facilities available to them; listeners today will recognise them as falling within the bounds of a fairly straightforward speed/thrash metal style, quite unlike the elaborate arrangements the Bards are known for today - though there is some indication of things to come amongst several of the high-fantasy themed tracks. Before long, of course, Lucifer’s Heritage would be no more. The Bards, unwilling to succumb to the beckoning evil of Black Metal record sales, cast off their Satanic moniker and – under the inspiration of another wandering troupe of bards, Fate’s Warning, took up the name Blind Guardian instead.

Battalions of Fear (1988)

Battalions of Fear is the first album to bear the Blind Guardian name, and while for the most part it retains the speed and thrash metal techniques of the Lucifer’s Heritage demo tapes, it remains a distinctly Blind Guardian artefact - for it is in this second chapter of the Bard’s story that the Blind Guardian aesthetic is first established; the lustrous gold logo and hooded figures adorning the cover, the unapologetically grand narrative approach to storytelling through lyrics, and the utterly diverse selection of sources from which stories are told – from the enduring inspiration of Tolkein and Stephen King, to the passion of Christ and the Strategic Defense Initiative of the Reagan administration. Thomen Stauch returns to the fold on drums, while Marcus Siepen takes up rhythm guitar duties: this line-up would remain unchanged until 2006’s A Twist in the Myth, beyond what many would consider the ‘classic’ Blind Guardian period. There is much for latecomers to the Blind Guardian story to take from the Bard’s debut: it remains the purest expression of the speed and thrash metal influences which run at the core of the power metal sound which Blind Guardian were the first to forge, opens with fan-favourite and long running live-staple ‘Majesty’ and, for the adventurous, the current remixed and remastered version is appended with the Symphonies of Doom demo, featuring the Bard’s early tribute to Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

Follow The Blind (1989)

Just as Battalions of Fear now concludes with a direct reference to Monty Python, the 1989 sophomore album Follow the Blind opens with one: Inquisition samples the monk’s chant from Monty Python and The Holy Grail (“Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem”) This sets the tone appropriately, for Follow The Blind sees the Bards shifting towards an even more heavily themed and thrash-orientated sound than on Battalions of Fear, apparently brought about by their exposure to U.S. thrash metal royalty, Testament, at the 1987 Dynamo festival. While the Bards’ consider this to be their weakest album as a result of the emphasis falling on musical intensity, fans who also share an affection for this heavier sound are unlikely to depart from Follow the Blind with any disappointment, especially from live staple Banish From Sanctuary and anthemic live sing-along Valhalla, whose studio-take features the stylings of Kai Hansen, of Helloween and Gamma Ray fame. Hansen would lend his talents to the next two Blind Guardian albums too, featuring on the songs ‘Lost in the Twilight Hall’, ‘The Last Candle’ and then‘The Quest for Tanelorn’. Curiously, at the time the Bards were reluctant to include Valhalla on the album, now a fixture and highlight of their live performances; much like Black Sabbath’s hit-single Paranoid, it was written towards the end of the studio session, and was only included to make up the running-time for the album. Revisiting Follow The Blind, dedicated Blind Guardian fans will find the Bard’s first references to fantasy writer Michael Moorcock (“Dammed for All Time” and “Fast To Madness” are based on characters from the Eternal Champion series) and another Stephen King inclusion (title-track “Follow The Blind” is based on the authors collaboration with Peter Straub, The Talisman.) However, listeners of all persuasions will find joy in the closing number, a medley of The Regent’s Barbara Ann and Little Richard’s Long Tall Sally; the very embodiment of the performer’s maxim, “Always leave them laughing.”

Tales from the Twilight World (1990)

While Battalions of Fear and Follow The Blind certainly laid the foundations for what would become Blind Guardian's signature sound, Tales From The Twilight Hall builds upon this groundwork substantially. Any pretentions the Bards might have had towards being just another speed/thrash metal band, with some classical and high-fantasy themes, are abandoned. This album is the start of what many would consider to be Blind Guardian’s golden-era, and with it perhaps even the genesis of the power metal style. The album’s cover art marks the beginning of a fruitful working relationship with Andreas Marschall, who would create the iconic cover art for the next three studio albums too. In order to record this seminal album, the Bards constructed their own studio to spend more time working on it, and this time was indeed well spent: we can hear them, for the first time, embracing singalong choruses and rich storytelling verses from track-to-track and incorporating acoustic guitars and synthesized instruments in order to reify their world-building efforts. This album is not yet, however, a full-blown concept album - such as we will see later in the Bard’s tale. Rather, the album's diverse themes treat of Moorcockian characters, Gandalf's death at the hands of the Balrog, and subsequent reincarnation, and - supposedly - E.T. ("Goodbye my friend, goodbye!") The lighter-brandishing melodies of fourth track, Lord of the Rings, stand testament to the maturity of song writing which generally permeates this album. Had the Bards ended their journey at Follow The Blind, one might speculate that Blind Guardian would have been no more than a footnote in the grand heavy metal story: Tales From The Twilight Hall places them at the genesis of true fist-pumping dragon-riding power metal.

Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)

Succeeding the success of Tales From The Twilight Hall is Somewhere Far Beyond, which largely reaffirms the originality and spirit of that breakthrough release. The cover art depicts a circle of time-travelling Bards - which would, in time, earn the band their nickname - assembled around a gyroscopic timepiece, establishing the tone perfectly for the distinctly modern stories which the Bard’s recount on this album: the science-fiction of the Replicant’s story in Blade Runner, a journey through the haunting, surreal world of Frost & Lynch’s Twin Peaks, in addition to the now familiar Tolkein, Moorcock and King inspirations. The album also features several bonus tracks: a cover of Queen’s Spread Your Wings, an escapist’s manifesto, Satan’s Trial By Fire, which tells the story of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bomb attacks as well as an alternative mix of Theatre of Pain from the album itself. This album is particularly notable for its widespread and international critical acclaim, reaching #1 in the Japanese charts. This chart-topping success in the East would beget the Tokyo Tales live album the following year.

Imaginations from the Other Side (1995)

Imaginations From The Other Side reiterates on the quasi-conceptual character of the two previous studio releases and, perhaps, ups the ante somewhat: the titular opening piece abstracts from particular imaginative stories and instead tells a story about imagination itself, referencing the childhood escapist-fantasies of The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Chronicles of Narnia. The album proceeds to tell the story of a child’s escape through a mirror to an Arthurian world of swords, dragons and crusades before being brought back to reality. This story is picked up again twenty years later on the Beyond the Red Mirror album, which tells the story of how the ‘other side’ has fallen into darkness, and the quest to find a way back. Imaginations From The Other Side is the last album to feature Hansi on bass, who would thenceforth give himself over entirely to vocal and lyric-writing duties. Two singles were released from the album, ‘A Past and Future Secret’ and ‘Bright Eyes’ which would secure the Bard’s a wider listenership, introducing the music of Blind Guardian to the heavy metal world at large.

Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)

Blind Guardian’s conceptual inclinations reach an apex on Nightfall in Middle-Earth; a thoroughbred concept album from start to finish, telling a portion of the tale of Tolkein’s Silmarillion – middle-earth’s descent into the dark-age, preceding the events of The Hobbit. It is worthwhile to mention that the album antedates the Peter Jackson film-series by three whole years – the Bards were not riding in the wake of the Tolkein-wave of the early 2000s, but instead had helped to create it. Indeed, in a 1999 interview, Hansi intimated that – owing largely to the praise which Nightfall in Middle-Earth had received within the wider Tolkein fandom – there was some serious deliberation as to whether Blind Guardian might be involved in soundtracking the films. While this project would not - alas! - come to pass, Nightfall in Middle-Earth perhaps stands alone as a heavy metal concept-album adaption of Tolkein worthy of attention. The instrumentation, and arrangement around a core of scene-setting spoken samples, make this Blind Guardian’s most ambitious venture yet – both musically and thematically. This is the first album to be recorded entirely at Blind Guardian’s own studio, aptly dubbed the Twilight Hall Studios. It would not be remiss to say that Nightfall in Middle-Earth is an essential, if not the essential, Blind Guardian album.

A Night at the Opera (2002)

After the heavy-themes and grand-concept stylings of the four previous studio albums, the Bards change tack in an altogether dramatic fashion on A Night At The Opera, so called after the Queen album of the same name, itself named after a Marx brothers production. Just as Blind Guardian fans were beginning to know what to expect from the Bards, it’s as though they said - in true Monty Python fashion - “ ... and now for something completely different.” The result is an album which arguably owes more to the British variety-rock act than to U.S. speed and thrash metal. On this album we hear Blind Guardian at their most musically expansive, and correspondingly, the album marks a return to their earlier approach in which they broach an assortment of stories and themes, most notably: two tracks dealing with Cassandra and the Trojan war, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, the Nazi propaganda machine and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s descent into a paranoid vision in which he is judged by saints. The galloping track ‘Battlefield’ has since earned the dubious honour of soundtracking the Heavy Metal edition of Adult Swim’s game Robot Unicorn Attack. The last of what most would consider to be the classic Blind Guardian period is marked by Live – a double-album comprised of recordings taken from their world tour, and the last before the departure of Thomen Stauch and their subsequent signing to Nuclear Blast Records.

Blind Guardian would go on to release three studio albums via Nuclear Blast, A Twist in the Myth (2006), At the Edge of Time (2010), Beyond the Red Mirror (2015) with their most ambitious project to date Blind Guardian’s Twilight Orchestra: Legacy of the Dark Lands due out on the 8th of November this year. The album is a direct sequel to - and not the soundtrack of - fantasy author Markus Heitz’s bestselling novel Die dunklen Lande (’The Dark Lands’) and will be a Blind Guardian first insofar as it features no electric guitars! You can pre-order the Nuclear Blast mail-order exclusive edition via this link: https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/vinyl/vinyl-boxset/blind-guardian-s-twilight-orchestra-legacy-of-the-dark-lands-mailorder-edition.html

- written by Jack Moar ([email protected])

#Blind Guardian #Nuclear Blast Records

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guardianreadersofthegalaxy · 2 years

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‘Today I Listened...’ Day #36

Today I Listened to ‘Symphony For Cello & Orchestra II: Presto Inquieto’ by Benjamin Britten. I like the call and response between the rapid semiquaver passages and longer, uneasy woodwind chords. That cello playing is hardcore! Like palm muted thrash metal.

After the accompanying ostinato of rapid cellos keeps up the tension, Britten somehow makes the strings even more creepy by switching to pizzicato. It sounds like little spiders scuttling around. Then he takes it up a notch again with some col legno playing (striking the string with the back of the bow). Indeed, with that and the jingling tambourine hits, I’m getting a strong Pendercki vibe, unsurprising as ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima’ was composed only two years prior.

The rousing horn melodies at the end sound a bit incongruous, like Superman showing up in a horror film, but then they too turn evil. So that’s okay.

#my post #today i listened #benjamin britten #classical music #music

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hotguysfugue · 6 years

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TOP 100 PIECES OF WESTERN ART MUSIC (completely subjective)

100. Beethoven- Creatures of Prometheus Overture

99. Mozart- Violin Concerto No. 4

98. Forsyth- Viola Concerto

97. Saint-Saëns- Symphony No. 3: Organ

96. Sarasate- Zapateado

95. Shostakovich- Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 2

94. Hindemith- String Quartet No. 1

93. Haydn- String Quartet Op. 74, No. 2

92. Elgar- Cello Concerto

91. Bach- Cello Suite No. 3

90. Shostakovich- Fugue in A Major

89. Vitali- Chaconne

88. Ferneyhough- String Quartet No. 2

87. Chopin- Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor

86. Grieg- Peer Gynt Suite

85. Dvorak- String Quartet No. 12: American

84. Verdi- Overture to La Forza del Destino

83. Tchaikovsky- Symphony No. 2: Little Russian

82. Mahler- Symphony No. 6

81. Schoenberg- Pierrot Lunaire

80. Britten- Requiem

79. Chopin- Fantasie Impromptu

78. Rachmaninoff- Symphony No. 2

77. Liszt- Paganini Etude No. 3: La Campanella

76. Ligeti- Violin Concerto

75. Shostakovich- String Quartet No. 9

74. Bach- Partita in B Minor

73. Mendelssohn- Violin Concerto

72. Beethoven- Piano Sonata No. 13: Pathetique

71. Prokofiev- Violin Concerto No. 2

70. Tchaikovsky- Serenade for Strings

69. Berlioz- Symphonie Fantastique

68. Bach- Partita in D Minor (excluding Ciaconna)

67. Sibelius- Symphony No. 2

66. Khachaturian- Violin Concerto

65. Walton- Viola Concerto

64. Haas- String Quartet No. 2

63. Mendelssohn- Octet

62. Beethoven- Egmont Overture

61. Strauss- Don Juan

60. Dvorak- Symphony No. 7

59. Tchaikovsky- Symphony No. 4

58. Shostakovich- String Quartet No. 8

57. Beethoven- Op. 129

56. Wieniawski- Etude-Caprices

55. Schubert- String Quartet: Death and the Maiden

54. Stravinsky- The Rite of Spring

53. Brahms- Piano Quintet

52. Mendelssohn- String Sinfonia No. 9

51. Rimsky-Korsakov- Capriccio Espagnol

50. Beethoven- String Quartet No. 14

49. Shostakovich- Festival Overture

48. Adams- Short Ride in a Fast Machine

47. Ginastera- String Quartet No. 1

46. Sarasate- Zigeunerweisen

45. Saint-Saëns- Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

44. Kreisler- Tambourin Chinois

43. Shostakovich- Symphony No. 5

42. Grieg- Piano Concerto

41. Bach- Ciaccona

40. Ernst- Der Erlkönig

39. Milstein- Paganiniana

38. Shostakovich- Symphony No. 11

37. Beethoven- Symphony No. 6

36. Bach- Sonata in G Minor

35. Mozart- Requiem

34. Bloch- Suite Hebraique

33. Pärt- Fratres

32. Tchaikovsky- Symphony No. 6

31. Henze- Fantasia for Strings

30. Xenakis- Jonchaies

29. Penderecki- Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima

28. Rimsky-Korsakov- Russian Easter Overture

27. Schoenberg- String Quartet No. 3

26. Chopin- Etude Op. 25 No. 11: Winter Wind

25. Dvorak- Viola Quintet in E-Flat Major

24. Shostakovich- String Quartet No. 11

23. Howells- Elegy

22. Holst- The Planets

21. Shostakovich- String Quartet No. 10

20. Walton- String Quartet

19. Ginastera- String Quartet No. 2

18. Shostakovich- Cello Concerto No. 1

17. Verdi- Requiem

16. Hindemith- String Quartet No. 4

15. Bartok- String Quartet No. 4

14. Tchaikovsky- Souvenir de Florence

13. Mozart- Die Zauberflöte

12. Shostakovich- String Quartet No. 3

11. Sibelius- Violin Concerto

10. Berg- Violin Concerto

9. Walton- Violin Concerto

8. Schoenberg- Verklärte Nacht

7. Dvorak- Piano Quintet No. 2

6. Prokofiev- Violin Concerto No. 1

5. Shostakovich- Violin Concerto No. 1

4. Ravel- String Quartet

3. Shostakovich- Symphony No. 10

2. Ravel- Tzigane

1. Schnittke- Concerto Grosso No. 1

#classical music #violin #viola #piano #cello #music #concerto #symphony #overture #showpiece #sonata #partita #string quartet #chamber music

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smokeyfilms · 4 years

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Cinema as Ear: Acoustics and Space

Purely through instrumentation and acoustics, Insidious (Wan 2010) entrances the spectator and fuels the conception that there is a demonic presence at play. The score of Insidious (Wan 2010) is dynamic and tantalizing. It is continually surprising the viewer with its sudden volume changes, harrowing nature and strategic scene placement, to which greatly assists Wan in his pursuit to spark the audience’s intrigue, yet frighten them simultaneously. This film score is an excellent example, demonstrating how sound transcends the confines of the visual plane and manipulate the perception of the film’s narrative as a “conduit of radical changes affecting the spatial configuration of the cinematic experience” (Elsaesser p. 142).

In the opening sequence of the film, you are guided through a haunted house, as the camera tracks room-to-room, presented with imagery of veiled brides, wearing black and antique furnishings. This eventuates into an abrupt transition to the title card (see image) with a backing of the most horrifying high-pitched strings. Sudden loud noises are often employed in the genre of horror however, it is arguably one of the main scare tactics utilized in Insidious (Wan 2010), lending merit to the score and composer Joseph Bishara.

The theme ‘the farther you travel, the darker its gets’ is threaded throughout the film’s entirety, particularly heard in jump-scare moments, rather than story building scenes. Furthermore, during the film as the dialogue begins to discuss matters of ‘the further’ a limbo where the spirits reside, this theme will quietly begin to play, providing a “suggestive effect” (Elsaesser p. 142), which then hauntingly trickles into a crescendo of deafening strings. Interestingly, the composer is featured in this film as the main demon character that possessed the body of young boy, Dalton. The composer sought to produce music that featured atonal scratchy violins, mixed with ‘weird piano bangs.’ During these scenes featuring the demon known as ‘the man with the red face’ another notable song, ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’ by Tiny Tim (1968) repeatedly plays in the background. Furthermore, when this song begins to play the spectator is conditioned to expect the presence of the terrifying demon. This is interesting because Wan recognizes that sound influences the subconscious of the viewer, able to instigate suspense, without the viewer realizing this is taking place.

Performed predominantly with a quartet and a piano, the score was mostly improvised and structured in the editing process. Frantic motions of the bow played on an out-of-tune violin is heavily used in this composure and undoubtably causes the hair to stand on the back of the spectator’s neck. This theme song in the film is adapted from another song known as ‘threnody for the victims of Hiroshima.’ This harrowing composition sought to replicate the sound that ensues after a nuclear bomb has gone-off. The orchestral techniques deliberately negate the traditionally imposed rules of what it means to make music that is pleasing to the ear, moreover, actively opposes music order and harmony to unsettle the spectator’s senses.

1. Insidious 2010, Blumhouse Productions, Directed by James Wan.

2. Conductor Antoni Wit, Threnody for the victims of Hiroshima, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3BlFZWJNA

3. Elsaesser, T & Hagener, M 2010, Film Theory: An Introduction Through the Senses, Routledge, New York.

#tagged/writtenposts

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yessadirichards · 4 years

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National Symphony cancels Japan concerts due to virus

WASHINGTON The National Symphony Orchestra canceled the five remaining performances in Japan of its Asian tour because of a new virus epidemic.

The orchestra originally was to play eight concerts in its first international tour with music director Gianandrea Noseda. On Feb 4, the NSO called off shows in Beijing on March 13 and 14 and one in Shanghai on March 17.

In an announcement Thursday night, the orchestra scrapped performances from March 6-11 in Fukui, Sakai, Hiroshima and Tokyo. It cited a recommendation from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that major cultural events be canceled for the next two weeks.

"After multiple consultations with officials at U.S. government agencies and recommendations from the Japanese government, it became clear that these evolving circumstances are beyond our control," NSO executive director Gary Ginstling said in a statement.

The NSO is based at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and hopes fill the void in its schedule with orchestra and chamber music in the Washington area.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra canceled an Asian tour from Feb 6-16 that had included performances in Seoul, South Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The COVID-19 illness caused by a new type of coronavirus has sickened tens of thousands of people, most of them in China. Japan and South Korea also have been hard hit among Asian countries.

#yessadirichards

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nobuyukikakigi · 1 year

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Chronicle 2022

ときに絶望的な無力感に陥るほど、至るところで、また相次いで暴力が剝き出しになった一年でした。その暴力は直接に破壊的なものだけではありません。社会を壊し、そこに生きる者を蝕んだうえに、直接的な暴力の前に晒し出す暴力も、さまざまなかたちで露わになった年だったと感じています。もちろん、この一年を振り返るにあたり、ウクライナで今も続く戦争の暴力を挙げる必要があるのは確かでしょう。2月24日、ロシア軍のウクライナ各地への攻撃が始まったという報せを聞いたときの衝撃は忘れられません。現在も続いている攻撃によるウクライナの民間人の死者は、記録されているだけでも七千人に達しようとしているとのことです。痛ましい犠牲です。大切な人を失った人々の悲しみを思うと言葉がありません。そして、生き残った人々の苦悩は、今も積み重なるばかりです。生活を根こそぎにされて避難を余儀なくされた人々や、生活の基盤を破壊されて恐…

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#Chugoku Shinbun Newspaper #燃エガラからの思考 #Eri Watanabe #Franz Schubert #Hiroshima Happy New Ear #Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra #Impact Press #Mercure des Arts #Nobuyuki Kakigi #The Kyushu Symphony Orchestra #Toru Takemitsu #Toshio Hosokawa #Toshoshimbun Newspaper #Walter Benjamin #柿木伸之

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pope-francis-quotes · 5 years

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19th June >> (@ZenitEnglish By Jim Fair) #Pope Francis #PopeFrancis Full Text of Catechesis of the Holy Father. Holy Father Continues Catechesis on Acts of the Apostles at General Audience. ‘Prayer is the lung that gives breath to disciples of all times’.

“Prayer is the ‘lung’ that gives breath to disciples of all times, without prayer it is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus, without prayer we cannot be Christians!” Pope Francis proclaimed on June 19, 2019.

His remarks came during his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he continued his catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles, using the “Tongues of Fire” passage from Acts 2:3: “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.”

The Holy Father set the scene with the disciples in the Cenacle, their home, with Mary. As they prayed, something happened they did not expect — the arrival of wind and fire with the sending upon them of the Holy Spirit.

“In the fire, God delivers His living and energetic word (see Heb 4: 12) which opens up to the future; fire expresses symbolically His work of warming, illuminating and infusing wisdom in hearts, His care in proving the resistance of human works, in purifying them and revitalizing them,” Francis taught. “The Church is thus born of the fire of love, and of a ‘fire’ that breaks out at Pentecost and which manifests the strength of the Word of the Risen One imbued with the Holy Spirit.

“The new and definitive Covenant is founded no longer on a law written on stone tablets but on the action of the Spirit of God Who makes all things new and is engraved in hearts of flesh.”

The Pope compared the Holy Spirit to the conductor of an orchestra who creates “a symphony of sounds that unite and harmonically form diversity” while creating the music to praise God. “The Holy Spirit is the creator of communion, the artist of reconciliation who knows how to remove barriers between Jews and Greeks, slaves and freemen, to make a single body.”

The Holy Father concluded his instruction by praying that all the faithful would experience this spirit of Pentecost.

After summaries of the catechesis in various languages, the Pope greeted the groups of faithful from all over the world present in the square, including those who speak English:

“I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, India, Indonesia, Canada and the United States of America. My special greeting goes to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Youth Peace Messengers from Japan. I also greet the winners of the traditional Bible Contest of the Holy Land. Upon all of you, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!”

At the end of the audience, the Pope greeted, among others, the pilgrims from the diocese of Léon, accompanied by their bishop, Msgr. Julián López Martín. Addressing Polish pilgrims, he mentioned that tomorrow will be the feast of Corpus Christi, “a special opportunity to revive our faith in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. The celebration of Holy Mass, Eucharistic adoration and the processions in the streets of towns and villages are testimony of our veneration and following of Christ Who gives us His Body and Blood, to nourish us with His love and to make us participants in His life in the glory of the Father.

The day after tomorrow will be the liturgical memory of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, an admirable example of austerity and evangelical purity. “Invoke him to help you build a friendship with Jesus that enables you to face your life with serenity”, said the Holy Father.

Full Text of Catechesis of the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Fifty days after Easter, in that cenacle that was by then their home and where the presence of Mary, Mother of the Lord, was the cohesive element, the Apostles experienced an event that exceeded their expectations. Gathered in prayer – prayer is the “lung” that gives breath to disciples of all times, without prayer it is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus, without prayer we cannot be Christians! It is the air, it is the lung of Christian life – they are surprised by the irruption of God. It is an irruption that does not tolerate being closed: it throws open the doors with the force of a wind that recalls the ruah, the primordial breath, and fulfills the promise of “strength” made by the Risen Christ before He took leave of them (see Acts 1: 8). Suddenly “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2: 2). The wind was then joined by the fire that recalls the burning bush and Sinai with the gift of the ten words (see Ex 19: 16-19). In the biblical tradition, the fire accompanies the manifestation of God. In the fire, God delivers His living and energetic word (see Heb 4: 12) which opens up to the future; fire expresses symbolically His work of warming, illuminating and infusing wisdom in hearts, His care in proving the resistance of human works, in purifying them and revitalizing them. While at Sinai the voice of God is heard, in Jerusalem, on the feast of Pentecost, it is Peter who speaks, the rock on which Christ chose to build His Church. Though His word is weak and even capable of denying the Lord. when the fire of the Spirit passes through it, it gains strength, becomes capable of piercing hearts and moving to conversion. God, in fact, chooses what is weak in the world to confuse the strong (see 1 Cor 1: 27).

The Church is thus born of the fire of love, and of a “fire” that breaks out at Pentecost and which manifests the strength of the Word of the Risen One imbued with the Holy Spirit. The new and definitive Covenant is founded no longer on a law written on stone tablets but on the action of the Spirit of God Who makes all things new and is engraved in hearts of flesh.

The word of the Apostles is imbued with the Spirit of the Risen One and becomes a new word, different, that can, however, be understood, as if it were translated simultaneously into all the languages: indeed, “each one heard their own language being spoken” (Acts 2: 6). It is the language of truth and love, which is the universal language: even the illiterate can understand it. Everyone understands the language of truth and love. If you go with the truth of your heart, with sincerity, and you go with love, everyone will understand you. Even if you cannot talk, but with a caress, that is truthful and loving.

The Holy Spirit not only manifests Himself through a symphony of sounds that unite and harmonically form diversity but presents Himself as the conductor of an orchestra that plays the scores of praises for the “great works” of God. The Holy Spirit is the creator of communion, the artist of reconciliation who knows how to remove barriers between Jews and Greeks, slaves and freemen, to make a single body. He builds up the community of believers, harmonizing the unity of the body and the multiplicity of the members. He makes the Church grow by helping her to go beyond human limits, sins, and any scandal.

The wonder is so great, that one might ask if those men were drunk. Peter then intervenes on behalf of all of the Apostles and rereads the event in the light of Joel 3, where a new effusion of the Holy Spirit is announced. Jesus’ followers are not drunk, but they live what Saint Ambrose defines as the “sober intoxication of the Spirit”, which ignites prophecy in the midst of the people of God through dreams and visions. This prophetic gift is not reserved just to a few, but to all those who invoke the name of the Lord.

From then on, from that moment, the Spirit of God moves hearts to welcome the salvation that passes through a Person, Jesus Christ, He Whom men nailed to the wood of the cross and Whom God revived from the dead, “freeing Him from the agony of death” (Acts 2: 24). And He emitted that Spirit that orchestrates the polyphony of praise and which all may hear. As Benedict XVI said, “Pentecost is this: Jesus, and through Him God Himself, actually comes to us and draws us to Himself” (Homily, 3 June 2006). The Spirit works through divine attraction: God seduces us with His love and thus involves us, to move history and initiate processes whereby new life filters through. Indeed, only the Spirit of God has the power to humanize and fraternized every context, starting from those who welcome Him.

Let us ask the Lord to let us experience a new Pentecost, which opens up our hearts and harmonizes our sentiments with those of Christ, so that we are able to announce His transforming word without shame, and bear witness to the power of love that recalls to live all that which it encounters.

19th JUNE 2019 15:20GENERAL AUDIENCE

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iguana012 · 7 years

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Intro post: Tatsuki Machida

Now that the off-season is officially here, skating fans will have the opportunity to see their retired faves again and in Team Japan’s case the number of retired faves has been increasing every year. Of all TJ retired “stars”, one of them stands out through their personality, way of thinking, skating, and why not - refusal to speak to the media again.

Tatsuki Machida was what people call a “2nd tier” skater until his last couple of competitive seasons. He was the “almost there but not quite” guy. Nobody in his family was involved with skating and he was doing it just for fun until he saw Daisuke Takahashi and decided he wanted to become a skater like him.

His life story has inspired skaters and fans alike; thanks to him, many people were encouraged watching him get out of the crowd and reach the top. It’s probably one of the most beautiful “underdog becomes hero” fairy tales. But just like every other inspirational story, there’s more pain and sadness behind the medals than fulfillment and happiness.

Early life

He was born a premature baby and the doctors told his mother there were chances he wouldn’t survive. His mother stood by his incubator praying until he started feeling better.

He has a younger sister Sakura and his father is a company employee at Mazda

He was very close to his maternal grandmother Kumiko, who gave him a handmade amulet. Kumiko embroidered his silhouette on it. He always kept it in the pocket of his warm up jacket.

When Kumiko fell sick, he wrote a letter to her: "My mother wants to visit Tottori to take care of you, but she can't. She can't leave here since I'm a figure skater. I feel very sorry for it." Kumiko died of cancer.

He used to live in Hiroshima. His mother worked in two places at the same time to pay the costs for his skating.

When he was in the second year of University, his mother fell sick and spent over a month in the hospital. As he had seen how hard she worked, he told her "I'll try my best to earn prize money and to be a skater who will be invited to many shows. So please leave one of your two jobs"

His mother and sister often went to see him compete. He is very close to his sister.

Although he was living in Hiroshima, he decided to attend the same high school as Daisuke Takahashi in Kurashiki city, Okayama. He had to take the train every day.

He was obsessed with video games so much that one time he showed up at the rink with his console instead of his skating boots.

He started taking interest in books when he traveled by train to school and back.

He moved to Osaka when he entered Kansai University and joined the Kansai University skating club.

The Kansai University skating club is now famous for its skaters: Nobuo and Kumiko Sato, Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda, Satoko Miyahara and Marin Honda.

He became close friends with Takahito Mura and Keiji Tanaka.

Making a name for himself

He won the Jr National Championships in 2006 and placed 9th at the 2007 Jr World Championships

In 2008 he met Yuzuru Hanyu with whom he later developed a new friendship

In 2009 he finished 4th at the National Championships and was listed as first substitute for the Vancouver Olympics

In 2010 he won his first major international medal, a silver at the Four Continents Championships

He and Yuzuru Hanyu were assigned to their first (and same) Grand Prix event but none of them had a strong debut; Tatsuki had started trying quads in competition but he only landed one at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, where he won the gold medal

In 2011 he moved to Lake Arrowhead to train with Anthony Liu, a coach he had met earlier at a summer camp

Anthony Liu became like a father - older brother figure for him. With his help, he started to become more consistent

In 2012 he contacted Phillip Mills after watching Ashley Wagner’s “Black Swan” program. He wanted a similar “bird-themed” program for himself. Mills choreographed Firebird for him

He became very close to Mills and his family; Mills would later describe him “A diamond; no colors, just sparkles. Sparkles of talent.”

Rise to fame and retirement

By 2012 he had become Phillip Mills and Stephane Lambiel’s new muse; he was skating a Lambiel program for his short and a Mills program for his long

He finally qualified for the Grand Prix Final when he was 22, but finished last

He had a strong desire to go to Worlds but he finished 9th at the Japanese Nationals that same season

He was deeply disappointed with himself but was already facing the Olympic season and he vowed he would rise from his own ashes. He shaved his head and started choreographing his first program, Byakuyako.

At the start of the 2013-2014 season, he had only landed 2 ratified quads in competition. From then on he landed 28 in just a season and a half.

He reached the Nationals podium for the first time, qualified for his first Olympics and Worlds and became the #2 man in the country and the world

He used to say he was aiming for the gold medal at the 2015 Worlds and was considering competing until 2018

He was talking about his FS as something that had never been seen before, and a challenge for him artistically and technically

He forbid the media to disclose details about his new programs and he used to practice with the windows of the rink covered

His new SP, Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, was inspired by his personal experiences in his love life

Phillip Mills told the media it was only the beginning of what Tatsuki had to offer to the audience

Nobody knew he intended to retire until the day he announced it

The Aftermath

His mother, Yayoi Machida: “At first he was saying his goal was the World Championships. He would have possibly gone to Worlds if he had made the podium at the Nationals. Perhaps he thought he didn’t deserve to.”

He always brought around 5 books with him to every competition he went and always valued the artistic side of figure skating: for his FS Symphony no 9 he held his opening pose for 20 seconds so that the music could be longer, as the limit of 4:30 minutes was too short for the symphony.

Takahiko Kozuka: "Whenever we had meetings and press conferences we all enjoyed his comments which are well known as the ‘Machida quotes’. His way of thinking was completely different from ours and that will always be my perception of him. He was very different from me or any other skater for that matter. He was one of a kind."

Yuzuru Hanyu: “My ideal image of a man is Tatsuki. As an athlete and as a performer, he never turns away from the road he’s chosen.”

He told Takahito Mura “I know you have the ability so I’ll be counting on you to carry on the years I’ve given up on and achieve the things I couldn’t.” Mura said Tatsuki could have stayed for longer.

“We enjoyed chatting even though he was never the type who talked much,” Mura describes Machida. “But he’s always been unique, and his breakthrough came around the time of ‘Timshel’. I was very shocked to find out that a skater who had been competing with me all this time had retired. His presence has been a big part of my life and I am truly grateful for his words - 'I entrust everything to you’. I have to get good results and do my best for him."

"He retired just so suddenly. Otsukaresama from the bottom of my heart,” Daisuke Murakami said, choking up. “I’ve been rooting for him so much and I’ve worked so hard to catch up with him… he’s truly been an inspiration. The first word he told me was 'ganbatte’ (give your best). I will do that, keeping his words in my mind.”

At the 2012 NHK Trophy, Murakami suffered a serious injury. The socket in his right shoulder was dislocated and he needed an urgent surgery. He had to go on a long hiatus from skating to recover and he thought of retirement. But the only thing that changed his mind was Machida.“He was amazing,” Murakami says, referring to Machida’s 2013-2014 season. “He had a brilliant breakthrough at that time. His presence at the Sochi Olympics inspired me and I decided to keep going because I haven’t reached my full potential yet."

Yoshinori Onishi, his last coach: “When I heard he retired, my wife and I burst into laughter. That’s just like him, I thought.”

Machida would always say “I’m the 6th ranked skater” and other such timid things, so Onishi told him “Humans are like this, if you only say negative words that’s how things will be. Carrying out one’s own words is essential. If you set a huge goal for yourself won’t you be able to do it and try your best?”

“Machida’s true character is actually clumsy. This boy who struggled with chasing both grad school and skating, he did so well,” Onishi said.

Phillip Mills: “Tatsuki’s Ladies in Lavender was about something completely different but I’m hoping that the people viewed it as something that helped themselves. It’s many different things that inspire me to try and give the skaters what they deserve. Something that will help them not only grow artistically but be successful competitively and to inspire hopefully the world and develop into an artist. Not just an athlete, but an artist as well. And I think Machida has done that, with me the best of anybody thus far. I was so fortunate to work with him for all those three seasons.”

Personal life

He is currently living in Saitama, near Tokyo, attending and working at the Waseda University.

He wants to become a choreographer, art director and coach. He’d like to direct his own ice show.

He is also dedicated to finding a way to facilitate the balance between skating and studies for elite athletes.

He considers himself “simply a student, no longer a star” and has never spoken to the media since he retired in 2014.

However, he keeps getting media attention whenever he appears and is always welcomed with a loud round of applause.

When his appearance was confirmed at Prince Ice World right after his retirement, the tickets were sold out in less than 2 hours. Moreover, BS Japan broadcasted the show live for the first time in its history due to Machida’s sudden popularity.

While a classical music nerd, he also enjoys pop music and Korean pop music

He used to have a stalker who followed him closely wherever he went for about a year and a half; the stalker has disappeared from social media platforms for almost a year

He was constantly rumored to be in a relationship with fellow skater Haruka Imai; in 2014 she traveled with him in the US and Tatsuki introduced her to Phillip Mills, who choreographed her new programs

Skating style and qualities

Journalist Jean-Christophe Berlot: “As soon as Tatsuki Machida, the 2014 world silver medalist from Japan, entered into the Meriadeck rink, TV crews from Japan started following him wherever he would go, from his warm-up to concentration time to -- of course -- his practice sessions. "You can always feel when a master is entering into a hall," former great Pierre Brunet (who coached Carol Heiss to her Olympic victory) used to say. Machida's taking part in the Trophée should be an event in itself in Bordeaux.”

Tatsuki Machida on his own skating

I see figure skating as a performing art. A quadruple jump, like a quad toe, can be a piece of art in itself. A beautiful surrounding helps going into that direction, at least. So, it's important for me to use my technical capacity to create art. If you want to give a good performance, you need to understand culture, and to study the music, the composer's life, the choreography of your programs.You know -- (he smiles) -- in English, we say "figure skating," but in French, they say "artistic skating." I think they are right. Figure skating should be a performing art, just like ballet or dance. It belongs to the same category. I cherish performing arts.

During my time on the ice, I forget about the competition. I tell myself, "This is my stage." In this way I don’t just think of jumps, scores or medals. I think of expression. Jumping is also a way to express oneself. A jump is a piece of vocabulary to express one's feelings. I have to say that my skating career is 18 years old. I have worked on each one of these jumps all year long, and this for 18 years. They are just expression. I don't think of them, I just do them.The rink is my stage, and all I want to do is to focus on expression.

A quad expresses strength. It is so powerful. When I land a quad, I can hear the audience react directly. In comparison, a triple will be an enhancement to the program. I love big audiences. I always want to show my art to the entire world. In Japan, skating arenas are much bigger than this one, and they are always full!I like big audiences, especially for my long program: We have chorus in the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and a big audience makes it even more special!

Tatsuki Machida’s skating through the audience’s eyes

His skating style has always been described as “larger than life”, “dramatic”, “grand”, and even “royal”. He had a commanding presence on the ice and his jumps were huge. He had one of the best 3A and probably the best 3Lz among all Japanese men. There was (and still is) a lot of meaning behind his programs; a thought, a personal experience, a feeling. He skates with his heart on his sleeve. He takes you along in his journey. He has the posture and lines of a ballet dancer. His best work is perhaps “The Inheritor”, a tribute to skating itself. Every jump is included in the program, in between intricate transitions and balletic choreography. It is the very essence of Tatsuki Machida - the person, the skater, the artist.

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