“Archetypes are typical modes of apprehension, and wherever we meet with uniform and regularly recurring modes of apprehension we are dealing with an archetype, no matter whether its mythological character is recognised or not.” ~ Carl Jung
VICTIM Archetype: this archetype is all about self-esteem.
It’s not just individuals but whole industries (unscrupulous insurance companies and law firms that spring to mind), that tap into the various victim archetypes’ fears. It’s the demanding of ‘rights’, taken too far. They thrive on a culture of blame and exploitation.
We are all victims. How much we are victims depends on whether we allow the energy to flow through us or hold onto it. There always has to be a villain, someone or something that has done something to you; however the strongest villains are our thoughts, emotions and fears.
I’m ashamed to say, a few years ago I made a bad decision whilst in the Victim Archetype and it proved to be a costly mistake. I was ‘persuaded’ by a company preying on vulnerable people like myself – whilst looking for a solution to a certain predicament – that they were the answer to all my problems. They promised me spectacular results, and in a moment of incredible naivete I actually believed them. Not only did they fail to deliver (and at this point I buried my head in the sand), they eventually went bankrupt with £3,000 of my money that I could ill afford to lose. It was a hard lesson that I’m still coming to terms with. I almost drove myself mad with ‘if only I’d…’
Lesson: to move from blame to victory.
Victim Types:
The Patient – always ill and craving attention, does not take responsibility for healing
The Doormat – allows themselves to be used, claims love, support, acceptance and friendship
The Prisoner – cannot escape bondage, claims revenge, justice and right to anger.
The Hider – hide behind their inadequacies and lack of confidence as an excuse not to do something
The Idiot – claim lack of intelligence to avoid responsibility
The Accomplice – allow themselves to be manipulated, claims leniency, ability to blame others
The Long Sufferer – always complaining, wants sympathy, attention and support
The Robot – victim to past patterns and programming ‘that’s the way I’ve always done it’, can become disconnected, judgmental and superior
The Weakling – overwhelmed, feels helpless, suffers from inaction and confusion, claims rescue and help
The User – concerned with scarcity, it’s all down to money, have to get it as cheap as possible, deficiency, dishonesty/theft. Claims charity and handouts
The Righteous Victim – must endure trials and tribulations, afflictions and misfortunes; can be puritanical, it’s their lot to have a hard life. Crave respect, rewards, fame, adulation and compliments.
Language
Watch out for phrases such as: You don’t respect me, I don’t have boundaries, I don’t have a choice, it’s not my fault, it’s always my fault, I don’t want to be hurt, (but consciously deciding not to be hurt by a partner for instance is OK). No-one understands me, this always happens to me…
Recognising Victim behaviour
In the victim archetype we get something from the juice of suffering. It can manifest as the need for constant distraction, blaming yourself and others, playing the hermit, either withdrawal, or cannot bear to be alone. Living in the past/future. All forms of addiction are rooted in the Victim Archetype.
Sometimes we have to go to rock bottom (I can attest to that), before we can move on.
An immensely helpful talk on anger, fear and resistance by Dr. David R Hawkins:
“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.” ~ Carl Jung
SABOTEUR Archetype: betrayal and choice is at the crux of this archetype.
It embodies the fear of change, resistance of our personal truth, shying away from personal opportunities, fear of taking responsibility for ourselves and what we create. That’s why we project onto others what we don’t want to face.
Lesson: to become courageous, develop instinct and intuition.
To overcome the challenges of this archetype we must learn to balance the three parts of our brains:
Reptilian brain – listen to gut instinct
Limbic brain – emotional centre, represents feelings
Rational brain – analysis and rational thought
We must allow hunches to be accepted by the rational brain which gives us the choice to respond to them. In some ways this is the hardest of the survival archetypes to master, because it challenges us with different ways to undermine and betray ourselves.
Shadow
This manifests through self-destructive behaviour. Creates the desire to undermine others to avoid facing our own failures.
An everyday example of this is if someone pays us a compliment, but instead of responding with a “thank you” we deflect those kind words and sabotage our self-esteem/respect. That resistance stops us from moving into the best we can be.
Language
Do you ever hear yourself or others say: I don’t know what to do, I’ll do it tomorrow, I’ll wait until…, I know what I should do but…, if only…?
Recognising Saboteur behaviour
Setting new plans in motion only to end up undermining them. Beginning a new relationship and then ending it because you begin to imagine a painful outcome. Starting the day with a positive intention e.g. around food – and giving in to temptation by lunch. I better do away with my secret stash of chocolate!
Ignoring your inner voice out of fear of what others will think (peer/societal pressure). Resisting opportunities to expand and develop yourself. Making excuses as to why you can’t do something you feel “called” to do. Feeling paralysed about making a decision because your world will change if you do. Being a coward.
If we can act with courage and intuition and believe that we can make a difference to the world we can follow new paths and opportunities creating a life of adventure and wonderment.
PROSTITUTE Archetype: this powerful archetype helps us to develop faith, self-respect and integrity.
We tend to think of the ‘prostitute’ in the usual negative cultural sense, but in broader terms it means selling either our integrity, ideas, body or soul for survival. We compromise morals and ethics for financial gain. Those who have succumbed to bribery and corruption are caught up in this archetype. Whole governments and organisations are stuck here to the detriment of their citizens and people.
The film Indecent Proposal highlights a perfect example of this, in terms of the characters played by Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore selling out their marriage for money.
It is a misuse of talents or any other expression of the Self as well as seduction for power, money and control.
Lesson: the development of soul qualities.
Through this powerful archetype we develop honesty, integrity and qualities of the soul such as faith and truth.
Language
I will if you will…, what would you like me to do? How much is it worth? What will you give me in return?
Recognising Prostitute behaviour
Remaining in a relationship or job purely for financial protection, selling out to people or organisations that you don’t like or believe in, compromising other people in order to gain power over them (e.g. the Mafia, dictatorships), buying someone’s loyalty or support or silence to have your way, not being able to say no, or thinking yourself better than others.
This scene from the Godfather highlights the Prostitute Archetype perfectly:
For those who’ve seen the movie, you know what’s coming…a later scene showing the Hollywood producer receiving the ‘offer he can’t refuse’ is really shocking, no matter how many times you watch it!
We have won when we are strong enough to say no to anything/anyone that would compromise the whole of who we are.
There is no right and wrong with any of these archetypes, it just a question of awareness. I can recognise many of my past (and some current challenges) in these archetypes at one time or another.
My call to action this week is to observe when you find yourself resisting something and look at what archetype you may be unconsciously stuck in. NEVER make a decision when you are in one of your archetypes; only when you are truly yourself.
This is a massive subject, and I’ll tackle the other twelve main archetypes in a later post.
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ~ Carl Jung
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” ~ Carl Jung
I’m a beginner in the field of psychoanalysis, but as a writer I’m immensely curious about people and I wanted to provoke some ideas, thoughts and reflections in you that have recently been stimulated in me; thanks to a wonderful lady who is helping me to understand more about myself and others.
I hope that by the end of this blog the next time someone ‘pushes all your buttons’, you will be able to step back and witness your reaction and perhaps understand the unconscious behaviour they are exhibiting which is exactly the ‘shadow’ part of yourself that you have been resisting.
Working on ourselves is the only answer, we cannot change another – EVERYTHING comes from within.
In any given relationship between two people there are multiple personalities at work – no wonder life gets so…interesting!
Light and shadow
There are four survival archetypes that everyone on the planet shares: CHILD, VICTIM, SABOTEUR and PROSTITUTE. There are another twelve predominant archetypes that many of us will work through in our lifetime, but beyond that they are probably limitless. I’ll explore the Child Archetype more closely in this post, and the Victim, Saboteur and Prostitute archetypes in part 2.
It’s important to note that the archetypes themselves are impersonal; each contains an element of light; what we know, the positive aspects of that archetype, and an element of shadow; the perceived darker part that we don’t acknowledge, know about or integrate. The point is there is light and shadow in each of us.
Wonderful talk by Alan Watts about Carl Jung on accepting the darkness of Self and others:
Being aware of what we don’t want to look at and are resisting in ourselves absolves us from judging others; we learn to observe, rather than react to the unconscious behaviour they are mired in. The moment someone offends us it means we have gone into an archetype.
As our understanding grows, we ‘see’ how we have ‘acted out’ in the past when confronted by other people’s archetypes, as well as dealing with our own!
Insight and hindsight can bless us with foresight…
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” ~ Carl Jung
Conscious and Unconscious mind
The Conscious and Unconscious mind has been compared to an iceberg: what we see above the surface (conscious mind), is but a fraction of what lies beneath it (unconscious). Ninety five percent of our thoughts and actions stem from the Unconscious. When we think and act consciously were are responding, but when we act beneath our conscious level we are reacting, and we react according to the archetypes that we have failed to integrate. Patterns become the foundation for our personality.
Dominant Archetypes
Archetypes are the language of the Unconscious. When we aren’t aware of why we’re doing something the archetype takes over and transparent beliefs and holding patterns drive us. Like a robot we operate on our default behavioural settings.
“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.” ~ Carl Jung.
Collective Unconscious
According to Jung, the Collective Unconscious is the sum of all human experience from the beginning of time. Therefore, whatever happens to an individual, group or nation also affects us as a species. We are not separate from the recent disaster in Mecca or the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, or to the suffering stemming from trauma, past and present. It all goes into the primordial ‘shared’ mind and we all draw from it.
Fairy tales and literature
Hamlet & Ophelia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti c. 1866
There’s a reason that fairy tales are so prevalent in Western Culture (and the habit of passing on stories in other cultures), because they help children to understand themselves. Characters such as Peter Pan, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, the Wicked Step Mother, the Prince, the Free Spirit, the Damsel in Distress, along with iconic archetypes penned by Shakespeare and modern tales/films such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars filled with heroes, villains, sages and mentors, all of which we can relate to as they exist at the substrate of our psyches.
Our task for our time on Earth is to understand these fundamental human questions:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What am I supposed to be doing?
Power
There are two types of power: control over others and internal power (when we move from ego into soul power). Our spiritual task is to master personal power. We see the legacy of misery and suffering that exists in the world when individuals and groups seek to wield power over others. Personal power requires us to live with integrity, self-respect and self-belief so that in expressing our truth we can benefit others.
In order to do this we must integrate all parts of ourselves, the light and shadow. Free-will and choice are inherent to the Conscious mind and allow us to respond rather than react.
As James Hillman comments, Archetypal Psychology focuses on the soul and the intrinsic patterns that shape our psychological development “the fundamental fantasies that animate all life”.
Wonderful lecture from Dr. James Hillman about myths and archetypes:
The four survival archetypes common to all of us
CHILD Archetype: represents innocence and sets up our perceptions of life. The themes are safety, loyalty and family.
Lesson: to move from dependency to responsibility.
Within this archetype there are five categories:
Orphan Child
Light – Usually features heavily in children’s stories. Don’t feel part of the family, have a fear of being alone and probably had to develop independence early in life. Constructs an inner reality based on judgement and personal experience. The orphan represents the fear of surviving alone in the world.
Shadow – An inability to grow up. Suffer from feelings of abandonment. Does not develop independence and needs a tribal union, e.g. joining unsuitable groups.
Wounded Child
Light – Have been abused, neglected or suffered trauma and are likely to invite dysfunctional relationships. Usually compassionate towards others (life’s future therapists). It’s the path to forgiveness.
Shadow – An abiding sense of self-pity, a tendency to blame parents and resistance to moving on through forgiveness.
Magical/Innocent Child
Light – Believes that everything is beautiful; the part of us that is enchanted and enchanting to others. Ann Frank was a great example of this archetype. She embodied the qualities of wisdom and courage in the face of overwhelming difficulties. Demonstrate the power of imagination and the belief that anything is possible.
Shadow – Retreating into fantasy. Depression and pessimism arises when dreams are thought foolish by adults. Miracles are no longer possible.
Nature Child
Light – Loves to be outdoors, can balance tender, emotional qualities with inner toughness and the ability to survive. Has a great communication and rapport with animals.
Shadow – Cruelty to animals and disregard for nature, such as the destruction of the rainforest.
Eternal Child
Light – Determined to remain young in mind, body and spirit.
Shadow – Refusal to grow up and embrace adult responsibility e.g. Peter Pan. Become dependent on others for physical security, inability to accept the ageing process. Joan Rivers at least made us laugh about this aspect of the archetype! Plastic surgeons cater to this group…
Language
If you catch yourself saying, or hear anyone saying these phrases (or variations of) you know that you/they are operating in CHILD:
It’s not Fair! Nobody loves me, I don’t deserve it…
Recognising Child behaviour
Wanting to be pitied, self-pity, pouting, child-like stance, avoiding eye contact, always wanting to be the centre of attention, refusal to take responsibility and wanting someone else to undertake a task you are perfectly capable of doing.
“The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.” ~ Carl Jung
Having covered the more factual parts of Vivaldi’s life and music in part 1, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the maestro’s music…
‘L’estro Armonico’ (Harmonic Inspiration) Opus 3
This is a set of twelve concertos for one, two and four violins composed by Vivaldi in 1711.
“Perhaps the most influential collection of instrumental music to appear during the whole of the eighteenth century.” ~ Michael Talbot
It’s impossible to highlight so few works out of such an incredible oeuvre but here, in no particular order is a selection of some of my favourites from this opus for your listening pleasure!
Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 3 No. 6, (RV 310) performed by Elizabeth Wallfisch and Tafelmusik:
The amazing harpsichord version transcribed by Bach (BWV 978) played by Chiara Massini:
Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 3 No. 6, RV 356 by Elizabeth Wallfisch:
Concerto for two violins, strings & B.C in A minor, RV522 Op. 3 No. 8 by Tafelmusik:
Concerto for four violins in B minor, Op. 3 No. 10, RV 580 by Il Giardino Armonico:
The astonishing performance of Bach’s transcription for 4 keyboards (BWV 1065), Argerich, Kissin, Pletnev, Levine and a host of top notch violinists! I challenge you to listen to this and not feel happy afterwards!
Concerto for 2 Violins, Cello, Strings and B.C. in D minor Op. 3 No. 11, RV 565 by Tafelmusik:
Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention) Opus 8
Written between 1723 and 1725 and published in 1725, Vivaldi’s Opus 8 consists of twelve violin concertos which he labelled ‘Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione’, of which the first four concertos were his famous The Four Seasons.
The Four Seasons: Opus 8 Nos. 1-4
Had it not been for the Turin collection The Four Seasons may have never been resurrected from their archive, dusted down and brought back into public awareness. Although ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ were not among the Turin find the excitement about the discovery meant they were granted a new lease of life.
Score for L’Inverno (Winter)
The first four Opus 8 concertos are now the most widely recorded pieces in classical music history repertoire. Since the very first recording made by Alfredo Campoli in 1939 there have been over a thousand different recorded versions.
With records, CDs and digital downloads to sell and with so many versions of such a popular work it’s crucial for artists to emulate a critical business practice: differentiation. There’s an array of classical and period baroque instruments, chamber groups, orchestras and ensemble styles, giving licence to the soloist and musicians to embellish, alter the tempo and put their personal touch to it, in order to distinguish them from other recordings and performances.
The seminal 1969 recording by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields featuring violinist Alan Loveday under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner, reputedly catapulted the piece from its recondite realm to that of mainstream consumption.
The third movement from ‘Winter’ of that album:
Nigel Kennedy’s 1989 recording of The Four Seasons with the English Chamber Orchestra sold over two million copies, becoming one of the best-selling classical works ever.
Gil Shaham and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recorded The Four Seasons as well as a music video for the first movement of ‘Winter’ that was featured regularly on The Weather Channel in the mid-1990s.
Today, it seems unthinkable that Vivaldi could have been forgotten and overlooked by history.
Personally, I love to play The Four Seasons and find ‘Winter’ by far the hardest to master, being written in the key of F minor. I love the hashtag (sharp notes) but four flats haunt me…
I recently learnt that Vivaldi actually wrote sonnets to accompany the Four Seasons, which the music relates to perfectly. It’s an early example of programme music, a genius of descriptive musical storytelling that conjures up vivid scenes in your mind…
Between 1718 and 1720 Vivaldi left Venice and travelled to the countryside of Mantua; where it is believed he absorbed the setting and inspiration for his most ‘nature oriented’ work!
La Primavera (Spring) RV 269
In the first movement the birds are represented by the most sublime trills, and the gentle melody that evokes the murmur of the brook, followed by the semi quavers which indicate a quick storm, followed by the birds again as the air clears…
Itzhak Perlman and IPO strings delight:
L’Estate (Summer) RV 315
The first movement in particular gives me a sense of a sweltering, bleak and languid environment. I can feel how hard it must be for Vivaldi to breathe, his asthma aggravated by the humidity. It’s written in G minor, which is considered to be the ‘darkest’ key. Overall the feel of the second movement is listless. It fills me with torpor…until the third movement he unleashes the storm to end all storms!
Julia Fischer and the strings of The Academy of St. Martin-in-the Field perfectly capture the deeply suffocating spirit of this concerto:
L’Autunno (Autumn) RV 293
The third movement seems to poke fun at the hunters; I think Vivaldi was definitely a member of the anti-hunting lobby!
The dotted quavers signify the plodding hooves of cruel men on their clumsy horses. As the tempo increases you can hear the prey running for its life. The chords begin to raise a semitone with each phrase, increasing the pressure on the animal as the hunters and dogs close in. Gun shots ring out, the animal finally gives up its struggle and you imagine you can hear the dogs laughing… The final insult occurs after the main theme returns at the end of the finale signifying the hunters going about their deathly business.
I love Giuliano Carmignola and I Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca’s interpretation:
L’Inverno (Winter) RV 297
The opening movement sounds very metallic and visceral, (thanks to the use of the bow very close to the bridge). You can definitely hear teeth chattering!
This performance by Il Giardino Armonico sends chills down my spine!
Arrangements of The Four Seasons
Vivaldi actually re-scored his ‘Spring’ allegro for use in the opening overture and chorus of his opera Dorilla in Tempe, thus setting the trend for future transcriptions, covers, remixes, adaptations and mashups.
The fact that so many improvisations have been possible is testament to Vivaldi’s skill as a composer.
In 1765 French organist and composer Michel Corrette arranged ‘Spring’ as a choral motet for choir and orchestra: Laudate Dominum de Coelis, subtitled “Motet à Grand Chœur arrangé dans le Concerto de Printemps de Vivaldi”. The words of Psalm 116 are set to the music with vocal soloists performing the solo violin parts.
Vivaldi’s inventiveness paved the way for Beethoven to write the ‘Pastoral’ symphony in 1808 also featuring drunken peasants and a storm.
In 1969 the Swingle Singers did an a cappella cover from their album the Joy of Singing.
In Argentina Ástor Piazzolla published Estaciones Porteñas, ‘The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’ in performances by various artists since 1970.
Jacques Loussier and his jazz trio covered the ‘Four Seasons’ in this wonderful performance:
Vanessa Mae was the first violinist to use an electric violin on her crossover version of the Presto from ‘Summer’ and following in her footsteps there have been various arrangements for harp, electric guitar, choral and rock remixes.
I particularly like this choral version of ‘Winter’ by the Accentus Chamber Choir:
Arrangement for Flute of ‘Winter’ by Jean-Pierre Rampal & Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra:
A gorgeous second movement from ‘Winter’ for the oboe with Albrecht Mayer and New Seasons Ensemble:
In 2012 composer Max Richter created a postmodern and minimalist re-composition released as ‘Recomposed – Vivaldi The Four Seasons’. Working with solo violinist Daniel Hope, Richter discarded around seventy five percent of the original source material. A live recording with the composer at Le Poisson Rouge in New York:
There’s even a flamenco/tango arrangement of Spring by Gustavo Montesano and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra!
Opus 8 Nos. 5 – 12
Here are three of the remaining eight works that follow The Four Seasons in the Opus 8.
Violin Concerto ‘La Tempesta di Mare’ in E-Flat major, Op. 8 No. 5 RV 253 by Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra:
Violin Concerto in C Major, ‘Il piacere’ Op. 8 No. 6, RV180 – Andrew Manze and the Academy of Ancient Music:
Concerto No. 7 in D minor, ‘Per Pisendel’, Op. 8 No. 7 RV 242 by Giardino Armonico:
Other Violin Favourites
I love the way Anne Akiko Meyers plays all three parts in his Triple Violin Concerto in F Major RV 551:
Il Rosignuolo – Concerto for violin, organ, strings & B.C. in A major, RV 335a by MusicaAdRhenum:
Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 271 ‘L`amoroso’ played as a tender love song by I Musici:
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 No. 2 ‘Il Favorito’ (RV 277) first movement by Giuliano Carmignola & I Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca:
´La Stravaganza` 12 Violin concertos Opus 4, by Rachel Podger and Arte Dei Suonatori:
Violin Concerto in A Major, ‘The Cuckoo’ (RV 335) with Giuliano Carmignola:
Violin Concerto in D Major, ‘Il Grosso Mogul’ (RV 208) by Il Giardino Armonico:
Sonata for 2 violins & B.C. in D minor, Op. 1 No. 12 (RV 63) ‘La Follia’ by Il Giardino Armonico:
Transcriptions and Arrangements
Violin Concerto in D, Op. 3 No. 9 (RV.230) – arr. for trumpet, violin, cello and harpsichord with Alison Balsam:
Bach Sicilienne from Concerto in D minor, BWV596 after Vivaldi RV 565, Alexandre Tharaud:
The largo of the Lute Concerto in D Major, RV 93 performed on classical guitar by John Williams always transports me to a place beyond words:
Trio Sonata Op. 1 No. 12 ‘La Follia’ by the Barrios Guitar Quartet:
Concertos for other instruments
This one really pulls my heart strings! Adagio from the Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major RV 398 by Rostropovich:
Heinz Holliger on form in the second movement of the Oboe Concerto in C major, RV 452:
Piccolo Concerto in C major, RV 443 – Il Giardino Armonico:
Flute Concerto in G minor, ‘La Notte’ RV439 with Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante:
Examples of sacred music
I don’t think there’s any doubt about Vivaldi’s faith when you listen to his sacred works. Here is a selection of some of my favourites, but there are many I have yet to discover!
Gloria in Excelsis in C Major, (RV 588):
Motet Nulla in mundo pax sincera (RV630):
“Et in terra pax hominibus” with Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance & Tessa Bonner:
Dixit Dominus was rediscovered in 2005 by Australian scholar Janice Stockigt. (RV807):
Nisi Dominus (RV608) by the Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood:
Modern Catalog of Works
Although both CE (Complete Edition) and Fanna numbers (F.) have been used in the past, the modern catalog of numbers attributed to Vivaldi’s multitudinous works was created in the 1970’s by Danish musicologist Peter Ryom and take the prefix RV – “Ryom-Verzeichnis” or “Répertoire des oeuvres d’Antonio Vivaldi”. They do not necessarily follow in consecutive order with adjacent works.
Although Vivaldi lived a comfortable life in Venice, (he made around 50,000 ducats in his lifetime) changing musical tastes meant his music was no longer in demand so he sold off a chunk of manuscripts to finance his last trip to Vienna.
He planned to serve as a composer at the imperial court of Emperor Charles IV and perhaps stage operas. Unfortunately his patron died soon after his arrival in the city, leaving Vivaldi without an income and he died penniless. Not a fitting end to such a magnificent career. His funeral took place in St. Stephen’s and he was laid to rest next to Karlskirche.
I have come to the conclusion that Vivaldi lived his life with as much exuberance as his music arouses in the listener. The sheer volume of his output is unmatched to this day; a feat of such unbridled passion for music as will probably never be seen again…
“There are no words, it’s only music there.” ~ Antonio Vivaldi
Listening to Vivaldi’s music always conjures up such joy and serenity in me. His lively, melodic allegros are uplifting and life affirming, whereas his soulful adagios have a transcendental quality. It strikes me that he must have possessed an unrelenting zest for life. He certainly made the most of living with a fertile mind trapped inside a sick body.
Famous for his evocative ‘Four Seasons’ concertos and sometimes referred to as “il Prete Rosso” (the Red Priest), due to the colour of his hair; he lived, performed and composed his immortal music almost entirely in Venice.
Vivaldi is now considered one of the key figures of the baroque era. However, his work and reputation only started to garner attention and gather steam in the early 20th century. Since then the flamboyant Venetian maestro has more than made up for lost time…
Knowing how much I love Vivaldi’s music, I can see it’s going to be a challenge for me to exercise brevity in this post! Because of the volume of his work I have decided to dedicate two posts to him.
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 7141)
I think it’s fair to suggest that Vivaldi was the ‘rock star’ of his day. Although he was a priest he refused to say mass and was suspected of being involved in a ménage à trois with two teenage girls.
His music was passionate, dangerous, dramatic and yet ethereal. His creativity produced a massive body of violin sonatas and concertos, as well as concertos for a range of other instruments, operas, arias and sacred music. It’s thought he wrote nearly 800 compositions during his lifetime.
His main contemporary, the grand-daddy of them all, JS Bach, was influenced by him and incorporated some of Vivaldi’s works into his own repertoire for harpsichord, thus keeping his work alive in Europe, known only to a handful of musicologists and scholars.
However, unlike Bach and Händel whose memories and music survived their mortal reign, after Vivaldi’s death, his music fell from favour and Vivaldi himself was remembered more for being an eccentric violinist and cleric than as a prolific composer. He was very nearly a Venetian nobody instead of his rightful place as the Venetian Master.
Early life
Vivaldi was born in Venice, the eldest of 6 children. Just as the legend of the storm that raged in Vienna the moment Beethoven passed away has proliferated, so goes the story that Vivaldi was born during an earthquake in Venice. It’s a romantic notion that would support his often visceral, elemental music, whether true or not.
He was born with severe asthma, which as you can imagine, in the late 17th century would have proved fatal in most cases. Little Antonio’s mother may have done a deal with God, that if he spared her first born then she would dedicate his life to the church. Asthma plagued Vivaldi all his life, however he did become a priest, but is only known to have actually said mass for about a year after being ordained.
Vivaldi & Son
Before Johann Georg Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, there was Giovanni Battista and Antonio Lucio Vivaldi; an enduring and successful father and son partnership. Giovanni was a successful musician, performing with Vivaldi as well as peddling his music manuscripts on the streets and generally helping his son’s career wherever he could.
Career
Thankfully for us Vivaldi followed his heart and his real passion – music. Those that heard him play commented on the ferocity of his technique. Only a violin virtuoso could write such demanding music for his instrument!
In 1703 Vivaldi was assigned to the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for abandoned and illegitimate babies. The unfortunate infants were passed through a hole in the wall, which had a warning issued above it from Pope John Paul urging parents to keep their children if they were able to care for them. In Vivaldi’s day there could be as many as four babies deposited a day. Sadly, before the orphanages opened many were tossed in the canals as unwanted appendages.
The boys were taught trades, such as stone cutting and weaving, whereas the girls were tutored in music and singing. It was the perfect vocation for Vivaldi, as master of violin he was able to write music for his students (approximately two concertos a week), and his young female protégés performed in a small section of the Pietà behind a decorative grille.
Venice became popular as a tourist destination after its position as a trading centre and economic power had waned, hence Vivaldi and his ensemble of young ladies were added to the list of the city’s attractions!
The tradition of the students giving concerts at the Pietà continued long after their first and most famous composer passed on and in 1770 the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, after seeing a performance commented:
“I have not an idea of anything so voluptuous and affecting as this music; the richness of the art, the exquisite taste of the vocal part, the excellence of the voices, the justness of the execution, everything in these delightful concerts concurs to produce an impression which certainly is not the mode, but from which I am of opinion no heart is secure.”
Imagination and inventiveness
The three movement style (fast – slow – fast) became firmly established in Vivaldi’s concertos, and the first movement generally consisted of five tutti (ensemble together) and four soli (soloist). He was influential on the sonata form and the creation of the classical concerto of the 18th century.
Professor Livanova remarks that his concertos, as distinct from Corelli’s Concerti Grossi, are characterised not only by:
“free development of orchestral texture,…but also by the singling out of the concertante solo of the solosist’s principle part, which would be executed with the brilliance of virtuosity. It was in the violin concerto that they found the most direct expression for instrumental virtuosity, analogous to the aspiration for vocal virtuosity in the operatic aria of the time… However, in the first stages of development the violin concerto had not yet sacrificed its artistic meaning to external virtuosity.”
Love
When he was 48 years old Vivaldi fell for singer Anna Giro, a sixteen year old girl who was to be his muse and companion for the rest of his life. Her older sister Paolina was her chaperone, thus many spurious rumours began to spread about the nature of their relationships. What is known is that Anna lived with him, featured in most of his operas and she was with him when he died in Vienna in 1741.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – Girl with a mandolin
This brilliant article (Saint or Sinner?) by Susan Orlando investigates his character and relationships more closely.
Obsession with Opera
Vivaldi claimed he had written 94 operas, but only 50 of them have been discovered. Being an opera impresario was more of a side line for Vivaldi, and although he had limited success it was his ‘thing’. I haven’t even scratched the surface of his operatic output, let alone the many arias that comprise them. His skill at setting music to a story probably stood him in good stead when he composed the Four Seasons.
Here is an impassioned rendition from contralto Sonia Prina of ‘Vedrò con mio diletto’ from Giustino:
Viva Vivaldi! A fabulous selection of arias from mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli:
Vivaldi’s personal archive (the Turin manuscripts)
Sometime after his death, Vivaldi’s private collection of handwritten manuscripts were sold to the Genoese Count Giacomo Durazzo (1717 – 1794), the Austrian ambassador in Venice who was a patron of Gluck. Perhaps as an act of charity on behalf of Durazzo, around half of the collection was gifted to a Salesian monastery in Piedmont.
Vivaldi – Gloria Manuscript – Turin Image credit – Miles Fish
Hidden in a musty store room, ensconced among 97 volumes of music scores, Vivaldi’s music lay gathering dust for two hundred years at what is now the Collegio San Martino near Turin, until they were re-discovered unexpectedly in 1927 by Alberto Gentili, a professor of music history at the University of Turin, who was called in to value the collection so that it could be sold.
National University Library Turin
Gentili soon reaslised that he had an amazing find on his hands, and wanted to keep Vivaldi’s original autographs in the city of Turin. However, after careful sorting it became apparent to Gentili that only half the works were present, and he suspected the missing scores were still owned by descendants of the Durazzo family. His hunch turned out to be correct and eventually after tracking down the Durazzo heir, the remaining manuscripts (along with the original find) were purchased by local businessmen Roberto Foa and Filippo Giordano respectively, in memory of their sons, for the Turin Library.
I would so love to visit Turin just to see this collection! On an upper floor of the Turin National University Library, safely on display, are Vivaldi’s original manuscripts consisting of 450 works: 110 violin concertos, 39 oboe concertos, over a dozen operas and a substantial selection of sacred music.
Manuscript of the Gloria RV 589 – image credit Miles Fish
What is striking is that the notes appear to have been transported straight from Vivaldi’s brain onto the paper, with very little crossing out and no sketches. The mark of a genius!
In part 2 I’ll be focusing on the Opus 3 concertos, the Four Seasons and some other gems from his vast musical legacy.
“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
Before you click on the X button, let me swiftly assure you that I’m not going to bang on about how sharp needles are these days or pontificate about how life threatening sewing can be!!
Rather, I’ll be musing about the human tendency to give everything and everyone a label or name, category or judgement.
Our creator kind of stacked the odds against us when he bestowed on us such amazing cognitive faculties. Yes, you read that right. The mind is both a blessing and a curse – the ultimate dichotomy.
We learn how to ‘label’ as a necessary activity to process information and to understand our environment, but if taken too far it can be damaging to ourselves and society. A purely cerebral existence is no existence at all. We must learn to balance it with our emotions, which emanate from the heart.
Mastery of the mind will be the single biggest challenge that any of us will ever undertake. It all starts upstairs, so to speak. Foes we face are the ego, indoctrination, trauma and old habits just for starters.
I read some fantastic bios on Twitter, but no matter how many labels we give ourselves we are so much more than that. We are powerful, creative, spiritual beings learning how to remember who we really are. Words and labels are just insufficient and insignificant to describe the sentient being that is you; but, clumsy as it is, language is our main tool.
Why is it the arts have endured over millennia and speak to our souls so deeply? Long gone civilisations, movements and individuals that have defined a zeitgeist and had a rich cultural expression are still studied and admired to this day.
They reflect back to us the best of ourselves.
Music, drawings, paintings, sculpture, architecture and literature are a manifestation of our creative impulse, our divine origin. Two people from different countries not speaking the same language or having anything in common can listen to the same piece of music together and be bonded through how that music makes them feel.
Music connects us to our common heritage – our humanity.
Art and culture are an enduring legacy of what mankind can achieve when following passion and harnessing experience rather than looking at what is wrong with the world and others.
The paradox of thought
We are labelling all the time in our thoughts. Only just this morning during my first violin practice in weeks, my thoughts were tuned into how rusty and awful I was until I finally let them go and just enjoyed the feeling of being at one with my instrument (even if it would have made dogs howl and cats run in terror)!
Humanity’s intellectual and conceptual abilities have propelled us from caves and spears to modern homes, technology and weaponry. But, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out, (rather worryingly), our technology is more advanced than our spiritual capability. The implications for self-destruction are all too apparent.
The mental acuity we use to solve our problems is usually the very thing that has created the situation in the first place.
As Einstein said:
“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
Internal map of representation
When we’re born our minds are blank canvases waiting to be filled. A baby feels no prejudice. Is your canvas a lovingly crafted masterpiece or a collection of quick and clumsy sketches?
We all use compartments to try to make sense of the world, to determine our own personal sense of reality. The danger is that we create divisions, which can easily fester and before you know it you’re facing a rift valley on the scale of Kenya’s!
As we are growing up we have experiences which shape our beliefs and judgments, so that we can formulate our internal map of representation. “I like to eat sweets, but I don’t like going to the dentist.” “I’m good at English but not Maths.”
After wearing a red dress and being teased one might develop negative associations with the colour red.
Over a lifetime billions of images, perceptions, thoughts and ideas enter into the grey matter to be processed. We are all computer programmers!
Perception
Talk about a picture speaking a thousand words. The heart breaking image of drowned 3 year old Aylan Kurdi really affected me. As a mum I couldn’t help but feel devastated for that family. Those boys will never have the chance to reach their full potential and live in peace, which is all they ever wanted. Isn’t that what we all aspire to? The opportunity to lead happy and worthwhile lives?
Until that desperate image was beamed around the world, the perception of ‘migrants’ and the challenges they face was very different.
Labels colour perception and close us off to our true nature and essence. Such labels only serve to dehumanise people. This is where the media have a responsibility to step up to the plate. They have the power to shape our perceptions on a huge scale.
When we witness the true suffering of another we can’t close off our hearts. If history can teach us anything it is that.
This talk by Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel at the White House is all too appropriate to the current humanitarian crisis arising from events in the Middle East.
The Perils of Indifference:
When we view anyone as anything other than a fellow human being, just like us, only with different upbringings, beliefs and experiences, it separates us. It means we have the justification to commit evil acts.
The ones being labelled BECOME their religion or ethnic group, colour or sex. We don’t look past the categories we have placed them in to see the divine spark within them. After all, many faiths teach that we are all ‘one’ at the soul level.
Religion
“Religion is bad because it causes war. ” Let’s examine that provocative label shall we? Religion is neither good or bad. It’s simply a way that humanity organises and practises its different interpretations of faith. The true intention of religion is to offer guidance.
Dangers arise when more labels and judgements come in to play. My God is better than yours. God is punishing us. Infidel!
The cause of war is humans using religion to support their own self-righteous cause or agenda.
“When you have the choice between being right and being kind just choose kind.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
Islamic State is the perfect example of this. The perpetrators were maybe once decent human beings until something went very wrong in their heads. To coin a Star Wars phrase, they became seduced by the ‘dark side’. They subscribed to a virulent, hateful and evil doctrine stemming from a twisted, puritanical interpretation of Islam, turning it to suit their own ends: power and control.
The sanctity of life means nothing to them. They do not view anyone who holds a different belief to them as being worthy of keeping their head and seem to take pleasure in torturing others. It disgusts me. There is no tolerance, no love and their sick ideology seems to infect weak minded individuals who are angry. It gives them a way to vent their spleen and to feel important.
It’s the same with any religion. Christianity has done its fair share of torture, rape, pillage and plunder in the name of the Lord.
Catholic priests tend to get a bad rap these days, due to the terrible acts of abuse by some; but back in the days of my ‘black dog’ I was fortunate to meet a ‘good’ Father who helped me. He listened to me and didn’t judge me. I didn’t view his faith as a barrier to our discussions, and he didn’t use it to put me on a guilt trip over the mess my life was in, he just accepted me. I will always be grateful to him.
You can’t tar everyone and every religion with the same brush!
Over the centuries civilised people all over the world have been fighting against narcissistic despots, dictators, slavery, ignorance and exploitation. And it all started with what seemed like an innocent label.
We need to look past people’s appearance, sex, beliefs, religion and circumstances and see the being beneath. Removing these labels and judgements enables us to communicate from heart to heart and not head to head. Of course, as a species we are drawn to those individuals we feel a natural affinity with, but it would certainly facilitate more understanding.
I know that I have many flaws, but one thing I won’t do is care if someone is Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, aetheist, agnostic or any other denomination. I will try and interact with them how I would want to treated: with common human decency, not with bigoted views and labels.
Labelling has its place – but that’s only on clothing and consumer goods. We should not let it define who we are: ineffable, eternal, powerful beings.
If we could all see ourselves as one big family, born of the same parent, as spiritual siblings, the world would have more compassion, less war, less racism, less ageism, sexism or any other ism!
A very interesting and down to earth lecture by scientist David Bohm about the effects of thought and fragmentation:
Our daily challenge is to get our mind out of the way; to look, listen and interact with our hearts. The mind will then do our bidding and not the other way around.
“A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.” – Wayne Dyer
“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein
It has been both a relaxing and busy few weeks and I’m feeling a bit out of kilter. That tends to happen to me when I get out of my daily routine for a prolonged period. It’s been wonderful to spend some time with my kids, but I think I’m ready for them to go back to school tomorrow!
I knew they were all gut-buckets, but I have literally spent half my time cooking and preparing meals…
In between feeding my brood I had a strong urge to have a good clear-out. At first it was from a practical standpoint, I needed to make more space in my daughters’ bedroom so that we didn’t have any unnecessary delays in the morning getting ready for school.
I swopped furniture, went through a lot of old books and gave away masses of stuff that they’ve outgrown. As a result I’ve been able to give them more room to play and fit in a small desk/dressing table for Emily.
That was exhausting but it needed doing. I then decided to re-organise my sons’ room, which hadn’t been properly tackled for years, and certainly not since my eldest son left home a year ago. I’m halfway through that alongside my home office.
As I went about my business something unexpected happened. I started to relish how much I could get rid of. Apart from having sore muscles from quite a bit of heavy lifting and lugging around of furniture, I actually felt lighter and happier. It has given me an inner harmony and felt akin to having a deep spiritual cleanse.
I am determined to empty the house of junk, detritus and general “stuff” that seems to have accumulated over time. I used to be a bit of a hoarder, but I’ve become much stricter with myself over the years. When you have a large family clutter can get out of control, which has a definite negative psychological effect on everyone, but mainly the parents!
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~ William Morris
I’m not finished by a long shot, but already I can feel there is a greater flow of energy, it has given me a huge ‘mental’ spring clean. Decluttering your physical space frees up the space in your mind that keeping too many possessions can take up.
With limited space I figured if there were less toys to play with, then my youngest (and by far the messiest), would find it easier to tidy up after herself, thereby freeing up my time and teaching her a valuable life lesson in the process. We’re still working on that one!
Decluttering my home has been a lesson in organising my life. The same goes for online, digital “stuff”. I don’t need to read every single Facebook post with someone having a rant about something in their life. It gets to the point where it’s information overload. I only read emails at certain times during the day, otherwise it’s a constant distraction.
I used to think that Feng Shui was baloney, but now I can see its intrinsic value. I may even dedicate a separate post to it in the future.
Feng Shui Bagua (energy map of any space).
Luckily my desk is west facing, which is meant to stimulate one’s muse!
If you feel happy and relaxed in your environment and aren’t anxious about where your stuff is and how you are going to keep, protect and sort it all, it means you are free to spend more time doing the things that make you happy.
You have to be in the right frame of mind to do it, but once you get on a roll it’s surprising how satisfying it is to bag up old clothes and items for those less fortunate or for recycling. It can also be helpful to have a friend on hand who isn’t attached to your stuff like you are!
It’s so easy for clutter to build up unless you keep on top of it. I think I’m going to keep this motto near my monitor:
A bag a day keeps the clutter away…
In our consumer driven, materialistic society having lots of possessions is seen as a status symbol, but the truth is it just creates more to think about! I think Gandhi had the right idea; he lived a simple but fulfilling life full of meaning.
10 Tips for decluttering:
It’s a lesson I could have done with learning sooner in life: what clutters your mind clutters your soul.
I want my soul to breathe and expand, not constrict and contract.
If you have a decluttering project you’ve been thinking about starting I’d urge you to get stuck in, you’ll feel so pleased with yourself!
Happiness is a place between too little and too much. ~ Finnish Proverb
“The true artist does not create art as an end in itself; he creates art for human beings. Humanity is the goal.” ~ Bronislaw Huberman
Now owned and played exclusively by Joshua Bell, the Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivarius violin was made in Cremona in 1713 by the most revered luthier of them all: Antonio Stradivari, during what was known as his ‘golden period’ from around 1700 to 1725.
If the origin of a violin or stringed instrument is the key to its value, then a large part of that provenance is inexorably wrapped up in its history after its departure from the Stradivari workshop in Cremona.
If a violin can be said to imbibe the qualities of its owners, world events and individuals who have influenced its journey; then this violin’s history is virtuosic, violent, secretive, poignant, beautiful and courageous.
Recent History
Joshua Bell talks about how it was ‘love at first sight’ when he first saw and heard it during a rehearsal with its then owner, British violinist Norbert Brainin, a former member of the esteemed Amadeus Quartet. He felt its tone was sweet as well as ‘gutsy’, which is not surprising considering who has played on it and where it has been. Norbert joked that one day it might be his…if he had 4 million dollars to spare…
It must have been written in the stars that one day it would be his. That day came in 2001 when Joshua Bell was at J & A Beare’s in London having some maintenance work done on his ‘Tom Taylor’ Stradivarius violin. He learnt from Stephen Beare that the Gibson ex-Huberman Strad was on their premises being prepared for imminent sale by Brainin to a German industrialist.
Joshua had to act fast, and managed to purchase the violin before it was gone from his grasp, probably forever. He performed on it at the Royal Albert Hall the same day it came into his ownership and has never played another instrument since.
How it Sounds
If a violin can be said to have a soul, then I think the Gibson/Huberman violin’s soul is Polish. It may have been crafted in Cremona, but its roots are entwined with its most celebrated owner, Bronislaw Huberman. Perhaps that’s why it sings so resonantly to the music of Chopin. Here is his nocturne in C sharp minor performed by Joshua Bell on the Huberman Strad for his first album release (Romance of the Violin), after purchasing the violin.
I recently watched The Return of the Violin; an incredibly moving documentary film, (tissues were needed), and felt compelled to share it with you. It’s a film about the depth of the human spirit and the story of the violin’s incredible history coming full circle, the ultimate testament to the healing power of music.
Narrated and produced by Roy Mandel, directed by Haim Hecht, he talks to the central figure of the film, holocaust survivor Sigmund Rolat, whose tragic memories and brutal observations of the Nazi invasion of Poland ties together their respective Jewish families from Czestochowa, along with 20th century Polish wunderkind violinist, Bronislaw Huberman and composer Johannes Brahms.
Bronislaw Huberman (1882 – 1947)
A Jewish boy from Czestochowa, he was a child prodigy who grew to be one of the most iconic violinists of the 20th century. He was known for his individualistic and personal interpretations, which I find very refreshing in this day and age of focus on technique.
Violinist Bronislaw Huberman, aged 18.
He began learning the violin at the age of four, because his father (a law clerk), wanted him to play the piano, but not being able to afford one gave him a violin instead. His immense talent soon became obvious and according to the film, he was gifted the Stradivarius violin that had been owned by the family of Count Władysław Zamoyski (1853–1924).
I love this 1930 Huberman recording of Bruch’s beautiful theme based on Hebrew melodies written originally for cello, Kol Nidrei:
He’s also amazing with Chopin! Gorgeous vintage recording:
For a time the young Huberman was tutored by the great Joseph Joachim in Berlin. He introduced Bronislaw to the composer Joahnnes Brahms, (who was having a bit of a revolt on his hands from the violinists of the day), over the difficulty of his Violin Concerto in D Major. Not so for the Polish wunderkind. Brahms didn’t believe Joachim until he heard the young boy perform his work at a legendary concert in Vienna.
My sheet music of the Brahms Violin Concerto Op. 77 in D major
I have to admit I didn’t know much about Huberman, and when I saw the film and learnt of his courage and devotion I was full of admiration for him. He was a remarkable man, a visionary and humanitarian.
Not only was he the founder of what is now known as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, he rescued as many of his fellow European Jewish musicians (and their immediate families) from the horror of the holocaust as was possible, by giving them a place in his new Orchestra of Palestine.
“One has to build a fist against anti-semitism – a first class orchestra will be this fist.” ~ Bronislaw Huberman
Talk about playing for your life! I can only imagine the stress of some of these musicians must have felt when auditioning for a seat in Huberman’s new orchestra; which if you earned yourself a place essentially meant escaping the death camps.
Perhaps Hollywood should make a movie called ‘Huberman’s List.’
The Thefts
The first time the Gibson/Huberman Strad was stolen was in Vienna in 1919. Fortunately, it was quickly recovered and Huberman continued to wow audiences on it for another 17 years.
And so it played out, on that fateful day – 28th February 1936 – whilst Huberman was on stage playing his Guarnerius violin during a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall, (to raise funds for his new orchestra in Palestine), the Huberman Strad, laying in repose in its double case in his dressing room, was stolen.
I can only speculate if Juilliard trained violinist Julian Altman had premeditated his musical larceny, or whether it was a crime of passion, an opportunistic urge on the night to steal the Gibson Strad.
With breathtaking contempt and audacity the shyster Altman played on it at weddings and other political events. No-one was any the wiser for half a century, with the possible exception of his friend, Luthier Ed Wicks who lived in Danbury. He carried out repairs to the bridge and neck of the violin in 1983 and noticed the inscription inside.
Although Altman told him it was a copy, I suspect he was of a different opinion, but he wasn’t to know that it had once belonged to the great Bronislaw Huberman. Sadly, Huberman never saw his beloved Strad again.
Huberman was reimbursed to the tune of $30,000 dollars (its value at the time), and ownership of the stolen strad passed on to its insurer: Lloyds of London.
It was only while in jail and on his deathbed in 1985 that Altman confessed to his crime, telling his wife she could find the supporting documents to corroborate his story in between the violin case and its canvas cover. His estranged wife Marcelle collected the instrument from the home of Ed Wicks and returned the instrument to the authorities, whereby Charles Beare verified its authenticity.
Charles Beare in The Strad magazine:
“As I lifted the violin from its case, I didn’t appreciate that Mrs. Hall and her friends and family were still in doubt about the violin’s identity. Very slowly I said ‘No — problem’, and it turned out that in the second or two between the two words Mrs. Hall almost died with disappointment. After that there was joy all round.”
“Out in the better light of the garden, away from the crowd and the popping champagne corks, I had a good look at Huberman’s remarkable violin. In 1911, when the young virtuoso purchased it, Alfred Hill of W. E. Hill and Sons wrote ‘The red varnish is in a pure state, as applied by the maker.’ Now you could barely see it, submerged as it was beneath layer upon layer of dirt and polish. . . .Nevertheless the violin was clearly a masterpiece, and in the pale sunlight its handsome wood and red varnish glowed reassuringly.”
Marcelle Hall was paid a finder’s fee of £ $263,475.75 by Lloyd’s of London, which was the focus of much legal wrangling by other beneficiaries of the Altman estate.
Full Circle
Although his entire family were murdered, Sigmund Rolat survived the Second World War and made a successful life for himself in America, returning several times in later life to his and Huberman’s birthplace of Czestochowa.
It was Rolat’s dream to hear Huberman’s violin played by its current owner, Joshua Bell, (who also has Jewish ancestry), in the concert hall that stood on the foundations of the old synagogue before it had been destroyed by the Nazis.
Poignant just doesn’t cover it.
The Return of the Violin
That dream came true in 2009 in conjunction with Rolat’s efforts to open the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw:
Interview
Discussion about The Return of the Violin with Sigmund Rolat, Joshua Bell and Budd Mishkin:
Slight Confusion
According to Charles Beare:
W. E. Hill and Sons purchased the violin in the nineteenth century from an old French family, subsequently selling it to Alfred Gibson, a prominent English violinist who also owned one of the Stradivari violas exhibited in Cremona. In 1911 it returned to Hills and was sold to Huberman, at which time Alfred Hill wrote that “the fine red varnish which covers it is in a pure state as applied by the maker.”
This account contradicts the story that the Gibson Strad was given to Huberman by Count Zamoyski. I can’t quite tie together all the loose ends, but it doesn’t matter. This remarkable violin has had remarkable owners, and a dramatic history.
Portrait of Alfred Gibson with his Stradivarius by Herbert Olivier (uncle of Laurence), c. 1899
It has been celebrated, coveted, admired, and heard in live performance by many (including me).
One thing’s for sure, it went incognito for 51 years before returning to its well-deserved spotlight!
“Cornwall is very primeval: great, black, jutting cliffs and rocks, like the original darkness, and a pale sea breaking in, like dawn. It is like the beginning of the world, wonderful…” ~ D. H. Lawrence
I’ve only been back home for a day, but now that I’ve unpacked and caught up with most of the laundry I thought I’d share some of our holiday experiences and wax lyrical about the many charms of Cornwall while it’s still vivid in my mind.
I also have a new craving, well, strictly two: Cornish ice cream and cream teas.
Cliffs at Lizard Point.
We got to see some of the legendary Cornish coast, with its dramatic, flower covered cliffs, clear, azure seas, surfing beaches and small sandy coves, abandoned and ruined tin mines, undulating fields with cows aplenty, the occasional hungry seal, and, as is the case with most visitors to the south west of Cornwall, a windswept photo opportunity at Land’s End, Britain’s westernmost point.
Poldark Locations
One of the things about the latest BBC adaptation of the eponymous Graham Winston novels (apart from the rugged looks and solid acting of Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark), that has captured my imagination has been the stunning locations.
View from the church towards Gunwalloe Cove
I was naive enough to think it was shot in one area, but in reality there were 14 different Poldark filming locations throughout Cornwall; and being something of a period drama fan I was glad to see three of them during my stay.
The first location was Gunwalloe Church Cove on The Lizard (a really stunning but treacherous stretch of coastline), that has a small medieval church to the right of the beach. As well as being the site of many real-life shipwrecks, this was the beach where they filmed the night-time scene of Ross and the villagers helping themselves to the spoils of a Warleggan shipwreck.
Here is the scene shot on Gunwalloe Cove from the current Poldark series:
It seemed entirely plausible to me, we were there in early August, the sky was vanquished behind foreboding dark clouds, the wind was biting and relentless, the roar of the ocean as the waves crashed onto the beach approaching high-tide was immense. So much for summer!
Cliffs on either side of the beach provided rocks for rough seas to pound as well as potential caves.
It was also the first time my daughters had ventured into the surf, clad in their new, unbaptised wetsuits, armed with determination, excitement and curiosity to try body-boarding. In reality the brutally cold temperatures and power of the Atlantic Ocean prohibited such an activity for my little dudettes, but they did wade in up to their knees and let the tide chase them, screaming and whooping onto the beach.
Later in the week when the weather had improved we ventured back to the Lizard Peninsula and to the supremely beautiful Kynance Cove and another filming location – Lizard Point (the most southerly point in England).
Kynance Cove at high tide
A large white lighthouse and museum sit at the top of the headland, and if you wander down to the edge of the cliff and down into bay there is an old Lifeboat station (built in 1914), with an interesting history depicted on its doors. The girls sunned themselves here for a while…
View from the old lifeboat station at Lizard Point.
Chatting to the owner of the delightful café with an outdoor terrace offering a great view of the bay, we learnt that he had trained the local seagulls to fly to a nearby field where he feeds them twice a day.
We didn’t get dive-bombed, see or hear a single gull whilst having our delectable cream-tea. It could be a possible solution for the beleaguered tourists and locals in St. Ives, who have to endure birds with a penchant for Hitchcock type behaviour towards people and their food!!
On the last day, with the car packed-up and bursting at the seams, we headed out to the mining town of St. Agnes on the north coast between St. Ives and Newquay. It’s a very pretty village with a nice beach, and you can drive just out of the town up to St. Agnes Head: a heather clad heathland bluff, providing dramatic views towards St. Ives in the distance and also north up the coast.
The scent wafting from the heather as I wandered along the cliff footpath was delightful, as was the vibrant hues of pink, purple, violet and yellow of these ubiquitous and hardy flowers, which contrasted beautifully with the bright blue ocean and spewing white foam of the waves against rocks.
I tentatively climbed onto the stone ledge to take this shot!
Also near St. Agnes is the historic site of Wheal Coates, a tin and copper mine on the site of mines dating back to the 16oo’s.
Wheal Coates, St. Agnes
However, the Victorian mine was permanently closed down in 1914. The coastal views of the Towanroath Engine House (a grade II listed building), perching on the side of the cliff with the surf crashing onto Porthtowan and Chapel Porth Beaches below just took my breath away.
Towanroath Engine House
I suspect the impressive view and pristine coastline was not at the forefront of the miners’ minds as they toiled in what would have been trying conditions.
Coastal view from St. Agnes Head
Some of the other filming locations that I didn’t get time to see were the World Heritage Botallack Mine, Levant Mine and West Wheal Owles in St. Just, Pedn Vounder Beach, Stepper Point, St. Breward and Bodmin Moor and Charlestown Harbour (perfect as the 18th century Falmouth Harbour).
Land’s End – 301 miles from home
We arrived here at about 6.30 pm, perfect timing to avoid the crowds. I hadn’t been back to visit Land’s End since my first trip when I was eighteen, and found that there was a lot more here to entice families than just a sign.
There is a hotel and restaurant perched on the hill, as well as a small Aardman Animation ‘Shaun the Sheep’ theme park and gift shops which were thankfully all closed up by the time we arrived.
Also the site of many a shipwreck, the Long Rocks Lighthouse gives out light every ten seconds these days, and we stared in awe at the sheer bracing, rugged beauty of the place.
Long Rocks Lighthouse beneath the sun at Land’s End.
We decided to stay and have dinner at the hotel so that we could watch the sunset. The skies had been clear when we arrived, but as the sun gradually sank into the horizon it became mostly masked by cloud. It was still a magical evening.
St. Ives
This popular seaside town nestles into a protected horseshoe harbour, and comprises many steep, narrow lanes lined with art galleries, boutiques, gift shops, surfing outlets, pasty shops (you haven’t lived until you’ve tried one from Pengenna), although tasty, it was so huge I could barely finish it. The local ice cream is to die for, and the town is bustling with tourists, artists, surfers and families. There isn’t much room for the crowds and the cars, so it can get a bit hairy with young children.
The pristine Carbis Bay
Parking is a total headache, and on the second day we were there we parked in a church car park just up from the Carbis Bay British Rail station and got the train into St. Ives. This has to be the most scenic train station in the UK. It pulls up behind a large sandy beach and you can walk from there to the centre of St. Ives in about ten minutes.
We spent quite a few hours on the crowded but very nice Porthmeor Beach, full of sunbathers and body surfers alike. Emily and Ruby managed to get their first taste of riding a wave and seem to have become adrenaline junkies overnight!
We’ll have to do the Shanty Baba evening Pirate Ghost story and walk next time we’re there.
Our boat trip to Seal Island wasn’t the highlight of our holiday, but I suspect it will be long remembered. We booked onto a later trip thinking it would be fun to go out in calm seas (it had been a gorgeous day up to that point), but by 4.45pm when we stood on the harbour wall watching three local seals who had ventured into the shallows and were bobbing up for fresh fish being thrown down to them by the locals, wondering if it was worth an hour and a half out at sea when they were literally at our feet!
Emily doing her seal impression.
It turned out that our doubts were founded, as our boat, the Cornish Crest, was a small fishing vessel that was both uncomfortable and slow, and by now the seas had grown choppy so we got quite wet too. We sat patiently as our cheerful captain skilfully took us out to Godrevy Lighthouse instead of Seal Island due to the worsening conditions.
Godrevy Lighthouse St. Ives
Bigger, faster, more comfortable boats sped past us. When we reached the rocks off the lighthouse we caught a glimpse of two black heads barely above the waves, and I couldn’t wait for the boat to turn around and take us back to the harbour. What with the cool wind whipping around us, the waves sloshing over the side and the lack of seals it was an experience that left us wishing we had stayed on the beach!
Mugs of creamy hot chocolate and homemade food at Pels Café on the harbour front helped to warm us up as we quickly readjusted to having our land legs back…
The Eden Project
The whole of Cornwall was drenched under a massive downpour on the Thursday, so after a lazy morning we visited the Eden Project near St. Austell. Lovingly nurtured from a disused giant china clay pit, the ecological vision of the charity’s creators has achieved astounding success. We spent a few fun and educational hours wandering through the massive biospheres and around the moving, lifelike dinosaur exhibit, which really captured their iamginations.
It was wonderful strolling through the world’s biggest greenhouse, home to the world’s largest indoor rainforest, hearing the rain pelting onto the biosphere.
It was hot and steamy inside, so raincoats and jumpers came swiftly off.
The girls absolutely loved it, and the word “awesome” was frequently used. I managed to get onto the sky walk viewing platform before it closed, which offers panoramic views across the dome. It’s somewhat disconcerting though, that the steps sway as you climb high above the green canopy.
Don’t look down!
It was wonderful for adults and especially children, to learn about coffee, tea, chilli, cocoa, banana, the fair trade concept and the importance of the rainforest in the planet’s ecosystem. I even saw a Trumpet Tree which was consumed by natives as a pick-me up and appetite suppressant stronger than coffee.
Model dinosaurs caught up with us in the Mediterranean biosphere, which really captured their imaginations. All in all a great day out, despite the many visitors and the wet conditions.
A week isn’t long enough to explore the many spectacular beaches, coastal walks, historic houses, harbours, tin mines and many other attractions.
We spent some time on Holywell Bay before driving home, the surf was impressive. A taster of Cornwall’s best beaches:
I have a great excuse to go back in the not too distant future…
When I get a chance I’ll add a small photo gallery of some of the sights.
rhap.so.dy in words 