Nov 10 2024 - Hallelujah Singing

 

Have you participated in singing Handel's Hallelujah? There are sing-a-longs every year so at some time you might have. I am in a choir that is rehearsing this song.   I went to rehearsal last week where there were 3 choirs together in the church. That was more than 40 voices singing.  I found that very loud - more noise than music. It took a while to get used to the volume. This is a very fast song with a lot of variations on the Hallelujah rhythm.  For the singer:  pay attention, so you don't fall off the galloping horse.  You can always catch up at "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" and then at "King of Kings."  Everyone's on board there. I like the end - we stop yet the sound continues.  Then it stops.  I don't know how long it goes for.  Long enough to be in awe.  Handel knew all this would be the case: "His servants would often find him in tears as he composed. When he completed “Hallelujah,” he reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.” Our combined choirs make up around 40 people.  There are choirs of more than 350 people.  That would be louder than loud - a very large church or hall is needed.  I wonder what the size of the Mormon Tabernacle is.  They were joined by over 2,000 voices worldwide for a virtual singing.  And then all the pop-up Messiahs in food courts/halls.   There are performances with 600 singers in Sydney, 1000 in an open air concert in Ireland, and 2000 at Massey Hall in Toronto.  And you can join the concert this year: "Whether you’re an avid singer, an occasional crooner, or just want to join the festivities to “listen along,” this is a Toronto tradition that you won’t want to miss!"

This is the ceiling at Osgoode Hall in Toronto.

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Scentsation!

Scentsation is defined as an outstanding use of fragrance in applications other than perfume and cologne. It is said to be coined by PerfumeCulture as a scent and trend agency.  It has since made its way into the naming of flowers.  Here are a few. I mistakenly bought Honeysuckle "Scentsation."  It was a lucky error.  I thought I'd purchased Paul's Scarlett, but the blooms were not pink - they were yellow. I had thought I might have one of the invasive Japanese Honeysuckles.  Instead these were blossoms that lasted from mid-spring to late summer and has strong fragrance.  What are the notes in honeysuckle?  It is considered fruity and warm with hints of honey and ripe citrus.  There is a petunia that has been hybridized to have its fragrance back - just as roses lost and got back their beautiful scent via David Austin.  What is the fragrance in this blue Petunia "Evening Scentsation"?  It is described as having notes of hyacinth, sweet honey and rose and is stronger in the evening.  There is a series of miniature roses in the "Scentsational" series. "Overnight Scentsation" journeyed to space to aid in studies about the effects of low gravity on the smell of roses.  "Moonlight Sensation" is another one. What about finding the Camellia "Sweet Scentsation".  I would need to go to warmer areas of the U.S. for this. We know that Evening Scented Stock (Matthiola bicornis) is night-scented. It has a series named "Starlight Scentsation". This is a flower with strong notes of cloves and cinnamon. Others have nutmeg and vanilla scent. And there is a Tuberous Begonia that has the name Scentsation - it is a Blackmore & Langdon variety. Many of the scented begonias smell like roses. Many people don't realize the Cyclamen is a scented flower - they also have a Scentsation Series.  It isi considered light floral, clean, fresh, and slightly mysterious. And there is a Nicotiana alata mix "Scentsation" - it comes in pinks, purples and whites - that's interesting to me.  I will definitely find this one for this year's garden. The scent is considered similar to Jasmine. If we want to describe out floral scents, take a look at this website - theperfumeexpert.com/notes These window view pictures were taken at the Ringling Circus mansion.  All the windows have pale stained glass panes.

One Third of the First Quarter

Yes - our title today announces that we are one-third through the three months of winter here in Ontario. Both of these windows are in the Queen Street West neighbourhood in Toronto. The first is an empty store front with its eerie white fog of a space.  The second is the Malabar window on the alley way with its fluorescent wigs in the window.  Two opposites that define what the Queen Street West experience is. The history of windows is a long story of evolution in building openings - the start is holes with flaps.  The word window is considered a loanword - adopted directly from another language.  The most familiar parallel name for window was the Roman fenestra which became fenester in German. The words fenestration and defenestration are still in use. Of course we can move on to the most amazing stained glass windows from the BBC 'here' or from Huffington post 'here' or 40 of the most beautiful windows 'here' - stained glass reigns. A search for the most famous windows in the world reveals one window - the window from the Pope's apartment. Another search had a top ten, with the second most famous window being the Texas School Book Depository's notorious window.  This seems to be a 20th century American view of things. I wonder if there are amazing windows nearby to photograph. Are there some in the GTA to visit?