sorrow

[Rod]

Originally posted by Chris:
Yep. In this forum, anyway.

[This message has been edited by Chris (edited February 05, 2003).]

What do you mean Chris? I am not concerned with any other forum in any case!

------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Chaszz]

Originally posted by Rod:
I have reminded myself here of Alexander's Feast by Handel, a piece known to Beethoven, and a thoroughtly pacifist piece that exemplifies the above statement - especially in the excellent bitter-sweet aria/chorus where the tenor sings...
'Bacchus' blessings are a treasure,
Drinking is the soldier's pleasure, Rich the treasure, Sweet the pleasure, Sweet is the pleasure after pain.' This is one of my favourites by H.

Is the Alexander of the title the one we know as 'the Great'? If it is, and it's pacifist, then it's ironic that it's named after one of the biggest butchers in the ancient world, all in the cause of his own greater 'glory'.

[Chaszz]

Originally posted by Rod:
What do you mean Chris? I am not concerned with any other forum in any case!

However I believe there was some story about your being asked to leave the Handel forum....

[Rod]

Originally posted by Chaszz:
However I believe there was some story about your being asked to leave the Handel forum....

I wasn't asked to leave, I was thrown out! Believe me it was the moderator's loss. And it was just as I was winning a few people over as well. I'm thinking of starting my own Handel yahoo group in any case.

I fail to see the relevance of all this to the 10,000 posts being achieved here. I remind you that 2,155 of these come from myself.

------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[spaceray]

Please do start a Handel group I want to talk about this composer!

[Rod]

Originally posted by spaceray:
Please do start a Handel group I want to talk about this composer!

It has occured to me to simply convert the existing Beethoven Yahoo Group attached to this site, since nobody here liked it anyway when it was in use, and nobody uses the chat, and it would start me off with an already existing membership!

------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[spaceray]

Yes please do it,I have a thousand Handel questions.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Rod:
What do you mean Chris? I am not concerned with any other forum in any case!

I meant that it was 10000 in the General forum. There are a few hundred more in the Comments and Suggestions forum.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Chaszz:
Is the Alexander of the title the one we know as 'the Great'? If it is, and it's pacifist, then it's ironic that it's named after one of the biggest butchers in the ancient world, all in the cause of his own greater 'glory'.

There was a lot of butchery in the ancient world! Perhaps the tone of the piece was pacifist because it was indeed concerned with Alexander the Great. There is much in it about the pointlessness war. For example...

"War, he sung, is toil and trouble,
Honour but an empty bubble,
Never ending, still beginning,
Fighting still, and still destroying.
If the world be worth thy winning,
Think, oh think it worth enjoying!"



------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Rod]

Originally posted by spaceray:
Yes please do it,I have a thousand Handel questions.

Better to start a new yahoo group, you never know when we might need the existing group here. Unless Peter would prefer to ditch it as the emergency forum in place of something else. I feel a bit bad about it because people are still on occasion joining the group but it has virtually nothing to offer them at the moment. I don't think anyone uses the chat.

------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[John Rasmussen]

Originally posted by Rod:
There was a lot of butchery in the ancient world! Perhaps the tone of the piece was pacifist because it was indeed concerned with Alexander the Great. There is much in it about the pointlessness war. For example...

"War, he sung, is toil and trouble,
Honour but an empty bubble,
Never ending, still beginning,
Fighting still, and still destroying.
If the world be worth thy winning,
Think, oh think it worth enjoying!"

Who was Handel's lyricist for that work?

[spaceray]

"Refreshed,he started work on a setting of Dryden's 1697 St Cecilia Day Ode
Alexanders Feast,described both by Newburgh Hamilton,who adapted the words,and the Earl of Egmont,who attended the first performance,as an 'Entertainment'".
From Christopher Hogwoods book Handel

[Rod]

Originally posted by Rod:
Better to start a new yahoo group, you never know when we might need the existing group here. Unless Peter would prefer to ditch it as the emergency forum in place of something else. I feel a bit bad about it because people are still on occasion joining the group but it has virtually nothing to offer them at the moment. I don't think anyone uses the chat.

Well, those who want to talk about Handel can do so at the Beethoven Yahoo Group which I have now converted to a Handel Yahoo Group. The link to this group is now:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Handel_Forum/


------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[This message has been edited by Rod (edited February 17, 2003).]