In 1858 or so, Matthew Arnold wrote a poem called "Dover Beach." He was on his honeymoon with his wife, presumably in a resort hotel on the English Channel at Dover. It is night, the moon illuminates the scene, the tide is coming in, and the waves rolling in over the stoney beach create a loud rattle. Arnold's thoughts are not romantic, however. He is gloomily reflecting on cultural shifts, the uncertain future of humanity, and especially the widespread decline of faith in God. This poem was set to music in 1931 by Samuel Barber, scored for a bass soloist accompanied by a string quartet. It is a beautiful piece, and we heard it it performed at Marlboro yesterday, along with the Brahms Piano Quartet. The soloist was Evan Luca Gray.
Dover Beach musicians.*************
TODAY we are back at Marlboro but with Susan Gelletly, Katie Tolles and Dusty Miller. This morning we heard the Brahms Piano Quartet in C-Minor, Op. 60, and now after a lovely picnic lunch prepared by Ellen, we heard the Brahms Clarinet Trio, Op. 114, which featured Yuhsin Su, followed by the Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 59, No. 2. After the Beethoven, we came down to Brattleboro and met Christian, Susan G's husband, at Panda North, and had a lovely supper. Katie, Dusty and Brendon had all gone home after lunch. Earlier in the day, Christian had gone bike-riding with Jerry Fineland and then drove up to our place and parked their camper there. That's where Susan and Christian will spend the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment