A lovely, bright morning...

Although  the weather apps are convinced it will be cloudy and showery later on. I slept through from 0140 to 0700-- which is unusual for me and welcome, I suppose, having slept uncomfortably, because of the eye, since Saturday night. My vision seems to have returned to its usual imperfect state although I can feel that the eye itself is not quite... I ought not to be able to feel the eye at all in the normal course of its operation.

The down side of such a good repose is that I've had to jettison Matins and Lauds. I finished Prime before beginning here. It's the feast of Pope Saint Callistus, first of the name, who, according to the lessons at Matins, flourished under Antoninus called Heliogabalus, instituted the practice of the quattuor tempora, the Ember Days, adorned the Cemetery that bears his name, established the church of Santa Maria Transpontina, and was martyred under Alexander called Severus.

Three concerts I'd like to hear today, each at 0900, tsk. The one broadcast live on Klassikaraadio is music by composers I don't know at all and looks quite Estonian-ish but I expect that it is the one I'll listen to-- the premiere of Triptych of the Moon by Tõnu Kõrvits, along with a couple of other pieces. I knew I had seen that name somewhere: he's composed a Stabat Mater

Rune XVII of the Kalevala, by Veljo Tormis, is from 1985 with a revision in 1994, but I see nothing of it online, not at the Estonian, German, or Swedish Wikipedia pages, anyway, or via Google. Hmm.

Tormis was present or represented at the Oregon Bach Festival in 2002, I see. The academic composer Robert Kyr is quoted by Fred Crafts as saying that he is,

"a national hero for his work; he has endeavored to preserve the ancient song traditions of the Estonians and many of the Baltic peoples through his compositions.

"During the period of severe Soviet oppression (in the late 1970s and '80s), he created works which affirmed the cultural heritage and very soul of the Estonian people. With great courage, he waged peace through the creation and performance of music during one of the darkest times in the history of his people."

The esteemed Mr Crafts doesn't mention which of Tormis's work was performed on which day, alas.

 


 

Ante Vesperas. Am catching up on Ann Althouse's posts from yesterday and perhaps Monday. It has remained a beautiful day, with the temperature in the mid-60s. The silly jay flew down to pick up a peanut-- I tossed two out the window-- and did, then dropped it while it contemplated the second one. It ended by picking up the first one without touching the second and then flying off; perhaps it didn't consider the second one at all but simply tried to see it, in the four or five inches of grass. The dog is lolling about in the sunlight on the deck so I'm relieved from providing nuts to the birds for the duration; the silly dog will eat the peanuts, shells and all. Was assaulted earlier by the desire for fried chicken-- I attribute this to an essay at the Guardian that I read early in the day, here, by Melissa Thompson (it's dated yesterday). Her pitiable inability to enjoy fried chicken for a part of her life because 'racism' et cetera seemed so very sad-- but obviously what stuck in my head is, fried chicken, hmm. At this time of day, the solution to my problem would be KFC delivered or, if I could be content with roasted chicken, Whole Foods delivered, both of which options entail spending unwarranted amounts of cash (particularly the KFC one). Perhaps I'll make frying a chicken a project for Monday next when the landlady is at work; I last made it in 2009, my recollection being that it required quite a bit of fuss for a not particularly splendid set of meals. But that may be the prospect of 'no KFC' shading my memory. 

The jays are back because the dog decamped inside. The Steller's jay, with its black head feathers and pink and red gullet, is truly a handsome bird, and the contrast between the interior and exterior is peculiarly striking, a foot away. I wonder how breast of jay tastes; 'like chicken', I suppose. Did have to make an effort but found this page.

Most people don’t believe it when I tell them, or they’re just horrified at my ability to kill and eat cute little birdies, but blue jays are AMAZING to eat… stellar [sic] jays are very plentiful here, taste better than dove, have breasts AND legs to eat. They’re also very easy to hunt. We like the legs and breasts sesame fried in butter.


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