THE BIRTH OF DYNAMIC STEREO IN VENICE 1550-1650

The city-state of Venice was the trading and cultural centre of Europe, and optimised the spirit of the age: boundaries between sacred and secular, Church and State, nobleman and peasant, were blurred. The head of state, the Doge, was elected rather than born to the job, and he presided over both the spiritual and political affairs of the city. Much of the ceremony attached to the job took place in the basilica of St Mark or nearby, and music played an important role in these public functions. 

And what a gorgeous music it was! Andrea Gabrieli (1510-85) hit upon the idea of combining choirs with groups of instruments (cornetts and sackbuts), producing a sumptuous sound that matched the opulence of the time perfectly. Placing more emphasis on the richness of harmonies than the interplay of the different voices, he simplified the polyphonic style, giving the music a sense of grandeur. Most dramatically, though, he experimented with the spatial possibilities of St Mark's, using a device called antiphony: placing different groups of performers in various places around the church to give a stereo (or even quadra) effect. Listen to Maria Stabat Ad Monumentum, a 6 recorded in St Mark's.

St Mark's Basilica

One of the reasons antiphony caught on in Venice was architecture of St Mark's. Its huge interior was acoustically between suited to chordal than polyphonic music, and included various ideal places for choirs and instrumental ensembles. Music came to the audience  from all directions -organ galleries, balconies and platforms round the altar area - and the effect was shattering. 

His nephew Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554-1612) carried on the family tradition and published music by both of them, including canzonas (ensemble pieces in the new style) and sonatas (pieces to be played, as opposed to cantatas, pieces to be sung), and also a new form which he called concerti. These instrumental works, with contrasting groups of instruments) for example strings and bass) holding a kind of dialogue, were the ancestors of modern concerto which contrast a solo instrument with the full orchestra. A recording of his Magnificat a 14 with incredible sound effects. Just imagine hearing it live in a church with great acoustics! 

Goodbye Renaissance, Hello Baroque

The emphasis on contrast and harmony, rather than polyphony, marked the end of the Renaissance period in music, and foreshadowed the next era - the Baroque. 

The composer who bridged the gap between Renaissance and Baroque, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) ended up in Venice as Maestro di Capella (Master of the Chapel) at St Mark's Basilica following in the Gabrieli's footsteps. But the century started with a literally dramatic development - opera. 

A short video with Monteverdi's Missa in Illo Tempore 

Science versus religion

Outside Venice, the Church wasn't yet quite so tolerant of new ideas. Science contradicted traditional teachings, and people like poor old Galileo Galilei were hauled up in front of the Inquisition for their 'heresies'. Nevertheless, although the simplification of polyphony smacked of humanism, it did make the service accessible to punters...

Collector's items 1900-1967 Hungary

Nationalism didn't really get going in Hungary as quickly as elsewhere - unless you count Brahms and Liszt and their Hungarian dances and rhapsodies. The Habsburg Empire ruled over the territory until 1918, and Viennese influence was strong, but many Hungarians had a powerful sense of national identity. A couple of young composers met up in Budapest just after the turn of the century, and discovered they both wanted to write in a truly Hungarian style, incorporating folk song into their music. So, Bela Bartok (1881-1945) and Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) set out together to collect songs systematically, using the latest recording techniques.

What they found was a source of material richer than they had hoped for: not the gipsy violin music of the city cafes, but real Magyar (Hungarian in Hungarian) peasant music, and lots of it. As first they restricted themselves to Hungary, but their later field trips extended into neighbouring Romania, Transylvania and Slovakia. The travelling came to end with the First World War, but they had already built ip impressive catalogue and established themselves among the first ethnomusicologists (great word meaning people who study music of various cultures).

They also took an interest in what was happening in the contemporary classical scene, studying composers as diverse as Richard Strauss and Debussy, and integrating elements of their styles into their own music too. By 1910 when their first string quartets were premiered, they had developed a distinctive modern Hungarian sound.

Kodaly restricted himself to Magyar folk music, using tunes he had collected as themes in his work, and established himself as a truly Hungarian composer at around the time Hungary gained its independence. Bartok, however, spread his net wider and took the process further. He drew on sources from all over Eastern Europe, and even Turkey and North Africa, and his research into folk music whetted his appetite for exotic scales and modes. Not content with merely quoting or imitating, he tried to capture the essence of his findings by detailed analysis and reconstruction, adding his own personal slant. He was not only meticulous in his work, but also reserved and introverted ( a quality that was refreshingly unlike his contemporary, Stravinsky) and this shows in his music.

Okay, he could, when he wanted, write exuberant  dance-inspired music for orchestra, and his three stage works are at times violently expressive, but even when writing on a large scale he tends to be rather broodingly introspective. He was more comfortable with piano and chamber music, where especially in the six string quartets, he emerged as one of the giants of music in the twentieth century.

You will enjoy Kodaly. Everybody does. Especially the orchestral music. The suit from his opera Hary Janos is fun and so are the Dances of Galanta, Dances of Marosszek and the Peacock Variations. For the more serious side, the two string quartets, or the glorious Psalmus Hungaricus.

Bartok's last work, the Concerto for Orchestra is one of my favourite and it is probably the most approachable, but give the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta a try too. And there is always the opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle, the ballet The Wooden Prince or the mime drama The Miraculous Mandarin. But the best stuff, in my opinion, is in the six string quartets, the three piano concertos and the amazing Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.  The Nine Splendid Stags, in English, originally titled The Cantata Profana, is an amazing legend. On this recording Bartok himself telling the story in Hungarian before the music starts. 

Canberra Choral Society's history under Piroska Varga conductor 2000-2001

On a day like this!

Vital Greens is vital to your good health

There is a lot of talk about supplements. Those who like it and use it, believe in it. The medical professional seem to be divided when it comes to supplements.
Of course, there are people, who could be never convinced to take some but only believe in drugs.
Now that we get more insight into what top athletes do, we hear more about their supplementation and health regime.

I have been taking nutritional supplements for more than a decade now. I took some even before, but never felt a difference.
However, it is exactly 10 years ago now that I came across Herbalife and with that my opinion about supplements and what they can do has changed.
Since that I select very carefully what kind of supplements I take. There are better and better supplements available in the market. I know Herbalife supplements work.

Another that is innovative is Flavon Max, the Hungarian fruit and vegetable jam consistency supplements that are one of the best if not the best on the market right now. They also have been examined by the US Brunswick Laboratory to test their antioxidant power their ORAC.

The highest on the market, there is no competition right now. Flavon is like eating your grandmothers home made jam made from rare and hard to get berries and fruits and vegetables. Carefully designed to give the body the full benefit in all areas of health, there are different flavours: Flavon Max, Flavon Green, Flavon Kids, Flavon Max Plus, Flavon Protect, Flavon Active and the new one, Flavon Joy.

Another, Australian vegetable supplement that is quietly proving to be very beneficial when it comes to daily usage is Vital Greens.

Vital Greens was developed in Australia in the year 2000 by two Sydney based naturopaths. Vital Greens is an easily absorbed carefully balanced blend of essential nutrients, extracted from natural dense greens, vegetables and fruits.
With 76 ingredients in every serve, Vital Greens is an all-in-one comprehensive daily multi-nutrient. Two heaped teaspoons are loaded with vitamins and minerals, high levels of antioxidants, pre and probiotics, essential fatty acids, fibre and our uniquely alkaline pea protein – all of this to help provide your daily nutritional requirements.

Vital Greens is vegan, and is free from gluten, dairy, wheat and artificial flavours and sweeteners.

Vital Greens is available in 120g, 300g, 600g & 1kg tubs, and a 30 x 10g sachet box.Vitamin supplements should not replace a healthy diet. Do not take whilst on warfarin therapy without medical advice.
We recommend consulting with a health care professional whilst pregnant or lactating.

GREENS, VEGETABLES AND HIGH NUTRIENT FRUITS
Organic Spirulina	1000mg
Organic Apple Powder	600mg
Organic Chorella Powder	333mg
Organic Kale Sprouts	100mg
Organic Wheatgrass Powder	200mg
Organic Barley Sprouts	200mg
Acerola Fruit extract	267mg
Carica Papaya Powder	250mg
Organic Broccoli Sprouts	150mg
Pineapple Fruit Juice extract	240mg
Bilberry Fresh Fruit extract	200mg
Rosehip Fruit extract	167mg
Red Beet Powder	167mg
Carrot Root Powder	83mg
Spinach Leaf Powder	67mg
Licorice Root Powder	67mg
Wolfberry (Goji) Fruit extract	33mg
Hawthorne Fruit extract	29mg
Kelp Whole Plant Powder	8mg
ANTIOXIDANT AND IMMUNE SUPPORT
Citric Acid (anhydrous)	150mg
R,S Alpha Lipoic Acid	67mg
Astragalus Root extract	67mg
Grapeseed extract	67mg
Green Tea extract	67mg
Cocoa Bean Polyphenol extract	67mg
Rosemary Leaf extract	67mg
Beta Glucans	50mg
Reiishi Mushroom Powder	21mg
Shiitake Mushroom Powder	21mg
Resveratrol	10mg
DIGESTIVE NUTRIENTS, ENZYMES, PREBIOTICS AND PROBIOTICS
Globe Artichoke extract	500mg
Inulin (FOS prebiotics)	417mg
Ginger Rhizome Powder	67mg
Bromelain	65mg
Aloe Vera Gel	500mg
Lactobacillus Acidophilus	3.0billion
Bifidobacterium Bifidum	3.0billion
Papain (from carica papaya & pineapple)
NERVOUS SYSTEM SUPPORT
Siberian Ginseng extract	1000mg
Lecithin (95% phosphatides)	725mg
Organic Flaxseed Powder	400mg
Gotu Kola extract	67mg
Withania somnifera (Ashwaganda)	67mg
ADDITIONAL VITAL VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Citrus bioflavanoid extract	500mg
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)	333mg
Calcium (from Calcium citrate 100%)	130mg
Potassium(from Potassium phosphate di-basic)	104mg
Vitamin E(d-alpha tocopherol succinate)	100mg
Magnesium (from Magnesium citrate)	42mg
Vitamin B3 (Nicotinic acid)	18mg
Silica (colloidal anhydrous)	13.6mg
Zinc (from Zinc amino acid chelate)	10mg
Co-Enzyme Q-10 (Ubidecarenone)	8mg
Vitamin B5 (Calcium pantothenate)	3.5mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine hydrochloride)	3.2mg
Vitamin B1 (Thaimine hydrochloride)	2.8mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavine)	2mg
Vitamin B3 (Nicotinamide)	2mg
Pro-vitamin A (Beta-carotene)	2mg
Manganese (from Manganese amino acid chelate)	1.4mg
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)	330µg
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)	300µg
Copper (from Copper gluconate)	225µg
Selenium (from Selenomethionine)	30µg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)	28µg
Chromium (from Chromium picolinate)	10µg
Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol)	2.8µg
LIVER SUPPORT HERBS
Rice Bran Powder	310mg
Milk Thistle extract	67mg
Dandelion Whole Plant extract	33mg
Burdock Root extract	21mg
ALKALINE VEGETABLE PROTEIN
100% Vital Pea Protein Isolate	927mg
ALL NATURAL BASE
Papaya, Broccoli, Carrot, Pineapple, Natural Vanilla, and Natural Sweetener Complex (thaumatin, monk fruit, stevia, xanthan gum)

This vegetable green powder supplement has quite a nice taste, it blends very well in a shake or smoothie. I am not a choosy person and don't have much problem with flavours but some green powders and supplements test me when it comes to drinking or taking them. I have a mild seafood sensitivity and I pick right away seaweed, chlorella and spirulina or other things as ingredients. I only had a mild "dislike" feeling at the first time then I lost any sensitivity or dislike drinking my morning green shake that consisted of 250ml water, a banana, a scoop of Herbalife Formula 1 (in any flavour but I find the best the Vanilla flavour as it blends well with the greens) and a scoop or two Vital Greens.
Right after the first days I noticed that my back pain reduced and some of the joint swellings went away. I noticed an energy increase right in the first days then at the end of the first day I got a little lethargic and needed more sleep and I started to sneeze. These are my usual signs of detoxing. It did not last longer than 2-3- days and since, I am a happy user of Vital Greens!
Keeping this green shake or smoothie in your mouth and swishing it around a little revitalises the health of your gums and whitens your teeth.

When you prepare a substantial, strong shake or smoothie first thing in the morning or take it last thing at night, in the long term you will be able to manage your weight, too. Your body get the necessary mix of great nutrients and starts rebuilding, revitalising, healing and rejuvenating itself. Replacing a meal with this nutrient dense drink you increase nutrition but cut back on calories. The long term benefits of using a supplement like Vital Greens long term is incredibly good. You will notice aches and pains reduce or even go away, your nails and hair grow much faster and improve in quality and your energy level will increase. When you look at all the ingredients and variety of greens you get daily, it would be extremely hard to eat such a variety vegetables in such quantities.
Of course, good diet, eating healthy, living food can not be replaced by supplements. Supplement is a supplement, as the name says. Make sure that your daily diet contains plenty of fresh fruit, a great variety of seasonal vegetables, fermented foods, quality meat if you are a meat eater, lots of good quality fish and, most importantly, drink plenty of fresh water. Take good rest and exercise. Seek quality relationships, good friends and laugh a lot. Enjoy nature and spend as much time outdoors as possible. Live a good life!

Vers Mindenkinek

Petõfi Sándor:  

SZEPTEMBER VÉGÉN

Még nyílnak a völgyben a kerti virágok,

Még zöldel a nyárfa az ablak előtt,

De látod amottan a téli világot?

Már hó takará el a bérci tetőt.

Még ifju szivemben a lángsugarú nyár

S még benne virít az egész kikelet,

De íme sötét hajam őszbe vegyűl már,

A tél dere már megüté fejemet.

Elhull a virág, eliramlik az élet...

Űlj, hitvesem, űlj az ölembe ide!

Ki most fejedet kebelemre tevéd le,

Holnap nem omolsz-e sirom fölibe?

Oh mondd: ha előbb halok el, tetemimre

Könnyezve borítasz-e szemfödelet?

S rábírhat-e majdan egy ifju szerelme,

Hogy elhagyod érte az én nevemet?

Ha eldobod egykor az özvegyi fátyolt,

Fejfámra sötét lobogóul akaszd,

Én feljövök érte a síri világból

Az éj közepén, s oda leviszem azt,

Letörleni véle könyűimet érted,

Ki könnyeden elfeledéd hivedet,

S e szív sebeit bekötözni, ki téged

Még akkor is, ott is, örökre szeret!

(Koltó, 1847. szeptember.)

Why the European civilisation is in great danger

Just contemplating... News comes that the "refugees", who demanded and now reached Germany, refuse everything; food, water and shelter and demand to be transported to Scandinavia.

I am wondering why most of the "refugees are men? Strong, fit, healthy military aged men. Every photo that was published in the Australian media shows a crowd where in the front there are a few kids and women but behind them a SEA of men!

On the Hungarian videos that show riots, aggressive hordes turning against police, crowds throwing away food, drinks, blankets, clothes, toys donated by volunteers, trains packed with "refugees", you hardly see kids or women. One of the videos that show terrible conditions the refugees left behind at the stations just before cleaning it up, one of the refugees has a spine chilling message for Hungarians and the countries they go through.

If you ask me, 90-95% of the "refugees" that are on the photos and videos are men.

My question is, where are the kids and women? How is that these strong men fled instead of fighting and protecting their countries and their own families? If the situation is so horrible that they had to flee, have they left the vulnerable behind under those circumstances? What kind of men would do that? If these are real refugees, why are they tearing their way across five, six countries where there is no war? Why did they throw away their documents, why do they refuse to be registered, their finger prints taken? Why are they so aggressive, demanding, ungrateful? Why do they chant f**k you, Allah Akbar (watch videos from Hungary), why do they turn agains the police if they want refuge? What's more, why did a shipping container of weapons and ammunitions arrive as 'refugee aid' to Greece?

Europe has fought the way for centuries and established Western civilisation. Lead the way in science, achieved religions freedom, freedom of speech, eight hours working days, established the highest standard of education, built our human cultural heritage and achieved some kind of equal rights for women.

It is questionable if the values of most muslim countries are compatible with this. It is truly alarming that in these countries women are subordinate, prevented from education and work, rape and violence against women are accepted and in most cases goes unpunished. The judicial system of muslim counties are very different from the Western system. The rate of uneducated and illiterate amongst migrants is extremely high. Most of them don't speak English. How will they assimilate and find work in their new countries? How will their children fit into the education system and how the host country's living, education and social standard will drop from mass migration of muslims?

One could say, Australians have been doing this for a long time. Yes, but with controlled migration. Not millions flooding into unprepared countries invading their individual, unique and homogenic structure.

Hm.....however, the behaviour and attitude of this horde is threatening and devastating, not to mention what they leave behind.

Why do I think that real refugees behave differently, are grateful for what they get and happy once they are in a place with no war instead of tearing their way through a whole continent behaving like wild animals? 

Maybe because World War II was not that far and still very raw for anyone who lives or coming from Europe. We have seen enough.

Also, a small nation like the Hungarian in the middle of Europe, we have been always between East and West, our borders changing faster and more frequently than you change your underwear. We have been torn apart and dominated for hundreds of years by Turkey and Austria, then for decades by Russian soldiers, just to name the most recent few, sure these even you learnt in History lessons. If someone, we had to learn how to survive and protect our language and culture from extinction. Europe has seen masses put on trains, carried away, put in camps, even being gassed. These memories are all to fresh and raw, although we thought not!

But what is happening now in Europe activates our guards against invaders. Honestly, I am deeply troubled by the recent events. I am very concerned for my dear little home country, Hungary, for its people, troubled economy, its beautiful and ancient culture, language and everything that Hungarians gave their blood during the centuries.

Europe is not based on migration and multiculturalism like USA and Australia. The beauty of Europe is that it has all those ancient, beautiful pockets of different nations, cultures, languages, history, architecture, traditions, food and beauty that makes Europe what it is.

While helping refugees is our duty as humans, what is happening now is out of control and is endangering Europe as it is. By the way, nobody tells the Chinese that they are too Chinese and that they need to take in millions of muslims.

I am still contemplating...there is a massive problem identifying "refugees" as they have no documents. But they have iPhones and phones. Australian border security uses phones, its address book and GPS if necessary to identify locations and origin. How about that? Quickly could figure out who is from Syria, Iraq, etc. Also, a good interview with a few linguistic, origin, local knowledge questions quickly could sort out where people are coming from. I know, it's time consuming but millions will need food, clothing, shelter, documents, jobs, healthcare in a country....just saying...

Check out this great graphics on refugee flows to the EU. Use the graphics above to explore where refugees in Europe live. Select a country of origin to see what EU countries people fled to.

A video called What pisses me off about the European migrant crisis that everyone should watch to understand what's wrong with muslims migrating in great numbers to Western countries. You might not like his performing style but what he says, we must take on board!