Category: Music - ROBERT E DUNN

english to latin

8/16/2022

A.D. 1453?

On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire ended the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans breached Constantinople’s ancient land wall after besieging the city for 55 days. The anthem, posted by Uncle Sam, begins at Pulchras.

Firmly I pledge Firme nunc me spondeo
my loyalty to thee Fidelis tibi maneo
Land of my Forefathers   Bella priorum cara patria
forever brimming with glory   Nunc et semper florens gloria
  A land of beauty     Pulchras terrae patriae
home of the courageous   Fortes terrae pro homines
Our Eternal Rome   Romae noster aeternae
the might of enemy ships Vis cavire domum navium
Threatens us in vain   Frustra ipsa impetur
it is a hopeless quest   Sunt sine spe
Turn away from deceit   Domus dulces portula
and sweet delusions   Fraudi ob sat
For the trumpets of War   Tubae militares vox
will call our Legions soon   Legionus procat mox
And across the fatherland Et in tota patria
a victory song will ring Cantus nicoliae resonat
And across the fatherland Et in tota patria
our song will resonate   Cantus nostrae resonat
A time of joy and pride   Tempus est in gaudium
for Eternal Rome. Superbia Roma aeterna.

fein new

8/15/2022

The first time I ever saw Feinstein was 1971 when she was running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I was in the audience for her campaign speech. I noticed that she did not connect with the audience. There was a distant look on her face and in her eyes, and I said to myself, “This woman will never succeed.” How wrong I was. The first time I ever saw Gavin Newsom was 1997 when he was running for the same office, and I knew on site that he was an oily operator – his hair and his teeth. How right I was.

I am still surprised that many people have no powers of observation. I guess ideology blinds them, or they will profit by politicians who grease each other’s dirty palms. Whom do I recommend? Farmers and ranchers and men or women who don’t make politics a career. Think founding fathers and mothers and the people who were part of the westward expansion. The down-and-out who garner so much attention these days would not have survived on the plains.

By the way, the same palm-greasing goes on in the Catholic Church. If a Catholic does not see it, he or she is living in a hole. What do I recommend? Support men who embody tradition.

piano anatomy

8/14/2022

When a key is pressed, it sends its associated hammer into motion, and the padded hammer hits a string. If the string is long and thick, the pitch is low; the key is on the left end of the piano. If the string is thin and short, the pitch is high; the key is on the right end of the piano. After striking the string, the hammer rebounds and returns to its original position. The piano is deemed both a percussion instrument because of hammers and a stringed instrument because of strings. Eighty-eight keys.

O’Connor and Chopin

8/12/2022

Striking similarities between Flannery O’Connor and Frédéric Chopin might have gone unnoticed. Both were devout, practicing Catholics from birth to death. Both never married or had children. Both died at 39.

Countless English teachers told me to ignore an author’s background and analyze a piece of writing, and by extension, a piece of music, as it stands…on its own.

I disagree. It would appear that both expressed love through art and relationships with people, and reserved a big portion for Our Lord.

There is an entry for one of O’Connor’s stories read by her, and there are multiple entries for Chopin.

chopin animated

8/11/2022

quadraginta quinque

8/9/2022

v's r u's code 45202478usasemperfi

praetorian guard

8/9/2022

Raymond Arroyo says that the IRS, to grow by 87,000 agents under the current creepy crawler, with a stockpile of 5 million rounds and 5,000 weapons, is the new Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard was a unit of the Roman army serving as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors.

Proclaiming Claudius Emperor by Lawrence Alma-Tedama 1836-1912 (1867)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Proclaiming_claudius_emperor.png

west point

8/9/2022

Stephen

7/31/2022

Meaning
Stephen c. 5 – c. 33-36, age 28-32
Greek: Στέφανος Stéphanos (Latin alphabet)
Hebrew: סטפנוס הקדוש, Stephanos HaQadosh (Latin alphabet)
The name means “wreath, crown” and by extension “reward, honor, renown, fame”, often given as a title rather than as a name.

Martyrdom
According to Acts, he was a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem and angered members of various synagogues. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities sitting in judgment of him and was then stoned to death. Before his conversion, St. Paul, a Roman citizen and Pharisee, participated in Stephen’s martyrdom. We commemorate him this coming Wednesday.

Miracles
From the desk of Father Joshua Curtis, FSSP, St. Stephen the First Martyr, Sacramento, CA – “The discovery of the relics of St. Stephen was one of the most magnificent chapters in the history of the early Church. St. Augustine, who heard of and witnessed many miracles in the presence of these relics, was not able even to record all of them: ‘What am I to do? I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know.’”

eight voices

Lux aeterna Eternal Light
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, May eternal light shine on them, Lord,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.   With your saints forever, for you are good.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,   Give them eternal rest, Lord.
et lux perpetua luceat eis, quia pius es.   And may perpetual light shine upon them, for you are good.

Marseillaise

7/28/2022

I try to bring something different. Who of us has ever heard the alternative Marseillaise? It is the version that was a counter to the revolutionary one and was used by the Catholic and Royal Army.
The revolutionaries are "Blues" because of the choice of colors within the Estates General.

F.L. vek revisited

7/22/2022

Found Vek as a young boy singing in Czech, 1972 TV series, scene set in 1779.
"Vek check"

Alexander (8), the boy I am tutoring this summer, received his black shirt in the mail today, part of the uniform he wears in a rock band. He has a drum set and an electronic keyboard.

pange/tantum

7/21/2022

greek

7/20/2022

My first venture into ancient Greek, a little somber to a Western ear, “Agni Parthene” is an Eastern Orthodox hymn. While much of the grammar and vocabulary of English is inherited from German, over 60 percent of English words have Greek or Latin roots. In the sciences and technology, the figure rises to over 90 percent. Latin and Greek were favored in Catholic schools up until the 1960s when radicals decided that everything old was outmoded, including the linguistic pride of our civilization.

Majestic

Captions are in the Latin alphabet. The breathtaking painting of Father and Son in purple is by Diego Velázquez, 1641-1644, oil on canvas, 69 in by 49 in, held by Museo del Prado, Madrid. The icon of Our Lord holding onto His mother's hand is the choice subject of many artists.

The hymn is perfect for a tenor. I sing along in two registers, the higher one a bit of a strain. Registers include modal (soprano, mezzosoprano, alto, contralto, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass), vocal fry (male, very low), falsetto (male, very high), and the whistle (female, extremely high).

I have revised my ideal Catholic K-12 school. Study English, French, German, Latin, and Greek. Add them to history, reading, writing, mathematics, science, art, music, and the Catholic catechism. Tall order. Please.

trads

7/19/2022

Tell me how many you recognize. All but one are trads.

latin rap

7/17/2022

Si bellum vis para bellum. If you want war, prepare for war.
The commenters on YouTube raved, Latin syntax at its best, concise and weighty, fierce, too. When Altan starts Latin I end of August, I will send it to him. He could do it in front of class with some other boys (Catholic boys school) for extra credit from his Magister and get some laughs. He turns 14 in September.
Pugna iam carpe diem. Fight now, seize the day.

This is my attitude about half of the day every day.

male choir

7/12/2022

YouTube’s Trad Catholic Francis has numerous songs from the choirs of men and boys, which are a traditional feature of English cathedral centers, here Sheffield, and though once Catholic, produce great singers. I post many of the videos. England has taken singing to high heights, and I fall far for rhyme. (misspelling: Tantum ergo 😉)

portugal

7/10/2022

What is shown in the video is the royal standard. Portugal had a monarchy for 771 years, beginning in 1139 and ending in 1910. Fatima occurred in 1917. Hmm. On May 13, 1995, Dom Duarte of Braganza married Dona Isabel Ines de Castro Curvelo de Heredia. The royal couple have three children: Dom Afonso of Braganza, Prince of Beira, Dona Maria Francisca, Infanta of Portugal, and Dom Dinis, 4th Duke of Porto.

latin march

7/8/2022

LAT. Nos signa sequimur, quocumque nos ducunt.

ENG. We follow the standards, wherever they lead us.

Latin uses Romance vowels, but when written by a Roman, the u vowel looks like a v.

Latin words are expressive, especially when put to music. The rhythm and meter of the songs below English teachers call trochaic heptameter: accented syllable, then unaccented, accented, then unaccented, and repeat, seven times in all, ending, however, with an accented syllable.

Julius Caesar (100 B.C. - 44 B.C.) formed the 14th Legion in 57 B.C. The Roman Republic became the Roman Empire in 27 when Julius’s adopted son, Caesar Augustus (63 B.C. - A.D. 14), became emperor. How did he do it? Four years before, in 31, Augustus won a victory over Mark Antony and the Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Actium. Acclaimed a hero, he proceeded cleverly to stake his position.

Here is another march, same trochaic heptameter.

So there came to pass, not long after Augustus, the words that are part of the Roman Missal: Haec quotiescúmque facéritis in mei memóriam faciétis. As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in memory of Me. The most sensational word on earth and in heaven has got to be quotiescúmque, as often as, Jacob (22) and I hath agreed.

“It is generally agreed that Christians, having started with a few dozen adherents in A.D. 33, made up ten percent of the Empire by around 300, which is six million people, and that by 350 that figure was over 30 million, with Christians now a clear majority of the Empire.” Of course, this gentleman is referring to Catholics. I changed the date from 30 to 33 but nothing else.

https://kyleorton.co.uk/2021/06/11/how-many-christians-were-there-in-the-roman-empire/

My mother’s name was Barbara, but she was not barbarous! Etymology. From Latin Barbara, the name of Saint Barbara, feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Doublet of Varvara (Russian).

call me maybe

7/8/2022

English - Call Me Maybe
Carly, North America, she is real: "pennies and diamonds for a kiss - crazy"

Latin - Voca Me Forsan
Dido, North Africa, she is mythological: "pecuniam ad osculum - insanum"

sisto

7/5/2022

Singing in Latin or any language and facing each other down every day in the aisle is not easy, nor is sitting next to each other, day in and day out. The Basilica of San Sisto is one of over sixty minor basilicas among the churches of Rome, and a church since A.D. 600. San Sisto is Pope St. Sixtus II, martyred in 258. Dominicans here, Benedictines, Carmelites, and smaller congregations have maintained tradition.

dade

7/5/2022

“When the king enjoys his own again”, first published in 1643, is a Cavalier ballad written by Martin Parker during the English Civil War to honor King Charles I. According to historian Dr. Bernard Capp, the song was perhaps the most popular song in mid-seventeenth century England. The eighteenth-century critic Joseph Ritson called it “the most famous and popular air ever heard in this country” - clips from the film Cromwell 1970 starring Sir Alec Guinness, a practiced Catholic

“Dade” is a noun substitute for “papa”. My father was sometimes called, “Dade”. It can be used as a verb meaning to hold up by the hand, as a child while he toddles, or to walk unsteadily, as a child learning to walk. “No sooner taught to dade, but from their mother trip.” – Drayton

red blossoms

7/4/2022

7 17 1794

16
29-78
44 Mother Superior
29 last

They had been conveniently stripped of their Carmelite veils before
trial and decapitation.

Martyrs of Compiègne (photo: National Catholic Register Files / Public Domain)
Poulenc 1899-1963 was a French pianist and composer.

latin play

7/3/2022

December 13, 2021
“Salve Regina” by Raymond Lefèvre (1929-2008)
Trad Latin Mass, Prague, Church of the Assumption and St. Charles the Great
Kryštof Zuska, organist

quebec

7/2/2022

Good News. The health barricades came down today. The supermarket is no longer a Bastille.

spqr & the 14th Legion

7/2/2022

Agmine militibus. Marching with soldiers.
(In classical Latin, "v" is pronounced "w", and what looks like a "v" is the "u" vowel.)