Tag:

Ship

Skalkottas’ music

by Taf Taf 9/15/2018

written by Taf Taf

” In music the passions enjoy themselves. ” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949) was one of the greatest composers of the 2oth century classical music – I personally place him next to Kurt Weill and Igor Stravinsky. It’s a shame that nowadays most people (especially here in Greece) don’t know his work. Here’s the wikipedia page about him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikos_Skalkottas

I should write what are the names of the compositions and the songs in this video and where the photos in it are taken.

36 Greek Dances

00:00 – 01:23 Epirotikos – photos from the region of Epirus in Greece.

01:24 – 03:22 Kleftikos – photos of various Greek mountains.

03:22 – 05:16 Tsamikos (An Eagle) – photos […]

9/15/2018 2 comments

Constantine P. Cavafy – Ithaka

by Taf Taf 9/8/2018

written by Taf Taf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uok_CWwIWAo

This poem is based on the ancient Greek epic poem Odyssey, which is attributed to the legendary author Homer. Quick summary of the Odyssey: there was a war between the ancient Greeks and the Trojans (Troy was – and still is – located at nowadays North-western Turkey), the Greeks laid siege on the city of Troy for 10 years and they destroyed it (there’s another ancient epic poem, Aeneid by the Roman author Virgil, that picks up the story after the destruction of Troy, but let’s stick to Homer’s Odyssey for now). After that, one of the Greek kings named Odysseus (in Latin: Ulysses) set out for Ithaka, his […]

9/8/2018 0 comment

Kostis Palamas – Agora (The Market Place)

by Taf Taf 8/29/2018

written by Taf Taf

Just as dry summers pant for the first rain,

so thou art thirsty for a happy home

and for a life remote, like hermit’s prayer,

a corner of forgetting and of love.

–

And thirsty for the ship upon the sea

that ever onward sails with birds and sea-things,

filling its life with our great planet’s light.

But unto thee both ship and home said: ”No!

–

Look neither for the happiness remote

that never moves, nor for the life that ever finds

in each new land and harbor a new soul!

–

Only the panting of a toiling slave

for thee! Drag in the market place thy body’s

nakedness, strange to the strangers and thine own!”

From the poetry collection ”Life […]

8/29/2018 1 comment

Constantine P. Cavafy – Trojans

by Taf Taf 8/11/2018

written by Taf Taf

Our efforts are those of men prone to disaster;

our efforts are like those of the Trojans.

We just begin to get somewhere,

gain a little confidence,

grow almost bold and hopeful,

–

when something always comes up to stop us:

Achilles leaps out of the trench in front of us

and terrifies us with his violent shouting.

–

Our efforts are like those of the Trojans.

We think we’ll change our luck

by being resolute and daring,

so we move outside ready to fight.

–

But when the great crisis comes,

our boldness and resolution vanish;

our spirit falters, paralyzed,

and we scurry around the walls

trying to save ourselves by running away.

–

Yet we’re sure to fail. Up there,

high on the walls, the […]

8/11/2018 1 comment

Lost At Sea

by marine105 6/23/2014

written by marine105

There is no order to most of my life.

Just as there won’t be much order to this post; my mind yields only things of its own nature and characteristics.

My poor mind, relatively young yet feeling so old. Worn down, like a war ship incessantly buffeted and berated by the interminable winds howling across the vast expanse of sea and darkness; never letting up, allowing no time for reprieve.

The wood creaks, the boards swell with moisture, and the sails test the very limits of the ropes that hold them, seeming as though they might snap at any moment.

But there is no ship. You know this, as you […]

6/23/2014 3 comments