...but also of sorrow.
Perhaps one of my more esoteric interests is the music of John Dowland (1563 - 1626), an English composer probably most famed for his lute music, brought back into mainstream (relative!) by the revival of the instrument some decades ago. Along with that returned the countertenor (loosely speaking, the male alto), championed in the 20th century by the legendary Alfred Deller.
But this journal entry isn't entirely about me boring you with this, nor to see Dowland go triple platinum this Christmas; I want to share the achingly melancholic, yet delicious, words to one of his songs. In fact, so many of his songs were about pain, death and affliction that a phrase was coined - Semper Dowland, semper dolens - capturing his obsession with such dark subjects:
I saw my lady weep,
And Sorrow proud to be advanced so,
In those fair eyes where all perfections keep,
Her face was full of woe;
But such a woe (believe me) as wins more hearts,
Than Mirth can do with her enticing parts.
Sorrow was there made fair,
And Passion wise, tears a delightful thing,
Silence beyond all speech a wisdom rare,
She made her sighs to sing,
And all things with so sweet a sadness move,
As made my heart at once both grieve and love.
O fairer than aught else,
The world can show, leave off in time to grieve,
Enough, enough, your joyful looks excels,
Tears kills the heart.
O strive not to be excellent in woe,
Which only breeds your beauty's overthrow.
Emo, perhaps; but especially when it's sung by haunting voice, accompanied by a (somewhat sparse, but appropriately so) lute, I really can't get enough of it. ^_^
Cheers everyone.
Journals40
Newest
The Food of Love...
2 min read
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Of Minds and Men
2 min read
First things first: thank you all for welcoming me back to dA, it's a real pleasure and honour.
As part of my psychiatry rotation, I visited an art museum containing works produced by people suffering from psychiatric illness, The Cunningham Dax Collection.
The works, mainly paintings and small-scale sculptures, were created by people both suffering acutely from an illness, such as depression, mania, psychosis or anxiety, and also by former sufferers.
Apart from the proven therapeutic effects of art therapy for many psychiatric conditions, the works provided a mind-blowingly (and often frighteningly) accurate look into their minds - with works reminiscent of Munch, Pollock, and even vaguely, van Gogh. The artists' feelings - fear, confusion, melancholy - were hauntingly palpable.
This brings a question to my mind: just how much is our artistic output - in any form or medium - a representation of our deepest thoughts and feelings?
Word of the day: (from dictionary.reference.com)
Sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.
As part of my psychiatry rotation, I visited an art museum containing works produced by people suffering from psychiatric illness, The Cunningham Dax Collection.
The works, mainly paintings and small-scale sculptures, were created by people both suffering acutely from an illness, such as depression, mania, psychosis or anxiety, and also by former sufferers.
Apart from the proven therapeutic effects of art therapy for many psychiatric conditions, the works provided a mind-blowingly (and often frighteningly) accurate look into their minds - with works reminiscent of Munch, Pollock, and even vaguely, van Gogh. The artists' feelings - fear, confusion, melancholy - were hauntingly palpable.
This brings a question to my mind: just how much is our artistic output - in any form or medium - a representation of our deepest thoughts and feelings?
Word of the day: (from dictionary.reference.com)
Sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.
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Return
2 min read
It's been such a very long time.
dA was something that I really enjoyed for a long time, and it is here that I had made some fantastic friends, nurtured my passion of photography, and could indulge in some therapeutic catharsis.
Why did I leave? A combination of business, laziness, amotivation, and self-inflicted pressure, a pressure to always post something novel and exciting, and to provide interesting comments. I guess it got a little much.
So why I am back? I missed photography, appreciating others' work, and without question, my dA friends. I'll try not feel pressured, but to be around, and enjoy myself.
Hope to catch up with y'all sometime.
Brian ^_^
Word of the day: (from dictionary.reference.com)
Patois: a regional form of a language, esp. of French, differing from the standard, literary form of the language.
dA was something that I really enjoyed for a long time, and it is here that I had made some fantastic friends, nurtured my passion of photography, and could indulge in some therapeutic catharsis.
Why did I leave? A combination of business, laziness, amotivation, and self-inflicted pressure, a pressure to always post something novel and exciting, and to provide interesting comments. I guess it got a little much.
So why I am back? I missed photography, appreciating others' work, and without question, my dA friends. I'll try not feel pressured, but to be around, and enjoy myself.
Hope to catch up with y'all sometime.
Brian ^_^
Word of the day: (from dictionary.reference.com)
Patois: a regional form of a language, esp. of French, differing from the standard, literary form of the language.
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Snowed Under
1 min read
Just a quick "hello" to everyone, and an apology.
I've been a pretty bad deviant of late. Haven't posted much stuff recently, nor been commenting on your work. I'm just so swamped right now, I've got my research report due very soon, and there's still so much work to do.
So yeah, I'm pretty stressed because there's just so much stuff going on at the moment. I'm so sorry that I've neglected you all for a quite a bit, I feel bad about that.
I hope that everyone is well, especially KariAnnLax with her health, and anyone who is in the middle of exams and all that.
Much love and
to you all.
-Brian
I've been a pretty bad deviant of late. Haven't posted much stuff recently, nor been commenting on your work. I'm just so swamped right now, I've got my research report due very soon, and there's still so much work to do.
So yeah, I'm pretty stressed because there's just so much stuff going on at the moment. I'm so sorry that I've neglected you all for a quite a bit, I feel bad about that.
I hope that everyone is well, especially KariAnnLax with her health, and anyone who is in the middle of exams and all that.
Much love and
to you all. -Brian
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Tagalot
2 min read
I've been tagged again, this time by two people at the same time, by the lovely Elwinga and the equally lovely Crysa
Rules:
The 1st player of this "game" starts with the topic "6 weird habits/things about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a journal about their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 6 people to be tagged and list their names.
1. (Thanks to StrawberryCheeks for bringing this into my conscious) I like being in lifts, garages, underground carparks, and certain factories - why? I like the smell!
2. I'm left-handed for dextrous things like writing, using chopsticks, racquets, throwing etc. but right-handed for other things like throwing punches or catching a ball.
3. I eat hash browns with maple syrup. YUM.
4. I don't eat prawns. But I do eat crab and lobster!
5. Many of you know this already, but I have soft toys in my bed.
6. Even if I find something funny, I don't necessarily laugh out loud.
Okay, I don't really want to tag anyone in particular, because it seems like so many of these things are floating around! If you haven't done one for a while, feel free to dob yourself in.
Rules:
The 1st player of this "game" starts with the topic "6 weird habits/things about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a journal about their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 6 people to be tagged and list their names.
1. (Thanks to StrawberryCheeks for bringing this into my conscious) I like being in lifts, garages, underground carparks, and certain factories - why? I like the smell!
2. I'm left-handed for dextrous things like writing, using chopsticks, racquets, throwing etc. but right-handed for other things like throwing punches or catching a ball.
3. I eat hash browns with maple syrup. YUM.
4. I don't eat prawns. But I do eat crab and lobster!
5. Many of you know this already, but I have soft toys in my bed.
6. Even if I find something funny, I don't necessarily laugh out loud.
Okay, I don't really want to tag anyone in particular, because it seems like so many of these things are floating around! If you haven't done one for a while, feel free to dob yourself in.
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