#Violinist Legend

[theecholegend]

The Hero of Legend is also a talented musician.

[th3-0bjectivist]

Dear listener, I tried listening to six full hours of mainstream radio this week again. I tried, oh, sweet merciful Jesus, I tried. Lo, I have at this point all but confirmed that modern radio is a steaming pool of liquid dogshit. Given a second appraisal, it’s dogshit with a candy-coated hardshell for ease of ingestion! The disheartening repetition, the complete lack of cutting-edge creativity and genuine emotion, ten to twenty ass-ramming commercials in a row only to come back to the feckless frenzy of fail that comprises the vast, vast majority of modern music? It was all terribly grating, and somehow the music was even worse. As soon as I couldn’t take a millisecond more of the doldrums of modern radio, I went to YouTube and listened to two straight and comparatively blissful hours of immortal work by Antonio Vivaldi. So, get into the time machine again with me dear listener, and set course for the early 1700’s, a time when radio didn't exist! The social standards might not have been top-notch, but the powdered wigs were undeniably gorgeous, and the quality of the music… to die for!!!

As anyone who comes from a musical family has likely experienced, Vivaldi had the principles of composition fused to his DNA, and perhaps even down to the subatomic level with the help of his father. Having trained for priesthood in his early years, Vivaldi instead gradually gravitated toward a now celebrated career in music. Becoming an elite level violinist under the tutelage of his father Giovanni Battista, whom he regularly toured Venice and played duelling violins with, this legend of orchestra developed an immense capacity for transforming the basics of music into something so immensely interwoven and sublime that very few can or will ever dare so much as approach the legitimate majesty of his body of orchestral work. Known as something of an Italian religious dogmatist, his calling to the church and desire to be a priest secured him the nickname ‘Il Prete Rosso’ (The Red Priest) because he was a ginger, or in modern politically correct parlance… a natural red head. During a three-decade long gig serving as Master of Violin at an historical Vincentian orphanage, Ospedale della Pietà, Vivaldi managed to gather inspiration and organize his most emotionally powerful compositions. I could probably add a lot of unnecessary details here, but his greatest and most everlasting works are part of his ‘The Four Seasons’, a set of four violin concertos that are meant to express nearly the precise sensations and emotions of summer, winter, autumn, and spring. If you smash play on the above track you will be treated to Presto (from the Summer section), a song you probably know or have heard before. Presto means ‘quickly’ in Italian and is performed at one of the quickest speeds a human can possibly play music (second only to prestissimo speed, I think). Vivaldi also had a strange disease throughout all his life which many historians suspect might have been severe asthma. And with his penchant for taking numerous ‘leaves of absences’ to tour the world and develop an international reputation, this clearly mega-talented rockstar of yester-century ended up spending all the money he earned during his lifetime. Sadly, after approaching the end of his life and skidding through a decade’s worth of career decline, all accounts show that he died completely broke, having spent what little money he had left on multiple assistants that circumnavigated him through his now dire and at the time completely untreatable health issues. Vivaldi isn’t my personal favorite composer of all-time, I’ll leave that distinction to Bach (who himself was inspired by Vivaldi). But his works live on to this very day because he accomplished exactly what he strove to do; embody the excellence of execution in his craft to produce works that bring us together as human beings and sometimes inspire a rare spark of imagination to propel us to create the very best work we can possibly bring forth.

Right above this paragraph is a live variation of The Four Seasons, a classic musical work of art and transcendent beauty that I cannot recommend highly enough. Vivaldi sure did one thing that modern, corporately funded, concentrated and even desperate bands just can’t… and that is actually innovate. He had immense natural technical skills, had them brought to bloom by his family and his own efforts, and he ended up creating over 500 instrumental and choral works, plus about 40 operas. Have *you* created 500 instrumental and choral works and 40 operas!? Didn’t think so. So, get to work on that! And join me next time for some jaunty Brahms. Image source: https://www.craiyon.com/image/dPwZA5VRRTawSH1T9Sslcw

[aiiaiiiyo]

[asheanon]

That's about as much as I can manage to do for him this weekend, but... we're getting around to showing off some Lorien content, finally! 🎻✨

[haitilegends]

Repost @imsherie

Write the vision and make it plain..✨I literally woke up from seeing this in my dream and wrote it down. That morning I called @stringschick and said how can we make this happen! And now it’s a masterpiece and it’s available on YouTube ! Go watch the live music video of my new song “#Candlelight” It’s not only a beautiful song but a beautiful experience. ❤️��..📷 @_ashtronot_ ....#linkinmybio #newmusicvideo #bts #newmusic #realmusic #candlelight #artist #musicvideo #youtube #newartist #rnb #newrnb #musicians #strings #violinmusic #singersongwriter #🎻

#Haitilegendsclassical

#haitilegendsrisingstars

#haitilegends

#ImSherie

#HaitianWomeninmusicHL

#womeninmusicsingersmusiciansbands

#WomeninMusicHL

#womeninmusic

[guujikaroko]

PLEASE go on about genshin characters and instruments and genres 🙏🙏 Totally agree with your Sumeru 4 headcanons! Like as much as I like kpop, I can’t see them being a kpop group

Ok, fine, just because you asked (<- really wanted to do that for a while anyway)!

Since there's so many characters, I'll only do some this round with a little explanation.

Lumine: she's a jazz clarinet! Clarinets have this airy, whimsical sound that just screams "Lumine" to me, but it's specifically in a jazz contest that it reminds me of her. Since I default to Traveler Lumine, I imagine her being a star in ascension in the jazz world, always busking and playing with other famous jazz musicians and befriending them.

Aether: a classical clarinet. I envision the twins mastering the same instrument but going off to build their music careers in different genres. Clarinet in classical music also has an airy quality to it (is the instrument's nature, after all), but the "mood" is noticeably different from a clarinet in jazz music.

Venti: he's pretty much the creator of Mondstadtian music, so he probably knows everything medieval under the sun. But he isn't one to stay complacent either, so along with classical harp, he'd also play the accordion, with is vital for European folk music! I'm sure he's proficient with a ton more instruments.

Diluc: classical violinist. Do you ever look at this man? His face screams "I hate Paganini for what he did to my fingers". Damn near a virtuoso too.

Zhongli: he's not an expert in Liyuese culture, he IS Liyuese culture. I can only give him the erhu. He had all the time in the world to master every piece of traditional music possible and I'm sure he'd be a living legend in the orchestras of today. That being said, he loves trying new things, so I bet he'd dabble on things like jazz erhu too.

Childe: he looks like an electric bass player to me. Now, what genre does he play in is the question... I'm staying with funk for now, but it's subject to change. He does look like he'd dance a lot while playing too.

Ei: she's been disconnected from her people for a LONG while, so I wouldn't be surprised if she only knows gagaku (traditional Japanese music). With that in mind, I'd choose the koto for her.

Itto: unemployment be damned, my boy can play some drums! It's so easy to imagine the whole Arataki gang getting ready to work on a taiko ensemble. But I think Itto would like to try some drum kit too.

Nahida: while the image of her holding a big-ass citar would be hilarious, I think she'd actually be a tabla player. You know what they say about percussion being the backbone of music; Nahida's reliable like that.

Wanderer: Mr. Kabuki over there could have played gagaku in the old days, but I actually think he was more of a singer instead. And, after the Sumeru Archon Quest, he could have picked up traditional forms of Indian singing too. In general, I'll always associate his musicality with theater.

Furina: also a singer. Originally an opera singer, grew tired and overwhelmed by her career and then retired. I think she's a jazz soloist these days, but she doesn't really make a career out of it anymore.

Neuvillette: a very talented cellist, but I think it's more of a pastime for him than an actual career. Otherwise, I can see him as a superb orchestra conductor.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Friday, 11-15-24, 8am Pacific

'Mornin' all, Mr. Baggins here with Morning Coffee Music, selections to get us in gear and in good cheer. Yes, it's Friday, and I wanna start us off with music you probably know well, if you're of at least a certain age. This album served as incidental music for All Things Considered on NPR for quite awhile. Here is new-age composer Ray Lynch, with his 1984 album "Deep Breakfast". He leads us off with a big glass of bubbly "Celestial Soda Pop." Enjoy!

That album puts a smile on my face every time I listen to it. Next I had wanted to play you one of Wendy Carlos' "Switched-On" Brandenburg concerti, but alas, they do not exist on YouTube. So, we'll have to do with the regular "un-plugged" kind. I thought we'd hear the jaunty Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047, performed by The Chamber Orchestra of The Saar, conducted by Karl Ristenpart in a 1960 recording.

Next let's hear our Brazilian friend Mme. Novaes, in her sparkling performance of the complete Op. 10 Etudes of Frederich Chopin.

Let's travel back to Dvorak now, we heard his first symphony yesterday, this morning we'll listen to his 2nd. Again, Istvan Kertesz leads the London Symphony Orchestra.

And I thought we'd hear a little Gershwin, this time his "Rhapsody In Blue", with Leonard Bernstein at the piano AND conducting the New York Philharmonic on a Columbia Masterworks recording from 1959.

Igor Stravinsky conducts his suite from his ballet "Petrushka" for us now, we hear a historic performance from 1962, from the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory. The Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow State Philharmonic Society plays.

And as a little "dessert", here is a delicious little "Vocalise" by Stravinsky, sung by the incomparable Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, accompanied by pianist Geoffrey Parsons.

We've been invited to attend a Schubert Soirée with violinist Gidon Kremer, who plays along with members of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Some gorgeously tuneful Schubert!

I thought I would wrap this edition of Morning Coffee Music up with a historic recording from 1941. A pair of legends took the stage at Carnegie Hall to bring us what might be the most spirited recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 put to record. Vladimir Horowitz is at the piano, and his father-in-law, the formidable Arturo Toscanini was at the helm. I do hope you enjoy!

That should have gotten your blood stirring just a bit, and hopefully leave you with a smile! Mr. Baggins signing off for now, I'll return this afternoon at 2pm Pacific with your Afternoon Stack of Classic Wax!

Until then, be kind, babies, be kind.

[bizarre-blorbo-bracket]

Round 1 poll 18: Antonio the Violinist from Identity V vs Waldo Trumbull from The Comedy of Terrors

Propaganda under the cut:

Antonio the Violinist

Antonio is a less popular character from an obscure video game. He's an incredibly tall, lanky, undead man based partially on the real life Niccolò Paganini and legends surrounding him. I have purchased things for research on Paganini to fuel my obsession with Antonio. He has prehensile hair and I just want him to carry me in it. I research harder into his lore than I do for any other character in this game, and he has very little. He's possessed by the devil because the devil got him out of music based slavery. He plays the violin and spins around when he hits a survivor. His original animation for a survivor struggling out of his hold was changed from him falling on the ground and getting up without using his arms to him swiping at the air around him. He has music magic that hurts you. He has no connection to any other playable character as of my submission. He's spooky yet handsome. One of his accessories implies he died alone in the cold of winter. He has insane amounts of gender. He can play violin on a single string. He can play that single stringed violin with his HAIR. He's full of skill and diseases. His first deduction(lore snippet gained by completing tasks) shows that he's got a CVS receipt length of medical disorders, and the second one shows that he's the only character in the game confirmed to fuck for pleasure. I want him carnally. I want him to be my bestie IRL. I want to be him. I want to hold him. I want to comfort him. I want to tear his limbs off and stitch them back on. I want him to be turned into a marketable plushie.

Waldo Trumbull

He's from a rarely talked about 1963 film which is absolutely ridiculous slapstick + dark comedy combined. He's a complete arsehole who there is no good reason to like--not only is he a serial killer (murders people to bring in customers to his undertaker's business) but he's also just a petty dick. He is built like a stick insect and moves around like a live-action cartoon, ungainliest creature ever. Has the personality of a scraggly feral cat that will bite and scratch if you get too close. He asks "May I?" before touching the breast of a *wooden carving* of a woman. His name is *Waldo Trumbull*, his first name only being revealed late in the film as he seems to know it's ridiculous and goes by his last name or "Mr W. Trumbull" (you can't pretend your first name is just W, Waldo, that's not how it works). Half of me wants to grab and shake him, half of me wants to keep him as a pet, he is such a creature.

[tiredenigma]

For the past three weeks I've been thinking of Jhin from League of Legends to a point where I can't have a normal thought anymore. I have info dumped four separate people the same stuff about him almost word for word and get even more excited to share every time. Fuck you remix rumble for making him a violinist. Fuck you riot for making him so compelling. And a personal fuck you to mister dr Hannibal Lecter for kicking off my love for murderers who see art and beauty and something more in killing.

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Legend has it that the background singers are still going "naah nana nana naah naah nanaah"

Berry Lipman (civil name Friedel Berlipp, 1921 – 2016) was a German bandleader, composer, arranger, and music producer. Originally a violinist, he switched to guitar after he lost two fingers in world war II. Initially, he worked with the dance orchestras of the German radio stations.

From the late 1950s until the early 1980s, Lipman was one of the grey cardinals of the German music scene. He was producer and leader of the pop orchestra at the big record labels Electrola and Vogue and worked with famous international stars of the day, such as Gitte Hænning, Chris Howland, Cliff Richard, Petula Clark, Pat Boone, and Dionne Warwick. His opulent yet unobtrusive style of arranging a big orchestra made him the ideal background musician for these stars.

In the early 1970s, he kept the same style with his orchestra, which played mostly easy-listening tracks with surprisingly complex arrangements. His instrumentals were a staple in German radio as interlude music.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lipman produced more and more party music and descended into the Schlager business.

[robertfripp]

"[In 1975], as Fripp prepared for Sherborne, with Wetton on the road with Roxy Music and Bruford touring and recording with folk legend Roy Harper, EG sounded out Wetton about working with Fripp on a live album."

"Roxy Music's Eddie Jobson was drafted in for "repair work" on the electric piano and violin parts. The session was completed in a couple of hours and Wetton recalled Fripp and the violinist getting off to a bad start. "Robert made the mistake of saying something like, 'So, young Edward, you've come to give us a hand,' to which a none-too-pleased Eddie replied 'My name isn't Edward - it's Edwin'.""

"USA, the second live King Crimson album, was released in April 1975. The cover - based on an idea by John Wetton - featured an eerie visual echo of the Statue of Liberty, the burning torch replaced by a piece of metal with the crudely punched legend King Crimson USA. The strikingly simple image also contained an Arthurian suggestion of the lady of the lake, holding the metal aloft."

"The striking photo of an outstretched hand on the back cover came about while on tour in the States. The band received an invitation from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, to submit their hands and faces to an experimental photographic technique developed in the Soviet Union by Semyon and Valentina Kirilian in 1949. Kirilian photography purportedly reveals the aura or frield of energy surrounding all living material. The glowing hand seems emblematic of the unseen energies and musical ESP of which the band was capable. Some consideration was given to using all the Kirilian portraits, but in the end only Wetton's hand was used."

[free-for-all-fics]

Phantom of the Opera AU Prompt inspired by Death Upon an Austrian Sonata: A Dana Knightstone Novel! This was written with the Mystery Legends: Phantom of the Opera hidden objects game in mind, but other versions could work, pick whichever you like. Pls tag me if you’re inspired by this and I’d love to read it! 🎻🤎

A clairvoyant and up-and-coming novelist has the ability to see and speak to ghosts. This has proved very useful in building a successful writing career, as they’ve used their skills to investigate unsolved mysteries involving ghosts and the past tragedies that befell them in life. They often focus on the people, places, and circumstances surrounding strange and unusual deaths to piece together a series of events. Thanks to them, many restless spirits have finally found the peace they’ve long sought after. The novelist has been busy putting their pen to paper and, while the ghosts move on, their life stories become bestsellers. These ghosts may be gone, but they won’t ever be forgotten. The clairvoyant receives a letter from their distant cousin, Marguerite, the Baroness de Castelot-Barbezac, seeking their help.

In her letter, Marguerite explains that she’s been hearing eerie violin music in her Paris manor and a terrified woman haunts her dreams every night. In said dreams, the ghost played her violin beautifully in front of a captivated audience at the Paris Opera House, while the Phantom gazed at her longingly from afar in Box 5. Why did he have such a passionate interest in this violinist? She asks her cousin to come visit her as soon as possible, all expenses will be paid. The baroness is a woman who adores having her own way and her request cannot be denied. According to her, the ghost's music and her death are connected. The clairvoyant needs to speak to their cousin in person to find out more.

But what they see in Marguerite’s room changes everything. In her letter, she mentioned she was terminally ill, but they hadn’t realized her condition would be this bad. A woman of thirty-five and she’s already bedridden most days. Servants tend to her at beck and call while her husband is away, but none of them seem to notice you, the ghost devotedly sitting at her bedside! Although you’re a ghost, you still seem to care greatly for her! A living person! The mistress of the grand house was a dear friend to you in life, back when you both performed in the Paris Opera House. Before she was married and became The Baroness Marguerite de Castelot-Barbezac and a great lady, she was simply Meg Giry, a ballet girl who was your best friend and closest confidante.

She let you possess her body to write the letter in her hand and sign it with her name since her illness rendered her unable. Even after your death, she’s still loyal to you and wants to help in any way she can. She points to a picture frame on her nightstand and it’s a portrait of you! And standing beside you in the photo is a man - your teacher, perhaps? His face can’t be seen since he’s turned away from the camera. He’s only a silhouette in the background.

“Thank you for coming. I know you must have many questions, so let’s not waste time. Just like you, I can sense ghosts. The ghost that’s with us now is a musician. She was a famous violinist in the Paris Opera House, but both her violin and compositions went missing shortly before her untimely death. Almost everything got burned up in the Opera House Fire of ‘96, so this is the only surviving photo I have of her. As beautiful as the music she played, isn’t she? Here, take it. It’ll help you. In my dreams, I saw my dearest friend hiding away something valuable…Music sheets. Of her own composition. And then she was running - running away from someone, fearing for her life. Perhaps she fell, or was pushed…But she drowned in the lake. I don’t know who was chasing her. It happens too often; I know they’re not just dreams. Her music continues to haunt me. It’s beautiful, but fragmented. When I have my strength, I try to transcribe what I hear, in bits and pieces. She wants me to find her music, but with my current condition I can’t move much. It seems that she hid her violin and music from someone. What happened to her? What's the connection between her music and her death? I need to find out, but I can no longer do this alone.”

But while digging up your secrets, the clairvoyant may find themself falling headlong into danger while they play detective. The Opera House has been abandoned for years, condemned and left to rot ever since a great fire engulfed it following the last performance of “Don Juan Triumphant”. Its walls are filled with so many memories for you, most of them still painful. It feels like you just escaped from there and left behind all the horror, the tragedy, the death, everything. You’re very reluctant to return to that cursed and godforsaken place, but Meg urges you to go back. She knows you’d be of great help, so you accompany her cousin to the abandoned Opera House, apprehensive about what you may find inside. But you must do this. You’re so sad and weary, but you won’t be able to Rest In Peace until your violin and music sheets are found and the truth behind your death is made known.

The Opera House was once something truly beautiful, full of grand parties, music, and laughter. But now it’s burned to ash, black and decayed - It’s little more than a charred coffin, and there’s a ghost who’s lingered over this coffin and made it his eternal resting place. Forever alone in death just as he was in life, Erik haunts his Opera House. Neither of you can see him but he uses ventriloquism to throw his voice around the hollowed halls.

“Welcome to my Opera House. Welcome to your destiny! The time has come to be reunited with your Angel of Music. Do you remember our last meeting? Let me show you…Ah, I see you’ve brought a guest. Welcome, stranger, to my Opera House!”

“Who are you?”

“I am Erik. I am the Angel of Music. I am Don Juan Triumphant. I am the Phantom of the Opera! Come, prove your love to me! Bring me a black rose, and I shall show you everything!”

The Phantom has asked for a black rose! These black roses could represent his obsessive, dangerous love for you. It was a warm spring or summer day when you were at Meg’s, but the outside of the Opera House has suddenly been covered in a blanket of deep snow, and parts of the building are frozen. If Meg’s cousin set one foot outside, the blizzard would have them broken and bloody over a cliff! This can only be Erik’s doing, willing his personal Hell to literally freeze over. You’re both trapped here until either the storm passes and the snow melts, or Erik lets you both go. Meg’s cousin can’t wait around for the former, so time is of the essence before they either starve to death or succumb to Hypothermia.

As you and Meg’s cousin investigate and explore the Opera House in search of the black roses, you share with them your precious memories of the time you spent in each room. When you first came here, you had heard tales being whispered about an Opera Ghost, a creature, spirit, or man who roamed the halls and possessed the talent to disappear before your very eyes. Unbeknownst to you, he had been hiding behind the mirrors, always watching you whenever you rehearsed and played your violin. With all of these stories from the ballet girls and Joseph Buquet running through your head, you were prepared to scream and fight for your life when he first made himself known to you. But when he looked down at you, you could see a sort of sadness that you had never before seen in any other adult. You looked into his piercing yellow eyes and were not afraid, but entranced. Instead of hate or fear, you showed him compassion. That was the day your tragedy was set in motion.

“My only dream was for the world to hear my music, but he took that away from me. He wanted me to only play music for him, threatening to destroy everything I loved if I disobeyed. He could take my life but not my passion for music. I had to protect what was left of me now - my precious violin and my music. I had hoped that one day, someone would find all the sheets that I had left behind in those music boxes. I’m very grateful you’re here now. If anyone can find them, it’ll be you! But it’s been twenty years since my death and I can no longer remember where I put them!”

You both search for clues, evidence, anything that may be useful in finding your violin and sheet music. You wish you could be of more help, but you’ve been dead and trapped in limbo for so long that it’s taken its toll on your mind. Your memory is very foggy, all scrambled up in bits and pieces - 1896 feels like ages ago! You remember that Erik demanded the managers pay his monthly salary in order to prevent accidents from occurring, and even gave them orders as to how the Opera House should be run. Everything he asked for was done without question, and should someone challenge him, terrible things occurred. Just then, Erik’s disembodied voice echos throughout the Manager’s Office.

“The Managers were fools! They thought they could disobey me! I showed them just how real my cruelty could be. The managers would come to understand payment of my salary was worth every penny, if they hoped to continue their productions without incident! Do you remember how you played for me? I was always watching. Your music rang through the concert hall. The audience, obviously enraptured, stared on in plain view. I reflected from the shadows on how well I had taught you and how you had given yourself over to me, your Angel of Music!”

You find a note written by Joseph Buquet, the stagehand. In it, he describes seeing a man lurking in the caverns below the Opera House. Despite his own ambivalence, Joseph had plans to expose the man. You discover his corpse in the Actor’s Alley, stashed away in a sarcophagus stage prop by the Phantom. The small viewing window only allows you to see his sickly green hands clutching a black rose. The glass in the mirror cracks just as Meg’s cousin carefully takes the black rose from Joseph’s decayed fingers, careful not to touch him or gag from the putrid smell. Erik’s waiting behind the glass, holding out his gloved hand for the black rose expectantly.

“So you saw Joseph? I did what I had to, for our love! The stagehand thought he could capture me? His curiosity was his undoing. The stagehand should have stayed in his place. Now a threat to my plans, I would not allow him to pursue me any further. The scene for his demise was set. My only regret is that Joseph’s suspension spoiled your violin concerto. You played your solo so beautifully before he dropped in on your performance, unannounced.”

You go from room to room in the Opera House, helping Meg’s cousin avoid not only the still-active death traps Erik has left lying around, but the environmental dangers such as loose electrical wires, icy floors, flooded rooms, etc. You closely inspect anything that stands out as you uncover more and more dark secrets. Erik’s voice follows you everywhere you go. He’s always watching, always waiting. Every mirror you pass, he’s there. However, it’s your old dressing room that confuses you. Or rather where the door to your room should have been. Instead there’s a wall made of red brick that has elegantly carved designs on it, making it the most beautiful brick wall you have ever seen.

Why would Erik put a brick wall all the way down here? Meg’s cousin cannot tear down the wall or follow you inside, so you tell them to wait right there while you pass through and take a look around, alone. Erik is there, waiting for you. He’s been in your old room this whole time, using smoke and mirrors and ventriloquism to make you both believe he was following you and hiding behind the glass of every mirror you passed.

“I taught you how to play in this very room. Do you remember? I’d been trying to get your attention but you were just so preoccupied with those concerts of yours. All I wanted was to spend some time with you alone. Why did you run from me? Was this how you repaid your Angel of Music? Wasn’t it I who made you famous? Was it too much to ask you to play music only for me? Why were you so stubborn? Why did you have to die?”

For a few fleeting moments, he shows emotional vulnerability to you and only you, his love (or object of obsession). He lets you see the man behind the mask, his voice raw and thick with longing and remorse, as if he’s on the verge of crying for you but cannot will any tears to be shed. But it’s gone faster than you can blink, and he once again dons a mask of impassivity.

“You’ve come quite far. Are you ready to descend into my realm? Let me take you there. The Angel of Music is waiting for you! Prove your devotion and bring me another black rose! You will find what you need when you look for it in the cold. Come to me. I am waiting.”

No one except yourself and Christine had ever been down there and, for Christine, it had been a nightmare. For you, the House on the Lake was paradise, and you wished more than anything that you had seen it one last time before your death, though you never had the heart to return until now. You could still remember the glow of the wax candles, the sound of Erik's music filling the air as he sang, all of it mixing so wonderfully with the waves lapping on the shores and the boat in the lake. To you, it had been the most magical place in the world. For a time.

His lair by the lake is frozen over, everything covered in a thick shroud of frost, each individual snowflake creating an illusion of white lace with a unique pattern. Everything in the room itself is encapsulated by ice, even Erik’s beloved organ and monkey music box. Candles that had once made the underground cave glow with warm yellow light are permanently gray, wet, and snuffed out. You come across a pair of wooden mannequins hanging from the ceiling, dressed in wedding outfits. They appear to be in a lover’s embrace. Erik has created a mannequin in his likeness! But is the bride meant to be you? What sort of nightmarish puppet show is this? Why would the Opera Ghost hold you in an eternal wedding waltz like this? You don’t know what compelled him to put so much effort into this disturbing and intimate display, but it makes your stomach churn. Erik has written a riddle on the wall in what you hope is red ink: “When the girl fell, his world shattered."

Something needs to fall. Perhaps those figurines of you and your former maestro? When the mannequins fall into a heap on the ground, the wall collapses, revealing a hidden passageway to a secret room deep within Erik’s lair. Inside is a crypt holding only a single black coffin that’s sealed shut. There’s an inscription in the stone of his grave. It reads, “Here Lies the Angel of Music”. Is this where Erik is buried? Could it be that Erik had set fire to the Opera House while he sealed himself alive in this very tomb of his own making?

“I had reached the depths of my despair - it was all over. The shadow of my death drew near. You were the light in the darkness of my existence. I was your Angel of Music! But you left me. I couldn’t save you. All was lost. The time had come to end it! My house would burn but my spirit would not rest. One day, God willing, I would have you again!”

Upon opening the crypt, there it is - your priceless violin, clutched by Erik until his final breath. Beside his skeletal remains are the music boxes containing your music sheets and his “Don Juan Triumphant” encased in a red folder tied with black ribbon. Erik couldn’t be buried in the cemetery with you, no matter how much he may have wished it. He couldn’t be laid to rest beside you in such a public place where anyone could dig him up, but he was desperate to hold onto the only thing remaining of you. After your accidental drowning, he stole your music sheets so your final compositions would be buried together alongside him. Erik’s final lament is written on his music scores of “Don Juan Triumphant”, presumably in his own blood based on the reddish-brown tint to the ink:

“What have I done!? Forgive me, my love. I didn’t mean to...”

You don’t want to leave your violin and compositions here to rot away underground with Erik for all eternity, so you make a trade. Holding the final black rose, you kiss its soft petals before laying it in Erik’s grave. You place the blossom in his corpse’s hands so that he may still hold onto something of you eternally while you take back your violin and music. What manner of sorrow could rob a rose of its very color? Accepting your gift, Erik bids you a soft and heartfelt farewell before he dissipates into thin air. Whether he ascends into Heaven or descends into Hell, he will welcome his fate. You showed him mercy and granted him forgiveness. You freed him from his self-inflicted Purgatory, even if he didn’t deserve it. Whatever awaits him on the other side, he’s very grateful to you for helping him move on.

You turn over your violin and music sheets to the person you do care about: Meg. Knowing that you’re going to leave soon, she fulfills your final wish and musters up her strength to dance to your beautiful music while her husband accompanies her on your violin for the whole world to hear, in what will be her last ballet variation. After her performance is over and she takes her final bows, you’re finally freed from the shackles that kept you bound to the mortal plane. You feel the invisible force that had been weighing you down for many years finally lift, and you feel lighter. You can move on. Your weary soul can rest.

As the stage lights shine down and nearly blind her from their brightness, Meg vaguely sees you blow her a kiss and wave goodbye before you fade away into the warm yellow light. No. It isn’t a goodbye, but rather a see you soon. Wherever you are, Meg hopes you’re happy and that you’ll be waiting for her to join you when it’s her time. She hopes you’ll be there to escort her to the afterlife. She’d love to hold your hand and walk with you once more, like you used to when you were young girls. It won’t be long now, Meg can feel it. She has dealt with ghosts before in her life, both real and man-made. She’s not afraid. She’s ready.

It was a sad day in Paris when Meg’s husband and cousin laid her to rest. Her cousin was all set to go home, knowing they had helped Meg with her last wish, when they felt a chill down their spine. Like they were being watched. They knew that feeling well - another ghost, another mystery. Who else was haunting Meg’s manor? Could it be…?

[th3-0bjectivist]

Dear listener, I turned on my car radio for about five hours on a long drive this week and found myself suffering and appalled through the advert-heavy and song-lite nature of it all. Seriously, this is what passes for radio programming these days? The ninety-nine and one-half trillionth T-Swift breakup ballad? Pop-country tunes that manage to all sound the EXACT same as the previous pop-country tune?? Radio rock stations featuring tunes with less balls than a castrati troupe!? Modern hip-hop/rap music that all sounds roughly equivalent to setting up a lawncare sprinkler system in my car only without the water!!? Nine-to-ten agonizing commercials in a row before you get to the commercial-free hour, only to be then reminded between each individual song that it’s the commercial free music hour!!??!?!!?? I flipped from station to station hoping for some form of alleviation, for SOME hope that music is still alive and well on the radio in 2023. Y’know what I found out? The absolute BEST music programming on modern radio is based on tunes created around two to three centuries ago. That’s right folks! The best radio station I came across was a classical one. The classical radio deejay was informative, his voice was soft and pleasant, there were minimal commercials and the musical interludes lasted forty-five minutes at a stretch until the next commercial break. Inspired by this, until the end of 2023, I’ll be posting 3 classical tune sets (Bach, Vivaldi, and Brahms) starting with my personal favorite German musician of all-time, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western culture, this man was truly fit for the title ‘Master of Composition’. Starting off as a mega-talented organ player and violinist, Bach had a distinct flair for blending widely varying instruments and regional musical styles, regularly synthesizing multifarious sound techniques to make a noise ain’t nobody on Earth had heard before. Having been employed by local churches early on, Bach began composing his own ‘sacred music’ (see also ‘church music’) and being something of a musical jack-of-all-trades engaged in his own ‘non-secular’ works which did not jive with very simply defined and rigid church traditions. Having a penchant for engineering complex and experimental arrangements, Bach developed a special talent for weaving melodic lines and immensely complex interdependent harmonies together to provide compositional structures that were simply second to NONE in the early 1700’s and even up to this very day. His concertos for orchestras, sonatas, suites, cantatas, keyboard works, choral works and organ works really are the stuff of legend which is why they are hailed up to the current day! I could go on endlessly about his accolades, but instead I’ll just leave you with the following final thought. Some of Bach’s individual works are like observing an incredibly detailed drawing or painting, except with audio. If you concentrate enough on a single piece, you’ll very clearly hear the overlapping elements, the solid lines accompanied by the abstract rudiments floating softly in the background and be moved emotionally by the very physics of the harmonic motions. It’s not just the melodic nature of the man’s tunes, but also the harmony that accompanies them. Smash play and enjoy a variation of Cantata BWV 147: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring and experience for yourself why people like Bach were truly the rock stars of their era. And if you want more, like way more, click just below for The Best of Bach and enjoy!

He also married his own cousin, had 20 children through separate wives, and died after eye surgery in 1750. I like to separate the art from the artist on my blog. Nobody’s perfect, it was different times back then with vastly inferior social and medical standards at play. I don’t judge too harshly. I mean, he was so talented that Duke Wilhelm had him imprisoned after Bach simply tried to leave the Duke’s royal court to find a better gig. He did something that the vast majority of modern musicians just can’t seem to be bothered to do… innovate (to simplify that word for modern musicians, it means creating brand NEW stuff that no one has heard of or tried before, you’re welcome…)! And for that reason, he has more than earned his placed in the annals of human history as one, if not the greatest composer, and my personal favorite classical composer of all time. Image source: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2019/07/how-bachs-anatomy-may-have-handed-him-greatness

[princess-polls]

1C

Gwendolyn (Cursed Princess Club) VS Flute (Violinist of Hameln)

Princess of Pure Reason and Princess of Sweet Rhyme(The Phantom Toll Booth) VS Amira (Princess Princess Ever After)

Tidy (The Little Trashmaid) VS Anemone (Wings of Fire)

Lymsleia Falenas (Suikoden V) VS Claudia (Romancing SaGa)

Ako Shirabe (Suite Precure) VS Alisha Diphda (Tales of Zestiria)

Hime Shirayuki/Cure Princess (Happiness Charge Precure) VS Edelgard (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Timerra (Fire Emblem: Engage) VS Akagi Towa/Cure Scarlet (Go! Princess Precure)

Kozuki Hiyori (One Piece) VS Kitana (Mortal Kombat)

2C

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) VS Neytiri (Avatar)

Anneliese (Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper) VS San (Princess Mononoke)

Morgana Pendragon (BBC Merlin) VS Elodie (Damsel)

Amelia "Mia" Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi (The Princess Diaries) VS Anastasia/Anya (Anastasia)

Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb) VS Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

Tamina (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) VS Elayne Trakand (Wheel of Time)

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) VS Genevieve (Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses)

The Princess (Slay the Princess) VS Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)

1D

Lum (Urusei Yatsura) VS Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune (Slayers)

Frey (Rune Factory 4) VS Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca (Final Fantasy XII)

Urpina Julanius (SaGa Scarlet Grace) VS Loreille (Ephemeral Fantasia)

Anisphia Wynn Palettia (The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady) VS Ashuna Grisarika (The Executioner and Her Way of Life)

Yuri Zahard (Tower of God) VS Hornet (Hollow Knight)

Winter Hayle (The Lunar Chronicles) VS Orca (Wings of Fire)

Laura (Fantasy Life) VS Princess Starla (Nichijou)

Prez/Calpernia (Cursed Princess Club) VS Sapphire Rhodonite (Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice)

2D

Kaguya-hime (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya) VS Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (Adventure Time)

Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) VS Yona (Yona of the Dawn)

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) VS Cinderella (Cinderella)

Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) VS Odette (The Swan Princess)

Jasmine (Aladdin) VS Vanellope von Schweetz (Wreck-It Ralph)

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) VS Ella of Frell (Ella Enchanted)

Fiona (Shrek) VS Leia (Star Wars)

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (DC Comics) VS Buttercup (The Princess Bride)

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Song of the Dawn

Author: Angela J. Ford

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2021

Genres: fiction, fantasy, romance, paranormal, gothic

Blurb: Legend tells of a sacred land shrouded by the obscure, where the barrier between worlds is thin and strange things happen without rhyme or reason. Budding violinist Mila is unaware of these myths when she accepts a job at a remote inn called the Dawn. Awed by the atmospheric location, Mila begins work...only to discover nothing is as it seems. Haunted by unsettling vestiges, mysterious disappearances, and the lure of a magical song, Mila takes it upon herself to unravel the secrets of the inn and its handsome innkeeper. Mila knows she should stay away from him, but every time he appears, her resolve weakens. Fate may have brought them together...but just as romance blooms, she discovers his ghastly secret. He's the harbinger of darkness, and standing by his side is a dangerous choice between life and something much worse than death.

[totkdaily]

Day 24: Woodland Stable, and Kilton

I travel through Hyrule Forest Park and stop at Sepapa Shrine. Then on through the dawn rain. 

I cross the bridge and spy a smoke signal close to one of the Satori banners - they've lasted longer than I thought, which bodes well for future spelunking.

The fire belongs to Domidak and Prissen - nice to see them still knocking about! They can't reach the treasure in the bog. They don't have Rauru's arm as I do. There's only three bomb flowers in it - helpful, but hardly treasure. They're after Misko's treasure too, heading to Eldin for it. There seem to be a lot of people looking for it - presumably the appearance of the caves opened up a few more hiding spaces... Which begs the question: how did Misko hide things there in the first place? How old is the bandit's legend, exactly?

Still, Domidak and Prissen must be right that there's something hidden here, in the Rauru Settlement Ruins.

And there's whatever's inside Rauru Hillside Cave.

Horriblins, and bog. And further in… a clear pool, and fairies, and a diamond.

I ascend from the fairy pool and come up right by a closed Great Fairy bud. It can't be a coincidence. And down the hill… that must be Woodland Stable. I try to speak to the Great Fairy Tera, but she refuses to leave her bud for anything but a violinist. Let's see if we can find her one. 

Gliding down the hill to the Stable would have been easy if not for the skeletal bokoblins, but make it and summon Pumpkin from wherever I left him behind. He doesn't seem to mind. 

Penn is here, as I hoped. He's interviewing a conductor and a violinist. On the night of the Upheaval, a blonde woman scared off their horse - wild thought, but… Zelda? How could she have been here the night of the Upheaval? Unless she got back before I did, overlapped her own timeline? Maybe I've been wrong about her appearances - maybe she somehow mastered time travel in the past, and that's how she's everywhere and nowhere at once? If only she'd stop to talk to me.

The troupe's wagon is broken. I can fix that. In the morning. 

But as I head round to sit by the campfire I spot a familiar purple balloon - Kilton! I race around the pond to greet him. Have I got monster parts for him.

"Big Brother?" someone calls from the cave. A figure perhaps even more bizarre than Kilton emerges. His name is Koltin, and he's trying to turn himself into a Satori. He wants a bubbul gem to do it. I hadn't thought of trying to make it do that. Is that possible? Kilton seems supportive, though, and I've always trusted him.

I head into Pico Pond Cave to get this bubbulfrog for him. One gem, two lizards and a ruby later, and I'm back. 

He gives me a bokoblin mask in exchange - not bad.

He eats the gem. Nothing happens.

Before I can give him the rest of the gems I have, he disappears. I guess he'll have to wait until next time.

Kilton's heading to Tarrey Town in Akkala, and if I visit there he'll let me know where his brother's ended up. It's possible. I could head there after Death Mountain. 

I head back to the stable and take a quick look down the well. There's a hot spring at the bottom. I wonder if they can draw hot water from here?

Enough. I need to sleep. I manage to catch a couple of hours' sleep by the campfire before dawn.