Sunday, October 19, 2008

New Daimoku & Gongyo Chart

Oct   Name
s 5   Teik Siang
w 8   Zhi Huang
s 12   Martial Art
w 15   Teng Chew
s 19   Shi Hong
w 22   Shi Jia
s 26   Martial Art
w 29   Phaik Yi


Nov   Name
s 2   Bee peng
w 5   Cherry
s 9   Martial Art
w 12   Chia Chee
s 16   Guat Eng
w 19   Hoay Ping
s 23   Martial Art
w 26   Zhi Huang
s 30   Teik Siang


Dec   Name
w 3   Teng Chew
s 7   Shi Hong
w 10   Shi Jia
s 14   Martial Art
w 17   Phaik Yi
s 21   Lee Wen
w 24   Bee Peng
s 28   Martial Art
w 31   Cherry


Hi band,

Please refer when is your turn to lead D&G for our practice. For those who curious why there is Martial Art up there, let me explain here again...
Those who turn up practice last last week might already heard Shi Jia explaination...
We'll combine with Martial Art for D&G twice a month, the 2nd and the 4th week of every month. As we together are the Cultural Group of SGM, together we spread the culture of peace, and is a good start too if we can start off our practice with D&G together.
So all please be punctual every time to kickoff our every practice with success.
Thanks all.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Why does Nichiren Daishonin use words on the Gohonzon? Why not pictures? And why words from more than one language?

Answer by Kazuo Fujii

No one can answer on behalf of Nichiren Daishonin. However, we can draw some conclusions about this based on his life and his writings. Nichiren Daishonin was a very rational man. He had a rational mind. He was also a religious revolutionary.

Firstly, Nichiren Daishonin taught that the Buddha nature is inherent in everyone and that everyone should be able to practise freely, wherever they are. Since the Gohonzon is a paper scroll, we can enshrine it in our own homes. This is very practical. It cuts right through the need to go to a specific place, such as a temple, in order to practise correctly.

Secondly, the Buddha nature and the universe are multi-dimensional. The range and diversity of these dimensions is too vast to be expresssed in the limited scope of a statue or a painting. Although statues and paintings might seem to express the personality of a Buddha, they in fact express the imagination and understanding of the artist who creates them. So, attempting to represent the Buddha nature through a statue or a painting could limit our understanding, perhaps leading us to think all Buddhas are fat, or all Buddhas are Asian.

As to why different languages are represented on the Gohonzon, this indicates the universality of Nichiren Daishonin's teaching, as well as his compassion. It is also as indication of the great insight and imagination expressed by Shakyamuni in the Lotus Sutra, which was rendered into Sanskrit and then Chinese, as it was transmitted from one country to another through the ages.

The Gohonzon includes two symbols written in Siddham which represents Sanskrit: Aizen (skt.Ragaraja) , and Fudo (skt.Achala) . These express two fundamental Buddhist principles: the transforming of deluded impulses (earthly desire) into enlightenment, and the transformation of the sufferings of birth and death into enlightenment. The symbolic representation of Sanskrit, which is an Aryan language, is representive of all Indo-European languages, and thus emphasizes the universality of the Gohonzon.

The other symbols on the Gohonzon are written in Chinese characters. These convey more than just words, they denote concepts which capture and express the workings of the unverse. It isn't necessary to know what each of them means. It's great if you do but that is not the purpose of the Gohonzon. Faith is what is important.

Nichiren Daishonin's vast compassion was the source of his wisdom in determining to inscribe the Gohonzon. He explains that everyone who chants Nam-myoho-renge- kyo to the Gohonzon can reveal inherent Buddhahood. This is because the Gohonzon is an expression of the universe from the perspective of the Buddha nature. By chanting Nam-myoho-renge- kyo, we fuse with the Gohonzon and enter into that Buddha nature.

The Gohonzon indicates that each person is the universe, not a limited version but the entire universe, so our imagination and realization can expand limitlessly when we practise to it.

Friday, October 10, 2008

From Gregorian Chant to Opera's Origins


The singers and composers of the papal choir--recruited at first from northern Europe, but in the sixteenth century chiefly from Spain and Italy--appeared at daily services in the Vatican Palace and on greater occasions in the Sistine Chapel. They performed both the traditional chants of the Middle Ages, using splendid chant manuscripts, a few of which are exhibited here, and modern, polyphonic music of great richness and difficulty. In the course of the sixteenth century, the authorities became dissatisfied with the traditional melodies, which seemed to obscure the words of the liturgical texts (humanists and Reformers had long complained about this). Palestrina and others were commissioned to revise the Gregorian chants, and the new versions, printed by the Medici Press in Rome, provided the music that popes heard every day for centuries. Meanwhile music flourished in other Roman institutions as well, like the choir of Saint Peter's, which Julius II reconstituted in 1513, and where Palestrina served as maestro di cappella. The manuscripts shown here present only a few samples of the extraordinary musical life sponsored by the Renaissance papacy and the remarkable musical libraries of the papal singers. Together with the image of the papal choir in the Sistine Chapel on display in this section [Ris. Strag. 7], they give a vivid idea of the ways public performance and high art could enhance the majesty of the papacy.



An early engraving of the Sistine Chapel shows the full pomp of a papal religious ceremony, with the pope, the entire papal curia, and the singers in their box (lower right) gathered around a lectern. Every important participant is identified by a number corresponding to a legend at the bottom of the page. The pope on his throne at the left is no. 4, and the papal singers in their "cantoria" are no. 51.



The earliest complete extant constitution outlines the singers' duties, privileges, and code of behavior and offers detailed rules for their daily personal and professional life. The beautiful illuminated full-page opening miniature portrays the reigning pope Paul III presenting the constitution to the master of the papal chapel, with the singers of the chapel kneeling behind him.



Stefano Landi (ca. 1586-1639) was a member of the papal chapel in Rome and also worked for the powerful Barberini family. In 1632 his opera "Sant'Alessio," with a libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi (1600-69), later Pope Clement IX, was premiered in the Barberini palace in Rome; the score was published two years later. Although most early operas drew their plots from pagan mythology, this work is based on Christian hagiography--the life of the fifth-century Saint Alexis--yet also contains comic characters and elaborate scenic effects. The woodcut illustration displayed here shows one of those scenes, depicting nothing less than Hell itself.

Treatises on Music [image this time cant find it SORRY!!] >.<

In Greek
Mid-sixteenth century

This collection of the most important ancient Greek treatises on music, includes works by Aristoxenus, Ptolemy, Plutarch, Cleonides, and many others. It has been elegantly copied in the original language and was owned by Cardinal Marcello Cervini, whose coat of arms can be seen at the bottom of the page on display--the beginning of a treatise by Aristoxenus. In 1555 Cervini was elected pope as Marcellus II, and his name was attatched to the title of Palestrina's famous "Missa Papae Marcelli."


Early sixteenth century

The composer Carpentras was master of the papal chapel during the reign of Pope Leo X and wrote, among other things, polyphonic settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah--part of the liturgy of Holy Week. Returning to Rome for a visit after Leo's death, he heard performances or saw copies of his Lamentations that were so different from what he had originally composed that he decided to present the reigning pope Clement VII (1522-1534) with a decorated parchment manuscript, on display here, containing the "correct" and "authentic" version of his music.



This work of Costanzo Festa (ca. 1480-1545), an Italian who served as a singer in the papal choir from 1517 until his death in 1545, is the earliest collection of polyphonic hymns and Magnificats by a single composer in the Sistine fondo. The opening of his hymn Conditor alme siderum is shown here, with the arms of the reigning pope Paul III on the elaborately decorated "Q" in the upper left. The coat of arms at the bottom of the right-hand page--lions holding a wreath with a fleur-de- lis--may be the composer's personal coat of arms.



The constitution of the papal singers required that individual singers be fined varying amounts if they came late or missed any of the daily services. Beginning in 1535 these fines were recorded in books known as the Diarii Sistini. Occasionally these documents tell us other things, such as in the entry on this folio (translated below). Many people in the late sixteenth century were very concerned that the congregation could not understand the sacred words of a Mass sung in polyphony. Here the papal singers try out some Masses--unfortunately not named--that addressed this problem:

At the request of the Most Reverend Cardinal Vitellossi we were assembled in his residence to sing some Masses and to test whether the words could be understood, as their Eminences desire; and those who were absent were fined:

      Federicus      baiocchi 15
Petrus baiocchi 15
Petrus Paulus baiocchi 15
Mathias baiocchi 15
Soto baiocchi 15

i will stop here fro now~ i will post with pictures i really hope it will b more interesting so please read it.

alterbating chant to gergorian chant




This manuscript is one of three in the Sistina collection copied probably in Brussels or Mechlin (Malines) at the court of Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands, and sent to Rome as a gift for Pope Leo X (1513-21). The pope's coat of arms is prominently displayed in the lower portion of the right hand initials. The volume contains Masses and Mass movements. The opening work is anonymous in the manuscript, but can be shown to have been written by Jacques Barbireau (ca.1420-1491), a composer who worked mostly in Antwerp.

This is an excerpt from a letter from the Bolognese theorist Giovanni Spataro to his friend Giovanni di Lago in Rome. It includes a musical example to illustrate the point that Spataro is making.


One of a series of sumptuous chant manuscripts produced during the reign of Pope Paul III (1534-49), this volume preserves music to be sung during ceremonies that took place on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The manuscript is richly ornamented and a few folios are spectacularly decorated, such as the one shown here containing the opening chant of the liturgy of Good Friday, the antiphon "Astiterunt regem terrae." The miniature, by the papal miniaturist Vincenzo Raymondo, depicts Christ carrying the cross, while the coat of arms of Pope Paul III is at the bottom of the folio.



Vicetino (1511-1576) was a composer and theorist who believed that he had discovered a way to apply the ancient Greek "genera"- -types of scales--to the music of his day. These ideas are set forth in a treatise which claims to "reduce ancient music to modern practice." To test his theories Vicetino actually constructed an instrument called the arcicembalo (shown in the foldout illustration), a harpsichord with two keyboards capable of dividing the octave into 31 parts, thereby providing all the pitches needed to reproduce the ancient tone system.


This manuscript was copied towards the end of the fifteenth century and preserves a collection of polyphonic music to be sung during the office of vespers (hymns and Magnificats), as well as pieces performed during Mass (motets). The opening folio shows the Gregorian chant of the first verse of the hymn "Conditor alme siderum."


This opera by Alessandro Melani (1639-1703) received its first performance in Rome on 17 February 1669. It is the first opera to be based on the story of Don Juan, initiating a series of operatic treatments that were to culminate in Mozart's Don Giovanni (1787). This is a contemporary copy of the score with the music accompanying one of the elaborate scenic effects of the opera--a shipwreck.





Make a different approach to classical music

Not everyone can accept him or herself sitting in room and listen to classical music ><
Im sure some member from FY do not t
ake any interest in classical music at all.
So hrmmm...before starting with ears, we can try starting with eyes.
As everyone knows Nodame Cantabile(who else don't know?) is a Japanese drama related to various
classical music(mozart,beethoven,rachmaninoff,brahms,gershwin,mendelsshon,chopin, schubert,debbusy,saint-saens). It actually covers from barouque period to 20th century,ok, maybe not...starts from classical period to 20th century.
Nodame Cantabile available in comic, drama and animation.

Synopsis:
"Megumi Noda, or “Nodame” is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.

Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia.

They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible."



Next...a korean classical music related drama called "Beethoven Virus"
They take the concept of Nodame Cantabile with less silliness but maintain the leng lui leng chai actor and actress.
I am not quite sure about the music use in this drama cause I just watch the first episode><
Anyway, I think they had rearrange Beethoven's Sonata No.8,Op.13 third movement into an upbeat techno-ish song called "Beethoven Virus".
Basically in this korea drama, they had rearrange most classical song adding new instruments that don't exist in Beethoven's time.

Synopsis:

"Kang Gun Woo is an orchestra conductor in his 40’s. He is an elite workaholic conductor who has a very bad reputation. He is known as someone who will do absolutely anything in order to create the very best music. However, due to his self-righteous and stubborn personality he thinks that only his thoughts are correct which makes him unable to form good relationships with those around him. He meets Du Ru Mi, a violinist, and a trumpet player who has the same name as him,
and together they form a love triangle."



Give a good look at this two music related drama and you might start liking classical music.

Both drama can be download or watch online with English subtitles.


Beethoven Virus(English Subtitle)

Beethoven Virus(Chinese Subtitle)

Nodame Cantabile(Download Site)
*you might bitcomet to download nodame cantabile or else you can search and watch online or borrow from teik siang><, as for animation try to purchase it in Hong Kong.Sorry I don't have it.*

Nodame Cantabile(Comic)

Friday, October 3, 2008

Self Detoxification

Before you go to bed at night, prepare this magic potion: Finely chop or
use the food blender to chop up two cloves of fresh garlic and let it
expose to the air for a few minutes while you wash up your blender or
chopping board.

The chopping releases the enzyme allinase in the garlic. Gather the
chopped garlic on a spoon and swallow it with water.

The garlic will travel your entire digestive tract while you sleep and
scavenge and neutralize all the toxins, carcinogens, harmful bacteria,
fungi, viruses, foreign chemical before they can harm your healthy cells.

Swallowing the chopped garlic will not give you garlic breath, as long as
you don't chew it. You brush your teeth and rinse your mouth before you go
to bed anyway.

In the morning, drink a big glass of water. Your first bowel movement will
have a strong garlic odor and you will know that the harmful stuff have
been eliminated from your body. Try it, especially if you have had a bad
eating day.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

How to take care of horn

Needed:-
~Key Oil
~Rotor Oil
~Bearing oil
~Wire Brush
~Slide/Cork Grease
~Brass Soap
~Polish
Maintaining valves
>Remove valve caps at one time
>Wipe away any old oil at one time
>Add bearing oil on top of the surface where you can see the spindle turning in its collar
>Replace valve caps also not to cross the very fine thread.
>Light finger tightening is all needed. (do not over tighten the cap!!)
>For the bottom bearing a drop of bearing oil is added to a small gap between the fixed collar and the rotating part of the valve.
>
Turn the horn on its back and move the levers for a few seconds until the oil is well into the bearing.
>Check that the oiling under the valve caps does not check that the marks incised at 90 degrees line up when the valves turn.
>If the marks do not line up it will mean that the corks or rubber stops underneath have worn and that the valves will not be opening properly.

For slide...
>Remove slide from the instrument
>Wipe of any old grease from the slide using a tissue (add oil)
>Take a little grease on the end of your finger and gently wipe around the middle of the slide
>Do this every couple of weeks
>Ensure no grease is build up at the end of the slides.
>Gently pull the slides out from the instrument.

Cleaning Inside & outside horn
>Use a long wire brush and insert it into the tuning slide of the horn
>Gently push the long wire brush into the tuning slide until it comes out of the mouthpiece end ( from larger to smaller diameter)
>Then gently pull from the mouth-pipe end until the whole wire has come through the pipe (repeatedly)
>Use a polish (lacquer/silver to clean)
>Make sure hands are wash cleanly from sweat
>Polish only ONCE a month. Do not polish too many times