Celebration Day
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Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre *III 17 1665 — The Life You Give
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, also known as Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre or Elisabeth Jacquet, Elisabeth also spelled Élisabeth, (baptized March 17, 1665) in Paris, France, is the composer, harpsichordist, and organist, who was the first woman to compose an opera in France. Elisabeth Jacquet was born into a family of artisans that included…
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My Garden / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
For our family, the early 1980s was a vibrant period, with challenges, drastic changes, and joys. It led to my apostasy, and brought your first cancer diagnosis but we celebrated your silver wedding anniversary. This presented me with the opportunity to offer an expression of gratitude, admiration, and recognition, in composing “My Garden” to honor…
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Christa Ludwig *III 16 1928 — The Life You Give
Christa Ludwig was one of the most admired mezzo-sopranos of her generation, with a wide repertoire of both lieder and opera. She brought a fine sense of musicianship as well as drama to her performances. Her roles ranged from Dorabella in Così fan Tutte to Brangane in Tristan und Isolde and Clytemnestra in Elektra, and…
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A genesis of writing sufficiently to call it a book / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
The very first spark was to honor the unique human I was gifted for a father, along with a profound desire to demonstrate the insurmountable essences of love which I know through you, by planting an appreciation garden. Almost instantly, after that initial spark, my artistic spine begged to participate. Hence, before writing a single…
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David Cronenberg *III 15 1943 / The Life You Give
David Paul Cronenberg, born March 15, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a film director, screenwriter, and actor, best known for movies that employed elements of horror and science fiction to vividly explore the disturbing intersections between technology, the human body, and subconscious desire. Cronenberg graduated from the University of Toronto in 1967 with a…
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Father, Double / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
In circles of families and friends around the globe, individuals have their pastors, priests, rabbis. To these they listen in their respective places of worship, and refer to them explicitly as such whenever in direct conversation with them. I can only speak of personal experience, and obviously can not speak for the many thousands of…
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Johann Strauss *III 14 1804 — The Life You Give
Johann Strauss I, born March 14, 1804, Vienna, is one of the principal composers of Viennese waltzes. Strauss became a viola player in the dance orchestra of Michael Pamer, a composer of light music. Later he conducted the orchestra of Josef Lanner and in 1826 performed at the gardens of the “Zwei Tauben” the Täuberl-walzer,…
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Had I’s (II) / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
Had I been able to ride along the beach on a striped light grayish cream horseback, and look to my right to see you on a white one, your face reflecting the joy over my joy while the sun rises after a long night of conversation. Had I served you coffee after our return… Had…
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Rosalind Elias *III 13 1931 — The Life You Give
Mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias had a long, leading career in opera on the international scene. She was most often heard at the Metropolitan Opera, where she spent more than 40 years as part of its company. There, and elsewhere, she performed in many American and world premieres. Elias was born on March 13, 1931, in Lowell,…
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father language / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
the well from which one learns to express the selfprimary articulation styleproviding the shape of what one utters in wordsis the native languagethe native tonguein German, Muttersprachemother languagemine is a father language Had I Served You Coffee — in process, content, notes
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James Taylor *III 12 1948 — The Life You Give
James Taylor, born March 12 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is the singer, songwriter, and guitarist who defined the singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s. Bob Dylan brought confessional poetry to folk rock, but Taylor became the epitome of the troubadour whose life was the subject of his songs. Among the experiences that shaped Taylor, who…
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A Quarter of a Century ago / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
Tears are an internal mode of the moment. Only a sort of permission by the touched one, or a certain point of needing a release, or of wanting to sense, or express weakness, or fragility, or fragile strength, will water the eyes to the point that tears reach the cheeks, perhaps the jaws. Tears need…
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Henry Cowell *III 11 1897 — The Life You Give
Of all the early twentieth century American musical revolutionaries, perhaps composer Henry Cowell wielded the most vivid and far-reaching influence. Born in 1897 to a rural California family, Cowell began to study the violin at age five, though his parents’ hopes of creating a prodigy on the instrument remained unfulfilled when the lessons had to…
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Had I’s / Twenty-one days with my Father – 2026
Had I been able to dance just once on the same dance floor with you apart Had we had more cries together Had I let a record play with a symphony by Gustav Mahler while you were in the same room Had I Served You Coffee — in process, content, notes
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Arthur Honegger *III 10 1892 — The Life You Give
Born in France to Swiss parents, Arthur Honegger was a major twentieth century composer whose musical style was more cosmopolitan than either French or Swiss. An almost exact contemporary of Prokofiev (1891-1953), he rivaled Poulenc as the most successful member of Les Six and was without doubt among the greatest French composers of his day.…
Sila Blume 