Tell A Fairy Tale Day

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Tell A Fairy Tale Day is being celebrated today!

What better time than now to tell you about a unique experience I enjoyed while staying with the Franziskusgemeinschaft in Austria last November.
The community invited Eva Meierhofer, a professional storyteller, for an evening of fairy tales!

Eva came with a thick book of  "the world's most beautiful fairy tales."

Also a strange little book, "Tales of Idiots, Poor, Beggars, Jews, and Gypsies."

Since I didn't understand all that much of the German, I could concentrate on Eva's pointy shoes and special umbrella.

The Feenhaar, literally fairy hair, played with a bow, gave ethereal music.
I think it is also called a psalter.

You can hear a sample of its music and see beautiful photos of how the instruments are made in Switzerland here: http://www.klangkunstwerk.ch/Feenhaar-Fairy-Hair

All the members of the Franciscan farming community gave it a try.
It was really a magical evening in rural Austria.
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You can look for Eva Meierhofer on Facebook and see more of her special work.
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The new organ at Elma Arts Complex

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Yesterday I introduced you to Israel's newest organ at Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zichron Yaakov.

Here is how Israel Organ Association describes it:

 Following the indications of the architect, German organ builder Philip Klais succeeded in filling a rather small volume situated above the stage with 24 stops (1326* pipes). There was no need, and indeed no room, for a wooden chest enclosing the instrument. As a consequence, all 16' and 8' pipes are covered because the place was not high enough to contain open pipes. All the pipes of the "façade"(front) of the organ are cut at the same length. Some of these are real pipes, from the Subbass 16' and the Principal 8', each one using only a part of the height of the pipe, and the others are make-believe "chanoines". The audience, sitting in the hall, cannot see the difference between them. The whole front looks like a large metallic curtain. The reason for this seems to be the need to use the pipes themselves as a separation between the hall and the organ, to prevent heat, humidity and dirt to get inside the organ. The console is just under the organ and facing it, so that only the back of the organist can be seen. The console itself is of the greatest simplicity: no cover to insure protection, no ornaments, no manual or feet commands except for a swell pedal and three sequences selecting pedals.

*some say 1414 pipes

The organ and pipes are way up on top, behind the nine tracks of lights.
(You can enlarge any of these photos with two separate clicks of your mouse.)

Some of the 24 stops.  The white part is made from crushed bone.

The two keyboards are protected by velvety covers with the famous company name.
It took two months to assemble all the handmade parts in Germany, then the organ was disassembled for shipment to Israel.
Here it took one month to rebuild it and then one month to tune. 

And of course the music on hand in case someone wants to demonstrate his skill and the organ's tone -- Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor!
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See more about this organ and Israel's other (mostly church) organs at the Israel Organ Association website.
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UPDATE June:  See a spectacular video of Cameron Carpenter playing this organ in concert!
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Mirror mirror on the organ, who is the fairest one of all?

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Finally I found a reflection for James' Weekend Reflection meme.
And it's none other that my son, Edo!
(The photo is enlargeable with two separate clicks, ahem!)

The mirror is for the organist to see the orchestra conductor.

The beautiful new organ was recently installed in the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zichron Ya'akov, on our Mediterranean coast.
See the organ in situ in its 450-seat auditorium at their website.

Our excellent tour-of-Elma guide, Gilat  (my step-daughter, who has a high position there), pointed out inter alia that Israel has fifty or sixty pipe organs.
But most of them are in churches.
Elma's organ is the only one in the country purpose-built for a concert hall.

I'll have more for you about the organ and the hotel in the coming days!
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UPDATE June 25:  See video of Cameron Carpenter playing this organ as only he can!
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National heritage site: the Turkish railway station

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From across this empty lot in Beer Sheva you can get an unobstructed photo of the new/old Train Yard and the 99-year-old train station, albeit from the back.
The grand opening of this new cultural venue will be in November, but last week we got in on one of the several days of practice run. 

You already saw pictures of the young lady in fancy period costume who was welcoming the visitors.
An ensemble of musicians on oud, drum, and violin bowed in the Oriental style added to the old Ottoman Turkish ambiance in the train compound. 

In coming posts I'll show you the beautiful old steam locomotive and all.
If you want a sneak preview, please enlarge the sign and have a read.
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No longer knowing this noise

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More fun at Beer Sheva's Old City street fair this holiday week!
A face in the horn was lip-singing words to an old song as a fake arm cranked the phonograph.

No, none of her young audience had ever seen a real Victrola, no doubt.
Not many (in Israel, at least) still remember the image of the dog Nipper listening to His Master's Voice.
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(N is for today's ABC Wednesday.)
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No stopping this toothless dancer

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Everybody is out and about celebrating the Sukkot holiday week. 
In Beer Sheva's Old City things were jumping today, including this wizened old man!

When the oud, guitar, and drums struck up the music, the old guy came alive and danced--with perfect rhythm!
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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The future of the past: Historic Site Preservation Week

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So many learning opportunities now in Israel during the Annual Historic Site Preservation Week!
You will be hearing in posts to come about the houses of worship we visited on a Beer Sheva synagogue tour. 

But first, look how a full day of lectures began!
It's so Israeli!
The audience joined the accordionist in singing the good old songs of the Palmach days.
It got us in the mood to hear about local history, as well as the present and future of Beer Sheva. 

The low-ceilinged auditorium where we alternately froze and baked from 8:30 to 14:30 was in the old Yad Labanim building.
See more about it in the post where we talked about Brutalist architecture.

The Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites tries to protect the irreplaceable historical buildings and heritage sites associated with Israel’s re-birth.
That means places from before about 1949, but not after.
If funds can be raised, over 250 sites are in need of restoration work.

As one architect speaker said in her presentation, holding on to a place, remembering and cherishing it, and hopefully restoring it--all this first begins in our collective memory.

And another spoke of "the future of the past."  
In order for our youth to understand and appreciate our past, that past has to have a future.
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(Linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)

Bedouins do Zumba in Meitar

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 After our brisk hour's walk in the desert surrounding my town, the women's march for at-risk children (see previous post) reached the end point,  Meitar amphitheater.

Bottles of water were waiting for us.

And  arcticim (popsicles) were distributed.

Then the invigorating music started and two Zumba instructors got the girls up and dancing.
The Jewish youth (in white march T shirts) lasted for a song or two.

But the school group in orange were full of energy and enthusiasm and danced on and on, into the night!
Their shirts say Hura Local Council, so I assume they are from Hura, the Bedouin town close to Meitar.

At one point the Zumba teacher took the microphone and told "the wonderful girls in orange who were so nice to join the march" that she had a song especially for them;  it was Arabic music and words. 
It was heart-warming for me to see the mix of the two Israeli "sectors" having fun together, or at least next to one another.
It made me glad I moved to the Negev.
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Meitar's "wildlife"

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Gradually I am exploring my new surroundings in Meitar.
The high heat of the day limits my hikes to the evening when an almost-cool breeze picks up.
Yesterday I reached the eastern end of my street and of the town (all of five minutes from home) and found this "mountain."
Looks like they had to cut the rock back in 1984 when they started to build the community. 

What fun to find the shaved cliffs inhabited by deer!

Even if the deer are of metal, I'm hoping they will qualify for Camera Critters Sunday meme,

because so far these are the only animals I've seen down here except for the ubiquitous cats and pigeons.
Oh, and the dogs that occupy just about every other yard on the block; I can't walk by without getting barked at.
But at least here there are rules about walking your dog on a leash.  So civilized!
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UPDATE: 

A friend in The Netherlands saw this and informed me that it is no coincidence that her quartet will today sing in church the beautiful motet of Palestrina for the beautiful words of Psalm 42:2-3:

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.

 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God

כְּאַיָּל, תַּעֲרֹג עַל-אֲפִיקֵי-מָיִם--    כֵּן נַפְשִׁי תַעֲרֹג אֵלֶיךָ אֱלֹהִים

  צָמְאָה נַפְשִׁי, לֵאלֹהִים--    לְאֵל חָי

You can hear "Sicut cervus desiderat. Sitivit anima mea" on YouTube.

Thanks Ellis!
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Music to my ears

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Bright and early yesterday I walked over to the Meitar Regional Council office to have my Israeli identity card changed to my new address.
Yay! Now I am an official resident of the Negev and of Meitar.
(It is pronounced  may [like the month] + tar, accent on the tar, so:  may-tar' .)
Hmm, would that make me a Meitarite?
Dina of the Desert?

The secretary said I was in luck because at 4:00 there would be a festive ceremony to re-open the newly-renovated Moadon LaGil HaZahav,  literally the Golden Age Club. 

OK, so I dutifully walked back over there in the  35 C/ 95 F heat of mid afternoon.
The new glass wing of the clubhouse really IS impressive.
What a view!

The young Minister for Senior Citizens, Knesset Member Uri Orbach, came down from Jerusalem to give a speech.
(Does YOUR country have a Ministry for Senior Citizens?)

He predicted that the old-new clubhouse would be full of cultural and learning  activities.
Once Meitar gets its own high school, he  added, they want to open a class for retired people.
The group would have classes all morning taught by the high school teachers, and several times a year "stars," visiting professors and experts, would come to lecture.

Orbach also gave a hint that his Ministry is working on starting a Shnat Sherut for retirees, a year of volunteer service, complete with certain benefits!
Until now, this  Sherut Leumi year of civic service was meant for young people who, because they are Israeli Arabs or very observant Jews, are normally exempt from compulsory military service;  it gives them a chance to serve their country and be recognized for it.

 Meitar, founded in 1984, is a community built around good education, cooperation between the religious and non-religious and young and old, volunteerism, and general quality of life.
Here above is the Moadon LaGil HaZahav as seen from the wadi, where a nice park and playground have been built. 

A local rabbi and of course our Regional Council head Avner Ben-Gera also spoke to the audience.
But the best part was the man in the photo, Anatoly Lain, an Israeli born in Russia.  What a singer!!
He started with La Traviata.  Hear him on YouTube (at a different venue).

Anatoly gave us an hour and a half, if not more, of  arias, old Israeli Hebrew songs, and a few Yiddish songs too.
But the most moving was what he sang in Russian. 
What could be more touching  than a baritone singing soulful songs from old Russia.
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(You can enlarge the photos 2x.  The desert sky is for SkyWatch Friday.)
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Watch Dr. Barbra Streisand, singing in Jerusalem for Peres' 90th birthday, soon! On Internet TV!

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Photo from the Facebook page of Shimon Peres,  Israel's President

Yay, we get to hear and see Barbra Streisand for free in just a few hours!
At 9:00 pm Israel time, which is GMT +3, click over to
https://www.facebook.com/ShimonPeresInt?sk=app_214309071924895&app_data

 It sure beats paying hundreds of shekels for her two concerts in Tel Aviv. Anyway, the tickets were sold out immediately.

  Mazal tov to Dr. Barbra Streisand after being awarded an honorary doctorate by the Hebrew University yesterday.
  And happy 90th birthday, dear President Shimon Peres!

Consult the handy website http://www.timeanddate.com/ if you need to figure out the time difference.

P.S.  Also starring PM Bibi Netanyahu, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Shlomo Artzi, Eyal Golan, and Adi Ashkenazi.

More later!
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See Barbra sing Hatikva and talk to Golda Meir in 1978:  http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Entertainment/Streisand-to-receive-Hebrew-U-honorary-doctorate-313726

Hear "You don't bring me flowers":  http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/barbra-streisand-to-receive-honorary-doctorate-from-hebrew-university-1.524910

Enjoy  http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Music/Streisand-Israel-is-a-shining-beacon-of-hope-315166
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A harpist at the city gate

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Walking through Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate, built in 1538,  is like passing between two worlds.
Leaving the Old City and returning suddenly to the new city is like a little culture shock for me, every time.

You never know what you'll find in the thick walls of the gate itself.
A harpist in white, perhaps?

A thin place despite thick walls.
 The girl's soft music was heavenly.
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King David is recognized as a prophet by Islam and one of the Arabic names for this portal is Bab Mihrab Daud,  Gate of the Prayer Niche of David.
David was fond of the harp, strumming as he sang his psalms.
I hope he looked down and enjoyed seeing this young harpist following in his footsteps.
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(Linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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Eucharistic Symphony DVD launch -- a liturgical patrimony

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On my way to the Tower of David free museum day last Thursday I first went in to see the new Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Book Shop near Jaffa Gate and say Mabruk (mazal tov) to the manager.
He invited me to come back in five hours  and attend the launch of a very special DVD.

A Greek Orthodox priest just happened to be standing under the book store sign that I wanted to photograph. 

The poster shows the DVD and give some details about the music and the project.
You can click and read the enlarged version.

A few minutes after 5:00 pm the VIPs from the Eastern churches began arriving.

 My ticket said

We are most honored to invite you
to the presentation and projection of excerpts of the DVD of the
September 22, 2012 Gethsemane Concert (World Premiere) of the
Eucharistic Symphony
for baritone and soprano soloists, mixed choir with four voices, flute and string orchestra and twelve Church representative singers
by Armando Pierucci, ofm.

The man with his hand on the arch  from the sound system crew had to climb that ladder several times, trying to convince the laptop with a blue screen to actually project the DVD.

The gathered  Greek, Armenian,  Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Melkite,  Franciscan, and Latin clergymen sat patiently and politely waited.
Maybe they were praying for a computer miracle . . .

His Beatitude Theophilos III seems to be such a good man.
The official title of the Patriarch of Jerusalem is
His Most Godly Beatitude, the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, Arabia, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion, Theophilus III.

Here he stood with Swiss Veronique Nebel, prime mover for this "cultural project born in Jerusalem, inspired by liturgical pieces from twelve different Christian musical traditions, a call for increased mutual awareness between the churches and for the respect of religious freedom."

Following the premiere in Jerusalem the concert was given in Geneva at the United Nations, in the cathedral of Milan, and in Matera. 

You will enjoy hearing and seeing the premiere that was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

A short video recap of the performances in Geneva and Italy. 

Meet the composer/organist in this video.

An article from the Custodia is  here .

The composer, Armando Pierucci, a Franciscan Father, said "Music helps us rediscover our roots when Christians praised God with one voice."

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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)

Get a grip

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Today I bought myself a present:  my very own pliers.
But I was surprised the hardware store only had ones with plastic coating on the handles.
I remembered my volunteer years (1996-2002) when I worked and lived at Heifer Ranch in Arkansas.
My work in livestock  often demanded fixing or opening or closing something out in the field or in barns or pens, and the one and only tool that went everywhere with me was a simple pair of pliers.
Its bare metal handles could double as a lever or a hammer or a poker or whatever.

I was proud to wear the pliers in a holster on my belt, sort of like a status symbol for us  two or three volunteers privileged to work with the animals.

 

Anyway, the pliers reminded me of something strange  I recently discovered in the sculpture garden of the Israel Museum.

(Like always you can enlarge the photos.)

I couldn't find the identifying tag for the metal creation.

The gate was half-hidden in the flowering rosemary bushes.

Couldn't find pliers on the sculpture.
But the deformed handle of a pickaxe gave a kvetch to my sometimes-archaeology-worker's heart.
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UPDATE: Don't miss the Spooky Men's Chorale singing "Don't Stand Between a Man and His Tool"! 
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