The Cello Suites

The Cello Suites
by Eric Siblin

House of Anansi Press Inc., 2009

First of all, let me say, I LOVE THE CELLO.

I first heard an unaccompanied cello, in all its glory, when we lived in a small farming/ university city and two music majors happened to play a cello duet at our church.

I fell in love.

I love how the cello looks. I love how the cello sounds. I how the cello is is played...

Now ask,

Do I play the cello?

No.

Do I play any string instrument?

No.

Do I play any instrument at all?

Well, yes.

I grew up playing the piano, but not what I would consider successfully.

I also happen to play the flute. Or did.

But it comes down to this,

Music was never“my thing”. Refer to  The Hidden Art of Homemaking for more on this.

Despite this sad but true fact however, I think I might like to give it a try once again.

On my terms.

(Not so) secretly, I hope one of my children will be “my cello player”. But I have also considered the possibility of taking lessons myself once all the kids are in school.

Why can’t I be “my cello player”?

So, that brings me to The Cello Suites.

My eyes gravitated to the title listed in the “must read” section of one of our community newsletters. I’m not sure how many people actually took that recommendation seriously as I quickly got a hold of a copy at the library, not generally what happens with popular books in our library system.

In short, I absolutely loved this book. In fact, I picked up a copy for my brother-in-law for Christmas.

The Cello Suites basically follows three true stories.

1) The life and times of famous music composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote the actual “Cello Suites”. The book explores the circumstances surrounding the Suites' composition and the ensuing mystery of their disappearance from the eighteenth century.

2) The life of world-renowned cellist, Pablo Casals, who re-discovered the Cello Suites in the late nineteenth century and made them famous. Apparently he found the music in a small second-hand music shop in Spain then practiced them for 12 years before actually playing them in public.

3) The quest of author and journalist, Eric Siblin, to uncover the mystery of the Cello Suites. Siblin heard the Cello Suites at a recital in Toronto, Ontario and was completely taken in by the music and the explanation given in the program,

           
 ...the Cello Suites were seen as only a collection of exercises. But since Casals had started playing the suites at the dawn of the twentieth century, “we now know how lucky we are to possess these extraordinary masterworks. What most music-lovers don’t know, however, is that no known composer’s manuscript of these works exists...There exists no truly reliable source for the suites.” (page 4)

Whatever happened to Bach’s original manuscript? Spoiler alert: Siblin did extensive research in order to answer this question, but in the end, it remains a mystery.

The Cello Suites (as in the book) is certainly not a boring book by any means!

Interestingly enough, I had no idea what the (now speaking of the music) Cello Suites were when I picked up the book, but once I started reading, an idea popped into my head.  On the soundtrack for the Hollywood movie, Master and Commander starring Russell Crowe, there is a cello piece and I wondered....

On the soundtrack is: 

Prelude (From the Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BMV 1007)

Composed by, you know who, Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Absolutely beautiful.

What is actually quite fascinating about the Suites is this: In classical music, at least in my own experience, the performer must follow all the notes, rests, time and other musical indications to a tee.

No poetic license is allowed.

However, since no original manuscript exists for this music, no one really knows what Bach intended. Therefore, the cellist can be as poetic as they like!


As Siblin describes it on page 117,

The Cello Suites are a blank slate, a Rorschach test that allows cellists to put their own stamp on Bach and interpret the music as they see fit - or as they think Bach would have wanted his music played.


This really is so.

As it turns out, I actually have two different CD's with the Prelude of Suite No. 1 ,played by two different cellists. The versions are very different, indeed.

Speaking about the cello and speaking about books related to the cello, another terrific read is author Steven Galloway’s, The Cellist of Sarajevo.

This book is inspired by actual events,

At four o’clock in the afternoon on 27 May 1992, during the siege of Sarajevo, several mortar shells struck a group of people waiting to buy bread behind the market on Vase Miskina. Twenty-two people were killed and at least seventy were wounded. For the next twenty-two days Vedran Smailović, a renowned local cellist, played Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor at the site in honour of the dead (page 259).

I read this book as part of a book club several years ago, and, if I remember correctly, I was the only one who liked it!  Basically, everyone’s complaint was that there was not enough action, but my perspective was completely different. There was action, but it was subtle and the climax of the story, internal.

I thought it was a really touching book in a non-traditional sort of way.

Any other cello reads?

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

By Eleanor Coerr

Puffin Books, 1977

I first read about Sadako years ago in elementary school. It could have been in grade three or four, who knows.

For whatever reason, Sadako`s story struck something with me because, thirty years later, it`s still there. 

When my eight year old son first started folding paper airplanes, my brain quickly moved to origami paper planes, to origami paper cranes, to the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

I`m amazed at the way my brain works sometimes!

Published in 1977, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes tells the true story of a Japanese girl, Sadako, who lived in Hiroshima when the United States Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on the city to force an end to World War II.

Like many others who were exposed to the bomb’s radiation, Sadako developed leukemia. While hospitalized, a friend told Sadako about a Japanese legend that says if a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes they would regain their health.

Sadako started folding, but sadly, she never finished. 

She died on October 25, 1955.

Her classmates took up the quest and folded the remaining three hundred and fifty-six cranes to make one thousand.

In doing a bit of research, I discovered that  in 1958 a statue of Sadako was erected in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Apparently people still fold paper cranes and place them at the base of the statue every year on August 6, also known as, Peace Day.

This book is a quick, but touching, read for an adult and an easy read for a grade four or five student. Mind you, I am not up on reading levels so I could be way off. However, it does look like a book my own grade four student could easily manage.

He didn`t read it, though. One glance at the girl wearing a kimono on the cover and he said, “forget it”.      

That does bring me to the many benefits of origami. As an occupational therapist (OT) in my life before children, I am always on the lookout for great activities for kids.

Origami is a great activity for kids.

Older kids. Younger kids.

What benefits does origami have from an OT’s perspective? (Technically I can’t call myself an OT anymore as I no longer hold a license to practice.)

Glad you asked...

Fine motor skills

Following instructions

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Attention span

Visual perception

To name a few....

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes includes complete instructions on how to make paper cranes. Which is a great tie in for readers.

You can fold a paper crane too! It's not hard.

While origami is usually done with special origami paper, practice a few cranes on plain old paper cut into a perfect square.

Then, go buy the fancy paper.

The Joy of Reading Children's Books

So begins a new chapter on Reader Tales ... Children’s Books in Review. 

I read a lot of children’s books, thanks to having four kids and thanks to just loving kid’s books.  

Especially middle grade novels.

Over the years, I have come to notice that kid’s books have a vibrancy that adult books often miss.

Kids, especially those of today's generation, need colour and action and speed to capture (not to mention keep) their attention. And if they're going to read a book, well, it better have what they're looking for.

Otherwise, they will quickly move onto something else. 

Adult books, on the other hand, don't often include some of these enticing details. After all, most adult readers can find the story behind the words. They don't need printed detail, they can fill it in on their own. Further, adults know that just beyond the first boring chapter a really great story could emerge, and they are willing to stick around to find out.

Adult readers are way more forgiving than kids.

I realize, of course, everything I've said are generalizations of grand proportions.

My words have not been completely fair or true.

Many, many adult books have captured and kept my attention over the years. There are amazing books that give glorious detail and fast-paced drama. They draw the reader in from the first.

However, because kids want and need more excitement, that's what good kid's books have. Excitement.


Detail. Dialogue. Tension. 

Colour. Action. Speed.

Kids don’t tolerate even one boring chapter, let alone two or three.

That’s why I love reading kid’s books.

That’s why I love writing kid's books.

The Elephant's Journey

The Elephant's Journey by José Saramago 2008
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa



It has been a very long time since I’ve sat down to muse about what I’ve read; even longer since I’ve written about it.  

Two months, in fact.

Speaking of facts, the fact is, I just finished reading the same book I started those two long months ago!

Not like me.

Under normal circumstances, when I pick up a book, I read until it’s finished. There are the inevitable stoppages, of course. Kids need to be fed. Husband’s shirts need to be ironed. Tables need to be wiped.

Life doesn’t stop.

Despite life, however, books do get read.

And they get read quickly.

Not this time.

The book at the center of this outlier is The Elephant’s Journey by José Saramago, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.

As much as I loved The Elephant’s Journey, reading it was an incredibly “painstaking journey”.

An arduous 203 page read.

I truly did love this book. Honest.

I loved the plot – elephant travelling from Portugal to Austria in the 1500’s, an event that actually took place.

I loved the style – interjections of the narrator, often from another time and place.

I loved the writing – beautiful and quirky.

I loved the characters – for how little they say, they actually say quite a lot.

I loved the cover – almost tapestry-like (see Judging a Book by its Cover).

I DID NOT love the lack of paragraphs, the lack of punctuation, the lack of capital letters, the lack of white space on each and every page. I don’t know if this was a function of the translator (the book was first written in Portuguese), or if this was the author’s intention.

Either way, reading took a lot of concentration.

It was hard!

As a result, I gave myself two diversions in the form of “easy reads”.

My first diversion: Rekindled by Tamera Alexander. The story of a broken marriage put back to right as a result of tragedy.  

Okay, fine. This was a light Christian romance, but it also kept me up until after 2 am one night just so I could finish. (Not even close to what I can say about The Elephant’s Journey.)

I have to admit, used to read books of this genre all the time - now it’s only once in a while when I am in the mood for something ... ummm, light. However, Rekindled was an enjoyable read and it did serve to remind me about grace.

My second diversion: William and Kate A Royal Love Story by Christopher Anderson. The story of William and Kate’s romance, life, etc. No further explanation required, I’m sure.

Call me a romantic at heart, but I quite enjoyed this read - although, how true each account is, I can only wonder.

In my own defence, I come by my interest in the Royals quite naturally. My grandparents were British and loved everything royal, my grandpa shared a birthday with the Queen, and I can vaguely remember when Princess Diana married Prince Charles and even had a Ladybug book about their early life as a couple (minus all the bad stuff, of course!)

Besides, the royal couple just paid a visit to my fair western city earlier this summer.

I returned to The Elephant’s Journey with renewed vigour and now, thankfully, it is done.

The diversions worked.

Success.

I can move onto something a little less intense.

Ahhh.

An accomplished relief.

Reading on...

Slow Death by Rubber Duck

by Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie with Sarah Dopp

2009

I have been on a quest these last months to modify my cooking and make use of healthier food items and substitutes. 

I can’t say I’ve been overly successful.

I use sucanat, halved with white sugar.

I use whole wheat or spelt flour, halved with white flour.

I did use coconut oil full on, until my husband voiced that he’d been using canola oil all his adult life and was not about to stop now so, "Please buy canola oil!"

I lovingly complied.

I have, however, made the successful switch to butter.

As part of this odyssey I just read, “Slow Death by Rubber Duck”, by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.  The subtitle gives a good indication of what this book is about:

“How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects our Health”

There you have it.

For 275 pages I read about how basically everything I use day in and day out is poisoning my body and the bodies of my husband and four children.

Not exactly uplifting.

My husband just shook his head as I tried to convince him that we need to change how we do life. 

Ironically, this was exactly how he grew up - his parents were onto “chemicals” way before anyone else was.

They’re Europoean.

My good husband didn’t buy it then and he doesn’t buy it now.

Even if my husband isn’t standing on the sidelines cheering me on, I still found this book fascinating in a scary sort of way and I am really glad to have read it.

I now look forward to the awesome task of following it up with a lot of thinking, observation and change.

For instance, I didn’t realize that every time “fragrance” or “parfum” is listed as an ingredient it means that product contains phthalates, linked to a whole bunch of nasty health concerns. 

As is triclosan contained in anti-bacterial products.  

And PFOA (short for perfluorooctanoic acid) in Teflon.

Who knew.

I thought I was doing my kids a favour by buying them nicely smelling shampoo.

I thought I was doing our family a favour by buying anti-bac soap.

I thought I was doing myself a favour by cooking with a non-stick Teflon pan.

Apparently not!

The book finishes with a list of suggestions about how to put this incredible information into practice – in a practical and realistic sort of way.

After all, we’re surrounded each and every day and we can’t live in a bubble.

Some examples of what I am going to try to do:

·        Limit the fragrances and “parfums” in our house. I did buy us all shampoo and conditioner at the local organic store – a little pricey, but not as expensive as many of the salon shampoos out there.

·        Avoid air fresheners, which I generally do anyway.

·        Check out the website http://www.healthytoys.org/ to see how healthy the toys in our household are.

·        Avoid Teflon. I haven’t had a regular Teflon frying pan for awhile, but I do love my non-stick electric pan.

·        Avoid fast food as a lot of packaging is coated with a relative of Teflon.

·        Avoid flame-retardant material!

·        Dust often as flame-resistant chemicals actually hang out with the dust bunnies in our houses. Not good news for babies and crawlers who exist on the floor.

·        Eat smaller fish to avoid high mercury levels.

·        Eat light (skipjack) tuna.

·       Don't use products labelled “anti-bacterial”. For the last few years, I’ve tried really hard to only use my norwex cloths. Love them!

·        Use natural cleaning products like vinegar, baking soda and borax.

·        Avoid "nano" products like silver and zinc. 

·        Go chemical-free on the lawn. Take a screwdriver and dig those pesky dandelions out!

·        With regards to plastic use: 4,5,1 and 2. Mind you, this book was written in 2009, has anything changed since then?

This list is truly long and sadly overwhelming. There are certainly a lot of things to avoid, but with any change, slow and steady is the game. Some changes will stick and others won't, but that's okay.

I do feel that trying to “detox” and limit all the nasty stuff entering our bodies is a worthy cause, however, after all, we were given our bodies to take care of. 

I guess that also means I need to avoid excess chocolate...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

2008

I absolutely loved this book and cut my sleep short as a result.

Always the sign of an engaging book.

Summary: It’s 1946 and Juliet, a writer, finds herself drawn to the people of Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, and specifically, to the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. German occupation has just come to an end and Juliet discovers the Islander’s very unique way of dealing with this, shall we say, inconvenience.

There are a variety of reasons I found this book so enjoyable:

• the writing was witty
• the subject fascinating
• the characters totally drew me in

Again, all signs of an engaging book.

The Guernsey "etc." is written in “correspondence style” – telegraphs, letters, and, at the very end, journal entries.

Captivating.

As I finished, I felt a longing for the days of letter writing and other such means of personal correspondence.

Nowadays, it seems that everyone communicates via email, Facebook, or Twitter. Gone are the days of handwriting and “snail mail”.

In some ways, this is a good thing. Communication is almost instant, not relying on the speed of the postal service – slow at the best of times and slower still during strike time.

But, to me, it just seems that something is missing. 

Handwriting, stationary, time spent...

I’m sure I don’t share this opinion with many people.

After all, not everyone likes to sit down with a pen and paper and write.

Not everyone’s “hidden art” (see previous post) is writing.

Postscript: I can’t help but share that my mother-in-law was attracted to my father-in-law because of his handwriting (and hopefully a few other things).

Reading on...

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

By Edith Schaeffer

I ordered this book after seeing it recommended on several websites I follow.  Based on the title, I figured it might be something to help me keep the bathroom clean or how to stay on top of laundry - anything to help me be a better homemaker...

Was I in for a pleasant surprise!

Housecleaning tips were nowhere to be found.

Instead, Hidden Art was a treasure trove full of ways to enrich my life and the lives of those around me; wonderful ideas of how to use the interests and talents God has given me and mine to glorify Him and round out our lives, making them full and deep.

A few things that stood out for me:

v God is the original artist! The Bible tells us that, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork,” (Psalm 19:1). God is the original designer, painter, sculptor, writer, gardener, baker, composer.

v People were made in the image of God; in the image of the Creator; in the image of the Artist. Therefore, people were created to create. It is not a waste of time to pursue creativity, after all this is what we were given the skills to do.

v Hidden Art – each person has a talent or interest hidden away in their being; something they aren’t using as their career, something they yearn to do. Somehow. Someday. Stifling this desire detracts from who they are and how they feel as a person.

The author spends most of the book going through the variety of mediums she calls “hidden art”. I will only note the ones that impacted me personally. Read the book and see what impacts you!

v Music – God wants to hear our praises! Instruments, voice, it doesn’t matter.

I have come to realize there are people for which music is as natural as breathing. For these individuals tone, pitch and rhythm are innate.  Connecting notes to form chords, and other pleasant sounding melodies, is second nature.

A real musician “just knows”.

Once I figured out I was not that kind of person, despite years of music lessons, I was much happier and freer to pursue what I was good at. And I can still sing and play praises to God, just not at the front of the whole church.

Thankfully!

Note to parent: I need to expose my children to a variety of music and a variety of musical settings to set any natural enjoyment or talent in motion.

We’ve had the interesting experience these last four years of struggling through music lessons with my eldest. Very quickly he determined music was not his “thing”; we, his parents, did not arrive at this discovery so swiftly. Now, after a good effort, we are finally retiring our position of, “want well-rounded child; will play music.”

We still want a well-rounded child, for his sake as much as ours, but we also realize that music isn’t the only thing that can add “roundness” to this particular child’s life. 

Soon we’ll move on to child number two. Perhaps music will be his “thing”.

v Painting, Sketching, Sculpturing – There are people who set out to draw or paint or carve an elephant and, when they are finished, their work actually looks like an elephant!

Again, I am not one of those people!

Edith Schaeffer points out, that if one waits for the day when they have hours to themselves or when they have the perfect setting  or when a nice fat pay check comes their way, they may be waiting for a very, very long time. They’ll never draw (or write, or act, or decorate, or whatever their hidden art may be).

There are so many other means to use this interest and talent. Draw in your prayer journal as a way to worship and praise God. Illustrate sermon notes or a kid’s church lesson for clarity and interest. Decorate your “to-do” list! The possibilities are truly endless.

Note to parent: How will my child ever know they have a passion for sketching if they are never given paper and a pencil? How will I ever know if my child has a passion for sketching if I don't give them the opportunity to draw and create? Provide the tools and the opportunity and my child will take it from there!

Interestingly, my children love to draw. The eldest will sit and draw intricately designed battles and sea monsters whenever he gets the chance, and, as a result, the second follows suit. Together they sit at the kitchen table and fight over colours and paper and space as they create worlds on paper. Alone, they just sit and draw. Further, because her brothers love to draw and she sees them at this activity daily, the third has also started.

It is amazing when peer pressure works in a parents favour!

Creativity at work.

v Interior Decoration – I love a nice looking house. I love a clean house. Though one would never know it half the time – thus the search for bathroom cleaning secrets!

From Edith Schaeffer’s perspective, the hidden art of Interior Decoration is simply what we do with our living space. She goes so far as to suggest one should bring personal items to decorate a hotel room if it’s going to be home longer than a day or two!

I guarantee this is the last thing on my mind as I am packing for a family of six. 

However, she does say a few things in this chapter that struck me hard:

·        “This place should be expressing something of yourself,” (pg 66).

·        “Interior Decoration...is not just one’s artistic efforts, but is that which your home...is. If you are ‘decorating’ with clothes draped on every chair, with scratched or broken furniture-it is still your interior decoration!” (pg 76).   Ouch!!!

·        “And for the Christian who is consciously in communication with the Creator, surely his home should reflect something of the artistry, the beauty and order of the One whom he is representing, and in whose image he has been made!”(pg 82).

v Gardens and Gardening – At the moment, I can’t relate to this section. I have no grass, no trees, no flowers and, certainly, no garden plot. Even when I’ve had a great garden space, I found I was so busy trying to keep the inside presentable I didn’t have the time to do much outside.

That said, flowers, vegetables, canning, preserving are all things I can aspire to.

Once I have grass and a clean house!

A separate take home message, however, is that as a Christian I should have a deeper understanding of my role in treating God’s creation with care and sensitivity. I should recycle. I should not waste water. I should turn off the lights.

v Writing – Prose and Poetry – I couldn’t wait to read this section. Writing is my thing. My hidden art. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to sit and write the prose I have waiting in my head. I was reminded, however, that I can use this art in a variety of other ways: notes to friends and family, prayer by pen and paper, journals of thoughts and dreams.

      If I keep waiting for the perfect moment, with no interruptions, I’ll never write.

      I’ll never bless anyone else through writing.

v Environment – This was the final area that struck me.

By environment Edith Schaeffer does not mean “the environment”, but instead the effect we have on the people around us.

The atmosphere we create.

People often have little choice about the people surrounding them. If they sit next to a grumpy person on the plane for three hours, then for three hours they are living in a grumpy environment.  Alternatively, if they sit next to a friendly, polite person, they are living in a friendly, polite environment. 

It comes down to this: how I act impacts others.

“Our conversations, attitudes, behaviour, response or lack of response, hardness or compassion, our love or selfishness, joy or dullness, our demonstrated trust and faith or our continual despondency, our concern for others or our self pity – all these things make a difference to the people who have to live in our ‘environment’,”(pg 209).

I notice this very phenomenon in my own household. If my husband comes home from work grumpy, then very soon I’m grumpy too and vice versa. 

How we act rubs off on people. Hmmm.

Something to consider!

Two final thoughts...

1.     “Children growing up in an atmosphere where beauty is considered an important part of daily life cannot help being inspired to develop their own original ideas in these areas, nor can they help being prepared to live aesthetically themselves,” (pg 104). I noted in the margin of my book, “The opposite is also true.”

2.     “One needs to fight to prevent creativity being killed. Children are naturally creative, but it needs encouragement. They need to become aware that they were made in the image of the Creator, and are meant to be creative. They can begin to understand that there is a difference between the infinite (like God) and the finite (like man), so that they appreciated that they cannot do everything...” (pg 178).

      I have to say, one of the reasons our family does not own a video gaming system is for this very reason.

      Further, we have to fight against the need to excel at everything - especially with eldest child. He is reluctant to do things he knows he's not good at, and we need to get him out of this mode or else he will miss out on so much in life. No one is good at everything.

So many take home messages in this book!