Word Wise Webb

Word Wise Webb Word Wise Webb is the business name for Dennis Webb. I am a professional freelance copy editor and p Word Wise Webb is operated by Dennis Webb.

The business is an editorial services company, specializing in freelance proofreading, copy editing, research assistance, and fact checking.

10/17/2024

I hadn't planned on this morning being devoted to Igor Stravinsky, but that's the way it's turned out. In large part, this is due to Barbara Hannigan being the conductor, of the Orchestre philharmonique de radio France. There were two works: the Symphony in Three Movements and the Symphony of Psalms. (Since this concert was in France, the titles are in French, Symphonie en trois mouvements and Symphonies de psaumes, respectively.) The Symphony in Three Movements is not a work that would ordinarily be high on my listening list. I don't dislike it--I've just never had a compelling reason to seek it out. The Symphony of Psalms is another matter. After the three ballets, it's my favorite Stravinsky work. But the main draw for me was Barbara Hannigan--an incredible musician who is both an operatic soprano and a conductor (sometimes at the same time!). She sings Gershwin, too, so if you want to start with music that is more familiar, that's a good introduction.

07/30/2024

If you want an antidote to all the negativity being generated by Trump and the Maga crowd, I urge you to watch Opening Night at the Proms 2024. All the lead performers were female: pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, soprano Sophie Bevan, and Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan. They would not be playing at the Proms if they weren't world-class musicians. The varied program consisted of the overture from Handel's Royal Fireworks music, Psalm 150 by Anton Bruckner (a Christian work by a very devout Christian), Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor, Ben Nabuto's "Hallelujah" (a recently composed work), and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

The selections are preceded by informative but lively commentators. The entire program runs 2 hours. This is the way the world should operate.

07/24/2024

The Spiritual Life of Gustav Holst

There are several videos about the life of English composer Gustav Holst on YouTube, but none that I have found so far that discuss his spiritual life. I am hoping to fill that gap with this short essay.

I think Holst's spiritual leanings began when his father remarried following the death of his first wife (Gustav's birth mother). Holst was not religious in the common usage of the term. I would call him a scholar of religion. though he had a decided mystic streak. Holst's stepmother was a Theosophist, and I believe her influence started Holst on his spiritual journey. Several of his religious research projects bore fruit in his music. His work for chorus and orchestra "The Hymn of Jesus" used the Gnostic apocryphal gospel according to St. John as its text. Therefore, the work is not traditionally Christian. Holst also studied Sanskrit, bearing fruit in the "Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda" and the chamber opera "Savistri." I do not think it too much of a stretch to include his most famous work "The Planets" among his spiritual works, since the seven sections of the work are inspired by the astrological significance of the planets rather than on any physical characteristics. Nor do they have anything to do with the Roman deities whose names they bear. Holst also composed music for the Church of England.

There are many other interesting works in Holst's oeuvre, drawing from England's folk traditions among other sources. He is definitely a composer worth exploring if you want music that is a bit removed from the European canon.

07/21/2024

There is an impassioned speech on ResistanceLive in support of Kamala Harris. I strongly suggest that if you are a Democrat or otherwise concerned about the future of the United States to watch this.

07/20/2024

Before you can even begin to speculate on God's character, you have to assume that God exists. And once you've made that assumption, who's to say whose opinion is correct? What are the sources on which you base your opinions? Many times, it sounds like your opinions on God's character are based on what you already believe is right or wrong, whether you are conservative or progressive.

07/17/2024

We need to stop calling Trump and the MAGA Republicans "conservatives." It doesn't sound like they're trying to conserve anything identifiable as American. They are fascists. Democrats need to stop soft-pedaling this fact. It is not business as usual.

07/15/2024

A Dropout's Manifesto

In light of recent, and in anticipation of future, events, I hereby dedicate myself to exclusive involvement in the arts and nature. I have never been that fond of politics, finding them largely a waste of time. This will not be too much of a departure from the way I have lived my life for a number of years, but it will mean I will be even less involved in politics--probably not at all.

To Hell with politics and politicians,

Dennis Webb

07/06/2024

As outre as Yorgos Lanthimos's films are, when I try to generalize, let alone universalize, his films, I come up with "No, I don't want to do that." Maybe that is not his aim. In "Poor Things," surely he wasn't suggesting that Bellah was a model that all women must follow on the road to sexual liberation. I also felt this way about "Kinds of Kindness." The film is a triptych. Toward the end of the third, Emma Stone's character is given the choice to return to a "normal" relationship with her ex-husband and daughter--a choice which she rejects. (It doesn't help that her ex has date r***d her.) That scene could be interpreted as a statement against traditional marriage. But I think that Yorgos's films should be approached as one-offs about particular people in unique situations. Like much art, they do not necessarily have referents in the "real world."

07/01/2024

The performance I've been waiting for: Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4 as performed by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Alain Altinoglu. I knew a performance of that symphony by that orchestra in that concert hall would be incredible, and it was.

06/27/2024

With all the music ensembles planning their next season, at least there is that to look forward to.

06/17/2024

I've found a lengthy article on "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" by Judit Frigyesi. But before her interpretation overwhelms any thoughts I might have, I'm going to take a stab at advancing my own thoughts.
I said earlier that Marx and Freud provide interpretive schema. A Marxist reading is straightforward. Duke Bluebeard is a very wealthy and powerful man. I think we all realize that wealth and power are not Heaven sent but are obtained by the exploitation of others. There are seven locked doors in the castle. Judith, Bluebeard's new wife, demands that each door be opened. Behind these doors, Judith uncovers Bluebeard's past: There is a torture chamber, an armory etc., all instruments by which Bluebeard came by his riches and power. One can easily transfer all this to a more mundane scenario of multinational corporations exploiting what used to be called the Third World.

The Freudian interpretation is tougher. I thought at first that Bluebeard was impotent and his reluctance to open the doors symbolized his fear of intimacy with Judith. This line of thought proved wrong as we learn that Bluebeard had been married three times before. When Judith opens the last door, we find out what became of those three wives. To find out for yourself, you'll have to see the opera.

05/01/2024

Paul Auster, one of my favorite authors, has died at age 77. I will miss him and his books.

04/24/2024

Why do some people go to such great lengths to disclose their dislikes? If you're happy with your life, why criticize someone else's?

04/20/2024

While scanning some 20th century portraits by famous artists, which nearly all feature distorted images, it occurred to me that we humans have been distorted since we developed self-consciousness, and it's only 20th century artists who have finally gotten it right!

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