Lorelei

Once upon a time, when it was still politically correct to look to the "folk" for a deeper, more intuitive connection with nature, life and spirituality, urban artists worked within the folk vein: Kandinsky learned to paint glass from behind like the Bavarians; Rilke travelled to Russian villages in a quest for soul; Friedrich Silcher arranged folk songs. I often regret that so much of the fruit of these artists has been buried, partially by the bad name given to anything "folk" which came to smack of "nationalism", partially by to the reordering of old systems in which the "folk" could no longer exist if society was ostensibly to get all topsy-turvy.
Silcher composed music for Lorelei, the poem of a certain Heinrich Heine. The melody is said to be so beautiful, that even Nazis would play this song when they came into existence (and gave folk a bad name, and wrought the destruction they did) despite Heine having been Jewish. You can listen to the song and see what you think.

But I am writing about all this to share two verses by my favourite scientist, J.C. Maxwell. I so love this man, and think that everyone should know about him. But I shall save more on this topic for another post. For now, here is an extract of the 1858 poem, "To the Air of Lorelei". You can read it all here. Maxwell did not count his science as most important; he counted his faith first, then his relations to the folk around him - which is a noble trait for a man of his stature (he made groundbreaking discoveries in optics, electromagnetics and molecular physics). That's all folks!

 Alone on a hillside of heather,

I lay with dark thoughts in my mind;

In the midst of the beautiful weather

I was deaf, I was dumb, I was blind.

I knew not the glories around me,

I thought of the world as it seems,

Til a spirit of melody found me,

And taught me in visions and dreams. (...)

But listen, what harmony holy

Is mingling its notes with our own!

The discord is vanishing slowly,

And melts in that dominant tone.

And they that have heard it can never

Return to confusion again.

Their voices are music forever,

And join in the musical strain.

Elements: tape: maybe*mej; lace: surfing ant and ln213.

graph paper, medallions and lace ideas: pugly pixel.