Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Trivia question

I'm now half-way through Act III of Die Walküre -- the opening, the famous Ride of the Valkyries is breathtaking. I remember first hearing it with the voices; up until then I'd heard it orchestrally in numerous films and cartoons. It's one of the most (ab)used pieces of classical music in this respect. When I first heard that thrilling opening and then the women came in with their cries the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

Mind you it does have one of the silliest translations (Frederik Jameson?): "Helwige, hey, hie here with thy horse." (I can't listen to this without a quiet smirk; thank goodness for Andrew Porter, though I have never checked what he did with this line.)

The question for today is -- name all the Valkyries. This is on a par with naming the Seven Dwarves (Dwarfs!), you can usually all but one. Good luck!

The cold persists -- in the mornings I feel fine, but when I try to sleep the cough kicks in with a vengeance. But I think I'm slowly improving.

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