今年は山籠もりであまり出歩かなかった・・・
Here are the lights at Kyoto Station and Omotesando: I did not go out much this year as I stayed in the countryside.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
今年のイルミネーション - Christmas Illuminations
京都駅と表参道のイルミネーション、
今年は山籠もりであまり出歩かなかった・・・
Here are the lights at Kyoto Station and Omotesando: I did not go out much this year as I stayed in the countryside.
今年は山籠もりであまり出歩かなかった・・・
Here are the lights at Kyoto Station and Omotesando: I did not go out much this year as I stayed in the countryside.
Monday, December 21, 2009
師走の草津温泉 - December in Kusatsu Onsen
今年もこの時期は湯治もどきの草津温泉です。先週の雪で銀世界になり、今朝も雪国のような日の出でした。
This year as usual in this period of time, we are in Kusatsu Onsen for hot-bath healing. Last week's snow changed the landscape into white, and the sunrise this morning was like in a climate of snowy country.
This year as usual in this period of time, we are in Kusatsu Onsen for hot-bath healing. Last week's snow changed the landscape into white, and the sunrise this morning was like in a climate of snowy country.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
20世紀最大にして最高額の図書 – The biggest and most expensive book
Taschenから重い大きな郵便物が届いたので、開けて見ると「Winter 2009/2010: Rich Books for Poor Times」と表紙のイラストに題された巨大カタログで、これだけでも安くなさそうという代物に驚かされた。一年ほど前にダイアリーブックをまとめて20冊くらい購入したので、顧客リストに入っていたのだろう。
まず目に止まったのはマチスのJazzが複版されたこと。届いたカタログが26.7cm x 37.4cmなので、Taschen版のマチスは同じサイズというのが判る。これにはちょっと食指が動くがいささか高過ぎる。さらにカタログを見ていくと、出版物の多くは2、30年くらい前のエロスに関わる時代の雰囲気を伝えるものが大きな比重を占めているようで、その最たる例がヘルムート・ニュートンのSUMOだろう。大胆な裸形の構成で話題騒然となったあの写真集は、50cm x 70cmとこのカタログの倍もの大きさだが、実は200万円の価格で今年復刻発売されたのがすでに完売らしく、発注シートには見当たらない。因みに縮小版の方は価格100分の1、サイズは半分でカタログと同じ、小さいけどそれでもBigだ。本物がどうしても欲しい人はeBayに行くとまだ手に入るみたいだ。
A huge and heavy envelope arrived from Taschen, and as I opened it, I read “Winter 2009/2010: Rich Books for Poor Times” in the cover illustration, so it seemed like a gift catalog and also quite costly. I think I was added in the mailing list perhaps because I ordered some 20 copies of diary books a year ago.
The first thing that attracted my attention was the re-publication of Matisse: Jazz. The size of this catalog was 10.5”x14.7” and thus I can see Taschen edition of Matisse is in the same size. It was indeed tempting but too expensive. Going on, I tend to find the books in large part have a focus heavily on the sexual atmosphere of 20 to 30 years ago. The typical example may be Helmut Newton’s SUMO. It was a controversial photography book with bold and aggressive frameworks of nudes, and the size was twice larger than this catalog. Actually, its reprint edition was released this year for 15000 dollars but seemingly sold out already as it was not in the order sheet attached. By the way, the smaller version is available 100-times cheaper and in half size same as this catalog. That sounds small but still BIG! If you want the real deal, suggest you go visit eBay.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
PROMSラスト・ナイト – British style of affection in music
昨日は夜中の2時過ぎまで英国の音楽祭、プロムスのラスト・ナイト・コンサートの放送を見ていた。巨大なホールの熱気と目が眩むようなアングルからの全景に、いつしか我を忘れてコンサートの中に引きずり込まれていた。
実は僕は何年も昔に一度PROMSには行ったことがある。アリーナでは客席はなくて、みんな床に座ったり立ったりして演奏を聴いた。ロイヤル・アルバート・ホールがあんなにカラフルだった記憶はないなあと思いながら番組を見ていた。
でもこの「ラストナイト」コンサートと言うのは一種ガラ・コンサートみたいなもので、ネットで見るとチケットが4-5万円と高嶺の花のようだ。妥協策としては隣のハイドパークに陣取る群衆の一員となってBBC中継を見る手は残っているかも。その群衆の規模となると広場が埋め尽くされ、サイトウ・キネン・コンサートを中継するテレ朝の六本木会場の比ではない。
「ラスト・ナイト」にはいろいろしきたりもあるようで、アリーナではまるでスタジアムみたいに無数の国旗が振られていた。締めの曲はエルガーの「威風堂々」なのだが、この辺りではもう客席と一体になっての演奏だ。終わったところで指揮者のディビッド・アンダーソンが観客に向かって、「この国はT（紅茶）で成り立っている国でしょう、歌詞の最後のTはもっとはっきり発音しましょう！」とウィットに富んだ煽動を見舞って、最後のフレーズをアンコール演奏する。そのあとイギリス国歌や蛍の光も歌わなくちゃならない。だから演奏会にフル参加したいと思ったら、少なくとも4曲くらいの歌を歌えるようにして出かける必要がある。
英国人が心から音楽を楽しんでいるイベントだし、同時に音楽振興目的の募金も1000万円くらい集まったと言っていたから、BBCのこの機動力は賞賛したい。
Last night, I stayed up until well past 2 o’clock watching “Last Night” of PROMS on TV. Energy and passion of the audience in the huge concert hall and its entire view from unusual and dizzy camera angle made me illusively feel as if in the concert myself.
I have been to PROMS years ago once. There were no seats in the arena, and people sat on the ground or stood to listen to the music. As I watched the program, Royal Albert Hall had not been that colorful in my recollection.
“Last Night” was some show, sort of gala concert, and the ticket price was beyond 300 pounds according to the Internet! A good compromise might be to join in the mass that gathers in the neighboring Hyde Park where BBC distributes the content feed. The size and the concept of this outdoor setting was by any means no comparison to those of our Saito-Kinen concert shown at Roppongi via Asahi Broadcast.
It seemed there existed known procedures in the Last Night, as people waved the flags in the anera as an example. The final performance was Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” which was obviously very much loved by the British, and the entire auditorium was by then totally unified. David Anderson, the conductor, was witty to point out to the audience afterward to pronounce more T in the ending, saying “It is very clear. This is the nation built on T!” With this agitation, the encore replaying the last phrase was sung with a greater care. It was not the real end as the entire temperature escalates, and they go on with the national anthem and “auld lang syne”, therefore one have to be prepared for singing at least 4 lyrics if he dares to join this event.
It is wonderful and amusing to see how British people enjoy music from their heart in such an event, and at the same time, it was said the donations for supporting music activities reached 77000 pounds. I think this BBC project should be highly praised.
実は僕は何年も昔に一度PROMSには行ったことがある。アリーナでは客席はなくて、みんな床に座ったり立ったりして演奏を聴いた。ロイヤル・アルバート・ホールがあんなにカラフルだった記憶はないなあと思いながら番組を見ていた。
でもこの「ラストナイト」コンサートと言うのは一種ガラ・コンサートみたいなもので、ネットで見るとチケットが4-5万円と高嶺の花のようだ。妥協策としては隣のハイドパークに陣取る群衆の一員となってBBC中継を見る手は残っているかも。その群衆の規模となると広場が埋め尽くされ、サイトウ・キネン・コンサートを中継するテレ朝の六本木会場の比ではない。
「ラスト・ナイト」にはいろいろしきたりもあるようで、アリーナではまるでスタジアムみたいに無数の国旗が振られていた。締めの曲はエルガーの「威風堂々」なのだが、この辺りではもう客席と一体になっての演奏だ。終わったところで指揮者のディビッド・アンダーソンが観客に向かって、「この国はT（紅茶）で成り立っている国でしょう、歌詞の最後のTはもっとはっきり発音しましょう！」とウィットに富んだ煽動を見舞って、最後のフレーズをアンコール演奏する。そのあとイギリス国歌や蛍の光も歌わなくちゃならない。だから演奏会にフル参加したいと思ったら、少なくとも4曲くらいの歌を歌えるようにして出かける必要がある。
英国人が心から音楽を楽しんでいるイベントだし、同時に音楽振興目的の募金も1000万円くらい集まったと言っていたから、BBCのこの機動力は賞賛したい。
Last night, I stayed up until well past 2 o’clock watching “Last Night” of PROMS on TV. Energy and passion of the audience in the huge concert hall and its entire view from unusual and dizzy camera angle made me illusively feel as if in the concert myself.
I have been to PROMS years ago once. There were no seats in the arena, and people sat on the ground or stood to listen to the music. As I watched the program, Royal Albert Hall had not been that colorful in my recollection.
“Last Night” was some show, sort of gala concert, and the ticket price was beyond 300 pounds according to the Internet! A good compromise might be to join in the mass that gathers in the neighboring Hyde Park where BBC distributes the content feed. The size and the concept of this outdoor setting was by any means no comparison to those of our Saito-Kinen concert shown at Roppongi via Asahi Broadcast.
It seemed there existed known procedures in the Last Night, as people waved the flags in the anera as an example. The final performance was Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” which was obviously very much loved by the British, and the entire auditorium was by then totally unified. David Anderson, the conductor, was witty to point out to the audience afterward to pronounce more T in the ending, saying “It is very clear. This is the nation built on T!” With this agitation, the encore replaying the last phrase was sung with a greater care. It was not the real end as the entire temperature escalates, and they go on with the national anthem and “auld lang syne”, therefore one have to be prepared for singing at least 4 lyrics if he dares to join this event.
It is wonderful and amusing to see how British people enjoy music from their heart in such an event, and at the same time, it was said the donations for supporting music activities reached 77000 pounds. I think this BBC project should be highly praised.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Colors of Da Vinci – レオナルドの色彩
フランスのリュミエール社が開発したマルチスペクトルカメラを使ってダビンチの絵がコンピュータで修復される作業をテレビ番組で見た。僕はこの話にかなり興奮した。まず何の絵の具が使われたかが特定され、それに従ってオリジナルの色を再現し、続いてニスによる経年の色焼けを取り除く。同時にひび割れや傷も修復する。こうして「白テンの女」ではヴェールの模様のディテールやテンの毛並みの緻密さがはっきりと姿を現し、我々は絵が本来持っていた若いすがすがしさを目の辺りに認識することになる。同様にルーブルの協力を得て「モナリザ」の復元に挑戦、この結果は画期的と言えるほど素晴らしいものだった。
僕としてはこの成果をビデオディスプレイという限界のある出力ではなく、何らかのレプリカという現実的な形に是非して欲しいと思う。例えば鳴門の大塚国際美術館にはこうした世界の名作を陶板というレプリカにして展示しているが、復元後の新しいデータで陶板を焼き直してはどうだろうか。
I saw a TV program in which Da Vinci’s paintings were restored in the computer processing with the help of a multi-spectral camera developed by Lumière, a French company. I was extremely excited with this. From the captured data, they first identified which oil colors were used on the canvas and adopted the colors from the original material. Secondly, the brownish effect of varnish through hundreds of years was eliminated. Then finally, the cracks were also removed. In this way, “Lady with an Ermine” now reveals the detail patterns of her veil as well as the finess of the ermine’s fur, and one can realize the vivid and young atmosphere in the original. The same effort was applied to “Mona Lisa” in corporation with Louvre, and the result was fantastic like an epoch.
If I may speak, I would wish someone reproduces this achievement in a more concrete form of replica rather than on the computer monitor display with limited technological specifications. For example, in Naruto City is Ohtsuka International Museum where they create replicas of world’s asset of arts on ceramic boards and display them. They should be ready to replicate one using the newly achieved graphic data through the work of the restoration.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
秋の汚名挽回 – Autumnal Stigma Removed
鎌倉の紅葉は12月初旬がピークと聞いたので、天気の良いうちに汚名挽回を期してもう一度獅子舞の谷に行った。これくらいの色づきが楽しめれば、文句は言えない。ポイントへは緩やかな登りを10分ちょっと行って勾配が少し急になったところだが、前回も今回も滑って尻もちという犠牲者がちらほら、足元は決して良くない。
次に覚園寺に足を伸ばす。こぢんまりとした境内が鮮やかな赤で飾られて、しばしベンチに腰掛けてそれを眺める人たちが多い。
As I learned that the peak for the autumn leaves in Kamakura was early December, I decided to get back to the valley while the weather was nice today. See the colors, and how can one complain with these? To the point where people watch the leaves is a little over 10 minutes’ walk of gentle slopes but it gets steeper just before getting there. Last time and this time too, the road was so muddy and slippery that I saw a few poor visitors fell on their buttocks.
After the Valley, I went to Kakuonji Temple which was close enough from Kamakura Shrine. The garden in their precincts was rather compact but flamboyant with red, and the visitors tended to sit on the bench and watch the garden for a while.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Susan Boyle CD - 夢やぶれて
「夢やぶれて」のアルバムが届いた。何と言っても選曲が良いよね。ワールドクラスの制作チームに支えられたアルバムという感じ。Daydream Believerは僕の好きな曲だけど、すごくスローに歌って味わい深かったです。でも彼女の歌の良さが一番生きるのは切々と心情を歌い上げるような曲でしょうか、選曲にもそんな配慮がうかがえます。Proudなんか、素晴らしく良いですね。
先日フランス人の知り合いとスーザン・ボイルのことを話題にしたら、「声はすごく綺麗だけど、技術がないから無理」とけんもほろろだった。でも「翼をください」の声はまるでボーイソプラノみたいで、声質を使い分ける表現技術もちゃんと身につけているんじゃないかなと思ったりしました。
“I Dreamed A Dream” album has arrived. Above all, the selection of songs was just outstanding. It appears that this album was realized by the full support of a world-class production team. “Daydream Believer” is one of my favorite songs; Susan sang it very slow and it was so tasteful. But I think what makes the most of her gifted talent is in such songs that arise with earnest and emotional feelings. The album attentively weighs in this direction, too. For example, “Proud” is utterly fabulous.
I talked about Susan Boyle a few days ago with a French friend of mine who commented rather severely that she had an exceptionally beautiful voice but no technique professionally. But in my observation, her voice in “Wings To Fly” was almost like a boy soprano, and I thought she knew the ways to control the characters of her voice depending on the expression she wanted to achieve.
先日フランス人の知り合いとスーザン・ボイルのことを話題にしたら、「声はすごく綺麗だけど、技術がないから無理」とけんもほろろだった。でも「翼をください」の声はまるでボーイソプラノみたいで、声質を使い分ける表現技術もちゃんと身につけているんじゃないかなと思ったりしました。
“I Dreamed A Dream” album has arrived. Above all, the selection of songs was just outstanding. It appears that this album was realized by the full support of a world-class production team. “Daydream Believer” is one of my favorite songs; Susan sang it very slow and it was so tasteful. But I think what makes the most of her gifted talent is in such songs that arise with earnest and emotional feelings. The album attentively weighs in this direction, too. For example, “Proud” is utterly fabulous.
I talked about Susan Boyle a few days ago with a French friend of mine who commented rather severely that she had an exceptionally beautiful voice but no technique professionally. But in my observation, her voice in “Wings To Fly” was almost like a boy soprano, and I thought she knew the ways to control the characters of her voice depending on the expression she wanted to achieve.
Friday, November 27, 2009
労多くして・・・Much work to gain little
紅葉を求めて鎌倉では呼び声の高い獅子谷に行ってみた。天気は秋晴れ、平日の朝というのに駅前は老世代のグループでごった返している。鎌倉宮から永福寺址近くの亀ガ渕橋を渡り山道に入ったが、足元はぬかるんで快適とは行かない。しかも紅葉が頭上で楽しめるのはほんの一カ所。時期が早すぎたのかな。あとは前後とも長い行列の中に飲み込まれたまま、とにかく足を滑らせないことだけ注意してひたすら登り続け天園の峠まで行った。下山はぬかるみで苦労したくなかったので、瑞泉寺に向かう道を取った。こちらは尾根伝いのもっと乾いた道だった。但し見どころはなく、町に入って一般住宅の庭先にもっと鮮やかな紅葉を見る。
In chase for autumn leaves, I went to Shishitani, a valley highly-talked about in Kamakura. The weather was wonderfully fair and despite the weekday morning, the train station front was filled with old generation groups of people. We first went to Kamakura Shrine and walked to Kamegafuchi Bridge, then the promenade starts uphill soon. The road was rather wet and muddy which was not comfortable and there was only one spot where we could see red trees throughout the path. We may have come too early the season. Only focusing on not to slip, we went up to Ten-en hilltop. To avoid the added risk downhill, we took another path heading to Zuisenji Temple, which was much drier. I saw the most beautiful autumn leaves afterward in someone’s garden rather than in the mountain.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
ピアノ録音の修復 - Art Tatum
Zenphという会社が昔のピアノ録音の「再収録」に取り組んでいる。元のレコード音源をMIDIデータに変換し、強弱やタッチをできるだけ元の演奏に整合するよう磨き上げ、最後にMIDI機能を搭載したピアノを昔の演奏会場に持ち込んでその自動演奏を録音するというプロセスだ。以前、グールドのデビュー盤「ゴールドベルク変奏曲」については紹介したが、正直100%の納得が得られる再演とは思えなかった。それでも僕はとても意義深い技術チャレンジだと感じて、それを支持している。
今回はジャズピアニスト、アート・テータムのPiano Starts Hereというアルバムが出たので新旧比較で聴いてみた。僕はこのアーチストについて詳しくないが、非常に魅力的な演奏で、グールドの時より満足度は高かった。ひとつにはオリジナルが1933年とか1949年の録音で状態がかなり悪いことも影響していると思う。楽器の音だけを拾うような昔の録音に対して、「再演」は5.1チャンネル録音なので響きは豊かだし、まろやかさが加わるとその分タッチはやや遠目に甘く感じてしまう部分もあって、これはグールドの場合にも共通して言えることだと思う。ただ、How High the Moonなどは同じ出典の演奏なのにまるで別物と言えるくらい違った聞こえ方をして、鑑賞の楽しさはグッと増したように思う。
なまじこのアーチストにのめり込んでいないので、僕にとっては「再録」がアート・テータムの素晴らしいパーフォーマンスだと素直に納得できる。
Zenph challenges the restoration of old piano recordings. They convert the original (analog-recorded) sound into MIDI data and try to match its touches and dynamics with the original performance. Then a MIDI-equipped grand piano is brought to the premise where the original performance took place and they make the recording of the automatic piano play. They named these processes a re-performance. I introduced Glenn Gould’s debut album Goldberg Variations a while ago, and to me it was not 100% agreeable, but I still support such an effort as valuable technological challenge.
This time, a new album titled “Piano Starts Here” by Art Tatum was released, so I gave it a try through one-to-one comparison of the old and the new recordings. I am not totally familiar with this jazz pianist, but the re-performance sounded to me more satisfying than Gould’s case. The original tracks were recorded in 1933 and 1949 therefore the audio quality was rather poor, and it surely contributes to the resultant impression. While the original recording picked mostly the instrument only, the re-performance was taken in 5.1 channels with richer dimensional energy and added mildness of the instrument's sound. It could give an impression that the touches are heard more indirectly and thus less sharp. This seems to be a common character with Gould’s case, too. On the other hand, the track of “How High the Moon” for example sounded like a totally different animal despite its same origin, and the enjoyment of listening was actually much enhanced. Fortunately or unfortunately, because I am not associated with Tatum’s art in depth, the re-performance was absolutely an impressive “performance” of the artist to me.
Monday, November 23, 2009
歌と言葉 - Voices and Words
ボーカルの綺麗なCDとSACDのハイブリッド盤を捜していて藤田恵美の「カモミール」というアルバムがあるのを知った。ビートルズ、クラプトンはじめ、ヒットバラードを並べた選曲はなかなか魅力的だ。録音にはソニーのオーディオ技師かないまるさんが一枚噛んでるらしいので、あの並外れてこだわり屋の耳を経たディスクならとアマゾンのサイトで購入しようとしたのだが、念のため試聴した途端にどうしても《購入》のボタンを押せなくなった。
彼女の英語が如何ともし難いのだ。英語が無理なら訳詞で歌う手もあるのに。歌として学芸会レベルかなと僕自身は感じてしまう。ことの賛否はアマゾンのサイトでもあれこれ書かれているが、僕には「歌の本質は言葉だ」という思いがある。
「だったら海外の歌なんか聴いても意味がないと言うこと？」と追求されそうだが、そうでもないとは思っている。気配について我々は結構敏感なところもあるし、心に響く歌声というのは確実にあると思うから。例えば今年歌唱界のシンデレラとなったスーザン・ボイルさんがあの舞台で歌った「夢やぶれて」が億単位の人たちの心を捉えたのは、言葉を表現する歌唱力と歌声の美しさの両面があってということだと思う。この人にはもっと良い暮らしをして欲しいので、僕にできる応援は彼女のファーストアルバムを購入すること、それも折角なら価格が高くても「翼をください」が特別に追加された国内盤かな。
歌は言葉だという意味についてはこの「夢やぶれて」が含まれているミュージカル「レ・ミゼラブル」はまさに好例で、言葉を圧縮パックしたみたいな歌がいくつもある。聞き手は字幕さえあればそれに付いて行くことは叶うが、歌い手に「語る」力がなければこれらの歌は歌えない。
「夢やぶれて」もいろんな人が歌っているが、格別に素晴らしいのはロンドンでの10周年記念コンサート（DVDは例によって英国版を購入）のルーシー・ヘンシャルだと僕は思っている。スーザンは歌の上手いアマ、ルーシーは本物のプロというくらいモノの違いを感じさせる。
最後に藤田恵美には「ココロの食卓」というしみじみとしたカバーアルバムがあって、これは僕も時々聴いている。
I was looking for some hybrid CD/SACD discs with a beautiful vocal, and came across with an album of Emi Fujita titled “Camomile” that covered excellent ballades of the Beatles, Clapton, and else. For its recording it was said that Mr. Kanai, a Sony audio engineer was involved, and knowing that he is exceptionally detailed in achieving quality, I almost immediately determined to get the album at the Amazon site, but upon checking the sample tracks there, I could not touch the “Purchase” button any more.
It was her English she sang which was beyond my tolerance. She could have sung in the translated Japanese instead. I would say it was like the grade of school kid’s class concert. There were many pros-and-cons opinions posted on the Amazon site, too, but “the essence of a song lies in the lyrics” is my fundamental thought.
Someone may question saying “you mean there is no point in listening to foreign language songs?” I say it is not so because we are quite sensitive to the air of what is going on and also there are voices that can touch your heart. For example, Suzan Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” to move millions of people’s heart in the world and became Cinderella of this year. It was, I believe, because of her ability of interpreting the words in singing in one side and because of the beauty of her voice itself for the other. I am happy to contribute to her better life by buying her first album, especially the more pricy domestic release that features “Wings to Fly” in extra.
“I Dreamed…” is a song in the musical “Les Miserables”, and it exactly can show the absolute value of the lyrics in a song in true sense because it consists of songs with so many words condensed. Listeners could follow them if only the subtitles are given, but the singers cannot sing them without the ability to tell the words.
Among many singers of “I Dreamed a Dream”, the best for me is Ruthie Henshall in the 10th Anniversary Concert in London. Suzan is an excellent amateur while Ruthie is in the totally different class of her own as the true professional.
And finally, back to Emi Fujita, she has an album whose title is something like “A Hearty Table” that I love listening once in a while.
彼女の英語が如何ともし難いのだ。英語が無理なら訳詞で歌う手もあるのに。歌として学芸会レベルかなと僕自身は感じてしまう。ことの賛否はアマゾンのサイトでもあれこれ書かれているが、僕には「歌の本質は言葉だ」という思いがある。
「だったら海外の歌なんか聴いても意味がないと言うこと？」と追求されそうだが、そうでもないとは思っている。気配について我々は結構敏感なところもあるし、心に響く歌声というのは確実にあると思うから。例えば今年歌唱界のシンデレラとなったスーザン・ボイルさんがあの舞台で歌った「夢やぶれて」が億単位の人たちの心を捉えたのは、言葉を表現する歌唱力と歌声の美しさの両面があってということだと思う。この人にはもっと良い暮らしをして欲しいので、僕にできる応援は彼女のファーストアルバムを購入すること、それも折角なら価格が高くても「翼をください」が特別に追加された国内盤かな。
歌は言葉だという意味についてはこの「夢やぶれて」が含まれているミュージカル「レ・ミゼラブル」はまさに好例で、言葉を圧縮パックしたみたいな歌がいくつもある。聞き手は字幕さえあればそれに付いて行くことは叶うが、歌い手に「語る」力がなければこれらの歌は歌えない。
「夢やぶれて」もいろんな人が歌っているが、格別に素晴らしいのはロンドンでの10周年記念コンサート（DVDは例によって英国版を購入）のルーシー・ヘンシャルだと僕は思っている。スーザンは歌の上手いアマ、ルーシーは本物のプロというくらいモノの違いを感じさせる。
最後に藤田恵美には「ココロの食卓」というしみじみとしたカバーアルバムがあって、これは僕も時々聴いている。
I was looking for some hybrid CD/SACD discs with a beautiful vocal, and came across with an album of Emi Fujita titled “Camomile” that covered excellent ballades of the Beatles, Clapton, and else. For its recording it was said that Mr. Kanai, a Sony audio engineer was involved, and knowing that he is exceptionally detailed in achieving quality, I almost immediately determined to get the album at the Amazon site, but upon checking the sample tracks there, I could not touch the “Purchase” button any more.
It was her English she sang which was beyond my tolerance. She could have sung in the translated Japanese instead. I would say it was like the grade of school kid’s class concert. There were many pros-and-cons opinions posted on the Amazon site, too, but “the essence of a song lies in the lyrics” is my fundamental thought.
Someone may question saying “you mean there is no point in listening to foreign language songs?” I say it is not so because we are quite sensitive to the air of what is going on and also there are voices that can touch your heart. For example, Suzan Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” to move millions of people’s heart in the world and became Cinderella of this year. It was, I believe, because of her ability of interpreting the words in singing in one side and because of the beauty of her voice itself for the other. I am happy to contribute to her better life by buying her first album, especially the more pricy domestic release that features “Wings to Fly” in extra.
“I Dreamed…” is a song in the musical “Les Miserables”, and it exactly can show the absolute value of the lyrics in a song in true sense because it consists of songs with so many words condensed. Listeners could follow them if only the subtitles are given, but the singers cannot sing them without the ability to tell the words.
Among many singers of “I Dreamed a Dream”, the best for me is Ruthie Henshall in the 10th Anniversary Concert in London. Suzan is an excellent amateur while Ruthie is in the totally different class of her own as the true professional.
And finally, back to Emi Fujita, she has an album whose title is something like “A Hearty Table” that I love listening once in a while.
Friday, November 20, 2009
InterBEE 2009
今日は幕張に行って国際放送機器展を見てきた。元々行く予定にしていたわけではないが、東京に出かける用ができたので、足を伸ばしてみることにした。旧知の人にも若干会えて久しぶりにこの業界の空気を吸ったかな。
全般にこれと言って期待の膨らむ製品には遭遇しなかったが、今回大手は3D映像に何らかの布石を打っておこうとの姿勢が見え、パナソニックは元々BDフォーマットを牽引しようとこの分野には熱心だし、ソニーももはや看過してはいられないようだ。写真はソニーブースのメインプレゼンだが、大きなスペースに客がぎっしり。但し即席のメガネでの効果はイマイチだった。
ざっと会場を回って僕が自分で一番使ってみたいとしたら、多分Flying Cam。リモコンヘリの赤い頭のところからレンズが覗いているが、これで空撮するって楽しそう！
I went to Makuhari today to see InterBEE exhibition. I did not plan it originally, but I happen to have a few things to do in Tokyo and thus just extended my train ride. It was good that I could see a few old friends and breathe the characteristic air of this industry after a rather long absence.
In general, I did not see any excitingly new products, but major exhibitors put some effort of preparation for 3D. Panasonic for example has been trying to lead the format introduction in BD in this area, and Sony can no more just overlook the progress this time. The picture shown above is the Sony booth packed with the audience where they provide the main presentation. Unfortunately, the effect was not great with the disposal paper 3D glasses.
What I would want to use for myself is probably the Flying Cam. Shooting video from high above manipulating the remote helicopter must be exciting!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
十一面観音のこと - Eleven-faced Goddess of Mercy
室生寺を訪ねた。ここまで来ると奈良でのあの喧噪を離れて落ち着いた山寺巡りになるが、それでも週末のバスは満員だった。このお寺は何とも雰囲気が良いし、居並ぶ仏像には見惚れるものがいくつかある。例えば金堂の左端に置かれた十一面観音像もそのひとつだろう。世の中のあらゆる悩みを救済するこの慈悲の観音はやはり特別な思い入れを込めて彫像が作られてきたのだろうか、魅力的な作品がいろいろある。先日の平等院もそうだったし、奈良国立博物館では絹本著色十一面観音像という織物を高精細デジタルデータに取り込むという試みについて解説している展示を見た。今回の旅でも、八つの寺の十一面観音をめぐる「大和路秀麗八十八面観音巡礼」というプログラムがあるのを知った。
今年はもう無理かも知れないが、来春は吉野桜と聖林寺と組み合わせるという計画を立ててみよう、その際には海龍王寺と法華寺の十一面観音も見ておこうと決めた。
僕の手元には今、図書館で借りた白洲正子の「十一面観音巡礼」という本があるので、それまでにはもう少し知識も吸収しておけるだろう。
I visited Murouji temple. Remote enough from the noise of visitors in Nara, a somewhat tranquil tour to the temple in the mountain is assured, yet the bus from the train station was full in this weekend. Murouji is situated in a comfortable environment and there are a few impressive statues. For example in Gold Sanctuary is the Eleven-faced Goddess of Mercy on the left end. I recently saw a beautiful Eleven-faced Kannon at Byodoin, and also at Nara National Museum there was a display explaining their work to capture the data of “Hanging Scroll of Eleven-faced Kannon, Color on Silk” in extreme high resolution digitally. This Goddess may attract the devotion of artists as She is believed to release us from variety of troubles in this world. In this trip, a local program caught my attention that invites visits to total 88 faces in 8 temples.
It looks difficult to plan one in the rest of the year but probably next April I would combine a trip to Yoshino for cherry blossoms and Shorinji, and then I could cover Kairyuoji and Hokkeji temples for those faces.
I borrowed a book by Masako Shirasu titled “A Pilgrimage to Eleven-faced Goddesses”, and I can gain some more knowledge before the trip.
Friday, November 6, 2009
奈良 - Nara
今日は奈良に行って、興福寺のお堂で見る阿修羅、奈良国立博物館の正倉院展、そして金堂平成大修理を終えた唐招提寺を巡り歩いた。秋の特別拝観イベントということもあってか、平日にもかかわらずどこも入場の長い列ができ、年配の観光客が目立った。一番の収穫は阿修羅が発する仏像として別格の魅力をこの目で確認できたこと。正倉院の宝物ではポスターに使われていた琵琶の見事さが印象に残った。
10年の歳月と50億の巨費を投じた唐招提寺の修理は耐震補強とか屋根の葺き替えなど、構造的な修復が主眼だったのか、見に行って目立った変化を感じるということではないが、並行して貴重なデータがいろいろと収集できたようで、先日のテレビ番組では本来の堂内の色彩をコンピュータ・シミュレーションで見せていた。できることなら年間1億でも2億でも予算を積んでこうした修復を地道に何年かけても続けてもらいたいと思う。
I went to Nara today visiting Kofukuji temple for Asura statue, Nara National Museum for Shosoin treasures, and Toshodaiji temple for renovated main sanctuary. Perhaps because of the autumnal special exhibitions, we saw a long queue of people at each entrance even on a weekday noticeably with lots of aged visitors.
Toshodaiji spent 10 years and $50 million for repairing its main sanctuary, and it seemed the effort was primarily structural such as reinforcement against earthquakes and replacement of roof tiles. I saw in a TV program a few days ago a computer-simulated restoration of original sanctuary colors, and I really hope they put 1 or 2 million dollar budget yearly and just continue steadily such an essential restoration.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
designtide 2009
知り合いがdesigntideにブースを出しているというので、文化の日にミッドタウンに行った。若い人たちでとても盛況だったのには驚いた。出展側も若手の小さなグループが多いのか、小さなコマに1-2の作品の展示しているところが多かった。家具に注目して見て回ったが、どれもそこそこ品の良いデザインであるものの、何か突き抜けるような斬新な作品は見当たらなかった。
A friend of mine had a booth in Designtide 2009, and I went to Tokyo Midtown on Culture Day to see the exhibition. I was a bit surprised that the place was packed with young people, and most exhibitors displayed 1 or 2 products in their rather limited space. I guessed it indicated that the designers to the large extent were young and in small organizations. I cruised focusing on the furniture, and all looked refined and well-behaved, but I did not encounter with something aggressively radical.
A friend of mine had a booth in Designtide 2009, and I went to Tokyo Midtown on Culture Day to see the exhibition. I was a bit surprised that the place was packed with young people, and most exhibitors displayed 1 or 2 products in their rather limited space. I guessed it indicated that the designers to the large extent were young and in small organizations. I cruised focusing on the furniture, and all looked refined and well-behaved, but I did not encounter with something aggressively radical.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What are cool in Japan? – クールジャパン
There is a TV program called “Cool Japan” introducing unique and interesting things from foreigners’ eyes in Japan, and they celebrated a hundredth anniversary the other day in which they listed the coolest 20 things. Can you imagine the top 10 winners?
1. High-tech toilet
2. Cherry blossom watching party
3. One coin (100 Yen) shop
4. Fireworks
5. Plastic samples of food
6. Onigiri (rice ball)
7. Capsule hotel
8. Bon odori (group dance in summer festivals)
9. Autumn leaves hunt
10. Shinkansen (bullet train)
I show the snap shots of probably less-known choices from #5 thru #8 below:
As for toilets, we recently renovated ours in our 30-year old house. The one we chose was Toto’s top-of-the-line “Neorest” because it is a heated and water-washing seat, typically a must-have in Japan today, it flushes minimum water, and also the shape is very refined. How high-tech? The lid opens up and the small light goes on for itself as it senses someone comes in, the seat is warm as you set it, various options are available for water-jet modes such as sharp, mild, or vibrated, and it can blow the air to dry the wet. Some of the features are actually handicapped-friendly.
For the second toilet, we bought Toto’s “Purest EX” as it was less costly but stylish, and on top of it we installed INAX PASSO, another high-tech toilet seat that we have used for about 5 years.
One problem ☺: You cannot try to find which model you like the most at the shop!
先日、テレビ番組「クールジャパン」の100回記念でこれまで紹介したものの中からクールなベスト20をまとめていた。そのトップ10は下記の通り。
1. 洗浄便座
2. 花見
3. 百円ショップ
4. 花火
5. レストランの料理サンプル
6. おにぎり
7. カプセルホテル
8. 盆踊り
9. 紅葉狩り
10. 新幹線
高機能トイレと言えば、築30年の我が家のトイレを最近改装した。選んだ便器は東陶のトップモデルネオレスト、洗浄・暖房便座は当然として、節水性や外観の洗練度で納得した。番組ではこうした便座の機能の一部は身体の不自由な人のために考えたと言っていた。もうひとつのトイレには同じく東陶のピュアレストEX、これはもう少し手頃でデザインもスタイリッシュだ。こちらは5年くらい使ってきたINAX PASSOという洗浄便座を組み合わせている。
洗浄便座の使い心地はかなりまちまちなのに、店頭で自分のお気に入りを選べないのが問題か。
1. High-tech toilet
2. Cherry blossom watching party
3. One coin (100 Yen) shop
4. Fireworks
5. Plastic samples of food
6. Onigiri (rice ball)
7. Capsule hotel
8. Bon odori (group dance in summer festivals)
9. Autumn leaves hunt
10. Shinkansen (bullet train)
I show the snap shots of probably less-known choices from #5 thru #8 below:
As for toilets, we recently renovated ours in our 30-year old house. The one we chose was Toto’s top-of-the-line “Neorest” because it is a heated and water-washing seat, typically a must-have in Japan today, it flushes minimum water, and also the shape is very refined. How high-tech? The lid opens up and the small light goes on for itself as it senses someone comes in, the seat is warm as you set it, various options are available for water-jet modes such as sharp, mild, or vibrated, and it can blow the air to dry the wet. Some of the features are actually handicapped-friendly.
For the second toilet, we bought Toto’s “Purest EX” as it was less costly but stylish, and on top of it we installed INAX PASSO, another high-tech toilet seat that we have used for about 5 years.
One problem ☺: You cannot try to find which model you like the most at the shop!
先日、テレビ番組「クールジャパン」の100回記念でこれまで紹介したものの中からクールなベスト20をまとめていた。そのトップ10は下記の通り。
1. 洗浄便座
2. 花見
3. 百円ショップ
4. 花火
5. レストランの料理サンプル
6. おにぎり
7. カプセルホテル
8. 盆踊り
9. 紅葉狩り
10. 新幹線
高機能トイレと言えば、築30年の我が家のトイレを最近改装した。選んだ便器は東陶のトップモデルネオレスト、洗浄・暖房便座は当然として、節水性や外観の洗練度で納得した。番組ではこうした便座の機能の一部は身体の不自由な人のために考えたと言っていた。もうひとつのトイレには同じく東陶のピュアレストEX、これはもう少し手頃でデザインもスタイリッシュだ。こちらは5年くらい使ってきたINAX PASSOという洗浄便座を組み合わせている。
洗浄便座の使い心地はかなりまちまちなのに、店頭で自分のお気に入りを選べないのが問題か。
Thursday, October 22, 2009
鶴川を歩く - A Walk in Tsurukawa
鶴川散歩の途中で薬師池という公園に出会った。ぼんやりと一息つくには格好の場所だった。ここから町田ダリア園までは1km程度。ただ花の時期はもう終わりに近いようだった。帰り道はもう歩く気がなくなって、町田駅行きのバスに乗った。
On my way of hiking in Tsurukawa, I happened to hit Yakushi Pond, and it was a perfect spot to rest and relax for a while. From this park, Dahlia Garden, my destination, was about 1 kilometer. It seemed the peak of the flower season already passed slightly. I did not feel walking more to go home and took a bus to Machida station.
On my way of hiking in Tsurukawa, I happened to hit Yakushi Pond, and it was a perfect spot to rest and relax for a while. From this park, Dahlia Garden, my destination, was about 1 kilometer. It seemed the peak of the flower season already passed slightly. I did not feel walking more to go home and took a bus to Machida station.
武相荘 - Old House of Jiro Shirasu
武相荘（旧白洲邸）から町田ダリア園をグーグルマップで見て、意外に近いと勘違いしたことから歩いてみたら、1時間半くらいの長いハイキング行程だった。町田市鶴川は懐の深い丘陵地帯が今や広大なベッドタウンとなり閑静な住宅が並んでいるが、人気のないのが新興住宅地らしく、僕にはそれが広い道路と相まってやや殺風景に映る。
白洲次郎については、彼の現役時代にはその名前も僕は知らなかったし、彼の著作は新渡戸稲造から演繹されるように読んだ「プリンシプルのない日本」が最初で、それもここ2年くらいのことだ。鎌倉近くに住むようになって、所縁のある人としていくつかの書き物を読むにつれて、とても興味深い人物だと思うようになった。言うなれば裕福に育った選ばれし人なのだが、ノブレッスたる者の社会的立ち居・振る舞いについては英国仕込みで確固たる信念を持ち、ものの道理を行動規範とする人だったようだ。とりわけ、太平洋戦争を愚かな行為と考える国際的視野と、敗戦と食糧危機を見越して田舎で農業をするためにこの鶴川の農家を手に入れ、そこを武相荘と呼んだ洒落っ気には、拍手喝采したくなる。米国の圧力に抗しながら、現憲法制定を現場で見てきた彼は、「こんな作り方があって良いものか」と言いつつ、それでも「戦争放棄などいくつかのことは普通なら実現できない賜物」とも思っていたようだ。
写真は白洲邸と今の周囲の風景だが、入館料1000円はいささか高すぎで、内容的にはせいぜい半額であるべきという気がした。館内撮影は禁止だった。
I mistakenly read in the Google Map that the distance from Buaiso (Shirasu House) in Tsurukawa to Machida Dahlia Garden was quite short and it motivated me to walk, but the fact was a rather long hiking of about 90 minutes. Tsurukawa in Machida City is a broad area with undulating hills, now fully developed as a huge bed town with quiet residential houses. Like many other new places though, I seldom see people on broad streets, and it gives me an impression that this nice area is superficially deserted.
About Jiro Shirasu, I did not know even his name while he was active, and it was only a couple of years ago when I first read his “Japan without Principles” as it was deduced from Inazo Nitobe. Since I started living near Kamakura, I read more about him as he was closely connected there, and his presence grew larger in me. In short, he was chosen to grow in an extremely rich environment, but his firm confidence in how a noblesse should behave socially was crystallized through his young ages in England. He was indeed a man of discipline and particularly applausive was his cosmopolitan vision daring to speak out that the war against USA was stupid under purely uniform situation of the nation 70 years ago, and became a farmer predicting the loss of war and the consequent food shortage. The farmer house he bought in Tsurukawa was nick-named Buaiso which meant “Unsociable House”, and the two Kanji characters were taken from the bordering two provinces of Musashi and Sagami. I think it was charmingly smart name.
He was a man watching the practical progress of forming the current Constitutions under the American occupation confronting US deputies, and he used to say that it was not totally the right way to conclude any nation’s Constitutions, but at the same time admitted that some of the elements such as Abondonment of War were Gifted achievement which would have been otherwise impossible.
The pictures shown here are Buaiso and the current surroundings. They prohibited the pictures inside. The admission of 1000 Yen sounded excessive and I thought a half should be reasonable considering their content.
白洲次郎については、彼の現役時代にはその名前も僕は知らなかったし、彼の著作は新渡戸稲造から演繹されるように読んだ「プリンシプルのない日本」が最初で、それもここ2年くらいのことだ。鎌倉近くに住むようになって、所縁のある人としていくつかの書き物を読むにつれて、とても興味深い人物だと思うようになった。言うなれば裕福に育った選ばれし人なのだが、ノブレッスたる者の社会的立ち居・振る舞いについては英国仕込みで確固たる信念を持ち、ものの道理を行動規範とする人だったようだ。とりわけ、太平洋戦争を愚かな行為と考える国際的視野と、敗戦と食糧危機を見越して田舎で農業をするためにこの鶴川の農家を手に入れ、そこを武相荘と呼んだ洒落っ気には、拍手喝采したくなる。米国の圧力に抗しながら、現憲法制定を現場で見てきた彼は、「こんな作り方があって良いものか」と言いつつ、それでも「戦争放棄などいくつかのことは普通なら実現できない賜物」とも思っていたようだ。
写真は白洲邸と今の周囲の風景だが、入館料1000円はいささか高すぎで、内容的にはせいぜい半額であるべきという気がした。館内撮影は禁止だった。
I mistakenly read in the Google Map that the distance from Buaiso (Shirasu House) in Tsurukawa to Machida Dahlia Garden was quite short and it motivated me to walk, but the fact was a rather long hiking of about 90 minutes. Tsurukawa in Machida City is a broad area with undulating hills, now fully developed as a huge bed town with quiet residential houses. Like many other new places though, I seldom see people on broad streets, and it gives me an impression that this nice area is superficially deserted.
About Jiro Shirasu, I did not know even his name while he was active, and it was only a couple of years ago when I first read his “Japan without Principles” as it was deduced from Inazo Nitobe. Since I started living near Kamakura, I read more about him as he was closely connected there, and his presence grew larger in me. In short, he was chosen to grow in an extremely rich environment, but his firm confidence in how a noblesse should behave socially was crystallized through his young ages in England. He was indeed a man of discipline and particularly applausive was his cosmopolitan vision daring to speak out that the war against USA was stupid under purely uniform situation of the nation 70 years ago, and became a farmer predicting the loss of war and the consequent food shortage. The farmer house he bought in Tsurukawa was nick-named Buaiso which meant “Unsociable House”, and the two Kanji characters were taken from the bordering two provinces of Musashi and Sagami. I think it was charmingly smart name.
He was a man watching the practical progress of forming the current Constitutions under the American occupation confronting US deputies, and he used to say that it was not totally the right way to conclude any nation’s Constitutions, but at the same time admitted that some of the elements such as Abondonment of War were Gifted achievement which would have been otherwise impossible.
The pictures shown here are Buaiso and the current surroundings. They prohibited the pictures inside. The admission of 1000 Yen sounded excessive and I thought a half should be reasonable considering their content.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
続・タメルラーノ – Tamerlano continued
ドミンゴの「タメルラーノ」について書いたのは一月半くらい前ですが、その後ずっと、男役をカウンターテナーが演じている演奏はないだろうかと捜していて、ようやく行き当たったのは何とガーディナーのエラート盤録音でした。
この演奏に配された二人のカウンターテナーというのは、ディレク・リー・レィギンがアンドロニコを歌い、マイケル・チャンスがタメルラーノ役というとても興味深い組み合わせです。僕にとってまず、マイケル・チャンスはずっと昔、「メサイア」で聴いて、カウンターテナーの魅力を根っこにたたき込まれた思い入れのある歌い手なのです。そしてレィギンはと言えば、映画「カストラート」でファリネッリの男女合成された歌声の片方を受け持った米国の黒人歌手で、映画のメイキング（必見！）を見ていても製作過程での情感豊かな歌いぶりには感銘させられる、そんなカウンターテナーで、もっと彼のヘンデルを聴いてみたいと思っていたところでした。
録音は1985年で、あの「メサイア」から3年くらい後とかなり早い段階でガーディナーはすでにこの演目を手がけていたことになります。僕はこれまで彼の演奏会をサンフランシスコ、グラナダ、パリまで出かけて聴いており、こんなマニアは日本にもそうはいないだろうと内心自負していたのに、実は知らないことがこんなに多いということですね。
演奏の質は高く、素敵な歌も多いので、しばらくは2種類のタメルラーノを比較などしながらどっぷりと楽しめそうです。
I wrote about Domingo and Temerlano in end August, and afterward I was looking for a performance with counter-tenor singers. In the end, what I came across with was the recording by Gardiner under Erato label.
Two singers featured in this stage were Derek Lee Ragin for Andronicus and Michael Chance for Tamerlano, a most interesting couple. For me, Michael was so impressive in Messiah many years ago that he fundamentally built a solid confidence in me for counter-tenors. As for Derek, he was one of two singers whose voices, female and male, were engineered to compose the voice of “Farinelli” the movie. His emotional singing was the highlight of the making DVD of this movie, and I was thinking of trying more Handel songs by him.
This performance was recorded in 1985, some three years after the renowned Gardiner’s “Messiah”, which means that he challenged this opera in rather early days. Having chased him and his concerts in San Francisco, Granada, and Paris so far, I was kind of secretly proud of being a rare and passionate Japanese fan of the Monteverdi Choir as such, but in reality there are still so many things that I am not totally aware of.
The quality of performance is quite high and because this opera contains many charming arias, I can spare my time for a while long enough to listen to and compare two different performances.
この演奏に配された二人のカウンターテナーというのは、ディレク・リー・レィギンがアンドロニコを歌い、マイケル・チャンスがタメルラーノ役というとても興味深い組み合わせです。僕にとってまず、マイケル・チャンスはずっと昔、「メサイア」で聴いて、カウンターテナーの魅力を根っこにたたき込まれた思い入れのある歌い手なのです。そしてレィギンはと言えば、映画「カストラート」でファリネッリの男女合成された歌声の片方を受け持った米国の黒人歌手で、映画のメイキング（必見！）を見ていても製作過程での情感豊かな歌いぶりには感銘させられる、そんなカウンターテナーで、もっと彼のヘンデルを聴いてみたいと思っていたところでした。
録音は1985年で、あの「メサイア」から3年くらい後とかなり早い段階でガーディナーはすでにこの演目を手がけていたことになります。僕はこれまで彼の演奏会をサンフランシスコ、グラナダ、パリまで出かけて聴いており、こんなマニアは日本にもそうはいないだろうと内心自負していたのに、実は知らないことがこんなに多いということですね。
演奏の質は高く、素敵な歌も多いので、しばらくは2種類のタメルラーノを比較などしながらどっぷりと楽しめそうです。
I wrote about Domingo and Temerlano in end August, and afterward I was looking for a performance with counter-tenor singers. In the end, what I came across with was the recording by Gardiner under Erato label.
Two singers featured in this stage were Derek Lee Ragin for Andronicus and Michael Chance for Tamerlano, a most interesting couple. For me, Michael was so impressive in Messiah many years ago that he fundamentally built a solid confidence in me for counter-tenors. As for Derek, he was one of two singers whose voices, female and male, were engineered to compose the voice of “Farinelli” the movie. His emotional singing was the highlight of the making DVD of this movie, and I was thinking of trying more Handel songs by him.
This performance was recorded in 1985, some three years after the renowned Gardiner’s “Messiah”, which means that he challenged this opera in rather early days. Having chased him and his concerts in San Francisco, Granada, and Paris so far, I was kind of secretly proud of being a rare and passionate Japanese fan of the Monteverdi Choir as such, but in reality there are still so many things that I am not totally aware of.
The quality of performance is quite high and because this opera contains many charming arias, I can spare my time for a while long enough to listen to and compare two different performances.
Monday, October 12, 2009
白根山 - Mt. Shirane
今日は秋晴れの好天の中、草津から白根山に行った。ここに立ち寄ったのは久しぶりで、湯釜へのいつもの道は封鎖されて、新しいルートが左側に造られていた。新しいルートは弓池やアルプスの山並みを見渡しながら緑の斜面を上り下りできてむしろアプローチとしては良い感じだった。聞くところによると、湯釜周辺での火山活動が活発化している兆しがあって周囲500mを春頃から立ち入り禁止にしているとのことだ。湯釜も遠巻きに眺める感じだった。道路の反対側の弓池では遊歩道の整備も整って全般に気持ちよかった。
帰りのバスはやや小振りな草軽交通に乗ったが、すし詰め状態の中を運転手さんがあれこれ丁寧にガイド説明を続けてくれて、観光バスみたいで楽しかった。
カメラはニコンD5000が電源関連部品の不具合によるリコールで修理中なので、以前のCOOLPIX P50を持って来た。
From Kusatsu hotsprings, we went to Mt. Shirane today and up above was perfectly clear autumn sky. It has been a while since we stopped by at this volcanic summit last time, and the usual approach to Yugama Lake was closed. The alternative route was on the left that offered splendid views of Yumiike Lake or Japan Alps mountains. We were told that the underground temperature went up extremely indicating increased volcanic activity and the surrounding area of 500-meter diameter was made prohibited to enter since this spring.
The return bus was somewhat smallish vehicle of Kusakaru Transportation and it was fully packed, but the driver kept explaining various details of sights like a tour guide to make the ride almost an entertaining sight-seeing tour.
As for pictures, my Nikon D5000 is gone for a repair of recalled electronic component and I brought my old COOLPIX P50.
帰りのバスはやや小振りな草軽交通に乗ったが、すし詰め状態の中を運転手さんがあれこれ丁寧にガイド説明を続けてくれて、観光バスみたいで楽しかった。
カメラはニコンD5000が電源関連部品の不具合によるリコールで修理中なので、以前のCOOLPIX P50を持って来た。
From Kusatsu hotsprings, we went to Mt. Shirane today and up above was perfectly clear autumn sky. It has been a while since we stopped by at this volcanic summit last time, and the usual approach to Yugama Lake was closed. The alternative route was on the left that offered splendid views of Yumiike Lake or Japan Alps mountains. We were told that the underground temperature went up extremely indicating increased volcanic activity and the surrounding area of 500-meter diameter was made prohibited to enter since this spring.
The return bus was somewhat smallish vehicle of Kusakaru Transportation and it was fully packed, but the driver kept explaining various details of sights like a tour guide to make the ride almost an entertaining sight-seeing tour.
As for pictures, my Nikon D5000 is gone for a repair of recalled electronic component and I brought my old COOLPIX P50.
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