Richard Wagner mined most of his opera plots from medieval sources. Here’s an intro to Tannhäuser: Legend has it that back in 1207 or so, Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia invited the most accomplished minstrels in the land to battle it out at the Wartburg castle in Eisenach. In German they call this the Sängerkrieg auf der… Continue reading Medieval love poetry: sexier than you might think
Month: December 2017
Translations from machines or heaven
Here’s an interesting snatch of machine translation I edited recently: Source: “Ich habe mich wirklich gefreut! Ehrlich!” Machine translation: “I was really mad! Raw!” Actual meaning: “I was really happy! Honestly!” Well, that’s a fail. “Sich freuen” and “ehrlich” aren’t even the kind of words that have really different translations depending on the context. This… Continue reading Translations from machines or heaven
Thomanerchor in Madison, WI
On November 19, Wisconsonites got a rare opportunity to hear the magnificent boys’ choir that was once conducted by J. S. Bach*: the Thomanerchor (the choir of St. Thomas church in Leipzig). As expected, they sang a lot of good old Lutheran stuff and they nailed it. They sing with great dignity and precision, and the… Continue reading Thomanerchor in Madison, WI