Introduction and Welcome
Welcome to All Things Bright and Beautiful. If you are new to this site, I would recommend that you read my very first entry - which is an introduction and welcome to this blog. You can view it here
Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen
painted this wonderful picture of an old grandmother talking to her grandchildren.
While I was looking for music by Johann Sebastian Bach, I came upon this video documentary of Bach's life. It is narrated by orchestra conductor, John Eliot Gardiner. It tells Bach's life story as well as taking you to many of the places that he lived and worked and weaves in and describes his great musical compositions. Watch Bach: A Passionate Life - John Eliot Gardiner.
Two more poems by Aileen Fisher: these are from her book In One Door and Out the Other.
RUN IN THE RAIN
I wore a newspaper raincoat,
I wore a newspaper hat,
and my feet
went spattering down the street
as fast as the rain could spat.
I must have looked rather funny,
but oh, the race was sport,
and when I dashed
to the door at last I bet I dripped a quart.
NEW DOLLHOUSE
Oh, the little roses
on the paper on the wall,
the green and yellow carpet
with its curlicues and all,
the bracket for a jacket
that would hardly fit an elf:
I'd almost like to be a doll
and live inside myself.
Oh, the little cupboard
with the dishes in a row,
the curtains at the windows
that are fastened with a bow,
the table that is able
to be opened twice as wide:
I'd almost like to be a doll
so I could live inside.
Oh, the little sofa
and the padded painted chairs,
the cunning little footstool,
and the candelsticks in pairs,
the places for some vases
on the mantel and the shelf:
I'd almost like to live inside
the little rooms myself.
Oh, the little dresser
and the cozy little bed
with cases on the pillows
and embroidery on the spread,
and the lonely one-and-only
little rocker near the clock:
I'd almost like to be a doll
and sit right down...and rock.
Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen painted this lovely painting. I like to imagine that she is carrying
her nature journal....I like how the background scenery fades in the distance .
Johann Sebastian Bach Concertos for Oboe and Oboe D'Amore (You can skip the ad) This recording is over an hour long so it might make good background music while you draw or do crafts.
You can view Wikipedia's entry on Oboes here
Here are two pictures of oboes:
It's hard to know where to begin with poems by Aileen Lucia Fisher, there are so many wonderful poems by her. Here are two from her book In Summer, which, by the way, has lovely artwork of children at play.
A Summer Chase
I wish I could keep my
GRASSHOPPER GREEN.
But whenever I catch him,
he squeezes between my fingers
and flutters as if to say,
"You'll never hold me
on a summer day."
Oops! He's gone again!
Fireflies
The fireflies click on their
tiny lights
to brighten up the
summer nights.
But, how do they click
them on...
and then,
how do they click them
off again?
Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen - The Honey Eater
Johann Sebastian Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier
These are a collection of solo keyboard compositions written in all the different keys for student practice.
This recording is almost two hours long so you may want to use it as background music while you do other things. Here is a wikipedia article about these pieces.
A new poet today - Aileen Lucia Fisher is a fairly recent poet, she just died in 2002. Much of her poetry is inspired by nature and much of it is simple and short. There are many collections of poetry available by Aileen. I ordered in quite a few from our library; I imagine yours would have some too or you can order them on Amazon. You can read a short biographical sketch of her life here.
She said, “Poetry is a rhythmical piece of writing that leaves the reader feeling
that life is a little richer than before, a little more full of wonder,
beauty, or just plain delight.”
You might also be familiar with her book, All on a Mountain Day which I highly recommend. We also have enjoyed her books, Summer of Little Rain and We Dickinson, the Life of Emily Dickinson as Seen Through the Eyes of Her Brother Austin.
A first poem as an introduction, comes from her book, I Heard A Bluebird Sing:
Twice Born
:
For moths and butterflies, it's nice:
they get born once, they get born twice.
They get born first from tiny eggs
as caterpillars having legs.
They get born next from silk cocoons,
with wings, on summer afternoons.
If I should get a second try,
I'd like to grow some wings, and fly.
A sweet mother/child picture today by Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen
Johann Sebastian Bach - Minuet in G Major
If you are reading Sebastian Bach the Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler, this piece of music is the minuet printed in chapter II. It's a lovely catchy tune that you may find yourself humming throughout the day if you listen to it a couple times.
Our last two poems by Rose Fyleman today are both about fairies.
The Child Next Door
The child next door has a wreath on her hat;
Her afternoon frock sticks out like that,
All soft and frilly;
She doesn't believe in fairies at all
(She told me over the garden wall)--
She thinks they're silly.
The child next door has a watch of her own;
She has shiny hair and her name is Joan;
(Mine is only Mary).
But doesn't it seem very sad to you
To think that she never her whole life through
Has seen a fairy?
The Fairies Have Never a Penny to Spend
The fairies have never a penny to spend,
They haven't a thing put by;
But theirs is the dower of bird and of flower,
And theirs are the earth and the sky.
And though you should live in a palace of gold
Or sleep in a dried-up ditch,
You could never be poor as the fairies are,
And never as rich.
Since ever and ever the world began
They have danced like a ribbon of flame,
They have sung their song through the centuries long,
And yet it is never the same.
And though you be foolish or though you be wise,
With hair of silver or gold,
You could never be young as the fairies are,
And never as old.
