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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Serenade to a rose: Stella by Starlight

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". . . not a dream,
My heart and I agree."





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47 comments:

EcoGrrl said...

love the photo, love the miles...this makes me think about expanding my rose garden next year...

steven said...

ruth - when i was a kid in the late sixties miles lifted my head off and from that point on i was open to music in a very big way. music braids itself around almost everything i do. steven

Rosaria Williams said...

A stunning photo; an equally stunning musician.

Bruce Barone said...

Love!!!

hedgewitch said...

Such a beautiful rose, and the Miles suits her well, refined and serene. I envy you her; I don't try to grow the hybrid teas anymore because of the terrible blackspot we get down here. Lovely. Thanks for the peek.

Grandmother Mary said...

What a sweet smooth sound for Miles. Is the insect over the rose or the lens? It's a gorgeous color that my mother used to call "ashes of roses".

VioletSky said...

such a beautiful rose - but I love the way you caught that insect with its wings fluttering...
I also love Miles.

Peter Greene said...

Pretty fly, pretty flower. Thanks for!

PG

Louise Gallagher said...

I spent many a late night listening to Miles and talking and writing and listening and feeling.

Wonderful!

Unknown said...

Good when you can agree with your heart:)

Ruth said...

Thanks, EcoGrrl. We planted a lot of these hedge roses last year, for ease. It will take a while for them to fill out. For now, each rose is a singular beauty.

Ruth said...

Steven, I envy you that. I only began listening to Miles last year, after other things 'lifted my head off' for a few years, and I opened to jazz.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Rosaria. The more Miles I listen to, the more I hear in his 'voice.' I love watching him too on videos. Love how he tucks his head down into that horn.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Bruce!!! Maybe the three !!! is one for each thing in this post: rose, Miles, sketch.

Ruth said...

Hedgewitch, thanks for your musical garden visit. We've avoided tea roses too, for the care, aphids, etc. These are hedge roses we planted last year. We got them for the front of the house, hoping to fill in what had been an annual bed and had gotten tired of maintaining. We have these hedge roses on campus and they flourish and need little care. For now they look thin from a distance, but each rose up close is lovely.

Ruth said...

Hi, Mary. The bee was momentarily hovering above the rose. The true color of the rose is a brighter pink, but I toned it down and aged it a bit in LightRoom, since I was feeling Miles and nostalgic.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Violetski. There's such a great amount of life teeming around out here. I wish I could take more portraits of insects and birds. I don't have much patience, but sometimes I'm lucky.

Ruth said...

You're welcome, Peter, and thanks for your visit!

Ruth said...

Louise, I've come to Miles late in life, now I'm making up for it. Thanks!

Ruth said...

Emille, so true, so true. The line I quoted is from the song lyrics by Ned Washington, which came a couple of years after Victor Young wrote the music.

Shari said...

Beautiful photograph. I enjoyed your post this morning. I guess I never got into Miles Davis. You educate me in so many ways.

Patricia said...

Ruth, Gorgeous photo and music on your post today. Re: Stella, the Phillips Collection in DC has an exhibition on view "Stella Sounds:The Scarlatti K Series". These works by Frank Stella are 3D and were inspired by Domenico Scarlatti and the writings of Ralph Kirkpatrick. Beautiful forms!

ellen abbott said...

beautiful flower, beautiful photo.

California Girl said...

Hi Ruthie! Not sure what's going on but "A Year With Rilke" will not allow me to comment. I've tried 4x this AM. I can write in the comment box but then I'm supposed to CHOOSE AN IDENTITY.That's when it defaults out. This isn't happening on other blogs so am wondering if it's the Rilke blog today?

Marcie said...

A stunning image and musical story to accompany. Love how you put this all together!

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

Miles' playing was once famously likened to "a man walking on eggshells" and I think that captures a lot of what was unique about his sound, so fabulously displayed here in "Stella by Starlight", namely, the deceptive fragility that he evinced in his solos. I say "deceptive" because in terms of sheer emotional intensity, he was a tough as they come.

Your sketch of Miles here is absolutely wonderful, Ruth, a mini-classic in its own right.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Shari. I ignored Miles all my life. There were reasons. And there are reasons I listen to him now, thanks to exposure I've gotten from friends. It all began when a friend asked me to get a poster of Josephine Baker on a trip to Paris in 1978, which I couldn't find in any of the vintage shops, so I got him one of Miles instead. His eyes knocked me out.

Ruth said...

Patricia, now I just love when this happens. Aren't these StellaR connections? Frank Stella is inspired by Scarlatti's sonatas and Kirkpatrick's renditions, and creates pieces that move visually the way music moves. The pieces are beautiful, and you can see Kandinsky's influence. Thank you for reminding me that inspiration can spark imaginative expression across genres.

Ruth said...

Ellen, thanks, these roses are all over the farm and will fill out in bigger hedges.

Ruth said...

California Girl, I'm sorry to hear about your problems with commenting at the Rilke blog. Others have had that problem in the past, including Lorenzo, and they had to log in as Anonymous. I also had this problem at the Rumi blog and changed the comment format to a pop-up window.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Marcie. It was a good day to be quiet and listen to the rose, and let Miles accompany her.

Ruth said...

Lorenzo, I find a lot in your comment, particularly illustrated by a transition from 'Blue in Green' to 'Freddie Freeloader' in the 'Kind of blue" album that I'm listening to while I type. I think I first felt him walking on eggshells when I watched him play in the video of 'So What' because I hadn't watched him play before then. As he plays he looks like it takes no effort, but he's also so deep in the music that he looks as if he could still be inside the eggshell. I look forward to getting more closely acquainted with him the rest of my days, thanks in big part to you.

Thank you for noticing the sketch, I'm so glad you like it.

cathyswatercolors said...

Hi Ruth, cool jazz great pianting and of course your photo is wonderful. Happy summer!

Vagabonde said...

Gorgeous rose – the color is what I would call un “vieux rose” – and I love the little ant. Stunning picture Ruth.

lw said...

i agree with emille, nothing more need be said of the flower, the words, or the music

Ginnie Hart said...

Ruthie! Is that YOUR caricature of Miles?? I assume so, because of the 'rm.' OMG! That's better than GOOD! I love love love it.

Ruth said...

Cathy, thank you, my friend! Happy summer to you, you hard working well-deserving teacher you.

Ruth said...

Vagabonde, thanks so much. Yes, the rose is aged, by me. :-)

Ruth said...

lw, thanks. Our hearts know.

Ruth said...

Boots, yep! After posting him, he reminded me of your Soul Girl!

Thank you. :-)

Jeanie said...

Great music, better photo and graphics! Loved it and just what I needed!

Margaret said...

I adore the drawing. The piece oozes jazz! I'm so Impressed.

Ruth said...

Thanks, Jeanie, his inspiration feeds mine.

Ruth said...

Margaret, yay, I'm glad you like it!

Stratoz said...

wonderful jazz. So sorry to hear about your friend's passing.

Loring Wirbel said...

Miles! Miles! Miles!

OceanoAzul.Sonhos said...

Ruth,I love Miles Davis, so good, so quiet...
oa.s