In 1928 Berg started work on his second and last opera: "Lulu". He had thought about the opera for many years. He had seen a play called "Die Büchse des Pandora" "(Pandora’s Box)" in 1905. Wedekind had played the part of Jack the Ripper. People thought the play was obscene, but it still became very popular, especially after 1918 when there was no more censorship in Germany. He worked on the opera until 1934. He then stopped work on it to write his "Violin Concerto". When he heard about the sad death from poliomyelitis of a young girl he knew called Manon Gropius, he dedicated the concerto to her memory. He wrote: “To the memory of an angel”. Manon’s mother, Alma, had been the wife of Gustav Mahler.
Soon after he had finished the Violin Concerto, Berg was stung by an insect. This formed an abscess and he was rushed to hospital but he died. The concerto had not yet been performed. He had not finished "Lulu". The third act was only sketched in short score (showing the main notes, but not exactly what each instrument plays). When the opera was first performed, Act III was just acted out in mime while some other music by Berg was played. Berg’s widow Helene did not want anyone else to finish the opera, so Act III was never performed until after Helene died in 1976. It was finished by Friedrich Cerha and performed in 1977, although a court action had tried to stop it from being performed.
Herefordshire
Herefordshire (known as County of Herefordshire) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders the English counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south east and the Welsh counties of Gwent to the south west and Powys to the west. It is not to be confused with Hertfordshire, a county north of London.
It is pronounced (i.e. first syllable as in "herring", and -e- a separate syllable).
The county town of Herefordshire is the cathedral city of Hereford.
Historically, the Rivers Wye and Lugg were navigable but the wide seasonal variations in water levels mean that few craft larger than canoes and coracles are now used. There are canoe centres at The Boat House, Glasbury-on-Wye, the Hereford Youth Service and Kerne Bridge Ross-on-Wye, as well as a rowing club in Hereford.
The early nineteenth century saw the construction of two canals, The Hereford & Gloucester Canal and The Leominster & Stourport Canal but these were never successful and there are now few remains to be seen.
Conch
A conch is a sea-dwelling mollusc. It is a marine gastropod. The ch at the end of 'conch' may be pronounced hard or soft.
Many other gastropods have common names with "conch" in them. They are however not true conches, in the family
Strombidae. One such example is the Horse Conch ("Pleuroploca gigantea"). The genus Strombus is made up of the true conches.
While most Strombid species are extinct, at least 65 species still exist. Of these, most are in the Indo-Pacific Oceans while six are in the greater Caribbean region. Living true conch species include the Queen Conch, "Strombus gigas", and the West Indian Fighting Conch ("Strombus pugilis").
Many conch, such as the Queen Conch, are found among beds of sea grass in warm tropical waters.
"Strombus gigas" is included in Appendix II of the UNEP's CITES list of endangered species and international trade is heavily restricted.
Conches have spirally constructed shells. Depending on species (or aberrant growth patterns), shell growth can be sinistral (left-handed) or dextral (right-handed).
Conches have long eye stalks, a long and narrow aperture, and a siphonal canal with an indentation near the anterior end. This indentation is called a stromboid notch. They also have a foot ending in a pointed, sickle-shaped, horny operculum. They grow a flared lip on their shells upon reaching sexual maturity.
Conches have a characteristic leaping motion, using their pointed, sickle-shaped, horny operculum to propel themselves forward. They lay eggs in long, gelatinous strands.
The animal inside the shell is eaten, either raw, as in salads, or cooked, as in fritters, chowders, gumbos, and burgers. In East Asian cuisines, the meat is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir-fried. Conch meat is also often confused with Scungilli, which is more accurately whelk meat.
Conch shells are sometimes used as decoration, as decorative planters, and in cameo-making. As with other mollusk shells, they are ground up into an ingredient in porcelain. In classic Mayan art, conches are shown being utilized in many ways including as paint and ink holders for elite scribes, as bugle or trumpet, and as hand weapons (held by combatants by inserting their hands in the aperture).
In some countries, cleaned Queen Conch ("Strombus gigas") shells or polished fragments are sold, mainly to tourists, as souvenirs or in jewelry. Without a permit however, export is a breach of CITES regulations and may lead to arrest . This is most likely to occur on return to the tourist's home country while clearing customs. In the UK conch shells are the 9th most seized import.
Conch shells are occasionally used as a building material, either in place of bricks or as bulk for landfill.
It is also believed to be used as a weapon by the earliest Caribbean natives.
Conch shells are sometimes made into crude bugles by removing the small tip of the shell to form a mouthpiece. Such instruments are used in the Pacific Islands as well as in many parts of Asia. While lacking the range capabilities and tonal quality of brass instruments, the conch shell is still an interesting instrument to play. As it has no mouthpiece or valves, the embouchure in shell playing is critical. Most shells will only naturally play one note, but with pitch manipulations, multiple sounds can be achieved. The insertion of the hand and the placement of the fingers will also change the pitch of the shell. The conch shell is said to be the musical instrument of mermaids and mermen. Steve Turre is the leading innovator of the shell. It is sometimes found in classical works, such as the symphony piece "La Noche de Los Mayas", or "Night of the Mayas", which was premiered in 1939 with Jacob Watkins on percussion and conch.
The conch shell is a major Hindu article of prayer, used as a trumpeting announcement of all sorts. The God of Preservation, Vishnu, is said to hold a special conch, Panchajanya, that represents life as it has come out of life-giving waters. In the story of Dhruva the divine conch plays a special part. The warriors of ancient India would blow conch shells to announce battle, such as is famously represented in the beginning of the war of Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata, the famous Hindu epic. The conch shell is a deep part of Hindu symbolic and religious tradition. To this very day, many Hindus use the conch as a part of their religious practices, blowing it during worship at specific points, accompanied by ceremonial bells.
See also: Krishna
Buddhism also has incorporated the conch into its symbolism. See: Buddhist symbolism.
William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" features frequent references to "The Conch". In the novel, a conch shell is blown to call the other boys together. It is held by whoever is speaking at meetings, symbolically representing democracy and order. When Roger, Jack's lieutenant, smashes the shell, it is a sign that civilized order has collapsed and Jack's domination has begun.
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (pronounced ; "GLOSS-ter-sher") is a county in South West England. The county includes part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Stroud, Cirencester, and Tewkesbury.
Gloucestershire borders the county of Gwent in Wales, and in England the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bristol.