The Residentie Orchestra (Dutch: Residentie Orkest) is an orchestra from The Hague in the Netherlands. Outside the Netherlands it is often known as The Hague Philharmonic. The name “Residentie” (“Residence”) shows that it comes from The Hague, which is where the Dutch parliament meets. The Hague is the “residence of the Queen’s parliament”, although it is not the capital city of the Netherlands. The orchestra are internationally famous.
The orchestra started to form in 1903 when a group of musicians who called themselves the “Residentie Orkest” gave a concert in the Gebouw voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen (Building for Arts and Sciences) in the centre of the Hague. By the end of the following year they had formed to give regular concerts. Their concert on 20 November 1904 is taken to be the official beginning of the orchestra.
The first conductor of the orchestra was Henri Viotta, who soon made it a very good orchestra. Famous composers came to conduct their own works with the orchestra. These included Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Max Reger and Maurice Ravel. The orchestra was sometimes conducted by the Dutch composer Peter van Anrooy, as well as their guest conductor George Szell.
The orchestra continued to be internationally known, and some very famous conductors came to conduct the orchestra, including Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein and Hans Knappertsbusch.
During the years after World War II, from 1949 to 1973, Willem van Otterloo was the chief conductor. They gave regular concerts in the Hague and in Amsterdam and made recordings for Philips Gramophone. Van Otterloo introduced them to many different styles of music. As in its earlier days, the orchestra often played modern music conducted by the composers: Bruno Maderna, Mauricio Kagel, John Cage and Pierre Boulez conducted their works. Recordings were made with other conductors including Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Evgenii Svetlanov who included music by less well-known Russian composers.
Jaap van Zweden, who conducted the orchestra for the first five years of this century, took them on tour to Japan and South America and they made recordings to celebrate 100 years of the orchestra. Van Zweden is still Honorary Guest Conductor of the orchestra.
Today the orchestra’s chief conductor is Neeme Järvi. Many new things have been started, including some concerts given by the Residentie Scratch Orchestra, in which amateur players can join the professional players of the orchestra to give a concert.
The Residentie Orchestra gave many of their concerts in the Gebouw voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen (more simply known as “K&W Building”), but also the summer concerts in the Kurzaal in Scheveningen, the seaside resort of the Hague, were very famous. Until 1915 these had been given by the Orchestre Lamoureux. The Residentie took them over and continued them until 1968.
The orchestra moved out of the K&W Building in 1964. Shortly afterwards the building was destroyed by fire. The Residentie Orchestra gave their regular concerts in the Kurzaal until 1968 when they moved to the Congresgebouw (Congress Building) in the west of the Hague. This was still not a very good concert hall and in 1987 they were able to move to the new Dr. Anton Philipszaal in the centre of the town. There are plans now to build a completely new arts complex there.
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is a university and mosque in Cairo, Egypt. It is the main centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world. It is also the world's second-oldest surviving university. It was founded in 975 by the Fatimids of the Shia tradition.
Imam Ali Mosque
The Imām ‘Alī Holy Shrine (), also known as Masjid Ali or the Mosque of ‘Alī, is a mosque in Najaf, Iraq.
Imam Reza shrine
Imām Rezā shrine () is a complex in Mashhad, Iran. It contains the mausoleum of Imām Ridhā, the eighth Imām of Twelver Shi'ites. Also in the complex are the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, seminaries, a cemetery, a dining hall for pilgrims, vast prayer halls, and other buildings.
This complex is the center of tourism in Iran. It is visited by 15 to 20 million pilgrims every year.
Qibla
Qiblah (, also transliterated as Kiblah) is an Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during Salah. Most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the qiblah.
First Qibla;Unlike the biography stories that are composed of traditional rumor compilations, based on text and archaeological research, and hypothesized that the "Masjid al-Haram" was not located in Mecca, but in the north-west Arabian Peninsula.
Canadian archeology and Islamic history researcher Dan Gibson discovered that the oldest mosque, palace and cemetery positionings point to Petra. He found that it was the place where Muhammad and the first Muslims lived, and that the first direction of qibla for the Muslims was facing Petra.
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is the buried army of Qin Shi Huang, an ancient Chinese emperor. These ancient sculptures were built and buried over two thousand years ago near the city of Xi'an. They were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well looking for underground water. Over a thousand terracotta warriors and horses have been uncovered since then. At least 6,000 more are thought to remain buried still.
According to the Chinese historian Sima Qian, Qin Shi Huang ordered this army to be built long before he became the first Emperor of all China in 221 BC. Work started when he was King of Qin in 247 BC. They were constructed to protect him in the afterlife. He died in 210 BC. Over 700,000 workers were needed to build the underground city where he was buried. It is thought to be filled with riches and decorated beautifully. The Chinese government has no plans to uncover the underground palace.
Each terracotta warrior is made of clay. They are around 2 meters tall, with commanders in the army being the tallest. The sculptures are so detailed that it is possible to guess the age, rank and personality of each one. None of the soldiers are the same. Some carry weapons such as daggers, bows and arrows, swords, spears or axes.
The terracotta army figures were made in workshops. The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled. Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features. Once put together, features such as facial expressions were added.
It is thought their legs were made the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were made at the time. This would make it an assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times, each workshop had to write its name on items produced. Once they were completed, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.
Iftar
Iftar () also Afur in (Somali language) refers to the evening meal for breaking (fasting) during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Muslims fast in the holy month of Ramadan.
At the time of Maghrib (just after sunset) they eat and drink.
Dua for iftar is
ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ .‏‏"Thirst has gone, the arteries are moist, and the reward is sure, if Allah wills." [1]
Reference:
Potluck
A potluck is a gathering of people. Every person is expected to bring a dish of food to share with the other people.
Khatib
Khatib or khateeb ( "khaṭīb") is an Arabic term used to describe a person who delivers the sermon ("khuṭbah"), during the Friday prayer or Eid prayers.
Khutbah
Khutbah () is the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition.
Gymnasium