Oh my, oh my, oh my - such beautiful music was played last night! This centennial of the end of the First World War is inspiring many in the arts world to commemorate the end of one of humanity's worst perpetrations against itself, in the hopes that humanity will learn...which of course we don't. 
We are so lucky to have a wonderful friend who sings in the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, who is currently out of the country and kindly offered us (@tim-beck and me) tickets to this event.
Although I've been lucky enough to live in countries that have not been at war while I've lived there, I can't count the number of wars which have raged around the world while I've lived my (getting on to) six decades here on this blue dot. 
Last year we visited the [Delville Wood cemetery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delville_Wood_Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission_Cemetery) and war memorial, as I described in [this post](https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-2-team-beck-takes-a-reflective-turn-in-delville-wood-somme-region-of-france). Seeing the evidence of so many thousands of young men - teenagers, many of them - cut down before they could live their lives was a graphic reinforcement of my deep antipathy to war, and my abiding gratitude for their sacrifice so that we can live our lives in freedom.
Last night's epic performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem showed me that artistic opposition to war can be devastatingly effective.
I was a bit circumspect in taking these photos and took them without flash - didn't even try to create a panorama as I didn't want to disturb those around me and frankly wanted to listen to the performance.
However, what is difficult to convey in these three photos is the impact of walking into the auditorium and seeing this *wall* of people who were about to make music. I suspect the most we've ever seen there at previous concerts may have been half the number of performers gathered at this performance last night.
If we understood our "host" conductor, Richard Cock, correctly, this was the first time since 1967 this piece has been performed in Johannesburg, and while it may not be the last the chances we'll see it here again are infinitesimal. 
As you can see from the cover of the program, an absolute *smörgåsbord* of talent was involved in putting on this ambitious production. It included three orchestras, four conductors, three soloists and five choirs (I think - more on the numbers below) to put on performances in Johannesburg last night and in Cape Town this coming Friday.
I *think* the Saxon Youth Orchestra were on the floor and to the left (the first and third photos of the performers above) and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra was in the balcony on the right (second photo).
We could see two conductors, Richard Cock conducting the Festival Orchestra and two of the soloists in the balcony, and Ekkehard Klemm in front, conducting the combined choir and Youth Orchestra. 
A third conductor, Claudia Sebastian-Bertsch was cunningly ensconced above, behind and to the left of us in the upper balcony - she was conducting the children's choir, which I *think* might have been a meld of the Singakademie Dresden's children's choir and St John's College Choir.
A short word about Richard Cock: without him, the availability and accessibility of classical music to ordinary Johannesburgers would be in serious peril. 
Ekkehard Klemm's life and career have been intimately linked to [Dresden](https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-dresden), a city which was outrageously bombed flat towards the end of the Second World War.
The two male soloists were a baritone and a tenor. In the introduction, Richard Cock took care to point out that the baritone, Daniel Ochoa, had roots in Africa as one of his parents was from Equatorial Guinea. Siyabonga Maqungo, the tenor, is one of Joburg's amazing upcoming talents.
The soprano...ah, the soprano...Andiswa Makana. She of the sublime, rich, effortless, expressive, perfect voice; another local talent whose development has been supported through public sector education as well as private philanthropic trusts.
We are reasonably sure that last night we listened to the Singakademie Dresden and Children's Choir, the St John's College Choir and the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg.
[Benjamin Britten](https://brittenpears.org/explore/benjamin-britten/), in addition to being one of the twentieth century's greatest composers, was also a committed pacifist.
[Wilfred Owen](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wilfred-owen), a British poet, is known for his war poetry.
> Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of the best British poetry on World War I, composed nearly all of his poems in slightly over a year, from August 1917 to September 1918. In November 1918 he was killed in action at the age of twenty-five, one week before the Armistice. 
The War Requiem was commissioned for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral in England in 1961. It incorporates excerpts from poems by Wilfred Owen as well as the Latin text for the [Mass for  the Dead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem). The Cathedral had been rebuilt after being bombed flat during the Second World War. As the program eloquently summarises:
> Britten prefaced the score of the War Requiem with a quote from the preface that Owen wrote for his book of poetry (published posthumously): "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity. All a poet can do is to warn." 
> The War Requiem, a monument to both world wars, is constructed on three levels: (1) baritone and tenor soloists, and small orchestra to represent piercing irony; (2) soprano soloist, chorus, and large orchestra to represent the ritual invocation of God's mysterious presence; and (3) children and organ to represent innocent hope. Overall, the work represents the search for "a vision of eternal peace which warring man cannot, of himself, achieve."
By way of introduction, Richard Cock asked his wife Sue to give a foretaste of the musical experience the audience was about to have - she described it as "soul-changing" and perhaps the equivalent of a film score, a film we would each have to play in our minds as we listened to the music. (Okay, I thought, we watched the film Dunkirk last year - that should do it.) She left the stage saying, "I won't tell you to enjoy this - I will tell you that you'll be changed by listening to it". 
This concert was held at the venerable [Linder Auditorium](https://www.wits.ac.za/campus-life/arts-and-culture/linder-auditorium/), on the main campus of the University of the Witwatersrand.
The concert opened with a hauntingly beautiful choral introduction, Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst? (How is the city so desolate?), composed by Rudolf Mauersberger about the sacking of Dresden. Mauersberger was the choirmaster that the young Ekkehard Klemm first learned his craft from in Dresden. 
The six movements indeed took us through war and death, in a most unexpected way - the best word I could use to describe it would be "SurroundSound", as we had the wall of sound in front of us as well as the children's choir above and behind us. The music didn't have any "greatest hits" or "showstoppers", rather it was a musical depiction of the depressing reality of war and death, with the lyrics displayed on the screen above the choir for us to follow along. The Latin lyrics were translated into English, and Wilfred Owen's devastating words were also displayed.
Most extraordinary for me was that often the entire host sang different pieces together, in different languages and almost tonally clashing. Sometimes the percussion was meant to sound like the explosions of war. Sometimes the brass section picked up on the calls of war. It was so effective to hear those sounds sometimes played loud, and sometimes played so softly we could barely hear them.
And the soprano...oh my goodness. I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe her voice and her performance. I will simply say that her performance was sublime and as close to a perfect interpretation of a piece that I have ever enjoyed live. I hope she has an extraordinary and illustrious career.
Can music help? Yes, by spreading the message of peace through the arts, which reach people in ways which words and rhetoric cannot do.
Please wear a poppy on November 11th to commemorate those who sacrificed themselves so we could live free.
Wow.  What a beautiful write up of what sounds like an amazingly powerful performance.  I actually got emotional reading this.  War is one of those things that if you are lucky enough to not be affected by it in your day to day life it is just so much easier to pretend it doesn't exist... it is so hard to stomach that people can do this to each other.  But then of course injustice and misery exist right in the midst of us wherever we are.   I will pray for peace :)  Much love - Carl
Dear @carlgnash, I've been wearing poppies since I was a child in the 1960s as a way for the adults to teach us about the horrors of WW1 and WW2, and I think the significance of war started to hit me even then, so their techniques must have worked...I recently found a school project I did on "ethnic clashes" in Zaire in the 1970s which sounded depressingly like some of the conflicts we still experience in Africa to this day. As you say, it's hard to stomach that people can do this to each other. I've always taken the experience of visiting war graves seriously, but only recently have I had the...opportunity, if that's the right word, of visiting such big cemeteries as can be found in the north of France. It is simply terrible to see the loss of potential and light in those places. I hope your prayers find root somewhere. Thank you for sharing your insights and your peace....
I wish we can learn from past mistakes, but it feels to me that we can only learn in the short term and more and more I am afraid to think that we have forgotten how terrible war is these days. This performance is not only beautiful but I hope it will serve to remind us not to ever fall that deeply again. 
Thank you so much, @scrawly...I wish it were so, but I have no confidence that humans will ever stop making war on each other, because they can 😢. I do hope that music and the arts have the power to move at least a few people away from worshipping the gods of war to being purveyors of peace. Wilfred Owen's death a week before the Armistice was a shining example of this - his poetry has moved thousands to reflect on "Why war?"...but yet, his light was extinguished too early by war. *Nunca mas*.
Excellent synopsis of this concert! I read and my skin is bristling with emotion. I can imagine being there and I'm really excited. I believe that the arts can not only serve to offer beauty, relaxation, but also to make us change our attitude towards life. The fact that there are artists like the poet Wilfred Owen, who at an early age tried to express himself against war beyond his life, is a thread of hope! The fact that there are groups, orchestras, people promoting the language of peace makes us still keep alive the faith of a better world. Let us change weapons for musical instruments, brushes, pencils. We still have time to change!Thank you for sharing such a moving experience and such beautiful images, @kiligirl
I am so moved by your reply, @nancybriti. I wish I knew more about the backstory to this concert - my friend has told me a little, but clearly the choir was dedicated to putting on this performance as they budgeted it at a significant loss (fun fact: the more performers they have, the less room there is for paying customers...but they did it anyway - just wow). Thank you so much for your uplifting comment! 💗💗
What an exceptional article, emotionally charged music to make one think, your words make it tangible @kiligirl
Raised in a family, attending parades all my life, this sends shivers up the spine to think of honoring people who put their lives on the line, to ensure better living for those to follow. _(Sadly humans never learn.)_
My father and his brothers served throughout WW11 in North Africa and Italy, their sister also was in uniform in a typist pool during the war years. Born from 1905 to 1911, my Dad the youngest, all came home.  A cousin of my Mom lost his life in Italy, my parents visited his grave in the late 1970's.
If I had sat through an orchestra with choir I would have cried, beauty in song, emotional ties to events, not mentioning my grand-parents who also took up arms when called upon, yes it would have been a night to remember!
I think you would have really enjoyed this performance, @joanstewart. I can only imagine what it was like growing up with those who were in active service. I'm happy for you and yours that at least your brothers all came home. Sad that any young person has lost their life, even in the supposedly noble cause of defending freedom. Thank you so much for your kind comments...I really appreciate it, as I felt I hadn't done the performance justice with my post. You've given me a much-needed boost 😊
Thank you for such wonderful description of that event Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. The hall is almost bursting from that mass of people  who attended that event. I can imagine with live orchestra and choir how magnificent it must be. The whole atmosphere of that music that penetrates your whole body goes under your skin.  You are right the Art, Music and Culture are more important for us human if we want to survive and all together, I like that you mentioned many pieces were presented in different languages, but there is one language they all speak and we all understand that is Music :)
You can check out <a href="https://steemit.com/curation/@curie/curie-author-showcase-july-10th-2018">our previous Author Showcase</a> to get an idea of what we are doing with these posts.
Oh my goodness, @misterakpan, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw that @curie had picked up my post. This is such an honour. I often write posts just to get thoughts out of my system, and I wrote this one in the context of the upcoming centennial of the Armistice, from which we've clearly learned *bupkis* about how to keep from killing millions of each other in the name of whatever greater cause requires the sacrifice of young lives at the time. Sometimes I think that the first world war ended just because of the Spanish flu epidemic, not because of any good sense on the part of decision makers or any actual moral victory.
The poppy has been a part of my life every November 11th as we remember the fallen on Remembrance Day, but somehow the hundredth anniversary of the end of World War 1 provides a greater impetus to reflect on the futility of that loss of young life, despite the gratitude we feel for their deaths having purchased our freedom.
Now we sit and watch passively as millions of Yemenis slowly starve to death in a completely man-made famine, a by-product of a proxy war which serves no apparent moral purpose. What have we learned a century after the end of "the war to end all wars"? How to make fancier, more technical wars? Yay us. 
Is there a way to reach anyone who might possibly stop this kind of insanity within our lifetime? That's why a concert such as the War Requiem earlier this week moved me to write about the role the arts can play in getting ordinary people to think about the gross immorality of war, especially when a composer such as Britten combines his own musical prowess with the powerful poetry of Wilfred Owen to create such an extraordinary pro-peace piece...and over fifty years since it was first played, another group of dedicated musical professionals brought it to an audience who had likely never heard it live, nor would they get the chance again in their lifetime. It wasn't recorded, so I did what I can do to keep it alive - I wrote about it. And you honoured it by selecting my piece for @curie. Thank you, on behalf of the fallen millions, for the unlikely chance that their deaths and this music might influence someone, somewhere not to make war any more.
Greetings all and thank you for tuning in. Turns out my computer just can't handle streaming with dlive or dtube so here I am on youtube. Just want to share some gameplay with you all.
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You're farther into the game than I am and I don't want the spoilers haha, I like the black suit though.
Everywhere I’ve read about growing microgreens in soil (as opposed to germination pads) have said that the harvest process of microgreens can be tedious. This is true. I will say that I think I want a pair of little kid scissors to get in really closely to the roots so I can cut as close to the soil as possible.
Some folks use the whole plant in their harvest, but I chose to clip the greens as close to the soil level as possible, and then I will be composting the remaining soil which also includes the roots from the greens in it as well. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you happen to have seeds germinate in your compost, just be sure to mix up your compost and break up these shoots as they may arise.
Rather than cutting from in the tray (bit of an awkward angle), I chose to remove the flats from the containers so I could get even closer to the dirt-level to make my cuts. I was surprised how easily these came out of the containers. Especially the kale, which had quite a complex network of roots holding everything together. I had suspected that these particular kale weren’t going to get much larger because I had planted them so densely....looking at these roots, I think I was right.
To remove them from the containers, I used a spatula and a butter knife. The kale practically came out on its own.
For maximum freshness, leaving the greens in the planters until you are ready to use them is probably going to be the best practice...however, you can also harvest them as a whole, package them, and they’ll keep nicely in the refrigerator for about a week (according to the numerous sources I’ve been checking out over the course of the past few months as I’ve been researching this).
First of all, once you start clipping, you’ll want to work quickly. These greens will wilt if kept at room temperature for too long, so if you think it takes you a little too long at first (like I did when I was clipping them), I went ahead and put one container in the fridge before it was “full” so I could go ahead and keep them cold while I was working on the others.
As you clip the microgreens, make sure to give them a quick dip in cool water and leave them on the paper towel surface.
Place them on moistened paper towels inside the airtight container and try to leave as much room between the greens as possible as you pack them into the container. Layer moistened towels between the greens so you can fit multiple servings into one container.
They should last in the fridge like this for about a week!! I’m sure we will snack on these before then.
I’d love to hear how you store your greens, and if you have any other awesome and more space-efficient ways to pack up delicious greens! Let me know!
@sotall this is great! I look forward to adding that code to my liner with pride!! Thank you so much for the support.
I must just not have the right lighting to be able to grow the micro-greens. I can grow clover and mung bean sprouts with no problem, but everything else just fizzles. Even the clover will only grow in a cooler with closed lid. If I try to green it up, it just never looks right. But I only get early morning light, so that is probably my problem.
I’m growing these under fluorescent lights pretty much 24/7. That’s why they have such a quick turnaround time. My house doesn’t have the right light at the right places and times, either, so I just work with regular light bars for these.
You can check out my Steemit post here about my setup if you’d like to see the photos of how I have it set and what I’m specifically using.
Oh this looks fun. Do you have a post here showing how to get started doing this? My kids would love this.
I also love that they can be grown in the smallest and most urban of spaces. Plus the quick turnaround makes it even better!!
Absolutely! So good for you, so delicious, and so easy to do!! I live in a super small space and am working on a literal bounty of micros here!!
18)so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us
Biblical Hope means that we know for sure that God will do what He has promised. Some things that God promised are; He will make us His children, nobody will take us away from Him, we will receive eternal life, we will not be tempted more than what we can resist, He will give complete forgiveness to those who repent and ask for forgiveness, and He will give the Holy Spirit to work in us and guide us. We must hold onto this Hope.
Another great scripture and well shared with explanation! God bless you and your family for the effort!
Yes, we have to hold the believe upon Almighty Father and he is helping us all the way. Stay blessed. 🙂
He is a faithful God, in everything that He promise, He does. So you can count on the promises of God in the Bible. Thank you Lord Jesus, My hope and my refuge. God bless us all.
Not my favorite tea, but pretty darn good! The jasmine flowers overpower the fruit a little bit too much for my taste. Goes quite well with rock sugar.
I did not expect this tea to actually smell and taste like what the name would indicate. Yet, somehow, it does.
This tea leaves an incredibly nice and fresh aftertaste, and is an incredibly pleasant experience as a whole.
This tea, a flavored green rooibos, is the perfect tea to cheer one up on a cold winter day. Its flavor and aroma are reminiscent of the summer. The taste is sweet, but not sickly sweet. It leaves a nice, fresh aftertaste that lasts for quite a while. Quite possibly my personal favorite out of all rooibos teas I’ve tasted.