This Is Our Story

This is Our Story

Humanity United in Action,
Driven By Love and Compassion,
Informed by Science and Reason.

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Read This First
  • About
  • Cycle-of-Life Season
    • 1 Dormancy
      • Week 01: Human Worth
      • Week 02: Universality
      • Week 03: Justice
      • Week 04: Suffering
      • Week 05: Humility
      • Week 06: Avoiding Harm, or Evil
      • Week 07: Engaging the World
      • Week 08: Order
    • 2 Sowing
      • Week 09: Preferences (Desire)
      • Week 10: Autonomy
      • Week 11: Life as a Journey
      • Week 12: Renewal
      • Week 13: Hope and Optimism
      • Week 14: Self-esteem (Self-worth begins)
      • Week 15: Self-confidence
      • Week 16: Independence (Self-competence)
    • 3 Growth
      • Week 17: Our Future
      • Week 18: Honesty
      • Week 19: Obligation in the World
      • Week 20: Duty toward Others
      • Week 21: Awakening
      • Week 22: Obstacles and Opportunities
      • Week 23: Individuality and Community
    • 4 Ripening
      • Week 24: Honoring
      • Week 25: Excellence
      • Week 26: An Ethic of Generous Service
      • Week 27: Openness
      • Week 28: Transcendence
      • Week 29: Wisdom
      • Week 30: Caring
      • Week 31: Courage
      • Week 32: Citizenship
    • 5 Interlude
      • Week 33: Grounding and Well-Roundedness
      • Week 34: Assertiveness
      • Week 35: Restoration
    • 6 Fulfillment
      • Week 36: Creativity
      • Week 37: Truth
      • Week 38: Love
      • Week 39: Faith
      • Week 40: Rebirth
    • 7 Assessing
      • Week 41: Home and the Past
      • Week 42: Vitality
      • Week 43: Self-actualization and Integrity
      • Week 44: Connectedness
      • Week 45: Empowerment
      • Week 46: Equality
    • 8 Harvest and Celebration
      • Week 47: Flourishing
      • Week 48: Focus and Perspective
      • Week 49: Change
      • Week 50: Finding Our Niche
      • Week 51: Accepting / Surrendering
      • Week 52: Living Religiously
      • Week 53: Celebration and Remembrance
  • Weekdays
    • Sunday
    • Monday
    • Tuesday
    • Wednesday
    • Thursday
    • Friday
    • Saturday
You are here: Home / Cycle-of-Life Season / 7 Assessing / Living with Vitality

Living with Vitality

Wassily Kandinsky, Colorful Life (1907)

Many of us live as though we were half asleep. Spiritual vitality is the opposite of that. It is the creative component of spirituality, its strength.

Real

Technical and Analytical Readings

  • Daniel N. Stern, Forms of Vitality: Exploring Dynamic Experience in Psychology, the Arts, Psychotherapy and Development (Oxford University Press, 2010).
  • Thomas Cleary, Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook (Shambhala, 2009).

True Narratives

  • David Michaelis, Eleanor (Simon & Schuster, 2020): “Her energy level always seemed to be someplace between prodigious and terrifying.”

Imaginary

Visual Arts

  • Marc Chagall, The Circus (1964)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe, Oriental Poppies II
  • Wassily Kandinsky, Colourful Ensemble, (1938)
  • Francis Picabia, Autumn Effect (1905)

Film and Stage

  • Much Ado About Nothing (Branagh): a lively rendition of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, of which the Bard surely would approve, heartily

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Jean Sibelius’ intent for his Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 (1924), was to compose a work expressing the “Joy of life and vitality”. “Cast in one movement, it eschews the traditional four-movement structure used in most symphonies since the late 18th century. Despite its unique structure, it grows organically from the first few measures to become one of the most original and profound symphonic works in the repertoire.” “The music commentator Donald Francis Tovey compared the experience of listening to Sibelius’s Seventh to the sensation of flying in an aircraft. 'An aeronaut carried with the wind . . . has no sense of movement at all. . . . He moves in the air and can change his pace without breaking his movement.'” “It’s tribute to the huge emotional power of Sibelius’s music that it produces . . . wildly divergent interpretations . . .” Top performances were conducted by Beecham in 1940, Mravinsky in 1965, Karajan in 1968, Rattle in 1985, Bernstein in 1988, Berglund in 1997, Järvi in 2005, Davis in 2016, Vänskä in 2016 and Mäkelä in 2021. Here are links to live performances conducted by Bernstein and Elder.

Antonio Vivaldi composed several series of violin concerti, including his La Stravaganza (The Extravagance), Op. 4.

  • Concerto 1 in B flat major, RV 383a
  • Concerto 2 in E minor, RV 279
  • Concerto 3 in G major, RV 301
  • Concerto 4 in A minor, RV 357
  • Concerto 5 in A major, RV 347
  • Concerto 6 in G minor, RV 316a
  • Concerto 7 in C minor, RV 567
  • Concerto 8 in D minor, RV 249
  • Concerto 9 in F major, RV 284
  • Concerto 10 in C minor, RV 196
  • Concerto 11 in D major, RV 204
  • Concerto 12 in G major, RV 298

Other compositions:

  • Barber, Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, Op. 9 (1936), modeled on Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7
  • Braga Santos, Symphonic Variations on a Popular Song from the Alentejo, Op. 18, (1951)
  • Raga Natbhairav (Nat Bhairav), a Hindustani classical early morning raag (performances by Abhisheki, Sahasrabuddhe and Banerjee)

Albums:

  • In Tokyo on April 16, 1979, jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, saxophonist/flautist Jan Garbarek, double-bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen performed an exceptionally vibrant set, now available as “Sleeper”.
  • Alexander von Schilppenbach, “Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra”
  • Reggie Quinerly, “New York Nowhere”, on the vitality of New York city, and the leader-drummer’s experiences in it; he explains and interviews on the work.
  • Jonathan Blake, “Trion”
  • Barry Altschul’s 3Dom Factor, “Long Tall Sunshine”
  • Lauren Sevian, “Blueprint”
  • Trio Casals, “Moto Quarto” (2019): “. . . zestfully interpreting nine new American compositions – virtually all of them either tailor-made or arranged for the ensemble.”

August 24, 2010

Previous Post: « Embracing the Past
Next Post: Being Joyful »
  • Email
  • Twitter

Topics

Acknowledging Anticipation Appreciation Belonging Choosing Confidence Focus Honoring uniqueness Judgment Motivation Planning Prudence Remembrance Restraining Retreat Reverie Self-knowledge Tenacity Transcending ego Week 01: Human Worth

Web Developers Studio
© 2023 ThisIsOurStory
About | FAQ