Baroque - In Our Time podcast review

BBC's In Our Time discussed today The Baroque. Much of the program was spent on defining the Baroque. If at all it was supposed to render some additional meaning, somewhat tentatively it was maintained Baroque was an expression of the counter-reformation. And with the counter-reformation Baroque came to its end.

Hence, most of the program engages in discussing the examples and the characteristics of Baroque. Somehow this indulged mainly in discussion of architecture and the visual arts. At this point, Baroque seems to start in Italy, but is taken over by the French of Louis XIV and continues in Habsburg Vienna and Prague when it eventually peters out in Bavaria and Scandinavia. If at all music is discussed, opera is mentioned and then mostly because of the scale of it. Because that is what Baroque is, wherever you find it: ornamental, huge, indulgent and impressive. My first association with Barogue is with music. Handel for example (listen to inserted player - IE only).



In the end, Baroque kept striking me as a pre-romanticism, both in its exaltation as well as in the fact that Baroque was much less self-conscious. Oddly, during the Romantic age, Baroque comes to be defined - so I learned on the show. Another fact that stuck me, was that the anti-thesis of Baroque, if it was the austere Protestantism, or Jansenism or the rationalism of Descartes, was always around. As if Baroque and Romanticism are one side, an exuberant, exalted, inspirational side of the Western identity throughout the ages and it is always juxtaposed by the sober, rationalist, restrained side.

More In Our Time:
Neuroscience,
Simon Bolivar,
The Translation Movement,
Miracles,
Tacitus.

What was has been - מה שהיה היה

Radio Har HaTzofim's alleged history program מה שהיה היה has done its second broadcast after the summer recess and once more my conclusion is this podcast is more of a culture podcast than a history one. Maybe the fact that two history students host the show, has had it pegged for the history department. Maybe it originally set out to be a history podcast. The title surely, if poetically, alludes to that: What was, has been, Ma SheHayah Hayah, bearing on a song by Arik Einstein.



The show still is a great podcast to listen to. The audio comedy is much to my liking, with its tendency to mock the Israeli stream of consciousness with mild satire and hilarious parody.

More מה שהיה היה:
Jacques Brel,
What was has been

Namaste Stories - podcast as an art

I find it fascinating to analyze what make good podcasts work and more and more I come to the conclusion it is an art. As the brothers Shepherd from the Word Nerds already pointed out, this might well be part of the art form of story telling. For history podcasts, my main focus, this certainly is the case. Expanding upon that, the true expression of the art should be found in the fictional podcast, the oral narrative per se. The best example I know in that respect is Namaste Stories.



A wonderful example is given in the latest issue Episode #31 "A girl has to do what she has to do". This is a 13 minute tale which stands independently in the string of tales provided by host, narrator and writer Dave P. It can be enjoyed repeatedly. One is bound to find, as I did, new angles in the story, with each new session. However, the story also works in the first instant.

It would be too much of a spoiler to give anything away from the tale, but let me say this much. The perspective of the story is the teacher who finds a girl in his class that he is attracted to. What triggers the attraction? Something purely sensual? Or perhaps some echo of the past? Could the attraction be mutual and if so, how good is that? And so, with what possible intention could it be that the girl is approaching him now? Listen and find out.

Earlier about Namaste Stories.
Namaste Stories - fiction podcast review.

Sophie Germain - עושים היסטוריה עם רן לוי

The composition of the narrative, is what makes for the strongest history podcast. Dan Carlin does this very well in English, Tom Tacken is the genius in Dutch and the greatly talented composer of a captivating story in Hebrew is Ran Levi in Making history with Ran Levi. A superb example is given in the latest show, which is about French mathematician Sophie Germain.

In her days, women were not supposed to study mathematics, they weren't even supposed to be able to grasp math. However, as Levi presents the story, Mademoiselle Germain was captivated when she was still a kid by the story of Archimedes. The classic mathematician was so immersed in his math problem during a war, that he scowled at a an enemy soldier for disturbing him and consequently was killed. 'A problem so captivating, one risks death, that must be worth studying', Ran Levi has Sophie think. And so she embarks on investing her time in math, against all odds.

She impersonates a Monsieur Le Blanc in order to be admitted to the Academy. She ventures on solving Fermat's last Theorem (Levi plays a sound clip with Andrew Wiles that stems, it seems to me, from the BBC series about Fermat's last theorem. A pity there are no acknowledgments) and this brings her in contact with the great minds of math in her day. Among others she corresponds with the Prussian Gauss and to be on the safe side, she persists in using the pseudonym Monsieur Le Blanc.

When France and Prussia get into war and the French occupy Prussia, the story of Archimedes pops up again in our podcast. The first function was to deliver Sophie to math, the second is to make her worry about the fate of Gauss during the war. One may doubt the veracity of the construction, but for the narrative this construction is of great value. It helps all the facts fit into an effective composition and keeps the listener engaged and makes the story stick.

Previously:
Max Planck,
Isaac Newton,
Making History with Ran Levy - Hebrew Review

Pick and choose with Bob - history podcast review

History according to Bob delivers a new podcast episode (nearly) every day. Professor Bob talks more than God can listen on the Holy MP3-Player. Professor Bob also covers more than a mere mortal can fathom. When it is history, it is prey for Bob. The way to go is pick and choose.

If Bob were to give more description in the RSS feed, there might be more, but as it is, you just have the title to go for. This has brought me to download and listen to Prince Henry the Navigator. This, I knew, was a figure from the earliest stages of the Age of Exploration. When the Americas were still non-existent and the cape of good Hope wasn't rounded yet. Henry was a Portuguese prince in the 15th century who put the first steps on the route around Africa. And so, this is a reason also to talk about the technical difficulties of sea-faring. And to talk about Africa, where the gold comes from and where one hopes to find Prester John, or the mighty Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia.

As usual, Bob's 10 minutes are only enough to reveal the tip of the iceberg. What sticks is the practical stuff. In a matter of years, the men of Henry round the West of Africa and make it to the gold coast. So much trade is going on between Lisbon and Lagos, the Portuguese go rich. Exploration continues, also after Henry's Death. Onward to Vasco da Gama. Columbus on the other hand, is not in this story.

More History according to Bob:
1000 AD according to Bob,
The battle of Tours,
The Franks,
Virginia Oldoini,
Alexander the Great.

Ernst van de Wetering - Simek 's Nachts recensie

De finale batch van Simek 's Nachts bevat een interview met Ernst van de Wetering (stream, download), dat zeer de moeite waard is. Dat Van de Wetering 's werelds grootste specialist met betrekking tot Rembrandt van Rijn is, benadrukt Martin Simek tot vervelens toe. Zo is het wel genoeg, klaagt hij en Simeks excuus is (in de laatste minuten van het programma) dat er nog mensen ingeschakeld kunnen hebben. Laat Simek gauw gaan podcasten, dan hoeft hij daar niet meer aan te denken.

Van de Wetering is ook een van diegenen die in de jaren tachtig het grote zwijgen omtrent de 'Foute Ouders' heeft doorbroken. Daar gaat hij liever niet op in, al dwingt Simek hem er gelukkig wel toe. Dan zie je dat de rehabilitatie van zijn vader vooral op persoonlijk vlak geschiedt. Vader van de Wetering is vooral musicus en schilder. De politiek is gewoon niet relevant voor Ernst. Het is natuurlijk ook een vermijden van waar het omgaat, maar tegelijkertijd ook werkelijk niet relevant tussen vader en zoon.

Gelukkig komen daardoor ook wat wijder te spreken over schilderkunst en daar heb ik het gevoel een mini-college kunstgeschiednis gekregen te hebben en mijn ogen verrijkt te weten voor het volgende museumbezoek. Hoewel Simek haast storend is met matige vragen, toch zou je ook kunnen zeggen dat hij de juiste sfeer voor dit prachtige gesprek heeft gecreëerd.

Simek op dit blog:
Ageeth Veenemans,
Marc de Hond,
Geen podcast?,
Marjan Berk en Johnny Kraaykamp jr.,
Brigitte Kaandorp.