Summer School video diary (3)

Watch out for Oedipus at the NT

I had this via our President:

OEDIPUS coming on at NATIONAL THEATRE next year – dates
unspecified as yet.

Ralph Fiennes in title role – wonder if he can match Olivier's legendary
blood-curdling howl.

Also at the Edinburgh Fringe … Sophocles, Euripides, Homer

AINE … (tigone)
Adam
Howard's jarring re-imagining of Sophocles, updated to 'The Troubles'
of early 1970s Belfast.

3-16 August

Over one-too-many pints, hot-headed Aine and
unyielding uncle Charlie fight to the death.

'By far the best young
ensemble cast on the Fringe' Scotsman. http://www.rembiko.com
venue:
Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House
group:
HWS Rembiko
category:
Theatre
related link:
http://www.rembiko.com

Box office

Bacchic

1st to 27th August
An
icon. An orgy. A dissenter.

Caught between Heaven and Earth, a demi-god
falls from grace. Euripides' masterpiece of ecstasy and revenge, 'The
Bacchae,' brought bang up-to-date in aod's stunning marriage of music,
theatre and circus.

'Seriously sexy' Guardian.
http://www.actorsofdionysus.com

warning:
14+ only

venue:
Gilded Balloon Teviot

group:
Actors of Dionysus

category:
Theatre

related link:
http://www.actorsofdionysus.com

Box Office

Odyssey

6-18 August
Ashes
on the wind. Troy burns. Hector dead. Achilles dead. Odysseus lives. He
was everyman, no-man. A King, long in the coming, worth the wait.

'Iliad' … 2005/6 acclaimed sell-out. 'Absolute highlight of festival'
British Theatre Review. 'Perfect' Daily Mail.

venue:
Venue 45

group:
Livewire Theatre Company

category:
Theatre

Box Office

Trojan Women at Edinburgh Fringe Festival

See Edinburgh Fringe website
Trojan Women 20-26 August
Their
city conquered and their husbands and sons slain, what choices are now
left?
David Stuttard's vibrant adaptation of Euripides' classic play
will make you rethink your approach to wars and how people survive them.
Sweet ECA
The Ding Millers
Theatre

Can you write a simple song?

The song books come out at ArLT Summer School, and teachers let their hair down by singing ditties in Latin.

Some are recent compositions – Latin versions of Delilah or Ilkley Moor, for instance. Others are traditional, like Gaudeamus igitur. But the core of the songbook was the book of songs by our founder, Rouse, which he wrote for his pupils to help them remember their Latin and Greek.

Those songs were written for those days. I think we need similar songs for today.

Since the Cambridge Latin Course is the most widely used, I looked at Stage 1 to see whether the grammar and vocabulary of that stage would be enough to make any song at all.

It's a fiendishly difficult task. Long vowels (and 'heavy' syllables) need long notes, and the stress of the Latin word has to be matched by a stress in the tune.

Let me illustrate by sharing one of my failures. I thought that 'Here we go round the mulberry bush', with its few words and many repetitions, would be a good tune to use. But could I find suitable Latin words?

I tried this:

servus in horto laborat, laborat, laborat.

but immediately realised that the 'o' at the end of horto was given a short note, which won't do; and much worse than that, 'laborat' has a long 'o' and so is stressed on the middle syllable, while the tune gives a stress on the first syllable and makes the first syllable long and the second short. Eheu! Back to the drawing board.

After 20 minutes of trying hard, the best I could manage was this, which needs the use (twice) of 'en', look!, behold! What do you reckon? Not very good. But can you do better? The tune is 'London's burning.'

pater est in tablino
en! scribit. en! scribit.
canis intrat. iratus
pater est. en! canis exit.

I believe in learning by repetition, and singing is a good excuse for repetition without tedium. But we need the songs – and they must reflect correct pronunciation.

Your suggestions, contributions, efforts welcomed!
 

The US Latin learning revival

From Whittier Daily News

Mt. SAC revives Latin classes

By Caroline An Staff Writer

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WALNUT
– Mt. San Antonio College intends to revive a forgotten language by
offering Latin 1 to students seeking a glimpse into the classical world
this fall.

Latin provides students with access to a broad vocabulary
and more thorough understanding of cultural issues, said Tom Edson, who
will teach the class.

Edson, who is also an English professor, said that many
words – from constitutional to technical science terms – are derived
from Latin. Phrases like “habeas corpus,” “ad nauseam,” and words like
“agenda: and “affidavit” litter the English language, he said.

While Latin may not be among the top foreign language
choices, interest and support for more Latin instruction, especially at
the K-12 level, is strong throughout the country, said Marty Abbott,
director of education at the American Council on the Teaching of
Foreign Languages.

“Many people think that if it not a spoken language, that
it is not taught in our schools,” Abbott said. “That is just not true.”

Enrollment in Latin language courses at two-year and
four-year colleges have increased, according to a 2003 survey on
foreign language enrollment released from the Modern Language
Association.

In 2002, there were
1,101 community college students taking Latin, up from 840 students in
1998, and more than double from the 497 students in 1986.

The resurgence of Latin has mainly been in the past 10 years.

Latin
classes disappeared in the 1960s and 1970s, and returned in the 1980s,
with a twist. Gone was the dry, grammar-based instruction that students
could not relate to, Abbott said.

Fall enrollment for Mt. SAC begins Wednesday, but Edson has
already received e-mails from prospective students, including priests,
business people and other educators.

Romans knew all about using flood plains

Letter in the Daily Telegraph

Sir
– The Housing Minister Yvette Cooper's stupid – to use her own word –
example of the Romans constructing the city of York on a flood plain,
to justify her Government's massive building plans, just won't wash
(report, July 24).

The Romans sited
York on a sandstone ridge between two navigable rivers, which also
provided ample water supplies. The surrounding area was marshy, making
it easier to defend, all these points making it an ideal site for its
purpose. This first town covered just 50 acres. Modern York covers an
area of 105 square miles, swallowing up the natural flood plain under
concrete and asphalt. No wonder the Ouse regularly overflows its banks,
with disastrous results.

Is Miss
Cooper advocating more of the same? There is no correlation between
what the Romans did and the needs of the 21st century. Miss Cooper
could, and should, do better.

Encouraging tourism to Hadrian's Wall

From Bdaily.info

A new North East marketing campaign
will be unveiled this week that will assume the form of the latest
summertime epic. Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd (HWHL) will launch a
marketing campaign to inspire people to plan their invasion to the
famous Roman frontier this summer.

The organisation responsible
for the marketing, preservation and regeneration of the World Heritage
Site, has unveiled a cinematic themed marketing campaign highlighting
the iconic World Heritage Site and its dramatic landscapes, with the
overall aim of increasing visits to the Wall by 10%.

Vineet Lal,
Communications and Branding Director for HWHL said: “The Romans invaded
the North of England and started to build Hadrian’s Wall almost 2,000
years ago, but in 2007 we want to make it far easier to plan an
invasion.

“The new campaign will not only stimulate new
interest in Hadrian’s Wall Country but also remind repeat visitors of
the unbelievable scale and beauty of the attraction – 150 miles long
and with at least 25 Roman forts and museums to visit. Combined with 89
historic houses and museums, 118 circular walks and over 2,000 places
to eat, drink or stay, we’re not short of things for people to see and
do on a short break.”

To encourage all members of the family to
get involved in the invasion planning process, the site also includes
an interactive quiz with questions about the Wall and the chance to win
a family break in Hadrian’s Wall Country.

To find out more about planning a visit to Hadrian’s Wall Country this summer visit www.planyourinvasion.co.uk

Free Greek drama workshops in Hereford

I pass on this invitation posted on the OCR community site:

Calling anyone interested in some hands-on workshops
on Greek drama led by the cast and crew of the new adaptation of Aristophanes'
Clouds by kaloi k'agathoi, CIC.

 

Thanks to funding by the Hellenic Society and the kind
sponsors of kaloi k'agathoi's Clouds Project we are able to offer a series of
workshops free of charge in the week starting Mon. 24th
September at Hereford Cathedral School.  Sessions can be tailored to your
group and cover tragedy / comedy / mythology for any age range and any set
texts.

 

Anyone interested in the production of Clouds itself,
performances will take place:

 

Abergavenny 19 Sept.  pre-show talk by prof. Alan
Sommerstein

 

Greenwood Theatre, London, 21/22 Sept. Pre-show talk
by Dr. Nick Lowe on 21st.

 

Courtyard Theatre, Hereford, 28/29 Sept.

 

More details on the website, www.kaloikagathoi.co.uk

or contact me direct.

 

Siobhan de Souza

Education and Schools' Liaison Officer,
Kaloi k'agathoi

Head of Classics, Hereford Cathedral
School

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Summer School video diary (2)