Méditation (Thaïs)

"Méditation" (pronounced: [meditasjɔ̃]) is a symphonic intermezzo from the opera Thaïs by French composer Jules Massenet. The piece is written for solo violin and orchestra. The opera premiered at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on March 16, 1894.

Description

The Méditation is a symphonic entr'acte performed between the scenes of Act II in the opera Thaïs. In the first scene of Act II, Athanaël, a Cenobite monk, confronts Thaïs, a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan and devotée of Venus, and attempts to persuade her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure and find salvation through God. It is during a time of reflection following the encounter that the Méditation is played by the orchestra. In the second scene of Act II, following the Méditation, Thaïs tells Athanaël that she will follow him to the desert.

The piece is in D major and is approximately five minutes long (although there are a number of interpretations that stretch the piece to over six minutes). Massenet may also have written the piece with religious intentions; the tempo marking is Andante religioso, signifying his intention that it should be played religiously (which could mean either strictly in the tempo or literally with religiously-founded emotion) and at walking tempo. The piece opens with a short introduction by the harps, with the solo violin quickly entering with the motif. After the violin plays the melody twice, the piece goes into a section marked animato, gradually becoming more and more passionate (Massenet wrote poco a poco appassionato). The climax is reached at a place marked poco piu appassionato (a little more passion) and is then followed by a short cadenza-like passage from the soloist and returns to the main theme. After the theme is played twice, the soloist joins the orchestra while playing harmonics on the upper register as the harps and strings quietly play below the solo line.

Passage Meditation

Passage Meditation is a book by Eknath Easwaran, originally published in 1978 with the title Meditation. The book describes a meditation program, also now commonly referred to as Passage Meditation. Easwaran developed this method of meditation in the 1960s, and first taught it systematically at the University of California, Berkeley.

The program is an eight-point program intended for the "spiritual growth" of the practitioner. The first step in the program involves meditating on a text passage, and since the 1990s the method as a whole has come to be known as "Passage Meditation" (not Easwaran's term). The book has been frequently reprinted and translated into 14 languages. It is reported that more than 200,000 copies were sold in the period of 1978 to 2001.

The first edition of the book had the full title Meditation; commonsense directions for an uncommon life (1978). A second edition in 1991 was subtitled a simple eight-point program for translating spiritual ideals into daily life, and a third, revised edition of the book was published posthumously as Passage Meditation; Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart Into Daily Life (2008).

Meditation (disambiguation)

Meditation refers to any of a family of techniques that involve the self-induction of a mode of consciousness in order to realize some benefit.

Meditation may also refer to:

Forms

Literature

Music

Albums

Nebiolo Printech

Nebiolo Printech S.p.A. is a manufacturer of printing presses and paper and formerly a type foundry. Nebiolo & Co. was created when Giovanni Nebiolo bought out the type foundry of G. Narizzano in Turin, Italy, in 1852. In 1908 the company merged with the Urania Company and operated under the name Augustea and began to buy out many smaller foundries. In 1916 it was again renamed Società Nebiolo. Fiat bought the press manufacturing business in 1978, turning the type business over to Italiana Caratteri. In 1992 it became Nebiolo Printech S.p.A. and continues to manufacture presses under that name today.

Type Foundry

Nebiolo created a large library of typefaces, which remain popular today, although the company never entered photocomposition. It also built a type caster that competed with the Ludlow Typograph. Nebiolo types were distributed in the United States by Continental Type Founders Association. The designer Aldo Novarese became art director in 1952. The matrices for Nebiolo types are still being used by Schriften-Service D. Stempel GmbH.

Neon (Chris Young song)

"Neon" is a song recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in March 2012 as the third single and title track from his album Neon (2011). The song was written by Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Trevor Rosen. "Neon" received positive reviews from critics who praised the production, lyrics and Young's vocal performance. It stopped Young's five consecutive number-one hit run on the US Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 23. It also peaked at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song four stars out of five, writing that Young "plays with notes high and low like a cat plays with a ball of yarn, sort of batting them back and forth, always in control." Tara Seetharam of Country Universe gave the song an A- grade, saying that Young's voice "sinks into the groove of the song so effortlessly you’d think he was singing in his sleep, skating around the melody with an appropriate blend of conviction and restraint." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine, reviewing the album, called it a strong track that uses "creative imagery to explain the seductive draw of a bar."

Neon (magazine)

Neon was a British film magazine published monthly by Emap Consumer Media from December 1996 to February 1999. It attempted to be a refreshing alternative to other UK film magazines such as Empire.

History and profile

Started in 1996, Neon included latest film news, previews, actor profiles, interviews and contemporary movie profiles all written with a characteristic sense of humor. Each issue featured A Monthly Selection of Ten Favourite Things with a celebrity listing a particular category for their ten favorite films, for example, James Ellroy in the July 1998 issue picked his ten favorite crime movies.

What's your favourite Chevy Chase movie? featured the magazine asking various celebrities from the Beastie Boys to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee their favorite Chase film.

100 Scenes From... was an irreverent Top 100 list that parodied the notion of such lists.

Blow Up was a 12-page insert included in the middle of every issue that featured stills, promotional pictures of posters of movies and movie stars.