@LukeHill and @PeterTurner A little bit more about the Clarinet pieces that Pope Benedict loved. Found better performances by German clarinetist Sabine Meyer that I'm sure Cardinal Ratzinger knew: Quintet and Concerto.

These are recorded when she was about 60. But I heard her EMI Classic recordings from the late 1980s when I was your age, Luke, and I fell in love with those pieces. At the time she was around 30 year old. I may have listened to those pieces more than 20 times. That's why I and Pope Benedict at least has one love in common.

One especially good segment from the Concerto is on minute 19:45 where there is an expanded dominant cadence back to the lyrical 2nd movement theme (20:13) with pianissimo strings in the background. This is one of the places where the clarinet shine. She uses basset clarinet which was new at the time Mozart wrote the piece, larger than regular soprano clarinet, has more range. I'm glad she still performs well, even more mature, 30 years later.

BTW, the Concerto recording is actually interspersed with interview with her in German. But you can turn on auto-translated caption to English. This is machine learning in action, by the way, not available as recent as 5 years ago!

Then starting at 24:30 there is an introduction on how good Clarinet sound was produced, which turns out (which I just learned today) is also based on quality wood, just as the soundboard of a violin / piano, which makes a Stradivarius violin and a older Steinway piano so expensive.

@GratefulDisciple wow you are old 😂 sorry that was mean but are you in your 60s?

Because I’m 17, so if you were 17 in the early 80s, you would be 59 now

I’m tempted to pray a rosary for the request that they change the layout. This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen 🤦🏻‍♂️

@LukeHill Well... I don't want to disclose my age 😂, but I may have been a little younger than 17 when I listened to those CDs. Looking at her discography, I probably listened to her 1990 Clarinet concerto recording, or even the 1999 (I don't have them with me, since they were my parents's). I'm definitely not in my 60s 😂.

But yes, I'm over 40.

@GratefulDisciple goodness I’m a child surrounded by men 😂 hopefully that isn’t given away too much by my actions and vernacular. It would be interesting to see a graph of the average users age. My guess is that Nigel is the oldest at 70.

I wish I were more into music but I tend to be more into late 1990s early 2000s rap and country music. Classical is fine but it doesn’t appeal to me as much. I have been trying to get into Gregorian chants and such but still getting there.

@LukeHill BTW there's something wrong with that logic. Couldn't I have listened to the 1988 recording in 2009 when I was 17? That means I'm 30. I feel like 30, so you don't have to feel that young compared to me 😂. Yes, my parents exposed me to classical since I was literally a baby. Gregorian chants is actually hard for me. Mozart is a lot easier for me to enjoy. I hope the more you listen to Mozart the more you like him. It points to universal beauty, God.

Ave Verum Corpus is one of the most famous of Mozart's sacred music, a motet (text here).

This is another one Laudate Dominum (text here).

@GratefulDisciple well you said “I listened in the 80s when I was your age” 😂

I actually have a question. Was Ken a monk at some point?

@LukeHill I actually meant that it's the recordings that were from the late 80s, not when I listened to them: "These are recorded when she was about 60. But I heard her EMI Classic recordings from the late 1980s when I was your age". Yes, I should've made my writing clearer.

@GratefulDisciple lord you are starting to sound like Nigel with the “precise writing thing” 😂 all good I gotchu but you are still old 😂

@LukeHill His email said "exmonk", so probably he was a novitiate but decided it wasn't for him before taking vows. I don't want to speculate. Or he simply has a lot of monk friends.

@LukeHill okay, okay. Regardless, I care about you and want to help in the ways I can, old or young. Being uncle or brother, etc.

@GratefulDisciple is it possible to leave “monkship” or is that a bound for life thing?

@GratefulDisciple well calm down there 😂 you are just a man on the internet, uncle is probably a bit too overzealous.

@LukeHill That's a question better for Ken. The little I know is that once you take your vows, you have to obtain dispensation to be released from the vows, maybe from the bishop, Vatican, or the head of the religious order.

@LukeHill Wise man. It's not my place. As the site policy says, we should seek counsel from flesh and blood pastor we know in person. I'll just share info and experience then.

@LukeHill So yes, it's usually lifetime. If you become a priest (not all monks are priests), it's lifetime too, like marriage.

@GratefulDisciple I appreciate experience and I love others stories.

The Meta post on the new site layout got -307 downvotes 😂 and yet they still haven't reverted that god awful change.

This new layout isn’t as bad since I can read it better on mobile, but I want the old thing back please 😩