“Ghost of an Idea: Hauntology, Folk Horror, and the Spectre of Nostalgia” by William Burns: already in Cambridge

I finally got my copy of a book I featured in my post a week or so ago: a brief look gives a pretty good idea of what this book is about (“A critical analysis of the 21st-century fascination with the past, from horror films to haunted music,” as the publisher’s website describes it), and I like it so far.

Anglesey Abbey Gardens: misc.

We haven’t been recently to Anglesey Abbey; it’s much closer to us than Audley End, yet it’s a bit of a pickle to reach if you don’t have a car—it could be either a lengthy-ish walk (albeit not too pleasant, as the main part of it goes along busy Newmarket Road) or a bus, but its schedule isn’t as frequent on weekends as on weekdays.

Anyway, we arrived there around half one, and it was packed with people, as the weather was incredibly gorgeous—warm, radiant and full of joyful springy buzz.

The daffodils are mostly faded away already, and the rose garden was on the brink of awakening (the stems were already full of fresh leaves, yet the time for the first buds was way ahead), but we were super lucky to catch the hyacinth garden—symmetrical lines with purple and snow white flowerbeds looked absolutely splendid, and the scent was marvellous, too. I did love the tongue-in-cheek positioning of the statues of Pan and fauni: their bottoms reflected lots of sunshine.

Anglesey Abbey Gardens: a perfect April spot

A splendid day to spend in the glorious gardens of Anglesey Abbey.

I am humbled and honoured to call Thelma my dear friend and I highly recommend her book about Bach’s Sacred cantatas.

[...] Thelma Lovell, who lives quietly in Cambridge, may be the most overlooked Bach scholar. Her 2011 book A Mirror to the Human Condition suggests that the theology of the cantatas can teach us ‘how to live and how to die’ even if we aren’t religious. In her forthcoming magnum opus, J.S. Bach’s Sacred Cantatas: A Cultural Christian’s Companion, she takes us through every cantata in the liturgical year, teaching us painlessly how to understand Bach’s theological and musical language.

Lovell draws on an extraordinary breadth of cultural references: Sophocles, Horace, Keats, Nietzsche, Adam Smith, Terry Eagleton and the Epic of Gilgamesh. She also recommends recordings for each cantata, including interpretations by Harnoncourt, Herreweghe, Marriner and Suzuki. But more often than not she chooses Lutz. Perhaps she feels that he best understands what she calls the question of pulse: ‘Music, like the heart, has a continuous beat; its pace, whether fast or slow, has a bodily effect. Everywhere in Bach there is a forward impetus that communicates itself as life’s urgency… Bach’s ability to play with danger and then resist it becomes a token of faith’s miraculous power to conquer despair.’ ©

“The Substance” (2024)

Так, ну по «Субстанции»:

1. Честно законспектировали все боди-хорроры масс-культа по списку — Кроненберг, Расселл и проч. Заполировали цитатами из Лиготти, а кто-то из режиссерской группы, судя по всему, вспомнил прочитанного в ранней юности Клайва Баркера.

2. Шоубизу не дает покоя кубриковское aspect ratio из «Сияния», и киноиндустрия пихает его везде, где только можно*.

3. Оммаж Карпентеру, в целом, мог бы быть и поаккуратнее, но уж как получилось: видимо, в гонке за призами всех артхаусных фестивальных сборищ времени на до-обработку сырого материала (лол) не хватило.

4. Гламурный вырвиглаз цветопередачи и много глиттера — новая искренность™ антиметапостмодерна.

The much anticipated book by Luke Sherlock, “Forgotten Churches: Exploring England’s Hidden Treasures,” has finally reached Cambridge, and it’s a very atmospheric read.

 That boisterous April.