La Dessalinienne

As is surely the case with all of you, my mind is on Haiti this week, as I go about my days.

I'd like to share with you the national anthem of Haiti.

La Dessalinienne was written in honor of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti's first Haitian-born, non-colonial ruler. At a time like this, when their country lays in ruins, the melody and words of their anthem pulses within the hearts of Haitians, burning with the strength of what can never crumble or shatter into dust.



In the clip it's being sung in French:

Pour le Pays, Pour les ancêtres,
Marchons unis, Marchons unis.
Dans nos rangs point de traîtres!
Du sol soyons seuls maîtres.
Marchons unis, Marchons unis
Pour le Pays, Pour les ancêtres,
Marchons, marchons, marchons unis,
Pour le Pays, Pour les ancêtres.


The English translation:

For our country,
For our forefathers,
United let us march.
Let there be no traitors in our ranks!
Let us be masters of our soil.
United let us march
For our country,
For our forefathers.

The Haitian anthem is also sung in Creole:

Pou Ayiti peyi Zansèt yo
Se pou-n mache men nan lamen.
Nan mitan-n pa fèt pou gen trèt
Nou fèt pou-n sèl mèt tèt nou.
Annou mache men nan lamen
Pou Ayiti ka vin pi bèl.
Annou, annou, met tèt ansanm
Pou Ayiti onon tout Zansèt yo.

- lyrics by Justin Lhérisson, music by Nicolas Geffrard

Carousel Sing Off

Last Friday my mom and I chanced upon a broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel on TV, so I ended a tiring work week with an unexpected joy.

I was completely crushing on Gordon MacRae, who played carnival barker Billy Bigelow.

On the weekend, I found several versions of If I Loved You on You Tube and ooo-ed and aahh-ed over all of them - which gave me the idea to have a sing-off here at my Through the Opera Glasses post.

First up:

Patrick Wilson, shown here at an intimate performance space in New York known as Seth's Broadway Chatterbox.



Next, we have Hugh Jackman in concert at Carnegie Hall. Keep in mind the audio recording leaves something to be desired. If I Loved You begins at the 2:50 mark:



Our final contender - Gordon MacRae, from the 1956 film. His version starts at 5:08 (with a sigh-worthy kiss preceded by a gaze of desire starting at 7:21) :



What say you?

UPDATE

And the winner is....Hugh Jackman! Thanks for voting.

January Art Show - Self-portrait

A brand new year, and the second year for my Sidebar Art Gallery. You'll find it in the sidebar of my main blog, A Piece of My Mind, to the right of my blog posts. I install a new show every month, along with information on each artist I've featured.

For today's Through the Opera Glasses, take a stroll through the January show, Self-portrait.























Self-portrait by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, 19th century Brazilian painter























Self-portrait by Zinaida Serebryakova, early 20th century Ukrainian painter























Self-portrait by Bertalan Székely, 19th century Hungarian Romantic painter























Self-portrait by Doris Clare Zinkeisen, 20th century Scottish costume designer and painter























Self-portrait by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, 19th century Italian neo-impressionist painter























Self-portrait by Angelica Kauffman, 18th century Swiss-Austrian neo-classical painter.



















Self-portrait/Desperate Man by Gustave Courbet, 19th century French Realist painter























Self-portrait by Marie Bashkirtseff, 19th century Russian diarist and painter























Self-portrait by Émile Friant, late 19th/early 20th century French Realist painter