JaZzArt en València

To ride the silence of your thoughts in my ship of purple,

I spin the earth, motivate the winds, inflate the sails,

entice the oceans to make currents fast and wide

because we alone in silent dreams do abide…

To climb upon your purple thoughts of thunder and creation,

I flatten truth, unwind the clocks, connect the lights that brighten your dark street,

and empty out the bar so we alone within can drink…

C.2021, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 25 NOV 2021, Valencia, Spain

Y aquí una expo el día de navidad en Miami hace unos cuantos años…

AND here is a Christmas Day exhibit in Miami a long, long time ago…

As Christmas, meaning the birth of the child Jesus, was seen by painters throughout Art History, including Santa himself!

A Happy Christmas to all!

Cheers!

“Comfort Me”
(While listening to Handel’s “Messiah”)

A voice breaks the silky silence of the morning,
It’s a subtle breath that’s all,
that whispers hope
where dust had learned only despair.
The clouds caress the valley
and it stretches before me,
the roads are straight,
the mountains bend,
and I remember,
the light returns,
I hear the voice I had had forgotten,
and the trumpets that were not meant to conquer but to awaken me from dreams.
A lamb walks forward crowned in Holy blood,
while the powerful unlearn the grammar of their thrones.

Grief kneels and becomes praise.
A prayer becomes intention and
chains dissolve as trust regains its place among my favours.
Death itself inhales and finds no soul to claim,
for life has learned to sing beyond the grave.

And when my heart,
My voice,
My will,
Chants the final “Amen”,
it fills the air,
nothing ends
the curtains open.
The sun dances in
And life begins.

(C.2025, Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 25/12/2025 – Valencia, España)

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Messiah is an English-language oratorio. It was composed by Georg Friedrich Händel in 1741. Oratorios are unstaged musical works for orchestra, choir, and soloists, typically on sacred subjects. Messiah is not a narrative drama with characters interacting onstage. It is a contemplative, scriptural meditation.

The libretto was compiled by Charles Jennens based solely on biblical texts taken primarily from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. The work is structured in three parts:

• Part I reflects on prophecy and the birth of Christ.
• Part II focuses on suffering, crucifixion, resurrection, and redemption.
• Part III contemplates the promise of resurrection and eternal life.

Musically, Messiah is a sublime balance between lyrical intimacy and choral writing. Handel’s chorus is a theological voice that proclaims, reflects and rejoices. The famous “Hallelujah” chorus is the epitome of this synthesis of grandeur, clarity, and emotional directness.

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Something about the composer

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759) was born in Halle, Germany. He is one of the most important Baroque composers. He spent most of his professional life in England and became a naturalized British citizen.

Although he was initially trained in law, due to his father’s insistence, his love for music soon prevailed. He worked in Germany and Italy then settled in London. There, although he achieved great success as a composer of Italian opera, he, because of financial pressures, later focused entirely on English oratorios. And he excelled.

Handel should be recognised for his productivity, adaptability, and dramatic instinct. Despite periods of illness and professional difficulty, he remained creatively active until late in life.

Messiah was composed in London (1741). It took him only twenty four days to finish the score. Need drove him as his Italian operas were losing popularity in England.

The impetus for Messiah was an invitation to present a series of concerts in Dublin. Charles Jennens had already prepared the libretto, intending it as a serious theological reflection rather than theatrical entertainment. Händel accepted the project. He focused on it with intensity and strength.

And so Messiah was first performed on 13 April 1742 in Dublin, at the Great Music Hall on Fishamble Street, as part of a charity event benefiting prisoners, hospitals, and the poor. The premiere was well received, though Messiah would take time to achieve its later iconic status.

Notably, Messiah was initially more successful in Ireland than in London, where some objected to sacred texts being presented in a concert setting. Over time, however, it became one of the most frequently performed and enduring works in Western music. It is still loved and performed during the Christmas season.

CHEERS

Desde el la primera vez que oí «Southern Cross» me encantó, especialmente las voces, las armonías que crean y que le dan una dinámica muy especial a la canción. Stephen Stills canta la primera parte y en la segunda se le une su compañero Graham Nash, junto a sus voces se unió también Art Garfunkel, pero David Crosby no canta en la versión que salió en el álbum Daylight Again. En el vídeo, que fue transmitido por MTV, David Crosby si prestó su voz y el vídeo se vio una y otra vez en los años cuando en MTV ponían música.

Always loved this «Southern Cross», especially the harmonies they sing, the way the voices grow and form a powerful melodic transition. Stephen Stills sang the first part with Graham Nash joining in. Art Garfunkel also lent his voice to the lads. David Crosby did not sing in this…the album…version, (Daylight Again), although he did sing it onstage and on the video which got a hell of a lot of airplay on MTV. Of course on the days that MTV actually played music…

El super-grupo Crosby, Stills & Nash lo formaron entre 1968 y 1969 estos tres músicos que procedían de otros grupos norteamericanos bastante famosos. Por ejemplo David Crosby era miembro de The Byrds, Stephen Stills de Buffalo Springfield y Graham Nash (el único inglés del grupo) era miembro de The Hollies, uno de los grupos que vinieron a EEUU como parte de la supuesta «Invasión británica» de los años sesenta.

The super-group Crosby, Stills & Nash was formed in 1968/1969. The members all came from older bands. David Crosby came from The Byrds, while Stephen Stills had formed part of Buffalo Springfield, (where Neil Young also played) and Graham Nash had been with The Hollies, you know The Hollies, one of those groups that was part of the so-called British Invasion (of the US of course).

Gracias…

Cheers…

Con gratitud mueves el universo…

Family Blood Fall burns my flesh like rusty shades of her leaves. I cocoon in sorrow’s labored breath as I dine on erstwhile memories. My presence …

A prose poem by Joni Caggiano (Editor Francisco Bravo Cabrera)

Please click to read the prose poem.

CHEERS

¡Feliz Navidad!

¡Y mira que nos hace falta esa oposición!