View allAll Photos Tagged Audio
Photo of the day March 11, 2022 - Radio console/audio board, at the radio station where I work. I snapped this picture before leaving for the day, to spend the evening with my wife.
Alfonso X, known as El Sabio (“The Wise”), was one of the most remarkable rulers of medieval Europe. He was King of Castile, León, and Galicia from 1252 until his death in 1284, and is remembered not only as a monarch but as a scholar, patron of the arts, and a driving force behind cultural and scientific development in 13th-century Spain.
________________________________________
Alfonso X of Castile (1221–1284), known as El Sabio (“The Wise”), was King of Castile, León, and Galicia from 1252 until his death. He is regarded as one of the most significant intellectual rulers of medieval Europe, distinguished by his contributions to law, science, literature, and especially music.
________________________________________
Early life and background
Alfonso was born in 1221 in Toledo, an important intellectual and cultural center of medieval Iberia. He was the son of Ferdinand III of Castile and Beatrice of Swabia. Growing up in a multicultural environment shaped by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions, he received a broad education in literature, law, astronomy, and music, which strongly influenced his later rule.
________________________________________
Reign
Alfonso became king in 1252, inheriting a powerful and expanding kingdom following the Reconquista campaigns of his father. His reign was marked by efforts to consolidate Castile and León, as well as by internal political challenges, including rebellions led by the nobility and his son, Sancho IV of Castile. Alfonso also sought the title of Holy Roman Emperor, but failed due to opposition among European princes. Despite these difficulties, he strengthened royal authority through administrative and legal reforms.
________________________________________
Legal and administrative reforms
Alfonso is best known for the legal code Siete Partidas, a comprehensive system of laws covering civil, criminal, ecclesiastical, and social matters. This work became one of the most influential legal texts in medieval Europe and later served as a foundation for legal systems in Spanish territories overseas.
________________________________________
Intellectual and scientific activity
Alfonso played a key role in transforming Castile into a center of learning. He promoted the work of the Toledo School of Translators, encouraging the translation of Arabic and Hebrew texts into Latin and Castilian. These efforts facilitated the transmission of knowledge in astronomy, medicine, and philosophy to Western Europe.
He also sponsored astronomical research, including the compilation of the Alfonsine Tables, which became an important reference in medieval astronomy.
________________________________________
Music
Cantigas de Santa Maria
Alfonso X’s most notable musical achievement is the collection Cantigas de Santa Maria, comprising more than 400 monophonic songs written in Galician-Portuguese. These compositions are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and survive in richly illuminated manuscripts that include musical notation and depictions of instruments and performers.
The collection is divided into two main types: miracle songs (cantigas de miragres), which recount miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary, and praise songs (cantigas de loor), which are lyrical expressions of devotion.
Musically, the Cantigas are characterized by modal melodies, clear phring, and structured forms with refrains and verses. Although monophonic, they display rhythmic vitality and influences from troubadour traditions. The manuscripts also provide valuable evidence of medieval instruments such as the lute, psaltery, rebec, harp, and various wind and percussion instruments.
The collection was likely created by a diverse group of collaborators at Alfonso’s court, including Christian, Muslim, and Jewish musicians, although the king himself probably contributed to its conception and possibly to some compositions.
________________________________________
Example: A Madre
A Madre is one of the devotional songs (cantigas de loor) from the collection. Its title, meaning “The Mother,” refers to the Virgin Mary. The text expresses reverence and emotional devotion, portraying Mary as a compassionate and protective figure.
The composition is monophonic, with a modal melody and a structure likely based on alternating refrains and verses. Its musical character is gentle and flowing, supporting the contemplative nature of the text. Written in Galician-Portuguese, the poetry employs simple but expressive language rich in symbolic references to motherhood and grace.
The piece was probably performed at the royal court, either solo or by a small ensemble, possibly with instrumental accompaniment, and may also have been used in devotional contexts.
________________________________________
Language and literature
Alfonso promoted the use of Castilian Spanish as a language of administration and scholarship, replacing Latin in many contexts. This contributed significantly to the development and standardization of the Spanish language.
________________________________________
Later years and death
The final years of Alfonso’s reign were marked by political instability, economic difficulties, and conflicts with the nobility and his heir. He lost effective power before his death in 1284.
________________________________________
Legacy
Alfonso X left a lasting legacy that extends beyond his political achievements. His reign contributed to the development of Spanish law, the transmission of scientific knowledge from the Islamic world to Europe, the standardization of the Castilian language, and the preservation of one of the most important collections of medieval music.
He is remembered as a ruler who fostered intellectual and cultural exchange, creating a synthesis of traditions that defined medieval Iberian civilization.
12152 LP I Side B1 CD 43 Alfonso X "El Sabio" A Madre Cantigas De Sta. Maria) Dunja Vejzović i Darko Petrinjak Jugoton – LSY-65073/4 2 x Vinyl LP Album Country: Yugoslavia Released: 1986 Genre: Classical * LP to Digital by Turntable Rega – Planar 1 The Rega Carbon moving magnet pick-up cartridge Phono pre-amplifier Mini A2D MK2 MM Audacity multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows
Event Alarm Detection
Time : 20160215-19:07:16
Camera IP : 192.168.1.134
Event Type : Audio Detection Feb-15-2016 19:07:16 Detected
My audio set, including my "new" Pre- and Power-Amplifier form 1983.
Yes, the turntable it's level is straight. No, the table under it isn't.
Luxman PD272 (Direct-Drive Turntable)
Denon DL-103R
Sony MDS-JA30ES
Luxman C-02 (Stereo Preamplifier)
Luxman M-02 (Stereo Power Amplifier)
Edit April 2011:
This is an outdated photo by now
Continuing collaboration for industrial design team, Katie and Trevis of Inch and Mile. Stay tuned for their latest creations....
inchandmile.com
The left side of my audio set, at april 2011
Containing:
Luxman PD121
Luxman TB-GS (Tone-arm Mounting Base for Stax UA-7)
Stax UA-7cf (tonearm, Carbon fiber)
Stax HS-7 Type 2 (headshell)
Denon DL-304
Luxman CX-1 (Realtime Processed DC Stereo Head Amplifier)
I ordered a used AT-MS11 head shell and got an almost unused AT33E with it. There are not many records played with it and it tracks like my new AT in all the test grooves from my Test record.
Audio Surgery at the O2 Academy, Bournemouth 01.10.11
Full set:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150303522286710.34225...
All rights reserved
Big Audio Dynamite, ‘Megatop Phoenix’, 1989. Mick Jones was in the Clash, which confers Godlike status, obvs. BAD was his next venture. He was always into new things and if the Clash hadn’t split up, they might have sounded like this. Mick had gone to Ibiza and started raving and generally enjoying himself. This album is full of samples, (when only rappers were sampling back then), mainly from old British movies, linking songs and woven into them. It’s dance music inflected with rock drums and guitar, the songs mainly about London.
‘Rewind’ has Don Letts doing reggae toasting over a danceable mess. ‘Union Jack’ is a great riff, stomping drums, thick bass, samples, and dirty guitar breaks. Choon! ‘Contact’ is funky percussion and keys, with a fiddle thrown in, on a poppy tune. ‘Dragon Town’ an ode to London’s China Town with dance beats and guitar. ‘Baby, Don’t Apologize’ dubby House anthem. ‘Around A Girl in 80 Ways’ bubbly feelgood pop love song. Yes, really. ‘James Brown’ with the great man sampled, House keyboards, percussion. ‘Everybody Needs a Holiday’ reggae dub bass and rhythm and keyboards on a pretty melody. ‘Mick’s a Hippie Burning’ sampled cut-up vocals and electronica. Trippy. ‘House Arrest’ a House tune with phat bass, stabs, big beat. ‘The Green Lady’ big guitar, squitty keys, throbbing bass, electronic drums. ‘London Bridge’ Housey pop. ‘Stalag 123’ woozy and chilled beats.
So, it’s not the Clash, production wise it sounds like 1989, the cover's a mess (with Chaos Theory fractals, very ‘du jour’ at the time, dated now), but there’s enough fun in the grooves to merit a listen.
© Furquan. M
Full Size Wallpaper (1920x1200)
www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=2cnjiollwvj&...
Used this pack:
well let me explain! The audio from this was recorded in probably 2002 when i was still in high school during a real live fun haircut. I got rid of the video and animated it in Flash around '05 or so. Then today i threw in some noise and blur and stuff in after effects. It's been a while since I've used after effects so i kind of don't know what I'm doing anymore. I'm not sure what to do about the bottom right "rec" text that floats around... I was thinking about cropping it out, but i might lose too much other stuff. hmm......
the CAST
blue = matt
red = david
purple = adam
green = me