Johannes Passion

 Whenever I listen to Johannes Passion by Bach, I am always confounded by the beginning tune of this music. Honestly, it sounds too irritating and brings me to anxiety. I have been wondering if I was too much or erroneously sensitive to this music.

Recently, reading a book regarding this Passion by Tadashi Isoyama, whom I had mentioned as a renowned researcher in Bach in this blog before, I learned that my impression was not out of focus. The instrumental part in the 1st tune is composed of 3 melodies, the melody by the wood wind instruments, that of the strings and the basso continuo. The basso continuo may reflect, as Isoyama depicts, the world created by God. Slow melodies by the wood wind may represent the hardships brought by human Sin while the perpetuum mobile of the higher strings may express the strain toward Christ's death on the cross as the Atonement. They are characterized by usage of variable discordances. 

The discordances are featured in the melodies as well as the harmonies. It is amazing Bach has featured such discordances fighting and opposing each other in this music. It turned out to make me feel that anxiety whenever I listened to it.

From this point of discussion below, it is mainly a product of my speculation. Johannes Gospel was established in the end of the 1st century AD, when the Temple of Judaism was completely destroyed and the people was destined to disperse around the world. The Primitive Church of Christianity needed to theologically identify themselves with the New Testament. For the last Gospel among 4 of them, Johannes Gospel should be established to clarify the difference from the faction of John the Baptist. It is historically to be missioned world wide. This characteristic music of strain may reflect the situation of the Primitive Church those days. Of course, Bach was deeply influenced by Luther. I have not followed what Bach was taught by Luther's thoughts yet. 

I was a bit relieved to know that this Passion starts with strain and anxiety as I have felt. 

Isoyama has submitted the doctoral article on Johannes Passion for the degree in musicology and had the oral examination on it on 26th Jan 4 years ago. Of course, with his knowledge and academic capability, he could have obtained the degree long time before. That article was the base of this book later published. He has met an accident in a week or so after the examination. And eventually he has died with a serious damage to brain on Feb 22nd. Later, his family was given his doctoral degree by the university he submitted the article. It was a big loss in music society. But I always admire him finishing his life in this way even though it was not intended at all. 

This time in a year is the time for me to remember of this researcher and his works which have brightened and lead me to understanding of Bach.

Brain fog, a complication of SARS CoV2

Replacing the delta variant, the omicron variant of SARS CoV2 has become fiercely epidemic all over the world now. So far, the latter is more contagious but is seemingly less virulent than the delta and the former ones. The omicron variant is apt to be regarded as a mild form of SARS CoV2. The governments tend to be less enthusiastic implementing measures against this variant. Actually, our government seems to omit the PCR test for the diagnosis and not to have the infected people isolated from the society for certain period. Notwithstanding early diagnosis and isolation of the infected one is the basic rule to deal with such contagious infections.

It is well known that RNA viruses are liable to mutate frequently and, with certain mutation, are often evasive from the immunity. So called herd immunity must be hard to be acquired, I am afraid. Even though the fight against this pathogen would not last forever, no one knows when and how it ends up. 

There is another point with this species of virus to be be emphasized. It is so called the brain fog as a complication or a sequel of COVID 19. A kind of cognitive impairment which lasts months or even longer. A large scale review with metanalysis says it amounts up to 22% of all infected cases. It must depend on the diagnosis criteria and knowledge of this complication among clinicians how frequent it is recognized in the clinical sites. It is, however, so common that the patients, however serious their illnesses might be, often could not return to the social life due to it.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159121006516?via%3Dihub

It should not be looked down because of the rather large number of cases but also of its pathophysiology. An article in Nature last year has revealed it is due to endothelial cell apoptosis of the small vessels in the brain caused with the viral main protease. Pathologically, it takes the form of the string vessel. The viral main protease causes cleavage of NEMO which adjusts the function of nuclear factor k-B. It results in the inflammation and apoptosis of the endothelial cells. In an animal model, the apoptosis antagonist RIPK3 has blocked this process. This seems to be a process of permanent damage to the brain. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00926-1

An article in the recent issue of Eur. J. Neurol. says the brain fog won't be ever lasting but tends to recover in the span of months. It is an epidemiological finding. We should wait further study on its prognosis. The above mentioned pathophysiological research in Nature should be an important finding and tells us the brain fog should not be paid little attention.

There are a number of reports depicting the neurological sequelle by SARS CoV2 other than the above mentioned article on the brain fog. 

This must be related with the pathophysiology of the brain fog. It says the COVID 19 neurophysiology resembles cancer treatment related cognitive impairment.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.07.475453v1

Some patients of COVID19 show the Parkinson's syndrome like symptoms. This could be comparable to the pathophysiology of the brain fog. 

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.11.475947v1

Less is known about the long sequel by the omicron variant. We should keep eyes wide open for the further reports about it. It is, needless to say, important for us to take precautions against COVID19 however mild in the acute phase it may look like.

A sense of rhythm

 This morning, I have had a comfortable chat with Jack W8KR on 20m after a bit of interval.

He ran his old bug quite fascinatingly as usual. The polar flare, however, was terrible in the beginning of the QSO, which sometimes disturbed us to read each other. While I went QRS with my keyer, he started using a straight key. What beautiful Morse Code! I wondered if it was a straight key or the dash side lever of the bug he was sending with. He answered it was a straight key since his beginner's days. I was again impressed at his very beautiful keying with it.

His mentor W8QIX used to tell him at his age 13 years not to use a bug for a year. After having operated that straight key he got in 1955, he got the present bug for his birthday gift and began using it at age 15 years. I believe that training period for a year and plus with the straight key has made his keying so perfect. His decent keying might be thanks to his talent in rhythm but also to that training. Each letter sounds neat. Most impressively, the spaces between words were what they should be. The space lets us easily copy the sentence. Needless to say, we understand the message based on each word composing a sentence. If each word is not clearly distinguished from the other words, it might be quite tough for us to read the sentence and comprehend the message.

We believe sending Morse Code in proper spaces. Between dashes/dots as well as between words. In actual communication on Morse Code, the inter-words spaces are crucial to have the hearer understand the message due to the reason stated above. It is, however, quite a matter of subjectivity. It is a capability to objectively listen to own sending by him/herself. It requires us some training. In Jack's case, he might be blessed with a talent in that point. And his mentor has made it flowered. His flexibility in rhythm must has made it perfect in the period of training.

I should hook the straight key I got at age 13 years to the radio and sometimes practice with it. In my case, it is a discipline to endure my short temper.

I told Jack he could have been a musician if he had not grabbed a key but a musical instrument at age 13 years.

Preparing a farm ridge and prospect of food deficit

We have been in cold snaps coming successively since mid Dec. last year. It has been below the freezing point every day. In the daytime, I don't have so much to do in the garden/farm. The only work I have done in the farm was to clear the fallen leaves from the chestnut tree in the strawberry farm. Exactly, without caring for, it is a lot of strawberry plants grown wild beneath and close to the tree. There were a lot of chestnut fruits among them as well.

We could hardly find any sign of spring yet. But a ume tree is already in bud, even though they are still pretty small. In a week or two, it may start blooming. It is still rather late this year.

I thought it was the time to cultivate ridges for potatoes, which should be planted in the end of next month. Compost made from weeds was mowed into the bed. Natural farming I am interested in lately tells not to pull the weeds grown there. Weeds  should be used for mulching the plants. It sounds reasonable to me that the farm should be ecologically closed not taking things away so much and not adding there things like artificial fertilizer to the farm. I wonder if I could follow their way of farming. So far, I would be friendly to weeds or worms there. They are not enemies for ecological farming.

I would prepare such ridges for various vegetables for summer. It begins with potatoes.　

I have had back pain even with this amount of work. Aging and disuse syndrome. I should exercise a bit more before it comes the season of farming. 

As you know, there was a big eruption of submarine volcano near Tonga yesterday. It has caused Tsunami in Japan without almost any damages. I am afraid it has brought certain size of damages in various countries/islands in the South Western Pacific. International society should give a hand of help to them as soon as possible.

Another point of concern is what effect it would cause the world weather for the coming years ahead. This eruption was comparable to that caused by Mt. Pinatubo in Phillipines in 1991. The latter has brought about the cold climate for a year or two which lead to the poor crop especially in the northern hemisphere. Our country has had to emergently import rice from abroad due to poor harvest of rice. In caloric base, our country is only 40% self-sufficient as for food provision. The food self-sufficiency rate in this country has been gradually dropping since 2 or 3 decades ago. To subsidize the farmers by the government is really necessary in our country. But the program the related governmental office appeals seems only a series of slogans. Our government is really enthusiastic for expansion of armaments against Chine in Okinawa and related islands there. But before such military security works, our country could be devastated due to food deficit in the near future, I am afraid.

So that is partially why I would work hard to grow such as potatoes and sweet potatoes in order to survive in such an occasion.

A pirate in the East Coast and a factor which determines ham radio activity

 Yesterday, Don WB6BEE has sent me an e mail with a couple of photos. One was his new shack in the basement. No radio yet. But it could be a storage of a lot of radios. The only issue for him is how to set an outdoor antenna. I am sure he will get it done soon.

The other photo showed the map of signals his skimmer had received. He said it had captured "my signal" on 40m. Strange enough. It was when I was not on. "My signal" was too loud at the skimmers in the East Coast. And I could never carry on such QRS as 17WPM "my signal" sender was going with. Evidently, it was my pirate possibly in the East Coast.

Nowadays, very few are enjoying the ordinary old fashioned QSOs. But there are still such pirates pretending even me. I sure would like to see "me" and to ask if "he" could put up with such slow sending/receiving for his navigation speed. I am too short tempered to stay slow in that way.       

With Done gone away from Colo. to Va., 7026 KHz has become more empty than ever. He used to hang out there in his early morning hours before going for morning walk. There were quite some guys gathering on that spot around him. Without him, that spot sounds like a candle that is about to extinguish its fire. The over all activity in ham radio, especially in this small world of CW, might be determined by such a guys' activity. It must be important to have someone like him activate certain spot on the bands. 

Langsamer Satz by Belcea String quartet

Just for a memorandum.

 I have written about Webern and this piece, one of his early works, in a previous post.  Here.

This performance by Belcea String Quartet, a British ensemble debuted in 2000, attracts me most. It starts quietly with the melody by the 1st violin. The beginning won't indicate the lively drama coming up later. The 1st violin player renders exquisitely moving passages. It could not be more romantic. I believe she is positioned as the center in this ensemble. This quartet is named after her family name. I am most indulged in her song with the instrument. I wish they would have released this piece with CD. Not yet. 

Last night thinking over about this piece when going to sleep, I felt this piece is not only a romantic piece but also expressing the sorrow of existence. As with deeply emotional music, it expresses both pleasure from romanticism as well as sorrow at the same time. It is strange enough but sure reflects two aspects of a life event. That may be why such a piece of music fascinates us so much. 

A psychological research regarding reception of Morse Code

 When I found this article among abstracts in PubMed, I could not suppress a grant of admiration at it, or more exactly, was deeply impressed at the fact that such a theme as this is epistemologically investigated.

I could hardly mention or evaluate about the content of this research due to lack of knowledge about the concept in psychology. I should understand about the methodology of this investigation, which is not described in this short abstract. 

I could point out that they have not paid much attention on the function of prediction as for what will follow next in the context of the message sent on CW. This is the important point to achieve reading by ears on CW as in the ordinary verbal conversation as I repeatedly emphasized in some articles in this blog. In this research, the short term memory function is regarded vital, which I could not fully approve.

Secondly, the terminology such as item memory is now related with function at certain area in the brain. They should relate such concept with brain physiological findings. Nowadays, such relationship of certain psychological concepts with anatomical/functional findings could be investigated with such as functional MRI.

The laboratory the 2nd author belongs to is in University of Pittsburgh, where, I remember, there were researchers as for reception system of CW. This theme could never be an object of research which attracts academic attention. But if CW, the simplest form of communication is investigated with modern technology in brain science, it might be flourishing in an field of experimental epistemology. CW won't become extinct at least.    

Quote;

Comprehension of Morse Code Predicted by Item Recall From Short-Term Memory

Sara Guediche 1, Julie A Fiez 2

Affiliations 

• PMID: 34491811
 
• PMCID: PMC8642092 (available on 2022-03-01)
 
• DOI: 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00042

Abstract

Purpose Morse code as a form of communication became widely used for telegraphy, radio and maritime communication, and military operations, and remains popular with ham radio operators. Some skilled users of Morse code are able to comprehend a full sentence as they listen to it, while others must first transcribe the sentence into its written letter sequence. Morse thus provides an interesting opportunity to examine comprehension differences in the context of skilled acoustic perception. Measures of comprehension and short-term memory show a strong correlation across multiple forms of communication. This study tests whether this relationship holds for Morse and investigates its underlying basis. Our analyses examine Morse and speech immediate serial recall, focusing on established markers of echoic storage, phonological-articulatory coding, and lexical-semantic support. We show a relationship between Morse short-term memory and Morse comprehension that is not explained by Morse perceptual fluency. In addition, we find that poorer serial recall for Morse compared to speech is primarily due to poorer item memory for Morse, indicating differences in lexical-semantic support. Interestingly, individual differences in speech item memory are also predictive of individual differences in Morse comprehension. Conclusions We point to a psycholinguistic framework to account for these results, concluding that Morse functions like "reading for the ears" (Maier et al., 2004) and that underlying differences in the integration of phonological and lexical-semantic knowledge impact both short-term memory and comprehension. The results provide insight into individual differences in the comprehension of degraded speech and strategies that build comprehension through listening experience. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16451868.