Words of beauty - with Jeanette Mokosch

Writing with ink and feather has fascinated me as already a teenager. Today I still write with a real feather when writing a personal letter. I must admit this is far too rare.

As I sing early music I professionally often have to deal with old manuscripts. Whenever possible, I try to get the autographs of the works I sing or study or dig in the archives to find the manuscripts myself such as the music for the world premiere recordings for my debut solo album favola in musica. early new music.

Beautiful AND beautifully written words are, hélas, an almost forgotten thing.
Not so with Jeanette Mokosch.

I was fortunate enough to get a place in one of her booked up seminars, which happened to be in a dream location, the Villa Lotta by Lisa Jagenteufel in Carinthia.

Jeanette and Lisa could not better complement each other. Everything that Lisa Jagenteufel touches will be transformed into something special, radiant such as her Villa Lotta which is for sure one of the most beautiful places to stay and to shop in Klagenfurt.

A seminar for BEAUTIFUL WRITING: Modern Calligraphy.

Jeanette Mokosch is an artist of the words and that in the truest sense, a spirit of beauty.

Not only does calligraphy belong to her art, she also writes poems and texts, which bear witness to a depth, love and knowledge about life which are deeply touching to me.

Wedding cards and manuscripts.
Poetry, prints and design. Logodesign.

Whether it is poetry, hand engraving, prints, hand-made cards for celebrations (weddings, etc.) but also logo design , everything can be ordered from Jeanette. On her website there is information about it or in their Dawanda shop you can purchase also some prints or cards.

About a year and a half ago I discovered Jeanette Mokosch’s handwritten poetry. When Lisa Jagenteufel told me a few months ago that Jeanette also held workshops, the plan was fixed: I will visit such a workshop.

After a theoretical part about calligraphy, working materials from feather, pen holders, paper, writing pads to alternatives to the pen, we finally start with the writing.

The feathers dive into the ink and scratch over the paper. The room fills with silence and the white leaves get filled with dots, lines and letters.
One thing gets clear to us all: the light and swinging lines Jeanette creates on the paper are art.

It has to do with practicing, talent, personal expression and much more.

The muse and quietness of writing are doing well and are like a sort of meditation.

We are a mixed group of participants from a wide range of sectors: graphic arts, photography, wedding industry, technical drawing, music or lovers of the beautiful. In the breaks there is the opportunity to exchange, delicious snacks and too little time to shop marvel at Villa Lotta..

As it is the case with good things: the day passes far too soon.

Schöne Worte mit Jeanette Mokosch

Mit Tintenfass und Feder zu schreiben hat mich schon als Teenager fasziniert. Heute noch schreibe ich mit einer echten Feder wenn ich einen persönlichen Brief schreibe. Ich gebe zu, das ist viel zu selten.

Mit alten Handschriften habe ich beruflich immer wieder zu tun, da ich ja Alte Musik singe. Wann immer nur möglich besorge ich mir die Autographen der Werke, die ich singe oder studiere oder grabe Handschriften auch selbst in den Archiven aus, um sie als Welt Ersteinspielungen zu veröffentlichen, wie auf meinen Solo-Album favola in musica. alte neue musik.

Schöne UND schön geschriebene Worte sind beinahe etwas in Vergessenheit geratenes.
Nicht so bei Jeanette Mokosch.

Ich hatte das Glück einen Platz in einem ihrer ausgebuchten Seminare zu ergattern und dazu auch noch gleich in einer Traum Location, der Villa Lotta von Lisa Jagenteufel in Kärnten. Jeanette und Lisa könnten sich nicht besser ergänzen. Alles was Lisa Jagenteufel anfasst wird zu etwas Besonderem, Strahlenden und die Räumlichkeiten die sie uns eröffnet, verzaubern.

Ein Seminar für SCHÖN SCHREIBEN: Moderne Kalligraphie.

Jeanette Mokosch ist eine Künstlerin der Worte und das im wahrsten Sinne, ein Geist des Schönen.
Zu ihrer Kunst gehört nicht nur die Kalligraphie, sie schreibt auch Gedichte und Texte die von einer Tiefe zeugen, von einer Liebe zum und Wissen um das Leben sprechen, die zu berühren vermögen.

Hochzeitskarten & handschriftliche Anfertigungen.
Poesie, Prints und Design. Logodesign.

Ob Poesie, Handlettering, Prints, handschriftliche Anfertigung von Karten für feierliche Anlässe (Hochzeiten usw.) aber auch Logodesign, das alles kann bei Jeanette in Auftrag gegeben werden, auf ihrer Homepage gibt es Infos dazu oder in ihrem Dawanda-Shop kann man auch einige Prints oder Karten erwerben.

Jeanette kennenzulernen, darauf habe ich mich schon über eineinhalb Jahre gefreut als ich ihre ersten handgeschriebenen Worte entdeckt habe.
Als Lisa Jagenteufel mir vor ein paar Monaten erzählte, dass Jeanette auch Workshops hält, stand der Plan fest: ich möchte einen solchen besuchen.

Nach einem theoretischen Teil über Kalligraphie, Arbeitsmaterialien von Feder, Federhaltern, Papier, Schreibunterlagen bis zu Schreibalternativen zur Feder, beginnen wir mit dem Schreiben.
Die Federn tauchen in die Tusche und kratzen über das Papier.
Es wird still und die weissen Blätter füllen sich mit Punkten, Linien und Buchstaben.

Es wird uns allen klar: das, was bei Jeanette so leicht und geschwungen aussieht, ist Kunst.
Es hat mit Üben zu tun, Talent, persönlichem Ausdruck und vielem mehr.
Die Muse und Ruhe beim Schreiben tun gut und sind wie eine kleine Meditation.

Wir sind eine bunt gemischte Gruppe von TeilnehmerInnen aus unterschiedlichsten Bereichen: Grafik, Fotografie, Hochzeitsbranche, technisches Zeichnen, Musik oder LiebhaberInnen des Schönen. In den Pausen gibt es Gelegenheit sich auszutauschen, eine herrliche Jause und zu wenig Zeit die Villa Lotta zum shoppen bestaunen.

Wie es bei guten Dingen so ist: der Tag vergeht viel zu schnell.

"Der geliebte Adonis" of Reinhard Keiser at Donaufestwochen

Is there anything lovelier than passing some weeks in the summer in a beautiful place with inspiring people, working and realizing some great music?

This summer was the turn of Reinhard Keiser's "Der geliebte Adonis" (Beloved Adonis), a german baroque opera, a potpourri of interesting music-styles going from madrigals to da-capo Arias, tons of duets mostly in love or vengeance :-)

The location was Grein, a remarkable little city on the Danube river, 1 hour and a half distance to Vienna and a bit more than 15 minutes distance to Amstetten. Sad to say, that "Grein" comes from "greinen" - which means "crying". Hundreds of years ago so many people drowned in the Danube which is full of swirls in this area (therefore the area is called "Strudengau" I think). Apart from admiring the beauty of this river rests a big respect of this big blue water ribbon at the foot of this city. But for the rest the "crying" is more of joy and admiration for the truly remarkable city and its people. Grein is owning one of the only preserved original Baroque theaters from 1791 (do not miss it), old buildings and villas, a monastery and of course the Grein Castle sitting in state of the city.

Grein Castle, the place to be in the summer :-) | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

The engagement for culture in general and this festival of the local people is inexplicable for me. Maybe it is the long tradition of culture in this town, but it is surely unique.

What to say? The location is simply a fairy tale setting... starting with the magical walk up on the hill of Grein Castle, the view over the Danube river and the amazing inner court.

This is what you will meet when you walk to Grein Castle: enchanted trees, surely hundred of years old | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

The location

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria, warming up room for the musicians, seems more like the setting of a costume film | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Grein Castle, Upper Austria | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

The Plot 

If you had the pleasure to go through latin in school-time you certainly stepped over Ovid's "Metamorphosis". These were surely some of my really favorite treasures to translate in school time.
Well, this is where we start - the story of the Goddess Venus (Maria Weber) who gets involved with the beautiful shepherd Adonis (Maria Weiss). Well, unnecessary to mention she was of course in a relationship with Mars... and here it starts - love, beauty, jealousy.

In the case of Adonis, which was my role, a certain superficial narcism dominated his character. And here I already enter as well in the world of Manuela Kloibmüller, our director and her reading of the story...

Adonis loves to hunt. We supposed he was not the best hunter but full of passion for it and the rejected Dryante together with Mars longing for revanche organize the murder of this poor Adonis who will die killed by a wild boar.

Adonis has as well a love story with Eumene sung by Anna Willerding, a very sweet, happy and light music accompanies this relationship. 

The love with Venus is passionate but the shadow of death and perhaps also the infidelity of Venus to Mars (well, we do not talk about Adonis who at the same time has a relationship with Eumene but is probably thinking it is his duty to make the women happy...) perhaps gives the music a dark shade. 

The wild boar reigning over the scene, beautifully made by Isabella Reder | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Manuela Kloibmüller had the great idea of putting this entire setting into a "circus", so Gelon became a clown. Markus Miesenberger plainly born for the role of a clown interpreted him in the light and funny way and all the drama became a comedy when he appeared.

Mars (Michael Wagner) and Dryante (Marelize Gerber) have fantastic revenge duets and Philistus (Ulrich Cordes), settled as the sad clown by Manuela Kloibmüller triumphs at the end: he gets his beloved Eumene and even they are probably rivals he sings the most beautiful lament for Adonis. 

Getting ready

This is me as Adonis, thank you Roman for the make-up! | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Musical director Erich Traxler dedicated to the cembalo. The tuning with heat, humid air of this fine and precious instrument already is an art per se.... | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Soprano Anna Willerding getting ready for Eumene with make-up (and alround-) artist Roman Aichinger | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Maria Weber alias Venus with Roman Aichinger | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Doesn't she look like an elbe? Maria Weber as Venus | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Adonis

Of course I must say a few words to my role for Adonis. So far I have had a lot of "trouser-roles" lately, but playing the most beautiful man is quiet a challenge. How can he feel? How would he move, walk, talk, what does he think?

A lot of questions I had to answer myself when preparing for this role. As always the answer was to find in the music itself of Reinhard Keiser and the beautiful poetic libretto by Christian Heinrich Postel.

Of course the music and the opera had gone through some "reductions" for this muse-en-scène at Donaufeswochen.
2 arias of Adonis have been cancelled unfortunately. I had the pleasure to hold in the hand at least the facsimile of the only preserved handwritten copy which I got after some furious research in Berlin and other places from Salzburg with the help of a fantastic library employee. But my idea is, that if possible hold the autograph or at least only preserved copy in the hand always helps, and if it is only to clear up if one note seems on a strange place.

Musically already something was clear:

recitatives of Adonis directed (mostly) to women were ornated with beautiful words and notes - he knew how to please the female ear, arias were SHORT and even gave this character not necessarily the aspect of being the hero of the plot.

Maria Weiss as "beloved Adonis", characterized as a nice "macho" | Photograph: (c) Reinhard Winkler

Very clear and simple: Adonis is beloved and the big laments by all of the characters, even the male one's (Philistus) after his death show that, how superficially he may have seemed, (I am talking about "our "production"-Adonis") something special he has left and if only being the projection screen for all female hopes and dreams, even of the Godess of Love, Venus.

Manuela Kloibmüller had a clear concept for this character:
a prole and narcistic  breathed macho, finding his "façon de vivre" in bringing happiness to women by loving and being loved, of course without maintaing the borders of fidelity.
So I found myself, please do not laugh at me, googeling male hollywood beauties, their way of walking, smiling, "male models walking" to explore "beautiful" men, their style walking, looking,  smiling and God knows, what they could feel.

A new interesting approach to my repertoire of male characters as a mezzo :-)

Adonis (Maria Weiss) having fun with Gelon (Markus Miesenberger) | Photograph: (c) Reinhard Winkler

As Adonis I have passed a lot of time sleeping on stage: no, don't get me wrong :-> this was part of the libretto and music. I think this clearly characterizes his state of being completely relaxed, finding always a mood to sleep and a nice place for it.

Eumene (Anna Willdering), Venus (Maria Weber), Dryante (Marelize Gerber) loning for Adonis (Maria Weiss) who has again fallen asleep :-> | Photograph: (c) Reinhard Winkler

At that time cars did not exist which would "round up" the Macho-interpretation, but the hunt. Probably not the best hunter but for sure an extremely enthusiastic one here poor Adonis looses his life by the tragic complot of Dryante and Mars.

The musicians

This year the Orfeo Baroque Orchestra was enriched by enthusiastic young musicians, mostly (former) students of the Orfeo-musicians. It was such a pleasure to sing with them. Most of them got involved with my little son in the breaks or after-shows-meetings in playing hide and seek or simply being hunted by a crazy jelling 4 year old all through the restaurant. Things which are possible in Grein with a smile from all other guests - probably consuming the last nerves of his mother (:->) but definitely a blessing people did not get angry and that he got so many new friends to play with. 

Somebody was especially chosen by my son, and I must say this never happens by chance but is a very specific choose of the young fellow: Erich Traxler, our musical director, and I am not surprised about this.

I got to know Erich years ago as a cembalist. In the mean-time he has become a professional musical director with a profound analysis and view over the oeuvre, a clear and strong leadership with us musicians, keeping always a smile and an extremely welcoming and good atmosphere which allows you to expand your musical and singer-wings with a feeling of trust and joy. So thankful for this. 

My son passed the premiere party sitting on his lap and eating from his plate. He couldn't be happier and Erich was of a kindness, sweetness and patience which he shows as well as musical director beside his definitely musical fire.

I must say that we as a cast were a little sad it was over. Michi Gaigg did say it so well in her speech: Donaufestwochen is a festival full of love, and it is. My colleagues were so nice and inspiring, Manuela Kloibmüller is a director you can only wish for, with a clear concept, embracing your new ideas and always guiding you safely through the short rehearsal time, Isabella Reder (costumes and scene) will listen to every of your needs, the organizing team of Grein (for ex. Wolfgang, Anna, Regina, Klaus, Hemma, ....) is simply heart-touching and with my singer colleagues I could have some deep talks sometimes, friendship and share mutually the esteem for each other. So, thankful!

So far so well, this is my first post on blogger, I hope you like it. Please do not mind all my english faults, I decided finally to write in English which is definitely the language I am not the best writer. 

Looking forward hearing from you in your comments, thank you for sharing this post if you like it!

And - you will hear soon again from me about my next adventures in singing, music, baking, cooking or living!

Yours, 

Maria

No, these are not only the princesses of the castle, these are actually our beautiful musicians from the orchestra :-) | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

More of the princesses-musicians | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Ulrich Cordes, tenor & Philistus and David Bergmüller talking under the arcs of the castle | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

The Euridice and the Orfeo Baroque Orchestra with the magnificent leader and director Michi Gaigg | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

Another princess of the castle and the Euridice Orchestra, Veronika Traxler | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss

The wind players of the orchestra | Photograph (c) Maria Weiss