Saturday, December 12, 2015

Regeneration Hall

The Royal Canadian Legion Hall Of Honour is found after one is done with the chronological portion of the permanent exhibits. It is a large room with the theme of commemoration in mind. A scale model of the National War Memorial is at its heart.


This is Regeneration Hall, taken from the second floor before descending. A harpist was playing that day. The statues, which we'll look at more tomorrow, are Walter Allward's scale plaster casts for the making of his statues on the Vimy Ridge Memorial.


This display panel is nearby on the balcony; Regeneration Hall is the second of two critical elements of the Museum that the rest of the structure is hinged upon, after Memorial Hall.


Down below, among the plaster cast sculptures, is a model of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France, Allward's masterpiece.


I have a short video clip I made within Regeneration Hall that day. There are two sounds- the harpist and the recorded sound of wind, an eerie kind of whistle that was recorded when this part of the museum was still open to the elements. I finish this post with two views, of the harp and the musician. When I first arrived in the Hall from above, she was playing Ashokan Farewell. If you've seen Ken Burns' documentary on the American Civil War, you know that tune. 

29 comments:

  1. Lots of interesting sculpture today. I like the battle scene with men and horses.

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  2. The final shot is surprising and amazing!

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  3. i love harp music, wonder why u mainly see ladies playing them, not men? happy weekend! ( ;

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  4. It was nice to hear the sound of that harp!

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  5. I definitely love the building. The display in the 4th shot really caught my attention.

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  6. @Red: it's interesting to view the model from a different angle than one is capable of viewing the War Memorial itself.

    @Revrunner: it was. We so rarely hear a harp by itself- it's usually used in a small ensemble or as part of an orchestra.

    @Hilary: it was a big instrument. I liked the look of it.

    @Tex: indeed!

    @VP: I thought it fitting to conclude with that.

    @Beth: I'm not sure, but I can't recall personally seeing a man playing the harp.

    @Sharon: I'm glad the video worked out, generally speaking. I test loaded it wondering if the image would show as it did on my camera. I've previously done a video, but thought there was no image. As it turns out, I was probably wrong!

    @Jose: thank you!

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  7. The sculpture looks very similar to some of the war memorials here. The harp has to be my favourite instrument. I bet is was fabulous listening to her play

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  8. I love the harp and harpist, William! :)

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  9. Gorgeous statues and the harp must have been a delight to listen to!

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  10. Interesting post William. I watched the video and really enjoyed hearing the harpist.

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  11. The harp is beautiful. It must be great to play such an extraordinary instrument.

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  12. Thanks for the tour. I got to travel from my couch- awesome! I would love to hear that harp being played. :)
    ~Jess

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  13. Magnificent. Yes, it is a haunting melody.

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  14. Peace and hope. I'm glad those have a place in the museum.

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  15. I agree with Hilary. The harp is my favorite.

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  16. The atmosphere must have been charged with a kind of electricity, especially with the harp playing. WW1 was so terrible. Like all wars. But because of the state of medicine at the time, I think there was great suffering; much like our Civil War.

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  17. Love the sculptures. Fascinating how people can carve reality in a piece of rock.

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  18. Harp music adds to the enjoyment of everything!

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  19. @Mo: it was. She played beautifully.

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Ciel: it was.

    @Lois: when I go back next time, I'll have to record the sound of the wind by itself.

    @Marleen: I would think it takes a great deal of practice.

    @Jess: thank you!

    @Mari: she played beautifully.

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  20. @RedPat: I agree!

    @Kay: they're quite fitting here.

    @EG: it is.

    @Norma: thanks!

    @Lowell: for so long, as with the Civil War, First World War generals were using Napoleonic era tactics... against machine guns, rifles, and artillery that were vastly outmatching the tactics. One of the many reasons the casualties were so horrendous.

    @Shelly: I agree.

    @Cheryl: that it does.

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  21. The little model figures are so beautifully detailed. And the harpist looks so elegant and at peace.

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  22. I wish I could click her image and hear her play.

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