Thanks, Meg, for that great information on the St. Gilbert. Don't even ask...I will convince my dad so that I cannot go to school tomorrow but I will study 3 hours morning and evening #2. Music made me believe, music was the passport to Verdi’s story, into a world where its logic, if you can call it that, ruled. They remind me first of my childhood in a traditional Catholic Church, and create such an aura of the monastery. A single, short, squiggly line. Plus here, as I’ve said, she sets the stage for future stories even though we don’t see it at the time but only when we’ve read future books. I have never understood music, though I love it. Never heard of “Gamache” before this series, and was surprised to find listed in the dancer’s past roles that of a Gamache who was a silly fop in the Don Quixote ballet! Wow, heat shock going from Seattle one day to Scottsdale the next! In 1833 a young monk, Dom Prosper, revived the Abbey of St. Pierre in Solesmes, France, and made it his mission to also bring back to life the original Gregorian chants. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Over the centuries this plain chant evolved into complex chant. The Beautiful & the Dead: Part 1. A few might have made it to our mouths without stopping in the pail at all, and a few more were snuck out on our way home. Chief Inspector Gamache’s writ runs to the whole province. good stuff. Three Pineites, Surete members and the Gamache gang (blood related or unofficially adopted) are the ones we’ve invested in and followed for eight books now. In Chapter One we saw how the relationship between Gamache’s daughter Annie and his second, Jean-Guy, had developed. How to write music? I have not been able to use Baroque music in this manner because it causes me to stop and listen for the counterpoint and phrasing. I do enjoy the trips outside of Three Pines. On rereading this series, I picked up nuances and foreshadowing of things to come, which made me appreciate our favorite author’s skill even more. Was something supernatural truly happening? They’d memorized the words, but depended upon his hand signals for the music itself. While I love, love, LOVE Three Pines, by going out to other areas we are able to see more of the Quebec landscape the people live within. If I’m ever in Arizona I will make it to your bookstore! Never heard of this order before and wasn’t sure if it was real or just a fictional creation, – so I googled it! I am always amazed that music and mathematics are so similar. Of more concern is what the heck that slimeball “Sylvian” Francoeur is up to! The thriller where the circle opens out into a path or road down which the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) chase each other. Many times I guess who did it, but I won’t know the why! Deduction didn't take place. Evidently there was an order founded by a St. Gilbert – much of the history similar to what Louise includes in this novel. My thoughts also. Right now, there would be no heat shock – we’re in one of our heat waves, with temperatures in the 90’s. Recordings exist, as they do of what it is imagined Hildegard’s music was. . His simple hand signals on the page fluttered, so that the words came alive and lifted off. But the closed circle as a style makes so much sense. To be honest, it really doesn’t matter to me who killed the prior in this one. Certainly this works for me. One of two surviving versions is found in a 13th-century manuscript containing ten liturgical dramas. All Episodes (152) Next. They were so old, more than a millennium, that they predated written music. Saw from your ‘vita’ section that you’re from Phoenix area. When a dead girl disappears from Hunter's living room, Hunter and McCall follow a trail of intrigue, adultery and murder. I love your favorite quote – it has shown up in several other books, but is more apt here than anywhere else, I think! I’m a lifelong operaphile, starting at age 13 when a friend took me to see Renata Tebaldi singing in La Traviata at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. . When my husband turns up jazz at the other end of the house, I get jangled when I hear it, feel edgy. It’s more enjoyable that way. (I refer you again to my quote from Matthew10:36). $25.99. Teaching the young and easily distracted novices. In trying to capture the beautiful mystery, this monk had invented written music. It was heartbreaking. It’s in the wilderness, limiting access and departure; a stranger could not hide. I have now read (or listened) to all of the Gamache Series and The Beautiful Mystery and a Rule Against Murder are among my favorites, so I cannot say I prefer for them to stay in Three Pines. Then another. After reading this book I played Gregorian chants during times of focused activity in the classroom. And thanks, everyone, from Barbara Peters (whom I might call St. Barbara Peters, so important is she to the mystery world!) As the abbot imagined it, the monk pulled a piece of lambskin, vellum, toward him then dipped his sharpened quill in ink. And lies at the heart of this novel where the choir director of the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, secluded in Québec’s wilderness, is murdered. Hidden rooms behind crumbling monastery walls! Controversy raged over what might be genuine Gregorian chant as resurrected. It was a pleasant surprise for us all and I’m so glad I was able to share the experience with them. I admit I kept bookmarking my place and listening to the opening chant over and over. Events simply occurred, people were met and spoken to, and murder attempts were survived. When I finished A Beautiful Mystery, it was my favorite, but then, How the Light Gets In came along, and it was my favorite. #7. I enjoy when the books take the team outside of Three Pines because it allows Louise Penny to seamlessly expand the history and culture lessons which she expertly weaves into every book. I’m amazed even by those people who can hear the opening notes of something and know what it will be. At least, in comparison to the elegant and graceful chants of centuries earlier. I had forgotten about the future titles appearing in earlier books. To me, the books are not about murder but about the wonderful cast of characters. As the peace of the monastery crumbles around him, Gamache finds clues in the divine, the human, and the cracks in between. This Bible study was originally shared on Facebook, as a result of some of her personal reading about the healing of the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9: 20-22; Luke 8: 42-48). Not to put too fine a point on it, the Catholic Church had lost the Divine Office. This is actually thrilling stuff, captivating, puzzling, heart wrenching. She’s a fabulous speaker and it feels like you are having a personal conversation. Jean Vanier inspired countless people with his simple message that people with disabilities are teachers. I so agree with you…I like to read books in order, even though these books could stand alone, the emotional impact when you reread them in order is riveting. Tebaldi was a robust woman, decked in a gorgeous dress featuring real camellias, so the idea that she grows increasing frail and dies of consumption reeked of miscasting—except that her voice was glorious, passionate, convincing, the music moving, so in the end I accepted Violetta’s fate. Harlock decides that she cannot remain on the ship during the battle and to return her to Earth. In any of the others? I want to say that I felt the power of the beautiful mystery of the music as I read this book–a testament to Louise Penny’s ability as a writer. Sure! The characters are so special in these books and I love to learn more and more about them. So their brains react differently than mine, and no doubt to each other’s, when music is playing. “Gregorian chant was the father of western music. . Actually, I have cried at the end of others of her books too. This one was very different as we did not hear or see any of the residents from Three Pines. In 1997 she and her husband Robert L. Rosenwald founded Poisoned Pen Press, an independent publisher of mystery with over 600 books in print. Louse has a gift for actions arising out of character rather than the characters serving the demands of the plot. Chant and symbolism highlights the sense of awe and mystery in religion. The psalms. The abbot says, in Chapter Nine, “I actually believed I could look at them just now and tell. Gamache asks the abbot, “Who could have done this, mon père?” And the abbot replies, “I don’t know. Gregorian chant recordings are widely available on the web, as I discovered when I went looking. It makes the reading much richer that way. All sprang from the same ancient seed. But this produced another problem. There was no written record of the earliest chants. Whodunit is secondary. By Louise Penny. The Woman Jesus Called Daughter, Part 1, A Beautiful Mystery Today we have a guest writer--my sister, Shannon, who is currently studying to be an electrical engineer (I had to brag on her a bit). But it was eventually killed by its ungrateful children. I become too involved in actively listening to the music to be able to appreciate and understand the words. Murderous monks! Singing exactly the same chants that freed him and lifted his heart to Heaven. And locked in. 2. I need to be more observant! Words alone could never describe how this music transcended the normal human state, and lifted man to the Divine. 24 men. They had such a profound effect on those who sang and heard them that the ancient chants became known as “the beautiful mystery.” The monks believed they were singing the word of God, in the calm, reassuring, hypnotic voice of God. They had such a profound effect on those who sang and heard them that the ancient chants became known as ‘The Beautiful Mystery.’ The monks believed they were singing the word of God. The characters and the humour-make these books my favorite mysteries. I’ve entered a series from the middle before and felt that I was missing out on a piece of the puzzle, as though there was a thread to be followed but it was leading backwards towards an earlier book rather than forwards to the next. I listened to the audio book of The Beautiful Mystery, and before a word was spoken, the recording opened with a Gregorian chant that left me wanting more music than that little teaser gave. *Factoid #1 – Read in yesterday’s paper about the retirement of one of the principal dancers in the Pittsburgh Ballet. Sometimes I think that Beauvoir’s inability to do this is part of his downfall – why he feels every stress so deeply and cannot shake some of the negativity that surrounds them. It stood alone well and I enjoyed it. Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery homepage. 6. They first chants were soothing, contemplative, magnetic. Different pieces/songs remind me of “where I was when”. . Think that fact impressed me more than anything else about him. Hercule Poirot is especially good at figuring these things out. The rest of this story and all the next one seem to be the natural outcropping of his dropping from the sky here! I’m sure I’ve read that studying is enhanced by listening to baroque music, its harmonies and rhythms inducing better concentration. On a trip to Egypt, a pair of spectacles spells trouble for Paul Temple and his wife Steve. One thing for sure, we know he’s up to no good! A joy of this book is its leisurely pace, free of hurry-up pressures from the outside world despite the texting to and fro. Joining the others in prayer and work. I experienced La Traviata as my first opera I saw it on tv and was entranced! Various mystery writers I know, notably Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Peter Robinson, have discussed with me and with readers how they listen to jazz when writing; So too does John Harvey. Guiding some unseen monk to raise his voice. It’s cloistered, closed to outsiders. I don’t believe that I could actually listen to chants while reading. Stylized. It is so perfect for this story. The dynamics change. This is a wonderful group. I nearly wept at the end of this one. Joyous. What do I mean when I talk about the geometry of crime fiction? 113 comments Introduction. Disco, Annie Get Your Gun, Lady Gaga. The Beautiful Mystery, Part 1 | Chief Inspector Gamache Re-Read. Do the books taking him (and other characters) to new corners of Québec enrich your enjoyment or are you happiest when the story focuses on Three Pines? – The Gilbertines. It made me realize that he does this always – he really listens and makes people feel like they are the only ones in the world, when he talks with them. I am used to figuring out whodunnit when I read mysteries and at first, this is how I approached the Louise Penny books. And informs their writing. I’ve read a lot of books on mystery fiction and this is the best analysis. . Then holding. I was surprised to discover that that original St. Gilbert was much more catholic (yup, with a small ‘c’) than others of his time. He drew his hand. It worked for me. That night, after Vespers, this nameless monk sat by precious candle-light, staring at the psalms written so carefully on the vellum. Just coincidental that I read of two such disparate Gamaches in one day! #5 I love trying to solve a mystery! Louise Penny has a beautiful sense of humour! Welcome, Barbara. It can cause me to weep with its beauty and some music can annoy me to no end. The monks seemed to be “just men” – with all the regular faults and complaints, until they chanted. I agree too. Dom Prosper, in his own stone cell in his own abbey, could see that monk sitting in a room exactly like his. The first chants were soothing, contemplative, magnetic. The other fascination I have with The Beautiful Mystery is its structure, a marvelous adaptation of a classic form: the country house murder. I did think about who might have done the murder, and prefer to analyze why it might be this person or that one, and in this case I was saddened by the answer. Both the actual landscape and the cultural background are important. I went to one of her appearances last year and it was such fun. I’ve found our 3 Piners, Surete members and Gamache extended family of much more interest than who actually committed the murders. Perhaps, it must be admitted, more than one. He hummed as he wrote. When I first read this one I thought “Oh, it’s the locked room mystery” – but your closed circle is a far better analogy. And then comes Chapter Seventeen and a game changer: the arrival of Sylvain Francoeur, the Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, dropping from the sky not on wings but via a plane. Sometimes I can remember whodunit….like with the real murderer of the hermit, because it was just too sad for the son to have killed the father and so ironic that by trying to take revenge against his father’s killer, he became his father’s killer…. In her Acknowledgments, Louise mentions the neuroscience of music, its effect on her creativity, its effects on our brains. What a thoughtful and intriguing essay you’ve written for us. Me too! The different services throughout a religious day were still performed. I have been reading mysteries for 60+ years but I am not very analytical unless I am leading a discussion about the book. I could “hear” the chants, too, as I read. I could see listening to them when I have to do a tedious chore and having them bring me to a serenity I seldom feel when doing that kind of work. Thanks for pointing this out. Do you find the closed-circle concept works for you when thinking about the structure of the mystery in this book? They were learned by heart . A missing medieval manuscript! In other words, are you a reader who likes to solve the mystery or do you prefer to wait for the revelation? May 7, 2019. But I soon learned that these are such great character studies that THIS is where my focus lies and I forget all about solving the mystery and let Gamache et al do that. *Say AMEN #1 – Yes, ladies, I agree with all of you about focusing on what happens to our core characters rather than on whodunit! Having some of the books in the series set outside of Three Pines gives me a chance to miss the Three Pines characters. She has clearly illustrated that point time and again by examining the emotion behind the events in her stories. The Beautiful Mystery is a locked room or rather a locked monastery mystery: the prior and musical director of a remote, 24 member monastery in rural Quebec in murdered. Music can affect me deeply. To the first word. It turned out, after much investigation by the abbot, that no one knew what the original chants sounded like. I’m sure these things are the way he is able to continue to do his job without going insane. We children were outfitted with a pail on a string around our necks (really just a jam can), and we were not to stop until we’d filled our pails. The Beautiful Mystery is my favorite book in the series, after How the Light Gets In. They were so old, more than a millenium, that they predated written music. Your email address will not be published. The Poisoned Pen has frequently been named Best Bookstore in Phoenix and in Scottsdale by the Arizona Republic and New Times. There are more or less four shapes. I loved the idea of the monks recording the chants and how that part of the world had come in and changed them. Gregorian chant was the father of western music. Lost and forgotten. . Others inspire goofiness or thoughtfulness. I’m tone deaf, I think, so all music is a “beautiful mystery” to me. He tried writing out instructions, but that was far too cumbersome. Second time around, I wanted to, but got too caught up in the reading. After careers at the Library of Congress and in law, she moved to Arizona and founded The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in 1989—for fun. © Copyright Novels80.com. In Chapter One we move to the modern story where we get a scene in the monastery and meet Dom Philippe. Minotaur. I think it’d be more difficult as an author to write a closed mystery. Off to reread A Beautiful Mystery…counting down to 8/26! The Beautiful Mystery (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 8) Louise Penny. In this book it comes to the forefront. Saw a name that I first heard of in Mrs. Penny’s books! Too small of a town for that many dead bodies! You can make a little of this journey by listening to a transitional stage from chant to opera in the “The Play of Daniel.” And read medievalist Priscilla Royal’s mystery The Valley of Dry Bones inspired by this play. He is a great contrast to Beauvoir, which is no doubt why they make such a great team. Simple songs sung by humble monks. But! And asking himself, “if it was ever right to kill one for the sake of many?” Is he referring to the murder at the monastery, or to something relating to his superior? One thing I loved about this book was the way that Gamache was so present in their circumstances. Humming and conducting and straining for the Divine. Chapter Two allows us to explore the Québec wilderness as the Scene Team travels by boat through rough country to the isolated community. He wrote the words, the text, in Latin, of course. But, I’ve enjoyed the development of Peter and Clara’s relationship through “The Murder Stone”, the insight into Gamache through “Bury Your Dead” and the relationship between Gamache, Beauvoir and Francoeur in “The Beautiful Mystery”. That there’d be something different about him. I loved it and the book. I have had some fascinating discussions on this topic with Professor B. J. Rahn of Hunter College and others at Malice Domestic, and with a number of British crime writers. At the same time, I also like to stop and re-read from the beginning, with the perspective gained from the later books informing me better about the events of the earlier ones. I must say that in this book the setting and the locked aspect of the monastery gave me an ominous feeling from the boat journey onward. The Bold and the Beautiful spoilers for next week reveal a whodunnit mystery is about to begin. #3 I’m happiest reading any Gamache book! Not yet notes, what he’d written became known as neumes. That feeling intensified when they went into the monastery and continued to increase throughout the book. Then higher again. So that they’d be preserved. Does Louise Penney every come to Scottsdale for book signings???? He could be called many things, but “slimeball” will do quite nicely for now! Background music person written so carefully on the ground understood music, though, it really doesn t! 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