Divamensch

Karen, Bruce, and I heard Les Arts Florissants at BAM on Dec 5, 2025. They performed a program of two sacred works by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, the *Messe de Minuit* and *Pastorale de Noël.* Les A F are a French ensemble that mostly does French Baroque opera and similar works. Karen and I saw their production of Lully's *Atys* at BAM in 2011, a performance that was one of the greatest things I've seen in my life. We've seen them a handful of times since then and they're alway

I'll hand it over to Howard: People always talk about a record that “changed my life”. As a decades-long record junkie, I will tell you that Every record changes my life, but there was one that really set me reeling forever. In 1976 I was a Partridge Family fan and listened to a lot of WLS AM radio. Then Patti Smith was on Saturday Night one week and my musical world imploded. That next week I snuck some of my silver dollar collection out of the house and bought her debut, Ho