Baton (military)

The ceremonial baton is a short, thick stick-like object, typically in wood or metal, that is traditionally the sign of a field marshal or a similar very high-ranking military officer, and carried as a piece of their uniform. The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and effectively without any practical function. Unlike a staff of office, a baton is not rested on the ground. Unlike a royal sceptre, a baton is typically flat-ended, not crowned on one end with an eagle or globe.

Ancient world

The origin of the commander's baton is remote but common to all pastoral societies and the ones in Egypt and Rome are manifest through art. It used to believed that the type of decorated prehistoric artefacts called bâton de commandement had this role in the European Upper Palaeolithic, but archaeologists have discarded this theory. In western Europe most are later variations of the ones consuls received and that represented the overall command of those tied to the fasces that represented the Roman tribes that comprised the Roman people. With time they came to be extended to the commanders that held supreme authority, civilian and military over the provinces of the republic, and later under the dictatorships and finally the emperor.

Symbol

A symbol is a person or a concept that represents, stands for or suggests another idea, visual image, belief, action or material entity. Symbols take the form of words, sounds, gestures, ideas or visual images and are used to convey other ideas and beliefs. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a blue line might represent a river. Numerals are symbols for numbers. Alphabetic letters may be symbols for sounds. Personal names are symbols representing individuals. A red rose may symbolize love and compassion. The variable x in a mathematical equation may symbolize the position of a particle in space.

In cartography, an organized collection of symbols forms a legend for a map.

Etymology

The word derives from the Greek symbolon (σύμβολον) meaning token or watchword. It is an amalgam of syn- "together" + bole "a throwing, a casting, the stroke of a missile, bolt, beam." The sense evolution in Greek is from "throwing things together" to "contrasting" to "comparing" to "token used in comparisons to determine if something is genuine." Hence, "outward sign" of something. The meaning "something which stands for something else" was first recorded in 1590, in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene.

Symbol (choir)

The Symbol is a choir in Romania that links to the great choir of the patriarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Its headquarters are in the basement or the patriarchal palace in the choir room named after the mentor of the choir Nicolae Lungu.

Founder and Conductors

The one who founded the choir is also the current conductor, Mr. Jean Lupu, currently 69 years old.

Excerpt from the 15-year album of the choir:

"Professor Jean Lupu, the founder and also the choir conductor, is a graduate of the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Craiova, the 'Radu Greceanu' High-school in Slatina and later, the National Academy of Music in Timişoara and Bucharest."

The one who is responsible for the funds distribution and management is Mrs. Doinița Neamțu. The president of the directorial council is Mrs. Aureliana Grama.

The assistant conductor is Luminița Gutanu, Doctor in Music, graduate of the National Music Institute in Kishinev, Republic of Moldova.

Repertory

The repertory comprises more than 250 compositions, 25% being the work of the choir's mentor.

Symbol (disambiguation)

A symbol is something that represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity.

Symbol may also refer to:

Computing

Logic

Music

Baton

Baton may refer to:

In stick-like objects:

Baton (conducting)

A baton is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to enlarge and enhance the manual and bodily movements associated with directing an ensemble of musicians.

Description

Modern batons are generally made of a lightweight wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a comfortable grip called a "bulb" that is usually made of cork, oak, walnut, rosewood, or occasionally aluminum and that may be tailored to a conductor's needs. Professional conductors often have personal specifications for a baton based on their own physical demands and the nature of the performance: Sir Henry Wood and Herbert von Karajan are some examples. Historic examples of their construction include one given to the French composer Louis-Antoine Jullien in the mid 1850s prior to his first visit to the United States: it is described as "a gorgeous baton made of maplewood, richly mounted in gold and set with costly diamonds."

Batons have normally varied in length from about 10 to 24 inches (250 to 610 mm) though a range of between 12 and 26 inches (300 and 660 mm) is more commonly used; Henry Wood once requested the use of a 24-inch baton. When Gaspare Spontini arrived in Dresden in 1844, Wagner had a baton made from a thick ebony staff with ivory knobs at either end.

Baton (law enforcement)

A baton or truncheon (also called a cosh, billystick, billy club, nightstick, sap, blackjack, stick) is essentially a club of less than arm's length made of wood, rubber, plastic or metal. They are carried for forced compliance and self-defense by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security-industry employees and (less often) military personnel. Other uses for truncheons and batons include crowd control or the dispersal of belligerent or non-compliant people.

A truncheon or baton may be used to strike, jab, block, bludgeon and aid in the application of armlocks. The usual striking or bludgeoning action is not produced by a simple and direct hit, as with an ordinary blunt object, but rather by bringing the arm down sharply while allowing the truncheon to pivot nearly freely forward and downward, so moving its tip much faster than its handle – effectively a slingshot action, only without releasing. Sometimes, they also are employed as weapons by criminals and other law-breakers because of their easy concealment. As a consequence, they are illegal for non-authorized civilian use in many jurisdictions around the world. They have a common role to play, too, in the rescuing of trapped individuals—for instance, people caught in blazing cars or buildings—by smashing windows or even doors.