Hank Reynolds
Ciconia, Una Panthera Was it the avant-garde of the Middle Ages? A style of music known as ars subtilior arose on the heels of the 14th-century ars nova. The ars nova marked a considerable advance on what came to be considered the ars antiqua in … Read more
Pachelbel, Toccata in E Minor Who isn’t familiar with Pachelbel’s Canon in D? After its use in the film score of Ordinary People (1980), it became a mainstay at weddings. And, perhaps unfortunately, whenever an atmosphere of quiet elegance was required, it made the perfect … Read more
Crumb, Let It Be Forgotten George Crumb (1929-2022) strikes me as one of the most interesting composers of the late 20th century. Several years ago, we featured his Voice of the Whale (1971) in this series. Crumb was born into a musical family in Charleston, … Read more
Corelli, Sonata in G Major We featured Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) a while back and discussed his importance in the development of the concerto grosso. He also made major contributions to the development of the sonata. His twelve sonatas of Opus 5, published in 1700, were … Read more
MacDowell, To a Wild Rose To A Wild Rose is the first of ten pieces by American composer Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) comprising a set called Woodland Sketches. Each of the pieces has a title and tries to express that title through music: for example, autumn, … Read more
Fillmore, The Klaxon Marches are not uniquely American, but they seem to go hand-in-hand with our expressions of patriotism. If asked to name two composers of marches, I suspect almost everyone would immediately think of John Philip Sousa and then struggle to come up with … Read more
Moszkowski, Étincelles “Étincelles” (French for “Sparks”) is one of the most beloved and frequently performed pieces by the Polish-German composer Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925). It is the sixth piece in his set of eight piano pieces, Op. 36, published in 1886. Moszkowski was born in Breslau. … Read more
Leoncavallo, Vesti la giubba Ridi, Pagliaccio. Laugh, Pagliaccio, your love is broken. It may be one of the most iconic lines and melodies in opera. If you want to conjure up the high emotional drama of opera in your soundtrack, commercial, or cartoon, you just … Read more
Rameau, Suite in A Minor People who study music seriously have a tendency to become “music purists,” insisting that performances adhere to certain historical characteristics or avoid certain anachronisms. That’s a polite way of saying we become musical snobs, and, yes, I can often be … Read more
Dunstable, Quam pulcra es Very little is known about the life of English composer John Dunstable (c. 1390-1453) (sometimes listed as Dunstaple or Dunstapell or Dumstable), yet he is universally acknowledge as one of the most influential composers of the 15th century. His music in … Read more