Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 1 The concerto grosso is a Baroque compositional form that pits a small group of instrumentalists against a larger orchestra. The term came into use with works by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), and the form was adopted … Read more
György Ligeti – Six Bagatelles Let’s start the New Year with something clever. The name Ligeti will not be familiar to many of our readers, but those of a certain age may recall his works from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (released in 1968). (Yes, that … Read more
My mother took the tree down on New Year’s Day. She attacked the decorations as the sun rose and had everything boxed up by 9. The tree was out the door and everything was vacuumed by 10. I lamented every moment of it. I hadn’t … Read more
A friend sent me a card, saying he hoped O Come, O Come Emmanuel would be a topic for one of the remaining days of the Advent Calendar. This song, for him, evoked special memories of childhood. That set me to thinking. It’s certainly not the … Read more
The celebration of Russian Christmas has been shaped by forces both astronomical and historical. Let’s look first at the calendar. Most of Europe shifted to the Gregorian Calendar starting in 1582, but Russia retained the Julian Calendar. Peter the Great modernized the Julian calendar in … Read more
Pavel Chesnokov: Spaseniye Sodelal If you’re looking for Russian choral music, there are lots of places you might go before checking out boys choirs in Atlanta. I went to all those other places (well, many of them). But I settled on this performance by the … Read more
The Christian season of Advent always begins four Sundays before Christmas Day. So the number of days in Advent varies. For 2014, count back four Sundays before Christmas and you arrive at November 30 as the start date. Advent ends on Christmas Eve 25 days … Read more
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K. 141 1685 was a good year for composers. Bach was born that year in Eisenach, just a couple of hours away (in today’s terms) from Halle where Handel had been born the month prior. These two giants of … Read more
Advent is a season of preparation – a penitential season when we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Savior. Christmas seems to begin earlier every year, at least if we take our cues from store decorations and ads in the media. How often are … Read more
A reader asks: Will you still be sending out your advent calendar this year? I would like to receive it again if possible. Thanks. Absolutely, yes. Advent starts on November 30 this year, and my Advent Calendar will include essays for each day leading up to … Read more