A close friend, hearing me proclaim the need to “put the Fine Arts at the core of your children’s curricula” wrote with an honest, to-the-point questions (a vintage quiz show used to call this the “64-Thousand-Dollar Question”). She asked: I agree that fine arts are … Read more
Bridge, Music, When Soft Voices Die Frank Bridge (1879-1941) tends to be overshadowed in the historical flow of early 20th-century British music by his contemporaries Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Like Holst and Vaughan Williams, he studied with Charles Villiers Stanford. And as teacher … Read more
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor (“Mad Scene”) The “mad scene” in Lucia di Lammermoor ranks as one of the most famous scenes in opera. A short synopsis will explain the situation. Lucia is in love with Edgardo, but their families are engaged in a feud. While … Read more
Goodness, Truth, and Beauty paint the horizon towards which we sail our ships. Okay, that’s me, trying to write a poetic sentence worthy of your attention. If it did catch your eye, it’s because the sentiments are true. The three verities (Transcendentals) have fueled the … Read more
Tallis, If Ye Love Me If Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) had a list of greatest hits, If Ye Love Me would surely rank near the top. One of the things I remember well about the day I married Carol is the performance of this work … Read more
On Tuesday, I posed a question to my high-schoolers in the music-history course I teach online for Memoria Academy. The question sought to stir their thoughts on the technological changes affecting music, the arts, and life itself during the fourteen years since I recorded the … Read more
Monza, Sinfonia in D Major (“La tempesta di mare”) In 1770, the 14-year-old Mozart was in Milan studying the music of some of Italy’s most important composers. Primary among them was Giovanni Battista Sammartini, but another prominent Milanese composer was Carlo Monza (c. 1735-1801). (This … Read more
For many people, it is hard to find time for a book that has no connection to work (in my case, teaching, research, or writing). Similarly, in my life, it is hard to delve into pieces of music that fall outside the list of “obligatory” … Read more
Finzi, Five Bagatelles (3 and 4) The music of Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) in many ways follows the style of his fellow British composers Sir Edward Elgar and his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams. Best known for his choral works and songs, Finzi’s Five Bagatelles, written for … Read more
I try not to get too topical in my topics. (I’ve always wanted to write that sentence!) First, I am not a political commentator. Our mission here at Professor Carol revolves around the teaching of history and culture through the lens of the Arts. This … Read more