A New Edition of Discovering Music

It was time to stretch . . . and so we did. We have created a Second Edition of Discovering Music. For our wonderful customers who have used our signature course since its birth in 2009, worry not! The outline of 17 units covering the … Read more

Friday Performance Pick – 356

harry-clifton

The Rocky Road to Dublin For St. Patrick’s Day this year, we have The Rocky Road to Dublin. The text was written by D. K. Gavan for the popular singer Harry Clifton (1832-1872), and it’s now considered a standard Irish folk song. The music is … Read more

Like a Wheel Turns

common-wheel

We should live on earth like a wheel turns: it touches the earth only at one little point, while all the rest of it ceaselessly rushes upward; but we, how we lie down on the earth and cannot get up! — Ambrose of Optina It is … Read more

Friday Performance Pick – 355

cremona-duomo

Ingegneri, Tenebrae factae sunt We have now entered the season of Lent, a perfect time to feature sacred works of a more introspective nature. The text of this responsory by Marc’Antoine Ingegneri (c. 1535 or 1536-1592) takes us deeper into Lent, in fact all the … Read more

Friday Performance Pick – 354

gondola-barcarolle

Chopin, Barcarolle Barcarolles or boat songs were folk songs traditionally sung by Venetian gondoliers. They became particularly popular in the early 19th century and influenced the character of opera arias. Some composers even turned them into purely instrumental character pieces for the piano or other … Read more

Children’s Illustrations and Piénkowski

pop-up book

I read with interest about the death of Jan Piénkowski, illustrator, author, and master-designer of pop-up books. None of his books yet stands on our grandkids’ shelves, but two are on their way: Tales from Poland and a Necklace of Raindrops, ordered after reading his … Read more

Friday Performance Pick – 353

debussy-baschet

Debussy, La mer The sea is beckoning, and I’m going to finish out this pre-Lenten season with more maritime music. Impressionism lent itself well to depicting various aspects of nature, perhaps none better than the sea. And the prime representative of Impressionism in music is … Read more

Plot Summaries

man-reading

Plot Summaries are useful, aren’t they, especially in a pinch, like: “I didn’t finish this month’s book-club selection, but still want to participate in the discussion.” Yet the dangers posed by the “plot summary” percolates in my mind due to a recent conversation with a … Read more