Tosti, Tristezza The Neopolitan Song (Canzone napoletana) flourished from the mid 19th to early 20th century. While songs of this genre tended to be newly composed, they drew heavily on the folk traditions of Naples and the surrounding area. Highly melodic and passionate, they were … Read more
Stories of the family members of “great artists” can be more interesting than the artists’ biographies themselves. It is hard to top the story of Lev Tolstoy’s long-suffering, dutiful wife and editor Sophia Tolstaya (1844-1919) who bore him 13 children, tediously recopied and made literary … Read more
Bach, Christ lag in Todesbanden Your image of J.S. Bach is probably shaped by the portrait of an older man with a white wig. We don’t have many images of Bach as a young man, and the authenticity of the one here (left) is in … Read more
We’re back for Spring! The Classical Consortium is launching another exciting online conference April 15-17. In addition to me, speakers include Martin Cothran (Memoria Press), Andrew Pudewa (IEW), Christopher Perrin (Classical Academic Press), and Andrew Kern (Circe Institute). The full schedule and registration information are … Read more
Penderecki, Agnus Dei The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki (pen-de-RETsk-i) died last year. Born in 1933, he spent much of his life behind the Iron Curtain and much of his output was in the form a sacred music. Penderecki’s music was all the rage when I … Read more
Paulus, Pilgrim’s Hymn The American composer Stephen Paulus (1949-2014) is perhaps best known for his choral works. We featured one such example, the exceptionally lovely chorus The Road Home in this series four years ago. The Pilgrim’s Hymn comes from Paulus’ one-act opera The Three … Read more
I try to stay away from politics and social issues. I really do. But sometimes one just has to dip a toe in the waters. Here’s the best news I’ve heard all week. Someone, somewhere, moved by the touted interview between Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markel, … Read more
The Foggy Dew I have a fair amount of Irish ancestry (the Belfast variety). My mother, a first-generation American, taught me a few things about St. Patrick’s Day, but as Protestants, we didn’t make a big deal out of any saint’s day. Still, St. Patrick’s … Read more
Yes, that is the Matterhorn behind me. Not a photoshopped Matterhorn. Not a backdrop of the Matterhorn. The real thing. At the Gornergrat (an alpine ridge reached by cog railroad and perfect for viewing the Matterhorn) our guide related that such clarity of sky was … Read more
Monteverdi, Confitebor tibi Domine Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) had considerable success as both a Renaissance and Baroque composer. Those labels would come into use only later to describe his transition from one stylistic approach to another, but it was clear at the time that a new … Read more