A young lady came up to me during last week’s Great Homeschool Convention in Fort Worth, Texas. A high-schooler, she is taking our Imperial Russia course and had recently passed the milestone unit on Pushkin. Aglow, she told me how excited she was to have … Read more
Gounod, Marche funèbre d’une marionnette Those of a certain age will remember it as the theme music to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. From 1956 to 1965 (the show was expanded in 1962 to become The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), the popular show presented a short stand-alone drama each … Read more
When I first heard the word magalog, my eyes rolled! I didn’t like the sound of the word. Yet, it’s a perfect word to describe a lot of publications these days that combine the functions of magazine and catalogue. And now we’ve just published our … Read more
Sousa, The Washington Post March I was a band guy (“geeks” hadn’t been invented yet). After doing all the usual band stuff throughout high school and into my college years, I found myself in an Army band for three years. Along the way, I played … Read more
There’s a stark volcanic rock outside of my balcony. It juts up from the water as the lone point of profile across an endless horizon of Caribbean sea. We’re anchored in St. John’s Bay. Behind us lies Gustavia, a luxury port in St. Barts. People … Read more
Gow, Lament for the Death of His Second Wife Back in elementary school, we had an itinerant music teacher who often played the autoharp. It was a practical instrument: good volume, full harmonies, and easy to carry. I remember being somewhat intrigued by it—as I … Read more
On a clear day Rise and look around you, Well it was indeed a clear, sunny day. I had just delivered a mid-afternoon talk on the history of Calypso to an audience of fellow-travelers as we steamed across the Caribbean Sea towards Philipsburg, St. Maarten. … Read more
Rameau, Les Sauvages In 1725, Chief Chicagou of the Mitchigamea tribe in Illinois visited Paris and met with King Louis XV. The Company of the Indies, which controlled business with the French colonies in America, arranged the visit for Chicagou and five other chiefs. During the … Read more
Those of you in the early stages of discovering classical music may become frustrated when much of what you hear is so unfamiliar. You may be tempted to retreat back into familiar territory and decide you don’t “really like” these kinds of pieces. Or, depending … Read more
Franck, Violin Sonata in A Major I don’t usually remember the specific occasion when I heard a particular piece of music for the first time. I become familiar with a piece by listening to it many times, and the first hearing tends to fade from memory. But … Read more