I won’t claim the ranching town of Bowie, Texas to be the cultural center of the universe, but it is where we first met Leng Tshua, Chief Executive Officer of the contemporary Singapore Art Museum (SAM). He was visiting a former colleague who happens to be … Read more
William Billings, Methinks I See an Heavn’ly Host If you are wandering around Boston Commons, you may reach a small cemetery on south side off Boylston Street. (Or maybe you have seen a video of Professor Carol teaching American music from this cemetery.) A plaque next … Read more
Eric Whitacre, Water Night Instead of adding my own commentary to the Friday Performance Pick for this week, I’m going to rely on Carol’s post from this morning and Eric Whitacre’s own commentary in his Ted Talk. After hearing from those two, there really isn’t … Read more
Last week I had the delightful opportunity to interview the composer Eric Whitacre (subject of today’s “Friday Performance Pick”). We had dinner a couple of nights before a terrific concert by The Dallas Winds dedicated solely to his music. The house was sold out—Whitacre is … Read more
Allegri, Miserere mei Deus Gregorio Allegri (c. 1582-1652) composed his setting of Psalm 51 to be sung in the Sistine Chapel Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday. The work has been recorded frequently and is performed each year during Holy Week in many churches. … Read more
I offer this timeless poem to celebrate mothers who read to their children. May I dedicate it especially to those who make reading aloud a domestic priority! When Mother reads aloud, the past Seems real as every day; I hear the tramp of armies vast, … Read more
Schumann, “Hör’ ich das Liedchen klingen” from Dichterliebe This short song may inspire you to listen to the entire song cycle Dichterliebe (poet’s love) by Robert Schumann. If it doesn’t, go listen to the entire cycle anyway and give it a little more time. A song … Read more
Okay, we’re driving back to Texas from the Great Home School Convention in Greenville, South Carolina. We have our 2½ year old granddaughter Patti with us. She’s a superb traveler. Still, it was late, and we needed something to get her through that last 200 … Read more
Schubert/Liszt, Auf dem Wasser zu Singen Our listening in the past two weeks has focused on songs without words and how the qualities of a song were incorporated into short character pieces for piano. And in the case of Tchaikovsky last week, we look at a transcription … Read more
