The decade our family spent on a ranch in North Central Texas remains a highlight of our lives. The intense, valuable education we received was not just about raising livestock (goats, cows, horses), but about partaking in the tender, joyful community life of a real … Read more
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049 Very early on in this series, we featured Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 filmed in Köthen’s Hall of Mirrors. It was an occasion to discuss Bach’s time in Köthen (from 1717-1723), where Bach lived and worked when he … Read more
Bach, Jesu Meine Freude, BWV 277 “Motet” often means a sacred polyphonic work with a Latin text. But motets took different forms over a long history from the 13th to the 18th century, varying from place to place and era to era. Secular motets dominated … Read more
Bach, Es ist vollbracht (St. John Passion) J.S. Bach wrote two Passions: The Passion According to St. John and The Passion According to St. Matthew. A Passion presents the Gospel texts for Good Friday in dramatic form. Passion plays became popular in medieval times as a … Read more
Our ship’s in a lock. I’m watching from my cabin window as we rise slowly from a scary concrete vault into a bright horizon and then sail gently forward into the leafy verdure of the Germany countryside. Thoughts swirl in my mind—particularly one. Actually this … Read more
Buxtehude, Sonata in A minor In 1705, the 20-year-old Bach walked from Arnstadt to Lübeck, a distance of about 250 miles. He went to listen to the famed organist Dieterich Buxtehude. It was a good enough reason to secure a one-month leave from his post … Read more
Bach, French Suite No. 2 in C Minor I want to close out our discussion of the Baroque suite with the granddaddy of them all. As with many of the genres and styles of the Baroque era, J.S. Bach represents the culmination. Keep in mind … Read more
J.S. Bach – Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 There is a zombie movie playing in the next room. Or maybe it’s a television program. And no, let’s be clear, Professor Carol is not in the next room watching it. I won’t explain … Read more
How do music history, homeschoolers, and the Van Cliburn Series come together? On an airplane, of course. Airplanes present a peculiar work environment. On the one hand, everyone is miserable, stuffed into a tiny place with dozens of similarly compressed folks. Add in the crying … Read more
You will find a new featured video on the home page: a conversation with Michael Conrady about the pipe organ. Michael is the music director at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Dallas. You’ll also meet him in the discussion of Johann Sebastian Bach (Unit … Read more
