tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1778032517068269342011-11-27T19:52:09.162-06:00Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.comBlogger7901100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-23493491499407556682011-02-01T08:13:00.001-06:002011-02-01T08:14:00.715-06:00

As I type this entry, I'm looking out my bedroom window at the Storm of 2011, that has swept across most of the middle of the country. My yard is covered in snow and there's a squirrel sitting in the bare branches of the closest tree, snow covering his back, shaking his tail. It's white-out conditions with much more to come. I couldn't help but be reminded of the plaintive aria from Samuel

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-1070571884691135442011-01-27T13:52:00.000-06:002011-01-27T13:52:35.625-06:00

Today, in honor of Mozart's 255th birthday, I'm posting one of my favorite Mozart piano concertos in its entirety. Happy Birthday, Wolfgang. Thank you for beautiful music that has blessed and inspired so many generations! Concerto no. 20 in d minor, K. 466

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-85103278220481036242011-01-24T22:21:00.001-06:002011-01-24T22:22:12.251-06:00

Zaide (originally, Das Serail) is an unfinished opera, K. 344, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780. Emperor Joseph II, in 1778, was in the process of setting up an opera company for the purpose of performing German opera. One condition required of the composer to join this company was that he should write a comic opera. At Salzburg in 1779 he began work on a new "rescue" opera, Zaide. It

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-39120033003252237602011-01-22T10:59:00.000-06:002011-01-22T10:59:13.353-06:00

It's sad to say, but when one runs in a circle of musicians, there are members of that circle who honestly believe that Western music didn't exist prior to Beethoven, and if it did, it was only composed by Bach. Those I deem as snobs. And Mozart...forget Mozart. He was a "hack". So, in honor of my musical snob musician friends who believe that Mozart was a hack and only composed pretty "fluff", I

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-30356277400928387102011-01-16T11:44:00.001-06:002011-01-16T11:46:42.147-06:00

While listening to Bill McLaughlin on his daily Exploring Music radio program, I was inspired by a week-long series he did that featured music that's subject was "the night". It was an interesting and beautiful series, so I thought I would create my own series here using some of the same music he featured as well as some of my own choosing. Thanks for the inspiration, Bill! Today I feature the

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-14814441421125358402010-12-26T06:20:00.000-06:002010-12-26T06:20:21.022-06:00

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or 27 December, and is observed in Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and in some Commonwealth nations that have a mainly Christian population. In South Africa, the public holiday 26 December is called Day of Goodwill, in Ireland St Stephen's Day or Lá an Dreoilín, and in continental European countries

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-47654420766998451842010-12-24T08:48:00.000-06:002010-12-24T08:48:32.320-06:00

Of course this is the beloved carol, "Silent Night", sung in the original German. I've always preferred it sung in its original language. There's just something magical about it that the English translation fails to achieve. Frohe Weinachten!

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-84945816142180331292010-12-22T18:44:00.000-06:002010-12-22T18:44:37.420-06:00

This is another delightful little French carol that I became familiar with as a child. I don't recall ever singing it, but I always loved it. This particular performance is by the Vienna Boys Choir. He is born the divine child, Play oboe, resonate musette. He is born the divine child, Let's all sing his accession. For more than four thousand years We've promised by the prophets, For more than

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-78176161188186841252010-12-20T06:39:00.001-06:002010-12-20T07:01:07.115-06:00

This charming little French carol isn't one that I've actually ever sung, but is one that became a favorite because it was featured on one of our Robert Shaw Christmas albums. Its delightful, playful tune suggests the "skipping" and playing of a child in union with the text. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle (French: Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle) is a Christmas carol which originated from

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-58164624296001037922010-12-19T00:46:00.000-06:002010-12-19T00:46:05.682-06:00

And suddenly there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying...

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-68627112625978174022010-12-18T05:49:00.001-06:002010-12-18T05:51:22.431-06:00

I first heard this elegant setting of Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, back in the 1990s when I bought a recording of the Cambridge Choir conducted by John Rutter and it was one of the pieces on that recording. It instantly became one of my favorites. This particular setting of an 18th century poem by an anonymous New Englander was composed by a woman, Elizabeth Poston, who died in 1987. Most of you

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-72665117480844211902010-12-17T07:46:00.001-06:002010-12-17T08:16:13.521-06:00

How Great Our Joy (The Echo Carol) is another one of the few Christmas Carols that I remember from my childhood church experience. The First Baptist Church of Stillwater has a large sanctuary with a choir loft in the front and a balcony in the back. We had a very advanced music program in our church and our minister of music would put on a lavishly beautiful music program at Christmas, which

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-65956513428264322122010-12-13T14:58:00.001-06:002010-12-13T15:01:53.281-06:00

Angels We Have Heard on High has been one of my favorite carols since I was a small child and sang it in church during the Christmas season. I was especially proud of myself when at the age of eight, I could read and sing the alto line and everyone standing around me in the congregation who heard me sing it, smiled. "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-74529104368726589692010-12-12T06:25:00.000-06:002010-12-12T06:25:04.544-06:00

O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia!

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-81127019466254491692010-12-11T08:27:00.000-06:002010-12-11T08:27:12.882-06:00

I first became familiar with this lovely British carol when I sang it in a Christmas concert with the Oklahoma Baptist University Chorale. I've always adored it since. In the Bleak Midwinter is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem. It was published

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-60914255283080105402010-12-07T18:24:00.002-06:002010-12-07T18:25:48.316-06:00

Okay, so Sweet Little Jesus Boy isn't exactly a carol; it's a spiritual. But it's still one of my very favorites, especially when sung by Mahalia Jackson. This, incidentally, was one of my mother's very favorites, as well, so I'm dedicating this one in her memory. Sweet Little Jesus Boy is a Christmas song composed by Robert MacGimsey and published in 1934. Its style is similar to

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-18395246813165318552010-12-06T00:00:00.003-06:002010-12-06T00:00:08.328-06:00

Leave it to the Russians to create one of the most beautiful and beloved of all "modern" carols. I first heard this particular carol on our Robert Shaw recordings as a child, and I couldn't wait until I was old enough to sing in a choir that performed it. I was thrilled when I started singing in my high school Concert Choir and Carol of the Bells was another one of the choir's Christmas Concert

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-29153662175463572792010-12-05T06:38:00.000-06:002010-12-05T06:38:48.289-06:00

This second Sunday of Advent happens to coincide with the anniversary of Mozart's death, so I thought it appropriate to feature his Ave Verum Corpus, composed in June of 1791, just a little less than six months before his death in the early hours of 5 December 1791 at the age of 35. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave verum corpus in D major (K. 618) was written for Anton Stoll (a friend of his and

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-12429619936521519762010-12-04T08:04:00.000-06:002010-12-04T08:04:28.084-06:00

Away in a Manger is one of the carols that I learned in church. However, the tune that I've featured here isn't the tune that I learned (Mueller) but the British tune, which I much prefer. The song was first published with two verses in an Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection, Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885), edited by James R. Murray (1841-1905), where it simply

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-56680641100551691732010-12-02T06:58:00.001-06:002010-12-02T06:59:43.839-06:00

The Coventry Carol is another one that became familiar to me by listening to it every year on our Robert Shaw Chorale recordings. This one always haunted me not only because of the darker modal tune (not in a minor key because the key tonal system had not yet been invented), but also because of the lyrics. It depicts a grieving mother singing a lullaby as she rocks her dead child in her arms.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-26232619776947721842010-11-30T19:29:00.002-06:002010-11-30T22:48:09.461-06:00

I was introduced to this charming little Austrian carol when I was in high school and sang with the Concert Choir. It was a mainstay in all of our Christmas programs, and years later, when my own daughter, Heather, sang with the Stillwater High School Concert Choir, the tradition remained as it still does, to this day. The tune of this charming Weihnachtslied (Christmas Song) is based on an 1819

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-26203281656914478482010-11-28T19:33:00.000-06:002010-11-28T19:33:16.512-06:00

Since I grew up in the Evangelical/Southern Baptist tradition, I wasn't raised with many of the carols that have become mainstays in the mainline protestant traditions. In fact, in the 1960s, when I was a child, Baptists were only beginning to openly celebrate the Christmas season within the churches, for then, many Baptists still regarded the Christmas church traditions as "too Catholic". I

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-3948927687428801452010-11-27T18:55:00.003-06:002010-12-05T07:39:08.534-06:00

Veni, Veni Emmanuel is a synthesis of the great "O Antiphons" that are used for Vespers during the octave before Christmas (Dec. 17-23). These antiphons are of ancient origin and date back to at least the ninth century. The hymn itself was composed in the 12th century in French and the Latin version of the hymn is from the 18th century. There are several arrangements of this hymn. The one below

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-22465526611540875812010-11-24T06:13:00.004-06:002010-11-24T06:16:52.914-06:00

In this season of Thanksgiving it is only appropriate that I offer thanks for the beautiful expression that is music. It's the expression of the soul, the language of the universe, and the one language that we human beings all speak (to one degree or another), and understand. Without it what a dull and lifeless place this would be. I was a girl when ABBA released this song, but from the first

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-65768744266600206222010-11-20T10:02:00.000-06:002010-11-20T10:02:20.353-06:00

It was only recently that I discovered this incredible English Baritone; it was when my daughter, Lauren, gave me the DVD recording of the 2003 Royal Opera House production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Simon Keenlyside sang the role of Papageno in that production and from that point on I was hooked. (If you're interested in reading a biographical sketch, click on his name to the Wikipedia

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-11464892608548678402010-11-18T20:11:00.003-06:002010-11-19T11:19:51.467-06:00

I had heard the name, Jacqueline du Pré, when I was a child but it didn't really mean anything to me. Later on I learned that she was a famous English cellist who died fairly young of MS. It wasn't until I saw the film Hilary & Jackie (which was du Pré's story told from the perspective of her older sister, Jackie, who was a very talented but unsung flutist, and who failed to achieve any real

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-40996852283473143492010-11-15T20:32:00.000-06:002010-11-15T20:32:10.728-06:00

Deep River is without a doubt, my very favorite spiritual and this version sung by baritone Bryn Terfel is about as close to perfection as it gets.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-9337892687645680552010-11-08T06:55:00.003-06:002010-11-08T06:56:55.669-06:00

Calling it a "random act of culture", 650 members of the Philadelphia Opera Chorus in "flash mob" fashion suddenly broke out into the "Hallelujah Chorus" on Saturday, October 30, 2010 in a crowded Macy's department store in downtown Philly. Just look at the people's faces!

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-16243389448811006762010-11-07T09:58:00.000-06:002010-11-07T09:58:42.867-06:00

This isn't classical music, but it is most certainly a classic, and this 2000 live performance reveals a depth and maturity that Joni didn't have back in the late 60s and 70s when she first sang it. You do know life now, Joni, and you're all the more beautiful for it. Thanks for all you've meant to us.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-89502317383768147852010-11-06T07:57:00.000-05:002010-11-06T07:57:23.643-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, whenever you hear the main theme of this movement you automatically think of the movie, Babe. But now it's time for you to get over the pig and just listen. Listen to the majestic, glorious sound of this magnificent Maestoso Finale of Camille Saint Saens' Symphony No. 3 in C minor. Picture the orchestra and the organ, and Saint Saens conducting it himself in London's St. James

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-58298162331474222652010-11-01T20:47:00.000-05:002010-11-01T20:47:24.979-05:00

There is absolutely nothing about this that isn't gorgeous! And Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel sings this tender American classic so sweetly it's difficult not to shed a tear or two.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-16984736046042104432010-10-30T15:36:00.003-05:002010-10-30T15:56:19.317-05:00

Now what kind of a Mozart lover would I be if I failed to include the Commendatore Scene from Don Giovanni in a Halloween series? After all, this has been described as one of the most terrifying scenes in opera, and in Mozart's day was considered so dark and disturbing that Mozart and Da Ponte were forced to write an additional "happy ending" finale for the Viennese audience to soften it for them

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-58411617277759430312010-10-29T18:01:00.002-05:002010-10-29T18:02:27.393-05:00

Released in 2005, Requiem is an album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. In this work, Jenkins interjects movements featuring Japanese death poems in the form of a haiku with those traditionally encountered in a Requiem Mass. At times, the Latin text is sung below the text of the haiku. A far cry from the Verdi Dies Irae that I featured a few days ago, the Jenkins Dies Irae uses a driving,

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-35726043673009263272010-10-28T18:42:00.001-05:002010-10-28T18:47:35.587-05:00

As a freshman music student I was first introduced to Franz Schubert's Lied (German for "song"), Der Erlkönig (The Elf King), in my freshman music appreciation class. It was presented to us as one of the finest examples of the German art song ever composed, and among Schubert's vast collection of Lieder, it is considered by most, his greatest. From Wikipedia: Franz Schubert composed his Lied,

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-44501499552762932782010-10-27T19:24:00.003-05:002010-10-27T19:31:11.158-05:00

Using the key of F-Sharp Minor (considered to be the saddest and most emotional key in Western harmony), the late 19th century French composer, Gabriel Fauré, evokes a hauntingly pensive and mournful feel to his Pavane, which is actually a type of dance. Combined with the sensual Neo-Gothic images of the stones and crypts at the cemetery in Staglieno, Italy, this particular presentation is among

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-78687299368164172052010-10-25T20:40:00.001-05:002010-10-25T20:48:43.451-05:00

I remember back to the days when I was a teenager and I read J.R.R. Tolkien's Ring Trilogy. His description of the Ringwraiths or Black Riders was terrifying enough, but many years later when I saw the film, they nearly gave me nightmares. I'm sure much of the credit for the frightening effects goes to Howard Shore for his amazing score.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-22651941110899181622010-10-24T11:02:00.004-05:002010-11-19T10:41:35.412-06:00

How many times have I heard someone say to me, “Oh you’re an opera singer? No offense, but I can’t stand opera.” My standard reply is always, “Oh really? Well have you ever been to an opera?” Invariably the reply will be “no” they haven’t ever actually seen one, but they just know from some of the clips and parodies that they’ve seen on television that they wouldn’t like it. Yes, the good old

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-73305005282521108602010-10-24T01:53:00.005-05:002010-10-24T09:01:30.370-05:00

World Class Tenor, Arnold Rawls, will be in recital at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, October 26th, at 7:30. He will be singing selections from Verdi & Puccini. "When tenor Andrew Richards cancelled due to indisposition, Arnold Rawls (who was scheduled for three performances) took over the role of the Egyptian warrior Radames for the entire run. Rawls possesses a

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-86493694046707841162010-10-16T22:18:00.005-05:002010-10-16T22:35:40.357-05:00

Who can deny that the Day of Wrath is upon us when one hears the sounds of thundering tympani, blaring trumpets and a massive wall of choral sound raining down in angry, terrifying torrents? The following is from Wikipedia regarding the creation of Verdi's Requiem: When Gioachino Rossini died in 1868, Verdi suggested that a number of Italian composers should collaborate on a Requiem in

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-26176041416076529932010-10-10T20:11:00.003-05:002010-11-23T21:53:30.594-06:00

It has been brought to my attention that I have been missed. It actually feels good to know that. It often gets lonely in the blogosphere, especially when the comments aren't coming in and you're not sure that people are even reading (or in this case, listening). To be quite honest, I have been otherwise occupied with the marketing of my book and with the blog that accompanies it. It's a lot of

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-70357301729083850222010-04-04T00:44:00.001-05:002010-04-04T00:46:47.505-05:00

I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth!

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-18126145417003658242010-03-28T07:13:00.000-05:002010-03-28T07:13:37.166-05:00

On Palm Sunday, in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as many Anglican and Lutheran churches, palm fronds (or in colder climates some kind of substitutes) are blessed with an aspergilium outside the church building (or in cold climates in the narthex when Easter falls early in the year). A procession also takes place. It may include the normal liturgical procession of clergy and acolytes, the

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-88149108869562517842010-03-26T18:40:00.001-05:002010-03-26T18:41:39.380-05:00

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736) was an Italian composer, violinist and organist. It is his Stabat Mater (1736), however, for male soprano, male alto, and orchestra, which is his best known sacred work. It was commissioned by the Confraternità dei Cavalieri di San Luigi di Palazzo (the monks of the brotherhood of San Luigi di Palazzo) as a replacement for the

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-26081598092797883652010-03-21T12:44:00.000-05:002010-03-21T12:44:17.877-05:00

Johann Sebastian Bach (German pronunciation: [joˈhan] or [ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax]) (31 March 1685 [O.S. 21 March] – 28 July 1750) (often referred to simply as Bach) was a German composer, organist, violist, and violinist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. 

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-24256630917345274652010-03-20T09:40:00.006-05:002010-03-20T10:03:27.482-05:00

This is one of my favorite airs from Messiah. I must confess, however, that it didn't come to my mind to use for my Lenten series of posts until I saw this video of an angry group of tea-baggers mocking and scorning a man who claimed he had Parkinson's Disease, and who sat on the ground in counter-protest, supporting health care reform. It is not my wish to get into the political aspects or

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-4759123958648017562010-03-19T00:01:00.001-05:002010-03-19T00:01:01.463-05:00

Next to Mozart, Brahms is my favorite of the German composers, and most certainly my favorite of the Romantic Era German composers. Johannes Brahms (pronounced [joːˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]) (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897), was a German composer and pianist, one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-12579715925027459602010-03-18T00:01:00.002-05:002010-03-18T00:01:01.557-05:00

For the next feature in my series on the fortepiano I wish to showcase a later, more developed fortepiano which was the type that Schubert used. The instrument featured in this recording is a replica of the Johann Fritz Hammerklavier. You will notice that the shape is more rounded and more like the pianos we are used to seeing, yet the sound is still a bit thinner at the top, although the lows

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-49936763792954313602010-03-17T00:01:00.002-05:002010-03-17T00:01:00.112-05:00

Irish tenor, Anthony Kearns sings the traditional folk tune, She Moved Through the Fair.  Happy St. Patrick's Day! The song was first collected in Donegal by poet Padraic Colum and musicologist Herbert Hughes, and published by Boosey & Hawkes in London in a work entitled Irish Country Songs in 1909. The tune is in mixolydian mode. The lyrics were also published in Colum's 1922 book Wild Earth:

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-40524949149360140732010-03-13T18:04:00.000-06:002010-03-13T18:04:21.542-06:00

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's setting of Ave verum corpus (K. 618) was written for Anton Stoll (a friend of his and Haydn's) who was musical coordinator in the parish of Baden, near Vienna. It was composed to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and the autograph is dated 17 June 1791, less than six months before his death. It is only forty-six bars long and is scored for choir, stringed

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-10072021451533606422010-03-11T19:06:00.000-06:002010-03-11T19:06:30.833-06:00

 Of all of the Mozart piano concerti, this one is probably my favorite for a number of reasons, not the least being the wonderfully moody Adagio movement, composed in the languid and love-sick key of F-sharp minor. This is a wonderful recording, featuring John Elliot Gardner and The English Baroque Soloists, with Malcolm Bilson on the fortepiano. Now if you have a good ear for tuning and you're

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-17424729590501236962010-03-10T00:05:00.002-06:002010-03-10T00:05:00.407-06:00

The fortepiano has leather-covered hammers and thin, harpsichord-like strings. It has a much lighter case construction than the modern piano and, except for later examples of the early nineteenth century (already evolving towards the modern piano), it has no metal frame or bracing. The action and hammers are lighter, giving rise to a much lighter touch, which in good fortepianos is also very

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-73202031369924158432010-03-09T00:05:00.003-06:002010-03-09T00:05:00.932-06:00

Today we celebrate another milestone birthday of yet another great composer, Samuel Barber. Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music. He was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music, for

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-75200618766456177042010-03-07T21:40:00.000-06:002010-03-07T21:40:48.294-06:00

So today, as I promised, I open a series on the fortepiano, featuring concertos, sonatas, and other works that were composed by various early composers specifically for the fortepiano. I will caution you, if you've never heard a fortepiano, you'll be a little taken aback by the "tinnier" sound, but what you are hearing is actually what Mozart, Haydn, & Beethoven heard when they composed their

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-65000106627290948722010-02-23T18:44:00.000-06:002010-02-23T18:44:35.319-06:00

  George Fredric Handel 23 February 1685 - 14 April 1759  Beloved wife, lover beloved, where are you? Ah! My wrath returns! In the altar of your dark Érebos, with the force of my indignation, I challenge you, oh unworthy spirits! Cara Sposa, an aria from his opera, Rinaldo, which he regarded as one of his favorites.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-3326406750581080672010-02-21T16:05:00.000-06:002010-02-21T16:05:06.503-06:00

  In memory of Aunt Ethel. Evening it is; the sun has vanished, And the moon streams with silver rays; Thus flee Life's fairest hours, Flying away as if in a dance. Soon away will fly Life's colorful scenes, And the curtain will come rolling down; Done is our play, the tears of a friend Flow already over our grave. Soon, perhaps (the thought gently arrives like the west wind - A quiet

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-46746548595582716452010-02-14T09:43:00.001-06:002010-02-14T11:32:19.308-06:00

  Vieni ben mio, ti vola fronte in coronar di rose! Alison Hagley, SopranoJohn Eliot Gardner, Conductor Act IV, Le Nozze di Figaro

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-88118121830395959162010-01-31T09:57:00.000-06:002010-01-31T09:57:48.548-06:00

Another of my Mozart favorites, performed here on fortepiano by Jos Van Immerseel. (I confess that I listened to a performance by Glenn Gould, but was unimpressed with his interpretation.) Fantasia No. 3 in D minor, K. 397 is a piece of music for solo piano composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782. Despite being unfinished at Mozart's death, the piece is nonetheless one of his more popular

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-57146231011132805212010-01-30T00:01:00.004-06:002010-01-30T00:04:28.607-06:00

Before we end out the month, the month in which Mozart was born on 27 January, 1756, I must feature my favorite of Mozart's symphonies. Yesterday I featured a 1980's medley of classics set to a techno beat and one of my readers dubbed the Mozart no. 40, G minor  the "God" symphony (thanks Jasper!), and how right he is! (Glenn Gould called it banal? What an ass!) This symphony, composed in 1788,

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-31523119999502389282010-01-29T09:05:00.002-06:002010-01-29T09:07:48.714-06:00

Who remembers this? This takes me way back to the days right after I graduated from college (1982), with a bachelor of music and I was living in northern Kentucky. I was performing in various venues in both Kentucky and Ohio and in order to stay trim and fit for the stage, I would put on my gym clothes and shoes and put the Hooked on Classics LP on the turntable and do a one hour aerobic workout

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-14743449889574995462010-01-28T00:01:00.001-06:002010-01-28T00:01:01.304-06:00

I only discovered this English baritone a couple of summers ago when I heard him for the first time in the 2003 Covent Garden DVD recording of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, in which he sang the role of Papageno.  The man is brilliant, both singing and acting. And while I have only seen him in Mozart roles (in which he excels), the recording I have chosen for this particular post is of him singing

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-27003131717625353612010-01-27T00:01:00.001-06:002010-01-27T00:01:00.516-06:00

Lick my ass nicely, lick it nice and clean, nice and clean, lick my ass. That's a greasy desire, nicely buttered, like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity. Three will lick more than two, come on, just try it, and lick, lick, lick. Everybody lick his own ass himself.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-62723221969490414302010-01-09T08:42:00.000-06:002010-01-09T08:42:36.812-06:00

Most of Mozart's German Dances were written whilst he held the position of Kammermusicus (Imperial Chamber Composer) in Vienna. Mozart had been apointed to this position on the 1st December 1787 by Emperor Joseph II. The position was offered following the death of the former Kammermusicus, Christoph Willibald Gluck on 15 November 1787.  In the position Mozart earned 800 Florins a year.  One of

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-44062867344811581502010-01-07T00:01:00.001-06:002010-01-07T00:01:01.048-06:00

The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season. For example, "Winter" is peppered with silvery staccato notes from the high strings, calling to

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-75584306326468749142010-01-06T00:05:00.002-06:002010-01-06T00:05:00.343-06:00

Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a cycle of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller, best known as the song cycle set for male voice and piano by Franz Schubert (D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1827). It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin (D. 795, Op. 25, 1823). Both were originally written for tenor voice but are frequently transposed to

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-65940949816669581482010-01-05T00:08:00.000-06:002010-01-05T00:08:04.604-06:00

Here in my part of the U.S. we're not used to long, hard winters. Generally the temperatures are mild, with an occasional cold snap, usually lasting only a few days at a time. However, this year we are experiencing something quite different. Since just before Christmas, temperatures have dropped well below freezing and on Christmas Eve day we had close to twelve inches of snow dumped on us in a

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-89924645619303684232010-01-04T00:05:00.002-06:002010-01-04T00:05:00.537-06:00

This is absolutely amazing - an adult male soprano singing the Alleluja from Mozart's motet, Exultate Jubilate which was composed for the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini!  Maniaci is not a counter tenor but an actual adult male soprano. How can this be? When he entered puberty although his body grew and developed normally, his vocal cords did not, only lengthening and thickening partially, thus

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-35202392184023428222010-01-03T08:50:00.000-06:002010-01-03T08:50:55.915-06:00

If you're ever in Vienna for New Year's you will want to have tickets for the Annual New Year's Concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic. But if you want tickets you'll need to put your name on the list years in advance, and even then there is no guarantee that you'll get them. Fortunately it is televised world-over so those of us who can't travel as far as Vienna and/or who aren't fortunate

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-53195454625079734632010-01-02T10:02:00.004-06:002010-01-02T17:03:43.561-06:00

1. January 30th - The World's Most Beautiful Music: Handel's Lascia ch'io pianga 2. February 2nd - Music to Write By 3. March 18th - On Creativity and Tolerance: Yo-Yo Ma 4. April 3rd - The World's Most Beautiful Music: Handel's Cara Sposa from "Rinaldo" 5. May 8th - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Train 6. June 12th - Friday Faure: Pavane, Opus 50  and (because I couldn't decide

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-78469011223673830582009-12-31T16:47:00.000-06:002009-12-31T16:47:56.405-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hoping that your 2010 will be filled with beautiful music!

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-76266210081133031492009-12-25T07:56:00.000-06:002009-12-25T07:56:59.464-06:00

 Hark the herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled" Joyful, all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies With the angelic host proclaim: "Christ is born in Bethlehem" Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!" Christ by highest heav'n adored Christ the everlasting Lord! Late in time behold Him come Offspring of a

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-7629406835770494212009-12-24T08:42:00.000-06:002009-12-24T08:42:02.972-06:00

Sung by the Choir of St. George's Chapel, Windsor

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-88044885901747530142009-12-22T07:46:00.001-06:002009-12-22T15:56:19.977-06:00

This 16th Century English Carol is Mary's lament over the impending demise of  her infant son after Herod declared that all infant boys in the region should be killed. Featured here is the Robert Shaw Chorale.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-75581133264259645262009-12-21T06:49:00.000-06:002009-12-21T06:49:16.344-06:00

I first heard this carol only a few years ago when I had the privilege of soloing in a Christmas Eve service at St. Andrews Episcopal, here in Stillwater. I was quite taken with it. This particular performance is by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-28786530404543578802009-12-20T07:39:00.001-06:002009-12-20T07:40:30.963-06:00

I've sung this aria on several occasions, and it has always been among my favorites. This particular performance features a countertenor and is one of the finest performances of the aria that I've ever heard. Jay Carter, countertenor, Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street, Rebel Baroque Orchestra, Owen Burdick, Conductor

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-16794054305375436412009-12-19T07:15:00.000-06:002009-12-19T07:15:45.783-06:00

 This is quite possibly one of my favorite performances of this beautiful carol. A simple, yet beautiful setting.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-63734575527766410642009-12-14T00:01:00.002-06:002009-12-14T00:01:00.655-06:00

King's College Cambridge 2008 O Come, All Ye Faithful arr. Stephen Cleobury  

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-91929876800371767222009-12-13T00:01:00.009-06:002009-12-13T00:01:00.857-06:00

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Christopher Hogwood: Conductor Paul Elliott: Tenor The Academy of Ancient Music Messiah "Comfort ye, Comfort ye My people" & "Every valley shall be exalted"

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-35513352244512153712009-12-12T08:41:00.000-06:002009-12-12T08:41:06.138-06:00

The tree of life my soul hath seen Laden with fruit and always green The tree of life my soul hath seen Laden with fruit and always green The trees of nature fruitless be Compared with Christ the apple tree His beauty doth all things excel By faith I know but ne'er can tell His beauty doth all things excel By faith I know but ne'er can tell The glory which I now can see In Jesus Christ the

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-53767734635824814832009-12-06T07:42:00.000-06:002009-12-06T07:42:02.442-06:00

O come, o come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lowly exile, here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! Performance by the Robert Shaw Chorale

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-57416454938138290882009-11-28T18:41:00.000-06:002009-11-28T18:41:27.733-06:00

You are peace, The mild peace, You are longing And what stills it. I consecrate to you Full of pleasure and pain As a dwelling here My eyes and heart. Come live with me, And close quietly behind you the gates. Drive other pain Out of this breast May my heart be full With your pleasure. The tabernacle of my eyes by your radiance alone is illumined, O fill it completely! Sung by Renee

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-9836105186904146802009-11-23T00:01:00.002-06:002009-11-23T00:01:01.302-06:00

Commissioned in March of the last year of Mozart's life (1791), this piece has been described as "one of the most perfect works in Mozart's inexhaustible genius", and "with its triple trills and dense textures, is impossible for a single organist to play as notated. Its superhuman virtuosity is that of a machine..."

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-26189300195071316132009-11-22T07:21:00.001-06:002009-11-22T07:24:52.225-06:00

Featuring a graceful performance by the great Italian mezzo-soprano, Cecilia Bartoli.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-16357570802204186562009-11-15T11:01:00.000-06:002009-11-15T11:01:31.227-06:00

Jürgen Marcussen (1781–1860) founded the organ-building company in 1806. They used the name Marcussen & Reuter from 1826 to 1848, when the name became Marcussen & Søn after the founder's son, Jürgen Andreas Marcussen, joined the firm. The company has been based in a house in the small town of Åbenrå, in southern Jutland, since 1830. Several organs built in Scandinavia and North Germany in their

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-64569625839812681072009-11-14T11:58:00.002-06:002009-11-14T12:01:18.468-06:00

Last night the semi-professional choral group in which I sing, The Stillwater Chamber Singers, performed in Tulsa at the First Presbyterian Church's Bersen Center. One of the pieces that we sang was a touching arrangement set to a song that was written and originally composed by Mary Queen of Scots, entitled Think on Me. It is said that she wrote the text and tune while she sat at Fotheringhay

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-12648162808419698562009-11-12T12:43:00.000-06:002009-11-12T12:43:00.173-06:00

I apologize for failing to post this yesterday as I intended this to be in honor of Veteran's Day.  But better a day late than never! Eugène Gigout (23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and a composer of European late-romantic music for organ. A pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as the organist of Saint-Augustin Church in Paris for 62 years. He became widely known as a

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-38530583139349009072009-11-08T19:34:00.001-06:002009-11-08T19:39:20.633-06:00

My novel, So Faithful a Heart: The Love Story of Nancy Storace & Wolfgang Mozart is published and available for purchase on Lulu.com!  Go HERE to purchase your copy! For twenty-six years Nancy Storace kept Wolfgang Mozart's love letters locked away inside her desk. They were all she had left of him after his unexpected death, all that history would require as proof of the love they'd shared.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-30111804029633064862009-11-06T07:02:00.002-06:002009-11-06T07:05:10.036-06:00

The day has finally arrived! My historical fiction novel, So Faithful a Heart: The Love Story of Nancy Storace & Wolfgang Mozart publishes this weekend and will see release within the coming week! As soon as it is released I will have a banner posted on this blog linking to the marketing website where the book can be purchased either directly from the publisher, Lulu.com, or from Amazon.com.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-61993412176112690812009-11-04T06:30:00.000-06:002009-11-04T06:30:21.784-06:00

Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a German-Danish organist and a highly regarded composer of the Baroque period. His organ works comprise a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and church services. He wrote in a wide variety of vocal and instrumental idioms, and his style strongly influenced many composers, including Johann Sebastian

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-43642021080492372242009-11-02T00:01:00.003-06:002009-11-02T00:01:19.090-06:00

The late Mozart biographer, Wolfgang Hildescheimer, claimed that Mozart hated the pipe organ, most likely due to the fact that when Mozart was young, one of his primary duties while he was in service to Salzburg's Archbishop Colloredo was that of Cahthedral Organist. This duty required that he be at the Cathedral several times a day for an hour or two each time to play for morning, noon, and

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-55733688794201568532009-11-01T00:01:00.004-05:002009-11-01T08:41:44.526-06:00

So we start November off with a passionate offering. My new blog friend, Jasper suggested that I watch this performance of the Mendlssohn E minor Violin Concerto and I liked it so much that I deemed it worthy of sharing with you.  I've always loved this concerto, and this particular performance by Russian/Israeli violinist, Shlomo Mintz now ranks among my favorites! Critics, colleagues and

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-22666889064597303832009-10-31T00:01:00.005-05:002009-10-31T00:01:01.525-05:00

I saved this one for last because of all the pieces I have chosen in this series, this piece has come to typify Halloween for most people.  I hardly think that Bach would have ever dreamed that his masterful toccata and fugue, which was meant to be played in the church, would become the American musical Halloween icon.  So now I present the J.S. Bach - Toccata und Fuge BWV 565 played by

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-48073678003714969962009-10-30T00:01:00.000-05:002009-10-30T00:01:01.205-05:00

Act 3 Siegfried rejoins the hunters, who include Gunther and Hagen. While resting, he tells them about the adventures of his youth. Hagen gives him another potion, which restores his memory, and he tells of discovering the sleeping Brünnhilde and awakening her with a kiss. Hagen stabs him in the back with his spear. The others look on in horror, and Hagen explains in three words ("Meineid rächt

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-63578509066849262092009-10-29T00:01:00.002-05:002009-10-29T00:01:01.182-05:00

Released in 2005, Requiem is an album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. In this work, Jenkins interjects movements featuring Japanese death poems in the form of a haiku with those traditionally encountered in a Requiem Mass. At times, the Latin text is sung below the text of the haiku.

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-42538518449986891972009-10-28T00:01:00.003-05:002009-10-28T07:43:39.985-05:00

Beethoven had originally conceived of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte. The biographer Maynard Solomon relates that Beethoven admired the ideals of the French Revolution, and Napoleon as their embodiment. In the autumn the composer began to have second thoughts about that dedication. It would have deprived him of a fee that he would receive if he instead dedicated the symphony to

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-28954015813661682172009-10-27T00:01:00.002-05:002009-10-27T00:37:10.584-05:00

I chose this piece because of it's melancholy, almost mournful feel, and the fact that it was composed and performed around the time that Le Nozze di Figaro was being rehearsed, just before it's May 1, 1786 premiere.  Being that today is the 244th anniversary of Nancy Storace's (the original Susanna in Figaro), birth, I like to think that perhaps Mozart was longing for her, when he composed this

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-17080541883336466782009-10-26T00:01:00.000-05:002009-10-26T00:22:28.641-05:00

The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral Mass (called the Requiem from the first word of the text, which begins Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, meaning, "Grant them eternal rest, O Lord"—see the entry at "Dies Irae"). It was first performed on 22 May 1874 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-21557269306395852102009-10-25T00:01:00.000-05:002009-10-25T00:01:00.958-05:00

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was Verdi's tenth opera and also the first of Shakespeare's plays which he adapted for the operatic stage. Written after the success of Atilla in 1846 by which time the composer had become well established, it was

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-29229488936898857032009-10-24T00:01:00.003-05:002009-10-24T07:17:41.063-05:00

Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus. Huic ergo parce, Deus, pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen. That day of tears and mourning, when from the ashes shall arise, all humanity to be judged. Spare us by your mercy, Lord, gentle Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest. Amen.  

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-54461014139554332822009-10-23T00:01:00.002-05:002009-10-23T00:01:00.624-05:00

While the term "funeral march" is perhaps a fitting description of the 3rd movement, complete with the Lento interlude in D flat major, "Chopin's Funeral March" is used commonly to describe only the funeral march proper (in B flat minor). The "funeral march" has become well known in popular culture. It was also used at the state funerals of John F. Kennedy and those of Soviet leaders, including

Lynettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11179278237988549530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177803251706826934.post-31034074432313827822009-10-22T00:01:00.003-05:002009-10-22T00:01:00.156-05:00

Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Ferencz Liszt, in modern usage also Ferenc Liszt, from 1859 to 1865 officially Franz Ritter von Liszt) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher. Liszt became renowned throughout Europe during the 19th century for his great skill as a performer. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced

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