Posts Tagged ‘music’
History of Amazing Grace, part 2: William Wilberforce
HISTORY OF AMAZING GRACE, part 2: William Wilberforce As I mentioned in my first article on the History of Amazing Grace, this is the story of the lives of two men and that one song. In the first part, we discussed the life of the song’s author, John Newton. However, the 2007 film “Amazing Grace” is about the life of one of Newton’s protégés, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a man well-known to the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution. He became, in his day, not just a politician, philanthropist, and abolitionist but also a writer of such popularity at the…
Read MoreHistory of The Day The Music Died
HISTORY OF THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED On February 3, 1959, a plane crash occurred in Iowa during a snowstorm shortly after 1:00 AM, killing three young rock and roll singers who would go down in history: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. Their story would later be captured as “long, long time ago” in the 8 1/2 minute hit song “American Pie” by Don McLean, released twelve years later in 1971. Many attempts have been made to decrypt the lyrics of this abstract song. Though never explicitly stated — except that the song is dedicated…
Read MoreHistory of Carol of the Bells: from a Ukrainian folk song
HISTORY OF CAROL OF THE BELLS: FROM A UKRAINIAN FOLK SONG The favorite Christmas song, Carol of the Bells, is based on a Ukrainian folk song that originally had nothing to do with Christmas and was, in fact, popular in pre-Christian Ukraine. How did this folk song become such a popular American Christmas carol, and what was its journey from a Ukrainian folk song to a modern choral favorite? For a 1919 Christmas concert, Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer Oleksander Koshyts commissioned a song based on Ukrainian folk melodies and created a national chorus to sing…
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Music: More than just Carols?
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC Music early became a marked feature of the Christmas season. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and deemed too theological for popular use. Under Francis of Assisi‘s influence in the 13th century, we saw the rise of the carol written in the vernacular. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is…
Read MoreHistory of A Sacred Oratorio: How was popular Christmas music considered scandalous and profane?
HISTORY OF A SACRED ORATORIO The genteel reception accorded the original debut performance stood in marked contrast to the savage hostility which greeted the work less than a year later in the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London. The English aristocracy and churchmen began an unrelenting campaign against the work and its creator. They labeled it “a profanation,” scandalized at “the sacrilege of converting the Life and Passion of Christ into a theatrical entertainment.” Some clergymen objected so strongly to the idea of printing the actual title on the program that the author was obliged to announce his great…
Read MoreHistory of Beethoven: 250th Anniversary — 5 Things You Didn’t Know
HISTORY OF BEETHOVEN: 250TH ANNIVERSARY — 5 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW The renowned German composer and virtuoso pianist Ludwig van Beethoven celebrates his 250th anniversary today. Anniversary of what? Here are 5 things you may not have known about the famous composer who came to fame between the Classical and Romantic periods of European music. 1. We don’t know when Beethoven was born We know that he was baptized 250 years ago today, on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany — but not when he was born. Church records kept track of baptismal dates. In Germany, at this time, it…
Read MoreConcert Review: History of the Eagles
Concert review of the “History of the Eagles” tour at the Denver Pepsi Center.
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Music: more than just carols?
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC Music early became a marked feature of the Christmas season. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is…
Read MoreHistory of A Sacred Oratorio: most popular Christmas music scandalous and profane?
HISTORY OF A SACRED ORATORIO The genteel reception accorded the original debut performance stood in marked contrast to the savage hostility which greeted the work less than a year later in London. The English aristocracy and churchmen began an unrelenting campaign against the work and its creator. They labeled it "a profanation," scandalized at "the sacrilege of converting the Life and Passion of Christ into a theatrical entertainment." Some clergymen objected so strongly to the idea of printing the actual title on the program that the author was obliged to announce his great work as "A Sacred Oratorio." The city…
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Music
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC Music early became a marked feature of the Christmas season. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is…
Read MoreHistory of A Sacred Oratorio
HISTORY OF A SACRED ORATORIO The genteel reception accorded the original debut performance stood in marked contrast to the savage hostility which greeted the work less than a year later in London. The English aristocracy and churchmen began an unrelenting campaign against the work and its creator. They labeled it "a profanation," scandalized at "the sacrilege of converting the Life and Passion of Christ into a theatrical entertainment." Some clergymen objected so strongly to the idea of printing the actual title on the program that the author was obliged to announce his great work as "A Sacred Oratorio." The city…
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Music
.!. HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC Music early became a marked feature of the Christmas season. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic…
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