1685 ~ Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer birthday (Old Style) Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor was featured in the Walt Disney movie Fantasia and the new Fantasia 2000 Read quotes by and about Bach More information about Bach Grammy winner
1791 ~ Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer whose vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works. His books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. More information on Czerny At the age of fifteen, Czerny began a very successful teaching career. Basing his method on the […]
Carol of the Bells was composed by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (1877-1921) in 1916. Originally titled Shchedryk, this Ukrainian folk song is sometimes called Ukrainian Bell Carol. “Shchedryk” which was associated with the coming New Year, originally celebrated in April. Leontovych used this tune in 1904 along with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky to create the […]
From RevKev, Pender UMC’s Former Associate Pastor – “As it was, so it is, Christmas about Jesus. We are all distracted by the glitz and festivities, but let us hear the sound of Angels and the call to worship our Newborn King. Just in time for Christmas, a gift from God to you: A baby […]
Joy To The World Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King. Isaac Watts wrote the words to “Joy to the World” in 1719, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The hymn originally glorified Christ’s triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song […]
I’ve always liked Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride as a secular Christmas song 🙂 It’s not technically a Christmas song since the words never mention Christmas but it’s often played now so it seems like a way to ease into the season. Anderson had the original idea for the piece during a heatwave in July 1946; […]
I have just purchased a set of Christmas Shades of Sound Listening & Coloring Book for the studio. Please let me know if you do not want your student to participate in Christmas activities and I will assign alternate activities. Each week, I will print out some of the pages for your student and put them in […]
Happy Diwali! Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year in autumn in the northern hemisphere (spring in southern hemisphere). One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, it spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Diwali falls in either October or November each year, […]
Johann Sebastian Bach’s towering monument of organ music, with its deep sense of foreboding, will forever be associated with Halloween. The piece is recognizable to most and has been featured in many films, including: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Black Cat (1934), Disney’s Fantasia (1940), Sunset Boulevard (1950), 20,000 Leagues Under the […]
Classic horror themes are ominous and generally dread-inspiring for a reason: They are written in minor keys. Find a nifty melody, go minor, and watch the goosebumps pile up. For composers, sometimes it’s almost too easy. To prove that it’s the minor key and not the melody that is eerily accenting the work of cinema’s […]
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