Music is at once the product of feeling and knowledge, for it requires from its disciples, composers and performers alike, not only talent and enthusiasm, but also that knowledge and perception which are the result of protracted study and reflection.
Hector Berlioz, A Travers Chants.
Cited in I. Lipsius, Thoughts of Great Musicians, London, Augener, 1886, p. 9, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002299295b&view=1up&seq=6.
Music: the product of feeling and knowledge
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Conducting gloves
The practice of wearing white gloves whilst conducting was common in the nineteenth century. The Musical times reported in July 1884 that: “A German conductor,” we are told, “in order that the public may be more deeply impressed with the feeling of grief intended to be produced by the Funeral March in Beethoven’s ‘Eroica Symphony,’ wears […]
Music: the product of feeling and knowledgeMusic is at once the product of feeling and knowledge, for it requires from its disciples, composers and performers alike, not only talent and enthusiasm, but also that knowledge and perception which are the result of protracted study and reflection. Hector Berlioz, A Travers Chants. Cited in I. Lipsius, Thoughts of Great Musicians, London, Augener, […]
Convey to others what we areThere is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song – but in this […]
The art of pedallingThe one bee in my bonnet is over-pedalling, and I give my students a hard time about that. It’s the lack of being able to play a true legato with the fingers. People rely on the pedal for that, and the pedal is not there for that. The pedal is for putting the gloss on. […]
Emerging from suffering“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Kahlil Gibran, Broken Wings
Blessed the People the Lord has Chosen (Setting II) – Psalm 32 (33)Title: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen (setting ii) Text: Psalm 32 (33) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part SAMPLE:
Saint-Saëns on composing“I produce music as an apple tree produces apples.” — Camille Saint-Saëns Musical Heritage Review. Musical Heritage Society, volume 1, issues 13-18, p.47.
Nick Cave on the creative processWhat makes a great song great is not its close resemblance to a recognizable work. Writing a good song is not mimicry, or replication, or pastiche, it is the opposite. It is an act of self-murder that destroys all one has strived to produce in the past. It is those dangerous, heart-stopping departures that catapult […]
A play for dogs“Satie said, ‘I want to make a play for dogs, and I [already] have the staging planned. The curtain rises to reveal a bone.’ Poor dogs! After all, it’s their first play. Later one will present more difficult shows to them, but one will always return to the bone.” – Jean Cocteau, playwright Cited in: […]
Your Words, Lord, are Spirit and Life – Psalm 18 (19)TITLE: Your Words, Lord, are Spirit and Life TEXT: Psalm 18 (19): 8-10, 15 COMPOSER: Greg Smith INSTRUMENTATION: SATB and piano PRODUCT MEDIUM: PDF score and part SAMPLE: