I believe that there is no one the world so insensitive, so leaden, that he is not moved by song. Theophrastus rightly said in the second book concerning music that the essence of music is the movement of the soul, driving away the evils and troubles that have invaded it. If music did not have this effect, that is, to draw the soul where it wants, it would become in essence nothing.
Carlo Valgulio
The essence of music
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The meaning of American Pie
When questioned about the meaning of American Pie, Don McLean would quip. “It means I’ll never have to work again.” Rob Walker, “Don McLean on the tragedy behind American Pie: ‘I cried for two years’”, The Guardian, 22 October 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/22/don-mclean-american-pie-its-meaning-family-deaths-tragedy-60s?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Schiff on Schumann"I know of no work by Schumann that is not wonderful and inspiring. One must leave every note just as he wrote it and experiment in order to find the correct balance and equilibrium. With Schumann there is always this burning inventiveness, this unbelievable inspiration." – András Schiff. Cited in Julian Haylock ""The Music of […]
It’s the page turner’s faultSeveral years ago, Mr. Kalichstein hired a young music student who kept reaching across the score to turn pages from the bottom right corner, in the process obscuring several measures of the concerto. “Take it from the top!” the frustrated Mr. Kalichstein finally hissed; reflexively, the page turner flipped the score back to the beginning. […]
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The inexpressible depth of musicThe inexpressible depth of all music, by virtue of which it floats past us as a paradise quite familiar and yet eternally remote, and is so easy to understand and yet so inexplicable, is due to the fact that it reproduces all the emotions of our innermost being, but entirely without reality and remote from […]
Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord – Psalm 33 (34)Title: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord Text: Psalm 33 (34): 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9. Alternate verses: 16-23 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
A Swan (Ein Schwan) (Grieg)Title: A Swan (Ein Schwan), op. 25, no.2 Composer: Edvard Grieg Arranger: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Cello and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Advice to opera performersIn the early 18th century, the standard of Italian opera performances had become somewhat questionable. In 1720, The satirical writer Marcello offered some advice to those involved in opera performance: [The opera performer] will hurry or slow down the pace of an aria, according to the caprice of the singers, and will conceal the displeasure […]
The advantages of having a managerVaughan Williams had asked Holst about his experience of having an agent. Holst, who was at Harvard University at the time, replied: I’m very glad I’ve made use of Duncan McKenzie (OUP) as an agent. He has been really helpful and I hope you’ll at least consider using him. The alternative would be to print […]
A very specific error indeedThe following is an account of the conductor Hans von Bülow: The newspaper critics Bülow continued to despise because of their self-importance, and he lost no opportunity to expose their musical ignorance. On one occasion, Bülow, at a public rehearsal in the Philharmonie, remarked upon a printing error in the second horn part of the […]