Category Archives: Music

Dulcimers Get The Love

Posted on 17 January 2019 by

Children have a natural curiosity about music, and even after three-and-a-half years in the parish, the hammered dulcimer still gets attention. Long after Mass, as you can see here.

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Patapan

Posted on 2 January 2019 by

My preference on this Christmas song is the instrumentation–not the lyrics so much. This arrangement is quite fine, and features one of my favorite instruments. It’s a nice and brisk tempo, maybe too much for singers.

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Winter Music

Posted on 1 January 2019 by

Since their release in the 80s, I’ve enjoyed the Windham Hill series titled for the solstice. The higher the number (they go to V) the more “traditional” Christmas fare you get. My favorite remains the second edition–it gets much play … Continue reading →

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Music For The Fourth: El Salón México, Old Dangerfield

Posted on 4 July 2018 by

One of the most recognizable American composers putting his mark on one of the Americas’ most recognizable cultures here. A summary from the wiki: The work contains three musical styles and goes through the series of three twice, starting each … Continue reading →

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It Was On Holy Wednesday

Posted on 28 March 2018 by

An English Christmas Carol, “All In the Morning” gives us this verse: It was on Holy Wednesday And all in the morning, That Judas Betrayed Our dear Heavenly King And was this not a woeful thing? And sweet Jesus we’ll … Continue reading →

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Mood Music

Posted on 28 December 2017 by

Mode, tempo, instrumentation. They make the difference between a piece of music that breathes and has life and one that qualifies as a dirge. I was looking over my Advent/Christmas repertoire some months ago, thinking of some addition of plainchant–something … Continue reading →

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How Composers Work

Posted on 30 June 2017 by

Home from retreat, and I see Liam’s link from a few days ago on composers at work. I don’t pay close attention to how others do it. I occasionally hear stories. One published composer once told of “how we did … Continue reading →

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