Category Archives: Music

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.

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →