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Picturing Home: Braga Santos’ Lisboa Overture
Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988) brought Portugal into the full orchestral world of the 20th century. A student of Luís de Freitas Branco, he used his teacher’s symphonies as the springboard for his own orchestral explorations. As he looked at modern
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The Weeping Mother – Boccherini’s Stabat Mater
Jacopo da Todi’s meditation on the emotions of Mary at the crucifixion of her son have inspired composers for centuries. The Stabat Mater, written in the 13th century, has been set by composers from the 15th century to the 21st,
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Chinese New Year and Chiayu’s Rat
The Chinese Zodiac uses a 12-year cycle and assigns an animal to each year. In 2020, the 12-year cycle starts again with the Year of the Rat. In addition, each animal is assigned one of the five elements (Wood, Fire,
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A Woman’s Emotional World – Björk’s Opera Vespertine
Think back to the turn of the millennium – pop music was focused on getting that drum and bass just right and party music. And then came the events of 2001 and the world changed – 2 towers came down
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Music for the New Year in a Big Space
In December 1983, organist Harry Huff was scheduled to play the New Year’s Eve service at the world’s largest (or second-largest) Anglican Cathedral, New York’s St. John the Divine, located by Columbia University in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. First discussion
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The Wren, the Wren, The King of All Birds
That wonderful week between the festivities of Christmas and New Year is used by several countries in different ways. For many of us, it’s a quiet time to play with our new presents, visit old friends, get up-to-date on everything
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Sounds of the Season
Goldstein’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
It isn’t often that an extended poem gets taken on a modern spin, but Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” beloved of children of all ages, has been set by composer William Goldstein against an orchestral
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Nature at Night – Marx’s Symphonische Nachtmusik
The Austrian composer Joseph Marx (1882-1964) led Austrian musical culture and after his death, seemed to vanish completely from the musical scene. Born in Graz, he studied philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at the University of Graz. In
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