I love Christmas music; for me, it is the best thing about the holiday season. Unsurprisingly, composers love Christmas music too and have been churning out carols, oratorios, motets, quartets, and nearly every other form of music to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In that spirit, I have compiled a playlist, starting (as this blog … Continue reading A Gertus History of Christmas Music
Category: Reviews and Musings
Interlude: A black day in history
On this day in 1980, John Lennon was killed outside of his home at the corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West. That the great poet of love would meet his end in such violent fashion remains one of the cruelst ironies of life. Like those composers before him who died prematurely, Lennon left … Continue reading Interlude: A black day in history
Interlude: A Thanksgiving
As we gather with our families and friends to give thanks this November 25th, my mind drifted, relatedly, to St. Catherine of Alexandria, whose feast day coincides this year with our Thanksgiving Day. St. Catherine’s story is literally one of legend. Converted to Christianity at 14, she protested against the persecution of Christians under the … Continue reading Interlude: A Thanksgiving
Interlude: Happy World Opera Day
Writing this blog, with one eye on the past while the other firmly fixed on the future, here is a sneak peak at the opera I am most excited about seeing this year. It is only fitting that the most exciting new opera of the season is based on the same myth that inspired Monteverdi, … Continue reading Interlude: Happy World Opera Day
Interlude: A Happy Accident
As we are wrapping up the Renaissance with Monteverdi breaking from the strict Palestrina mode of composition, I am editing future entries on Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose 1722 treatise, Traité de l'harmonie réduite à ses principes naturels, set forth the rules that would govern composition for the better part of the next 200 years. And, as … Continue reading Interlude: A Happy Accident
A Gertus History of Music 