A year ago I started a weekly feature to share some of the music I enjoy. It fizzled out by the end of the summer, but I thought it was time to bring it back, if only for a single post. A "One Night Afternoon Only" special event.
What's the occasion?
If you're a regular reader, you already know I recently had a birthday. And while I didn't get my laptop back from Staples like I was hoping (it's been WELL over a month now... c'mon, guys, get it together!), I did get some actual presents, including two CDs from Pat (yes, I still listen to CDs, now get off my lawn) -- the soundtracks for Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness.
I know I've already mentioned that the music is one of my favorite things about the Star Trek reboot, so you can imagine how excited I was to get these. And I figured what better occasion to bring back Music Monday.
This is going to be my last Music Monday, at least for a while. I made this decision based on a few factors.
First, the original reason I wanted to start a weekly feature was to get myself posting regularly again. That seems to have happened. Since I started this, I don't think there's been a single week that I made ONLY the one obligatory post. I'm confident I can keep that momentum going.
Second, football is starting soon. Already started, actually, but the regular season kicks off a week from Wednesday. I don't want to make any promises, but Pat has expressed interest in possibly doing a weekly post-game wrap up on the Bears. That's a whole lot of content coming at the beginning of the week. It seems a little lopsided. Sure, I could move my weekly music post to Thursday or Friday, though it wouldn't have the nice alliteration. But, that brings me to my third reason.
It's time again for Music Monday. This week, in honor of it being Pat's birthday today (!!!) you get a two-fer.
Sorry, music geek joke.
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I've chosen Elgar's Cello Concerto.
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto (1919)
This might have been more appropriate two weeks ago, as the Olympics were starting, rather than the day after the Closing Ceremony. But, I realized that I hadn't featured any English composers on the blog yet, so I figured now was as good a time as any.
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, it's Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra (1808)
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I've chosen the beautiful piano movement "Clair de lune" from Debussy's Suite bergamasque.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Suite bergamasque (1905)
"Clair de lune"
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I've chosen Rachmaninoff's Vespers.
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
All-Night Vigil (1915)
"Slava V Vyshnikh Bogu" (Glory to God in the Highest)
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week I decided to share another something from my college days, an a cappella choir piece by the modern composer Eric Whitacre.
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
"Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" (2001)
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week I am jumping back to the Classical period to talk about Mozart's earliest symphonies, his first in particular.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 1 (1764)
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. In honor of the holiday this week, I wanted to share something by an American composer. Unfortunately, though I hate to admit it, I'm not as familiar with American composers as I should be. A few names came to mind, mostly in the context of musical theatre -- Bernstein, Gershwin, Sondheim -- but after a little online searching to jog my memory, I decided to go with Aaron Copland's Rodeo.
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Rodeo (1942)
"Hoe-Down"
Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I'll be reminiscing a bit with a song by Clara Schumann.
Clara Schumann née Wieck (1819-1896)
Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling (1841)
"Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen"
So, I was trying to figure out a weekly feature I could do on this blog. I know of a couple people who do Wordless Wednesday, but the idea of me being "wordless" was just a little too ridiculous.
But it got me thinking. When it comes to expressing oneself without words, visual media is not the first place my mind goes. My first thought is, obviously, music. (It's okay if you don't know why that's obvious. Just trust me. It is.)
No, not all music is wordless. My background being choral music, it was pretty rare to perform something without words (though it did happen a couple times). Either way, it sparked my idea: Music Mondays.
