Category Archives: For Fun
The Stories of Twelve Famous Carols
When it comes to traditional Christmas carols, separating history from legend can be as tricky as detangling holly and ivy. Looking forward to our Festival of Carols, we’d like to share some of the true stories behind our favorite carols. The First Nowell It is thought “The First Nowell” originated as a Cornish gallery carol. …
Classical Composers’ Holiday Gifts
What’s more meaningful than a homemade gift – especially when the giver is a composer and the gift is music? Here’s a list of five classical compositions that were given as holiday gifts! Johannes Ockeghem (c.1410-1497): An Illuminated Chanson Johannes Ockeghem was a brilliant 15th-century Franco-Flemish composer. Gifted with a deep and beautiful bass voice, …
Classical Music Inspired By Young People
Inspiration for classical music comes in endless forms. Here’s a look at five classical music pieces inspired by young people. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): The Well-Tempered Clavier Johann Sebastian Bach was surrounded by children for most of his life. In addition to fathering more than twenty (!) kids, he also taught choirboys at the St. …
Sampling Classical Works in Modern Songs
To some, classical music may seem like something of the past, yet many artists have sampled classical music, bringing the music to the present. Yet, the issue remains of where one song ends and another begins. It is always smart to give credit to musicians for inspiring a song. Sampling is the process of taking …
Boo! A Halloween Special
With Halloween approaching, it seems only relevant that we shed light on some of the spookier aspects of classical music. Though no well-known composers or performers had superstitions around Halloween day itself, many had obsessions and superstitions surrounding curses, death, and other macabre topics. Arnold Schoenberg was well-known for his superstitions, suffering from triskaidekaphobia, or …
Less Respite, More Ruckus: Re-examining Classical Concerts, Past and Present
It’s a Friday night, and I’ve found myself in a dimly lit room packed wall-to-wall with people, some tapping away on their cell phones, others chatting, all eager for the set-up to complete so the featured musicians can come onstage and start the show. I notice that the man in front of me sips from …
Player Piano Rolls: Listening to History
When we tune in to All Classical, we barely pause to consider that, with the exception of live-streaming concerts, most of the music we hear has been recorded. Thanks to the innovations of recording technology from the twentieth- and twenty-first century, we can hear musical moments captured and preserved in time. Performance before wax cylinders, …
The Rise and Fall of the Marquam Grand: a tragedy
This is my second week in Portland, and already I am intrigued by the city’s vibrant music culture and its history. While searching to learn more about the city’s central musical sites, I discovered the story of the Marquam Building… Like many great operas, this story opens with a glorious and stunning entrance and closes …
