Hildegard von Bingen: Alleluia! O virga mediatrix Context This verse is meant to accompany the singing of the Gospel at Mass. Alleluia! O virga mediatrix is one of Hildegard von Bingen’s musical depictions of the Virgin Mary’s role in salvation history. The text speaks of feminity and fertility, with the Read more…
Hildegard von Bingen: O frondens virga Context The Roman Catholic definition of an antiphon is “liturgical music, chant melody and text sung before and after a psalm verse, originally by alternating choirs.” Hildegard von Bingen’s O frondens virga is a psalm antiphon that is sung by a choir. Often accompanied Read more…
Hildegard von Bingen: O frondens virga Der historische Kontext O frondens virga ist eine Psalm-Antifon, die von einem Chor gesungen ist. Der Begriff der Antifon wird von der Duden als einen liturgischen Wechselgesang bestimmt. Der Wechselgesang wird vor und nach einem Psalmvers traditionell gesungen. Diese Gesänge werden oft durch die Read more…
Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps Context Born on 21st August 1893 in Paris, Lili Boulanger was considered at a young age as a musical child prodigy. This was perhaps not too surprising for the Boulanger family, with her mother and grandmother being singers, her elder sister Nadia being a Read more…
Alma Mahler: Five Songs for Voice and Piano Context Composed between 1899-1910 and published around the year 1911, Alma Mahler’s Five Songs for Voice and Piano have stood the test of time. Each of the five songs are based on a poem that Mahler liked: Die stille Stadt (The Quiet Read more…
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Continuo Context Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was born in Paris, 1665. She was born into a family of musicians and she was deemed a child prodigy when she began learning to play the harpsichord at a young age. Read more…
Julia Gomelskaya: Memento Vitae Context Julia Gomelskaya was born on March 11, 1964 in Ukraine. She studied composition at the Simpheropol Tchaikovsky Musical College in 1983. Also a talented pianist, Gomelskaya studied under Oleksandr Krasotov. After graduating from the college, Gomelskaya went on to study composition at the Ukraine Odessa National A.V. Nezhdanova Music Read more…
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams: Nearer My God to Thee Context Sarah Fuller Flower Adams was born on February 22nd, 1805 in Sussex. She was the youngest of two, with her older sister being the composer, Eliza Flower. Adams was an English poet and she is renowned for her writings during Read more…
Alexandra Pakhmutova: Trumpet Concerto Context Alexandra Pakhmutova was born in 1929 in Russia. She began learning the piano at a very young age and she showed much potential. World War II interrupted her studies, and in 1942 the Pakhmutova family were evacuated to Kazakstan. When the family moved back to Beketovka, Read more…
Cécile Chaminade: Concertino for Flute Context Cécile Chaminade was born in Paris, 1857. At a young age she started playing the piano, with her mother being her first teacher. She then learnt with Félix Le Couppey. As well as learning the piano, Chaminade also took an interest in learning the Read more…