One of the most famous sequences of Gregorian chant, Dies Irae – “Day of Wrath” – describes the Last Judgment of souls before God where the saved will go to heaven and the unsaved cast into eternal flames of suffering. This 13th-century plainchant melody has since been used by composers throughout time to symbolize death, […]
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is one of today’s most recognizable – and influential – Christmas works. The ballet has an interesting history, though – one that began four years before its premiere. Background How Sleeping Beauty’s Success Led to The Nutcracker In 1888, Ivan Vsevolozhsky (Director of the Imperial Theaters, an opera and ballet theater in St. […]
Read MoreThe last track on my album Christmas Piano is an arrangement of the beloved carol O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. And because this is my husband’s favorite Christmas song, I wanted to make the arrangement extra special. Check out the sheet music here: A Brief Recap You might remember that O Come, O Come, Emmanual had its origins in 9th […]
Read MoreTo kick off December’s first blog post, here is my piano arrangement of The First Noel: You can find the sheet music here: I’ve already talked about the history of this beautiful Christmas carol; check that post out here: Now I want to share a funny story with you about my arrangement of The First Noel. Back […]
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In the nativity story, angels play an integral part in the proclamation of Baby Jesus’s birth. So today let’s listen to some Christmas music inspired by those heavenly messengers. There are many Christmas carols about angels, two of which are the most popular: Angels We Have Heard on High and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Check out my […]
Read MoreAs part of Christmas this year, I wanted to compose an original piano piece that captured the wonder and awe of the season. With that in mind, please enjoy Mary’s Alleluia: If you like it, check out the sheet music here: This work is special to me. After being inspired to create the main theme, I […]
Read MoreAway in a Manger is one of the most loved Christmas carols of our time. And it’s easy to understand why! The beautiful lullaby describes that special night over 2000 years ago, using text and melody to create an emotional response in the listener. While Still, Still, Still is not as popular as Away in a Manger, it’s just […]
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To celebrate the start of the holiday season, I am thrilled to announce the release of my own Christmas album: Christmas Piano. Listen to Christmas Piano The album consists of 8 tracks; 7 are arrangements I wrote of known Christmas carols, and 1 is an original composition. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing posts […]
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It’s October – which means it’s time for Halloween! What better way to do celebrate than by listening to some spooky music? Check out part 1 here, and get ready to hear some more super creepy classical music. Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861) If you think today’s depiction of vampires is scary, let’s go […]
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O Magnum Mysterium is a Catholic church chant sung at Christmastime. As part of the Matins (nighttime worship), the text has been around for centuries. While the exact origins are unknown, historians believe the text (and its use in Catholic Mass) has been around since at least the 10th century. Because the work is so […]
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