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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Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine (more on that later), was a Medieval nun of many talents. Not only was Hildegard a German Benedictine abbess – the female superior of a community of nuns – but she was also a composer, writer, philosopher, mystic, and one […]
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 […]
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Whether you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus or you prefer to search for colorful eggs, Easter is celebrated in many forms worldwide. One of the oldest holidays, Easter has been around since the 2nd century! This has led to an endless amount of music written for the special day, so here is a list of […]
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Before “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” was translated into English, this special Christmas hymn – originally in Latin – was born out of O Antiphons: a set of monastic chants sung the week before Christmas as early as the 9th century. O Antiphons The O Antiphons are a set of chants used at Vespers (sunset/evening prayer) during […]
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