Unconscious bursts of creativity that engender significant artistic endeavors are not necessarily inspired by passionate romantic love alone. Greek mythology believed that this kind of stimulus came from nine muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Muses were long considered the source of knowledge embodied in poetry, lyric songs and ancient myths. Throughout the history of Western art, artists, writers and musicians have prayed to the muses, or alternately, drawn inspiration from personified muses that conceptually reside beyond the borders of earthly love. True to life, however, composer inspiration has emerged from the entire spectrums of existence and being. Nature has always played a decidedly important role in the inspiration of various classical composers, as did exotic cities, landscapes or rituals. Composer inspiration is also found in poetry, the visual arts, and mythological stories and tales. Artistic, historical or cultural expressions of the past are just as inspirational as is the everyday: the third Punic War or the contrapuntal mastery of Bach is inspirationally just as relevant as are the virulent bat and camel. Composer inspiration is delightfully drawn from heroes and villains, scientific advances, a pet, or something as mundane as a hangover. Discover what fires the imagination of people who never stop asking questions.
Most of us associate the pipe organ with liturgical, that is, religious use. But did you know that the instrument was originally associated with gladiatorial combat during the time of the Romans? Gladiatorial games usually began with an elaborate procession
Watch Mater Dolorosa: Les Talens Lyriques at the Festival D’Ambronay The text of the Roman Catholic hymn Stabat Mater dolorosa (The grieving Mother stood), which originated in the 13th century and is variously attributed to Pope Innocent III, St. Bonaventure,
The composer Ned Rorem suggested that, Francis Poulenc never penned an original note. “Every measure can be traced to Chopin, or Mussorgsky, or Ravel, or Stravinsky, or even Faure whom he reviled. Yet every measure can be instantly identified as
In 1881, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) wrote to his friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg that he had finished “a tiny little piano concerto with a wisp of a scherzo.” At that time, Elisabeth could scarcely have known that Brahms had just completed
Who’s going to write it? How long’s it going to be? For how many people? These are just a few of the questions that are asked when a new work is commissioned. What, then, do you get when these constraints
In 1935, Benjamin Britten spoke rather despairingly of the musical scene in the 20th century. “The real musicians are so few & far between, aren’t they? Apart from Berg, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Bridge one is a bit stumped for names,
Throughout his extended Leipzig career, J. S. Bach had a rather uneasy relationship with civic and church authorities. At his election as Cantor of St. Thomas Church in 1723, Bach was cautioned to make compositions that were not theatrical. “In
Besides studying and emulating the works of 20th century composers, Benjamin Britten became increasingly fascinated by English music of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, most notably the music of Henry Purcell. He wrote, “One of my chief aims
