Month: July 2014

Spanish Dance No. 2 E. Granados (1867-1916) Chorale Prelude on “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” Fugue in Gm Anonymous The Spanish composer Granados was ever the prankster, and after he became established in Spain the ‘brilliant’ idea occurred to him that he and his colleagues should form an orchestra in which everyone played an instrument…

“The Sower” W. Zeitler Fantasia J. Pachelbel (1653–1706) The Gospel appointed for this Sunday is the Parable of the Sower (found in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8): the sower casts his seeds on the field. Some lands on the path where the birds eat it. Some lands on rocky ground, it grows quickly…

O Gott, du Frommer Gott J. Brahms O God, Our Faithful God O Gott, du Frommer Gott J. S. Bach Certain hymns have caught the imaginations of composers down through the eons more than others, and “O Gott, du Frommer Gott” — better known to us as “O God, Our Faithful God” is one of…

Theme and Variations on “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” L. Beethoven (1770-1827) “A Patriotic Tune” W. Zeitler In 1803 Beethoven was planning on visiting England for a piano concert tour. In general in England he found benevolent publishers and philharmonic societies which performed his compositions. A popular music format of the day was “theme and…