Beethoven Op. 110

Moderato con amabilità (‘Moderate [tempo], with loveliness’) Op. 110 L. Beethoven (1770-1827) “All Beautiful the March of Days” Improvisation Beethoven almost never dated his compositions. This morning’s prelude is a rare exception, dated December 25, 1821. Much has been made of his ability to compose ‘in his head’ without having to ‘pound it out’ on a piano,…

Silent Night

On December 24th 1818 then assistant priest Joseph Mohr at the newly established parish of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf gave the organist Franz Gruber (also school teacher in Arnsdorf) a poem titled “Silent Night,” asking him to write a melody for two solo voices, choir and guitar. Later that day Gruber gave Mohr his composition….

Huygens

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was an important mathematician (writing the first treatise on probability), physicist (proposing the wave theory of light) and astronomer (discovering Saturn’s moon Titan). He also invented the pendulum clock — the most accurate timepiece for four centuries until the 1930s. Christiaan’s father was wealthy, which afforded him a lifetime of liberty to…

William Herschel

Sonata for Organ       William Herschel (1738-1825) “People, Look East” Improvisation William Herschel’s father was oboist in the Hanover Military Band, and in due time his sons William and Jakob joined as well. At that time the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover were united under King George II, and the Hanover regiment found itself stationed in…