Author: william

Rhosymedre     R. Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) It so happens that the great uncle of the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) was none other than Charles Darwin (1809–1882). Ralph’s grandmother taught Ralph to read using the same primer with which she had taught her younger brother Charles. Later there was a great kerfuffle among…

Trio Sonata Op.1 No. 3: Allegro con Brio       L. Beethoven (1770-1827) Laura Rosky-Santoni, Violin Ana Maria Maldonado, Cello Andante cantabile con Variazioni [‘Anthem’, tender and noble, longer] Minuetto [‘Offertory’, tongue-in-cheek onery but charming, shorter] Prestissimo For Trinity Sunday I thought I’d feature a piece in which ‘Three’ figures prominently. And so we…

“Eternally Starlit Sandstone” W. Zeitler [Piano] “Eternally Starlit Sandstone” is a piece which Don Dudley commissioned me to write as a present for his wife Earleen’s 60th birthday. The title refers to a particularly magical trip they took by train through the desert – a mood which the piece tries to reflect. In previous Music…

Andantino, quasi Allegretto        Enrique Granados (1867-1916) “Spirit of the Living God” Improvisation Granados was delighted to come to New York to see his opera Goyescas at the Metropolitan, but it was done so poorly that it gave him more pain than pleasure. He was, however, quite happy with the money he received…

An open letter to a loved one: One idea upon which I've come in the course of my life is the "Great Chain of Being" (an idea that goes back millenia): that ALL of Creation is ensouled: humans have 'souls' of course, but animals have their own degree of 'soul', and so do plants (though less…

Canon in D   J. Pachelbel (1653-1706) Susan Addington, Flute [Anthem] Air on the G String   J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Susan Addington, Flute [Offertory] Jesus, the very Thought of Thee Improvisation Neither the date nor the circumstances of Pachebel’s Canon in D are known (suggested dates range from 1680 to 1706), and the oldest surviving…

Toccata in Gm D. Buxtehude (1637/39-1707) “Spirit of the Living God” Improvisation In the autumn of 1705, a 20 year-old Bach requested four weeks’ leave from his church in Arnstadt to travel to Lübeck and learn from the famous Dietrich Buxtehude (then 67 years old), organist of the Marienkirche. He made the 250-mile journey on…

Einstein once said that you can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created the problem in the first place. So as I ponder the profound problems that plague our society today, and our seeming inability to gain real traction on them, I find myself wondering what ill-articulated and perhaps ill-chosen assumptions are preventing…

Chaconne in Dm D. Buxtehude (c.1638-1707) “There’s A Wideness To God’s Mercy” “Oh Sacred Head, Now Wounded” Zeitler Frederick William Faber (1814-1863), author of “There’s a Wideness To God’s Mercy”, was an English cleric, author and poet. Faber excelled in school, was awarded scholarships for his general scholarship as well as prizes for his poetry.…