Author: william

Trio Sonata No. 1, 1st movement (BWV 525) J.S.Bach (1685-1750) — organ As we have seen in previous Music Boxes, a 35-year-old Bach, away performing, came home to discover that his wife Maria Barbara (1684–1720) had died and was already buried. After this, Bach turned his back on climbing the corporate – I mean aristocratic…

Impromptu in Gb, Op. 90 No. 3        Franz Schubert (1797-1828) One morning, Schubert brought singer Michael Vogl several songs for his perusal. Busy at the moment, Vogl set them aside and examined them later when he had opportunity. He liked one especially, but it was too high for him, so he transposed…

“Immersed in the River of Life” W. Zeitler The Texts for this Sunday are about Jesus’ baptism, a story which follows right on the heels of Jesus’ incarnation. With that in mind, there is a sense in which His incarnation itself is a brief plunge into the river of human life. A plunge down, down,…

Precatio a Cetis Magnis (Prayer of the Great Whales) W. Zeitler Improvisation on “God of the Sparrow, God of the Whales” Voluntary Latimer (1783-1724) In this morning’s Scriptures we have the story of John the Baptist — a lone wild figure in the wild-erness. The story emphasizes his wildness by pointing out that he wears…

"In His Mother's Arms for the First Time" W. Zeitler — flute & piano I well remember when I held my brand-new daughter in my arms for the very first time. And how her oh-so-tiny hand, try as it might, couldn’t wrap itself all the way around even one of my fingers. It was a…

"The Adoration of the Magi" W.Zeitler — brass quintet and organ   To me one of the noteworthy themes of the Christmas story is the prominence of dreams, and how seriously they were taken. We have Joseph’s two dreams – that it was O.K. to marry Mary after all, and that he should skip town…

Pastorale Charles Wesley (Jr.) (1757-1834) — organ Charles Wesley (Jr.), the son of the celebrated hymn writer Charles Wesley and nephew of the Anglican clergyman and founder of Methodism John Wesley, was an infant prodigy and, at the age of three, he was compared favorably to the young Mozart. In spite of family opposition, Charles…

Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C, BWV 564 J.S. Bach (1685-1750) — organ Bach’s first official organ post was at Arnstadt, which featured a small instrument in a small town (population 3800) and a choir director noted for leaving in the middle of the sermon to visit a wine shop. In 1705 a 20-year-old Bach…

Psalm 19 B. Marcello (1686-1739) Born in Venice, Benedetto Marcello was a member of a noble family. Although he was a music student of Lotti and Gasparini (famous composers of the day), his father wanted Benedetto to devote himself to law. Benedetto managed to combine a life in law and public service with one in…

Suite in Gm (Selections) George F. Handel (1685-1759) From his very childhood Handel had a strong propensity to music. His father, however, a barber-surgeon, had in mind for his son a more upwardly-mobile career in Law and did all he could to oppose it. Dad forbade any musical instrument in the house, and even forbade…