Author: william
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Palm Sunday
When the Romans conquered a region, they were relatively benign (as ruthless conquerors go) in that they would let you have your local rulers, let you practice your local religion and customs, and pretty much leave you alone as long as 1) you didn’t cause Rome any trouble, and 2) you paid your taxes to…
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Do as I say and not as I do
Fugue No. 13 from ‘36 Fugues’ A. Reicha (1770-1836) "Ah, Holy Jesus" Improvisation An ever popular exercise for people watchers is to compare what folks say with what they actually do. As true as that is for individuals, it’s also true for cultures. How they do Art, and specifically Music is an example to consider:…
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Bernard of Clairvaux
"Your Lovingkindness In The Morning" W. Zeitler with Amy Gonos, soprano "Cause me to hear your lovingkindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee." Ps.143:8 “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” Improvisation Bernard of Clairvaux…
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A Leaf in the Wind
"A Leaf in the Wind" W. Zeitler "If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee" Improvisation At least in 'classic' Presbyterianism, a distinguishing doctrine is that our eternal fate is 'predestined' since before the Beginning. Now I'm no theologian or church historian, and I'm certainly not going to go into the pros and cons of…
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Mortality
Fugue W. Zeitler [PIANO] "The Church of Christ in Every Age" Improvisation One of the big themes of Lent is "ashes to ashes, dust to dust … to dust you shall return." In short, Mortality. Our bodies are of course comprised of cells, each with its own lifespan. The cells lining your stomach live about…
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Toccatas in Dm
Toccata in Dm ("Dorian") J.S.Bach (1685-1750) "Ah, Holy Jesus" Improvisation J.S. Bach’s arguably most infamous piece is his "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" — well known from Disney’s Fantasia, Captain Nemo plays it in Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and it appears in too many horror movies in which the…
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Metrics
"Of Foreign Lands & Places" R. Schumann (1810-1856) "Be Thou My Vision" Improvisation When I was a teenager, I fell in love with the music of Bach. I ‘moved out’ at age 17, and my adequate but meager income generated with my little self-employed business (too young to be legally employable, or even open…
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Jesus Loves Me
Reflections on “Jesus Loves Me” W. Zeitler “Jesus Loves Me” Improvisation The verses to ‘Jesus Loves Me’ were written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). Anna’s father was Henry Warner, a wealthy New York City lawyer. When he lost most of his fortune in the 1837 depression, the family was forced to move to their summer…
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Is Progress Always Progress?
Concerto in Am A. Vivaldi (1678-1741), arr. J.S.Bach "God of Grace & God of Glory" Fugue in C J.S.Bach Before say 1750, published music was relatively rare and relatively expensive. Nor were there photocopy machines. Consequently, if you were a musician and you wanted a copy of the latest Top Ten Trio Sonatas,…
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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,…