Sebastian Junger

Introduction Ever since I was a little boy, I was surrounded by music, which gave me a chance to get to know many different music genres such as opera, classical music, pop, rock, and more. I have always been inspired by different styles of music, and the primary person responsible for that was my father. Although he passed away in November 28th of 2005, he lived long enough to transmit his experiences in the music industry and the positive way he perceived music. He was a very talented…

Technology through the years has changed the way that music is acquired and enjoyed. In history, music evolved over time and the introduction of instruments began humans’ love affair with music. Recorded music has changed significantly over the last few decades. People express themselves through music. Music can describe or explain who you are as person. Changes in sound have changed society. In history, in 325 C.E. Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire…

Michael Praetorius was born on February 15, 1571, at Kreuzberg in Thuringia. He was a German composer, a theorist, and an organist. “He was the most versatile and wide ranging German composer of his generation and one of the most prolific, especially of works based on Protestant hymns.” Syntagma musicum is one of the main reasons why Praetorius is important as a theorist. His father was a “zealous Lutheran clergyman,” and also had the name of Michael. The Michael Praetorius, his father, came…

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31, 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany and died on July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany. Although he only lived 65 years, he has left a legacy as one of the most impactful and greatest composers of all time. Biography Bach is from the Baroque era of music.(1600-1760) During the Baroque era, people had a lot of children. Bach had lots of siblings, 8 to be exact. When he became an orphan at the age of 10, his brother, Johann Christoph, took him in for…

The chant melody is from the setting of the Gradual Viderunt Omnes from the Mass for Christmas Day. The original piece features a soloist that performs the psalm verse which alternates with a choir that sings the respond. This verse is extremely ornate, and the respond is also very melismatic. It is the only part of the Mass for Christmas Day that is in mode 5. Because of its highly melismatic nature, it was viewed as an appropriate candidate for future composers to base new works off of with…

The greatest composer of liturgical music of all time, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian born on February 3rd 1525. He took his name from his birthplace of Palestrina. As a youngling Palestrina sang in the streets of Rome while selling his parents farm products. While roaming the streets Palestrina was heard by the choirmaster of the Santa Maria Maggiore who then decided to educate him musically. Palestrina then got the job as an organist in his hometown principal church, St.…

Chopin's first Piano Concerto in E minor was born in the early Baroque period of the seventeenth century (). The concerto is divided into two performance groups: a lead group with professional musicians, and a group with amateur musicians. Chopin is a great composer known as a piano poet. His genius created the beauty of music that only the piano had. Chopin's piano is one of the representatives of the European romanticism. The most prominent feature of romantic music is the emphasis on the…

1. Loewe, J. Andreas. “‘Musica Est Optimum’: Martin Luther’s Theory of Music,” Music & 0 0 0 Letters 94, no 4 (2013): 573-605 “‘Musica Est Optimum’: Martin Luther’s Theory of Music”, an article by J. Andreas Loewes begins by citing a volume written by Carl Schalk titled Luther on Music, which updated previous records on the subject written by Walter Buszin and Paul Nettl. Schalk claimed that their works “caused frustration because of a lack of documentation”, though there were other…

The Musical Career of Antonio Vivaldi On March 4th, 1648, Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy. His father, a violinist for St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, made sure his son received impeccable training in music during his first years of life. Young Antonio was brought up trained in playing the violin, playing the harpsichord, and as a priest in Venice (“Antonio”; “Classical Net”). 1703 was a pivotal year for Antonio Vivaldi. He was ordained into the priesthood and began working at Pio…

The St Matthew Passion is a sacred song that was written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727. It has interspersed chorales and arias as it sets to music chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew (Leahy, 2011). It is a great masterpiece of classic gospel music of all time. Three different excerpts of the music are analyzed in this paper with a special focus on the form, texture, harmony, relationship between text and music, and the dramatic significance. The main purpose for writing the song was…