today’s birthday: Montesquieu (1689)

Montesquieu (1689)

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French social and political philosopher whose ideas profoundly influenced European and American political thought, particularly that of America’s founding fathers. He spent 15 years working on his masterpiece, De l’Esprit des lois—On the Spirit of the Laws—an immense comparative analysis of various forms of government comprising more than 600 chapters. What concept did he famously put forth in this work? More… Discuss

Antonin Dvorak – Romance in F minor Op 11 – Violin and piano

Cristian Roy Altamirano

Antonin Dvorak – Compositor Checo, nacido el 8 de septiembre de 1841 y fallecido el 1 mayo del 1904.

Pope Francis Leads Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican: from NBC News (they are not afraid of Christmas like other news agencies are: I’d say good for them!)

Pope Francis Leads Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican

Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve with a late-night Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday, after placing a phone call to Iraqi refugees forced to flee their homes by Muslim militants. Francis told refugees at the tent camp in Ankawa, a suburb of Irbil in northern Iraq, that they were like Jesus, forced to flee because there was no place for them. For Christians, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem barn manger, chosen because there was no room for his parents at an inn.

Vatican-Christmas Mass – 2014 (Click to access the Mass at NBC News)

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today holiday: Tolling the Devil’s Knell (2014)

Tolling the Devil’s Knell (2014)

To celebrate the birth of Christ and the death of the Devil, All Saints Minster Church in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, rings its bell the same number of times as the number of the year (for example, 2,014 times in 2014) on Christmas Eve. The tolling starts at 11:00 PM, stops during the church service from midnight to 12:45, and then resumes until the years have been tolled away. The custom has been going on for almost 700 years. The bell has been called “Black Tom of Soothill” since the 13th century, and Tolling Black Tom is supposed to keep the parish safe from the Devil for another 12 months. More… Discuss

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Rimsky-Korsakov – Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895): Great compositions/performances

Rimsky-Korsakov – Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895)

   musicanth

Uploaded on Dec 23, 2010/67,932 views

Christmas Eve (Suite)

I. Christmas Night
II. Ballet of the Stars
III. Witches’ Sabbath and Ride on the Devil’s Back
IV. Polonaise
V. Vakula and the Slippers

A thrilling orchestral suite by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), based on music from the 1895 opera of the same name. The plot of the opera follows the short story “Christmas Eve” from Nikolai Gogol‘s “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka“. The same story also formed the basis of Tchaikovsky’s operas “Vakula the Smith” and “Cherevichki“.

A synopsis of Gogol’s short story is available on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christma…

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Saint of the Day for Friday, November 21st, 2014: St. Gelasius

Saint of the Day for Friday, November 21st, 2014

St. Gelasius

St. Gelasius I, Pope (Feast day – November 21) Gelasius was born in Rome, in the fifth century, the son of an African named Valerius. Later, ordained a priest, he was elected Pope on March 1st, … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

St. Gelasius St. Albert of Louvain St. Amelberga St. Digain St. Gelasius I St. Gelasius I St. Heliodorus

St. Hilary St. Honorius St. Liberalis Bl. Frances Siedliska St. Maurus St. Rufus of Rome

Rimsky-Korsakov – Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895)

Christmas Eve (Suite)

I. Christmas Night
II. Ballet of the Stars
III. Witches’ Sabbath and Ride on the Devil’s Back
IV. Polonaise
V. Vakula and the Slippers

A thrilling orchestral suite by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), based on music from the 1895 opera of the same name. The plot of the opera follows the short story “Christmas Eve” from Nikolai Gogol‘s “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka“. The same story also formed the basis of Tchaikovsky’s operas “Vakula the Smith” and “Cherevichki“.

A synopsis of Gogol’s short story is available on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christma…

Conductor: Neeme Järvi
Scottish National Orchestra

 

Silent Night Holy Night – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (yes there used to be silent nights…

A new interpretation of a worldwide well known piece of music from a not so usual point of view: Imagine you were Joseph — who is not the father of ‘his’ son in this silent night …

This is what I had in mind creating this interpretation for piano; to give Josephs feelings a musically expression.

If you like it feel free to share!

Merry Christmas!
Wolfram-Maria Schröckenfuchs

P.S:
The still image shows a part of ‘Totes Gebirge‘ (‘Dead Mountains’ – meaning there are no springs anywhere); point of view is ‘Ahornfeld Hütte’ on the ‘Kasberg’ mountain in the south of Upper Austria, near the homeviallage ‘Micheldorf‘ where I live. Photographed in spring 2011.

 

Official opening of the nativity Crèche in St. Peter’s Square

(en) In the afternoon of Christmas Eve the Holy Father attends the official opening of the Nativity Crèche in St. Peter’s Square, offered this Year by the Diocese on Naples
(it) Inaugurazione del Presepe in piazza san Pietro

 

Fabulous Composers/Compositions: Rimsky-Korsakov – Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895)

Christmas Eve (Suite)

I. Christmas Night
II. Ballet of the Stars
III. Witches’ Sabbath and Ride on the Devil’s Back
IV. Polonaise
V. Vakula and the Slippers

A thrilling orchestral suite by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), based on music from the 1895 opera of the same name. The plot of the opera follows the short story “Christmas Eve” from Nikolai Gogol‘s “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka“. The same story also formed the basis of Tchaikovsky’s operas “Vakula the Smith” and “Cherevichki“.

A synopsis of Gogol’s short story is available on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christma…

 

This Day in History: DONALD DUCK DEBUTS IN THE LITTLE WISE HEN (1934)

Donald Duck Debuts in The Little Wise Hen (1934)

Clad in his signature sailor shirt and cap, the perennially pants-less cartoon character Donald Duck made his debut in Disney‘s The Wise Little Hen. His comically short temper and distinct voice quickly endeared him to audiences, and he became a regular character in Mickey Mouse cartoons. Donald remains quite popular in Scandinavia, as evidenced by the Christmas Eve tradition of watching a TV special featuring him. What Academy Award-winning 1943 cartoon showed Donald saluting Hitler? More… Discuss

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