Music History Roundup

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Julie Taboh, "National Jukebox Offers Digital Treasures: Library of Congress unveils website featuring thousands of rare and historic audio recordings," Voice of America, May 13, 2011

. . . . The site, called National Jukebox, is a collaborative project between the Library of Congress and Sony Music Entertainment. It offers online access to a vast selection of music and spoken-word recordings produced in the U.S. between 1901 and 1925.>>>

James Oestreich, "An Exploration of the World That Made Bach and That Bach Remade," NYT, May 17, 2011

Bach, as the culmination of the German Baroque, effectively eclipsed his ancestors, whether actual family members or simply musical forebears.

The family connections are fascinating but still murky. There were so many musical Bachs during the era that the surname became synonymous with “musician” in central Germany, and they continue to trickle to light. A new Harmonia Mundi recording showcases a particularly revealing specimen, the “Trauermusik” of Johann Ludwig Bach, a contemporary cousin of Johann Sebastian based in Meiningen.>>>

Chris Wilson, "The Rosslyn Code: Are the Chapel's Mysterious Stone Symbols a Musical Score?" Slate, May 17, 2011

Rosslyn Chapel was deserted when Tommy Mitchell's son, Stuart, stepped into the small antechamber one frozen afternoon last December. Savage blizzards had blanketed Scotland for the previous two weeks, and much of the chapel's staff had left early to beat the icy conditions. The cold was marshalling its forces against the scattered heat lamps inside as Stuart walked to the back of the room, where 13 stone arches crisscross along the ceiling.

Stuart Mitchell, who is 45, is thin and spry with wavy brown hair and emits a rapid-fire laugh when he finds something amusing, which is often. Stuart first took an interest in the Rosslyn Chapel when his father, a former Royal Air Force cryptographer, invited him along for a visit about 10 years ago. As a professional composer, Stuart was instantly enchanted by Rosslyn's angelic stone musicians. He has come back often in the years since, but he still can't get inside the chapel without buying a ticket, which he does begrudgingly.>>>

John Hacker, "Dance caps off Saturday’s reenactment events," Carthage Press, May 17 2011

CARTHAGE, Mo. An actual 1800s-era dance wouldn’t have had the music speakers or electric lighting found in the Civil War reenactment dance last night. But that didn’t make it seem any different to Chris Palmer.>>>

Lici Beveridge, "Digging up roots: American music history endures," Hattiesburg American, May 13, 2011

I have been to see the New Harmonies exhibit at the historic Train Depot twice already.

The first time I went to see the exhibit.

The second time was to hear musician George Winston talk about harmonica music and perform some songs on harmonica.

About 75 people attended Winston's performance Thursday. I think I learned more about harmonica music than I ever thought possible.>>>