Gregorian chants are not for everyone, but knowing and appreciating the basics is certainly worth it for any musician, historian or music lover.
Category: History
The Tragic Life of ‘Bloody’ Mary Tudor
Was she really as evil and cruel as they say? That is for you to decide.
Hydraulis, Hydraulikon
The story of the pipe organ begins in the 3rd century BC with the invention of the hydraulis.
Trobairitz: The Lady Composers of Medieval France
By 1170, an era of free-thinking, self-proclaimed “emancipated” women had begun.
An Ox Died. The Making of The Oregon Trail
Few video games have made such an impression on generations of school children as The Oregon Trail. As an elementary student in the ’90’s I vividly recall looking forward to “computer lab,” which was basically Oregon Trail Quiet Hour with a few desperate minutes of Mavis Beacon typing lessons thrown in to justify all the wasted educational time. The…
Death and the Plague Doctor
The very sight of the “beak doctor” chills you to the core.
BE MINE. Love, Esther Howland
Believe it or not, Valentine’s Day existed long before Hallmark and holiday-themed jewelry ads. Valentine greetings were popular even before roses became the “flower of love” or kindergarteners crafted valentine boxes (arguably the best activity in all of K-12). Valentine’s Day goes back to ancient Rome and early Christianity but nobody seems to know exactly…
The Whole Gamut: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do! Have you ever wondered what that phrase means or where it came from?
Typhoid Mary
Mary Mallon was born in Ireland in 1869 and moved to the United States in probably 1884, if what she told her friends was true. Like many other Irish immigrants, she paid the bills as a domestic servant to wealthy families in New York. Eventually she discovered that cooking was her thing and settled into a…
A Dollop of History 