Author Archives: addiealmon

Hildegard’s Play of Virtues is not my favorite piece of music, but I still appreciate its unique style. By opening the piece with a man shouting -not singing- in an unfamiliar language, it subverts the audience’s expectations. They expected a song; instead, they listen to Satan shouting at them. This makes the actual start ofContinue reading “Blog Assignment #3: Hildegard and Star Wars”

Between Gottschalk and South City Voices, I prefer the South City Voices version. Gottschalk takes his time to even introduce the melody of The Star-Spangled Banner in his piece, then continues after it ends. His version makes me feel as if the original song he was paying homage to was not important as his ownContinue reading “Blog Assignment #2: Different Versions of “The Star-Spangled Banner””

The Star-Spangled Banner is more than an iconic piece of American history. It is a musical piece that combines a unique melody, lyrics, and harmony to result in a song both patriotic and inspiring. The core of the song is the melody. While not complex, it does make several leaps throughout the piece, especially whenContinue reading “Blog Assignment #1: “The Star-Spangled Banner””