Category Archives: Architecture
Elton John’s décor
When Elton John returned to London in 1991 after six weeks in an addiction recovery center it was essential to establish a new home that was free of associations with his former compulsive behavior. He rented Queensdale Place, fell in … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Popular music, Resources
Liberace’s taste
Władziu Valentino Liberace’s Las Vegas home represented the democratization of aristocracy, a do-it-yourself coronation, the people’s palace. It is the apotheosis of décor as persona and persona as décor. The Moroccan Room (above, click to enlarge) is a tile-and-glass atrium … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Curiosities, Popular music
Architectural modulations
The Western tonal system is founded on specific procedures for modulating from one key to another; the harmonic relationships involved have parallels in Western architecture’s classic proportional relationships, suggesting the idea of architectural modulation. In the above examples, the floor … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Curiosities, Theory
Early muzak
In 1760 the Swedish diplomat Count Ulrich zu Lynar reported on an ingenious system for Tafelmusik at the court of Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (above, 1691–1768): “Next [to the palace] is a small garden and in it a Lusthaus … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Classic era, Curiosities
Bees at the Opéra
Besides his training as a graphic artist, Jean Paucton, the prop man at the Palais Garnier in Paris, studied beekeeping at the Jardin du Luxemboug. In the mid-1980s he ordered his first hive, which was delivered to him at the … Continue reading
Filed under Animals, Architecture, Curiosities, Dramatic arts, Food, Nature, Science
Wine for the organist
The organ built by Gebrüder Oberlinger Orgelbau in 1997 for St. Martin in Cochem includes an innovative stop called Riesling 2fach. Pulling the stop opens a small cabinet holding two bottles of Riesling wine. This according to “Neue Orgel in … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Food, Instruments
Nonsense neumes
Built at the behest of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (1382–1439), the Beauchamp Chapel at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, is a remarkable survival of fifteenth-century architecture, sculpture, and—above all—stained glass. These windows are well known to … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Curiosities, Middle Ages, Notation, Visual art
Arte Organaria Italiana
Published by the L’Associazione Culturale Giuseppe Serassi, Arte Organaria Italiana was launched in 2009 to provide a forum for research on organs in Italy. Articles in the first issue include a discussion of pedaling in Frescobaldi’s organ works, a study … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Instruments, New series
Antichi organi mantovani
With the 2009 publication of L’organo Luigi Montesanti 1813 della chiesa di San Tommaso in Acquanegra sul Chiese, the Associazione Culturale Giuseppe Serassi launched the series Antichi organi mantovani. Edited by Federico Lorenzani, the book includes articles by Maurizio Isabella, … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture, Instruments, New series
