Search Results for: halloween

by | October 31, 2023 · 6:00 am

Bach or the Devil (revisited)

During his life, Bach was primarily known as a dazzling organist with virtuoso improvising abilities. Not surprisingly, his prowess gave rise to a number of urban legends. One such legend had him traveling incognito, dressed as a village schoolmaster, going from church to … Continue reading →

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Filed under Baroque era, Europe, From the archives

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by | October 31, 2022 · 6:00 am

Skulls and music (non)preference

This Halloween, let’s see what a series of experiments demonstrated about the influence of skull resonance on music (non)preference. Listeners were presented with a set of original melodies and were asked to judge how much they enjoyed each selection. Following the … Continue reading →

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by | October 31, 2021 · 6:00 am

Bat City music

This Halloween, let’s visit the home of the largest urban bat colony in the world—Austin, Texas, where a group of Mexican free-tailed bats arrived in the early 1980s and found a highly suitable breeding environment. Now nicknamed Bat City, Austin … Continue reading →

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Popular music

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by | October 31, 2016 · 6:00 am

Liszt’s Totentanz

The medieval Dance of Death and variation form always belonged together, and Franz Liszt’s Totentanz is a splendid example. In the European cultural tradition, the Dies irae is closely bound up with the experience of death. Liszt’s use of motive … Continue reading →

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by | March 21, 2015 · 6:00 am

Bach or the Devil

During his life, Bach was primarily known as a dazzling organist with virtuoso improvising abilities. Not surprisingly, his prowess gave rise to a number of urban legends. One such legend had him traveling incognito, dressed as a village schoolmaster, going … Continue reading →

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Filed under Baroque era, Curiosities, Humor

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by | October 31, 2012 · 1:00 am

Frank Zappa and Uncle Meat

The 1969 double album Uncle Meat by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention is a collage of rock, jazz, modernist art music, parodies of 1950s pop songs, and documentary-style spoken passages; two recurring themes and their variations unite it … Continue reading →

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Filed under 20th- and 21st-century music, Humor, Popular music

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