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Archive: October 2010 (11 Posts)

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Happy Halloween!

Posted by: Pat Padua

In the Muse recently put out a call to Music Division  staff in search of ghost stories, and while nobody would tell me outright that they felt an unexplained cold spot on the Coolidge Auditorium stage, or that sounds of the Stradivarius would emerge mysteriously from an empty hall, the age and history of this …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

More Songs to Drink Your Blood By

Posted by: Pat Padua

The following is the second part of a two-part guest post by Kevin Lavine, Senior Music Specialist. The vampire  made its musical début on this side of the Atlantic in a slight piece for piano solo titled “Vampire Polka” (Boston, 1850), of unknown authorship (its composer is identified as “Four Eyes”), a work undoubtedly intended for performance …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

When the Music Division Rolled Her Vampy Eyes at Me

Posted by: Pat Padua

The following is a part one of a guest post by Kevin LaVine, Senior Music Specialist. If you’ve ever sat around a campfire, listening intently to a ghost story almost against your will; or have peered through half-closed eyes, with fascination and horror, at a slasher film; or have simply heard inexplicable bumps in the …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

We’re A Little Bit Country, We’re a Little Bit West African Jazz

Posted by: Pat Padua

Tickets are now available for two concerts that demonstrate the eclectic range of the Music Division’s programming. Friday, December 3, 2010 @8:00 pm On LOCation Lionel Loueke Trio West African harmonies and jazz rhythms are seamlessly blended by guitarist/singer/composer Lionel Loueke with Massimo Biolcati on bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums. Visit his web site to …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

The Chilean National Anthem

Posted by: Pat Padua

With the fantastic rescue of thirty-three Chilean miners, the whole world can breathe a sigh of relief. But none can be more relieved than the miners, emerging into the sunshine again after seventy days trapped underground. Chilean president Sebastian Pinera sang their national anthem with Luis Urzua, the last of the miners rescued. Celebrate their return …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Greil Marcus and Bob Dylan

Posted by: Pat Padua

In the Muse has been known to make unlikely connections along the musical spectrum, from Lawrence Welk to the Velvet Underground, from Paul Williams to DJ Shadow. And if you have a second, we’ll explain how the disco-era novelty singles of Rick Dees,  (the bell-bottomed Jekyll and Hyde of “Disco Duck;” “Bigfoot,” which imagines that the …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Music is in the House

Posted by: Pat Padua

The thirteenth of October may fill the superstitious with dread, but today we celebrate the birthdays of three great musicians whose work fills the Music Division’s precious vaults. Celebrate  gospel singer Shirley Caeasar (born October 13, 1938) with a medley including “You’re Next in Line,” an excerpt from Gospel: A Joyful Sound, a concert Caesar and her …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Harriet Hoctor and Yo-Yo Ma

Posted by: Pat Padua

The rejuvenative force of spring (or is it hunkering down for the winter?) leads to many an autumn baby. This week In the Muse would like to celebrate the birthdays of two  alliteratively named figures whose work can be found in the Music Division’s diverse collections. Vaudeville, Broadway, and film dancer Harriet Hoctor was born September …