There are many symbols attached to this holiday in Europe, and each country has kept its own identity and traditions, while enriching them with influences form various other sources. This diversity and richness prove the importance given by Europeans to the Christmas holiday. Advent, its crown and its calendar... Advent corresponds to the four-week period that precedes "the arrival"(adventus in Latin) of baby Jesus, that is Christmas. In certain parts of Germany, Advent begins on the 11th November, on Saint Martin's Day.
Persuade a group of friends to sing Christmas carols for patients who are hospital bound; this is a rewarding experience, since it brings some of the holiday season to them. Persuade your friends and families to harmonize their favorite Christmas carols at the hospital. Harmonize Christmas carols about the birth of Jesus Christ, such as “Silent Night” or “The Three Wisemen”, and spread the Christmas spirit to the patients in the hospital. Persuade your friends to get the patient involve by asking them their favorite Christmas carols. Persuade them to have a candlelight services by lighting candles and singing Christmas carols in the hospital.
The monophonic melodies of these musicians, to which may have been added improvised accompaniments, were often rhythmically lively. The subject of the majority of these songs is love, in all its manifestations of joy and pain. Although secular music was undoubtedly played on instruments during the Middle Ages, instrumental dance music didn't come into its own until the later Renaissance. Most of the music that people heard in the Middle Ages was in church. Outside church only a few people read or played music.
earlymusicla.org laweekly Introduction to Baroque Art and Music (pages 94-102) - It originates first in Rome, as a way to glorify the Counter-Reformation Catholic Church, and then spread beyond Italy to Spain, France, Germany, Austria, the Low Countries and England in the early seventeenth Century. -The artists who created Baroque art worked mainly for the pope and important monarchs throughout Europe. -Baroque is the term used to describe the arts generally during the period 1600-1750. Definition: Taken from the Portuguese word barroco, refering to a pearl of irregular shape then used in jewelry and fine decorations. - Baroque had a negative connotation: It signified distortion, excess, and extravagance... except when we get to Vivaldi and Bach.
The early fifteenth century was dominated initially by English and then Northern European composers. The Burgundian court was especially influential, and it attracted composers and musicians from all over Europe. The most important of these was Guillaume Du Fay (1397–1474), whose varied musical offerings included motets and masses for church and chapel services, many of whose large musical structures were based on existing Gregorian chant. His many small settings of French poetry display a sweet melodic lyricism unknown until his era. With his command of large-scale musical form, as well as his attention to secular text-setting, Du Fay set the stage for the next generations of Renaissance composers.
The early Christians inherited the Jewish chants of synagogues. One chant came out this in 1101 AD called Gregorian chant is monophonic, that is, music composed with only one melodic line without accompaniment. Middle ages music was both secular and sacred. Around the end of the ninth century, singers in monasteries such as St. Gall in Switzerland began experimenting with adding another singing to the chant c which represents the beginnings of harmony. In the years 1170 to 1250 began Ars antiqua in Notre Dame School of polyphony.
In both Ireland and Scotland it was a belief that this physical world and the supernatural world were closest during this time, so magical things can happen. To ward off spirits the Gaels would light massive bonfires. In the Western Isles they would hold a festival of the fairies, souls of the dead flying through the air. Even with all the pagan roots Christianity still had a considerable impact on Halloween. This was the time of the year when Christians honored saints and prayed for the recently dead that were still traveling to heaven.
Traditionally associated with Christmas, red and green offer an array of options to embellish our homes for the holiday season. Actually, their use as Christmas colors dates back to paganism and early Christianity. Symbolizing respectively life, nature, revival, and eternity on the one hand, and on the other – birth and death, as well as Christ’s sacrifice, green and red are definitely universally accepted Christmas colors. As trends come and go, sometimes even retro orange, pink, and purple are used to add a fresh, unique look to Christmas décor. However, usually complemented by white and gold/yellow and sometimes blue, with some creativity and imagination, with red and green we all can go far beyond mundane seasonal décor and add some
Cody Alvarado Music Theory 7/29/12 Gregorian Chant Guillaume Dufay - 1397 -1474, Ave Maris Stella Guillaume Dufay (Du Fay, Du Fayt) (August 5, 1397 – November 27, 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As a boy he sang in the choir of Cambrai Cathedral. Ordained a priest, he acquired a high reputation for learnedness. In 1428 he joined the papal singers in Rome, by which time his works had made him famous. He returned to Cambrai 1440, where he would supervise the cathedral's music for the rest of his life, apart from a period (145158) working for the duke of Savoy.
Liturgical Expression: The Lunar New Year Mass For Vietnamese Catholics, the Lunar New Year Mass is a very important liturgical event related to very much Vietnamese culture. I would like to describe the Lunar New Year Mass at Vietnamese community at St, Henry Church couple months ago. There was the couplet (parallel sentences) hang at both sides of the crucifixion meaning of God and spring season. People used yellow and red colors to decorate the Altar. The readers, acolytes, and ministers of Cup wore the traditional clothing “4- part dress” during the Mass.