The Christmas Star Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you see what I see Way up in the sky, little lamb, Do you see what I see A comet in the eastern sky With a tail as big as a kite With a tail as big as a kite. – adapted from Gloria Shayne Baker, Nöel Regney This beautiful Christmas Carol was written relatively recently, at the...
Anyone can enjoy the night sky. While this column is intended specifically for those who enjoy going outside and relishing the wonders of the night, it is also meant for musicians who, like Saint-Saens, appreciate the sky vicariously through the music they compose. It is also meant for those who appreciate the sky through the poetry they write...
Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the truly great composers of the 19th century. He lived virtually his entire life in France, and during his long life (1835 -1921) he composed, conducted, and played organ and piano. Widely thought of as the greatest French composer of his time, Saint-Saens’ music is relaxing, uplifting, and deeply satisfying. Saint...
On Bastille Day, July 14, 1789, the great Parisian prison was set ablaze as a mob, enraged into a fury, lit the spark that set off the French Revolution. Two and a quarter centuries later, on another Bastille Day, a different kind of revolution began as humanity made a great leap forward by sending a small spacecraft past the planet Pluto. On this...
