Jazz evolved from the fringes of American society into one of the most influential, and enduring, musical movements of the 20th century. How did it get from what it was to what it is now?
Why should African graduates be honoured with a Latin song when the continent has plenty of its own music and ways of celebrating?
Direct Relief/Flickr
A Latin song takes centre stage at graduation ceremonies around the world, including in South Africa. Isn’t it time the continent used its own methods to celebrate major events?
Sam Smith’s Writing’s on the Wall confronts the last taboo of the canon: Bond’s hypermasculinity.
Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s last collaboration The Seven Deadly Sins, first performed in 1933, in circumstances not dissimilar than those we face today. Pictured: Meow Meow.
Victorian Opera
Victorian Opera this week stages The Seven Deadly Sins, the final collaboration between Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. First staged in 1933, it is a masterpiece by two of the most revolutionary artists of Weimar Germany.
Music notation itself has changed from the early modern period to the present day.
Provenance Online Project/flickr
Technological advances in music production have all but obliterated the need for popular music to be transcribed into musical notation. So why is musical literacy still important?
On the Banks of the Tigris is a story of culture triumphing over an oppressive regime.
Fruitful Films
Award-winning documentary film On the Banks of the Tigris explores the influence of Iraqi Jewish musicians in the cultural life of Iraq and paints a portrait of a country that was once a thriving multicultural centre.
Singing in a choir really can change your life for the better. And yes, anyone can do it
If you want to fast-track your child’s development, forget CDs, books that beep, and toys that whirr. Play music with them, with the emphasis being on “play”.
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New research shows shared music-making with toddlers may have benefits above and beyond those of reading.
The real force of Star Wars is to be found in its music, an aural cocktail of orchestral pieces punctuated with lightsabers, hyperspace leaps, and a hint of droid.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
For all the speculative commentary as to what the new Star Wars trailer reveals plot-wise, its true “force” is surely located in the various sounds that infuse this perfectly constructed teaser.
French Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand presents Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (centre) with the highest decoration in France, Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, in 2011.
Wikimedia Commons