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I think my title is a pun in Greek! Hemiola and hemophilia both come from ancient Greek, but from different words. Hemiola comes from ἡμιόλιος meaning "one and a half" and it refers to the practice o
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The “Dégringolade” of It All
Dégringolade is a French word meaning to tumble down, to decline. Jacques Barzun wrote a very large book titled From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life in which he traces the fortunes of Western civil
Respect for Musicians
Now that I am retired as a professional performing musician, I think I can speak up for them without it being categorized as "special pleading". I really hate special pleading which Wikipedia defines
Active vs Passive
I just ran across this fascinating quote on the Ghost of a Flea:"But the problem with readers, the idea we’re given of reading is that the model of a reader is the person watching a film, or watching television. So th
Instinctive Composition
One of the most interesting and puzzling questions about music composition is whether it is instinctive or planned. A great deal of what we do in music is rehearsed in meticulous detail. As a visual
Bach vs Beethoven
Most lists of the greatest composers start with two names: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827). Usually Bach is first and Beethoven is second as in the list tha
Townsend: Long Lines of Winter Light
Way back in September 2011 I put up a post called "History of a Composition" that discussed a piece I wrote for guitar orchestra. I have just come across a recording of that piece so I have prepared a clip of it. The or
