As parents we have the privilege of selecting the soundtrack of our children’s childhood. What we choose to have our children feast their ears upon has the power to season their aural palate and influence taste in music for the rest of their lives. The gravity of this responsibility can sometimes feel daunting but, like […]
Author: Genie
A 12 Days of Christmas Introduction to Instruments
Merry Christmas, y’all!! To celebrate the twelve days of Christmastide leading up to the arrival of the Magi on Epiphany, I’ve compiled the short piece list below. For each day there is a carol that features a specific instrument for your family to become more familiar with, in hopes that eventually its unique timbre (sound quality) […]
Awaiting the Messiah: A Musical Advent Calendar {Week 4}
Wow! We are already to Week 4! I can’t tell you what a pleasure it has been to share this Advent and Handel’s Messiah with y’all. I pray this is a devotion you will want to return to with your family year after year. If you have just found us, please go ahead and jump […]
Awaiting the Messiah: A Musical Advent Calendar {Week 3}
Welcome back to our Advent journey with Handel’s Messiah. I’m so glad to have you here for Week 3. If you are joining us for the first time, just jump on in, the weeks and days do not need to build on each other for your family to benefit from this devotion. Your family can begin […]
Music for the Feast of St. Nicholas
On this day, three hundred years ago, J. S. Bach’s Cantata, Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet! (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!, BWV 70a) was debuted in Weimar, Germany. That being said, this piece would be a lovely choice for #FestalFreeListening this afternoon (“Concert Hour”), as dinner music this evening, or played as part of the soundtrack of a […]
Awaiting the Messiah: A Musical Advent Calendar {Week 2}
Welcome to Week 2 of our Advent journey with Handel’s Messiah. If you are joining us for the first time, just jump on in reading and listening to each day’s selection, and enjoying this week’s music appreciation lesson with you family! For the full list of ways to participate and a little bit of background, you […]
Awaiting the Messiah: A Musical Advent Calendar {Week 1}
Welcome to Week 1 of our musical advent calendar, Awaiting the Messiah! Thank you for joining us!
As a real quick summary, each day of Advent has movements of Handel’s oratorio, Messiah, assigned to it. I have provided videos of the pieces, the Scriptures each piece was inspired by, the sung text, a Spotify list of the week’s movements, and a music appreciation lesson, fit for the whole family, based on a single movement each week. This devotion is meant to be very flexible for families of all ages and sizes. Some may only want to read the Bible verses and listen to the pieces. Others may want to try all the activities below. Do what will work for and help your family grow closer to the Lord this season – everything else is straw. If you just found us and would like more background on this devotion, please visit the Overview post from last week.
Awaiting the Messiah: A Musical Advent Calendar {Overview}
The trembling baroque vibrato of strings, the challenging vocal runs, the stirring scriptural text that begs a physical response, since it’s 1742 performance in Dublin, George Frederic Handel’s most popular oratorio, Messiah, has captivated audiences and is now synonymous with Christmas. However, with its prophetical text that spans the old testament foretelling of Jesus’ birth and […]
6 Free Resources for Classical Music
So you have made the leap to pursue the study of music with your children. I’m truly excited for y’all and the new learning journey on which you are about to embark. You have your easy teaching method as a map to guide you, and now all you need is to pick a piece of […]
Transfiguration Grape Galette and Other Fruit Goodies
Traditionally, grapes and other first fruits from summer, are blessed on the Feast of the Transfiguration. An easy way to commemorate this feast at home is to serve fruit in some way. A few low energy ideas are fruit kabobs, fruit salad, fruit with dip, fruit smoothies, frozen fruit ice lollies, etc… If you have […]