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Frank Belair
Musica Sacra, Latin for "sacred music," Chorus and Orchestra performs sacred choral masterworks. It is the ensemble-in-residence at Rockhurst University, presented under the auspices of The Center for Arts and Letters and led by musical director and conductor Dr. Timothy L. McDonald. The fall 2023 and spring 2024 performances will take place in person in Arrupe Hall auditorium.
All of us at Albany Pro Musica are concerned about the health and well-being of people in our community and around the world as we face the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. In order to ensure that our singers and audience members stay safe, our 2020-21 season will be entirely virtual, with an exciting series of musical offerings that will be available free. Check back soon for a full schedule of events!
You can help Albany Pro Musica weather this storm by making a tax-deductible donation online. Your support is critical during this difficult time, and we appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we all adapt to these new challenges.
This Cirque-style musical production celebrates Heroes & Villains from movies to comics to television. Some of the greatest performers from around the world will keep you spellbound as you celebrate the world of Heroes & Villains with powerful music from your OKCPHIL!
Diabolus in Musica means "The Devil in Music". In medieval times, high clergymen had a habit of debating esoteric theological themes - such as "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?". They applied their mental machinations to music, too, and one of the ideas they came up with was that there was a true representation, in music, of the Holy Trinity. It was, of course, the musical interval produced by adding three pure tones - representing the Three in One. What you get if you try it is the interval of the augmented fourth, or tritone. Try it on a piano, if you like. Play a C and an Fsharp together. To the modern ear, it's not a nice sound. OK to produce a passing scrunch in jazz, but not something you'd want to hear repeatedly unless you were watching a horror film.
The medieval ear was used to hearing perfect fourths and perfect fifths - and perfectly in tune, too, unlike the modern equal-tempered scale. The augmented fourth, being half-way between the two most common pure intervals, was about the worst discord imaginable. So this idea about the representation of the Trinity was a nice thought, but it doesn't work, so let's forget it. Oh no. It fitted in with Plato, notions of the Harmony of the Spheres, and other esoterica. The theory had to be right. There was something sour and evil lurking at the heart of music itself. What had happened was that when the rules of harmony were laid down at the creation of the Universe, Satan had crept in and corrupted the image of the Trinity.
The tritone was therefore labelled "Diabolus in Musica", and comprehensively banned from church music. No self-respecting church composer would ever write one anyway, because it was 'orrible. But then there was Musica Ficta (if your brain's hurtingby now, have a cup of tea and come back). This was a technique used by experienced singers of churchpolyphony, whereby they would occasionally sharpen or flatten a written note, on the fly, tobeautify their own vocal line. There were elaborate and strict rules about how and when itshould be done, but singers often got caught up with the flow (polyphonic singing is a drug)and followed their inclinations rather than the church edicts. And were then severely carpetedfor accidentally singing a Diabolus in Musica against the next bloke's line.
We chose the name partly because we have a penchant for the ludicrous, and partly because our first paid gig in around 1989 (ah, the passing of youth!)was providing incidental music for a very weird two-man play called "Noonday Demons", by Peter Barnes.
Then there was "Slayer". For the benefit of early music buffs, Slayer is an American "thrash metal rock band". You really don't want to know what that means. Your ears couldn't take it. Neither could mine. Anyway, they dug up the same phrase for an album of thrash, and now we get regular hits on this site from Slayer fans. Hi, guys!
The collection of musical forms, styles, and genres known as msica Tejana evolved primarily in South Texas during the 19th century. As immigrants moved into Mexican Texas, they brought their unique musical heritages with them. Over time, the indigenous Mexican music incorporated rhythms from French dance music, German polkas, Latin American mambos, and other European and African traditions. Non-traditional Mexican musical instruments such as the accordion, violin, saxophone, and the 12-string bajo sexto bass guitar became standard accompaniment for soloists or small groups of vocalists.
Texas Mexican music continued to evolve as both a European-influenced and distinctly Tejano form that reflected its border history. Specific musical styles such as corridos (ballads), conjuntos (ensembles), rancheras (rural-life songs), and cumbias (rhythmic dance songs) narrated the lives and challenges of people living along the south Texas-northern Mexico border.
There were a number of female artists who performed rancheras, cumbias, and other popular song styles throughout south Texas. The sister duo, Carmen y Laura (Hernndez), from Kingsville, enjoyed tremendous popularity during the 1940s and 1950s.
During the Chicano Movement, Ruben Ramos and The Mexican Revolution played the Chicano circuit from Dallas-Fort Worth to the Rio Grande Valley, recording a number of albums. By 1981, "Tejano" had become the new term for this style of music. Ramos changed the band name from The Mexican Revolution to The Texas Revolution, linking the Tejano identity with Texas.
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