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Music by Writers (4): Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll wrote two pieces of music that I know of. One was printed in his 1889 book Sylvie and Bruno; it was sung by Bruno in the 15th chapter. The other was a medley of tunes called “Miss Jones,”...
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Music by Writers (3): H. L. Mencken
The journalist, critic, and peerless prose stylist was also a pianist. He regularly played chamber music with his friends in Baltimore. And in his youth, he had aspirations as a composer. Isaac...
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Music by Writers (2): Edna St. Vincent Millay
I wasn’t surprised to learn that Edna St. Vincent Millay was musical, but I didn’t expect to find that she actually composed something. Here, though, is a “Resurrection Hymn” written for a performance...
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Music by Writers (1): Edward Lear
Many composers have also been excellent writers: Charles Ives, Erik Satie, Virgil Thomson, and George Antheil, for example. And some writers have pursued ambitious careers in music that rivaled their...
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TYPO 7
TYPO 7 is now available from Black Scat Books! I contributed a set of silent pieces (“Eleven Silent Études”); translations of two stories by Alphonse Allais (“Gaudissart Has Fun” and “The Theater of...
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An Afternoon in the Arboretum
An Afternoon in the Arboretum is now available on Bandcamp! This album contains solely instrumental music, mostly for keyboard, from as early as 1976 to as late as 2022. All selections were composed...
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The Art of Noises
My translation of The Art of Noises is now available from Black Scat Books! Luigi Russolo’s treatise on enriching music with noises was published in Milan in 1916. It contains his 1913 Futurist...
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It All Went Pfft
My new album, It All Went Pfft, is now available on Bandcamp! It includes 20 songs, plus the eponymous piano piece. The selections are: 1. Oh Dear, Oh Dear 2. Let’s Not Leave the House Anymore 3....
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A Combinatorial Psalter
The Psalter in Metre and Church Hymnary, was “prepared by a Committee consisting of representatives of the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, the United Presbyterian Church, and the...
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Profane Illuminations
I’ll be part of the lineup for Profane Illuminations, a day of talks at NYU organized by Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor Press. I’ll present my talk “Music from Elsewhere,” discussing and playing...
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Memorable Magazines (14): Army Navy Hit Kit
The Army Navy Hit Kit gave soldiers and sailors a folio of popular songs, in piano arrangements. It began in 1943, and was published monthly. It was never sold, and, for some reason, had no standard...
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Juan Miguel and His Jazz Guitar
An old scrapbook of musical instruments yielded this interesting picture of Juan Miguel and his “Jazz Guitar.” A Google search turned up nothing. It’s hard to believe that the elegant Juan and his...
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Illustrated Songbooks (3)
Chansons de France was published in 1928 by Librairie Plon. J. B. Weckerlin arranged the traditional songs, and M. B. de Monvel provided illustrations. The music is set within the pictures, standing...
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That Regrettable Weekend
That Regrettable Weekend contains 20 of my songs, plus the eponymous instrumental. You can find it on Bandcamp. I play soprano, banjo, and baritone ukuleles; keyboards; Tremoloa; Ukelin; bulbul;...
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Illustrated Songbooks (1)
The illustrated songbook is an appealing hybrid, now seldom seen, as fewer homes have a piano to stack them on, and fewer people read music. Many of these songbooks were meant for children, although...
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Musical Calling Cards
At one time, many people were musically literate, and music was printed on calling cards. These two examples are 1 1/2 by 2 3/4 inches, printed in black, and colored by hand. People had better eyesight...
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Anomalous Music
I will be presenting three programs of “Anomalous Music” at the Morbid Anatomy Museum. They will be in the form of informal talks, with musical examples on keyboard. Wednesday, March 25: Music from...
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A Musical Cipher
Thanks to this musical cipher, you can encode your secret messages as a rather rangy tune. Word breaks are indicated by accidentals. I found this in a box of prints; it came from an old...
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A Tribute to Les Blank
The Ullage Group is pleased to present a memorial screening of Les Blank’s short films. Sadly, Les died of bladder cancer this past April, leaving behind an astonishing film legacy that has been...
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Bobby Edwards, the Troubadour of Greenwich Village (17)
I’ve been posting information here, from time to time, on Bobby Edwards: a singer-songwriter who became somewhat of a local legend in Greenwich Village in the ‘teens and ‘twenties. He also made his...
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