My fondest childhood memories are those during Christmas, especially the times my friends and I went around our neighborhood singing carols. We would count our money afterwards and place it in our piggy banks which will be opened on New Years' Eve. Although we sang popular English carols, most of us didn't know the lyrics. Luckily, nowadays you can just go online and find the lyrics of your beloved carols. Today we bring you not one, but several Christmas carols with lyrics that are in the public domain.
Composer of the Day
Leoš Janácek was a Czech composer of the 20th century who supported the nationalist tradition in music. He is primarily known for his operas, particularly "Jenùfa," a tragic story of a peasant girl. The said opera was completed in 1903 and performed the following year in Brno, Moravia's capital.
Today in Music History
On this day in 1836, composer Mily Balakirev was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Balakirev was the leader of a group of Russian composers called "The Mighty Five". He composed, among others, songs, symphonic poems, piano pieces and orchestral music. It has been mentioned that Balakirev had a reputation of being a tyrant which earned him many enemies during his lifetime.
Suggested Stocking Stuffer
Tune Buddies Music Makers DVD - Tune Buddies is a series of instructional movies in VHS and DVD formats that help introduce kids to various aspects of music. This particular DVD is an introduction to instrument families and comes with printable coloring pages.
Inside the Music Education Blogosphere
Dr. Debbie Cavalier of the Music, Education and Technology blog shares a wonderful gift for iPhone users.
