the Magna Carta
Illuminated Manuscripts
Early MusicFriday, November 29th
Today’s original plan was to meet at the South Kensington station in the morning and go to Kew Gardens which are some beautiful botanical gardens here that include a palm house, lots of indoor green houses, and gardens outside as well. However, there was a misunderstanding as to which station to meet at, so it took us a while to find each other. It ended out working for the best because we decided not to go to the gardens, and to go to the British Library and a concert at the Royal Academy of Music instead.
We went to Kings Cross train station, and for the first time, I really saw it in the daylight from the outside. It really is very cool, with all brick exterior and a giant clock tower. Right next door is the British Library, where we went inside to check out the ‘Treasures’ exhibit, which holds lots of famous literary documents in their original form.
Here is a list of some of the things that I saw------
Classical Music
-Early Music- signs of direction in melody but no pitch- resembles illuminated manuscripts- all religious music
-‘Old Hall Manuscript’- one of the most important early English polyphonic music documents. Beginning to use complex rhythms and notes start to have shape and color
-Henry Purcell- ‘Autograph Score Book’ – a record of English court anthems from Chapel Royal in the 1680’s. Songs were both formal and informal written for James I.
-Henry Purcell- ‘1st Publication Venture’- this was a collection of sonatas dedicated to Charles II. He wanted to imitate Italian masters to encourage more serious music, as he loathed the popular French style.
-Motzart- ‘Horn Concerto in E-flat’
-Haydn- apparently he spent a lot of time in London in the 1790’s, and here we get the ‘London Symphonies.’ These were his last 12 symphonies, and an autograph score of one of them, symphony no. 96, was here in the library. It was first performed in 1791 and later named ‘The Miracle’ as at the premier the audience was almost hit by a chandelier.
-Beethoven’s Tuning Fork- this was given to George Bridgewater, who gave it to Haydn, who passed it to Holst, who passed it to Ralph Vaughn Williams, whose widow gave to the British Library… needless to say, it has passed through some pretty important hands…
-Schubert’s ‘An Die Musik’
-Elgar’s 3rd Symphony ‘A Sea Symphony’- this was commissioned for the BBC but he died in 1932 before it was finished. In the 1990’s a man named Anthony Payne picked it up and finished it, with the premier by the London BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1998. Here were a collection of the Elgar’s sketches that Payne used to finish the piece.
-Ralph Vaughn Williams- ‘Scott of the Antarctic’
the Beatles
A case was filled with sketches of lyrics from ‘Help!,’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Ticket to Ride,’ and ‘Hard Days Night.’ It also held records, eps, and other booklets.
Literature:
-Jane Austen’s ‘Volume the Third’ and ‘Persuasion’
-Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’
-Lewis Carrol’s Diary
-Oscar Wilde’s ‘Ballad of Reading Gaol’
-Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Excerpts from the Magna Carta
Science
-Works and sketches by DaVinci, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin
Illuminated Manuscripts from Bologna, Venice, Florence and Rome.
I saw some from Matteo Di Filippo Torelli (1356-1442) who was a monk at Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence- We studied a few pieces in the chapel in my art history class.
-also was able to see the Lindisfarne Gospels with the carpet pages, gold leaf, and intricate hand painted details from the monks.
-papyrus letters to the Hebrews
The collection also held literary works from other eastern cultures as well, however I don’t know much about any of those…
Today’s original plan was to meet at the South Kensington station in the morning and go to Kew Gardens which are some beautiful botanical gardens here that include a palm house, lots of indoor green houses, and gardens outside as well. However, there was a misunderstanding as to which station to meet at, so it took us a while to find each other. It ended out working for the best because we decided not to go to the gardens, and to go to the British Library and a concert at the Royal Academy of Music instead.
We went to Kings Cross train station, and for the first time, I really saw it in the daylight from the outside. It really is very cool, with all brick exterior and a giant clock tower. Right next door is the British Library, where we went inside to check out the ‘Treasures’ exhibit, which holds lots of famous literary documents in their original form.
Here is a list of some of the things that I saw------
Classical Music
-Early Music- signs of direction in melody but no pitch- resembles illuminated manuscripts- all religious music
-‘Old Hall Manuscript’- one of the most important early English polyphonic music documents. Beginning to use complex rhythms and notes start to have shape and color
-Henry Purcell- ‘Autograph Score Book’ – a record of English court anthems from Chapel Royal in the 1680’s. Songs were both formal and informal written for James I.
-Henry Purcell- ‘1st Publication Venture’- this was a collection of sonatas dedicated to Charles II. He wanted to imitate Italian masters to encourage more serious music, as he loathed the popular French style.
-Motzart- ‘Horn Concerto in E-flat’
-Haydn- apparently he spent a lot of time in London in the 1790’s, and here we get the ‘London Symphonies.’ These were his last 12 symphonies, and an autograph score of one of them, symphony no. 96, was here in the library. It was first performed in 1791 and later named ‘The Miracle’ as at the premier the audience was almost hit by a chandelier.
-Beethoven’s Tuning Fork- this was given to George Bridgewater, who gave it to Haydn, who passed it to Holst, who passed it to Ralph Vaughn Williams, whose widow gave to the British Library… needless to say, it has passed through some pretty important hands…
-Schubert’s ‘An Die Musik’
-Elgar’s 3rd Symphony ‘A Sea Symphony’- this was commissioned for the BBC but he died in 1932 before it was finished. In the 1990’s a man named Anthony Payne picked it up and finished it, with the premier by the London BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1998. Here were a collection of the Elgar’s sketches that Payne used to finish the piece.
-Ralph Vaughn Williams- ‘Scott of the Antarctic’
the Beatles
A case was filled with sketches of lyrics from ‘Help!,’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Ticket to Ride,’ and ‘Hard Days Night.’ It also held records, eps, and other booklets.
Literature:
-Jane Austen’s ‘Volume the Third’ and ‘Persuasion’
-Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’
-Lewis Carrol’s Diary
-Oscar Wilde’s ‘Ballad of Reading Gaol’
-Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Excerpts from the Magna Carta
Science
-Works and sketches by DaVinci, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin
Illuminated Manuscripts from Bologna, Venice, Florence and Rome.
I saw some from Matteo Di Filippo Torelli (1356-1442) who was a monk at Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence- We studied a few pieces in the chapel in my art history class.
-also was able to see the Lindisfarne Gospels with the carpet pages, gold leaf, and intricate hand painted details from the monks.
-papyrus letters to the Hebrews
The collection also held literary works from other eastern cultures as well, however I don’t know much about any of those…
We looked inside of here for just over an hour, and then left to head back over by my place to go to the Royal Academy of Music. One of the ensembles was performing a Vaughn Williams variety, including ‘English Folk Song Suite,’ which I have performed twice, and was able to see performed on organ at Westminster Abbey earlier this semester. I also met up with Shawn and Cody here.
After the concert, I separated from Becca and her mom for a little bit because I had to get some things done, so they went out to Harrods once more to get an AMAZING ice cream sundae. I on the other hand went to lunch with Shawn and Cody, and then to TESCO with Cody to pick up some groceries. I looked up some information in my room, got a few things done, and tried to call home to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, however had a terrible time trying to get a hold of anyone…
At about 4:15, Rachael and I got on the tube to head over to St. Pauls Cathedral, where Becca and her mom were going to meet us for Evensong. Somehow, when we transferred at Piccadilly Circus, we hopped on the tube, and I hear someone call my name. I look through the masses of people (as it was INCREDIBLY crowded since it was rush hour… we barely got on the train), and saw that it was Becca. What are the odds? Same timing, same station, same train, same car? Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
We got to St. Paul’s and I bought a book from the gift shop that explained the names of lots of sights in London, for example, the tube stops. I had my eye on this last time I was here, but decided not to get it. Changed my mind, and here I am.
Evensong was amazing, of course, and it was great to be back inside of the beautiful, and absolutely massive cathedral again. It was interesting seeing Becca’s mom too, because she followed a lot with Princess Diana and knew about her wedding here, and other events with her around London.
After Evensong, we walked a few blocks to a very rowdy pub to get some authentic fish and chips. We fought our way to the bar, and later found a booth to sit in. It was soo crowded and busy, with everyone coming off of work on a Friday night, but we made it. Becca had her first taste of Strongbow (an amazing beer that is half cider half beer) and we all really enjoyed our dinner. I don’t eat out much, so it was really good.
After the concert, I separated from Becca and her mom for a little bit because I had to get some things done, so they went out to Harrods once more to get an AMAZING ice cream sundae. I on the other hand went to lunch with Shawn and Cody, and then to TESCO with Cody to pick up some groceries. I looked up some information in my room, got a few things done, and tried to call home to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, however had a terrible time trying to get a hold of anyone…
At about 4:15, Rachael and I got on the tube to head over to St. Pauls Cathedral, where Becca and her mom were going to meet us for Evensong. Somehow, when we transferred at Piccadilly Circus, we hopped on the tube, and I hear someone call my name. I look through the masses of people (as it was INCREDIBLY crowded since it was rush hour… we barely got on the train), and saw that it was Becca. What are the odds? Same timing, same station, same train, same car? Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
We got to St. Paul’s and I bought a book from the gift shop that explained the names of lots of sights in London, for example, the tube stops. I had my eye on this last time I was here, but decided not to get it. Changed my mind, and here I am.
Evensong was amazing, of course, and it was great to be back inside of the beautiful, and absolutely massive cathedral again. It was interesting seeing Becca’s mom too, because she followed a lot with Princess Diana and knew about her wedding here, and other events with her around London.
After Evensong, we walked a few blocks to a very rowdy pub to get some authentic fish and chips. We fought our way to the bar, and later found a booth to sit in. It was soo crowded and busy, with everyone coming off of work on a Friday night, but we made it. Becca had her first taste of Strongbow (an amazing beer that is half cider half beer) and we all really enjoyed our dinner. I don’t eat out much, so it was really good.
After dinner, the three of us met up with Cody, Rachael, and Colin at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. It was filled with tacky rides, German Christmas markets, lots of good food, ice skating, and booths for selling craft items. We went on a Christmas Roller Coaster, and went through the room of mirrors and maze, which was pretty fun. Cody got a ridiculous candy apple that she painfully tried to eat for the majority of the evening and we all laughed at her and her red teeth. We were all getting pretty cold, so we went inside of a heated tent and got some hot chocolate and sat down for a while. I laughed a bit because there was no fireplace (as it was a giant fabric tent…), but they had plasma TVs with the image of a fire playing. I guess HD is the next best thing? haha
We were all pretty tired, so we left to go home and parted ways. Christmas is coming so soon!
We were all pretty tired, so we left to go home and parted ways. Christmas is coming so soon!
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