Category: Music

New Math

New Math was a brief dramatic change in the way mathematics was taught in American grade schools during the 1960s.

Tom Lehrer wrote a satirical song named “New Math” around the process of subtracting 173 from 342 in decimal and octal.

The song is in the style of a lecture about the general concept of subtraction in arbitrary number systems, illustrated by two simple calculations, and highlights the emphasis on insight and abstract concepts of the New Math approach.

Lehrer’s explanation of the two calculations is entirely correct, but presented in such a way (at rapid speed, with minimal visual aids, and with snide remarks thrown in) as to make it difficult for most audience members to follow the rather simple calculations being performed.

Source: The full ‘New Math’ song by Tom Lehrer animated

Neanderthal

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany presented the world with a draft of the Neanderthal genome sequence.

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Neanderthal child

Some 200,000 years ago, our ancestors evolved in East Africa. They spread throughout the rest of the continent and then moved out into Asia and Europe. As they journeyed along coastlines and over mountains, they encountered Neanderthals and other human relatives. Interbreeding was a major feature of human evolution. Billions of people carry sizable chunks of DNA from Neanderthals and other archaic human relatives. Some of those genes may play important roles in our health today.

free ebook as pdf file

Sources: How Neanderthal Are You?, Interbreeding With Neanderthals

Joachim Neander (1650 – 31 May 1680) was born in Bremen, the son of a Latin teacher. His grandfather, a musician, had changed the family name from the original Neumann (‘New man’ in English) to the Greek form Neander following the fashion of the time. His most famous hymn is Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation (German: Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren).

In 1671 he became a private tutor in Heidelberg, and in 1674 he became a teacher in a Latin school in Düsseldorf. While living there, he liked to go to the nearby valley of the Düssel river, nature being the inspiration for his poems. The Neandertal (German thal for valley, modernized to tal) was renamed in his honor in the early 19th century, and became famous in 1856 when the remains of the Neanderthal Man (Homo neanderthalensis) were found there.

The name Homo neanderthalensis, “Neanderthal man” was first proposed by the Anglo-Irish geologist William King in 1864.

Water

An ancient Breton myth of an island, which sank into the sea and rose out of the water on clear mornings, inspired this prelude by Claude Debussy.

Ian Barton Stewart plays this prelude with a selection of his paintings connected with water and the sea, which he has chosen to resonate with the music.

Girls’ Choir

St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne has become the only cathedral in the southern hemisphere with a designated girls’ choir.

“The Cathedral believes that women and girls should be given the same opportunities for leadership and ministry in our Cathedral as men and boys: whether they aspire to be archbishops or choristers.”

The Dean of Melbourne, Dr Andreas Loewe, is delighted at the new venture. “Many cathedrals in Australia have mixed choirs. We are privileged in adding an entirely new choir to our traditional choir of boys and men, which has been leading choral weekday and Sunday services since 1888.”

Lowther Hall, which has a strong track record as a leading educator in arts and music, was chosen as the Cathedral Girls’ Choir School after a rigorous 18 month selection process.

The principal, Ms Elisabeth Rhodes, observes: “This is a significant milestone for our school and an appropriate recognition of girls and women within the Anglican Church. We are honoured to have been selected. It is a wonderful opportunity for the girls and will enhance Lowther Hall’s extensive range of musical offerings for our students.”

Hear the girls’ voices sing in St Paul’s

Four Quartets

Best known as a musical composition, the late string quartets of Beethoven are well known examples.

The quartet form has also lent itself to profound poetry such as TS Eliot’s Four Quartets.

This video shows Four Quartets in the form of paintings by Ian Barton Stewart.

Epiphany

Children celebrate Epiphany on January 6 and remember Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

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The Magi came “from the east” bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Although the account does not mention the number of Magi, the three gifts has led to the widespread assumption that there were three. In Eastern Christianity, especially the Syriac churches, the Magi often number twelve.

The three Magi developed distinct characteristics in Christian art, represented the three ages of man, and three geographical and cultural areas. Caspar is old, normally with a white beard, and gives the gold. Melchior is middle aged, giving frankincense. Balthazar is a young man, and gives myrrh. Their ages were often given as 60, 40 and 20 respectively.

Mostly in northern Europe, beginning from the 12th century, Balthazar is increasingly dark skinned.

The Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna was erected by Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel. It was dedicated in 504 AD to “Christ the Redeemer”.

Magi_Ravenna
The Three Magi, Byzantine mosaic c.565, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy (restored 18th century). As here Byzantine art usually depicts the Magi in Persian clothing which includes breeches, capes, and Phrygian caps

Music

Music and the arts are being recognized as crucial intellectual building blocks in the early years, closely linked to such cognitive functions as verbal linguistic development, spatial reasoning, complex problem solving in math and science, and the development of emotional intelligence.

Mounting evidence from the fields of education, cognitive neuroscience, and brain imaging has challenged our previous assumptions about intelligence and brain development in children.

This holds especially true in the early years of a child’s development.

The Marilyn Thomson Early Childhood Education Centre is developing and delivering innovative early childhood education programs, and digital early childhood education products for use in the home and classroom by parents, children and teachers.

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The Marilyn Thomson Centre is focused on providing parents, caregivers and teachers with the tools to give children an enhanced, educational experience and promote cognitive and social development through music and the arts.

The Marilyn Thomson Early Childhood Education Centre has been launched thanks to a generous gift from David, Peter, and Taylor Thomson, reflecting her lifelong involvement in music and her commitment to music education.

The Marilyn Thomson Centre is poised to significantly advance the reach and impact of early childhood development in Canada, and to be at the heart of one of today’s greatest opportunities: helping every child succeed through the power of music.

Dried Fruit

by Patrick & David Dower

‘Dried Fruit’ was recorded although the two collaborating brothers resided 3,000km apart.

The title ‘Dried Fruit’ was inspired by the torment this distance created during the recording process.

How could they share in the fruits of their labour when you cannot send fruit through the mail?

5 track album

Source: Dried Fruit, by Patrick & David Dower