Thanks to elementary-school music classes and “Row, row, row your boat”, canon is a musical term that is pretty well known. Even if you didn’t pay attention in music class, you probably recognize the term from going to, basically, any and every wedding ever.

You can find canons throughout all of music history. To this day, student composers write canons as part of their training. Canons range from being super simple to outrageously complex.

Cesar Franck wrote canon into many of his works – this was a bit odd for the romantic era, which tended to favor emotion and drama over form and structure. Franck’s canons, however, perfectly fit the aesthetic of the romantic era, and never sound forced or out of place. His Sonata for Violin and Piano is a stunning work and favorite of violinists & pianists (and flutists, who also lay claim to this work.)

Interestingly, Franck’s most famous composition, also with a canon, can be heard alongside Pachelbel’s, at “any and every wedding ever.”

Need I say more?

John Williams is easily the most-performed living composer. In Art Music circles, you may see people turning their noses up at his music. Ignore those people. They are just jealous that there is an Art Music composer out there who is actually getting some attention. The truth of the matter is, you can’t get to where John Williams is without being awesome. So here’s the most popular and influential composer of our time, and his glorious music!

And here’s to the most popular and influential epic of our time!

December 17 is a day that I get to mentally relive one of my favorite high school memories – Saturnalia! For those of us in Latin Club, this was a day of great celebration. We were excused from class, and would walk around the school shouting “Io Saturnalia!” while pelting underclassmen with candy. It was a day of great learning for all.

Gustav Holst’s most famous piece is undoubtedly The Planets, a multi-movement work  which, despite the name, is more astrological than astronomical (think horoscopes or Roman gods). It’s a funny case of the large work titled after heavenly bodies, while the individual movements, like “Saturn – The Bringer of Old Age” bear mythological subtitles.

The music doesn’t tell a specific story, but instead paints a marvelous picture of gods, goddesses, and giant spheres of matter orbiting the sun. The work has practically defined what music about outer space should sound like, and its influence can be heard in any sci-fi or space themed movie.