Did you ever hear a piece and think, I know this tune, but these aren’t the words I’m used to?

French fashion … yeah …

Anyway, whether or not you recognize any of these French carols, the music is quite catchy, largely because of its origin as secular song. Charpentier, like a good Frenchman of the old monarchy of puffy wigs and silly shoes, makes exquisite, elegant work out of everyday melodies.

Merry Christmas!

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.”

This magical piece for piano by Claude Debussy should give you some good shivers as we approach the shortest day of the year and prepare for the deep winter season. Once you’ve read the title “The Snow is Dancing”, it’s nearly impossible not to hear the gentle flakes falling from the sky, layering on top of one another until your vision is obscured into a sea of white. If this makes you shiver, your heart will warm when you learn that the composer wrote this and other pieces in a set called Children’s Corner, which he dedicated to his infant daughter.