Discovering Music with Professor Carol

Gaudete! Rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always!” That’s the watchword for this Third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday. The festive name comes directly from a passage of Phillipians 4:4. Gaudete in Domino semper iterum dico gaudete. Rejoice in the Lord. Always I say to you rejoice! “Gaudete” is actually the imperative form of [...]

Bombarded by the vivid colors of our modern society (starting with images on computer screens), we easily lose our sense of nature’s colors. Advent gives us a chance to appreciate the beauty of the winterscape and to enjoy one of winter’s most enticing colors: the evergreen. In particular, let’s consider two evergreens linked with Christmas: [...]

My mother called it a crèche. I wondered what kind of a word crèche was, but didn’t ask. Ours had a rickety wooden stable and an even more rickety pressboard manger. The figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, two sheep, a camel, two shepherds, and a token Wise man were made of soft ceramic.  Best of all was [...]

Bells! Now, here’s a beautiful (and serious) topic. Bells are ancient. They are used virtually everywhere in the world. And they have played important roles throughout history, especially to sound alerts in times of danger. Plus, consider the mechanics and chemistry of casting bells – especially bells that weigh hundreds of pounds! Let’s think primarily [...]