Sheet Music of the Week: Curiosity 1901 Edition

"A signal from Mars," by Raymond Taylor. Arranged by E.T. Paull. New York: E. T. Paull Music Co., 1901.

The intelligent universe has been fascinated with the images coming from Tuesday’s landing of Curiosity, the new Mars rover.  Man’s fascination with celestial objects is as old as civilization itself, and 20th century musical ruminations on the planets range from Holst’s 1916 orchestral suite The Planets to jazz iconoclast Sun Ra’s “Interplanetary Music” on the 1967 album We travel the spaceways   to Paul McCartney and Wings’  1975 album Venus and Mars. But 20th century musical space may have been rung in by Raymond Taylor’s 1901 piece.  ”A signal from Mars” describes exactly what the world has been watching for this week, and  is it just a coincidence that the piece is arranged by “E. T.” Paull?

Sheet Music of the Week: Lollapalooza Edition

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “lallapaloosa” as “something outstandingly good of its kind.” The term has its origins in American slang from the turn of the 20th century, but its most popular spelling variation is associated with a music festival of more recent vintage. Music fans converge on Chicago this weekend for the 2012 Lollapalooza. …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Now I Lay Me Down to Funk Edition

The children’s prayer that begins,  ”Now I lay me down to sleep”  dates back to an 18th century New England primer, but its musical life has followed a surprising path over the more than two centuries since.  From heavy metal (Metallica)  to hip-hop (The Notorious B.I.G.) to indie rock (Liz Phair), the iconic words have …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Girl Scout Edition

On Saturday, June 9th, the Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capitol will host a song fest on the National Mall.  With 200,000 girls and adults expected, this will not be an ordinary songfest by any stretch of the imagination.  Rock the Mall , as the event is called, is a birthday celebration on behalf of …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Transit of Venus Edition

As seen from the Earth, the planet Venus will move across the face of the sun on June 5, 2012. This week’s featured sheet music celebrates this rare orbit with John Philip Sousa’s commemorative march, part of a Transit of Venus presentation created in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia with the help of  NASA scientist Sten …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Dark Shadows Edition

Fans of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows were saddened by the death last week of star Jonathan Frid, who played the vampire Barnabas Collins.  This week’s featured sheet music does not speak of vampires or other shadowy figures. But its lyrical plea to “meet me in the shadows” is at once romantic and sinister, and …

Read more »

Sheet music of the week: It’s STILL Cherry Blossom Time Edition

The following is a guest post by Sharon McKinley, Senior Music Cataloger. The blossoms themselves have been gone for weeks already; it was one of the earliest seasons ever. But the Centennial of the National Cherry Blossom Festival is still going strong, all the way through April 27, and we thought we’d help keep the …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Great Mustaches of the Old Country Edition

In the Muse presumes that the stereotyped Germans pictured in this illustration to Paul Rubens’ composition, “The German cake walk”  are simply performing the titular dance. But the action in this scene is potentially ambiguous. Is the mustachioed man running away from an amorous Fraulein, or simply leading her in an impromptu march? Why does …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Long Distance Spooning Edition

In the days before Skype and IMs, human communication over great distances was transmitted in a charmingly antiquated manner.  In this week’s featured Sheet Music, the singer reassures his far away beloved that “I think I’ve found a way/We can spoon each day.” “Shut your eyes and make believe” was transmitted from the pens of …

Read more »