. If you want to hear a collection of various styles of baroque choral music of the highest caliber, sans chorales, then the B-minor Mass should be your choice.

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My beloved Geejay gave me some DVDs for Christmas. I felt compelled to watch the one first that has a performance of the “St John Passion” by J.S. Bach. Most scholars agree that Bach’s “St Mathew Passion” is a greater masterpiece than his “St John Passion”, but both contain stunningly beautiful music. After its premiere, [...]

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Dogs came from wolves many thousands of years ago, and branched off from the wolf population due to human intervention. Subsequently many different breeds were created from the original dog. The evolution of the dog is a perfect example of what you might call “guided selection,” or “artificial selection.” The guiding force behind the selection [...]

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The three composers, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, are considered the triumvirate of composers of music in the classical style. Indeed, these three men gave us what is by far, the greatest music of their time. Schubert is sometimes added to these three names, though I won’t discuss him here for the following reasons. Schubert composed [...]

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A couple of days ago I decided to listen to Haydn’s so-called Oxford Symphony, having not heard it in a few years. I had almost forgotten what a delightful symphony it is. Haydn’s symphony no. 92, became known as the Oxford Symphony because he had it performed while he was at Oxford, receiving his honorary [...]

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People sometimes ask me why I am a vegetarian. To be sure, I am not a strict vegetarian, or vegan. I eat fish. I eat eggs and dairy products. Most people who know me know that I am a rather health-conscious individual, so they assume that I quit eating red meat for health reasons. That [...]

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Have you ever wondered why Jesus and Buddha each had 12 disciples? It has been said that the number 12 was chosen by writers because it is symbolic of the zodiac, and each disciple can be thought of as having been born under a different astrological sign. Thus  having 12 disciples is symbolic of being [...]

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The word “myth” is used in the vernacular in various ways, but usually people take it to mean something that is commonly believed, but not true. This is the intended meaning of the word when people speak of urban myths. The word also is taken to mean religious stories that have little or no basis [...]

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