{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1","title":"Music - Online Library of Liberty","home_page_url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/collections/music","feed_url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/rss/music.json","description":"From historic changes in form to the choice of what texts to set to music, the art of music has long been a vital force in the expression of the human desire for liberty.\n","language":"en","items":[{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart","title":"Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most gifted classical composers who died tragically young. Mozart was very much influenced by the Enlightenment and was active in Freemason circles in Vienna where enlightened ideas were discussed.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4679/Mozart.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/charles-sanford-terry","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/charles-sanford-terry","title":"Terry (Charles Sanford)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eTerry edited and commented in great detail on Bach’s Chorals in an edition published in 1915.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4591/Charles_Sanford_Terry.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/lorenzo-da-ponte","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/lorenzo-da-ponte","title":"Ponte (Lorenzo Da)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eA prolific Venetian librettist who wrote the libretto for Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (based upon a play by Beaumarchais) and Cosi fan tutte.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4680/Lorenzo_da_Ponte%2C_librettist.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/edmund-g-hurley","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/edmund-g-hurley","title":"Hurley (Edmund G.)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eHurley was the organist and choirmaster of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/images/egghead.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/antonio-ghislanzoni","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/antonio-ghislanzoni","title":"Ghislanzoni (Antonio)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eGhislanzoni was a writer, especially of libretti for opera. He was inspired by the liberal ideas of Mazzini during the 1848 revolution. He wrote scores of opera libretti in particular Verdi’s Aida (he also worked on The Force of Destiny and Don Carlos).\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4677/Antonio_Ghislanzoni.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-11-13-edmondson-christian-prudence-in-c-major","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-11-13-edmondson-christian-prudence-in-c-major","title":"Christian Prudence in C Major\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--png\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/746dd956e1a4cbe8e01aa691cb65a4f5.png\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/746dd956e1a4cbe8e01aa691cb65a4f5.png\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003eThe Avett Brothers at UMBC\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn recent months, financial services company Northwestern Mutual has used the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deg6oYsM0ac\"\u003echorus\u003c/a\u003e from a song by the Americana band “The Avett Brothers” in a commercial about managed wealth. The song, “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” soars: “I had a dream/ and one day I could see it.” For Northwestern Mutual it is a material dream, but for the band it has to do with \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGNTVK6ww0o\"\u003emoral objectivity\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2023-11-08T10:13:22-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/746dd956e1a4cbe8e01aa691cb65a4f5.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-04-11-mcgath-schillers-ode-to-joy-and-beethovens","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-04-11-mcgath-schillers-ode-to-joy-and-beethovens","title":"Schiller’s Ode to Joy, and Beethoven’s\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/679f32d0b17713983a46f4a00d96b3f5.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/679f32d0b17713983a46f4a00d96b3f5.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003eAllegory of Joy and Melancholy (detail) Abraham Janssens, 1628\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn December 24 and 25, 1989, Leonard Bernstein led concerts celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. They included \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/ludwig-van-beethoven\"\u003eLudwig van Beethoven\u003c/a\u003e’s Ninth Symphony, in which solo singers and a chorus present part of \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/friedrich-schiller\"\u003eFriedrich Schiller\u003c/a\u003e’s “An die Freude” (Ode to Joy). For this occasion, \u003ca href=\"https://leonardbernstein.com/about/conductor/historic-concerts/berlin-wall-concert-1989\"\u003eBernstein made a slight but important change in the words\u003c/a\u003e, replacing “Freude” with “Freiheit” (freedom).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2023-04-03T 2:50:26-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/679f32d0b17713983a46f4a00d96b3f5.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2022-08-24-verdi-s-don-carlo-the-beginnings-of-religious-liberty","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2022-08-24-verdi-s-don-carlo-the-beginnings-of-religious-liberty","title":"Verdi’s Don Carlo: The Beginnings of Religious Liberty\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/685a8e72e2e11bc9e9609b332e15a895.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/685a8e72e2e11bc9e9609b332e15a895.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003ePoster advertising the first performance of Don Carlos\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Protestant Reformation threw 16th-century Europe into turmoil. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also the king of Spain, tried to maintain Catholic power in the face of religious schisms. Suffering from poor health and worn down by the conflicts, he abdicated from both thrones in 1556 and died soon afterward. His son Philip II of Spain took a firm line against Protestantism, which had taken root in the Spanish-held Low Countries\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2022-08-22T11:15:31-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/685a8e72e2e11bc9e9609b332e15a895.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/McGath-Figaro-Aristocracy","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/McGath-Figaro-Aristocracy","title":"The Marriage of Figaro and the Fall of the Aristocracy\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/0aeea5a95b7c4a185ac6c473eef39dfd.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/0aeea5a95b7c4a185ac6c473eef39dfd.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003ePlaybill for a performance of The Marriage of Figaro\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart\"\u003eMozart \u003c/a\u003ewanted to make his name known to Vienna’s opera-going public, he made a daring choice. He had Lorenzo Da Ponte write a libretto based on a controversial play by \u003ca href=\"https://files.libertyfund.org/files/1563/Beaumarchais_0896.pdf\"\u003ePierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais\u003c/a\u003e. Like the play, the opera was called \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/beaumarchais-mozart-s-opera-marriage-of-figaro\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Marriage of Figaro\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2022-05-27T11:09:38-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/0aeea5a95b7c4a185ac6c473eef39dfd.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/McGrath-Fidelio-Beethoven","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/McGrath-Fidelio-Beethoven","title":"Fidelio: Beethoven’s Hymn to Freedom\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/f9d61fcee7c19a2ab84720209ec09826.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/f9d61fcee7c19a2ab84720209ec09826.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption\"\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeethoven’s opera \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/beethoven-beethovens-opera-fidelio-german-text-with-an-english-translation?html=true\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFidelio\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e, which dates from 1805, addresses issues which are just as important today. Its plot concerns a whistleblower whom a corrupt prison governor has “disappeared.” His wife, Leonore, disguises herself as a young man named Fidelio and gets a job in the prison to find out if he is still alive.\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2022-05-13T 4:13:59-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/f9d61fcee7c19a2ab84720209ec09826.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/giuseppe-verdi","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/giuseppe-verdi","title":"Verdi (Giuseppe)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eGiuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) is one of the most important opera composers. His liberal political views and his strong Italian nationalism colored many of his works.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4385/Verdi.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/ludwig-van-beethoven","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/ludwig-van-beethoven","title":"Beethoven (Ludwig van)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was one of the great European classical composers of the first half of the 19th century. He wrote a number of politically inspired works including an opera Fidelio which had as one of its themes the issue of individual liberty.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4676/Beethoven.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais","title":"Beaumarchais (Pierre Augustin Caron De)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003ePierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) was a watchmaker and a court musician, before he turned to writing plays. He is best known for having dared to publish Voltaire and two anti-aristocratic plays of his own - \u003cem\u003eThe Barber of Seville\u003c/em\u003e (1775) and \u003cem\u003eThe Marriage of Figaro\u003c/em\u003e (1781). During the American Revolution he acted on behalf of the French crown to supply guns and other weapons to the American revolutionaries.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4121/438px-DeBeaumarchais.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/leonard-woolsey-bacon","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/leonard-woolsey-bacon","title":"Bacon (Leonard Woolsey)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eBacon edited a collection of Luther’s hymns.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4273/Leonard_Woolsey_Bacon.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-10-20-mcgath-marriage-of-figaro","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-10-20-mcgath-marriage-of-figaro","title":"The Marriage of Figaro: Banned in France\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/1f9d0d9793e21a9b02376d6a90f0fe3d.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/1f9d0d9793e21a9b02376d6a90f0fe3d.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003eMariage de Figaro by Golovin\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So it will never be performed?” said the queen. “Certainly not,” said Louis XVI. “You may be sure of that.”\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2023-10-16T 1:03:50-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/1f9d0d9793e21a9b02376d6a90f0fe3d.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/johann-sebastian-bach","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/johann-sebastian-bach","title":"Bach (Johann Sebastian)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eBach was one of the most prolific and original composers in the Western classical tradition. His cantatas, passions and oratorios played an important part in Lutheran church music.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4590/Bach.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/thierry-on-the-need-for-songs-about-our-lost-liberties-which-will-act-as-a-barrier-to-encroaching-power-1845","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/thierry-on-the-need-for-songs-about-our-lost-liberties-which-will-act-as-a-barrier-to-encroaching-power-1845","title":"Thierry on the need for songs about our lost liberties which will act as a barrier to encroaching power (1845)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eOh! could we from death but recover\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThose hearts as they bounded before,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the face of high heav'n to fight over\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat combat for freedom once more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCould the chain for an instant be riven\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhich tyranny flung round us then,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNo; ‘tis not in man, nor in Heaven,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo let Tyranny bind it again!\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut ‘tis past—and, tho’ blazon’d in story\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe name of our victor may be,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccurst is the march of that glory\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhich treads ‘er the hearts of the free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFar dearer the grave or the prison,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIllumed by one patriot name,\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThan the trophies of all who have risen\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn liberty’s ruins to fame.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2010-02-22T 3:00:20-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4388/thierry-augustin.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/j-s-bach-and-martin-luther-on-how-god-the-feste-burg-helps-us-gain-our-freedom-1730","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/j-s-bach-and-martin-luther-on-how-god-the-feste-burg-helps-us-gain-our-freedom-1730","title":"J.S. Bach and Martin Luther on how God (the “feste Burg”) helps us gain our freedom (1730)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eA stronghold sure our God remains,\n A shield and hope unfailing;\n In need His help our freedom gains,\n ‘er all we fear prevailing.\n Our old malignant foe\n Would fain work us woe.\n With craft and great might\n He doth against us fight;\n On earth is not one like him.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2007-12-02T 7:00:00-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4590/Bach.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/beethoven-s-hero-florestan-in-the-opera-em-fidelio-em-laments-the-loss-of-his-liberty-for-speaking-the-truth-to-power-1805","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/beethoven-s-hero-florestan-in-the-opera-em-fidelio-em-laments-the-loss-of-his-liberty-for-speaking-the-truth-to-power-1805","title":"Beethoven’s hero Florestan in the opera Fidelio laments the loss of his liberty for speaking the truth to power (1805)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eAlas! what darkness dense!\n What horrid stillness!\n Here in this dark tomb, is nothing known\n But my deep anguish! Oh, most cruel torture!\n Oh, Heavenly Providence, how much longer\n Will this my misery last!\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e In the bright morning of life\n My liberty, alas! was lost:\n These chains are the reward\n Of true and open speaking.\n But what avails my lamentations?\n Hopeless is my condition:\n The only solace for my torments\n Rests on my conscious innocence.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2009-07-05T 8:00:00-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4676/Beethoven.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/bach-asks-god-when-will-i-die-1700","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/bach-asks-god-when-will-i-die-1700","title":"Bach asks God “when will I die”? (1700)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003e1) Liebster Gott, wann werd’ ich sterben?\u003cbr\u003e\nMeine Zeit läuft immer hin,\u003cbr\u003e\nUnd des alten Adams Erben,\u003cbr\u003e\nUnter denen ich auch bin,\u003cbr\u003e\nHaben dies zum Vatertheil,\u003cbr\u003e\nDass sie eine kleine Weil\u003cbr\u003e\nArm und elend sein auf Erden.\u003cbr\u003e\nUnd dann selber Erde werden.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e[Dearest God, when will I die?\u003cbr\u003e\nMy time runs away continually,\u003cbr\u003e\nand the old legacy of Adam,\u003cbr\u003e\nwhich includes me as well,\u003cbr\u003e\nhas this as its inheritance;\u003cbr\u003e\nfor a little time\u003cbr\u003e\nto be poor and wretched on the earth\u003cbr\u003e\nand then to become earth itself.]\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e6) Herrscher uber Tod und Leben,\u003cbr\u003e\nMach’ einmal mein Ende gut,\u003cbr\u003e\nLehre mich den Geist aufgeben\u003cbr\u003e\nMit recht wohlgefasstem Muth.\u003cbr\u003e\nHilf, dass ich ein ehrlich Grab\u003cbr\u003e\nNeben frommen Christen hab’\u003cbr\u003e\nUnd auch endlich in der Erde\u003cbr\u003e\nNimmermehr zu Schanden werde.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e[Sovereign over death and life,\u003cbr\u003e\nmake my end a good one,\u003cbr\u003e\nteach me to resign my spirit\u003cbr\u003e\nwith a well-composed courage.\u003cbr\u003e\nHelp, that I might have an honorable grave\u003cbr\u003e\nnext to righteous Christians\u003cbr\u003e\nand also at last, in the earth,\u003cbr\u003e\nnevermore be dishonored!]\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2012-02-09T 9:52:13-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4590/Bach.jpg"}]}