Music History - Part One

Some composers spotlighted -

• Josquin Des Prez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
  
• Claudio Monteverdi, Domenico Scarlatti and Antonio Vivaldi
  
• Christoph Willibald Gluck, Franz Josef Haydn and Mozart.
  
• Felix Mendelssohn, Gaetano Donizetti, Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann

Music History 101 is a wonderful resource and I highly recommend it to any music educator, aspiring or otherwise.

I got an interesting invitation a few weeks ago to view a new web site which was created as a result of a collaboration between high school students in Borlange, Sweden and The Bronx called, "Why is the Mona Lisa Smiling?" As I browsed through the site, I found some very interesting uses of technology. These inner-city multi-ethnic students managed to create this project in a classroom using the old 8088 computers and a single telephone line to the Internet. The site offers access equity for hearing impaired and it is viewable with any browser.

This interdisciplinary inquiry explores the mystery behind the smile of the Mona Lisa, and features original Da Vinci music, an interactive quiz, and a dozen Da Vinci diversions. You can even create your own quiz while you are visiting.

Further into the site, I noticed a page where you could send a customized card. Of course, I can't resist an opportunity to send an e-card. So I decided to try it out. After the card was sent, I noticed on the Thank You page that midi files were being requested. I thought of all the talent that many music educators have and wondered if any would be willing and ready to participate. If so, the e-mail address is midi@all-yours.net.