Clef Notes

For millions around the world, Christmas isn’t Christmas until they’ve heard the lone treble voice sing the opening verse of “Once in Royal David’s City” broadcast from King’s College Chapel in Cambridge. Every Christmas Eve since 1918, King's College has held a service called A Festival of Nine Lesson and Carols. Though it is now inextricably linked with King's and its renowned choir, you may be surprised to learn that the first service of this kind was actually held in Cornwall, not Cambridge.

Perhaps mice dancing to Tchaikovsky is not so far-fetched after all. Researchers from the University of Tokyo recently published a study in which they found that rats could keep the beat while listening to Mozart. Accurately moving to a musical beat was thought to be a unique innate human ability, but the findings of this study suggest that this ability may be more widespread among the animal kingdom than previously thought.

On November 17, the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra will present William Grant Still's Darker America alongside Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and other works. Not yet familiar with William Grant Still? Read on to learn more about this composer before attending the concert.

By now, you will have undoubtedly heard how pop superstar Lizzo played a crystal flute that once belonged to President James Madison. The singer, rapper, and classically trained flutist played the 200-year-old piece of American history under the watchful eye of security personnel from the Library of Congress, where the flute is held as part of the Library’s extensive musical instrument collection. But what is the history behind this rare instrument?

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH) return Sunday, November 6, with a concert featuring Dietrich Buxtehude's 1680 Passion-meditation, Membra Jesu Nostri. This is paired with To the Hands, Caroline Shaw's response to one of the movements of the Buxtehude. We sat down with BACH's music director, Dr. Sarah Riskind, to discuss both works and how this program came to be.