January 31, 2006
Ramblings
Joanna: I've started on my second chapter of my dissertation. I'm discovering that there's an ebb and flow in the dissertation process that helps keep it interesting (at least so far!). There are the stressful "I have to meet a deadline" or "I have so many revisions I don't even know where to start" or "I'm so completely stuck that maybe I should just throw everything out so far and start over times."
But there are also the reading and research and "I just discovered something new" or "I just made a connection between several ideas that illuminates many other things I've observed" or "I just got in touch with someone who got in touch with someone else who's mother knew this composer's best friend, and is able to give me an obscure piece of information I couldn't find anywhere else" (really happened!) times as well. I'm in the reading/research process at the moment, for my second chapter.
In a nut-shell, my dissertation examines the ways that 20th century American composers have reused American folk hymns in their "classical" music, specifically a kind known as shape-note hymns http://www.fasola.org
Within the historical context of the new compositions, the hymns become cultural symbols (nationalism, regionalism, pluralism, historical recreation, etc.).
Posted by Tim and Jo at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Paris pics!
Here are some of our pictures from our Summer Paris trip. If we really get our gumption up, we might even post our Paris entries from our "low-tech" chronicles! Now I want to go back!! I love the picture of the cute "frenchman" in a beret...heehee...
http://www.winkflash.com/photo/signin_es.aspx?es=0b155dce23c075585d2d22
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:06 PM | Comments (2)
weird website!
Okay, I'm still trying to figure this blog thing out, so I'm going to experiment with a few different entries. I found a hilarious website "The Museum of Burnt Food."
http://www.burntfoodmuseum.com/
I especially like the psychological analyses applied to the various charred masterpieces.
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
Woohoo!
We have a blog! Now to figure out how to use it...
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:14 AM | Comments (3)