Popular stories on MusicTales

1. 

   Songwriter

   Ferry Cross the Mersey: Merseybeat classic arranged by the Fifth Beatle

   Ferry Cross the Mersey is the best-known track of the Liverpool rock band Gerry and the Pacemakers released in the mid…

   February 24, 2021

2. 

   Technologies

   Pianola: the reproducing piano as the first Hi-Fi player and preservation capsule for recitals on piano rolls

   Long before the recording era, mankind was already looking for ways to play music automatically. The earliest known…

   August 3, 20191 comment

3. 

   Songwriter

   Sultans of Swing: how flamenco shaped Dire Straits' debut single

   Released in 1977, Sultans of Swing marked the remarkable inception of the English rock band Dire Straits propelling…

   September 8, 2023

4. 

   Orchestra

   Lully's Passacaglia of Armide revised by Bear McCreary in Outlander score

   The passacaglia is a slow dance that originated in Spain at the very beginning of the Baroque era, initially performed…

   November 22, 2020

5. 

   Viola

   Indecent Ciaconne dance came from the New World and swept Europe off its feet

   Chaconne or Ciaconne is a fiery dance popularized in Spain in 17th century which later gave birth to a new musical form…

   May 12, 2018

6. 

   Shehnai

   Shehnai oboe and its greatest virtuoso proclaimed the Indian Independence Act of 1947

   For several centuries most ceremonial or festive events in India, Pakistan, and Nepal have been accompanied by lively…

   April 24, 2019

7. 

   Vihuela

   Orphénica Lyra: the largest collection of vihuela music introduced by Miguel de Fuenllana

   Vihuela is a Renaissance-era musical instrument similar to a modern mini guitar. It is believed that the first vihuelas…

   August 31, 2019

8. 

   Sitar

   The sitar virtuoso who introduced Indian classic to the British parliament

   Budhaditya Mukherjee is one of the brightest virtuosos who to this day refines the rich legacy of Hindustani classics…

   May 26, 20191 comment

9. 

   Songwriter

   Bailamos: meaning and flamenco roots of Enrique Iglesias' hit

   Bailamos remains one of Enrique Iglesias' best-known songs originally recorded for his 1998 album Cosas del Amor but…

   October 9, 2021

10. 

    Choir

    The boundless Flemish heritage of Heinrich Isaac

    Heinrich Isaac (1450—1517) was a versatile and prolific Flemish composer of both secular and church music. He was a…

    September 25, 2018

11. 

    Sitar

    The tapped harmonics of Balaram Pathak's sitar

    Balaram Pathak was not only one of the most talented Indian classical musicians of the 20th century but also the mind…

    August 27, 2019

12. 

    Koto

    Michio Miyagi & Renée Chemet: near century-old collaboration of koto and violin linking Japanese traditions with Western classic

    In the first half of the 20th century, many Asian composers sought a way to represent their cultures on the global…

    June 9, 2019

13. 

    Songwriter

    Golden Slumbers: lyrical origins of the famous Beatles lullaby

    Golden Slumbers is a short song recorded by The Beatles for their 1969 album Abey Road. The track was written by Paul…

    August 9, 2021

14. 

    Songwriter

    Ramaya: the tonal workings of the famous African disco hit

    Ramaya is the best-known song of Mozambican street singer Afric Simone whose career took off in 1970s Europe when disco…

    November 2, 2021

15. 

    Classical Guitar

    Enrique Granados' dramatic voyage was cut short by a German U-boat

    Pantaléon Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña was one of the greatest pianists and composers of the Romantic period who…

    November 6, 2018

16. 

    Orchestra

    The transcendental experience behind classical orchestras conducted by Sergiu Celibidache

    Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian composer, musical theorist, and one of the most innovative conductors of the 20th…

    July 16, 20202 comments

17. 

    Orchestra

    Only 3 Mantras survived from Sanskrit opera Avatara by John Foulds

    One of the greatest areas of music history still remaining largely uncharted is the influence of Indian philosophy on…

    February 22, 2019

18. 

    Bansuri

    Pannalal Ghosh: magic flute came to the Indian classics from the river

    Born in Barisal, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) Pannalal Ghosh (1911–1960), was an Indian composer and virtuoso of the…

    August 15, 2018

19. 

    Songwriter

    Foxey Lady and the Hendrix chord

    Foxey Lady is one of the most distinctive Jimi Hendrix live songs played by him at almost every gig starting in 1967…

    November 8, 2020

20. 

    Classical Guitar

    Spanish guitar maestro who invented footstool wrote the Nokia tune

    Spanish maestro Francisco Tárrega had a colossal influence on the guitar development—in terms of both technical…

    July 10, 2018

21. 

    Songwriter

    Three Little Fishies: origin of the cautionary children's song

    Three Little Fishies is a well-known novelty song with cautionary tale lyrics that was first recorded by the Hal Kemp…

    March 14, 20211 comment

22. 

    Band

    CAN: from the mind of Czukay to the golden age of krautrock

    German band Can established themselves as pioneers of experimental avant-garde by seamlessly combining their influences…

    September 7, 2018

23. 

    Piano

    Miroirs: Ravel's piano suite that put his avant-garde friends to work

    Miroirs or Mirrors is an essential piano suite by the French impressionist Maurice Ravel, each movement of which is…

    April 14, 2021

24. 

    Double bass

    Giovanni Bottesini as most influential contrabass maestro of the Romanticism

    Giovanni Bottesini was an Italian composer and legendary contrabassist of the Romantic period whose work for solo…

    May 20, 2020

25. 

    Theorbo

    The first-ever music for solo theorbo by Kapsberger

    Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger was an Italian composer of German origin whose creative activity occupied the transition…

    September 10, 2020

26. 

    Technologies

    Pi for Piano in A minor

    Everyone knows that Pi is a mathematical symbol representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, but…

    May 22, 2018

27. 

    Songwriter

    Carpet Crawlers: two major modes of Genesis' last studio recording

    The Carpet Crawlers is an iconic song by the English progressive rock band Genesis recorded for their 1974 concept…

    October 1, 2021

28. 

    Songwriter

    Seven Seas of Rhye: song of imaginary land brought to life by Ionian and Mixolydian modes

    Seven Seas of Rhye first appeared as an instrumental track on Queen's 1973 self-titled debut album and later released…

    April 12, 2021

29. 

    Songwriter

    134340: BTS's cosmic anthem of heartbreak

    In 2018, the internationally acclaimed South Korean group BTS released their mesmerizing song 134340 as part of their…

    July 21, 2023

30. 

    Songwriter

    The Snows They Melt the Soonest survives through folk tradition

    The Snows They Melt the Soonest is a British folk song dating back to at least as far as 1821. It was mentioned, along…

    March 15, 2018