Dancing the Dance of Stars and Space

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides a spectacular image of the bright star-forming ring that surrounds the heart of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097. Also: Like a ship plowing through still waters, the giant star Zeta...
by David McGee
 

 
 

‘Footlights,’ Chaplin Novella, Discovered, Restored, Seeking Publisher

FOOTLIGHTS, the only work of prose fiction ever written by CHARLIE CHAPLIN, has been pieced together from handwritten notes, typed scripts and vignettes and now seeks a publisher. Any takers out there?
by David McGee
 

 

 

Marvin Gaye Sings a Christmas Song

The story behind MARVIN GAYE's 'I Want to Come Home for Christmas,' a Vietnam Vet's appeal.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Chaplin on Music

Beginning with 1923's 'A Woman of Paris,' CHARLIE CHAPLIN was involving himself closely in the musical accompaniment for his films, and eventually took full control in order to 'compose elegant and romantic music to frame my co...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Expressing the Power and Beauty of Difference

A powerful commentary on migration, refugees and human rights, the multicultural RAFIKI JAZZ's third album, HAR DAM SAHARA, speaks eloquently to our time.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Passionate Style

Italian composer, gambist, and singer Claudio Giovanni Monteverdi is often regarded as revolutionary in that his work marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two ind...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Dramatic, Innovative, Profoundly Moving

The first recording of JAMES MACMILLAN's examination of the events following Christ's crucifixion, SINCE IT WAS THE DAY OF PREPARATION, is a triumph.
by David McGee
 

 
 

SUNRISE – 1927

DEEP ROOTS THEATER: Now Playing--'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans,' F.W. Murnau's silent classic from 1927, with extra added attraction 'Sinkin' n the Bathtub,' the first Looney Tunes cartoon, starring Bosko and Honey (1930).
by David McGee
 

 

 

Ought It Not To Be a Merry Christmas?

CHRISTMAS DURING THE CIVIL WAR: 'Even with all the sorrow that will forever hang, over so many households; ought it not to be, and is it not, a merry Christmas?'
by David McGee
 

 
 

To Dream Like an Angel

Under the direction of BERNARD LABADIE, LA CHAPELLE DE QUEBEC's THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS will light your way, all through the days--nay, years--ahead.
by David McGee
 

 

 

‘It Must Have Been the Mistletoe’: Mandrell Knew It Was Cool Before It Was Cool

"It Must Have Been the Mistletoe,' written by JUSTIN WILDE and DOUG KONECKY, has become a contemporary seasonal standard, but it wasn't an easy sell. The story behind the song follows.
by David McGee
 

 
 

From Advent to Epiphany

Classical editor ROBERT HUGILL rounds up the best in Classical Christmas albums for 2016.
by David McGee