Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 
pauline viardot featured

The ‘Superhuman’ Voice of Pauline Viardot

Pauline Garcia Viardot (1821-1910) was one of the 19th century’s most versatile and influential opera stars. In his book 'Musical Memories,' CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS provides the most in-depth profile extant of Mme. Viardot.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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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
 

 

 
wings featured

Musical Wings to Transport the Soul

Considering the transportive effects of music, especially during a pandemic.
by David McGee
 

 
 
massenet featured

Musical Memories

From his MUSICAL MEMORIES memoir, CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS reflects on the legacy and standing of his Romantic-era contemporary, M. JULES MASSENET
by David McGee
 

 

 
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The Spiritual Side Of The Singer’s Art

An interview with opera singer MORGAN KINGSTON, circa 1917, in which he holds forth on 'The Spiritual Side of the Singer's Art'
by David McGee
 

 
 
fisk jubilee singers spotlight

The Fisk Jubilee Singers: Working On a Building

In 1871 the JUBILEE SINGERS of Nashville toured the northern states in hopes of raising funds to build a college. Bucking daunting odds against them, they succeeded and made Fisk University possible.
by David McGee
 

 

 
robert clara schumann spotlight 880x3851

A Day With Robert Schumann

IN this month's PLEASURES OF MUSIC, an 1884 report by May Byron on A DAY WITH ROBERT SCHUMANN. In this account, the author chronicles a day spent with the arch-Romantic composer, which includes some vivid scenes with Schumann's...
by David McGee
 

 
 
Jubilee Quartet featured

Fisk Jubilee Singers: From Whipping Post to Throne Room

The early struggles and ultimate triumph of the FISK JUBILEE SINGERS, as reported by JAMES M. TROTTER in his 1878 book profiling 'remarkable musicians of the colored race.' '
by David McGee
 

 

 
08

The Strange Adventures and Alluring Music of Alessandro Stradella

An exhaustive appreciation of Alessandro Stradella, one of the most enigmatic, colorful and gifted composers of the 17th Century, from whom Handel borrowed for Israel in Egypt and whose amorous inclinations led to his assassina...
by David McGee