Singing With Angels

A prized possession of the Cistercian convent of Marienbrunn in Rulle near Osnabruck in northern Germany was its richly illuminated gradual dating to c. 1300, which is of great significance in the history of medieval art for several reasons. With 52 historiated initials iconographically complex in their literary quotations from the liturgy, the manuscript ranks as one of the most lavishly decorated books of its type to survive. Painted in an elegant courtly Gothic style, it is ascribed in a prefatory inscription to the nun Gisela von Kerssenbrock, who wrote, notated, and decorated the manuscript "with golden letters and beautiful images." Such an encyclopedic listing of a scribe-artist's labors is unparalleled in medieval scribal colophons. The high quality of the miniatures ranks her among the most gifted women artists of the Middle Ages. Gisela is depicted in two self-portraits within the manuscript, in one of which she is leading the nuns of Rulle in singing the Christmas hymn, visual evidence that she was the choirmistress at this convent. The manuscript's images reflect the intellectual ambience of encloistered nuns who were steeped in the annual liturgical cycle of feasts with its associated bible readings, theological commentary, sermons, music, dramatic ritual, and artistic decoration. As it was used in the nuns' daily celebration of the mass, the book is an eloquent witness of the communal religious life of medieval women rather than their private meditations or mystical experiences.This study explores the imagery and texts associated with major feasts of the liturgical year and the novel ways in which music and text are woven into the artistic program of Gisela's manuscript. In particular, her book shows the seminal importance of the Easter celebration for convent life, as well over half of its illustrations are clustered in the Easter season; and the manuscript repeatedly gives artistic expression to the nuns' hopes of heaven.

Beautiful Funeral Guest Book, the American Flag with light from behind it forming a Cross. It Has pages for the deceased's personal details, family details, pallbearers and over 100 pages for guests to fill out with their name and address details as well as space for their personal memories and condolences. Very tasteful with a small black heart at the top of each page. The pages are lined for people to easily fill out. Suitable for all funerals and memorial services. Softcover 8.25" x 6" size with 108 pages.

Hans Memling's God the Father with Singing and Music-making Angels formed the upper register of an enormous polyptych painted for the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria la Real in Najera, Spain. The three large panel paintings are undoubtedly among the most monumental works of early Netherlandish painting. Since 1895 they have belonged to the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), where a team of conservators and scholars have devoted themselves in recent years to their complex conservation. To mark the completion of this project, the KMSKA organized a symposium in March 2017 in cooperation with the University of Antwerp. This latest volume in the Me Fecit series publishes the contributions presented on that occasion. Their wide-ranging themes include the commissioning and iconography of the panels, their acquisition by the museum, the depicted vestments and what the work has to tell us about fifteenth-century musical practice. Close attention is paid to technical aspects such as the materials and the painting technique used for the panels, Memling's underdrawing, the frames, and the conservation treatment - not least the oxalate-containing layer that posed the greatest challenge. There is a musical aspect to the project too: precise replicas have been made of the depicted instruments, which were then used to perform fifteenth-century compositions with playing techniques inferred from the paintings. The book features contributions by Maryan Ainsworth, Wim Becu, Till-Holger Borchert, Bart Fransen, Ingrid Goddeeris, Catherine Higgitt, Lizet Klaassen, Louise Longneaux, Karel Moens, Lisa Monnas, Keith Polk, Marie Postec, Marika Spring and Geert Van der Snickt.

Winner of a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor and a Robert F. Sibert Honor! Celebrate music icon Carlos Santana in this vibrant, rhythmic picture book from the author of the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters. Carlos Santana loved to listen to his father play el violín. It was a sound that filled the world with magic and love and feeling and healing—a sound that made angels real. Carlos wanted to make angels real, too. So he started playing music. Carlos tried el clarinete and el violín, but there were no angels. Then he picked up la guitarra. He took the soul of the Blues, the brains of Jazz, and the energy of Rock and Roll, and added the slow heat of Afro-Cuban drums and the cilantro-scented sway of the music he’d grown up with in Mexico. There were a lot of bands in San Francisco but none of them sounded like this. Had Carlos finally found the music that would make his angels real?

Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story—told here with depth and sensitivity by author Ann Angel—is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven. Janis Joplin includes more than sixty photographs, and an assortment of anecdotes from Janis’s friends and band mates. This thoroughly researched and well-illustrated biography is a must-have for all young artists, music lovers, and pop-culture enthusiasts.

This delightful book describes and illustrates the Metropolitan Museum's collection of nearly 40 illuminations from Italian choral manuscripts. Representing the work of Gothic and Renaissance masters both celebrated and anonymous, these precious paintings in miniature---with their compelling narrative, brilliant color, and shining gold---bear witness to exceptional aesthetic accomplishment. The choir books they illuminate are a rich source of information about the development of chant, whose unexpected transcendent tonalities have abiding appeal today. They also serve as primary sources for the study of the lives of religious communities and of the philosophy and faith that infused medieval Europe, offering a glimpse of Italy at the dawn of the Renaissance.

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think this is the most violent age ever seen. Yet as bestselling author Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true.

A Band of Angels is fiction, but it is based on real events and people. The character of Ella was inspired by Ella Sheppard Moore, who was born February 4, 1851, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was able to free himself and young Ella from slavery, but before he could buy freedom for Ella’s mother she was sold away. Ella was raised in Cincinnati, where she took music lessons. At fifteen, she was left penniless when her father died. She arrived at Fisk School in 1868 with only six dollars. Fisk was opened in 1866 as a school for former slaves and began offering college classes in 1871. That year, in a desperate attempt to save Fisk from closing, a music teacher named George White set out with a group of students on a singing tour to raise money. Although at first they only sang popular music of the day, they soon became famous for introducing spirituals to the world. Ella Sheppard was the pianist for the Jubilee Singers on their historic concert tours, which raised enough money to save the school and build Jubilee Hall, the first permanent structure in the South for the education of black students. Ella later married George Moore, had three children, and located her mother and a sister. She died in 1914. Today her great-granddaughter is a librarian at Fisk University who shares the history of the Jubilee Singers with visitors. Although none graduated from Fisk, the original Jubilee Singers were recognized with honorary degrees in 1978. Today, Jubilee Singers at Fisk University continue to keep alive a rich musical tradition that includes such songs as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Many Thousand Gone,” and “Go Down, Moses.”