What isThe Taruskin Challenge?

https://taruskinchallenge.com/


This is my inspiration. My goal is to read Richard Taruskin's 3800-page Oxford History Of Western Music in full, at a pace of 10 or so pages per day. I will offer insights and (probably sarcastic) remarks on the way.


Please join me. Oh, and thanks to Mark Samples and Zachary Wallmark, the perveyors of the above blog.

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Gregorian Chat (not a typo)

When my mother was pregnant with me, she was also responsible for choosing my given name (I was given the middle name Thomas, who is my father; presumably this was his choice.) [My brother's middle name is that of my Paternal grandfather Paul Nelson.] That said, it was not until the 5th grade that I discovered my talent for playing clarinet. I'd been in church choir before that, but the clarinet was (is) my calling, and music has been a huge part of my life. But from where I got the genes for it remains a mystery. My first reading assignment in the Taruskin Challenge focused on the "beginnings" of music.  According to Richard Taruskin's  (and many others') history, Gregorian Chant is the first pillar of music history. Gregorian chant is named after St. Gregory I, whose papacy ran from 590–604. I can't help but think that even if no one had any idea I would be a musician, somehow my mother knew. The name fits! Thanks mom!! 🎵😇
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