Siciliano

Why does this Christopher Columbus get a holiday named after him?

First, he was a failure.  His expedition was to find a faster route from Spain to China.  He  never completed that task

He never landed on Plymouth Rock but on the shores of Hispaniola.  Today, we call that island the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  Boy, my grade school teachers were stupid.

When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, the indigenous people, the Arawaks, ran to greet them, bringing them food, water and gifts. This first encounter spelled the end for the Arawaks.  He later wrote of this in his log:

"They . . . brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned . . . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features . . . .They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane . . . They would make fine servants . . . .With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."

He later wrote:
"As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts. Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities."

His men raped and murdered women and children.  They forced the Arawak men to carry them around the island in litters, chairs or on their shoulders.  There was even a story of two boys who were playing with their pet parrot and Columbus' men beheaded the two boys and took their parrot. 

He then sailed back to Spain where he lied about finding large amounts of gold and  asked the monarchy for more resources to finance a second expedition, telling them that he would bring back scores of gold and slaves.  He got seventeen ships and twelve hundred men for his second expedition. He never found any gold but he did capture several hundred of the natives and caged them up in his ships to return them to Spain.  Most of them died en-route.  Christopher wrote:  "Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold." 

Many of Columbus' men continued to roam the island in gangs taking women and children as slaves for sex and labor.  While trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. The Spaniards took prisoners, they hanged them, beheaded them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began by using Cassava poison. Infants were poisoned by their parents in order to save them from Columbus and his men.

So, happy Columbus Day.  Hundreds of thousands of Arawak's died at the hands of Columbus so that you could have this day off.  Do our schools still lie to us?

Toccata in G Minor

Toccata means "to touch."  Typically it is a fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic piece of music emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers.   HOWEVER, notice that in this piece (and in all pieces) I am not playing from the fingers but from the elbow and forearm.  Watch my arm and you will see the proper muscles work.  If your hands or wrists hurt, quit playing from those tiny muscles in the hand and use the larger muscles in the forearm which are actually the muscles which move your fingers.  In this piece since it only requires simple forearm rotation, my supinator and pronator muscles do all the work and my fingers effortlessly go along for the ride.   Although, that three manual stretch at the end is incredibly stupid but, I'll learn my lesson when I sprain something.  Stretching is bad.

Sorry about the aspect ratio being askew.  I upgraded some software and all my videos are coming out funny.  I need to take the time to figure out the settings.   For more information on arm, hand and wrist injuries, go here:

http://www.slideshare.net/sa/8652ca32b9f25fa5adb94fe916c18599

Gigue Fugue, by J. S. Bach

The great Virgil Fox used to introduce this piece on all his tours by assuring the audience that the tune comes "first in the tenor, then the alto, then the soprano, and when the tune hits my feet, I dance the jig." 

This clip is from a pre-recital sound and camera check. 

Fughetta on ITSY BITSY SPIDER

Arranged by Malcolm Kogut (a work in progress)
The church is St. Anne's in Amsterdam, NY.

Contact your Lawmaker

Carillon, by Louis Victor Jules Vierne

While giving his 1750th organ recital, Virene suffered a heart attack, fell off the bench and his foot hit the low "E" pedal of the organ.  Listeners thought it was part of an improvisation he was performing at the time.   It took them about a minute to realize that
something was wrong.