All the time in the world

The short history of timekeeping and timing in music.

Today, timekeeping is an integral part of our daily lives. The devices we use are very accurate and present everywhere. This was not the case for a very long time. Also in music, up till the invention of the metronome, timekeeping and tempo was rather based on individual feeling than science. Time to organize society Small tribes, later larger societies, …

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The Moors

The Moors

Both Haydn and Beethoven were considered to have Moor ancestry. Who are the Moors and what is their story?   I always liked Morgan Freeman, especially in Robin Hood playing Azeem the Moor. From centuries later they seem mysterious people, advanced in knowledge and technologies, but conservative and pious at the same time. I decided to go deeper and find …

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God’s justice and the human suffering

God’s justice and the human suffering (Theodicy)

For thousands of years human beings tried to define and explain the origins and the concept of evil and suffering. Through religions and philosophy many answers are available, now we look at some of them.   Despite having a strong build Beethoven was troubled with his health from his early twenties until the end. Fate could have struck him with …

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What is a leap day?

What is a leap day?

In order to understand what a leap day is, first we have to define what a leap year is! A leap year (also known as an intercalary year) is a year when one additional day is added to the calendar. This additional day is called leap day. Why do we need these leap days? Astronomical events do not happen according …

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