Composers & Musicians - Exodus Books

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The great Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described architecture as "frozen music." The description works well in reverse, too—if we think of music as moving architecture we might be as close as we can get to actually defining what is arguably the most universal art form. The swoops and tildes and cornices of beautiful buildings are the visual counterparts of the fluorishes in music, the little bits that make each composition distinct to its author and yet recognizable as a specific type of music in a specific context.

Our culture has become drowned in music, most of it bad. Anyone can record sounds and disseminate them to a less and less discerning public, but just because a magazine editor calls something "genius" or even simply "music" doesn't make it so. There's plenty of good folk and jazz, even good rock'n'roll, but there's also way too much bad stuff. Even classical compositions aren't automatically good. It's sad, but there's no genre in which one can take permanent refuge from less-than-beautiful songs or sonatas.

This is, of course, because the music we listen to is the product of human beings. As God's creation made in His image, we are compelled to create, but we can never attain the perfection of which He is capable. Some get closer than others (Mozart is at least several rungs of the music ladder above Michael Jackson or Lady GaGa), and we admire this as a dedication to excellence and goodness. The human element is also what makes musicians' lives interesting to read about, how they were inspired, why they wrote and performed, what their character was like.

We've limited our collection to musicians we respect and admire, and who evidenced more than average competency. Ray Charles makes the cut because he could actually sing and his music was really music; Britney Spears is excluded for obvious reasons. Most of the individuals represented here are classical composers. There's little argument that men like Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin were among the greatest musical geniuses of all time, and since we agree that they were amazingly talented and we enjoy their music, we give biographies of classical composers special emphasis.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

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Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers

88 Items found Print

Adventures of Richard Wagner

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Adventures of Richard Wagner - MP3 Audio Book

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$11.17

Arrow Pointing to Heaven

Rich Mullins: A Devotional Biography

by James Bryan Smith

Revised from B&H Books

for 10th-Adult

in Biographies (Location: O1A-BIO)

$12.74

Bach's Goldberg Variations

by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel

from Charlesbridge

Biography for 3rd-6th grade

in Music Appreciation (Location: I)

$14.41

Beethoven/Haydn Lapbook Set

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$12.99

Brahms/Schubert Lapbook Set

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$12.99

Chopin

His Life Told in Anecdotal Form

by George Ruttkay

from Hyperion Press

for 3rd-6th grade

in Music History (Location: I)

$3.50 (1 in stock)

Chopin Lapbook

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$7.50

Composers Activity-Pak

by Amy Pak

from Home School in the Woods

for 3rd-8th grade

in Hands-On History Activity-Paks (Location: G6A-HIS)

$19.95

Duke Ellington

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

1^st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press

for 3rd-6th grade

1999 Caldecott Honor Book

in Biographies (Location: O1A-BIO)

$5.94

Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines - MP3 Audio Book

by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$11.17

Famous Children: Chopin

by Ann Rachlin

from Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

for 1st-3rd grade

in Music History (Location: I)

$3.50 (1 in stock)

Famous Children: Haydn

by Ann Rachlin

from Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

for 1st-3rd grade

in Music History (Location: I)

$4.50 (2 in stock)

Famous Children: Mozart

by Ann Rachlin

from Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

for 1st-3rd grade

in Music History (Location: I)

$4.50 (2 in stock)

Farewell Symphony

by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel

from Charlesbridge

Biography for 3rd-6th grade

in Music Appreciation (Location: I)

Farewell Symphony

by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel

from Charlesbridge

Biography for 3rd-6th grade

in Music Appreciation (Location: I)

$14.41

Foster/MacDowell Lapbook Set

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$7.00

Francis Scott Key

Sowers Series

by David Collins

from Mott Media

for 5th-7th grade

in Sowers Biographies (Location: N7F)

$7.64 $5.00 (1 in stock)

Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends (hardcover)

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends - MP3 Audio Book

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$11.17

Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends - Study Guide

by Judy Wilcox

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland - Companion CD

Early & Later Years

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland - Study Guide

Early & Later Years

by Judy Wilcox

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Early Years

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Later Years

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

George Frideric Handel

Sowers Series

by Charles Ludwig

from Mott Media

for 6th-8th grade

in Sowers Biographies (Location: N7F)

$7.64

George Handel

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for 4th-6th grade

in Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers (Location: I)

$5.91

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel

from Charlesbridge

Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade

in Music Appreciation (Location: I)

$12.00

Glory and Honor

Musical & Artistic Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach

Leaders in Action Series

by Gregory Wilbur

from Cumberland House

Biography for 9th-Adult

in Leaders in Action (Location: N6C-BIO)

$14.41 $12.00 (1 in stock)

Great Christian Hymn Writers

by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson

from Crossway Books

for 7th-12th grade

in History of Hymns (Location: J)

Handel at the Court of Kings

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Handel at the Court of Kings - MP3 Audio Book

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$11.17

Handel at the Court of Kings - Study Guide

by Judy Wilcox

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$3.50 (1 in stock)

Handel/Robert Schumann - Companion CD

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

Handel/Schumann Lapbook Set

by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$12.99

Igor Stravinsky

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for 3rd-6th grade

in Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers (Location: I)

$4.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for Kindergarten-3rd grade

in Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers (Location: I)

$5.91

Johann Sebastian Bach

by Rick Marschall

from Thomas Nelson Publishers

for 6th-10th grade

in Christian Encounters (Location: N6C-BIO)

$10.20

Johannes Brahms

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for 4th-6th grade

in Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers (Location: I)

$6.95

Joseph Haydn

The Merry Little Peasant

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Joseph Haydn - MP3 Audio Book

The Merry Little Peasant

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$11.17

Joseph Haydn - Study Guide

The Merry Little Peasant

by Judy Wilcox

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$4.95 $3.50 (2 in stock)

Leonard Bernstein

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for 3rd-6th grade

in Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers (Location: I)

Lives of the Musicians

Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought)

by Kathleen Krull

from Sandpiper Books

for 4th-6th grade

in Music History (Location: I)

$8.99

Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells

by Opal Wheeler

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$13.95

Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells - Study Guide

by Judy Wilcox

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

$4.95

Ludwig Beethoven/Joseph Haydn - Companion CD

from Zeezok Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: I)

Ludwig van Beethoven

by Mike Venezia

from Children's Press

for 2nd-5th grade

in Music History (Location: I)

Meet the Great Composers Book 1

by June Montgomery, Maurice Hison

from Alfred Publishing

for 3rd-6th grade

in Music Appreciation (Location: I)

$9.50

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