Additional Reading: Various Topics

Click on the essay title to Download your own copy.
Other essays are sure to be added in the future!…

  • RAVEL’S DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ: A Miracle in the Making “Considered Maurice Ravel’s longest and most expansive work, the music of Daphnis et Chloé has long been heralded as a masterpiece, both within the composer’s personal oeuvre and among the vast repertoire of concert-hall literature. That this lush and passionate ballet even made it onto the stage and into history is a true miracle, however – not to mention a testament to the determination of both the composer and choreographer – as evidence of early collaborative frustrations and interpretive disagreements abound, tainting an otherwise unearthly and beautiful artistic experience…”
  • Disasters in Art. A simple overview and brief sampling of various artwork that has been created in memory of three historic natural disasters: the sinking of the Titanic, the Black Plagues of Europe, and the destruction of Pompeii. (Be sure to explore the fun images toward the back!)
  • Distinguishing Alchemy from Science. A much more scholarly-type essay exploring the life and work of George Starkey and Robert Boyle, while investigating the questions of 1) how distinct is alchemy from science, as they were practiced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, 2) how could such a distinction possibly have come about, and 3) why does the modern historian make such a distinction?

Graduate Study Outlines: