Der 100. Psalm (The 100th Psalm), Op. 106, is a composition in four
movements by Max Reger in D major for mixed choir and orchestra, a late
Romantic setting of Psalm 100. Reger began composing the work in 1908
for the 350th anniversary of Jena University. It premiered
simultaneously on 23 February 1910 in Chemnitz, conducted by the
composer, and in Breslau, conducted by Georg Dohrn. Reger structured the
text in four movements, as a choral symphony. He scored it for a choir
of four to eight voices, a large symphony orchestra, and organ. Reger
used late-Romantic features of harmony and dynamics, along with
polyphony in the Baroque tradition. The last movement is a double fugue,
with an instrumental cantus firmus of Luther's chorale "Ein feste Burg
ist unser Gott" as its climax. The biographer Eugen Segnitz considered
the work unique in the sacred music of its period, with a convincing
musical interpretation of the biblical text and manifold shades of
emotion. Paul Hindemith wrote a trimmed adaption that helped to keep the
work in the repertory, and organ versions were written to make the work
accessible for smaller choirs.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_100._Psalm>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
475:
Basiliscus became Byzantine Emperor after Zeno was forced to
flee Constantinople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliscus>
1909:
Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition, planted the
British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km) from the South Pole, the
furthest south anyone had ever reached at that time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthest_South>
1917:
First World War: Troops of the British Empire defeated Ottoman
forces at the Battle of Rafa on the Sinai–Palestine border in present-
day Rafah.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rafa>
1972:
The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association
lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, ending a 33-game winning streak, the
longest of any team in American professional sports.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers>
1996:
First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launched raids in the
city of Kizlyar, Dagestan, which turned into a massive hostage crisis
involving thousands of civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye_hostage_crisis>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
man down:
1. (transitive, idiomatic) To lose courage or cause to lose courage.
2. (transitive) To reduce in manpower.
3. (transitive, chiefly falconry) To train (a raptor or other type of bird)
to become accustomed to the presence of people; to man.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/man_down>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I know that it can be very easy, under the intensive pressures of
a campaign, for even well-intentioned people to fall into shady tactics
— to rationalize this on the grounds that what is at stake is of such
importance to the Nation that the end justifies the means. And both of
our great parties have been guilty of such tactics in the past. In
recent years, however, the campaign excesses that have occurred on all
sides have provided a sobering demonstration of how far this false
doctrine can take us. The lesson is clear: America, in its political
campaigns, must not again fall into the trap of letting the end, however
great that end is, justify the means. I urge the leaders of both
political parties, I urge citizens, all of you, everywhere, to join in
working toward a new set of standards, new rules and procedures to
ensure that future elections will be as nearly free of such abuses as
they possibly can be made. This is my goal. I ask you to join in making
it America's goal.
--Richard Nixon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon>