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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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