People liked madrigals because they were fun. Whenever possible the composer made the music sound like the word being sung. A word like “smile” would have quick music, “sigh” would have a note followed by a short rest, as if the singer were sighing, “rise so high” would be sung to music which rose very high. This kind of thing was called “word-painting”. It can be found in religious music as well, but the way it was used in madrigals was new and exciting. Very often there would be a verse and a refrain which was often just sung to words such as “fa la la la la”. The songs were often about shepherds and shepherdesses falling in love.
The most important composers of madrigals in Italy were Giovanni da Palestrina, Luca Marenzio, Jacques Arcadelt, Adrian Willaert, Cipriano de Rore, Carlo Gesualdo, Giaches de Wert and Claudio Monteverdi. In England they were William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Wilbye, Thomas Weelkes, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. About the franco-flemish , Orlando di Lasso, Josquin des Prez . About the spanish, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Mateo Flecha.
In the Renaissance, madrigals were performed either as entertainment at important feasts, or for relaxed enjoyment by groups of amateurs in their homes, as madrigals were a secular style of song.
Nowadays, madrigals are often sung by high school or college madrigal choirs often as an after-dinner entertainment. Sometimes the singers wear Renaissance costumes.
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was one of the "Ernestine duchies". Ernest, who became elector of Saxony in 1464, divided his territory between his sons, andover the years more and more small duchies existed.
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was reformed on 29 July 1735, although Coburg and Saalfeld had had the same ruler since 1699. As only men could be the rulers of the duchies, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ceased to exist in 1825, when the last male descendant of the dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. The various dukes reorganised their territories. Saalfeld went the dukes of Saxe-Meiningen, Altenburg went to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburgausen, who gave Hildburghausen to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Gotha and Coburg were combined into the new duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved is a first-person shooter video game. It starts the game series called "Halo". It came out in 2001 for Xbox and was released on the personal computer later. It became very popular and has made a lot of money. Many people say it is the Xbox's "killer app", which means the best program for a system. Because it was liked by so many people, there have even been 6 books and a Graphic Novel written about it. Halo is rated M for mature.
The game setting is on or around a giant ring-shaped structure in space. The ring has plants and animals that live on it. It is very old and was made long ago by a civilization called the "Forerunners." In the game, the year is 2552. In the storyline, humans have created faster than light travel, and now live on many planets and moons in and out of the Solar System, both fictional and real. In the year 2525, humans living on a planet around another star met several alien species. They are grouped together and known as the "Covenant". The Covenant declared religious war on the humans.
The game starts with a ship, The Pillar of Autumn. It arrives at Halo, surrounded by many Covenant Ships.
Master Chief is the last super soldier who is able to fight on the Pillar of Autumn. The Pillar of Autumn jumped (teleported) from the planet Reach. Reach was being destroyed, so they escaped. The ship is piloted by Captain Keyes. The ship arrives in front of Halo. Halo is surrounded by many Covenant ships. The Covenant board the Pillar of Autumn to kill the humans. Keyes orders the Master Chief (who is sleeping while frozen) to be awakened. After putting Cortana (an Artificial Intelligence) in his head, the Master Chief escapes in a lifepod with other Marines. He did this on order by Captain Keyes, who knew they could not win. Captain Keyes decides to crash his ship onto Halo, before it is completely destroyed by the Covenant. The Master Chief rescues as many Marines as he can. Cortana discovers Captain Keyes is still alive. Master Chief goes to rescue him from a Covenant Ship. They escape with the Captain and more Marines. They find a map-room to find the control room for Halo. They want to stop the Covenant from using Halo, because it is a weapon. The Master Chief fights through many aliens to the Control Room. He puts Cortana into the data. She discovers something terrible and tells the Master Chief to find Captain Keyes. Captain Keyes went with several Marines to destroy a take or destroy a supply of Covenant Weapons. The Master Chief discovers the Captain was attacked by a different enemy. They are called the Flood. The Flood are a species of parasite, which can infect bodies and turn them into Combat Forms (which are fast zombies that can use weapons). He finds a flying machine that protects Halo. It is named 343 Guilty Spark. It explains that he should turn on Halo's weapons to destroy the Flood. The Flood want to escape Halo and infect other species. The Master Chief must get an Index to do activate Halo. The Master Chief gets the Index (which can activate Halo's weapons).
They both go to the ring's control room to activate its weapons. Surprisingly, they find Cortana that tells to the Chief that the ring can not destroy the Flood. It destroys the food of the Flood. This means humans, Covenant and all other suitable living species. Following Cortana's suggestions, Master Chief goes to the Pillar of Autumn. As he destroys the core of the ship, he escapes. He uses a human spaceship to get into space while the explosion destroys Halo.
The main character in the game is Master Chief. It is the character the player controls in the game. Other main characters are Cortana and 343 Guilty Spark, the two machines. Apart from them, other human characters appear who fight in the side of the player against the aliens and the flood. The most notable are Sergeant Johnson and Captain Keyes.
In the first Halo game, there are no alien characters who play an important role in the game. However, in the next two halo games, "Halo 2" and "Halo 3", many important alien characters appear.
Sonora
Sonora is a Mexican state, in the northwestern Mexico region. Sonora borders the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. To the north Sonora accounts for a long stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico; to the west it borders the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).
There are various explanations as to the origin of the word Sonora. Here, we will tell you some of the most widely accepted versions. One of these says that when the Spaniards arrived in the lands occupied by the Opata people, they built a chapel and painted an image of the Virgin on a buffalo skin. Over time, when the Opatas began to worship the Virgin, they used to call her Senora instead of the Spanish word Señora (Our Lady). Finally, it would seem that this word became Sonora as we know it today.
Another version has it that Sonora is derived from the Opata word, sonotl which means corn leaf. A legend speaks of an indigenous group that lived near the village of Huépac, and who used corn leaves to cover the walls and roofs of their huts. Yet another version insists that the word comes from the name of a tribe that lived on the banks of the Sonora River; these people were known as the Sonora Indians. This river crosses a large part of the state. It is also useful to understand that, just as Mexico has its national emblems, so the state of Sonora has its own coat-of-arms.
Monsoon