Menelaus (, "Menelaos" - "wrath of the people") is one of the central figures in Homer's "Iliad" and a hero of the Trojan War. He was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, and the brother of Agamemnon. He was the king of Sparta. His wife was Helen of Troy, said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. She was kidnapped by Prince Paris of Troy. That caused the Trojan War, as Menelaus sought to get Helen back. Prior to the war, Menelaus had one child with Helen, a daughter named Hermione.
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra (or Klytaimnestra) was a person in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Tyndareos of Sparta and his wife Leda. She was married to Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. With him she had children Iphigenia, Elektra, Orestes and Chrysothemis.
After the Trojan War, Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthos killed Agamemnon. Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia, to the Gods to have wind to set sail for war. Clytemnestra and Aegisthos are later killed by her son Orestes.
Percussion instrument
Percussion instruments are instruments which are played by shaking or hitting. There are many different kinds of percussion instruments. A person who plays a percussion instrument is a percussionist. Percussionists are usually able to play lots of different percussion instruments, because the basic skills required are similar.
Some percussion instruments can play tunes. These are called “tuned percussion”. Tuned percussion instruments include: xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, tubular bells and timpani.
Untuned percussion instruments include: bass drum, side drum (snare drum), maracas, castanets, cymbals, tambourine, claves and many more.
In an orchestra there can be more different kind of percussion instruments than in the other families: string, woodwind and brass instruments. However, older music does not often use lots of percussion. Most music for orchestra by composers like Mozart and Beethoven only use the timpani. In the 19th century, more percussion is added: cymbals, tambourine, triangle etc. In the 20th century, some composers may use very many percussion instruments.
Whenever any unusual instrument is used that does not fit into the category of string, woodwind, brass or keyboard, it is usually played by a percussionist. Sometimes composers have used things like typewriters, milk bottles or vacuum cleaners in their pieces.
There are many different class of percussion instruments. There are for example:
Latin percussion instruments are used in American-Latin Music. The instruments are Maracas, Congs, Timbales...
Classic percussion instruments are used in the Harmony Orchestras. The instruments are Tampani, Bass Drum, Xylophone...
Modern percussion instruments are used in the Rock, Pop and Jazz music. There is just the drum set, but this is a percussion instrument with many possibilities. One can take for example a cowbell on the drum set or an tambourine. We have with the drum set uncountable possibilities.
Drum kits can include bass drum, side drum, tom-toms, cowbells, cymbals (suspended and hi-hat) etc. Together with a string bass (double bass) they will form the “rhythm section” of a jazz group. A percussion player has to have a very good sense of rhythm. The other players rely on him or her to keep a steady beat and not to play so loudly that the others cannot hear the tune.
Hurrians
The Hurrians or Khurrites were people who lived in and around northern Mesopotamia from about 2500 BC. They were a large ethnic group, and had some cities and kingdoms, but they also lived in small groups among other ethnic people. The first known piece of music to be written down was Hurrian.
Oneiroi
The Oneroi (Greek: "dreams") were the sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep in Greek mythology. They were the personification of dreams. They were Morpheus, Phobetor (or Ikelos) and Phantasos.
They lived in caves in the far west, near the gates of the Underworld. They were sent through one of two gates there. One gate was made of horn, from there the true or prophetic dreams come from. The other gate was made of ivory, from there the false and meaningless dreams come from.
They were shown as black-winged daemons.
The most powerful of the Oneiroi was Morpheus. His brothers Phobetor and Phantasos shape parts of dreams, while Morpheus shapes the dream in general. Morpheus shapes human figures, Phobetor shapes animal figures and Phantasos shapes inanimate objects. Morpheus is still depicted in popular fiction today.
Malcolm X
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: ٱلْحَاجّ مَالِك ٱلشَّبَازّ‎, romanized: al-Ḥājj Mālik ash-Shabāzz, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) also known as Malcolm X was an African American nationalist and civil rights activist. Before he became Malcolm X, his original name was Malcolm Stuart Little. Malcolm X's father was a Baptist minister whose skin was very dark, whilst his mother's skin was of a much lighter tone. His parents taught him to be proud of being black in an openly anti-black society. Malcolm X's father died when Malcolm was only six years old, leaving his mother in poverty.
In 1946, Malcolm was arrested at the age of 20 for armed robbery, but was released from jail 8 years later. He was introduced to the Nation of Islam and Islam while he was in jail, joining the Nation after he was released.
At first, Malcolm X's actions and speeches were mostly inspired by the beliefs and teachings of the Nation of Islam. He taught that all white people were bad. Once he learned that the leader of the Nation of Islam was in relationships with many women, he quit the group and changed his religion to Sunni Islam. He went on a pilgrimage to see the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. At this point, his opinions of white people got better, and he began to believe that white people could be good people, too. Malcolm X believed that black people should fight for their civil rights in any way they could, even if they had to become violent. He also thought that black people should support one another by shopping in stores owned by black people. He was critical of the civil rights movement.
Malcolm X had six children with Betty Shabazz. He had six grandchildren. Malcolm Shabazz was killed in May 2013. He also has two great grandchildren.
Malcolm X was shot dead in New York City after preaching about black rights. Three members of the Nation of Islam had a part in his murder.
Nereus
Nereus (Νηρεύς) is a sea god in Greek mythology. His parents are Gaia and Pontos. With the Okeanid Doris his fifty daughters are the Nereids, sea nymphs of the Mediterranean Sea.
James MacMillan
James MacMillan (born July 16, 1959) is a composer and conductor.
MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. He studied music at the universities of Edinburgh and Durham. He writes a lot of music for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. They play music at schools so that children can listen and join in with his music.
"The Confession of Isobel Gowdie" (1990) about a woman who lived in the 1600s. Many people believed in witches then. In 1662 Isobel Gowdie was accused and tried for witchcraft. It was an unusual trial. She confessed without torture, There is no record of an execution. She walked away after confessing.
"Veni, veni, Emmanuel" (1992) is like a percussion concerto. It is a piece for one percussion player who plays lots of percussion instruments, and an orchestra. The main tune is the medieval hymn tune "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" (also sung as "O come, O come Emmanuel"). Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie played it at a BBC Prom in 1992.
"Quickening" is music for a counter-tenor, two tenors, and baritone soloists; children’s choir, mixed choir, and large orchestra. It is about birth and new life. The children’s choir sing the words of the unborn baby. They stand on a balcony or somewhere far away from the other choir and the orchestra. Some of the words are “Glossalalia” (nonsense words). It was performed at a BBC Prom in 1999.
Polyphemos