Every night, my son and I conclude our Stories and Studies hour with the listening of three pieces of music.  Usually, but not always, classical.

Here is a listing of the music themes I have blogged about since July 2014.   To read a few short lines of well-written bewitching information about each of the compositions, click on the magnifying glass icon (near the bottom of the blog title-block) and type the blog post title (shown below in quotation marks and italics) into the search bar.

Happy Listening! – Jane BH

Music Themes – Post Titles

All Aboard – from “All Hail the Engineer”

• Take the “A” Train – Billy Strayhorn
• The Little Train of the Caipira – Heitor Villa-Lobos
• Orange Blossom Special – E. and G. Rouse

The Anvil as Musical Instrument – from “26 Candles”

• The Anvil Chorus (Il Trovatore) – Giuseppe Verdi
• The Feuerfest Polka – Josef Strauss
• Heigh Ho (Disney’s Snow White) – Frank Churchill and Larry Morey

Art set to music: Checkered House, by Grandma Moses – from “Good Books, Bad Books”

• Over the River and Through the Wood – Lydia Maria Child
• Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson
• Carol of the Animals – Robert Davis

Art set to music:  Pirate Chief, by Howard Pyle – from “Fly By”

• The Maid of Amsterdam – traditional sea chanty
• Overture to The Flying Dutchman – Wagner
• Pirates of the Caribbean Suite – Klaus Badelt

Art set to music:  The Clipper Ship, by Currier and Ives – from “Garden Par-tay”

• Sea Songs – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Overture to H.M.S. Pinafore – Gilbert and Sullivan
• Over the Waves – Juventino Rosas

Art set to music:  The Fall of the Cowboy, by Remington – from “Answers for Everything”

• Thanksgiving – George Winston
• Hoedown – Aaron Copland
• Back Home Again – John Denver

Back to School – from “It it’s August”

• Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Korsakov
• Entry of the Gladiators – Julius Fucik
• Song of the Volga Boatmen – traditional

Barbershop Quartets – from “The Cliffs Notes Version”

• Sincere – Meredith Willson
• Mr. Sandman – Pat Ballard

Benjamin Franklin in France – from “It’s a Date!”

• Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio – Mozart
• The Coffee Cantata – JS Bach
• Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor (Farewell Symphony) – Haydn

Black History Month Selections – from “Conversation Circle”

• Maple Leaf Rag – Scott Joplin
• The American Scene:  The Southwest – William Grant Still
• Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Duke Ellington

Blue Days – from “Something Blue”

• Blue Skies – Irving Berlin
• Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
• The Blue Danube Waltz – Strauss

Blue Moon Tunes – from “Second Time Around”

• Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller
• Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin
• Clair de Lune – Debussy

Brandenburg Concerto Sampling – from “The “C” Side”

• Concerto No. 2 (trumpet) – Bach
• Concerto No. 3 (no specifically designated soloist) – Bach
• Concerto No. 5 (harpsichord) – Bach

Brazil, thinking about – from “Tick, Tick, Tick”

• exploring “The Little Train of Caipira” – Heitor Villa-Lobos

The Cambrian Explosion – from “In Which We Learn about the Cambrian Explosion”

• Simple Gifts – Joseph Brackett
• Polka Dots and Moonbeams – Van Heusen/Burke
• 1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky

Chicken Coop Melodies – from “Farm Fresh”

• Symphony No. 83 in G minor (The Hen) – Haydn
• The Hen – Respighi
• Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little – Meredith Willson
• Chicken Reel – Joseph M. Daly/Leroy Anderson

Chopin Treats – from “Le Menu du Jour”

• Grande Valse Brilliante – Frederic Chopin
• The Funeral March – Frederic Chopin
• The Minute Waltz – Frederic Chopin

Circus Music Classics – from “We’re in A+ Book Territory”

• Entry of the Gladiators – Julius Fucik
• Sabre Dance – Aram Khachaturian
• The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze – Lyle and Lee

Classical Broadway – from “Desperately Seeking Ganesha”

• Rosemary – Frank Loesser
• Piano Concerto in A minor – Edvard Grieg
• Baby Face – Akst/Davis
• Hallelujah Chorus – Handel
• Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina – Rice/Weber
• Violin Concerto in D minor – Brahms

The Crescendo – from “Swell”

• Serenade – Franz Schubert
• In the Hall of the Mountain King (from Peer Gynt, Suite 1) – Edvard Grieg
• Mars (from The Planets) – Gustav Holst

Cuckoo for Music – from “Things that go Bump in the Night”

• Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major (The Cuckoo and the Hen) – Handel
• Symphony No. 6 in F major (The Pastoral) – Beethoven
• The Cuckoo – Respighi

Dealer’s Choice (my son selects 3 from a list of 10) – from “2016:  Gone, but not forgotten”

• Banjoland Buffoonery – Grant Kirkhope
• Persian March – Johann Strauss II
• Sailing By – Ronald Binge

Dealer’s Choice (my son selects 3 from a list of 10) – from “Starry Eyed”

• The William Tell Overture – Rossini
• The Cuckoo – Respighi
• Mambo – Leonard Bernstein

Dental Procedures, music for – from “Messenger Service”

• Symphony No. 6 in F major – Beethoven
• The Barcarolle – Jacques Offenbach
• The Moldau – Bedrich Smetana

The Doldrums – from “Going Nowhere Fast”

• Sea Songs – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• We Sail the Ocean Blue – Gilbert and Sullivan
• Sailing By – Ronald Binge

Duets! – from “Sap Happy”

• The Flower Duet – Leo Delibes
• Si Fino All’ore Estreme – Bellini
• People Will Say We’re in Love – Rogers and Hammerstein

Einstein and his Violin – from “Brainiac”

• Violin Serenade No. 6 – Mozart
• Violin Serenade No. 13 (Eine Kleine Machtmusik) – Mozart
• Violi sonata No. 26 in B-flat major – Mozart

Elephants! – from “The Larger Picture”

• Baby Elephant Walk – Henry Mancini
• Pink Elephants on Parade – Oliver Wallace and Ned Washington
• The Elephant (Carnival of the Animals) – Camille Saint Saens

Exotic Lands – from “That’s Gotta Hurt”

• Scheherazade – Rimsky-Korsakov
• Overture to The Abduction fro the Seraglio – Mozart
• Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – Handel

Fairy Tales – from “The Last Dog’s Tail”

• Sleeping Beauty Waltz – Tchaikovsky
• Cinderella’s Waltz – Prokofiev
• The Children’s Prayer (Hansel and Gretel) – Engelbert Humperdinck

Fanfare for the Water Bear – from “A Fanfare for the Water Bear”

• Water Music – Handel
• The Aquarium – Saint-Saens
• The Wild Bears – Sir Edward Elgar

Franz Schubert Night – from “Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?”

• Serenade – Schubert
• Ave Maria – Schubert
• March Militaire – Schubert

French Composers – from “A Test of Faith”

• The Infernal Galop (the Can-Can) – Jacques Offenbach
• Clair de Lune – Debussy
• March of the Toreadors – Bizet

The French Horn – from “Working for Peanuts”

• Water Music – Handel
• Venus – Gustav Holst
• Pavane for a Dead Princess – Maurice Ravel

Fun Music Only – from “Inventors Invent”

• Dance of the Hours – Amilcare Ponchielli
• Chicken Reel – Leroy Anderson
• The Pink Panther – Henry Mancini

Good Shepherd – from “The Rattlesnake Sermon”

• Sheep May Safely Graze – JS Bach
• He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd – Handel
• Tender Shepherd – Charlap/Leigh

Groundhog Day – from “Rodent Rage”

• Winter – Vivaldi
• Waltz of the Snowflakes – Tchaikovsky
• Symphony No. 6 in F major (The Pastoral) – Beethoven
• Put on a Happy Face – Strouse/Adams

Gustav, Gustave, and Gustavo – from “Club Gustav”

• Symphony No. 2 in C minor, movement III – Gustav Mahler
• Mercury (The Planets) – Gustav Holst
• Never Smile at a Crocodile (Disney’s Peter Pan) – Frank Churchill and Jack Lawrence

Habitats – from “Quandary”

• The Amazon Rain Forest:  The Aviary (Carnival of the Animals) – Camille Saint-Saens
• The Great Barrier Reef:  The Aquarium (Carnival of the Animals) – Camille Saint-Saens
• The Black Forest:  Hansel and Gretel Evening Prayer – Englebert Humperdinck
• The Chihuahuan Desert:  From the New World Symphony, largo movement – Antonin Dvorak
• The Himalayan Mountains:  Approaching the Summit – John Williams

Halloween, scary music for – from “Back in the Saddle Again”

• Dance Macabre – Saint-Saens
• Mars – Gustav Holst
• Masquerade – Khachaturian

Harp Music of the Angels – from “Sunday School”

• Harp Concerto in B-flat major – Handel
• Harp Concerto in A major – Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
• Concerto for Flut and Harp – Mozart

The Hungarian March, 3 Ways – from “Travelogue”

• Hungarian March – Berlioz
• Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 – Liszt
• Hungarian Dance No. 19 – Brahms

Hymns:  three from one – from “Riveting”

• Ave Maria – Jacques Arcadelt
• Symphony No. 3 in C minor (Organ Symphony) – Saint-Saens
• Finlandia Hymn – Sibelius

Inventions for Inventions – from “Lights!  Camera!  Edison!”

• Invention No. 6 in E major – JS Bach
• Invention No. 8 in F major – JS Bach
• Invention No. 13 in A minor – JS Bach

Jingling Bells – from “So Cool”

• German Dance No. 3 in C – Mozart
• Troika – Sergei Prokofiev
• Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson

A Hissy Fit – from “Looking North

• Dance of the Seven Veils – Richard Strauss
• Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
• Some Enchanted Evening – Rogers and Hammerstein

Insects – from “We’ll take that with a side of music”

• Spring, from The Four Seasons – Vivaldi
• Fireflies – Amy Beach
• La Cucaracha – composer unknown

Lights Out – from “Finishing Touches”

• The Dove, from The Birds – Respighi
• Out of Africa Theme – John Barry
• Nimrod, from Enigma Variations – Elgat

London Busses – from “Late Bloomer”

• Jupiter – Gustav Holst
• Pomp and Circumstance – Sir Edward Elgar
• Fantasia on Greensleeves – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Overture to H.M.S. Pinafore – Gilbert and Sullivan

Luring new classical listeners – from “Meanwhile…”

• Mars (The Planets) – Gustav Holst
• The Radetzky March – Johann Strauss, Sr
• Masquerade – Aram Khachaturian

March Madness – from “Ranch Report”

• Colonel Bogey March – Lieutenant F.J. Ricketts
• The Imperial March – John Williams

March’s Marches – from “Wordery”

• The Redetzky March – Johann Strauss, senior
• March of the Siamese Children – Richard Rogers
• The Washington Post March – John Philip Sousa

Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – from “Flying, Farming, and Felix”

• Overture to Midsummer Night’s Dream – Mendelssohn
• The Wedding March – Mendelssohn

Michelangelo’s Rome – from “One Sculptor, One Scoundrel”

• The Pines of Rome – Respighi
• Palladio for String Orchestra – Karl Jenkins
• Symphony No. 4 in A major (The Italian) – Mendelssohn

Minor Key Music – from “Miners and Minors”

• The Hebrides Overture – Mendelssohn
• In the Hall of the Mountain King – Edvard Grieg
• Ride of the Valkyries – Wagner

Minuet in G to the Power of 3 – from “Hendecasyllable”

• Minuet in G – Mozart
• Minuet in G – Beethoven
• Minuet in G – JS Bach

Mount Vesuvius – from “Mounting Interest”

• Funiculi Funicular – Luigi Denza
• Aus Italien – Richard Strauss
• Neapolitan Song – Rimsky-Korsakov

Music to Soothe – from “Music to Soothe”

• Mass in D minor, motet – Anton Bruchner
• Sheep May Safely Graze – JS Bach
• Simple Gifts – Joseph Brackett

Negro Spirituals – from “Heavenly”

• Down by the Riverside – traditional
• Wade in the Water – traditional
• Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – traditional

Nocturnes – from “Zootique”

• Nocturne No. 2 – Chopin
• Nocturne No. 3 – Liszt
• Harlem Nocturne – Earl Hagen

The Oboe – from “Music Mechanics”

• Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – Handel
• Swan Lake, final scene – Tchaikovsky
• Le Tombeau de Couperin – Ravel

Ocean Themes – from “Sea Hunt”

• The Aquarium, from The Carnival of the Animals – Saint-Saens
• Jeux de Vagues, from La Mer – Debussy
• Over the Waves – Juventino Rosas

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra – from “Curses and Cheers”

• La Cambiale de matrimonio – Gioachino Rossini
• Le Tombeau de Couperin – Maurice Ravel

Overtures – from “Takes a Lickin’ and Keeps on Tickin'”

• Overture from H.M.S. Pinafore – Gilbert and Sullivan
• Overture from Midsummer Night’s Dream – Mendelssohn
• Overture from The Marriage of Figaro – Mozart

Paris Tribute – from “A Ghost by any other Name”

• The Swan – Saint-Saens
• Carillon – Bizet
• La Vie en Rose – Edith Piaf

Parodies – from “Old Business”

• Dance of the Hours – Amilcare Ponchielli
• Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah – Allan Sherman
• Hungarian Dance No. 5 – Johannas Brahms
• Hungarian Goulash No. 5 – Allan Sherman
• Country Garden – Percy Grainger
• Here’s to the Crabgrass – Allan Sherman

Pizzicato! – from “The Price is Wrong”

• Divertissement:  Pizzicati – Leo Delibes
• Symphony 4 in F minor – Tchaikovsky
• Anitra’s Dance – Edvard Grieg

The Presidents’ Music – from “The Liberace Instigation”

• classical pieces composed during each administration

Ralph Vaughan Williams and the English Countryside – from “Shout Outs!”

• The Lark Ascending
• Sea Songs
• English Folk Song Suite

The Recorder – from “Well Played”

• Sopranino Recorder Concerto in C major – Vivaldi
• Ode to Joy – Beethoven
• Greensleeves – traditional

Regrets – from “Talking in Circles”

• Adagio in G minor for Strings and Orchestra – Tomaso Albinoni
• Serenade – Franz Schubert
• Symphony No. 3 in F major, movement III – Johannas Brahms

Rounds, Canons, and Fugues – from “Whale Fall and other Water Wonders”

• Canon in D – Johann Pachelbel
• Fugue in G minor – JS Bach
• Fugue for Tinhorns – Frank Loesser

The Sad Song Scale – from “Two Different Worlds”

• Symphony No. 3 in F major – Brahms
• What’ll I Do? – Irving Berlin
• Serenade – Schubert

Saint Patrick’s Day – from “The Business of March”

• Toora Loora Looral – James Royce Shannon
• The Irish Washerwoman – traditional/Leroy Anderson
• Danny Boy – Frederic Weatherly

The Saxophone – from “Salient”

• Harlem Nocturne – Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers
• Theme from The Pink Panther – Henry Mancini
• Prologue to West Side Story – Leonard Bernstein

Short and Sweet – from “The 11th Hour”

• Minute Waltz (Waltz in D-flat major) – Chopin
• Scottish Fantasy, movement 1 – Max Bruch
• The Lord Bless You and Keep You – Peter Lutkin

Shrill Thrills! (the piccolo) – from “Jams and Jellyfish”

• Chinese Dance (Nutcracker) – Tchaikovsky
• Triton Fountain in the Morning – Respighi
• Stars and Stripes Forever – Sousa

Soothing Music – from “Music to Soothe”

• Mass in D minor, motet – Bruchner
• Sheep May Safely Graze – JS Bach
• Simple Gifts – Joseph Brackett

The Snare Drum – from “It’s All Fun!”

• Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
• Scotland the Brave – traditional
• Bolero – Maurice Ravel

Strauss Family, the splendidly gifted – from “780 Pairs of Saddle Shoes”

• Radetzky March – Johann Strauss, senior
• Feuerfest Polka – Joseph Strauss
• Thunder and Lightning Polka – Johann Strauss, junior

String Quartets – from “We the People”

• String Quartet in B-flat major (La Chasse) – Haydn
• String Quartet No. 2 in D major – Borodin
• Cantina Band (performed as a string quartet) – John Williams

Suite Music of Respighi – from “The Sweet Life”

• The Dove (The Birds)
• The Hen (The Birds)
• The Cuckoo (The Birds

Summertime – from “Barely Scraping By”

• Summer – Vivaldi
• Fireflies – Amy Beach
• Summertime – George and Ira Gershwin
• In the Summertime – Mungo Jerry

Sunday Night Music – from “How We Write”

• How Great Thou Art – Carl Gustav Boberg
• Turn!  Turn!  Turn! – Pete Seeger/Book of Ecclesiastes
• Let us Cheer the Weary Traveler – Nathaniel Dett

Surprise Endings – from “Bringing Handwriting up to Scratch”

• The Wild Bears – Sir Edward Elgar
• The Moldau – Bedrich Smetana
• The Imperial March – John Williams

Tambourines! – from “Peace, Love, and Tambourines”

• Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan
• Tarantella – Rossini/Respighi
• Russian Dance (Nutcracker) – Tchaikovsky

Tango-ology – from “What We Want”

• Por una Cabeza – Le Pera and Gardel
• Hernando’s Hideaway (The Pajama Game) – Adler and Ross
• Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
• The Doc Martin Theme – Colin Towns

Tea Time – from “Textbooks – if we ruled the world”

• Tea for Two – Youmans and Caesar
• Tea for Two (Tahiti Trot) – Shostakovich
• Tea for Two – Art Tatum

Things in the Sky – from “Snakes and Pirates”

• Fireflies – Amy Beach
• Clair de Lune – Debussy
• Mercury – Gustav Holst

The Timpani – from “One Thing Leads to Another”

• Dance of the Seven Veils – Richard Strauss
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra – Richard Strauss
• Pirates of the Caribbean Suite – Klaus Badelt

Trains – from “Posting about Posters”

• The Little Train of Caipira – Heitor Villa-Lobos
• The Steam Engine – Patrick Doyle
• Take the A Train – Duke Ellington

The Triangle – from “It’s All about the Triangle”

• Turkish March – Beethoven
• Symphony No. 4 in E minor, movement III – Brahms
• Pink Panther Theme – Henry Mancini

Tribute:  music for a beloved grandfather – from “Imagine That”

• Fight for California – McCoy/Fitch
• The Army Song – Sousa/Arberg
• Ashokan Farewell – Jay Ungar

Van Cliburn recordings – from “Foxtrot-Uniform-November”

• Winter Wind – Chopin
• Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini – Rachmaninoff
• Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major – Tchaikovsky

The Vatican, background music for – from “Holy Zucchetto”

• Gregorian Chants – traditional
• Gloria in Excelsis Deo – Vivaldi
• Locus Iste – Bruchner

The Violin Voice – from “April, at last”

• String Quartet No. 2 in D – Alexander Borodin
• Scottish Fantasy, movement 1 – Max Bruch
• Song to the Moon (Rusalka) – Antonin Dvorak

Virtuoso Night:  Stanley Drucker – from “Affordable Housing Forever”

• Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor – Brahms
• Appalachian Spring – Aaron Copland
• Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin

Virtuoso Night:  Sir James Galway – from “Thousands and Thousands”

• Concerto for Flute and Harp – Mozart
• I Saw Three Ships – traditional
• Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Korsakov

Virtuoso Night:  Wynton Marsalis – from “Novel Ideas”

• Concerto in E-flat major for Trumpet – Haydn
• Moto Perpetuo – Paganini
• The Prince of Denmark March (Trumpet Voluntary) – Jeremiah Clark

Virtuoso Night:  Itzhak Perlman – from “Insert Clever Title Here”

• Humoresque – Dvorak
• Out of Africa, title music – John Barry
• Violin Concerto in E minor – Mendelssohn

Waltzing with Tchaikovsky – from “Case in Point:  Ibn Battuta”

• Serenade for Strings – Tchaikovsky
• Swan Lake Waltz, Act II – Tchaikovsky
• Eugene Onegin, Polonaise – Tchaikovsky

Weddings – from “A good, good, good day”

• The Prince of Denmark’s March – Jeremiah Clarke
• Wedding Day at Troldhaugen – Edvard Grieg
• Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Mendelssohn

While Pirates Looted – from “The Vocabulary of Vocabulary”

• Gloria in Excelsis Deo – Vivaldi
• Invention No. 13 in A minor – Bach
• Alla Hornpipe (Water Music) – Handel

Wild West Music – from “Rootin’ Tootin'”

• Hoedown (from “Rodeo”) – Aaron Copland
• Theme from “Bonanza” – David Rose and Billy May
• Theme from “The Magnificent Seven” – Elmer Bernstein

Wistfulness – from “Finish the Poem”

• Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, love theme – Tchaikovsky
• Ashokan Farewell – Jay Ungar
• What’ll I Do – Irving Berlin

Worker Bees, a soundtrack for – from “Bee Plus!”

• Moto Perpetuo – Paganini
• The Pizzicato – Leo Delibes
• Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Korsakov

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