Music

About this Collection

From historic changes in form to the choice of what texts to set to music, the art of music has long been a vital force in the expression of the human desire for liberty.

Freedom Music

Key People

Johann Sebastian Bach

Leonard Woolsey Bacon

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

Ludwig van Beethoven

Antonio Ghislanzoni

Edmund G. Hurley

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Lorenzo Da Ponte

Charles Sanford Terry

Giuseppe Verdi

Titles & Essays

A – Z List

Drama

Literature On Music

Music

Not Categorized

Mozart’s Opera Marriage of Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (author)

One of Mozart’s most popular operas, with a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based upon the notorious play by Beaumarchais. The play had been banned in 1786 because it questioned the legitimacy and rationality of the aristocracy by…

Quotes

Literature & Music

Bach asks God “when will I die”? (1700)

Full Quote

Literature & Music

Beethoven’s hero Florestan in the opera Fidelio laments the loss of his liberty for speaking the truth to power (1805)

Full Quote

Literature & Music

J.S. Bach and Martin Luther on how God (the “feste Burg”) helps us gain our freedom (1730)

Full Quote

Literature & Music

Thierry on the need for songs about our lost liberties which will act as a barrier to encroaching power (1845)

Full Quote

Notes About This Collection

See also the extracts, chapters, and introductions in the Music section of the Ideas page.