White Rose of Avalon

Music

  • My Top 5 Most Magical Stevie Nicks Songs

    For today’s post I would like to do a countdown of my top five picks for most magical songs by Stevie Nicks.   I love the music of Stevie Nicks, both solo and with Fleetwood Mac.    This countdown will have songs that have an ethereal and magical feel that Stevie is so known for!…

  • Into the Woods

    The musical Into the Woods was made into a Disney movie musical in 2014.     The beauty of this musical is that it is a mashup of several beloved fairytales!    There is the Jack and the Beanstalk storyline, the Little Red Riding Hood storyline, the Cinderella storyline, and the Rapunzel storyline!   We…

  • The Phantom of the Opera

    Gaston Leroux’s tale of a deformed man, named Erik, haunting a beautiful young woman at an opera house in Paris is one that has become iconic.    This is likely due to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that has been a Broadway smash since the 1980s!   This happens to be my all time favorite…

  • The Sleeping Beauty Ballet

    The Sleeping Beauty Ballet was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.   It is based on the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty.   It is one of three ballets composed by Tchaikovsky.    It is my personal favorite Tchaikovsky ballet, and actually my favorite ballet of all time!   I am, in fact, walking down the aisle…

  • Camelot: The Musical

    In 1960 Lerner and Loewe premiered a new musical entitled Camelot.   The musical was based on the successful Arthurian novel Once and Future King by T.H. White.   On stage the role of Arthur was originated by the great Richard Burton, and the role of Guinevere was originated by Julie Andrews.  On an interesting…

  • Mandolin

    The mandolin is part of the lute family of stringed instruments.    It has four sets of paired strings, a total of eight, that are played in pairs.   The tuning of the mandolin is G,D,A,E traditionally.    This instrument, or at least early forms of it, was used by medieval minstrels and troubadours.  …

  • Dionysus as Archetype

    Carl Gustave Jung introduced the theory of archetypes that impact our personalities, based in the cultural unconscious.   In the 1980’s Jungian psychologist Jean Shinoda Bolen used these archetype theories in the form of Greek gods.    First in her book Goddesses in Everywoman and then in the follow-up Gods in Everyman.    In the…

  • Magical & Mystical Music

    Simple as it may seem one of the most magical things in the world is music!    Music has been used in rituals across cultures and across religions.   Dancing as a part of mystical energetic rites was very common in ancient times.    Dance can symbolize fertility, ecstasy, sexual fulfillment, and freedom! In the…

  • My Top 10 Favorite Historical Lovers

    My final Valentine’s Day, and Love Week, love list this year is about historical lovers!   Here are my ten favorite historical lovers! Number 10: Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII ~In time of ancient Egypt and Rome Cleopatra famously seduced Marc Antony.    She had already fallen in love with and bore a son to…

  • My Top 10 Love Songs!

    Below is my second Valentine’s Day list in honor of Love Week here at White Rose of Avalon! Number 10: Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers ~This song is a very romantic and was first released in 1955, but received jukebox standard acclaim with the Righteous Brothers 1965 recording.   This same recording went on…