William Sterling

Introducing

Achilles killing Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons by Exekias of Athens c. 560 BC. This type of pot is called Black Figure ware as the figures were filled in using the liquid or slip clay which miraculously turned black during the firing process. One of the incidents during the Trojan War not recorded by Homer was the fight between Achilles, hero of the Greeks, and Penthesilea, queen of the tribe of warrior women called the Amazons. Achilles won but at the moment he drove his spear into her neck their eyes met for the first time and they fell in love with each other. Exekias shows this ultimate Greek Tragedy by suggesting Achilles is trying to pull the spear out rather than thrust it home but all too late. Image © Trustees of the British Museum
My name is Dr William Sterling ~ welcome to my website. I have degrees in History and Geography with additional qualifications in Music and Education. I taught full-time at an Independent School in Kent for four years before joining the Civil Service. I worked for 16 years in the Department of TransportRead more »

SPOTLIGHT: Music features

Music for the Mass

Music for the Mass – A Thousand Years of Choral Music From its early origins in the Middle Ages, the Mass has inspired some of the greatest music by the greatest composers. This course examined the chronological development of the Mass and the Requiem by composers from the Middle Ages to the Present Day from… Read more »

Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes

Diaghilev This was a chronological examination of the great impresario’s touring opera and ballet company, particularly concentrating on the many works he commissioned from Stravinsky, Ravel, Satie, Prokofiev, De Falla, Poulenc, Milhaud and others. No one has done more to advance the development of music who was not themselves a composer or performer than the… Read more »

Shakespeare and Music

Shakespeare and Music I ran this course jointly with Rudy Sabor.  Taking a different play each week with students giving an outline of the plot, examining the contemporary music and music inspired by it by later composers for tone poems, operas, songs and other works.  I covered Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King… Read more »

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