Composing after the Italian Manner: The English Cantata 1700-1710

In this chapter, I will examine examples from several of the earliest eighteenth-century English cantatas written after the Italian style and in direct response to the growing popularity of Italian vocal music in England.3 The early English cantatas of three composers-John Eccles, Daniel Purcell, and Johann Christoph Pepusch-portend how each would fare in the new musical century, when the compositional ideals of an earlier era were foresaken as the focus on Italian vocal music, the \u27talk of the town\u27, broadened in scope and sharpened in intensity

Leadership through Laughter: How Henry Carey Reinvented English Music and Song

Polly refers to Miss Polly Peachum, a character in John Gay\u27s The Beggar\u27s Opera of 1728 (January). Henry Carey (1687-1743) set this verse (1728) to his famous tune Sally in our Alley, which Gay had used in the opera. Carey\u27s verse about Polly Peachum became so popular that it was eventually incorporated into The Beggar\u27s Opera libretto, beginning with the third edition.1 Even in this short example, we can detect Carey\u27s delight that Polly had overtaken the Opera of Rolli, alluding to Italian opera in general by referring specifically to the Italian poet and librettist who adapted libretti for several opera seria composers whilst they were in London. Though this particular victory celebration for English opera would not last long, Polly\u27s triumph was one of the indicators that the period of significant success for Italian opera in London was growing short-a situation that surely would have pleased Henry Carey. Poet, composer, librettist, singer, teacher, and Englishman to the core, Carey was on the frontlines of the battle between the theatres presenting ballad opera and English opera, and the theatres presenting the Italian operas of Handel, Bononcini, Ariosti, Porpora, Hasse, and Broschi. Through studying Carey\u27s innovative songs and poems one immediately discerns Carey\u27s nationalistic sentiments, expressed during a time when the English musical arts were set aside in favor of Italian musical forms and performers.2 Carey was in the forefront of those seeking to change English attitudes towards their own music (in particular English opera) and musicians. Carey also wrote pieces of political and social satire, taking the lead in producing wickedly humorous social commentary. This discussion of Carey\u27s creative output, referencing songs and poems dating from the 1720s and 1730s, will demonstrate the distinctive ways in which artists use their work to lead

The Composing of Musick in the English Language: The Development of the English Cantata, 1700-1750

The cantata as cultivated by Alessandro Scarlatti and his contemporaries Alessandro Stradella and Giovanni Bononcini was the model for the early development of the English cantata, which remained a solo vocal genre in England throughout the eighteenth century, namely 1710-1800. By focusing on specific musical elements, such as cantata format (recitative-aria-recitative-aria or aria-recitative-aria), song forms, motivic use, textual content, instrumental requirements and performance venues, the evolution of the English cantata can be observed during the first half of the eighteenth century, developing from a simple imitation of the Italian form to a genre in its own right.

How a thrown shooe became a tragedy and other funny stories: A Study of the Three Burlesque Cantatas (1741) by Henry Carey (1689–1743)

This is not to say that Carey thought ill of Italian music, per se. Contemporary accounts, including Carey’s own poems, reveal his high opinion of Handel and others who composed in the Italian style. Rather, Carey’s literary barbs were directed toward his English brothers and sisters who were all too swift to support Italian opera and Italian singers at the expense of English music and musicians. Carey spent much of his career addressing this cultural issue from a variety of creative vantage points: prose, song texts, original melodies, Italian-style cantatas, burlesques of Italian operatic style, and anonymous commentaries. This essay will consider Carey’s Three Burlesque Cantatas, which were specifically intended to satirize everyday occurrences in 18th-century London and, in particular, that city’s infatuation with Italian musical conventions. {3} During the 1720s and ‘30s, Henry Carey was a majo

Investigation of phosphorylation and ligand binding of the focal adhesion targeting domain of focal adhesion kinase

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that localizes to focal adhesions upon integrin activation. FAK plays a key role in cell migration, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. Because of its role in these processes, it is not surprising that FAK is also involved in tumor progression and metastasis. Overexpression of FAK often correlates with increased metastasis. The C-terminal focal adhesion targeting (FAT) domain of FAK is required for proper localization and subsequent activation of FAK. Phosphorylation of the FAT domain at Y926 by Src kinase is believed to delocalize FAK from focal adhesions and promote cell migration, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. Because of its role in such important processes, phosphorylation at Y926 is likely to be tightly regulated. Because the inherent conformation of Y926 is not favorable for Src recognition, phosphorylation of Y926 is thought to be regulated by changes in the conformation or dynamics of the region surrounding Y926. However, what regulates these conformational changes is unknown. In this study, we provide evidence that Src-mediated phosphorylation of Y926 is sensitive to pH in vitro and reveal a second site of Src-mediated phosphorylation in the FAT domain: Y1008. NMR studies of the FAT domain reveal pH-dependent changes in backbone dynamics in regions shown to be important for phosphorylation. In addition to understanding how phosphorylation is regulated, we also were interested in investigating how phosphorylation itself affects the characteristics of the FAT domain. To address this issue, we characterized several Y926 mutants of the FAT domain and determined that perturbation of Y926 affects paxillin binding. Therefore, it is likely that phosphorylation is incompatible with paxillin binding, which supports the hypothesis that phosphorylation delocalizes FAK from focal adhesions. Finally, we have investigated a possible interaction between the FAT domain and the protein talin. This interaction has been proposed as a secondary mechanism by which the FAT domain localizes FAK to focal adhesions. However, we were unable to detect an interaction under our conditions

Vitamin D status in female military personnel during combat training

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for maintaining bone health. Recent data suggest that vitamin D and calcium supplementation might affect stress fracture incidence in military personnel. Although stress fracture is a health risk for military personnel during training, no study has investigated changes in vitamin D status in Soldiers during United States (US) Army basic combat training (BCT). This longitudinal study aimed to determine the effects of BCT on 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in female Soldiers. Serum 25(OH)D and PTH were assessed in 74 fasted Soldier volunteers before and after an 8-week BCT course conducted between August and October in Columbia, South Carolina. In the total study population, 25(OH)D levels decreased (mean ± SD) from 72.9 ± 30.0 to 63.3 ± 19.8 nmol/L (P < 0.05) and PTH levels increased from 36.2 ± 15.8 to 47.5 ± 21.2 pg/mL (P < 0.05) during BCT. Ethnicity affected changes in vitamin D status (ethnicity-by-time interaction, P < 0.05); 25(OH)D decreased (P < 0.05) in both Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites, but did not change in non-Hispanic blacks. Ethnicity did not affect BCT-induced changes in PTH. These data indicate that vitamin D status in female Soldiers may decline during military training in the late summer and early autumn months in the Southeastern US. Future studies should strive to determine the impact of military clothing and seasonality on vitamin D status, as well as the functional impact of declining vitamin D status on bone health

BiPS, a Photocleavable, Isotopically Coded, Fluorescent Cross-linker for Structural Proteomics

Cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry is an emerging approach for studying protein structure and protein-protein interactions. However, unambiguous mass spectrometric identification of cross-linked peptides derived from proteolytically digested cross-linked proteins is still challenging. Here we describe the use of a novel cross-linker, bimane bisthiopropionic aci

The Science Case for a Return to Enceladus

The plume of Enceladus is unique in the solar system in providing direct access to fresh material from an extraterrestrial subsurface ocean. The Cassini Mission, though not specifically designed for it, was able to take advantage of the plume to conduct the best characterization to date of an extraterrestrial ocean. Evidence gathered from multiple instruments points to a global, subsurface liquid water ocean rich in salts and organic compounds, with water-rock interactions occurring presumably in hydrothermal systems at or below the moon’s sea floor. Meeting the criteria of “extended regions of liquid water, conditions favorable for the assembly of complex organic molecules, and energy source(s) to sustain metabolism,” the ocean of Enceladus can therefore be considered habitable. It is also the only confirmed place beyond the Earth where we can easily sample fresh material from a demonstrably habitable environment without the complications of digging or drilling. The next step is to investigate whether Enceladus’ ocean is actually inhabited. Here, we summarize the evidence for Enceladus’ ocean and its habitability, identify constraints and outstanding questions on the detectability of life within its ocean, and recommend a return to Enceladus with a dedicated search-for-life mission (or missions)