Spain

Coordinates: 40°N 4°W / 40°N 4°W / 40; -4

Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state largely located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, with archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and several small territories on and near the north African coast. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Extending to 1,214 km (754 mi), the Portugal–Spain border is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vélez de la Gomera. With an area of 505,990 km² (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in Europe. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union.

Mass in D (Smyth)

The Mass in D by Ethel Smyth is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra.

Background

Smyth composed the Mass following a renewal of her High Anglican belief, stimulated by reading a copy of The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis, while she was ill in Munich on Christmas Eve 1889. The book belonged to her Catholic friend Pauline Trevelyan, to whom Smyth dedicated the Mass. She composed much of it while a guest of Empress Eugénie at Cape Martin, near Monaco, in the summer of 1891.

Eugénie was also a friend of Queen Victoria. In October 1891, Smyth was staying with Eugénie on the estate of Balmoral Castle when the Queen paid a visit. Smyth gave a rendition at the piano of two movements of the Mass, and the Queen invited her to the castle where she gave another, longer rendition. Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh subsequently asked the Royal Choral Society to schedule the premiere. This took place on 18 January 1893 in the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Joseph Barnby. The soloists were Esther Palliser, Belle Cole, Ben Davies and Robert Watkin-Mills.

D major

D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.

D major is well-suited to violin music because of the structure of the instrument, which is tuned G D A E. The open strings resonate sympathetically with the D string, producing a sound that is especially brilliant. This is also the case with all other orchestral strings.

It is thus no coincidence that many classical composers throughout the centuries have chosen to write violin concertos in D major, including those by Mozart (No. 2, 1775, No. 4, 1775); Ludwig van Beethoven (1806); Paganini (No. 1, 1817); Brahms (1878); Tchaikovsky (1878); Prokofiev (No. 1, 1917); Stravinsky (1931); and Korngold (1945).

It is appropriate for guitar music, with drop D tuning making two Ds available as open strings. For some beginning wind instrument students, however, D major is not a very suitable key, since it transposes to E major on B-flat wind instruments, and beginning methods generally tend to avoid keys with more than three sharps.

Psalm 110

Psalm 110 (Septuagint No. 109) is from the Book of Psalms. It refers in the general sense to King David ruling over the enemies of the Israelites and is thought to have become a Messianic psalm used by Christians. Because this Psalm is prominent in the Office of Vespers, its Latin text, Dixit Dominus, has particular significance in music, having been set by Charpentier (in 1689), Händel (1707), Leo (in 1741 and 1742), Monteverdi (1610 and 1640), Mozart (1779 and 1780), Pergolesi (1732), Porpora (1720), Scarlatti (1700), Victoria (1581) and Vivaldi (twice in 1715), among others.

Text and background

Psalm 110
¹ {A Psalm of David.} The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
² The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
³ Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
⁴ The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
⁵ The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
⁶ He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
⁷ He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) was one of the largest empires in world history and one of the first of global extent. It reached the peak of its military, political and economic power under the Spanish Habsburgs through most of the 16th and 17th centuries, and its greatest territorial extent under the Bourbons in the 18th century when it was the largest empire in the world. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time, and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets. The empire, administered from Madrid by the Spanish Crown, comprised territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration after the voyages of Christopher Columbus and lasted until the late 19th century. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe included the Greater Antilles, half of South America, most of Central America and much of North America (including present day Mexico, Florida, the Southwestern, the Midwestern United States, and Pacific Coastal regions of the United States), as well as a number of Pacific Ocean archipelagos including the Philippines.