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October has had 31 days from
the time of Julius Caesar. The Roman Senate tried to name the month "Antoninus"
after a Roman Emperor, "Faustinus" after his wife, and "Tacitus"
after a Roman historian, but the people kept calling the month October.
Again we are reminded of Mars, God of war, agriculture, and of the state
and identified with the Greek war god Ares. His festivals in March and
October marked the opening and closing of the military campaign season.
This lack of references in Plutarch to the personalities of a Roman Leader
or to Roman deities in these months' names, freed me to explore even more
abstract references and musical gestures. So, in my effort to write a
piece of music that portrays October, I hearkened back to the lore of
Halloween! |