Music

22
Nov
2020

Boléro

Today is the anniversary of the first public performance (22 November, 1928) of Boléro by Maurice Ravel. It was one of his last compositions before his death in 1937.

Boléro was composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein. Ravel decided to base it on the Spanish musical form and dance called bolero. He invented a melody and said to a friend, “Don’t you think this theme has an insistent quality? I’m going to try and repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can.”

The piece was an instant success and is his most famous piece. I think the melody indeed has an insistent quality and I love the way he builds the orchestra behind it as wonderfully demonstrated in this performance by The Wiener Philharmoniker led by Gustavo Dudamel. Note: some subscribers do not get the youtube videos in your email. If you don’t see it, click on the link to the post.

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Posted by Tom in Music
20
Nov
2020

Happy Friday!

I see there is a 4 year gap on your resume. Did you work in the Trump administration?

Good grief…it’s been years!

On this day in 1957, The Silhouettes released their hit single: “Get a Job”. The song reached number 1 on both the pop and R&B charts and was later featured on the soundtracks of ‘American Graffiti’, ‘Stand by Me’ and others.

Posted by Tom in doo-wop, Humor
15
Nov
2020

Petula Clark

Petula Clark Treats Audience to Her Big Hits | Best Classic Bands

Today is the birthday (15 November, 1932) of Petula Clark. Most of us on this side of the pond know her for her iconic 1964 hit ‘Downtown’. She was, however, a very successful performer before her first US hit.

She made her radio debut in 1942 and went on to a series of some 500 performances designed to entertain the troops. She also toured the UK with fellow child performer, Julie Andrews. She was considered a mascot by the British army and troops plastered her photos on tanks and such for good luck in battle.

In the late 50s and early 60s she became a star across Europe, recording hits in German, French, Spanish and Italian and had numerous number 1 hits both in the UK and across the channel. She also began composing film scores.

Her US debut came with the release of ‘Downtown’ in 1964. It went to number 1 on the charts in January of 1965. She also recorded the song in French and the song was a hit in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, India and Rhodesia. Clark went on to record 15 consecutive top 40 hits in the US.

An interesting episode occurred in 1968 when she was invited by NBC to film her own special. While singing a duet with Harry Belafonte, she took hold of his arm, much to dismay of a representative of Chrysler corporation (the sponsor) who feared that the moment would incur racial backlash from southern viewers. He demanded that they re-film the song with the two standing well apart. Clark refused and destroyed all other takes of the song and delivered the show to NBC with the touch intact. The Chrysler rep was fired and the show aired on 6 April, 1968, four days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Enough of my blathering. Here’s Petula!

And this…

and this…

Posted by Tom in sixties and seventies
25
Oct
2020

Johann Strauss II

Today is the birthday (October 25, 1825 of Johann Strauss II – ‘The Waltz King’. He was a prolific composer of light music including more than 500 waltzes, polka, quadrilles, etc. His waltzes including ‘The Blue Danube Waltz’, the ‘Vienna Waltz’ and the ‘Emperor Waltz’ help popularize the waltz in Austria and elsewhere. His music is widely known. Those of you who are old enough may remember that the Blue Danube Waltz was used to score one of the remarkable scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Posted by Tom in Music
10
Oct
2020

Verdi!

Today is the birthday of Giuseppe Verdi (October 10, 1813), one of the most wonderful of opera composers. Even if you’re not a fan of opera, you will recognize some of his music and, by the time you finish this post, may even like it! Verdi was a strong supporter of the ‘Risorgimento’ – the Italian unification movement. Much of his music was in the spirit of the movement and Verdi himself was considered a representative of the ideals.

There are certain of his pieces that I like a lot. His third opera, Nabucco, is the story of the conquest of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar and their exile and enslavement. The chorus, Va pensiero, known sometimes as ‘The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ has, in my mind, a beautiful, haunting quality as they dream of their homeland. If you want to sing along, the text can be found HERE.

In 1851, Verdi composed ‘Rigoletto’, a tragic story revolving around the Duke of Mantua, his court jester, Rigoletto and Rigolleto’s daughter Gilda. One of the most famous aria in the opera is ‘La donna è mobile’ (woman is fickle) sung by the duke. I’m sure you’ve heard the melody:

Another of my favorites is from La Traviata which was first presented in 1853. It’s the story of a famous courtesan and a young man who falls in love with her even though she already has a wealthy lover. There is, of course, a duel and later, Violetta, the courtesan, falls ill and dies in the young mans’ arms. My favorite piece from this is, of course, the drinking song.

I don’t want to make this too long so I’ll close with ‘Aida’. The Khedive of Egypt commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez canal. The result was ‘Aida’ and this triumphal march.

Happy birthday, Giuseppe!

Posted by Tom in opera