Bayou Renaissance Man

Following news that the "Fanfare for the First Lady" was nothing more than the lightly reworked theme music from "F Troop", a number of readers left suggestions as to what alternative theme tunes might be used.  One of them, perhaps inevitably, was "Yakety Sax", also known as the Benny Hill theme.  However, the Benny Hill Show used only part of "Yakety Sax" as its theme, omitting several of the variations in the original piece.

"Yakety Sax" is also said to be very hard to play for any saxophonist, due to the very difficult breath control needed to play some of the longer sections.  Boots Randolph allegedly called it the most difficult saxophone piece he'd ever played, and kicked himself for having composed it!  Be that as it may, it became his signature piece, demanded by audiences wherever he appeared.

Here's Boots Randolph performing his own composition.

The music has been used to indicate a funny, satirical or slapstick video more times than I can recall.  My favorite is still one I put on this blog back in 2013.  The authorities in New York City had banned an annual skateboarding event known as the "Broadway Bomb".  After the organizers defied the ban, the NYPD was ordered to stop the skateboarders.  Mayhem (of the very funny variety) ensued.  Someone filmed it from his apartment balcony, and set the resulting video to the tune of the Benny Hill theme, with highly entertaining results.  The music was a perfect fit for the action.

I hope that brought a smile to your face this Sunday morning!

Peter

This news is a couple of days old, but I only just came across it.  After I stopped laughing, I thought I'd share it here for others who might not have heard it yet.

It's emerged that soon after entering the White House, somebody in the Administration decided that whenever Mrs. Biden entered an official function, she needed her own theme music, much as the President is greeted by "Hail To The Chief".

Somebody - presumably in the Marine Corps Band, which plays at the White House - came up with this "Fanfare for the First Lady".

Only recently did somebody note that the Fanfare sounds uncannily similar to the theme music for the 1960's TV comedy series "F Troop", about a hapless cavalry troop in the Old West that can't do anything right and gets everything wrong.  See - or, rather, listen - for yourself.

Seems to me that the Fanfare is nothing more or less than a (very) thinly disguised rendition of the F Troop theme.  Given the performance of the Biden administration, I daresay it's a pretty fair tribute to its accomplishments, too!

I wonder if the composer of the Fanfare was able to get his tongue out of his cheek after completing it . . . ?

Peter

Something different this Sunday, combining very old musical styles with recent pop and rock hits.  Algal the Bard plays a genre he largely originated, which has become known as Bardcore:   "medieval-inspired remakes of popular songs".

I don't like some of them, but then, I don't like a lot of modern music.  However, some are very well done indeed.  Here are a few samples.  First, Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters".

Next, a "tavern version" of "Take On Me".

"Losing My Religion" in medieval style.

And finally, here's "Toxicity" from System Of A Down.

You'll find many more of his videos at his YouTube channel.  Do a search there on "Bardcore" for more performers and music in the genre.

Peter

This may be the best recording I've ever encountered of Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis".  It may also be unique in my experience, thanks to three factors.

The first is the dividing of the orchestra into two parts.  Vaughn Williams conducted this piece in the Gloucester Cathedral in 1910, and specified this arrangement for the inaugural performance.  Wikipedia describes it thus:

The Fantasia is scored for double string orchestra with string quartet, employing antiphony between the three contributory ensembles. Orchestra I is the main body of strings; Orchestra II is smaller. The published score does not stipulate the number of players in Orchestra I; Orchestra II consists of two first violins, two seconds, two violas, two cellos and one double bass.

Most modern performances don't make the division, playing it as a single, united orchestra:  but it does make an audible difference when two separate groups play together.  In this case, the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra performs on and above the stage at the Kilden Performing Arts Center in that city.  Orchestra 1 is, as noted above, the majority of the orchestra:  Orchestra 2 is positioned behind and above it, on the rear balcony.  Listen for the distinctive interplay between the two music sources.  It works, and adds a new dimension to the piece.

The second is the technical quality of the recording.  Most modern performances of a lot of classical music emphasize the bass, and de-emphasize higher registers.  I've heard performances of the Fantasia that remind me more of a German oompah marching band than a hymn!  In this performance, the orchestra and the editors of the recording have returned to what I think Vaughn Williams himself would recognize as what he wanted;  a more balanced, measured sound where the interplay of the elements of the orchestra, the balance of the music overall, is more important than thumpity-thump.  I enjoyed it very much.

The third is the conductor, Tabita Berglund.  Despite her youth and relative inexperience, she's about to take over as Principal Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  In this performance, she's simply magnificent;  and based on it, I suspect the standards of classical music in Detroit are about to take a distinct upward turn.  Her style of conducting is more flowing, more intimately expressive, than many other conductors in my experience.  She clearly puts herself into the music and conducts in terms of what it says to her, rather than merely reading dry notes on a music manuscript page.  For example, watch the last minute or so of this piece, particularly the final notes as they fade away.  Watch her body language, the expression on her face . . . and the sheer joy in her beaming smile as she looks up at the orchestra.  It's a musical vignette in itself.

Without further ado, here goes.

You can bet I'm going to look for more performances by the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and particularly for more under the baton of Ms. Berglund.  Discovering their rendition of the Fantasia made my week.

Peter

A news report triggered a major flashback memory of my childhood.

The Hudson River Estuary Program fisheries staff reeled in a giant fish out of the Hudson River in New York last week.

The Atlantic sturgeon spreads six feet in length, weighing around 220 pounds, according to a Facebook post from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC).

It was caught near Hyde Park, about 80 miles from New York City.

. . .

The staff suspected the unique fish to be a female that had not yet spawned.

Atlantic sturgeons typically spend most of the year in the ocean, but the adults move in the Hudson during this time of year to spawn, the NYS DEC post said. 

Atlantic sturgeons are the Hudson River’s biggest fish, and New York State’s largest sturgeon species, the post said.

There's more at the link.

And the flashback?

Apparently, during World War II, American servicemen brought to the European theater a large number of songs from their homes.  My father, in turn, brought some of them home with him.  One of them, which my father used to hum (and, when my mother wasn't within hearing, sing), was "The Virgin Sturgeon Song".  The first verse is sort-of-suitable for polite company, so here it is:

There are many other verses, most less polite (and the lyrics at the link leave out all of the really "military verses" that Dad learned - he wouldn't sing those unless he was absolutely sure we kids were out of earshot!  I had to wait until I was in uniform myself before he'd share them.)  If you do an Internet search, you'll find several recordings of the song, some less... er... raw than others.  No, I'm not going to embed one here!  There are ladies among my readership!

It was weird.  As I read that report, I could literally hear my long-dead father's voice in my head, singing the Virgin Sturgeon Song softly to himself as he repaired a piece of furniture or worked on our car.  It was almost unconscious for him, a sort of meditative mouth music.  The song was also one of the less... ah... impolite pieces he brought back from the war, so if Mom caught him singing it (particularly in the presence of us kids), he wasn't in as much trouble as he would be if she caught him singing "The Rape of the Sphinx" or "The Old Bazaar in Cairo".  (An expurgated - highly expurgated - version of the latter may be heard here.)

Ah . . . memories!

Peter

Earlier this month came the news that iconic French singer Françoise Hardy had died, at the age of 80.  The BBC reported:

Hardy was born in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944 and raised by her mother.

Like many girls at the time, she grew up listening to Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and other American and British stars on Radio Luxembourg and she signed her first record deal at just 17.

Her breakout as a musician came in 1962 with the simple, plaintive song, Tous les garçons et les filles, when she sang of all the boys and girls walking hand in hand, while "I walk alone through the streets, my heart aching". It was an instant hit in France and even broke through in the UK charts.

Her style captivated fashion designers, becoming a model for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne, who designed a minidress out of gold plates for her.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger once famously called her the "ideal woman", while fellow singer-songwriter Bob Dylan penned several love letters to her.

There's more at the link.

Here's her breakout song, "Tous les garçons et les filles".  Use the Closed Captions button to see an English translation.

This is my personal favorite among her songs:  an English rendition of "My friend the rose".  (The original French version may be found here.)

Here's another of her French-language hits, "Des ronds dans l’eau".

And finally, another English hit for her, "All over the world".  The French original may be found here.

She had a lovely voice, and touched many hearts.  May she rest in peace.

Peter

English folk/progressive rock group Magna Carta was formed in 1969, and - after many hiatuses (hiati?) - performed their last concert 50 years later.  They were never a major musical success, but developed a loyal fan base and influenced a number of other composers and groups in the genre.

I've selected five tracks at random from their early years, which I think were by far their most creative period.  First, from their album "Seasons", here's "Elizabethan".

Next, from the album "Songs from Wastie's Orchard", is "Time For The Leaving".

From the same album, an instrumental track:  "Sponge".

From the album "Lord Of The Ages", the opening track, "Wish It Was".

And finally, from the same album, "Falkland Grene".

Quite a mixture, with medieval, Renaissance, folk and rock influences.  I enjoy their music.

Peter

Johnny Mathis has had a mind-boggling career, entertaining audiences for almost 70 years.  His vocals are unmistakeable.  You can read all about his life at Wikipedia.

I grew up to the sound of his voice on my parents' gramophone (and yes, that term dates me!).  I thought I'd bring you a brief selection of his earlier works, out of the literally scores of hits and gold or platinum records he has to his credit.  Without further ado, and in no particular order, here we go.

He's still performing occasional concerts, even though he's in his late 80's.  What a magnificent showman!

Peter

Here's a treat for the older farts among us.  Who can forget the Chad Mitchell Trio and their satirical take on life, the universe and everything?

Their best-known song is almost certainly Lizzie Borden, concerning a young lady accused (but later acquitted) of murder.

Remember that the Trio was performing during the 1960's, when the draft for military service was a very hot topic of discussion.  All sorts of excuses were put forward in an effort to evade the draft.

The sporting world did not escape their satire.

And, of course, political issues of the day reared their ugly heads in some of their songs (only to be disemboweled with satirical glee).

They also performed many traditional folk songs and sea shanties.  A great many of their songs may be found on YouTube.

Peter

I'm enjoying the music of a late Baroque composer new to me, Johann Wilhelm Hertel.  He was prolific, leaving a very large corpus of music on his death, but is little performed today.

Here's his Concerto for Oboe in G Minor.  The soloist is Meike Güldenhaupt, performing with the Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt.

You'll find more of his works on YouTube.

Peter

... Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was performed for the first time in Vienna, Austria.  It went on to become perhaps the best-known symphony in the classical music repertoire.  The anniversary is being celebrated there with all due pomp and ceremony.

The symphony, widely regarded as one of the great masterpieces of Western classical music and culminating in the Ode to Joy, was first performed in 1824 in Vienna, where the German composer lived and worked for most of his life.

Now the city is celebrating with a series of performances of the symphony, notably by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by famed Italian Riccardo Muti.

“It's the whole world to us to be able to sing this wonderful message of love,” Heidrun Irene Mittermair, an alto in the Vienna Singverein Choir, told the BBC. “You're lifted up at the end, when you're singing.”

Heidrun, like the rest of the singers in the Singverein Choir, is not a professional musician - she’s a schoolteacher. But her choir sings at Vienna’s famous Musikverein Concert hall, with the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world’s finest orchestras.

Over the past few days, the choir has been singing the stirring Ode to Joy, the choral finale of Beethoven’s Ninth. Based on a poem by Friedrich von Schiller, it embraces a vision of universal brotherhood.

The musicologist Otto Biba said the symphony was revolutionary, partly because it culminated with singing.

“It was a symphony, but with something new in the fourth movement. There was a choir on the stage and the soloists were starting to sing," he said. "There were so many new details. It was very difficult for the musicians, and very experimental.”

“Beethoven opened the door to the future. It's a work left by Beethoven for the next generation,” Mr Biba said.

There's more at the link.

It's worth remembering that Beethoven composed this symphony while almost completely deaf.  At its premiere performance, conducted by Michael Umlauf, Beethoven was on stage as well, and tried to conduct his own work, but lost his sense of timing due to his deafness.  At the end of the piece: 

Beethoven was several bars off and still conducting; the contralto Caroline Unger walked over and gently turned Beethoven around to accept the audience's cheers and applause. According to the critic for the Theater-Zeitung, "the public received the musical hero with the utmost respect and sympathy, listened to his wonderful, gigantic creations with the most absorbed attention and broke out in jubilant applause, often during sections, and repeatedly at the end of them." The audience acclaimed him through standing ovations five times; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats, and raised hands, so that Beethoven, who they knew could not hear the applause, could at least see the ovations.

For those who've never been to Vienna, and never heard the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra or seen the Musikverein, here are both of them in a single video.

Timeless indeed, and well worth commemorating on this anniversary.

Peter

Here's something for fans of progressive rock and bluegrass music alike.  Early in the 2000's, a group was formed in Nashville calling itself Moody Bluegrass.  As the name suggests, they took hits by the Moody Blues and re-scored them for bluegrass music, instruments and vocals.  It changed the nature of the songs very considerably, but made them accessible to many bluegrass fans who didn't enjoy heavier rock music.  Indeed, the Moody Blues themselves liked the variation enough that some of them performed on the bluegrass versions.

Moody Bluegrass put out two albums over the years.  I've selected five of their songs for this morning's blog post.  First, let's go to "Ride My See-Saw".  If you're not familiar with it, the Moody Blues original version may be found here.

Next, let's listen to "Nights In White Satin".  Moody Blues version here.

Here's "The Story In Your Eyes".  Moody Blues original here.

Next, "Send Me No Wine".  John Lodge of the Moody Blues joins in on vocals.  Moody Blues version here.

And to close, perhaps their best-known song, "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)".  Moody Blues live performance here.

You'll find all the Moody Bluegrass renditions of Moody Blues songs on YouTube.

Peter

A reader sent me the link to this video a few weeks ago.  It made me smile, so I saved it in my Blog Fodder directory until I had a chance to use it.  It's titled "Top 100 One-Hit Wonders", which is self-explanatory.  Unfortunately for the title, a lot of the songs come from performers and groups who had more (sometimes a lot more) than one hit song;  but it's still an enjoyable collection.

Peter

How many of you remember a British pop/rock group with the unlikely name of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich?  They were never as popular in the USA as other British invasion bands such as their contemporaries the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but did very well in the British, European and colonial markets.  A couple of their songs made it onto US charts as well.

Here's their best-known song, from 1968:  "Xanadu", complete with electronic whip-cracking.

From 1966, here's "Hold Tight".

From the same year, "Bend It".

And perhaps their most quirky hit, with incomprehensible, nonsensical lyrics:  1967's "Zabadak!".

You'll find more of their music on their YouTube channel.  The "Swingin' '60's" indeed!

Peter

It's hard to believe that Mike Oldfield brought out his first album, "Tubular Bells", fifty-one years ago.  I bought it at once, and have bought every album he's recorded ever since.  He was (and still is) an iconic musician in the freewheeling rock 'n roll and disco era of the 1970's, bringing genuine instrumental music (with a capital M) and classical-style compositions to the world of electronic music.  Things were never quite the same after he came along.

Last year, a Spanish ensemble calling itself Opus One, under the leadership of Xavier Alern, professor of Musicology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, honored the 50th anniversary of "Tubular Bells" by recording the work as authentically as possible in the spirit of the original.  The ensemble says of itself:

Opus One is an orchestra of contemporary instruments created to pay tribute to Mike Oldfield while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first album, Tubular Bells, a key work for understanding the music of the last half of the century.

The originality of the Opus One proposal lies in the fact that it aims to offer an accurate interpretation, without anachronisms and that fully respects the spirit of the legendary 1973 recording.

Of course, electronic music and recording have come a long, long way since 1973, and the ensemble wanted to use those improvements to upgrade the concert-style performance of the work.  I'd say they succeeded.

Well played!

Peter

I'm sure just about all of my readers are familiar with Charlie Daniels' 1979 mega-hit in country music, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".

In the 45 years since its first release, the song has maintained its popularity.  It's also inspired a number of parody versions, some of which are sort-of, but others of which are very funny, particularly if one's familiar with the place and/or people and/or culture being mocked.

Johnny Cash and friends performed a follow-up titled "The Devil Came Back To Georgia".

Here's a twofer:  Travis Meyer's "The Devil Went Down To Jamaica", performed by The Muppets.  Sadly, the video can't be embedded here, but click on the "Watch on YouTube" link below and you'll be able to enjoy it.

KMC Kru did this DJ-ish/rap-ish version titled "The Devil Came Up To Michigan".

The Adam Ezra group countered with "The Devil Came Up To Boston", complete with the correct accent.  LANGUAGE ALERT:  There's a fair amount of profanity in the song (just as there is in Boston!).

And finally for this morning, it seems the song has hit the Star Wars universe as well.  Here's "The Jedi Went Down To Tattooine".

There are a few parodies of the song out there, if you look for them.  I daresay the late Charlie Daniels might be waiting at the Pearly Gates for when their composers and/or performers get there, tapping a hickory stick in his hand and muttering "That's not what my song was about!"

Peter

OK, here's something completely different:  an orchestra of elephants!

The Thai Elephant Orchestra is, remarkably, just what it sounds like. At a conservation center in Thailand, made for former work animals with nowhere to go, a group of elephants has been assembled and trained to play enormous percussion instruments, holding mallets in their trunks and sometimes trumpeting along.

David Sulzer — known in the music world as Dave Soldier — is a neuroscientist at Columbia University, a composer and the co-founder of the orchestra.

"Elephants like to listen to music: If you play music they'll come over, and in the morning when the mahouts take them out of the jungle, they sing to to calm them down," Sulzer tells NPR's Jacki Lyden. "So what we came up with was, well, maybe if we made ergonomic instruments that would be easy for elephants to play — for instance, marimbas and drums that are giant — perhaps they would play music."

Among those instruments is a sort of oversized xylophone that Sulzer built in a metal shop in Lampang, using the music he heard locally as a guide.

"The idea here was to get the instruments to sound like traditional Thai instruments, and make music that sounds like Thai music," he says. "That instrument ... is using a Thai scale, a northern Thai scale. And when Thai people hear it, they say, 'Oh, that sounds like some of the music that we play in the Buddhist temples up north.'"

The Thai Elephant Orchestra has produced three albums.

There's more at the link.

The elephants certainly seem to be getting into the swing of things.  Here's a live performance.  Don't just listen to the discordant elements (of which there are plenty):  listen to see if you can detect an underlying theme or sequence.

When transcribed into musical notation, the underlying theme comes out more clearly.  Here's a chamber orchestra playing one of the elephants' compositions.  The YouTube notes read:

The Composers Concordance Chamber Orchestra conducted by Thomas Carlo Bo premieres Dave Soldier's Thung Kwian Sunrise at the Dimenna Center in New York City on December 7, 2012. The piece was originally improvised by the Thai Elephant Orchestra , an orchestra of up to 14 improvising elephants founded by Dave Soldier and Richard Lair in 2000, and is on their first CD. 

It  was transcribed from the CD by Wade Ripka and arranged  by Dave . At the end of this premiere, the conductor asked the audience to guess the composer: they guessed Alan Hovhaness, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Milica Paranosic: no one guessed that it had been improvised by elephants.

Here's the original piece, played by the elephants:

And here's the transcribed version, played by the orchestra:

That's pretty amazing.

Peter

I'm sure many of my readers have heard the music of Lindsey Stirling.  She's an iconic, independent voice in modern entertainment, known for her strong moral code and her emphasis on clean living - a refreshing change in a field filled with the opposite.  Her emphasis on violin rather than electronic instruments is very satisfying - clearly to a lot of people, judging by her fan base.

I was intrigued by this pre-released track from her latest album, "Duality", which will ship in June 2024.  It's titled "Eye of the Untold Her", and purports to encapsulate her life in music into a single song.  According to one YouTube commenter, its elements include:

Compare and contrast that track to her first music video back in 2011, "Spontaneous Me".  It's still one of my favorites.

From her 2010 elimination in the quarterfinals of Season 5 of America's Got Talent, and her defiant decision to pursue her dream anyway, she's come a long way and achieved great success.  My hat's off to her for her determination and courage in pushing on and overcoming all obstacles, particularly those put in her path by others in the entertainment industry.  She's surely showed them!

Peter

From Stephan Pastis yesterday.  Click the image to be taken to a larger view at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.

That was a groaner - but very funny, too!  To honor the cartoonist and his inspiration, here's the original piece as played at the "Concert for George", held to honor the composer after his death.

Warm memories to go with the smile.

Peter

This morning I'd like to remember one of the premier drummers in modern rock music;  some would argue he was the best ever in that genre, and it's hard to disagree with them.  I'm speaking, of course, of Neil Peart, of Canadian band Rush.

Neil became famous for his extended drum solos as part of Rush's live performances.  If you search YouTube, you'll find many of them there.  I've chosen one for this morning, from a song titled "Malignant Narcissism" on their 2007 album "Snakes & Arrows".  Here's a live performance from the band's 2007 tour to promote the album.

As a bonus track, here's "The Main Monkey Business", an instrumental piece from Rush's final tour, R40 Live, in 2015.  By this time Neil was on the verge of retiring, due to chronic tendinitis and shoulder problems.  You can see the stress and tension in his face on this recording;  but he didn't let that interfere with his sheer professionalism and musical talent.  You can hear how his performance seamlessly meshes with the other two members of the group, with no sign of the pain he must have been feeling.

Neil retired from the group at the end of the R40 tour in 2015.  He died of glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in early 2020.  He left an indelible mark on both rock music in particular, and the percussion instrument world in general.

Peter