A Rite Of Spring In Russia, A Riot Of Spring In Paris

There was an important anniversary in the world of music this weekend. Most of my musical posts usually concern people. This one is about a composition in the forefront of a revolution in sound at the end of the Edwardian era. On May 29, 1913 the 30 year-old composer, Igor Stravinsky, made music history in Paris. The event was the premiere of the ballet, The Rite of Spring. Like his earlier work for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, it was experimental and revolutionary. When combined with primitive choreography and a human sacrifice theme some in the audience were dazzled while others were infuriated to the point of riot. 

Photo from 1913 showing original costumes

In the early 1980's the original choreography was meticulously reconstructed after being lost for almost six decades. A few years after its completion it was presented by the Joffre Ballet. There is no better representation of what that 1913 audience both heard and saw. Here is Part 1 - all three available on YouTube - of their performance.

Stravinsky's imaginative compositions went on to have a huge impact on music and the arts. At the forefront stands The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky produced several arrangement throughout his life - as one of the most widely recorded and performed  works in the world. It remains as fresh in 2022 as it was in 1913. In that century its innovative energy in sound and rhythm has been re-patterned by the likes of Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, Philip Glass and many others.

Some say the most productive experiments often make the biggest messes until they are better understood. The genius and madman in Stravinsky would very much agree. 

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
public domain photo from First Nights: Five Musical Premieres by Thomas F. Kelly. Yale University Press, New Haven, 2000.

Text:
Igor Stravinsky entry, wikipedia.org

Walt Whitman: On The Bridge From Imagination To Unadorned Reality

The American poet and essayist, Walt Whitman, was born on this day in 1819 in West Hills, Long Island, New York. His formal education ended after six years but his insatiable desire to learn immersed him in libraries, museums, lectures, salons, and landscapes in and around New York. His life as a poet, essayist, journalist and humanitarian would take him to New Orleans, Washington, Boston, and Camden, New Jersey, but his associations in New York would make the greater metropolitan area the hub of career.

Whitman in 1887

A free spirit easily recognized as the most extraordinary poet of his time, Whitman bridged the American experience from the early Romantic period in literature to the advent of hard realism as the end of the century approached. I'm not sure what presence he has these days in public school systems across the country but baby boomers - born between 1946 and 1964 - had a full dose of his poetry beginning in elementary school. For more information on Whitman, including an extensive biography, visit the outstanding resources at the Walt Whitman Archive.

For an example of his work here is "One's-Self I Sing," the introductory poem to the third and last section of his collection, Leaves of Grass, as published in 1867.

ONE’S-SELF I sing—a simple, separate Person;

Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-masse.

Of Physiology from top to toe I sing;

Not physiognomy alone, nor brain alone, is worthy for the muse—I say the

Form complete is worthier far;

The Female equally with the male I sing.

Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,

Cheerful—for freest action form’d, under the laws divine,

The Modern Man I sing.

Much of Whitman's poetry has been set to music. Sometimes the blend of music and existing poetryas opposed to lyric has limited success and authors often do not think favorably of such adaptations. I believe Whitman would have approved especially with the music coming from a fellow impressionist, in this case Frederick Delius. This composition has been a personal favorite for forty years. The recording features the superb Welsh baritone, Bryn Terfel, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Richard Hickox. If you want to follow the text it's available here.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

public domain photo, George Collins Cox, restored by Adam Cuerden, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Text:
whitmanarchive.org
Walt Whitman entry, wikipedia.org
One's Self I Sing, wikipedia.org

Memorial Day 2022

 

This is a day of mixed emotion as we honor men and women who made the supreme sacrifice in service to their country. They gave their lives that we might live out our own in an experiment of community called the United States. Some of us may be on holiday at the beach or mountains while others gather with family and friends for a cookout at home. And there are those who may find themselves alone and not necessarily by choice this year. At some point all of us will take some moments to think of these honored men and women and what they have given us and our families.

Many of us grew up knowing this day as Decoration Day but now it is best known as Memorial Day. Though both its date and scope have changed over time its central meaning remains strong. At virtually every crossroad town from sea to sea, there will be old soldiers, flags, a speech or two, a band, and prayers. These events will take place at memorial walls bearing the names of the honored dead. Invariably, the audiences will be small, but firmly dedicated to the idea that the nation will always remember the cost of freedom.

A common theme in all of those memorial gatherings mentioned earlier will be music. The American composer, Charles Ives, captured much of the historic character of this day in his composition, Holiday Symphony, completed in 1913. Section II of that work, "Decoration Day," has a number of familiar tunes, but you may not recognize them without a guide. Like the holiday itself, Ives gives us rich, complex, and contemplative moments in time and space as we hear his interpretation of his father's holiday from dawn to dusk.

A Soldier's Burial

by General George S. Patton (1943)

Not midst the chanting of the Requiem Hymn,

Nor with the solemn ritual of prayer,

Neath misty shadows from the oriel glass,

And dreamy perfume of the incensed air

Was he interred;

But in the subtle stillness after fight,

And the half light between the night and the day,

We dragged his body all besmeared with mud,

And dropped it, clod-like, back into the clay.

Yet who shall say that he was not content,

Or missed the prayers, or drone of chanting choir,

He who had heard all day the Battle Hymn

Sung on all sides by a thousand throats of fire.

What painted glass can lovelier shadows cast,

Than those the evening sky shall ever shed,

While, mingled with their light, Red Battle's Sun

Completes in magic colors o'er our dead,

The flag for which they died.

Benny Goodman: The Music Master Of Swing

In 1935 Benny Goodman and his band had a regular late-night gig on Saturdays on NBC's radio program, Let's Dance. Broadcast from New York, most of the local teens and twenty-somethings who enjoyed his music were fast asleep. On the other hand, it was perfect timing for young audiences on the West Coast. A labor strike brought the program to a sudden and unexpected end and put Goodman and his band out of work. Together they decided on a coast to coast tour. In the interior states, the tour was a disaster because people didn't care for "upbeat" jazz arranged for orchestra. The band was looking forward to the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles as the last stop and an end to the pain. When they arrived, thousands of young fans who had heard them on the radio were waiting to hear them in person. What was to be a welcome end to a disastrous tour turned into the beginning of the Swing era.

In the shadow of Bebop: Benny Goodman, 1946

Eighteen months later , the now famous Goodman Orchestra was invited to present a jazz review on January 16, 1938 in Carnegie Hall, a venue historically reserved for "high brow" music. Several members of the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras and others joined on stage to perform a concert ranging from traditional to unconventional. No jazz bandleader had ever performed there. The concert was a sensation, reaffirming Goodman as the "King of Swing," and jazz as serious American music. In the eyes of many music critics and historians, this concert remains the single most important event in popular music history in the United States. Superlatives aside, the concert was a study in swing music history and jazz improvisation.

After several curtain calls at the end of the concert, Goodman announced to the screaming fans that an encore would follow. Sing, Sing, Sing was the last song in that set. It already was a popular piece for the band, but this performance lifted it to holy status in the swing jazz genre. Featured players: Gene Kruppa on drums, Babe Russin on saxophone, Harry James on trumpet, Goodman on clarinet, and Jess Stacy in a masterpiece of improvisation on piano.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the clarinetist and bandleader, Benny Goodman (1909 - 1986). You can read about him at his Wikipedia entry here. Mention "Palomar Ballroom" and "Carnegie Hall" in the same breath and any popular music historian will follow with "Benny Goodman." His performances at the two venues took place more than 80 years ago. Today we remember both concerts as course changing landmarks in the history of swing and jazz.

Publicity style photo of Benny Goodman, ca. 1960

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
1946 photo, Library of Congress, William Gottlieb Collection

1960 photo,public domain, publicity style candid photo of Benny Goodman

 

Text:
bennygoodman.com
Benny Goodman entry, wikipedia.org

Bob Dylan Could Be The 20th Century's Most Well-Known Poet/Songwriter

Earlier this week the legendary songwriter, Bob Dylan, turned 81. As expected, Scott Johnson, the outstanding cultural observer writing at Powerline, treated his readers to a revision of his Dylan tributes. Johnson conveys the message so well I won't begin to add to the story. His first post, Not Dark Yet, discusses the man and his significance in the world of music and beyond. His second post, Not Dark Yet, Cont., is devoted to Dylan the songwriter and features several likely unfamiliar covers of the master's work.

Bob Dylan was only 21 on July 9, 1962 when he walked into the Columbia Recording Studios in New York to record a song to be included on his second album. The song, Blowin' in the Wind, brought him fame and recognition as one of the nation's leading folk poets in the twentieth century. Dylan has this to say about the song in the June 1962 issue of the folk journal, Sing Out:

Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won’t believe that. I still say it’s in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it’s got to come down some ...But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know . . . and then it flies away.

  

The music critic, Andy Gill, said this about the song in his book, Classic Bob Dylan, 1962-1969: My Back Pages:

Blowin' in the Wind marked a huge jump in Dylan's songwriting. Prior to this, efforts like The Ballad of Donald White and The Death of Emmett Till had been fairly simplistic bouts of reportage songwriting. Blowin' in the Wind was different: for the first time, Dylan discovered the effectiveness of moving from the particular to the general. Whereas The Ballad of Donald White would become completely redundant as soon as the eponymous criminal was executed, a song as vague as Blowin' in the Wind could be applied to just about any freedom issue. It remains the song with which Dylan's name is most inextricably linked, and safeguarded his reputation as a civil libertarian through any number of changes in style and attitude.

Undoubtedly the song remains a poem for our time, perhaps all time. And Dylan just keeps rolling as well,






Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
public domain photo, 1964 Yearbook, St. Lawrence University, New York

Text:
Bob Dylan entry, Wikipedia.org
history.com

Remembering Peggy Lee And Her Sophisticated Style

The American entertainer, Peggy Lee (1920-2002), always had a serious independent streak in both her life and career. While many lounge singers chose to go loud Lee knew she couldn't do that and went rich, seductive, and stylish instead. Her method caught the eye and ear of bandleader Benny Goodman in 1941 and for the next five decades she wrapped songs in her personality, warmth, and intimacy for millions of fans.

Lee (r.) with Benny Goodman and his orchestra in 1943

Here is the song that made her famous:

She not only sang songs but also wrote or co-wrote over 270 of them. Here she is singing her biggest hit as a songwriter, Manana; words by Lee and music by Dave Barbour:

Lee had her last big hit in 1969 with Is That All There Is?. The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote the song based on a story by Thomas Mann. Its perfect for Lee's treatment.

With that sophisticated style and warm singing, writing lyrics, composing, and acting, it's easy to see why Lee was always introduced to audiences as "Miss Peggy Lee." And it's no wonder that such an "in charge" personality could become the model for one of the most beloved characters in television history. That the character is none other than a Muppet may surprise you. It is a story of caricature, humor, reverence, and unexpected fame. Read about it here in this brief Smithsonian Magazine interview.

My personal favorite from her repertoire as you would expect comes from the Great American Songbook. It's The Folks Who Live On The Hill, composed in 1937 by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Her performance, conducted by Frank Sinatra, was recorded in 1957 for the album, The Man I Love.

Lee was born on May 26, 1920 in Jamestown, North Dakota. Her recordings still sell well  two decades after her death and can be heard regularly on jazz and popular music stations and channels around the world.


That's all there is!









Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
public domain publicity still from the film, Stage Door Canteen

Text:

Peggy Lee, Wikipedia.org

Blade Runner: A Film In The Shadows Of Star Wars

 

On this day in 1977 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope opened in theaters across the US. It went on to be a blockbuster in science fiction fantasy filled with memorable characters and computer generated worlds of first-rate entertainment. A franchise worth billions grew out of the film but few of the chapters that have followed in the last forty years, in my opinion, have equaled or exceeded the excitement of the original. Earlier today I planned to write a post about Star Wars but a radio comment reminded me that the composer, Vangelis, died last week. That reminded me of his score for the highly influential sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner, released in 1982.

Blade Runner opened in theaters on June 25 in the midst of some extraordinary competition. It was a dystopic, contemplative film competing with pure entertainment. Unfortunately, it had a mediocre reception at the box office primarily because its release coincided with that of Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan, widely considered the best of the Star Trek films, and E.T. The Extraterrestrial. As a dystopic, complex, contemplative film, it's no wonder it's recognized as a cult classic among sci-fi buffs rather than a deserving blockbuster among a wider audience. It will not answer any questions for audiences but it surely will prompt viewers to ponder what it means to be human.

In the forty years since its release Blade Runner has notable influenced all stages of science fiction and fantasy fiction film productions including those of the Star Wars franchise. It also occupies a comfortable spot on the American Film Institute's all time list of the top ten science fiction films and top five of science fiction soundtracks.

In the following scene the "organic robot." Roy Batty, saves the life of Rick Deckard, the blade runner who comes out of retirement to kill him. Before Roy's programmed life comes to an end, he delivers one of the most notable monologues ever spoken on film.

If you happened to enjoy Star Wars in 1977 reading this post likely brings a smile to your face. It was 121 minutes of pure entertainment. To see a film that created the anti-Star Wars genre that followed, see the darker entertainment of Blade Runner. You will not be disappointed.