November 20, 2007
Gratuitous Musickal Observation
The local classical station is doing a little Thanksgiving Week marathon in which it is playing, in reverse order, the top ninety classickal musick requests as voted over the past couple weeks by its listeners.
According to the plan, the single most popular piece will be played on Thanksgiving evening. Of course, the station hasn't put up the playlist yet, as that would spoil the surprise. Me? I've got a baaaaaaad feeling that Numero Uno is going to be none other than Pachelbel's Canon in D. It's not that I actually hate the piece. Rayther, I hate the fact that so many people love it so far beyond its musickal worth. To me, the piece is, well, really rayther uninteresting. And I'm in good company, too: The great Peter Schickele, creator of P.D.Q. Bach and as confirmed a musickal egalitarian who ever lived, regularly apes everything the Canon's oversaturation of classical radio stands for:
Mr. Schickele's latest Telarc recording, for example, is a sendup of classical radio called "WTWP" (Wall to Wall Pachelbel). But "serious" music stations' pop banter, fractured compositions, easy-listening music ambitions and quests for ratings already match Mr. Schickele's parody. (Here are WTWP's programming restrictions: a work can't be over 11 minutes long. No vocal music during office hours. Nothing written after 1912 except for "Bolero," "Appalachian Spring" and the Gershwin Preludes for Piano. And everything has to be in a major key until after 11 P.M.) "We play the music you don't mind hearing," runs WTWP's slogan. But we don't really need WTWP; just tune in to your local equivalent to hear the jocular way in which all sound is treated as a bit of a put-on.
Unlike the NYTimes, I'm not saying you have to go all twelve-tonal in your listening or get all enthusiastic over what passes for 20th Century musick. But, for example, I'd much rather listen to the awesome chaconnes put out by Pachelbel's contemporaries and near contemporaries such as Rameau, Purcell, Bach and Handel.
Speaking of musickal cannons (ha!), I recently tossed Battle of Britain into my Netflix queue again. Ever since then, I've had the Ace High March running through my mind. These here intertubes being what they are, of course somebody has posted it on YouTube. Here ya go:
I'm toying with the idea of letting the eldest Llama-ette watch it with me this time around. What do you think? The history is actually pretty good and the violence isn't as bad as all that.
UPDATE: Oh, speaking of Michael Caine films, I recently watched the 1969 original of The Italian Job, in which he starred. I've not much to say about the film, with the single exception of the fact that the last thing I ever expected to encounter in life was a movie starring both Noel Coward and Benny Hill. I mean, what are the odds?
Posted by Robert at November 20, 2007 10:53 AM | TrackBackAch. You had to mention it. I have a recording of the Royal Air Force college's band playing music from 633 Squadron and from Battle of Britain, and now I'm going to have it stuck in my head all day as well. Though my recording has it as the "Luftwaffe March" as discussed here . . .
http://www.britishcinemagreats.com/scores/ron_goodwin/ron_goodwin.htm
I used to play the computer game Hearts of Iron, which is a huge, sprawling WW II strategy sim. It takes hours to play; the soundtrack on it wears thin after a while, so I had a big library of WWII music -- Russian, French, German, British, US -- that I used to tap into. I think Ron Goodwin's Aces High is the best example of German military music ever written, which is, I suppose, ironic -- had the RAF lost the Battle of Britain, Goodwin probably would have had quite a career composing ditties for the thousand year reich. Good that he just ended up doing film scores.
As for the movie -- I think it's probably OK for your older girl -- it's not particularly violent; though I don't remember how the language is in it.
Posted by: The Colossus at November 20, 2007 11:11 AMI'd think BoB is almost ideal for "Kid's First War Movie." As such things go, it's not horribly violent, there are readily identifiable and unambiguous good guys and bad guys (that is, while the Germans aren't made out to be monsters, they are definitely made out to be Germans) and there's probably a lesson or two to be gained about how the world works.
Plus, any movie with Spitfires in it has to be worth seeing.
Posted by: Russ at November 20, 2007 12:20 PMAnother good war movie for adolescents is The Longest Day -- actually a great film for anyone. Cast of thousands and enough humor in it to lighten up how dark it is. It has its moments of human drama on both sides and gives a pretty good portayal of Normandy. Has its moments of violence, but it isn't exactly Peckinpaugh's Cross of Iron, if you get my meaning. The Longest Day has some of my favorite film scenes of all time -- the fight at the Ouistreham casino by the French commandos, John Wayne with a broken leg carried in a donkey cart, Pointe du Hoc, and all the scenes with the British in it are great. Cast of thousands -- everyone from Eddie Albert ot Sean Connery to Fabian to Henry Fonda to Sal Mineo to Mitchum to Wayne. A bit longish. But what a great movie.
Posted by: The Colossus at November 20, 2007 01:02 PMNothing says Thanksgiving like Maurice Greene's "Thou visitest the earth and blessest it." It's impossible to sing without smiling, both because it's fun to sing and it's the Coverdale psalter at its most Pythonesque.
Posted by: ScurvyOaks at November 20, 2007 01:27 PMThe Pachelbel Canon - written a few years before Bach's birth - is actually a very good example of a harmonic canon, but it has been sooooo overplayed. One reason I hardly ever play weddings anymore is because almost everybody requests that piece, and I simply refuse to play it. In fact, when somebody approaches me about playing a wedding, the first thing out of my mouth is, "As long as I don't have to play Pachelbel's Canon." I often find myself staring at a dumbstruck individual with that, "But... that's what we wanted!" look on his/her face.
I'm betting that weeds out circa 75% of the requests right there, which is fine by me. I've already been to at least one too many weddings. LOL!
Posted by: Hucbald at November 20, 2007 02:11 PMThree words: Victory at Sea.
Posted by: LMC at November 20, 2007 03:35 PMTwo Words: Hogan's Heros
Posted by: Hucbald at November 20, 2007 05:16 PMOne word: Patton
Posted by: Robbo the LB at November 20, 2007 05:26 PMTwo words: Kelly's Heroes
Posted by: OrgleFan at November 20, 2007 10:29 PMThree words: The Great Escape
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