jmc's classics
O Holy Night is one of the most popular and best loved Christmas carols. Not to be confused with Silent night which is more popular. Both have their origins in the 19th century. and there have been countless recording made of both carols.
Silent night was written by Franz Gruber to be played at midnight mass on the guitar. O Holy Night was a French carol and was written by French composer Adolph Adam (1803-1856) I remember both carols from my childhood. I also remember the ballet Giselle which was Adam's other famous work. He wrote other ballets as well as operas. Most are insignificant. The two operas which recordings are available of are Le Toreador and Le Postillion di Lonjameau. Giselle is a ballet set in the middle ages. The protagonist Gisselle. She falls in love with Duke Albrecht of Silesia who has flirted with her. he is betrothed to somebody else. He has flirted with Giselle. Hilarion a gamekeeper is also in love with Giselle and is suspicious of Albrecht. Giselle goes crazy and dies. The Wilis or ghosts haunt Albrecht. That is a summary of the plot. I remember this ballet from my childhood. THe other famous ballets that I remember are Swan lake by Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker also by Tchaikovsky. The later is also popular at this time of year. I don't know that much about Le Toreador. However One of the areas Ah! vouus dirai-je, maman has the same melody as Twinke twinkle little star. O Holy Night was known in French as Minuit Chretirns! or Cantique de Noel. the words come from the French poem Minuit Chretiens by the French poet Placide Cappeau (1808-1877). It reflects the birth of Jesus and humanities redemption. This is the main theme of the carol.
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Christmas Season has started. We will start to hear Christmas Music ad nauseum if we have not already. I like Babi It's Cold Outside and a few other new ones. However I prefer the traditional ones. There is a movement to secularize Christmas. Many Christmas Shows with religious themes are not shown any more such as The Little Drummer Boy and the one about the donkey that helps the Baby Jesus. I play some Christmas music around March 25 Annunciation Day. Nine Months before Christmas. In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches Annunciation is an important holiday.
Thanksgiving barely had time to sink in. This year there are four weekends between thanksgiving and Christmas. Nest year it will be three weekends. I attended the SLSO concert on November 17. It was somewhat unique because it featured all American composers. Aaron Copeland(1900-1990), Samuel Barber (1910-1981) and Christoper Rouse born 1949 who is still alive. It featured Barber's Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance (Opus #23a), Rousee's Bassoon concerto which was at its world premier and Copelands' iconic third symphony. The conductor was Cristian Macelaru who is from Romania. The soloist was Andrew Cuneo Principal Bassoon Player with the SLSO.
Barber's most famous work was his Adagio for Strings which is taken from his only String Quartet. It was played at the announcements of the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This is taken from a ballet based on an ancient Greek story media by Euripides. It was commissioned by American Choreographer Martha Graham. The Bassoon concerto was premiered this weekend. The most famous Bassoon concerto is that by Mozart (K.191) it is in three Movements. The bassoon is a woodwind instrument and has the lowest octave and has a bass sound. There are not very many concerti for this instrument. Cueno has described the bassoon as a ''character actor in the orchestra. The bassoon and orchestra work together in harmony. Many concerti can be the solo instrument against the orchestra. Rouse has written concerti for other instruments and six symphonies. I enjoyed this piece. Copelands Third symphony was the most famous piece. He was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. He was Blacklisted in the 50's during the Red Scare but this did not hurt his works. The Third Symphony was commissioned by Russian born conductor Serge Koussevitsky (1874-1951) who was the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. it was commissioned in 1944 and premiered in 1946. It has American themes. The third movement has themes from his Fanfare for the Common Man which is Copeland most famous work. I do not own and CDs of these works so I can not recommend any. I am not even sure if there has been a CD made of the Rouse work. I have a CD of His Cello concerto with Yoyo Ma. it is from 1997 with David Zinmann and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Many people like and remember Bugs Bunny etc. Many of them featured opera and classical music. I have discovered a few YouTube videos of Looney Tunes with classical music. one such is Bugs Bunny conducting.
They were produced from the 1940's to the 1950's. many of the Characters were voice by Mel Blank (1908-1989) "the man of 1000 voices" Many of these short films are popular today. Check them out on YouTube. Jesu joy of Man's Desiring is a cantata by J. S. Bach. It is also one of the more famous works of his and has been on the Pop charts. I remember it from when I was in the 5th grade in the 70's the 70's group Apollo 100 had an instrumental of it in the 70's. There are several good videos of it on YouTube. I can not find much information on this group except that it was a short lived British studio band.
It was part of Bach's Cantata Herz und Mund Tat und Leban BWV 147. In English it translates to Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life. It is played at wedding ceremonies and during the Christmas and Easter Seasons. It is a slow song but it has some catchy tunes. A cantata is a song cycle The melody is attributed to Bach. however it goes back to 1642 and composer Johan Schop There are many good YouTube videos of this piece. Bach was a Lutheran and wrote music for use in the Lutheran Church. This song is also used in some Catholic Churches. I have Googled his piece and found several good articles on it. I have heard many excellent choral and pop recording of this piece. There are so many to recommend. This is one of Bach's most famous pieces. It has been used in commercials and by Hollywood. Bach was a religious man and wrote a lot of religious music. All though he was Lutheran he wrot the faous B Mnor Mass BWV232 and several other settings of the mass. There is a new movie based on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker : Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Among the stars are Morgan Freeman and Clara Foy. I have not seen it as of now but I hope to soon.
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