jmc's classics
Today is the anniversary of the death of obscure French composer Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682-1738). he is mainly remembered for for his Rondo Which is used for the PBS series Masterpiece Theatre. Mouret was popular in his lifetime. After he died his reputation faded. He can be considered a "one hit wonder".
Masterpiece Theatre is a show on PBS that brings British dramas to America. It was hosted by Alister Cooke. I have not seen it in years. Among the featured serieses that they have had were: I Claudius, Anna Kerenina, The Mayor of Casterbridge and Upstairs Downstairs. I don't know the rest of the dramas that they had. Upstairs Downstairs was the predecessor to Downton Abby. I have not seen Downtown Abby. Although I have not seen Masterpiece Theatre for years, I have seen some funny spoofs of it. Lyndon La Rouche Theatre on Saturday Night Live in 1986. Then "Monsterpiece Theatre on Sesame Street. Hosted by Cookie Monster or Allister Cookie. I love Cookie Monster. It has a lot of parodies of Masterpiece Theatre. I love Cookie Monster. The piece is called "Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper". It is The Rondo from that piece. The original producer of Masterpiece Theatre wanted British music for the series. However, he could not find any suitable British music. While on Vacation in Italy in 1962 he first heard that piece of music. This piece is typically Baroque in nature. Baroque is the period from about 1600-1750. IT included J.S. Bach and Handel. Mouret came from a wealthy family but died in poverty. He wrote other works including operas. I can only find one or two other pieces of his music available. Operas from the Baroque era are not popular now. Some of the eras are still sung at concerts today. It would take too long to explain why.
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