Joseph Schillinger (31 August [O.S. 19 August] or 1 September [O.S. 20 August] 1895 – 23 March 1943) was a composer, music theorist, and teacher.
[For last year's verse on Alma Mahler click here.]
Schillinger worked out a system
In a book which you’re free to consult,
Bit history has mostly dismissed him
And his odd little musical cult.
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George Frederick Root (30 August 1820 – 6 August 1895)was an American composer.
[For last year's verse on Regina Resnik click here.]
George Frederick Root was known before
The coming of the Civil War,
But in that war he earned applause,
Inspiriting the Union cause.
He gave a jaunty martial stamp
To “Battle Cry” and “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!”
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Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer.
[For last year's post on Charlie Parker click here.]
Michael Jackson, we’re conflicted --
Yes, we know you were afflicted,
Yes, it’s said you were addicted,
Yes, we know you weren’t convicted,
Still, if things were as depicted,
Should your songs be unrestricted?
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
Dinah Washington (29 August 1924 – 14 December 1963) was an American singer and pianist.
“[Washington] was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century – beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste.” --- Richard S. Ginell, qtd. Wikipedia
Dinah Washington, said a reviewer
Shouldn't have embraced
Making recordings that brought lucre to her
But compromised her taste.
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Carolmannus Pachschmidt (27/28 August 1700 - 8 March 1734) was a composer, organist, and priest. (Both dates are listed for birth and/or baptismal date. With the limited resources available to me at the moment, the 27th seems the more likely, but he fits nicely here, so for now, this is where he'll stay.]
[For last year's verses on Umberto Giordano, Ivor Gurney, and Léon Theremin click here.]
Carolmannus Pachschmidt,
Of whom I’ve never heard,
Never met the Bach’s, it
Would have been absurd.
Pachschmidt lived his life ordained
In Roman Catholic orders,
And pious Lutheran Bach disdained
To cross religious borders.
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
Peter [von] Winter (baptized 28 August 1754 – 17 October 1825) was a composer best known for his operas. (A previous verse on Winter can be found here.)
Second Guessing
When Peter von Winter took up his pursuit
Of completing the tale of the great Magic Flute,
He took where it ended, extended the story,
And hoped it portended inherited glory.
But sadly, no statue is found on a plinth.
In honor of Winter or his Labyrinth.
If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing. [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]
Both of today's honorees were born on the same day.
Rebecca Clarke (27 August 1886 – 13 October 1979) was a British-American composer and violist.
Eric Coates (27 August 1886 – 21 December 1957) was an English composer and violist.
[For last year's elegy on Lester Young click here.]
Twofer
A splendid thing! We here extol a
Couple folks who played viola.
Today, my merry muse devotes
A thought or two to Clarke and Coates.
Did a star indulge in tricks
So both were born in ‘86.
And did another guide this feature?
Both, as pupils, shared a teacher.
Though alike in how they started
As composers they were parted:
The music of Rebecca Clarke
Were brooding, lush, intense, and dark;
While Eric Coates’s choice domain
Was music in a lighter vein
If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing. [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]
Humphrey Searle (26 August 1915 – 12 May 1982) was a one of the most distinguished serial composer in England.
[For last year's note on Leon Redbone click here.]
Either/Or
Get your headphones, give a whirl
To twelve-tone works by Humphrey Searle,
But if they leave you in a twist,
Perhaps you’d like his book on Liszt.
(If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing. [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]
Leonard Bernstein (25 August 1918 – 14 October 1990) was a dominant force in virtually all areas of music during his busy career.
[For last year's offering, also on Bernstein, click here.]
(1)
When the program is “light” then the chance is
You’ll be hearing the Symphonic Dances.
Or they might see the need
For a bit of Candide,
As the Summer Pops Series advances.
(2)
Do you think that there ever will be a
More beautiful name than Maria?
And when it’s presented
As a fourth, but augmented,
It’s a lovely melodic idea.
(3)
And who is unmoved by the part,
When they promise “One Hand” and “One Heart”?
For Maria and Tony
It was like matrimóny --
But it wasn’t a very smart start.
(4)
All those guys in tight tees and tight jeans
Like the models in chic magazines!
No wonder the rumble
Avoids rough and tumble
In Robbins’s famous routines.
(5)
And after young Tony has died
With Maria distraught at his side,
We admit that it’s magic
When an ending is tragic,
And you can’t even clap ‘til you’ve cried.
If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing. [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]
