Posts Will Start Again Soon

I have just about finished the immediate responsibilities occasioned by the death in the family, and will soon be able to give attention to happier things, like this blog.  See you soon.

Posts Delayed Due to Death in the Family

Posts are delayed due a death in the family. I will resume posting on a regular basis in several days.

October 9 - Lee Wiley (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 9th are here: Camille Saint-Saëns (2019), John Lennon; Sean Ono Lennon; Camille Saint-Saëns (2020), Einojuhani Rautavaara (2021), Alfons Kontarsky (2022), and Camille Saint-Saëns (2023)

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Lee Wiley (9 October 1908 – 11 December 1975) was an American jazz singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music for a Wiley

[S]he regularly inspired critics to ecstatic, and near poetic, musings on her interpretations of the popular songs of the day. -- jazzmatters.wordpress.com/tag/something-about-lee-wiley/

“ just sing.... I don't believe in vocal gimmickry and I had never had the commercial instincts to concentrate on visual mannerisms.” -- Lee Wiley, as qtd. in NYT obit

Join with me in praising highly

Vocal stylings by Lee Wiley!

For her, to sing was just to sing,

And never a commercial thing,

And since her show biz flair was modest

Her fan base, even at its broadest

Was limited to cognoscenti.

I guess for Wiley that was plenty.

 

 

 

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October 8 - Walter Kittredge (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 8th are here: Louis Vierne; Toru Takemitsu; Walter Schumann (2019), Giulio Caccini (2020), Giulio Caccini (2021), Giulio Caccini (2022), and Giulio Caccini (2023)

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Walter Kittredge (8 October 1834 – 8 July 905) was an American performer and songwriter, who wrote over 500 songs, many of them dealing with themes of abolitionism and the American Civil War, the most famous of which was "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sentimental Effusion on a War Song

The upbeat patriotic music of 1861 was replaced by sadder, more sentimental songs as the reality of the terrible cost of the Civil War set in. One of these songs was Tenting on the Old Campground, written by New Hampshire composer and musician Walter Kittredge [and] captured the feelings of the veteran soldiers who had lost so many of their comrades  in the seemingly never ending war, men who wanted it to end so they could go home. The song became very popular with both civilians and soldiers on both sides, and thousands of copies of the sheet music were sold. – ironbrigader.com

“Tenting Tonight” was a favorite song 

   Of the soldiers in gray and of soldiers in blue,

Who both shared the view that the war was too long,

   While dreaming of home when the fighting was through.

For Kittredge success must have been bittersweet,

   He must have felt pride, but anxiety,

The South, in the end, had gone down to defeat,

   But oh! At what cost to society!

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

October 7 - William Billings (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 7th are here: Alfred Drake; William Billings; John (Cougar) Mellencamp (2019), Joe Hill; Shura Cherkassky (2020), Yo-Yo Ma (2021), Alfred Drake (2022), and Charles Crozat Converse (2023)

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William Billings (7 October 1746 – 26 September 1800) was an American composer and is regarded as the first American choral composer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stanzas for a Pioneer

Billings' work was very popular in its heyday, but his career was hampered by the primitive state of copyright law in America at the time. By the time the copyright laws had been strengthened, it was too late for Billings: the favorites among his tunes had already been widely reprinted in other people's hymnals, permanently copyright-free. He died in poverty in Boston. — adapted from Wikipedia

The music of Billings is vigorous;

   It’s sturdy and solid and brash.

His training was casual, not rigorous,

   But he made, nonetheless, quite a splash.

He was born when the States were colonial,

   He died when his country was free.

I’d provide an enthused testimonial,

   But he needs no endorsement from me.

He never was given the proper

   Rewards.and a posthumous fame.

Is never a boon for a pauper,

    The copyright laws were to blame.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

October 6 - Karol Szymanowski; Settimia Caccini (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 6th are here: Karol Szymanowski; Jenny Lind (2019), Paul Badura-Skoda; Oscar Sonneck (2020), Jenny Lind (2021), William Batchelder Bradbury (2022), and Jenny Lind (2023)

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Karol Szymanowski (6 October 1882 – 29 March 1937) was the leading Polish composer of the first third of the last century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advice

 

According to Samson, "Szymanowski adopted no thorough-going alternatives to tonal organization [...] the harmonic tensions and relaxations and the melodic phraseology have clear origins in tonal procedure, but [...] an underpinning tonal framework has been almost or completely dissolved away." -- Wikipedia

 

When playing Szymanowski’s stuff,

   You shouldn’t try to rush. You

Quickly find his scores are tough,

   Harmonically arcane, and plush. You

Cannot read him off the cuff,

   The sharps and flats will crush you.

 

 

 

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪  

 

Settimia Caccini (6 October 1591 – c. 1638) was a well-known Italian singer and composer during the 1600s, being one of the first women to have a successful career in music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Anyway

She came from a family of well-known composers and singers, with her father being Giulio Caccnin and her sister Francesca Caccini. — Wikipedia

Settimia Caccini, whose father and sister

Are so much more famous, you’ve probably missed her,

Was nevertheless, in her place and her time

Are very big star, —so I’ve written this rhyme.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

October 5 - Mrs. Miller (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 5th are here: Glynis Johns; Mrs. Miller (2019), Thomas Greatorex (2020), Mrs. Miller (2021), Mrs. Miller (2022), andMrs. Miller (2023)

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Mrs. Miller (5 October 1907 – 5 July 1997) recorded several novelty vocal albums in the mid-1960s. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miller Lite

It’s the fifth of October, and this is

A day when this blog reminisces

About a bizarre

Sixties novelty star, —

Happy Birthday to Miller (that’s Mrs.).

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]