June 25 - Gustave Charpentier (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 25th, both on Gustave Charpentier are found here: (2019) and (2020), Carly Simon; Gustave Charpentier (2021), Carly Simon; Gustave Charpentier (2022), and Gustave Charpentier (2023)

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French composer Gustave Charpentier (25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) had an improbably long life and wrote one highly successful opera, Louise. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seniority

Charpentier, by Fate’s peculiar tricks,

Didn’t die ‘til 1956.

Perhaps when people saw him they said, “He’s

The man who wrote the opera Louise,”

But far more likely Gustave took his stroll

Unnoticed in the Age of Rock and Roll.

 

 

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June 24 - Terry Riley (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 24th are found here: Terry Riley (2019), Harry Partch (2019), Hugo Distler; Terry Riley; Harry Partch (2021), Harry Partch (2022), and Hugo Distler (2023)

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Terry Riley (b. 24 June 1935) is an important and innovative composer best known for his minimalist scores.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moment by Moment

“In C” by Terry Riley,

Progresses very slyly,

And flows from then to then.

In the eternal when of Zen.

 

 

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June 23 - Bob Fosse (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 23rd are found here: Carl Reinecke (2019), Stuart Sutcliffe (2020), Helen Humes (2021), Johann Baptist Schiedenmayer (2022), and Maude Valérie White (2023)

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Bob Fosse (23 June 1927 – 23 September 1987) was an American choreographer, actor, dancer, and film and stage director.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Willkommen

Choreographer Bob Fosse

And the dancers in his posse

Danced with turned in toes,

And slinky fishnet hose,

And bowler-style chapeaux,

In the altogether glossy

Quirky dances of Bob Fosse.

 

 

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June 22 - Cyndi Lauper (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 22nd are found here: Peter Pears (2019). Theodor Leschetizky (2020), Cyndi Lauper (2021), Peter Pears (2022), and Peter Pears (2023)

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Cyndi Lauper (b. 22 June 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on Aging

It is a sad and sober truth

That idols of my dancing youth

Have somehow gotten long in the tooth.

You’re at the clubs, you’re having fun,

You’re dancing night has just begun,

Then suddenly the clock has spun

And Cyndi Lauper’s seventy-one.

 

 

 

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June 21 - Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 21th are found here: Alois Hába (2019), Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (2020), Lalo Schifrin (2021), Henry Holden Huss; Louis Krasner (2022), and Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (2023)

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Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (21 June 1732 – 26 January 1795) was a harpsichordist and composer, the fifth son of J. S. Bach, and is sometimes referred to as the "Bückeburg Bach". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach: A Moral Tale

One assessment says of him "He was an industrious composer, ... whose work reflects no discredit on the family name."  A significant portion of J. C. F. Bach's output was lost in the WWII destruction of the library where the scores had been on deposit since 1917. – adapted from Wikipedia

A verse today where we enshrine

A son of Bach, the fifth in line

This son had talent, he had drive,

It should have kept his name alive.

But much what he had in score

Was lost to bombing in the War. 

It’s thus the gods and Fate conspire

To do their deeds with flood and fire.

And when Powers indulge their taste

For war, calamity, and waste,

A lifetime’s work can be effaced.

 

 

 

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June 20 - Jacques Offenbach (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for June 20th are found here: Jacques Offenbach (2019), (2020), Joseph Martin Krause; Chet Atkins (2021), and Brian Wilson (2022)

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Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) perfected an operetta style that influenced Arthur Sullivan and Johann  Strauss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Time

Said Offenbach, “Break out the bubbly!

In fact, mes amis, do it doubly!

My can-can, you’ll know by its name,

Is double the fun, if you’re game.

It’s a dance that is meant to entice

With its raucous suggestion of vice,

And so when you toast it, toast twice!”

 

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