March 12 - Thomas Augustine Arne (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 12th may be found here: Thomas Augustine Arne (2019),  Gordon MacRae (2020), Liza Minnelli (2021), Thomas Augustine Arne; Paul Weston (2023), Thomas Augustine Arne (2023), and Alexandre Guilmant (2024)

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Thomas Augustine Arne (12 March 1710 – 5 March 1778) was an English composer best remembered for "Rule, Britannia!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discovery

Upon leaving school, Arne was articled to a solicitor for three years. However, Arne's father discovered his son leading a group of musicians a musical gathering. Following this disclosure of his son's real interest and talent, he was persuaded to allow the young Arne to give up his legal career and to pursue music as a living. — adapted from Wikipedia

Thomas Arne, who ruled the stage

In England's late Augustan age,

Was meant to have a life in law,

But luckily his father saw

The light in time and let young Thomas

Take a path with greater promise.

And thus it was the would be lawyer

Sauntered proudly through the foyer

Of Drury Lane (his new employer).

 

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March 11 - Graham Lyle (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 11th may be found here:  Carl Ruggles (2019), Lawrence Welk (2020), Henry Cowell; Astor Piazzolla (2021), Lawrence Welk; Bobby McFerrin (2022), Lawrence Welk; Mercer Ellington (2023), and  Lawrence Welk (2024)

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Graham Lyle (b. 11 March 1944) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faint Praise

Lyle Graham's songs were subsequently recorded by some of the biggest names in music including Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Etta James, Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Hall & Oates,  and others. His most famous composition is Tina Turner's 1984 US chart-topper and international smash, "What's Love Got to Do with It?" – adapted from Wikipedia

Take a pause, and think awhile

About the Scotsman Graham Lyle,

A man who had a certain flair

For coming up with catchy fare

That stars could parlay into hits,

But though I'm should he got his splits,

It would have been a tad more thrilling

To see his name in bigger billing.

Envoi

The income from his hits was stable;

It paid his rent, supplied his table,

And yet, he thought he should be able

To find his credits on the label.

 

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March 10 - John Bacchus Dykes (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

For previous March 10th posts, check here: John Bacchus Dykes (2019), Arthur Honegger (2020), Camillo Schumann (2021), Lorenzo da Ponte; Pablo de Sarasate (2022), Bix Beiderbecke; Dudley Buck (2023), and Lorenzo da Ponte (2024)

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John Bacchus Dykes (10 March 1823 – 22 January 1876) was the composer of such beloved hymn tunes as "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," and "Eternal Father, Strong to Save".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Road

John Bacchus Dykes, whose middle name

   Gives off a heathen vibe,

Became a churchman, all the same,

   And of the High Church tribe.

He waged liturgical debates

   About the church's ritual,

Declaring Anglo-Catholic traits

   Should henceforth be habitual.

Disputes like those are all but closed,

   And he's remembered solely,

For sundry hymns which he composed,

   Like "Holy, Holy, Holy."

 

 

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March 9 - Samuel Barber (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 9 are found here:  Martin Shaw (2019), Samuel Barber (2020), Ornette Coleman; Samuel Barber (2021), Samuel Barber; Josef Mysliveček (2023), and Samuel Barber (2024)

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Samuel Barber (9 March 1910 – 23 January 1981) was an important American composer in all the major classical genres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Likes Attract

That an element of creative tension existed between them was, however, inevitable. When Barber began work on the score of Vanessa in 1954, he was already regarded as one of the US's foremost composers of orchestral and vocal music. Menotti, meanwhile, an instinctive man of the theatre, had risen to become the rebellious voice of contemporary American opera. -- Tim Ashley, at theguardian.com

When Menotti and Barber were dating

Did they fear the thin ice they were skating?

Did professional  laurels

Beget jealous quarrels

Concerning what each was creating?

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End Times

Barber’s final years were not happy ones. He fell short of money, as his music had been shoved aside. He became depressed by his fall from high esteem, and he broke up with his life partner, the composer Gian Carlo Menotti.  – Heuwell Tircuit, at sfcv.org

I'm sad ti say, when Barber died

He felt he had been cast aside.

He had success when still a youth,

But had to face the the solemn truth

That even talent, skill, and passion

Can’t overcome the whims of fashion

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March 8 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous entries for March 8th may be read here: C. P. E. Bach (2019), Alan Hovhaness (2021), Carlo Gesualdo,  Carlo Gesualdo (2022), Carlo Gesualdo; Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (2023), and Franco Alfano; Bendix Friedrich Zinck; Gottfried Wilhelm Fink (2024)

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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788) was an influential German composer composer, and a son of J. S. Bach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His Quiet Art

[C.P.E.] Bach was so obliging as to sit down to his Silbermann clavichord and favourite instrument, upon which he played three or four of his choicest and most difficult compositions. In the pathetic and slow movements, whenever he had a long note to express, he absolutely contrived to produce, from his instrument, a cry of sorrow and complaint, such as can only be effected on the clavichord, and perhaps by himself.  – Charles Burney on hearing C.P.E. Bach at the clavichord

The clavichord is gathering dust,

   Neglected, rarely played,

Displaced by keyboards more robust,

   More bold, more strongly made.

We’ve read what Burney had to say

   About an evening session

Of hearing C.P.E. display

   The clavichord’s expression.

 

His clavichord with frail finesse

   Enthralled the cognoscenti

With intimate expressiveness,

   (For Burney that was plenty),

We cannot alter history’s flow

   Or turn its time and tide,

Nor recreate the lucent glow

   Of Bach unamplified.

The subtle art of C.P.E.

   Creates a quiet spell,

And hammered on the Steinway, he

   Has never fared as well.

 

 

 

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