August 29 - Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 29th are here: Charlie Parker (2019) and Michael Jackson; Dinah Washington (2020)

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Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (bapt. 29 August 1686 – 1764) was a German composer and organist , the elder son of Johann Pachel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close to the Tree

Pachelbel! (You know the one.)

Well, it seems he had a son

Who, working in his father’s sphere

Had a long successful career.

Of his works we've been deprived,

For almost none of them survived.

And thus (thank God) there is no canon,

Despite the clan that he began in!

 

 

 

 

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August 29 - Michael Jackson; Dinah Washington (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

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.]

 

Beat It?

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.

 

One Man’s Opinion

“[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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August 21 - Gregg Smith (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Gregg Smith (21 August 1931 - 12 July 2016) was an American choral conductor and composer.

[For last year's tribute to Janet Baker click here.]

Smithereens

"My great pride is that we don’t belong to any clique,...We’ve sung many different kinds of music. You name it — serial, atonal, Americana, Minimalist — we’ve sung it." Gregg Smith, qtd, in his New York Times obituary.

The Gregg Smith Singers did the trick 

Of staying out of any clique.

Some may think they spent their lives

Singing Billings, singing Ives,

When in fact, they spent their careers

Doing dozens of premieres,

Striving always to program a

Stylistic panorama.

 

 

 

 

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August 15 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 1875 – 1 September 1912) was an English composer and conductor. 

[For last year's verse on Jacques Ibert click here.] 

 

 

 

So Long Fellow

 

[Hiawatha's Wedding Feast's] popularity was rivalled only by the choral standards Handels' Messiah and Mendelssohns' Elijah. - Wikipedia

Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast

By Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Which once shone bright, to say the least,

Has steadily shone paler.

A rival once to Mendelssohn,

A rival once to Handel,

A light as bright as anyone,

And now it’s just a candle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

August 13 - Don Ho (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

 Don Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a popular Hawaiian singer and entertainer.

[For last year's verse on Kathleen Battle go here.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lei, Lady, Lei

"During the second half of the decade, a growing movement emerged in Hawaii to produce more traditional forms of music that subtly accused Ho of being too commercialized and marketed to tourists." -- Wikipedia

For generations folks would go

To hear the stylings of Don Ho,

And he was such a charming guy, he

Came to symbolize Hawaii.

“Tiny Bubbles in the Wine”

As a song may be just fine,

And its gentle brand of charm

Probably did no one harm,

But there were those who thought his styles

Cheapened the Hawaiian isles

By omission of traditions

Of indigenous musicians.

 

 

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 [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

August 12 - Joseph Barnby (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Joseph Barnby (12 August 1838 – 28 January 1896) was an English composer and conductor, especially of hymns and other sacred music.

[For last year's verse on Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber click here.]

 

 

 

A Victorian Question

 

He was largely instrumental in stimulating the love for Gounod's sacred music among the less educated part of the London public... -- Wikipedia

Joseph Barnby thought Gounod

Was music that we ought to know.

But why, Sir Joseph, do you try us

With this music pale and pious?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.

 [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]