December 5 - Bhumibol Adulyadej, titled Rama IX [ (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 5rd are here: Little Richard; Grace Moore (2019), Osvaldo Golijov (2020), Francesco Scarlatti (2021), José Carreras; Francesco Geminiani (2022), Henry Lawes (2023), and Francesco Scarlatti (2024)

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Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 1927 – 13 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 9 June 1946 until his death in 2016.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King of Swing

Bhumibol was an accomplished jazz saxophone player and composer, playing Dixieland and New Orleans jazz. He wrote a total of 49 compositions, much of it is jazz swing but he also composed marches, waltzes, and Thai patriotic songs. – adapted from Wikipedia

Said King Rama the Ninth when ruled over Thailand,

"I can do as I please, because this land is my land!"

So he learned to play jazz, quite a feat when you're royalty,

And his courtiers would listen with compulsory loyalty.

And the King played his sax in a style of his own,

As a way to relax after days on the throne.

 

 

 

 

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June 21 - Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 21th are found here: Alois Hába (2019), Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (2020), Lalo Schifrin (2021), and Henry Holden Huss; Louis Krasner (2022)

 

Ernest II (21 June 1818 – 22 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1844 to 1893, and an amateur composer. — Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duking It Out

When it was discovered that a third performance of Diana was intended at the Met, a petition bearing three hundred signatures and demanding that the opera be removed from the repertory, was delivered to the management, who hastily replaced it with Fidelio. – adapted from Wikipedia, s.v. “Diana von Solange”

Diana von Solange by Ernest the Second

Was performed at the Met, and was instantly reckoned

So boring and dull that an urgent appeal

Was drafted and signed to preclude the ordeal

Of having to sit through Diana’s recurrence, 

A feat that would challenge mere mortal endurance.

 

 

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

 

 

March 18 - John IV of Portugal (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for March 18th may be found here: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (2019), John Kirkpatrick (2020), Adam Levine (2021), and John Kander (2022)

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John IV (18/19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656) was the King of Portugal.  John was a patron of music and the arts, and a considerably sophisticated writer on music; in addition to this, he was a composer. (It is not entirely clear from various sources whether he was born on the 18th or 19th of March.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On John the Fourth’s “Crux fidelis”

One famous composition attributed to him is a setting of the Crux fidelis. However, no known manuscript of the work exists, and it was first published only in 1869. On stylistic grounds, it is generally recognized that the work was written in the 19th century. – adapted from Wikipedia

Even though the style conforms

  To quite a later manner,

It’s possible your choir performs

  It under John's old banner.

 

Composing talent in a king is

  Unusual enough,

That we don't care that what we sing is

  Anachronistic stuff.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

July 18 - Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for July 18th are found here: Pauline Viardot (2019), Richard Branson (2020), and Giovanni Battista Bononcini; Pauline Viardot (2021)

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Maria Antonia, Princess of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (18 July 1724 – 23 April 1780) was a German princess, composer, singer, harpsichordist, and patron of the arts, known particularly for her operas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Help 1

In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. – Wikipedia, s.v. “Harmonia”

When Duchess Maria Antonia

Appealed to the goddess Harmonia,

She asked that hysteria

Would fill all Bavaria

For her latest motet or sinfonia.

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Getting Help 2

Music critic Charles Burney praised her opera and her singing in his 1773 work, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces. – Wikipedia

Though the duchess was suitably trained,

And it’s said that her stuff entertained,

One suspects that applause

Was augmented because

Of the down-to-earth fact that she reigned.

 

 

 

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

 

 

July 13 - Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for July 13th are found here: Carlo Bergonzi (2019). Ernest Gold (2020), and Huw Watkins (2021).

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Ferdinand III (13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 until his death in 1657. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Limericks for a Musical Emperor

Some of Ferdinand's own compositions survive in manuscripts: masses, motets, hymns and other sacred music, as well as a few secular pieces. His Drama musicum was praised by Kircher, and the extant works, although clearly influenced by his teacher Valentini, show a composer with an individual style and a solid technique. – adapted from Wikipedia

Job Security

The men at the court all assured

The Emperor Ferdinand the Third

That every last note

Of the music he wrote

Was the finest that they’d ever heard.

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Citizen Insecurity?

Did the subjects of Ferdinand the Third

Find comfort, or think it absurd

That the powers of state

Had been given by Fate

To a talented musical nerd?

 

 

 

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