February 13 - Eileen Farrell (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 13th are here: Eileen Farrell (2020), Dale Wood (2021), Feodor Chaliapin (2022), and Leopold Godowsky (2023)

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Eileen Farrell (13 February 1920 – 23 March 2002) was an American operatic soprano who also sang in popular styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I Too Loud?

It’s safe to say of Eileen Farrell

That there was never any peril

That her performance would be sterile.

She brought to any enterprise

A gorgeous voice of ample size, 

Though some have said, when singing pop

She should have let the volume drop.

 

 

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February 12 - Thomas Campion (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 12th are here: Thomas Campion (2020), (2021), Thomas Campion; Julian Scriabin (2022), and Thomas Campion; Roy Harris (2023)

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Thomas Campion (12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was a composer, poet, and physician.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

While Campion had attained a considerable reputation in his own day, in the years that followed his death his works sank into complete oblivion, when the vogue for masques and song-books proved ephemeral.  – adapted from Wikipedia

Thomas Campion in his lifetime had

  Success when masques and lute songs were a passion;

But both, alas, were just a passing fad,

  And Thomas Campion faded with the fashion.

 

 

 

 

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February 11 - George Winston (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 11th are here: Jerome Lowenthal (2020), Otis Clay (2021), Johann Jacob Bach (2022), and Sérgio Mendes (2023)

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George Winston (11 February 1949 – 4 June 2023) was a popular American pianist often associated with New Age Music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall

Seminars at Yale or Princeton

Do not talk about George Winston,

So even they cannot explain

How his particular domain, --

The numbing noodling of New Age, --

Was, in the ‘80s, all the rage.

 

 

 

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February 10 - Leontyne Price; Roberta Flack (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 10th are here: Leontyne Price (2020), Robert Flack; Leontyne Price (2021), Larry Adler; Jimmy Durante (2022). and Leontyne Price (2023)

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Leontyne Price (b. 10 February 1927) is one of the greatest sopranos of her generation.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Time’s the Charm

Author's Note: Miss Price has appeared here in 2020, 2021, and 2023

Though the limerick’s a casual device,

And I’ve already written them thrice,

I will offer five lines

As the humblest of shrines

For the birthday of Leontyne Price.

 

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

 

Roberta Flack (b. 10 February 1937) is an Grammy-winning American singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flack Jacket

Jason King argued that she occupies a complex place in popular music, as "the nature of her power as a performer… is not too easy to claim or make sense with the limited tools that we have in music criticism." – Wikipedia

There are critics who attack

The gentle singing of Ms. Flack,

Complaining, as they write, that she

Is neither soul nor R and B,

Others say that this invective

Hears her from the wrong perspective,

By the very tools in use,

For giving plaudits or abuse.

The lexicon, were it more spacious,

Would find the words for art so gracious.

 

 

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February 9 - Alban Berg (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 9th are here: Alban Berg (2020), Carmen Miranda (2021), Alban Berg (2022), and Alban Berg; Johann Aegidius Bach (2023)

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Alban Berg (9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was a great Austrian composer mostly in atonal and serial styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harsh Realities

It’s unlikely that Alban Berg’s Lulu

Is a popular feature on Hulu,

And it not at all likely to climb

In the ratings at Amazon Prime,

And you won’t find it there if you get flicks

With a streaming subscription from Netflix,

And it goes without saying, you’re not able

To watch it on regular cable.

There may be no streaming locale

For Alban Berg’s louche femme fatale.

 

 

 

 

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