January 26 - Emanuel Aloys Förster; Jimmy Van Heusen (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 26th are here: Alice Babs (2020), Maria von Trapp (2021), Stéphane Grappelli; Jimmy Van Heusen (2022)

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Emanuel Aloys Förster (26 January 1748 – 12 November 1823) was a composer and music teacher, who spent most of his life in Vienna. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Help from My Friends

In Vienna, he became friends with Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.  Förster's compositions were often played, along with those of Beethoven and Haydn, by the legendary Schuppanzigh Quartet. – adapted from Wikipedia

In the classical days of Alt Wien

When composers took time to convene,

Old Förster was blest

To hang out with the best

Of the Viennese musical scene.

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

 

Jimmy Van Heusen (26 January 1913 – 6 February 1990) was an American composer of popular songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come Fly with Me

 

Many Cahn and Van Heusen songs were the title songs for Frank Sinatra albums of the late 1950s. – Wikipedia

 

When Frank Sinatra put on wax

  His Capitol releases,

He often took as title tracks,

  Van Heusen masterpieces.

 

 

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January 25 - Robert Burns (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 25th are here: Antônio Carlos Jobim (2020), Witold Lutosławski; Etta James (2021), and Witold Lutosławski (2022)

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Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auld Acquaintance

Much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect” of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. – adapted from Wikipedia

Today my birthday verse concerns

The Scottish poet Robert Burns,

Who wrote a dialect of Scots

Without too many verbal knots.

In fact his verses were a hit in

English speaking parts of Britain.

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Heritage

He put words to Scottish folk melodies and airs which he collected, and composed his own arrangements of the music including modifying tunes or recreating melodies on the basis of fragments.  – Wikipedia

The vernacular tunes of the Scots,

Of which, we are told, there are lots,

Are songs a Scot learns

With the lyrics of Burns

From the time when they're only a tot.

 

 

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January 24 - Farinelli (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 24th are here: Frederick the Second; E. T. A. Hoffmann (2020), E. T. A. Hoffmann (2021), and Vítězslava Kaprálová (2022)

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Farinelli [Carlo Broschi] (24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was one of the greatest of the Italian castrato opera singers.  He was also a composer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Finance

Though his official salary  in London was £1500 for a season, gifts from admirers probably increased this to something more like £5000, an enormous sum at the time. – Wikipedia

His estate included gifts from royalty, a large collection of paintings. – Wikipedia

Farinelli, the famous castrato,

Earned such a high fee, he did not owe

A penny in credit,

Or as he might have said it,

“It’s better than winning the Lotto!”

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Paying the Price

The public arrived in a swarm,

Wherever he went to perform,

At a time when castration

To create a sensation,

Was quite an acceptable norm.

 

 

 

 

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January 23 - Anita Pointer; Chita Rivera (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 23rd are here: Muzio Clementi (2020), John Luther Adams (2021), and Django Reinhardt; Gary Burton (2022)

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Anita Pointer (23 January 1948 – 31 December 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anita Pointer: an Elegy

Dim the lights and clear the floor,

Anita Pointer is no more!

But celebrate the joyful fact

That was the Pointer Sisters act.

Those of us who, in the 80s

Danced to music by these ladies,

Remember how the place ignited

To the sounds of “so excited”.

 

 

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Chita Rivera (23 January 1933) is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proclamation

Let's read from our scrolls and declare a

Fiesta for Chita Rivera,

Whose time on the stage

Was a critical age

At the end of the Classic Shows era.

 

 

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