I am a child of the 60’s. When Beatlemania hit in 1963, I was seven years old, but even at that age I loved their music and, honestly, about ninety-five percent of the music from that decade. Were those ten years the pinnacle of musical achievement? In my humble opinion, while some fantastic compositions were penned in that period, they don’t hold a candle to Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, and a host of other composers from the previous three or four…
My brother, Colin, posted about Pink Floyd a while back, though it was not a Tuesday post. While I consider Dark Side of the Moon one of the classic albums of all time, in many ways, I have always preferred Wish You Were Here. For those of you who are not familiar with Pink Floyd or with the history of the band, there is a story behind this album. The band, Pink Floyd, formed in London in 1965, and at…
I am not a big fan of film musicals. I love music, but when it comes to throwing songs into a film, I’m of the mind that 99% of them should stay far away from each other. In my opinion, they rarely achieve an amiable collaboration; either the music overpowers what the actors are doing, or vice versa. Of all the films I have seen that attempted this marriage, I consider no more than three or four watchable and of…
The song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (really, “Over the Rainbow”) was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz. When Judy Garland sings the song near the beginning of the movie, it really draws your attention. The low note on the first syllable of “somewhere” jumping to the higher note just gives a dreamy quality to it that matches song to subject perfectly. While Judy Garland’s version is probably the best-known, I believe Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s rendition of it is so amazing…
Today I want to explore popular music in Jane Austen’s time, specifically Franz Haydn, the composer often referred to as “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”. He was born in 1732 to a wheelright and a former palace cook. Although neither could read music, his father was an enthusiastic street musician who taught himself to play the harp. In later years Haydn said his family was extremely musical and frequently sang together and with their friends…
For today’s Tuesday Tunes post, I decided to do a song that had romance. I further decided I wanted it to be a duet. I mentioned the notion to my husband, who immediately suggested “From This Moment On” by Shania Twain and Bryan White. We played that song at our wedding, so it has been special to us for a long time. I love duets in general, and this country pop song is the perfect one to use for weddings….
Going back to Handel for this Tuesday Tunes, though there is a reason I’d use this particular composer again. In 1738, Handel resented the opera Serse (Xerxes, based on the Persian king–the name is the Italian form) in London. The opera was, unfortunately for Handel, a failure, lasting only five performances, for various reasons we won’t go into now. After a revival in the 1920s, the opera rose to prominence and is now Handel’s most well-known. The opening aria from the…
For this Tuesday Tunes post, I thought I would enlighten you somewhat regarding my musical interests and maybe introduce you to something you might not be familiar with. I am a music lover. I don’t consider myself a connoisseur, as I am nowhere near an expert on the subject, but my interests are wide and varied. Like my brother, Jann, I think classical music is some of the most beautiful written. My tastes run from Mozart, to Bach, to Beethoven….
On the Austen Authors site, I once did a post about my favorite Christmas songs. I have a few as I can usually not pick one, so with such a variety of songs available, I thought I would do a bit of a redux. I’ve only got a couple here, but I thought it might do for a Christmas post. Consider it a Thursday version of Tuesday Tunes! Mary’s Boy Child Easily my favorite version of this song. The Boney…
For my first Tuesday Tunes post, I had to decide what genre to focus on. My tastes are a bit eclectic – I like country music, folk music, oldies, Broadway tunes, and music from various children/family movies (Disney movies, CG movies, and that sort of thing). As for what to choose, I figured I should display something that is in keeping with the Christmas season! But what a problem that is – I love so many Christmas songs that choosing…