Frightful Classics

For Halloween, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite scary classical pieces. Find them on a CD at the library, in Classical Music Library (a library database), or follow the links.

• In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg, from Peer Gynt)
• Funeral March for a Marionette (Gounod, used as the Alfred Hitchcock theme)
• Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas, featured in Disney's Fantasia)
• Danse Macabre (Saint Saens)
• Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach)
• Night on Bald Mountain (Mussorgsky, featured in Disney's Fantasia)

Enjoy!

Monty Python

The Monty Python television show began airing 40 years ago, in 1969. It was a cultural icon for a generation, and as such, has influenced what people think of when they hear the theme song -- Sousa's Liberty Bell march. Sousa may have written the march in 1893 for an operetta that he never finished, but it wasn't long before the piece had been published and had become a popular march. Since Monty Python went into reruns/syndication, Liberty Bell has been played by the US Marine Corps Band for three presidential inaugurations -- presidents from the Monty Python generation, Clinton, Bush and Obama.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum... It may be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, but piracy is serious music business. And a long standing tradition. Little Wolfie Mozart used his ear and his amazing memory to copy music from a performance that was never to be copied. Bootleg recordings of performances abound -- opera, classical concerts, rock... And then there's the sharing of recordings via the internet -- of which the RIAA takes a very dim view via their lawsuits. However widespread the phenomenon of piracy, the composers and artists are entitled to the fruits of their musical labors. And there's the rub for intellectual property.

Paul Taffanel

Happy birthday, Paul Taffanel! Taffanel is generally considered to be the father of the modern French flute school, which became the dominant style of playing in Western Europe and the U.S. through the mid-20th century. He was born on September 16, 1844, in Bordeaux, France. His father was a music teacher. By the age of 10, Paul was playing flute in local concerts, and at 12, he was accepted as a student byLouis Dorun, who he followed to the Paris Conservatoire in 1860. Taffanel had a fabulous career as a flute soloist and orchestral player, as a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire from 1893 on, and as a conductor. He also composed and arranged music. He died in Paris in 1908.

Taffanel's playing style was particularly noted for the pure tone with limited vibrato. We flute players are indebted to Paul Taffanel, and many of us can trace our heritage -- our teacher's teachers -- back to Taffanel.

If you're interested in learning more, there's a book, Taffanel: Genius of the Flute, by Edward Blakeman (published by Oxford University Press, 2005). You can find it at the Polley Music Library.

September is National Piano Month

Not only is September National Piano Month, but it is also Library Card Sign-Up Month. To celebrate both, I'd like to suggest that you explore the music database, Classical Music Library. It, along with Smithsonian Global Sounds and African American Song provide a wealth of music to listen to, as well as information about that music. The links are on the Polley Music Library home page. To access these databases from outside the library, you'll need your Lincoln City Libraries' card.

Another possibility for using your library card for National Piano Month would be to check out some of the music in the Polley Music Library. Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and many other composers await in our section of piano scores. We also have lots of "easy piano" music to play. How about checking out a book about a pianist or the history of the piano? If we don't have what you need, you can use your library card to borrow scores on inter-library loan.

Happy National Piano Month! Happy Library Card Sigh-Up Month!

Funiculi Funicula

On this day in history (August 24, AD 79), Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying several Roman cities, including Pompeii.

Mount Vesuvius towers over the landscape near the Italian city of Naples. Vesuvius is still an active volcano, but the mountain has long drawn people for relaxation and recreation. In 1880, a funicular railway was opened on Mount Vesuvius. To commemorate that opening, Italian composer Luigi Denza wrote a song -- Funiculi Funicula -- with words by Peppino Turco. The song proved to be so popular that Richard Strauss used it in his symphony, Aus Italien, thinking that it was an Italian folk song; needless to say, a lawsuit ensued, and a royalties were awarded to Denza.

Just as Pompeii was destroyed in an eruption of Vesuvius, the funicular railway was destroyed in a 1944 eruption of the volcano. Still the song remains a favorite.

Hawaii Statehood

Today celebrates the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th state of the United States of America. Statehood was attained on August 21, 1959.

As I was researching to write about something musical for Hawaii, I looked at Aloha 'Oe, one of the best known Hawaiian songs. It was written by Queen Lili'uokalani in 1878 about the parting of lovers. Queen Lili'uokalani (1838-1917) was the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Islands, reiginig 1891-1893. The Queen wrote more than 150 songs during her lifetime. I was suprised to learn that Aloha 'Oe is not the state song of Hawaii.

Instead, the state song is Hawai'i Pono'i. The standard translation is, "Hawaii's own true sons, be loyal to your chief." The words were written by King David Kalakaua, with the music written by Professor Henry Berger, the Royal Bandmaster. Hawai'i Pono'i served as the national anthem for the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1876 to the end of the kingdom in 1893. It was adopted as the official state song by the state legislature of Hawaii in 1967, and it links the proud heritage of Hawaii with its statehood.