Tonic Jukebox History
WEEK 35 - War and Peace
To mark Armistice Day on Wednesday, this week our theme is War and Peace. Be prepared for a VERY eclectic mix.
Monday November 9
1812 Overture (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
An overture written to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon's invading army in 1812.
The overture was first performed in Moscow on 20 August 1882,
Tchaikovsky described his famous piece as, "very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love”
However, it has become one of the most popular pieces in the light classical concert repertoire.
This performance is enthusiastically conducted by the popular Antonio (Tony) Pappano who many of us have seen at the Royal Opera House. It was filmed at the Prinsengrachtconcert, an annual open-air concert of classical music held annually in August since 1981 on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. The orchestra is situated on a pontoon anchored in front of the Hotel Pulitzer; much of the audience watches and listens from boats.
Here is an interesting article about the 1812 Overture from ClassicFm.
Performance
(16 minutes)
Tuesday November 10
Where have all the flowers gone?
One of the most famous and often sung 'folk' songs of the 60s. Actually the original dates from 1955, written by Pete Seeger (1919-2014), an American folk singer and social activist. He wrote the first three verses, and in 1960 Joe Hickerson completed the song as we know it today. In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the 'Top 20 Political Songs'.
Peter, Paul and Mary was (were) an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961. I love their music and sang many of their songs during my 'performing with Geoff and two guitars' period. We even sang at Bunjies, then a folk club just off Charing Cross Road.
I have chosen this video as PP&M encourage the audience to join in. That's your cue. Sing along, please.
Performance
Wednesday November 11 (Armistice Day)
Benedictus (from The Armed Man)
The Armed Man is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled 'A Mass for Peace'. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis. You might find this explanation of the piece by Karl Jenkins to be interesting.
Performance
Thursday November 12
There is Nothin' Like A Dame (from South Pacific)
South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. It won many awards including a Pulitzer Prize for drama. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific and combines elements of several of those stories.
There is Nothin' Like A Dame is sung by a group of American sailors who are stationed on a South Pacific island during WW2.
Performance
Friday November 13
Universal soldier
A 1964 song by Buffy Sainte-Marie, sung here by Donovan.
Sainte-Marie said of the song: "I wrote 'Universal Soldier' in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in Toronto in the early sixties. It's about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all."
This song is typical of the 1960s. I recall sitting on the floor at folk and poetry evenings, listening to this and similar music, with joss sticks (incense) burning all around us.
Performance
Weekend November 14/15
And When They Ask Us (from Oh, What a Lovely War!)
Oh, What a Lovely War! is a musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the satirical music hall song "Oh! It's a Lovely War!", which is one of the major numbers in the production.
The film is one of my all time favourites. Today's selection covers the final few minutes - one of the most moving scenes of all time.
It involved placing over sixteen thousand individual crosses on the Sussex Downs. Each cross had to have a hole dug for it in order to hold it steady in the ground to stop it from falling or being blown over. The final track back from the graves, shot from a helicopter had to be done several times, due to problems with high winds and camera shake. (IMDB)
The song And When They Ask Us is a parody on the Jerome Kern song, They Didn't Believe Me.
Performance
And when they asked us, how dangerous it was.
Oh! We'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them.
We spent our pay in some cafe, and fought wild women night and day,
T'was the cushiest job we ever had.
And when they asked us, and they're certainly going to ask us.
The reason why we didn't win the Croix de Guerre.
Oh! We'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them.
There was a front but damned if we knew where.
Monday November 9
1812 Overture (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
An overture written to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon's invading army in 1812.
The overture was first performed in Moscow on 20 August 1882,
Tchaikovsky described his famous piece as, "very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love”
However, it has become one of the most popular pieces in the light classical concert repertoire.
This performance is enthusiastically conducted by the popular Antonio (Tony) Pappano who many of us have seen at the Royal Opera House. It was filmed at the Prinsengrachtconcert, an annual open-air concert of classical music held annually in August since 1981 on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. The orchestra is situated on a pontoon anchored in front of the Hotel Pulitzer; much of the audience watches and listens from boats.
Here is an interesting article about the 1812 Overture from ClassicFm.
Performance
(16 minutes)
Tuesday November 10
Where have all the flowers gone?
One of the most famous and often sung 'folk' songs of the 60s. Actually the original dates from 1955, written by Pete Seeger (1919-2014), an American folk singer and social activist. He wrote the first three verses, and in 1960 Joe Hickerson completed the song as we know it today. In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the 'Top 20 Political Songs'.
Peter, Paul and Mary was (were) an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961. I love their music and sang many of their songs during my 'performing with Geoff and two guitars' period. We even sang at Bunjies, then a folk club just off Charing Cross Road.
I have chosen this video as PP&M encourage the audience to join in. That's your cue. Sing along, please.
Performance
Wednesday November 11 (Armistice Day)
Benedictus (from The Armed Man)
The Armed Man is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled 'A Mass for Peace'. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis. You might find this explanation of the piece by Karl Jenkins to be interesting.
Performance
Thursday November 12
There is Nothin' Like A Dame (from South Pacific)
South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. It won many awards including a Pulitzer Prize for drama. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific and combines elements of several of those stories.
There is Nothin' Like A Dame is sung by a group of American sailors who are stationed on a South Pacific island during WW2.
Performance
Friday November 13
Universal soldier
A 1964 song by Buffy Sainte-Marie, sung here by Donovan.
Sainte-Marie said of the song: "I wrote 'Universal Soldier' in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in Toronto in the early sixties. It's about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all."
This song is typical of the 1960s. I recall sitting on the floor at folk and poetry evenings, listening to this and similar music, with joss sticks (incense) burning all around us.
Performance
Weekend November 14/15
And When They Ask Us (from Oh, What a Lovely War!)
Oh, What a Lovely War! is a musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the satirical music hall song "Oh! It's a Lovely War!", which is one of the major numbers in the production.
The film is one of my all time favourites. Today's selection covers the final few minutes - one of the most moving scenes of all time.
It involved placing over sixteen thousand individual crosses on the Sussex Downs. Each cross had to have a hole dug for it in order to hold it steady in the ground to stop it from falling or being blown over. The final track back from the graves, shot from a helicopter had to be done several times, due to problems with high winds and camera shake. (IMDB)
The song And When They Ask Us is a parody on the Jerome Kern song, They Didn't Believe Me.
Performance
And when they asked us, how dangerous it was.
Oh! We'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them.
We spent our pay in some cafe, and fought wild women night and day,
T'was the cushiest job we ever had.
And when they asked us, and they're certainly going to ask us.
The reason why we didn't win the Croix de Guerre.
Oh! We'll never tell them, no, we'll never tell them.
There was a front but damned if we knew where.