Tonic Jukebox History
WEEK 53 - Spring
Officially Spring starts next Saturday, March 20 so this week’s theme will be Spring. Saturday is also the International Day of Happiness. The official website suggests the following: Keep Calm, Stay Wise, Be Kind. To which I would add - Share Music. It is also the date of the third Tonic Virtual Group Outing. Busy day!
Monday March 15
Appalachian Spring
Appalachian Spring is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon commission of the choreographer and dancer Martha Graham. It was premiered on 30 October 1944 at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., with Martha Graham dancing the lead role. Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his achievement.
Extract from Appalachian Spring (6 mins)
Full piece conducted by the composer in 1980 (27 mins)
Tuesday March 16
When April Sings (Spring Parade)
Spring Parade is a 1940 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin.
Edna Mae Durbin (1921 – 2013) known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who later settled in France. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias.
Performance
Wednesday March 17
Frühlingsrauschen
Christian August Sinding (1856 – 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known for his lyrical work for piano, Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring). He was often compared to Edvard Grieg and regarded as his successor.
We had a copy of this piece at home when I was growing up and I often butchered the opening phrases. Still do from time to time.
Performance
Thursday March 18
Younger than Springtime (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. 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. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism. Something we obviously still need today.
This clip from the 1958 movie features John Kerr as Lt. Joseph Cable and France Nuyen as Liat.
It is not John Kerr you hear singing but an uncredited Bill Lee. Lee sang in many movies. In particular he dubbed Captain von Trapp in the 1965 movie of The Sound of Music.
Performance
Friday March 19
Here comes the sun
Here Comes the Sun is a song by the English rock band The Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions for the Beatles.
Here is a personal Beatles story.
Brian Samuel Epstein (1934 – 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death. He was referred to as the Fifth Beatle due to his role in the group's business affairs, image and rise to global fame.
My great aunt asked her next-door neighbour (who was the aunt of Brian Epstein) if she could get a set of the Beatles’ autographs for my brother and myself. Some time later we received a photo of the group and on the reverse all 4 autographs, also the words ‘To Philip and Alan’.
Before you start looking up the value of such an item I have a confession to make. I decided to file this away in a ring binder and so made two holes in the photo. There’s worse to come. I wrote a few numbers on it too. What would they say on Antiques Roadshow?
Performance
Weekend March 20/21
Spring (from the Four Seasons)
The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi's works. It is a group of four violin concerti, each of which illustrates a season of the year. They were written around 1716–1717 and published in 1725. Although I could have picked one movement, I decided to give you the full 11 minutes of this highly atmospheric composition. It is played here on period instruments rather than their modern equivalents, which I feel enhances the piece.
Performance
Bonus
The Last Spring
Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843 – 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. The Last Spring is one of 12 Melodies published in 1880. These were settings for voice and piano of words by the Norwegian poet and journalist Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. In The Last Spring, Vinje describes the beauty of the countryside in spring, appearing after the snow of winter; the writer thinks he might be seeing it for the last time. For us, it is certainly the last piece of the week.
Performance
Monday March 15
Appalachian Spring
Appalachian Spring is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon commission of the choreographer and dancer Martha Graham. It was premiered on 30 October 1944 at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., with Martha Graham dancing the lead role. Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his achievement.
Extract from Appalachian Spring (6 mins)
Full piece conducted by the composer in 1980 (27 mins)
Tuesday March 16
When April Sings (Spring Parade)
Spring Parade is a 1940 American musical comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin.
Edna Mae Durbin (1921 – 2013) known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who later settled in France. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias.
Performance
Wednesday March 17
Frühlingsrauschen
Christian August Sinding (1856 – 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known for his lyrical work for piano, Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring). He was often compared to Edvard Grieg and regarded as his successor.
We had a copy of this piece at home when I was growing up and I often butchered the opening phrases. Still do from time to time.
Performance
Thursday March 18
Younger than Springtime (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. 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. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism. Something we obviously still need today.
This clip from the 1958 movie features John Kerr as Lt. Joseph Cable and France Nuyen as Liat.
It is not John Kerr you hear singing but an uncredited Bill Lee. Lee sang in many movies. In particular he dubbed Captain von Trapp in the 1965 movie of The Sound of Music.
Performance
Friday March 19
Here comes the sun
Here Comes the Sun is a song by the English rock band The Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions for the Beatles.
Here is a personal Beatles story.
Brian Samuel Epstein (1934 – 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death. He was referred to as the Fifth Beatle due to his role in the group's business affairs, image and rise to global fame.
My great aunt asked her next-door neighbour (who was the aunt of Brian Epstein) if she could get a set of the Beatles’ autographs for my brother and myself. Some time later we received a photo of the group and on the reverse all 4 autographs, also the words ‘To Philip and Alan’.
Before you start looking up the value of such an item I have a confession to make. I decided to file this away in a ring binder and so made two holes in the photo. There’s worse to come. I wrote a few numbers on it too. What would they say on Antiques Roadshow?
Performance
Weekend March 20/21
Spring (from the Four Seasons)
The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi's works. It is a group of four violin concerti, each of which illustrates a season of the year. They were written around 1716–1717 and published in 1725. Although I could have picked one movement, I decided to give you the full 11 minutes of this highly atmospheric composition. It is played here on period instruments rather than their modern equivalents, which I feel enhances the piece.
Performance
Bonus
The Last Spring
Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843 – 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. The Last Spring is one of 12 Melodies published in 1880. These were settings for voice and piano of words by the Norwegian poet and journalist Aasmund Olavsson Vinje. In The Last Spring, Vinje describes the beauty of the countryside in spring, appearing after the snow of winter; the writer thinks he might be seeing it for the last time. For us, it is certainly the last piece of the week.
Performance