Back to index of "this and that in my life" pages by Donald Sauter.
Dedicated to the proposition that every thought that's ever been thunk may be of interest to some crazy nut . . .
THEE:
>university of Maryland recently ran a sort of marathon on the
Orpheus myth.
Have you seen the 2 Cocteau films on the subject? Wunnerful,
wunnerful..
>They performed extracts from 9 different operas on the story,
dating from the first surviving one in 1600, up to ones by Krenek
and Milhaud.
Some Milhaud is great ("Le Boeuf sur le Toit" & "La Creation du
Monde"), most is run-of-the-mill. Of "Les Six" though I'd say
he's definitely my fave. I'd be interested in his Orpheus opera.
>I also wonder if part of my interest in opera has to do with the
extent to which it is disdained by "the masses".
Well, considering that opera is almost completely designed to
reinforce the ruling elites' cultural snobbery I'd have to say
that I'm with the masses (almost) on that 1.. Are you familiar
w/ Cage's "Europeras"? Maybe I've already mentioned that he
may've composed them to "end all opera" or some such? When 1 or
more of them were scheduled to premier in an opera house in
Europe someone burned the opera house down & the premier was
postponed. Cage poo-pooed the arson as a deluded attempt to end
opera & called the arsonist a "poor man" or some such implying
that he was insane. My sympathies were with the arsonist.
>You mentioned Haba and Schoenberg and, as always, your
familiarity with "recent" serious music amazes me.
I lecture about it at universities & such-like, ya know? I could
send you a CD of my lecture - of course it would be missing the
live elements that make it more "irritaining" but there's still
plenty of info there. You might find it interesting..
>Andre was causing so much trouble that they've cut his
schoolweek down to 2 days
Oi veh! What a case! Sounds like some especially clever tactics
are needed!
>Sorry about my clumsy stabs at fitting your music into the "big
scheme" of things.
No prob. I call some of it "booed usic" & some of it "Low
Classical Usic", etc..
ME: calling machiavelli
Strange weather here - we've had ferocious thunderstorms three
days in a row. They hit like clockwork at 4:30.
Will have to give my Naughty Marietta highlights disk a spin in
order to keep up with the folks in the provinces. My opera
collection is spiked with operetta here and there. I'm no
expert, but I think European operetta is much closer to opera,
and American operetta is closer to musicals. Anyhow, I have to
buy it all on bag days... I'm not real keen on American
operetta, but it seems like most of 'em throw in a number where
everybody's singing away, and the soprano just *soars* above them
all. I like that!
Congratulations on landing the Sand Dancers original. Me, I
would slice it down to 8.5 x 11 (just kidding.)
Do you know the song "Domino"? Just curious.
P.S. You're free to stop reading at this point.
Here's some padding. I stumbled on this today looking for
something else. I had forgotten all about it. I relates to the
discussion of copying library materials as a means of backing it
up. Robert Trent wrote a dissertation on the 19th C. European
repertory for guitar and fortepiano. Matanya is perhaps the
biggest force in the world of guitar scholarship. In other
matters, he has torn me limb from limb.
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar
Subject: Music for guitar and piano - commercial message.
Date: Fri Sep 19 09:34:35 1997
>I'm perplexed as to why Robert Trent seemingly objected to Don
Sauter's post concerning his work in cataloging, and making
available to the public, the Library of Congress' holdings of
19th century guitar/fortepiano works. He states--
> There are at least 400 works for guitar and fortepiano...
> One can have these pieces by contacting the Library of
> Congress and requesting a work...Most libraries will send
> you a photocopy, assuming it is ... public domain ... and
> that they have the staffing.
>Being in the D.C. area, I just got off the phone with a Library
of Congress music librarian staff member who outlined basic
principles for publishing their public domain materials. So long
as works are in the public domain and in suitable condition to be
photocopied, it's o.k. to publish them without seeking further
permission.
>While I wholeheartedly endorse supporting public libraries, the
amount of labor Don put into searching through dusty boxes of
uncataloged materials and 'cleaning-up' copies was enormous. And
wouldn't it be better (for the preservation of the original) to
copy an item 1 time, clean it up and offer it at minimal cost
than copy it over again each time someone asked and have a poor
copy? This is assuming the staff will make the effort necessary
to locate these often obscure pieces--which I doubt. To save
trouble, the most likely response of the staff would be --no.
>Matanya Ophee:
>>And wouldn't it be better (for the preservation of the
original) to copy an item 1 time, clean it up and offer it at
minimal cost than copy it over again each time someone asked and
have a poor copy?
>There is one other reason to support Donald Sauter's efforts:
the Library of Congres is notorious for losing things. Back in
1980, I found there a copy, at the time unique, of the second
volume of the Chopin-Bobrowicz Mazurkas. A few years later, 1986-
87, Robert Kaufman asked me for a copy. Not wanting to circumvent
the library, I told him where I got it from and asked him to get
it directly from LoC. He went there, and lo and behold, it was no
longer there. Stolen? mis-shelved? plain forgottten? who knows!
The fact remains that at that point, my xerox copy became the
only existing copy of the work, and remained so for many years,
until another copy surfaced in the Vahdah Olcott-Bickford
Collection at Northridge. There are many other things I got in
1980 from LoC, still listed in their catalogue, but no longer
available. Copying and republishing them, whichever way, is a
sure way of preserving our heritage. The more the better!
THEE: baroque guitar and mpl
Thanks for replying to my email. Your responses cleared up a lot
of the questions I had. I've actually modified two three quarter
size guitars, one tuned aa dD gg bb e' to play Corbetta,
Roncalli, de Visee, etc., and one tuned aA dD gg bb e' to play
Guerau. I've been using the Corbetta tuning to play Sanz even
though I believe he used reentrant basses and an octave on the
third course, i.e. aa dd gg' nn e'. I've been using D'Addario
light guage classical guitar strings. They have tensions at
a=440 between 5-6.5kg, and, since I tune to a=415 the tensions
are somewhat less. They are a little flabby, but adequate. One
can't be to picky on a budget, I'd be interested in any info your
have on Terz strings. Thanks again. I'm sure I'll be visiting
your wonderful website again and again.
THEE: Re: calling machiavelli
>Congratulations on landing the Sand Dancers original. Me, I
would slice it down to 8.5 x 11 (just kidding.)
Gr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Talking of Machiavelli . . . I've been working on my houn' dawg
song research . . . and, in part, that means politics. After the
trip to Columbia, MO, and all the stuff I collected there and
have been wading through, I think I finally have a handle on
most of the evasive, or downright dirty dealings, at the
Democratic convention of 1912. I get involved in practical
things, don't I? (Better not answer!)
THEE: Re: more mudarra
Wow--Mudarra seems to be quite popular suddenly. Does the book
titled "The Eight Masterpieces..." insinuate that he only wrote 8
decent compositions?? It's my impression that lutenists have
been playing Mudarra more than guitarists have, because of the
tuning difference,or perhaps it's simply the early music
association. A number of anthologies for lute include works of
his. Of course they sound great on guitar, and it's nice he's
getting back on the music stands. Did you start a trend with
your ascii offerings??
BTW--one Anthony Chalkley in France showed some interest in your
tablature postings. He had been trying unsuccessfully to locate
Mike Graham to obtain the little program he developed to convert
ascii to .tab, so I sent him a copy. He ended up improving the
program in some small details to facilitate conversions even
more. His recent posting to the lute list follows:
"Hi, everybody,
"I've just ventured into the world of web-pages, with a
retranscription of Donald Sauter's ascii intabulations of the
scordature "Nouvelles Dicouvertes" by Frangois Campion - they are
available in StringWalker format, so if you want to go back to
letters instead of numbers you can - the PDF versions available
only give numbers.
"They are on http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tony.c/fretful/index.htm
"Tony"
Apparently Tony converted ascii to .tab, and then ran the tab
through StringWalker to create his final product. StringWalker
has the useful ability to interconvert different tablature
styles: French, Italian, guitar; and, it can read (to some
extent) .tab files. I have used SW for just that purpose
(conversion), but I always create a .tab file for the finishing.
Despite TAB's reputed user-unfriendliness, it gives more control
over the final output and, IMHO, makes nicer page.
THEE: Re: calling machiavelli
I've attended maybe 5 operas and 3 operettas that I recall,
averaging out to one about every 6.5 years. Now, musicals I know
better . . . and I suspect I darn near have Treemonisha
memorized. Although Tulsa has a very good opera company
(creatively dubbed "Tulsa Opera") and we have the special once a
year gigs such as the Light Opera Company of Oklahoma's festival,
with a typical repertoire of 3 operettas per summer, we're pretty
dull, stay-at-home folks most of the time.
Naughty Marietta was delightful. There's something about
soldiers dressed in buckskin comin' through the forest singin'
"opera" . . . something ludicrous . . . and really fun.
Marietta's poor disguise as a gypsy boy was a hoot, as was the
exaggerated reaction when the Louisianans discovered that their
esteemed French governor was the nefarious pirate Bras Picque.
And the overture was terrific. I kept wondering if it was WC's
orchestration but never had a chance to ask.
>Congratulations on landing the Sand Dancers original. Me, I
would slice it down to 8.5 x 11 (just kidding.)
Just bought another ebay piece that is slightly trimmed on the
bottom. The lengths people will go to deface a perfectly good
piece of music to cram it into a frame appalls me. I don't have
the piece yet, but the seller was honest about providing the
information. Couldn't resist despite the mutilation; it's a
piece WC orchestrated ("When Love Was Young") from the obscure
1906 _Brown of Harvard_. Someday when I retire & have unlimited
free time, I'll created one heck of a website of sheet music from
old musicals. Even better, I'll figure out how to create sound
files of all these orchestrations! How's that for ambition?
MO> There is one other reason to support Donald Sauter's efforts: the
Library of Congres is notorious for losing things. Back in 1980, I
Okay, you're going to inspire me to list my collection pretty
soon . . . Even in the little time I spent at the LC, I found a
couple of items misfiled and reported them.
>2. Safari Duty - This would be similar to Jury Duty. A group
of 30 - 50 people would be selected at random to serve.
Man, I'd be in trouble! January of 1998 & January of 2000, I was
drawn at random (sure, as if I belief that) to serve on jury
duty the first week of the spring semester--no excuses allowed!
I'm expecting more of the same for January of 2002. Optimistic,
aren't I?
>The other door would open to let out several starved lions. The
people would then be fair game for the lions.
The "plot" for the next "reality" TV???? Has someone been
reading "The Lady or the Tiger?"
>I know that these ideas are somewhat inhumane but I think that
they are good ideas for population control and to encourage
people to stay healthy and become educated. In essence, to
create a stronger human race.
Sounds like time to challenge Jonathan Swift's classic "Modest
Proposal."
THEE: Password
I would appreciate your opinion
The word is MEANINGFUL, my sister says it's okay to give the word
THOUGHTFUL for a hint word. I disagree since they both have FUL.
What do you think?
THEE: I have a question about Mudarra's "Gallarda" piece, and the
style of playing in general.
What right-hand fingers do you use to play the quick runs down
the scale on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings in the 12th measure?
The same question applies to the sequence of notes played on the
third string in measure 15, and the runs towards the end of the
piece (the three measures before the final D chord). I've been
doing the two runs in the first half of the piece by quickly
alternating thumb and index finger. But would it be more
"proper", for example, to use alternating rest-strokes of the
index and middle fingers? (I have found this much more difficult
to do quickly or gracefully.) Could one use pull-off's or hammer-
on's?
ME: Subject: Anthoine Carre's baroque guitar book in modern tablature
TO: rec.music.classical.guitar
http://www.donaldsauter.com/antoine-carre.htm
I've worked up the whole of Anthoine Carre's book "Livre de
Pieces de Guitarre et de Musique" (approx. 1690?) in modern
tablature. There's a bunch of solos; one duo; and a 10-movement
suite for two guitars plus melody and bass instruments.
I've transcribed the bass part of the big suite for a 3rd guitar.
The melody part is expendable, I think, because it duplicates the
guitar 1 melody exactly. So, the big suite may work well on 3
guitars, although I haven't road-tested it yet.
As always, my claim is that baroque guitar music sounds fine on a
modern guitar if you just add a few octave notes above 4th and
5th-string notes. I even provided one tablature with the octave
notes added to show how easy this is.
And here's a link to the index of all my guitar tablatures:
http://www.donaldsauter.com/index.html#tab
ME: guitar and computers
Here's the story behind why I was interested in seeing the "Witch
Behind The Moon" sheet music. "WC" is William Christopher O'Hare
the composer/arranger great-grandfather of my internet friend who
wrote the following:
>We have the Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof" coming
up soon. As many times as I've seen the film, I've never seen
the stage show. A couple of years ago, Theatre Tulsa--in
conjunction with a local children's theatre workshop--staged "The
Wizard of Oz". It was delightful and included music not in the
film. I've read the 1903 NY Times reviews of the original
production, which must have been a hoot. No Toto, but instead a
pet cow named Imogene. Couldn't put that one in a basket and
ride away on a bike! Nor could the flying monkeys carry it off.
I got interested because one of WC's manuscript arrangements sent
to me from the Sousa Archives, Univ. of IL, was "Witch Behind the
Moon" (a coon song) from the original production. How times have
changed! You can see the sheet music (great cover art) on the
Lester S. Levy site, Johns Hoplins.
Also I think I was right when I called that Tansman work
"Cavatina". Cavatina is the name of the whole 4-movement set
including Preludio.
THEE: proliferating hats
Just spotted this in the British Library's online public catalog
and thought you'd get a kick outta it. Someone else clearly
liked the song title!
Title: Here's your hat, what's your hurry. Elizabeth McCracken
Author: McCracken. Elizabeth. 1966-
Subject: English fiction
Publication details: London. Martin Secker & Warburg. 1993
Description: 197p. pbk
ISBN: 0436277654. m
Shelfmark: H.94/302
ME: Scrabble scoring
>I enjoyed your thoughts about "points per play" in Scrabble.
Here's a variation that takes into account the value of the
letters a player draws. A player who gets big letters has a
better chance to score more points. My girlfriend and I keep
track of our "Scrabble efficiency rating." Here's how it works.
Keep track of the point value of each tile that a player plays.
For example, if a player spells the word "them" onto an existing
M on the board, he uses 6 points, one for the T, four for the H,
and one for the E. Don't count the M, because it was already on
the board. At the end of the game we take each player's score
(before game-ending points are added or subtracted) and divide by
the point value of the tiles that player played. For example, if
someone ends with a score of 270 and used tiles totaling 90
points, the efficiency rating would be 3.0. We find that it
usually runs between about 2.9 and 3.7 for us. It's a way of
measuring how well you do with the points you have to work with.
What an interesting idea! But I wonder about the blank - it adds
nothing to the points played, but is actually the biggest gun, so
to speak, of all the tiles. Of course, in the long run, everyone
will get blanks just as often, so the "efficiency rating" will
become valid, but in the short run - after one or a few games - I
would think the blanks would skew the rating. You and your
girlfriend sound like you might like my one-point-per-tile
variation. That's a real test of what you can do with the
letters in your rack.
ME: tablature
>Why don';t you use Wayne Cripps's tab program. It will do
modern guitar TAB if you use the Spanish tablature option. Are
you still planning to publish the LofCongress pieces you
discovered?
I don't have the computing power to use Wayne Cripp's tab
program. At least, I don't think I do. It needs a pdf printer,
or something. Anyhow, I would need somebody standing right next
to me who is up-to-date on computers to lead me through the steps
the first time.
In case your suggestion is in response to seeing ascii tab on my
site, my response to that is that anybody can see the tab
instantly, without having to run a program. I actually run my
ascii tab through a simple BASIC program that converts the "-"
and "|" into unbroken graphic characters. It looks great. The
first tablature program I wrote was all graphic - producing
exactly what I wanted. Then when the web came along I developed
the ascii tab, and found that it is so close to what I want that
I don't bother with the graphic program anymore.
I need to have an up-to-date computer friend print me out some
tab from Wayne Cripps site. (All the Mudarra tab there was
generated from my ascii tab, by the way.) I am curious to see
how it handles arrowheads and all of the ornamentation symbols.
I also wonder if it will give me numbers-in-the-spaces - which I
insist on - rather than lines-through-the-numbers.
About the LC pieces: I've never had any plans to publish the solo
guitar music I found there. I did prepare 120 pieces for guitar
& piano for publication, but the guitar world yawned. My site is
not commercial, so I can't be forward about it, but I hope it's
clear that anybody who wants copies of what I have can get in
touch. David Nadal used a batch of the pieces he got from me in
his very nice publication, "Easy Classics For The Guitar".
THEE:
TO: Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Subject: FS: sports crossword puzzles on ebay
I'm hoping to get a batch of sports-theme crossword puzzles into
the hands of someone who could enjoy them.
I don't have the ebay link handy, but you can find the auction
easy enough. The title is "41 Crossword Puzzles with SPORTS
Themes". Bidding starts at a penny; p&h is one stamp. I think
it has a few more days left. Thanks for your attention.
THEE: tablature
A great many people are now using Wayne's TAB program, and I
guess the second most popular is a shareware program called
Fronimo. But I do not know what hardware and software is needed
for them. Or how to turn their output into *.JPG or *.GIF files
that can be read on a web page.
THEE: strange dreams
I stumbled across your website looking for scrabble word lists
and study methods, but found the entire site to be so fascinating
that I have yet to finish the scrabble pages. I must say that
yours may be the most interesting individual's (non-commercial,
amateur) site I have ever seen!
On the vanity license plates, my ex-husband always claimed that
they really should read "BIG A**HOLE", but I did enjoy reading
your collection. My favorite plate was a white Toyota SUV with
HI HO AG. I thought that was clever, but mostly I agree with the
ex.
Your evolution and SETI pages are FAB! Of course you are right
to question assumptions, which is what a REAL scientist should
do. However, the responses, condescending, angry and downright
stupid as they are, clues me to the fact that people have
differing objective functions, and not everyone studies science
(or anything else for that matter) purely to KNOW, to understand
their universe.
I have my own amateur pyschology, or classification of
personality types, developed over many years of armchair
observation. Puzzle people make excellent systems analysts
/programmers. I am in the field myself, and when interviewing
prospective employees, I always ask them about their hobbies. If
I do not hear any kind of puzzle solving, I figger they are in
the wrong field, or in it for the wrong reasons, or in any case
will not be happy long term doing the work. BTW, some other
characteristics in this category are high introspection, low
action (the exact opposite of an options trader or portfolio
manager), low need for external approval - inner directed, but
high need for understanding or "solving". These people think the
work is fun in itself!
Anyway, back to the dreams. I have been studying dreams for
several years, from a variety of perspectives... historical,
psychological, religious/spritual, neuroscientific(al?),
philosophy of consciousness - which would be philosophical,
whatever. It is daunting in that there is so much pseudo-science
and cultish dreck to wade through, but there are some gems of
insight. Your questions are HIGHLY provocative and stimulating.
I am sorry but I don't have time to outline the whole area right
now, but I would be happy to write again and share some of my
more interesting findings.
I would point you to a good website on lucid dreaming...
www.lucidity.com.
Thanks for putting all that incredible effort into your site.
Don't you just love the web? [Used to.]
THEE: Question
Where in your web sit do I find Fingering for guitar/?? Thanks
ME: geetar tape
Well, I finally faced up to that rotten guitar tape I recorded.
What happened was the guitar trio I play in became active again
recently after a couple of years break. (There was a big blow
up, can you imagine? Nothing in this world is innocuous enough
to keep people from going for each others' throats.) That
reminded me that I had a batch of our trio recordings, and I
thought, just the thing to copy over the spots on the solo tape
that became too torturous. So you can expect a copy soon. I'm
afraid the final thing turned out crazy enough that I have to
hang on to the master. But the copy sounds pretty good. I don't
guarantee it will give you or anyone pleasure, but I doubt there
are many recordings anywhere that present such a wide variation
in styles of music - not a spectrum, mind you, just the 2
endpoints. (Ok, with a few pieces that fall in the middle
somewhere.)
Your job flying around the country installing museum exhibits
sounds quite fun, actually. Are you employed by a company that
does that? When you mentioned the Maryland Science Center, I
figured it was something you had dug up for yourself, freelance
style. For what it's worth, my experience with science museums,
and particularly with demonstrations at science museums, is that
I have to struggle mightily to confirm that what I am hearing or
reading agrees with what I already know about the subject (i.e.,
what I have learned and have no reason to doubt.) Makes me
wonder what somebody without a science background gets out of it.
Visited my folks last night. They have a tv and I watch Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire with them. (Only show I see. Always
liked quiz shows, but hated Millionaire for its first couple
of years. See my review of A View From Saturday on my book
reports page.) The contestant had no idea whether some planes
can fly 3 times the speed of sound, or 3 times the speed of
light. But to win the fast finger question, she was the only one
who knew that typewriters predated paper clips. (Actually, I
suspect she just closed her eyes and punched the 4 buttons.)
I will try to see the Cocteau films on Orpheus. Thanks for the
tip. No, never heard of Europeras. (Now I feel bad about
disparaging the knowledge of the lady who doesn't know light is
real fast.) I'll look into that. Since my opera reference books
(like the records) come from bag days at book sales, they're
generally not too up-to-date, ha ha.
No, didn't know you lectured about music at universities. You
keep surprising me. Again, is that freelance-type work, or are
you on faculties somewhere? Why aren't you making $70,000/year?
Did you study music in college, or just listen and think on your
own (my best guess)?
Not much to report about my summer break. I call it a "break"
presuming the school will have me back next year. The principal
told me I was "one of the Seabrook [Elementary] family", but we
haven't gotten together to discuss the next school year yet.
I've been wrestling with getting organized around the house.
I've overflowed most all of my systems for filing papers, books,
music and records, and I'm the sort who goes crazy when things
aren't organized. Takes all kinds, eh? I had a hundred 13x6x13
cardboard boxes custom-made, and I've made great progress. I can
see light at the end of the tunnel, even.
ME: Re: baroque guitar and mpl
I've only had one set of terz guitar strings, which I've been
nursing forever. (The D string broke recently, and I just
replaced it with a regular G-string.) The set I have is La Bella
TG20 Professinal Terz Guitar. Hope that helps.
THEE: Re: baroque guitar and mpl
Dear Donald;
Thank you for the info on the Terz strings. Hank Cross is
building me a real baroque guitar. As a matter of fact, he's
building two of them and offering one on the Lute list for $900.
Yes, I've been downloading some of the Carre pieces. Thank you so
much. I've been playing some Corbetta from La Guitarre Royale,
some Guerau from the Poema facsi mile which I got from Tecla,
some Roncalli suites, and some Sanz. Thanks again.
THEE: geetar tape
Egads Donald!
It seems like so long since we last corresponded that it's almost
like some sort of time warp is bringing ancient conversation
suddenly into the present! Anyway, I was just thinking of you
recently & wondering if I'd be hearing from you again..
>Your job flying around the country installing museum exhibits
sounds like a lot of fun, actually. Are you employed by a
company that does that?
Yeah, it's called BBH & they're based in San Antonio. At the
bottom of this is something I wrote about being in Oklahoma City
for the last job I did for them.
>When you mentioned the Maryland Science Center, I figured it was
something you had dug up for yourself, freelance style.
No thanks. That kind of freelance is more work than it's worth.
I have most of the freedom of freelance w/o the headaches &
responsibilities.
>Nope, didn't know you lectured about music at universities. You
keep surprising me. Again, is that freelance-type work, or are
you on faculties somewhere?
Freelance - & I'm 'self-taught'. That gives me some arrogant
self-satisfaction, of course. So far, I've only guest lectured
at 4 universities (+ 1 private lesson thing): 1 in Baltimore, 2
in Pittsburgh, 2 in Australia. Basically either on experimental
music or film. If I do say so, I'm quite good at it BUT I wd
HATE it if I had to do it on a regular basis.
Anyway, good to read from you. There's a punk band playing in my
backyard right now & I'm a bit distracted. I shd be socializing
but I feel lousy because I had major projector problems showing
an Indian film tonight at the Andy Warhol Museum (I work there as
a projectionist & A/V technician) & things got so messed up I had
to cancel the screening. It's the 1st time I've ever had to do
that. It's trivial in one sense but a big deal to a Mister
Responsible like myself.
send that thar tape ya varmint!
THEE: Re: geetar tape
IT HAS ARRIVED!
Now you are at the mercy of my harsh critical nature, ha, ha, ha!
Just kidding - Listening forward to hearing it. Probably in the
next day or 2. It's bound to be different from any other guitar
music recordings in my collection.
THANKS!
THEE: Re: little book
Is the Little Book of Music Anecdotes to be found in the Library
of Congress? I might like to have a look at it. Thanks.
ME: Good question! I'll look into it the next time I'm down there.
I'll let you know.
I just read Rudolph Bing's 5000 Nights At The Opera and had a few
occasions to refer to the "Little Book...", with some very
interesting discoveries. Bing relates a first-hand Mary Garden
anecdote that's also in the Little Book. The problem is the
Little Book was published in 1948 and Bing came to the Met in
1951. Who can figure???
ME: Subject: 39559 to go
I have big doubts about Walking On Sunshine being the version I
heard. I don't remember it being so fast and clattery. I did a
web search and found one reference to a group called DTS (DTs?)
who covered it. The guy called it "better than the original" and
said it mostly differed in tempo and voice. (Now I've gone and
looked for the page again and can't find it.)
I see that the Battle of the Garages Vol II was with a batch of
other records I had separated out for years to get rid of - more
evidence it was something I was dumb enough to buy myself some
time ago. If yours is gone and you want it, it's all yours,
although I know how much you want more vinyl around the house.
You got my curiosity piqued about how many operas are represented
in my collection. It had never occurred to me that I had the
means to answer that, but I gave it some thought and wrote a
little program that can extract opera titles from my data base.
It was an interesting exercise, showing that I had given two or
more spellings to about 30 titles, in spite of my best efforts at
consistency.
The current answer is about 441. That includes operetta, plus a
few oratorios, musicals and other extended vocal works. My
latest 22-record haul added about 8 titles to the list. You have
to restore the spaces, although I realize now it wouldn't be hard
for me make the program smart enough to leave the spaces in. I
could also have had it spit out composers.
AcisandGalatea
AdrianaLecouvreur
Agrippina
Aida
Akhnaten
Alceste
Alcina
Aleko
Alexander'sFeast
AlexanderNevsky
Alzira
AmahlandtheNightVisitors
AmeliaGoestotheBall
AmoreTraditore
Anacreon
AndreaChenier
AnnaBolena
AnnieGetYourGun
AntonyandCleopatra
Armida
ArmidaeRinaldo
Armide
Aroldo
Artaxerxes
Atalanta
Attila
Atys
AvaktheHealer
AWaltzDream
BabesInToyland
BallimSavoy
Barbe-bleue
BeatricediTenda
BeatriceetBenedict
Belisario
Belshazzer
BenvenutoCellini
Berenice
BlauesGras(Bluegrasscantata)
BlossomTime
Boccaccio
BorisGodunov
Candide
Carmen
Carousel
Castor&Pollux
CavalleriaRusticana
Cecilia
Cendrillon
Cheryomushki
ChristlaginTodesbanden
Clari
Cleopatra&Cesare
CoffeeCantata
CosiFanTutte
CrispinoelaComare
Czardasfu"rstin
DasLanddesLa"chelns
DasRheingold
DasSpitzentuchderKo"nigen
DerBettelstudent
DerEvangelimann
DerFavorit
DerFliegendeHolla"nder
DerFreischu"tz
DerGrafvonLuxemburg
DerLustigeKrieg
DerObersteiger
DerRosenkavalier
DerSchauspieldirektor
DerVetterausDingsda
DerVogelha"ndler
DerWaffenschmied
DerZarewitsch
DerZigeunerbaron
DesKnabenWunderhorn
DettingenteDeum
DialoguesdesCarmelites
DichterundBauer
DidoandAeneas
DieDreiPintos
DieDubarry
DieEntfu"hrungausdemSerail
DieFeen
DieFledermaus
DieGo"tterda"mmerung
DieLeichteKavallerie
DieLustigenWeibervonWindsor
DieLustigeWitwe
DieMeistersingervonNu"rnberg
DieRosevonStamboul
DieScho"pfung
DieToteStadt
DieUngarischeHochzeit
DieWalku"re
DieZauberflo"te
DieZirkusprinzessin
Dinorah
DonCarlos
DonGiovanni
DonnaDiana
DonPasquale
DonQuichotte
DonSebastiano
DuetfromthecomicoperaTheBarberofDarmstadt
Edgar
Eileen
EinDeutschesRequiem
EinNachtInVenedig
EinsteinontheBeach
EinsteinontheFritz(PhilipGlassspoof)
ElAmorBrujo
ElCapitan
ElSombrerodeTresPicos
Ernani
Esclarmonde
EteocleePolinice
EugeneOnegin
Euryanthe
Falstaff
Faust
Fedora
Fidelio
Flavio
Fortunio
Fosca
FraDiavalo
FrancescadaRimini
FrancescadaRimini (yes, 2 operas with that name.)
FrauLuna
Friederike
GaiteParisienne
GemmadiVergy
GenevievedeBrabant
GianniSchicchi
Giovannad'Arco
GirlCrazy
GiulioCesare
GiulioCesareinEgitto
Goyescas
Gra"finMaritza
Griselda
GuillaumeTell
H.M.S.Pinafore
Ha"nselundGretel
Hamlet
Herodiade
Horrortorio
ICapuletiediMontecchi
Idomeneo
IDueFoscari
IfIWereKing
IGioiellidellaMadonna
IlBarbierediSiviglia
IlBarbierediSiviglia/Elisabetta
IlCorsaro
IlDucad'Alba
IlMatrimonioSegreto
ILombardi
IlPirata
IlRePastore
IlRitornod'Ulisse
IlSignorBruschino
IlTabarro
IlTrovatore
IMasnadieri
Iolanthe
IPagliacci
IphigeniaenTauride
IphigeniainAulide
IphigeniainBrooklyn(cantata)
IPuritani
Iris
ItHappenedinNordland
IZingari
Jeanned'Arc
Jeptha
Joseph
Joshua
JudasMaccabaeus
Khovanshchina
KingArthur
L'Africaine
L'Allegro
L'AmicoFritz
L'Arlesiana
L'AssediodiCorinto
L'Elisird'Amore
L'EnfantProdigue
L'HistoireduSoldat
L'HonestanegliaAmore
L'Honestanegliamori
L'IncoronazionediPoppea
L'IngannoFelice
L'ItalianainAlgeri
L'lledeTulipatan
L'Orfeo
LaBattagliadiLegnano
LaBelleHelene
LaBoheme
LaCalisto
LaCambialediMatrimonio
LaCenerentola
LaChansondeFortunio
LaClemenzadiTito
LaConstanzainamor
LaDameBlanche
LaDamnationdeFaust
LaDonnadelLago
LadyBeGood
LaFanciulladelWest
LaFavorita
LaFilleduRegiment
LaForzadelDestino
LaGazzaLadra
LaGioconda
LaGrande-duchessedeGerolstein
LaJuive
Lakme
LaPerichole
LaPietradelParagone
LaRondine
LaScaladiSeta
LaServaPadrona
LaSonnambula
LastRoseofSummer
LaTosca
LaTraviata
LaVerbenadelaPaloma
LaVidaBreve
LaVieParisienne
LaWally
LeCalifedeBagdad
LeChevaldeBronze
LeCid
LeComteOry
LeCoqd'Or
LeNozzediFigaro
LeProphete
LeRoid'Ys
LesContesd'Hoffmann
LesDiamantsdelaCouronne
LesHuguenots
LeSiegedeCorinthe
LesIndesGalantes
LesMartyrs
LesPatineurs
LesPecheursdePerles
LesVepresSiciliennes
Let'sFakeanOperaor
LeToreador
LeVilli
Libuse
LiebesliederWaltzes
LindadiChamounix
Lodoletta
Lohengrin
Lorelei
Louise
LoveoftheThreeOranges
LuciadiLammermoor
LucreziaBorgia
LuisaMiller
Lulu
Macbeth
MadamaButterfly
MadamePompadour
MademoiselleModiste
Manon
ManonLescaut
MaomettoII
MariadiRohan
MariaStuarda
MarinFaliero
Maristella
Maritana
Martha
Mass
MassinBMinor
Maytime
Mefistofele
MerryWar
Messiah
MetamorphosisonaBed-timeTheme
Mignon
Mireille
MissaHilarious
MissaSolemnis
Mlle.Modiste
Mme.Favart
Monika
Morning
MorsetVita
MusicInTheAir
MyFairLady
MyMaryland
Nabucco
Natoma
NaughtyMarietta
NixoninChina
No (What's this? Turns out to be a truncated No, No, Nanette.)
Norma
NotreDame
NutcrackerSuite
Oberon
OfTheeISing
OGuarani
OhKay
Oklahoma
OrangeBlossoms
Orfeo
OrfeoedEuridice
OrpheeauxEnfers
Orpheus
Otello
Ottone
Overture
Paganini
Pagliacci
ParideedElena
Parisina
Parsifal
Patience
PeterandtheWolf
PeterGrimes
PiratesofPenzance
PorgyandBess
Preciosa
PrinceIgor
PrincessIda
Ptolemy
QueenofSpades
Radamisto
Requiem
Rienzi
Rigoletto
Rinaldo
RioRita
Roberta
RobertoDevereaux
RobinAdair
Rodelinda
RomeoetJuliette
Rosalinda
Rose-Marie
Rosmondad'Inghilterra
RobinsonCrusoe
[list truncated]
ME: sounding better all the time?
Here's something from a Disney page about the Fantasia
soundtrack, which we had talked about. On rereading, maybe
they're saying how great the original recording still sounds, but
I'm not sure.
Donald
Originally mastered on optical nitrate film, the Fantasia soundtrack
was transferred in l955 to magnetic tape, then considered the ultimate
in state-of-the-art technology. Disney engineers, well aware that
nitrate undergoes progressive decay over time -- especially in the
fragile sound medium -- regularly remastered Disney soundtracks onto
magnetic tape as release schedules brought the films back into the
public eye. The original Fantasia sound optical has suffered from
degeneration over the years, establishing first-generation magnetic
masters in its place. This process has laid the groundwork for
periodic remastering with new technology. Interestingly enough,
Fantasia was transferred via Class A telephone lines from the Disney
Studios to RCA, a superior method of transmission.
P.S. Superior to what? Mailing a dvd?
THEE: Re: sounding better all the time?
Thanks for the dope on "Fantasia." We'll have to give my LP a
spin and decide if it possibly could have been recorded in the
'30s.
Tap. Wish me luck!
ME: reminiscing...
Hi Kitty [Brazelton],
I was a Musica Orbis fan back in the mid-70s in Philadelphia. I
enjoyed visiting your website recently and am glad to see you're
still going gangbusters, music-wise. I'm pretty sure I had
searched the web for Musica Orbis a while back, maybe a couple of
years ago, and was disappointed to come up empty-handed.
I'm guessing you're a bit of a packrat yourself, but if you want
to see my collection of posters, fliers and programs, I'd be
happy to lend them to you. I see I have about 10 items,
including a Painted Bride poster (8.5 x 11) which I suppose I
took off the door for myself after the concert was over. (Why
not?) While writing this, I'm quite surprised to notice that my
Musica Orbis material has dates from 1974 to 1977. I would have
guessed you all were in my life for about 2 years.
I was Listener No. 152 for "To The Listeners". When I received
it I regretted not acting faster to get the smallest possible
number, boo hoo. Nice record, by the way. I've played it
occasionally over the years. It took a long time to warm up to a
track or two that I considered "too jazzy" or "too funky". Hey,
I cut my teeth on '60s British rock. But even if I had never
come to dig them, that would have been fine; I don't expect any
artist to hit the bull's eye of my personal tastes with every
last thing he does.
Which reminds me of a very fond Musica Orbis memory which I know
I'll never do justice to trying to tell it. At one of the "4
Ways" concerts I was sitting next to a woman. At intermission it
came out that this was her first Musica Orbis concert. For me it
was probably about the fifth. She asked me what I thought of the
show so far. I think I picked up some vibes that she felt she
was partaking of something special, but that she hadn't really
enjoyed what she heard. It was a set of almost exclusively
"harder" and more experimental pieces (if you ask me.) I said
something like, "I'm a big Musica Orbis fan, and I've heard about
10 sets in 5 concerts, but, to be honest, that was the least
enjoyable one, for me, personally, so far." She breathed a
big sigh of relief and exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so glad you said
that!" I'm sure I went on a bit about how it was "perfectly
ok with me because I've enjoyed so much of what they do, and
artists aren't bound to do everything just for me anyway (and who
knows, maybe one day I'll come to appreciate it?), but what
worries me is that there are people like you who are hearing
Musica Orbis for the first time, and developing an opinion based
on that one set." Then in the second set Musica Orbis went heavy
on the "nicve" and "pretty" and the "fun" things - like acoustic
pieces with a dozen instruments going at once. My neighbor was
in heaven. I can still picture her enthusiastic applause - hands
over her head, big smile on her face. Thanks for coming through
on that one! I felt like the music critic of the century.
You mentioned various accolades received by Musica Orbis on your
website. Didn't Philly station WMMR choose Musica Orbis as the
"Best New Band" or maybe "Best Band, period" in 1976 or so? And
I don't mean local band, but best of them *all*? I'm sure my
memory hasn't made that one up.
I have a tape of Musica Orbis playing on WMMR. It sounds pretty
good, even though it has some flaws. The left channel is a bit
distant, and WMMR had a few level goof-ups, and maybe a song got
chopped when I had to turn the reel over. Worst of all, I paused
the recorder to save tape while you did the Evergreen "Three
teeny operettas" rap. I figured I didn't need to save that,
having heard it a few times already. Now, of course, I'd love to
hear it again - and I'm kicking myself!
(I always had a funny little notion of crossing paths with you
one day in a crowd and I would nonchalantly tart to sing to
myself, "I went out to get/some cigarettes." I figured that
would give you the surprise of your life! But now I've spoilt it,
when the opportunity does arise, ha ha.)
Since I'm rambling, I thought you as a songwriter might be
interested in which lyric is stuck the most in my mind. I have
no idea why, but when I bring Musica Orbis and your voice and
persona to mind, I hear, "They call me Miss Pirelli, and hush
when I walk by. The boys stayed in the boys' room, I had to coax
them to comply." This was the case even before starting to work
in recent years with elementary school kids. I've never been a
"Mr." before and I hate it. What's wrong with first names?
Keep up the good work. A few years ago I caught the opera bug
and I hope to hear yours some day.
ME: mickey mouse stuff
Even though this is sort of old hat after talking about it at
Hself's, there were some interesting things about the old Fantasia
movie in here, so I thought I'd send it on.
_________________________________________________________________
Walt Disney Records:
Fantasia Soundtrack
_________________________________________________________________
"Fantasia is timeless. It may run ten, twenty, thirty years. Fantasia
--The New York Times
"An earthquake in motion picture history."
--Los Angeles Times
"The screen's greatest departure since the introduction of sound."
--Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
"Nothing ever existed like Fantasia. To describe it is impossible. You
must see it."
--Esquire
"Like Snow White, Fantasia marks a milestone in the development of
cinema."
--New York Herald Tribune
"... a new kind of art, and that is the greatest praise one can give
an artist."
--Emil Ludwig
"To my mind, Fantasia is the greatest contribution motion pictures
have made within the ten years in which I have been actively engaged
in community work for better films. It should be seen by every child
and every adult, over and over again."
--Educator Martha W. D. Addams
"It gave me a sore butt, but I sat through it twice because I paid
good money to see it."
--Donald Sauter
ME: nice guy
Here's the Brahms story:
Brahms was once reported to have left a party with the words, "If
there is anyone here I have forgotten to insult, I apologize."
ME: segovia story
Here's about the only thing on the web I could find about the
Danza Pomposa story. I wish there was some first-hand account.
Lorenzo Micheli - 28th April 2001
The first half concluded with Tansmans Cavatina, written for Segovia
in 1951. The searching Prelude, with its often unresolved harmonies,
led into the rest of the suite. Sarabande introduced a kindly, gentle
and reassuring voice; Scherzino, (the joke) parenthesised rhythmic
song-dances of childhood in a more ambivalent setting; while the
audience was lulled, almost mesmerised, by the undulating Barcarole as
the video testifies! Here the suite would have ended, but Segovia was
dissatisfied; so the composer wrote the final and perhaps
ironically-named Danza Pomposa, in which the previous themes were
entwined into a colourful and triumphant celebration.
We'll have to take another look to find the earlier themes in the
Danza Pomposa.
Donald
THEE: Re: 39559 to go
Dear iz710,
Some weeks ago I won an auction for "Washington Times" crossword
puzzles from you. However, I have not heard from you. I may be
forced to leave negative feedback!
Don: Joke!
Hmmm, you're not really going to count "My Fair Lady" as an
opera, are you?
Take care.
ME: NAZIS... READ ALL ABOUT EM'!!!
You got me curious about von Karajan's nazism. I found this
discussion. I'm inclined to believe he wasn't so bad. Also some
interesting comments on R. Strauss.
Subject: Re: NAZIS! READ ALL ABOUT 'EM.....
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Date: 1998/09/01
Compare that to Herbert von Karajan, who although trying to curry
favor with the NAZIs and refusing to comment or accept
accountability for his signing party cards, couldn't get their
ideology straight, married and refused to divorce a woman
classified as jewish, got himself effectively banned from any
decent position for the last 5 years of the Reich, hired and
promoted black, asian, jewish artists, promoted women in
orchestral hiring. Hitler couldn't stand him and Speer said so.
There are a lot of opinions floating around, but these are facts.
THEE: Re: Question
>Where in your web sit do I find Fingering for guitar/?? Thanks
The page that describes how to notate fingerings for guitar music
is
http://www.donaldsauter.com/guitar-fingering-notation.htm
It also discusses what I see as the importance of a good
fingering notation system. Keep in mind that all of this is
independent of any discussion of what good guitar fingerings are,
or how to find them. This is just about notating your chosen
fingerings so that you can play a piece correctly from the second
time onward, as long as you live.
THEE: Carnival of Venice comments
Just wanted to thank you for posting the tab to the Carnival of
Venice variations. I too have the Classical Guitar book with the
music, tried in vain years ago to write in some contorted
fingerings, and gave up in despair. Even once you figured out
the tuning it must've been a lot of work figuring out the tab;
and then notating it in ascii.
I did notice a possible error in the last few bars of the Finale.
(6th,5th,4th, and 3rd from the end) where the music shows a bass
arpeggio (E G# B B) but the tab seems to omit the G# and
indicate an open 'B' string instead.
_________|___________|____________|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_3_4_0_6_7|_0_11_12____
_________|___________|____________|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_____0____|_0__________
_________|___________|____________|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_____0____|_0__________
___9_7___|_4_-12_2_-9|____________|_____2_2|_____2_2|_____2_2|_____2_2|____________|____________
_7_____10|___________|_5_-12_4_-12|___0_0_0|___0_0_0|___0_0_0|___0_0_0|____________|____________
_________|___________|____________|_0______|_0______|_0______|_0______|_0_____0____|_0__________
Should be
_________|___________|____________|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_0____|_0_3_4_0_6_7|_0_11_12____
_________|___________|____________|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_0_0_4|_0_____0____|_0__________
_________|___________|____________|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_0_1_1|_0_____0____|_0__________
___9_7___|_4_-12_2_-9|____________|_____2_2|_____2_2|_____2_2|_____2_2|____________|____________
_7_____10|___________|_5_-12_4_-12|_____0_0|_____0_0|_____0_0|_____0_0|____________|____________
_________|___________|____________|_0_4____|_0_4____|_0_4____|_0_4____|_0_____0____|_0__________
Also although it's notated correctly I wonder about the 8th
measure of var 2 (not counting pick up). I'm still a long way
from being able to play it properly but it sounds like the 1st
beat should cadence on the E instead of the G# - maybe I'm just
not playing and hearing the harmonic on the 4th beat properly.
Anyway thank again for taking the time to post it. Without your
efforts Ferranti's fine composition would have remained
inaccessable to future generations. Kind of like Mendelssohn
repopularizing Bach's music!
I really enjoyed all your Beatle stuff too!!
THEE: I am so delighted to hear that your guitar group is back
together again. Nothing like time--the mighty healer.
Also happy to know that you found the mysterious, missing manila
folder with the articles about Elmer Booze [page turner].
THEE: Subject: Re: dots
>It just sank in for the first time, the line in your letter from
way back, "Oh, in Pavana #22, check the three dots and see how it
plays out for you."
>I'm feeling a bit dumb here, but, for the life of me, I can't
figure out what those 3 dots mean. I don't recall noticing them
before - otherwise I would have flagged them when I was
generating my tablature. I guess that's the only place Mudarra
put them? I give up, whadda they mean?
The three dots are like an inner repeat or coda. The note at the
very end of the pavana says "from here to the three dots". To
end the piece, go back to the three dots instead of to the repeat
sign at bar 17. I guess you could play the whole thing AA
BB(dots) Fine. I wanted to make sure I had the three dots in
the right place, and I think I got it right, judging from the way
it sounds.
And dots all dere is. Does it work?
ME: don't mind me
Whoops! Even before I got around to opening your last email, it
hit me that you had told me what the dots were. You had written:
>Discovered something interesting in AM22 (pavana for guitarra).
There is an instruction at the very end: "De aq(ui) a los tres
puntillos." (from here to the three dots). Lo and behold, there
are three dots in a triangle configuration under m35 or m36r1!
(The chords are 0232 and 5333 in that measure--there appears to
be some confusion in the count.) It's like a dal segno, I guess.
When I looked into it a second time after rereading your letter,
all I could think was that the dots meant some right hand
technique or something. That was *after* having already played
it and thinking, "Cool! Just like the Baroque guitarists!" Don't
know where my head is - I claim I was born with Alzheimer's.
Yeah, the da capo sounds perfectly fine to me. And, to be
honest, I don't see a problem with the rhythms in that area -
although I'm probably missing something else right under my nose.
Anyway, now I've had the fun of enjoying your discovery *two*
times. Thanks, and sorry for the bother!
THEE: Re: don't mind me
I'm sure you're not the only one born with Alzheimer's; just ask
my family.
What are dots? (Just joking--I hope!)
ME: Re: little book
>Dear Donald, Is the Little Book of Music Anecdotes available in
the music section of the Library of Congress?
I went down to LC yesterday. Yes, they have it. Just put this
on the call slip:
ML65.K35 Kaufmann, Helen The little book of music anecdotes
ME: scrabble dreams
One of the "most interesting non-commercial sites", eh? So
there's interesting commercial ones out there, haha? Almost
every web search I do I wish I could click a box, "NO COMMERCIAL
SITES!"
Really, though, the internet is great. It's given me a place to
dump my brain. I always figured in the last year of my life I
would hire a writer and get everything down and publish up a book
and send copies around to a bunch of libraries, a tiny fraction
of which might not throw it out. (A book about peanut butter,
*and* justice, *and* Family Feud, *and* classical guitar...???)
My web site has snared a first grade friend of mine, who has been
up to some amazing things in the last few decades. I've recently
contacted the singer of the band I followed in my college days,
Musica Orbis. I found a hillbilly record my mom has been dying
to replace for the last 15 years on ebay... Amazing.
About your looking for scrabble word lists, I hope by the time
you finish my scrabble page I've at least got you wondering if
that's what Scrabble is all about. As far as Scrabble study
methods go, I truly recommend the little game I call Bingo Bop,
described on the page. I believe the essence of good Scrabble is
a feel for what letters to hang onto for the next play, and how
many points you are willing to sacrifice now for future payoff.
ME: I probably mentioned a while back I was volunteering at a
local elementary school. I actually worked at Seabrook
elementary school last year and have no reason not to expect to
this year. It went very well. I worked with all the 3rd-graders
two at a time for about 45 minute sessions all day long. I can't
say for sure if I pulled their standardized test scores up -
won't know until November. Maryland's MSPAP test is completely,
totally insane. I swear it asks 3rd-graders some college level
questions - not to mention questions without any good answers at
all. Anyhow, I'm sure I helped to make them a stronger batch of
4th-graders. I feel perfectly at ease working with the kids, and
they jump out of their seats for a chance to work with me. I was
always hoping to avoid returning to a white-collar workplace and
I could see doing this for a long time. I really appreciate the
principal giving me a shot.
ME: Re: Password
>I would appreciate your opinion
>The word is MEANINGFUL, my sister says it's okay to give the
word THOUGHTFUL for a hint word.I disagree since they both have
FUL. What do you think?
I've been tending to my email, and can't remember if I wrote back
to you already. If so, I hope I say the same thing!
I have to agree with you, FUL is part of the password, so you
can't use it in the clue word. I can sympathise with you sister
a little since it seems like an insignificant part of the word,
but still, I would rule against it. Keep in mind, I'm not the
Password authority - just somebody trying to fix up the rules
some to make it more fun - or at least to reduce nasty fights!
Have you tried the alternate rules I propose at the bottom of my
web page? They've worked well for my family.
ME: This is Donald, guitar friend and fellow Justin Holland fan.
Hope all is well. ... I remembered that after I sent off a few
Holland-related pages last year (March) I didn't hear back. Not
a big deal, because it wasn't anything very important, and I know
what a burden correspondence is. But I was a little worried
maybe I said or did something wrong. I sure didn't mean to - let
me know if I did! Otherwise, just accept all my best wishes for
your guitar career. And I'm still rooting for your grand idea of
a multi-media documentary on the Justin Holland story!
ME: banjo
Just yesterday I was at the Library of Congress for the first
time this summer, and I looked into something that had *never*
occurred to me before: banjo and piano music. Turns out they had
6 boxes of such material dating from the 1880s and 1890s. Wow.
That's eye-opening. I only found *one* American guitar & piano
piece from that era. I suppose the conclusion is that the
guitar, when combined with other instruments, was viewed almost
exclusively in an accompanying role, something to take the place
of the piano if you didn't have one of those.
ME: Re: Carnival of Venice comments
Thanks for the kind words! I almost never take a look at the
number of hits my pages get (it can be kind of devastating!) but
I noticed a few months ago that my Carnival of Venice pages had
the smallest numbers of all. It was funny - the hits fell off
the higher the variation number got, ha ha. Some things you do
just because you have to do them, but it's really great if
they're appreciated by someone.
I will take a look at the error and fix it up as soon as I get a
chance. Thanks for double checking me!
ME: what is pravda
Nothing much to report since the weekend, mostly just waiting for
some scoundrel to send me the penny he owes me for a batch of
sports crossword puzzles. Can't people read instructions
anymore, I ask?
That Handel aria album makes for splendid listening. I think
you're on to something. Still, you need the complete Henry
Purcell and Willibald Christoph Gluck, too.
About My Fair Lady, hmmm... My first reaction to your question
was a mildly defensive, well, no, it's not an opera, but it shows
up by virtue of being cataloged with the rest of my collection of
recently acquired records with non-pop screeching. But then I
realized that I truly can't give an argument that My Fair Lady is
not opera, unless one goes with the most narrow definition of
opera that requires continual singing. But then, that makes the
Magic Flute and Fidelio and Der Rosenkavalier and tons of other
operas not operas. If an opera has talk, it's called a
singspiel, so I guess I can safely call My Fair Lady a singspiel
and nobody will bat an eye.
Or, you could just decrement 441 by 1.
Went down to LC yesterday for the fist time this summer...
Looking into banjo and piano music from the 1880s and 90s, I was
surprised to find a couple of [derogatory] songs by Arthur
Godfrey, but it turns out the one we know is off the hook by
virtue of being born in 1903.
THEE: If you follow
It's been a week of work, being tired, and dreaming of burning
CDs. The issue I've been wrestling with today is how do I
convert MP3s to wavs. Don't ask. It's the last thing I need,
another computer fetish. Speaking of which, we should probably
do some sort of A-B comparison with the CD I burned for you and
some of the originals, just to make sure.
I've also been reading the original "Exorcist" this week. It's
addictive (also extremely gross in parts). The Beatles are
mentioned.
I didn't like the movie version of "My Fair Lady," by the way.
THEE: Re: loose ends; banjo
I did recieve the book, what a wonderful unlooked-for gift! I
haven't had time to really get into it yet. I thought it was
going to be the copy of "Golden Gems of Music", 1895, that I had
won on eBay for $4, which claimed to have "special sections" for
guitar and piano, banjo and piano, and guitar and banjo solo,
among other things. Before you start salivating too much, the
editor was either overambitious or unscrupulous. The only thing
that's really there is one tune for mandolin and piano and a
truncated theme and variations on I don't remember what by Arling
Shaefer (sp?). Big disappointment; however, one piece, "The
Origin of Thought" for piano solo by C. H. Northrup (the editor)
may be worth the price by itself.
Yeah, the guitar and banjo thing is a bit funny, but volume might
be the issue. As you say in your web page, pianos can play
"piano", but most pianists don't like playing that piano all the
time.
I need to put you in touch with a guy I met on the web who just
went through Matanya Ophee's basement to get some old mandolin
and guitar music out. Says he has some 19th. American solos.
I'll get you two togetner if you like.
My musical life is moving farther to the East these days, and I'm
playing more shakuhachi than guitar, but when I get some leisure
to really dig in to your book, I'll let you know how it goes.
THEE: Re: guitar music
Yes, I did recieve the music that you sent. To be honest, I
haven't had the chance to spend too much time with it...man, have
I got a lot of music to look at! Thanks again for reminding me of
the Holland duos. I've had tons of fun with them in the past.
Your idea for publishing them sounds interesting. I think that it
would be fun to record the guitar versions! [As opposed to the
operatic originals. The guitar duos have now been recorded:
http://www.donaldsauter.com/justin-holland-guitar.htm#youtube ]
ME: mountain o' music
Thumbing through the Gale's LC Classes book I noticed the class
for banjo & piano. This intrigued me since banjo music is fairly
similar to guitar music. I was quite surprised that they had 6
boxes devoted to the class. Compare that with the *one* piece I
found of 19th C. American guitar and piano music. That sure says
a lot (I'm not exactly sure what) about the different ways they
viewed the guitar and the banjo at the turn of the last century.
I had a batch of cardboard boxes made to my specs for storing my
records. I just couldn't come up with anything off-the-shelf
that would do the job right. Most boxes are too big, considering
how heavy records are. My boxes are 13 x 6 x 13, which make
nice-sized bins, and can also be closed up and used to haul the
records, if and when necessary. The boxes also work perfectly
with my music collection, which had long since overflowed.
Anyhow, after getting all my records filed away, I treated myself
to a small record binge - just 23 discs. Among the many winners
is a Metropolitan Opera production of La Perichole by Offenbach.
Offenbach is fantastic - great music along with some good belly
laughs. Perichole is also one of the operas arranged by my
guitar hero Justin Holland. Amazingly (to me), the copyright
year, 1868, of the guitar edition is the year Perichole had its
premiere.
>Naughty Marietta was delightful... I kept wondering if it was
WC's orchestration but never had a chance to ask.
Yer pullin' my leg there, right?
>Speaking of finding bargain music, have you ever tried BMG?
My guitar friend Norm is always showing me BMG deals. For now
I'm still having a great time rooting through grungy old vinyl
and shellac (or whatever 78s were made of). Knowing me, I'll
probably get into CDs when they become antiques. By the way, I
did something to my small CD collection which turned out quite
nice. I've always hated the plastic cases. They're bulky and
crack if you look at them. So I made CD covers like little album
covers out of greeting card envelopes, and tossed out the dumb
cases. You wouldn't believe how much more "compact" that is!
>Just bought another ebay piece that is slightly trimmed on the
bottom.
It wun't me!
>Someday when I retire & have unlimited free time, I'll created
one heck of a website of sheet music from old musicals. Even
better, I'll figure out how to create sound files of all these
orchestrations! How's that for ambition?
Not bad. But why not get rich and buy a radio station and hire
an orchestra to play live 24-hours a day? One day I will buy 5
radio stations which will be devoted to formats of good music
that aren't played anymore. (With my left-over money I will have
excellent English translations made of the complete operettas of
Offenbach and get them all produced. And with the remaining
money I will buy an ice cream truck and go to a different
neighborhood every day and give away free ice cream cones to the
kids.)
>I won't pay $13 or more for a darn postcard, even of a houn'
dawg! I have one of the original b/w cards printed in Springfield
as the tune was hitting it's stride.
They used to make post cards of songs???
>>Do you know the song "Domino"? Just curious.
>Don't think so . . . Name doesn't start any "effects" anyway.
Tell me.
I knew it for years from a bootleg Beatles record. Just thought
it was Paul "sending up" George's song "I Me Mine" during the Get
Back sessions. Never had any reason to think otherwise; it never
generated any discussion among Beatle scholars. Most bootleg
records didn't even get the title right, calling it Da-dee-da, or
something. Then I got the shock of my life hearing it issue
forth from one of my opera records, though it isn't an opera
song, but was interpolated into a "gala" performance of Die
Fledermaus. This performance has a hilarious interlude where a
lot of guest singers perform at the count's ball, such as
Leontyne Price singing "Summertime". (Count: "But Gershwin's not
even *born* yet!")
Amongst my old scribbles of things to mention in emails to you is
"#10". I wonder what that means...
THEE: Re: mountain o' music
Just to make sure I don't forget to mention it, notice the new e-
mail address. I came home to find our ISP had been changed
unexpectedly while I was away. Yikes. . . I'm trying to think of
all the ramifications of this one, such as all the people I must
notify . . . not to mention my ebay ID. Hope there's a way to
change my address without changing everything.
>I've only been down LC once this summer - just last week,
actually. It was a successful trip. I found everything specific
I was looking for, including the page 4 you needed. I submitted
the last straggler O'Hare call slips, which didn't turn up
anything.
Whew . . . How do your spell relief? That subject line of yours
had me scared for a minute. I sorta need to go back to work
before I can afford another mountain of music. ;-) Thanks for
the missing page, however.
>Thumbing through the Gale's LC Classes book I noticed the class
for banjo & piano.
What about piano & mandolin? Seems that the ragtime era also
frequently used mandolin.
>I had a batch of cardboard boxes made to my specs for storing my
records.
We have oodles of old 33-1/3s (and I have a few 78s) and not a
working turn table in sight. How many CD players in the house?
God knows, especially if you count those in the 4 computers.
Four computers? Yeah, truly. Our 4-year old PC, my 2-year old
lap top, and the computers our daughters bought for themselves
for college. (They had a subsidy from grandparents.). Can you
imagine what it's like trying to connect to the Internet around
here this summer? Shucks, I have to get up EARLY in the morning
or find a time when they're both at work.
>>Naughty Marietta was delightful... I kept wondering if it was
WC's orchestration but never had a chance to ask.
>Yer pulling my leg there, right?
Hey, not altogether. He did a medley overture orchestration, and
another rather odd one--"Naughty Marietta Waltzes." The waltz
medley arrangements, which he did for several shows, are "odd"
because he turns any type of original song into a waltz. Guess
it simplified dancing . . .
>Knowing me, I'll probably get into CDs when they become
antiques.
You'd get along great with one of my uncles-in-law, Hself.
Except he's like that about clothes. Buys new clothes, even
stylish ones, then puts 'em away, unworn, for years. In the
meantime, he continues to wear styles from 20+ years ago, hand
washing everything. Says nothing ever wears out if one hand
washes it. None of this has anything to do with finances. He
had a terrific position with the Veterans' Administration for
years and stashed away most of his earnings. Didn't even own a
car many of those years.
>>Just bought another ebay piece that is slightly trimmed on the
bottom.
>It wun't me!
Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . so you say. Seems I recall your wanting
to take home some of the copies from the LC so you could cover
your goofs with a good trimming job.
>Not bad. But why not get rich and buy a radio station and hire
an orchestra to play live 24-hours a day?
I already know an orchestra that would volunteer. Even have a
goodly selection of WC O'Hare already in the repertoire. I
suppose that I told you most of the orchs I had before you
started to work came from old radio station collections in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area. The stations had the foresight to donate
the music to the University of North Texas rather than trashing
it. Seems they knew I'd come along years later . . .
>One day I will buy 5 radio stations which will be devoted to
formats of good music that aren't played anymore. (With my left-
over money I will have excellent English translations made of the
complete operettas of Offenbach and get them all produced. And
with the remaining money I will buy an ice cream truck and go to
a different neighborhood every day and give away free ice cream
cones to the kids.)
You forgot one thing: what kind of music will the ice cream
truck play?
AND if you ever get that rich, please let me in on your secret.
>They used to make post cards of songs???
Only of smash hits! I have two houn' dawg cards and have seen
pics of several more. I was suprised when I found the first one,
which I wasn't able to buy. Months later I came across a
possible explanation. In 1912, Missouri had an official postcard
day, part of an effort to get people to migrate to the state.
Towns, businesses, and clubs were encouraged to print cards.
People were supposed to buy them and send them to everyone they
knew out of state--all on the same day. A newspaper editor, who
was smitten with the dawg song, went to Mountain Grove ... and
photographed locals and a houn' dawg in appropriate dress and
poses. I have one of those cards, but have seen a couple others.
Not sure how many poses were printed, but apparently several.
The other card I have is a color cartoon. Naturally, both
contain a portion of the lyric: "You gotta quit kickin' my dawg
aroun'.'
THEE: Re: hello!
Having a great time with your cd. It's making the rounds; first
my friend Hself had it for a week or so, then I played it for
my guitar friend Hself in Dale City. He was *very* impressed.
Me, I already knew how great you are - although I didn't know you
were a pianist and a whistler. Thanks again.
ME: that shakespeherian rag, most intelligent, very elegant
I guess you would have read it, too, but I saw in USA Today that
the editor who made up the George Martin quotes about George
Harrison resigned.
I got a great book in the mail yesterday, "Ragtime" by Ed Berlin.
There are lots of connections with the guitar music I find at the
Library of Congress since the ragtime dates are 1896-1916. It
was sent anonymously from a dealer, but I suspect my Oklahoma
friend researching her great-grandfather is behind it.
Funny about our My Fair Lady vs. opera discussion - right after
your last email I played my "new" La Perichole by Offenbach, and
the liner notes made big My Fair Lady references. "Listen to
this version of La Perichole and you will have the feeling that
it is in a way the equivalent for its own day of our My Fair
Lady... I admire My Fair Lady enormously; it has taste and style
and a touching laughter, and its music is apt..." This all from
the New York Times music critic, no less.
I searched my database and found that I have a mere one My Fair
Lady song in my collection - I Could Have Danced All Night sung
by Wagner-hollerer Birgit Nilsson. It's on that gala Fledermaus
with Domino - did we hear some of it? Then I stumbled on a
mention in Opera News of Nilsson often using it as an encore in
her recitals. Lots of coincidences...
Me, I still don't have the vaguest idea what the My Fair Lady
story is. (Another Taming Of The Shrew?) Anyhow, now that these
artificial barriers have been smashed, it's safe to reveal my
favorite operatic aria: Some Enchanted Evening.
ME: ready for american guitar?
Just a reminder that I'd be glad to help you with 19th C.
American guitarists at LC, whenever you're ready. That would
give me an excellent reason to dig into the classes for original
guitar music, as opposed to the arrangements, which I've gone
over pretty thoroughly.
>Also in a couple of months I will be getting back to you
regarding 19th century American guitarists. Some of my favorites
are Foden and De Janon.
ME: thanks (to somebody)
You'll never believe what I found in my mailbox yesterday!
"Ragtime", by Ed Berlin! I can't imagine who sent it. They
must've typed my address by accident (a million monkeys at a
million typewriters?), but if they think I'm gonna return it,
forget it. It's already undergone a rebinding operation - into 2
volumes actually. The 2nd booklet is all the footnotes so I can
have them laid out while I read the chapters. It's also
developing big, pink splotches [highlights] on all the pages I
look at. Very strange...
So cool - the very first page I opened to showed the cover of
Patrol Comique, of which I have the guitar transcription. And in
the first chapter, Paul Whiteman pops up a couple of times. The
book I just finished reading was by Paul Whiteman. Other "pals"
of mine popping up are, Zarh Myron Bickford, Virgil Thomson, and
Wayne Shirley. Glad to see I wasn't the only one sort of
confused about what ragtime is, precisely. Definitely lots of
fun in store. When I'm done I'll let you know if Ed addressed
my most burning ragtime question.
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