Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Fox Punts on Deadly Gun News Conference
In true Fox fashion, they carried President Obama's statements on curtailing gun violence, did a sixty-second summary following, then off to other things. It seems that they do this regularly with anything from Obama. One would guess it takes them a while to round up the loudmouth "antis" to counter our President. We're now off to a**hole John Bolton spewing his crap about Iran's nuclear program and his views on Fox's feature "Our Enemies at Work:" (Can you imagine the future of the U-S had Romney become president and Bolton had become Secretary of State of similar? God works in strange and wonderful ways.)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
A Lot More than You Perhaps Would Like to Know About "Pomp and Circumstance"
The attachment (which you may access and hear by clicking the title of this post just above) is the complete version of Edward Elgar’s March 1 in D Major from the Pomp and Circumstance Marches.
Elgar composed this in 1901/1902. It was first performed in the United States in 1905 as the recessional at graduation ceremonies on the campus of Yale University. Sir Elgar, himself, conducted. Eventually, the recessional transitioned to its now-familiar role as the processional.
You will recognize the middle portion, which we in the US (and many in the UK) call simply “Pomp and Circumstance.” Here in the US it is also called the “Graduation March.” I’ll bet it was used as the processional at your high school and/or college graduation as the grads slowly marched in.
This video is from the 2009 “Last Night at the Proms.” I’ll explain the Proms in a moment. First, the video. Be sure to watch in 720 HD (choose “720” using the up arrow via the icon just one to the left of the full-screen icon at the bottom right of the video image.) You may be amazed at the quality of video you can see on your monitor.
You will hear the first part of March 1, then the graduation march in the middle and the encore, sung by the audience in Royal Albert Hall, along with huge throngs at Hyde Park in London and Heaton Park, Manchester. With lyrics, this section is known to virtually all in England as “Land of Hope and Glory.” The assembled throng sings it in this video with gusto both in the trio section and in the encore.
The conductor is American David Robertson, conductor of the St. Louis Symphony and principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He is damned good.
I must tip my hat to the BBC for absolutely fabulous video production and camera direction. (This is not always true, witness Brit Hamish Hamilton's ham-handed, clueless camera direction of the most-recent Oscar ceremony. His work was simply awful.) This video is the very finest production of any classical (albeit in the “pop” category) concert I have ever seen. Just great. And the use of “jibs,” which have replaced camera cranes in television, is marvelous. (A jib only requires one operator, instead of the minimum of three required by a camera crane, and most iterations of the job can soar much higher than a crane.) The BBC and its creative production staff have a talent rarely seen in the US, as evidenced by the fabulous camera work and video direction as seen in this video.
The BBC Proms are a summer series of concerts and musical events across the nation, often at the magnificently- and lovingly-restored Royal Albert Hall, and especially “Proms in the Park.”
(You may recall the name Albert Hall from the Beatles’ lyrics in “A Day in the Life.” I read the news today oh boy. Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire, And though the holes were rather small, They had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I'd love to turn you on”)
In England, many want this middle portion of the first march (known as a trio section because the beginning and end of March 1 are similar, with the middle “trio”–which is the most-widely known--very different) to become the national anthem, since England itself has no official anthem. (Some would favor "Rule, Britannia!")
The anthem of the United Kingdom, “God Save the Queen,” encompasses all the UK, leaving England without its own. The trio section of March 1–known as “Land of Hope and Glory,” with the final version of the lyrics by Cambridge essayist and poet A. C. Benson--is held dearly by many in England. A 1996 BBC poll in England said fifty-five percent wanted the anthem to be made official, leaving “God Save the Queen” to the entire UK.
(Sidebar: United Kingdom, or UK, refers to The “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, as well as offshore islands. “Great Britain” includes Wales and Scotland, plus England, of course.)
In England a good chunk of the populace apparently dislikes the monarchy, and especially the tax dollars/quid/pounds Sterling it consumes. Many also feelit is not exactly appropriate to continue the monarchy, especially since the House of Windsor could technically be considered the House of Hanover, a long-running German monarchy. After much royal wrangling (what else is new?) the family chose “Windsor” to serve as the family/last name when such naming conventions are required.
BTW, “Last Night at the Proms” encourages all guests to bring their national flags, meaning that in addition to the almost-ubiquitous Union Jack, the banners of many other countries are seen, especially during the singing of “Land of Hope and Glory.”
If you are so inclined to take a break from your hectic day, please enjoy.
Elgar composed this in 1901/1902. It was first performed in the United States in 1905 as the recessional at graduation ceremonies on the campus of Yale University. Sir Elgar, himself, conducted. Eventually, the recessional transitioned to its now-familiar role as the processional.
You will recognize the middle portion, which we in the US (and many in the UK) call simply “Pomp and Circumstance.” Here in the US it is also called the “Graduation March.” I’ll bet it was used as the processional at your high school and/or college graduation as the grads slowly marched in.
This video is from the 2009 “Last Night at the Proms.” I’ll explain the Proms in a moment. First, the video. Be sure to watch in 720 HD (choose “720” using the up arrow via the icon just one to the left of the full-screen icon at the bottom right of the video image.) You may be amazed at the quality of video you can see on your monitor.
You will hear the first part of March 1, then the graduation march in the middle and the encore, sung by the audience in Royal Albert Hall, along with huge throngs at Hyde Park in London and Heaton Park, Manchester. With lyrics, this section is known to virtually all in England as “Land of Hope and Glory.” The assembled throng sings it in this video with gusto both in the trio section and in the encore.
The conductor is American David Robertson, conductor of the St. Louis Symphony and principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He is damned good.
I must tip my hat to the BBC for absolutely fabulous video production and camera direction. (This is not always true, witness Brit Hamish Hamilton's ham-handed, clueless camera direction of the most-recent Oscar ceremony. His work was simply awful.) This video is the very finest production of any classical (albeit in the “pop” category) concert I have ever seen. Just great. And the use of “jibs,” which have replaced camera cranes in television, is marvelous. (A jib only requires one operator, instead of the minimum of three required by a camera crane, and most iterations of the job can soar much higher than a crane.) The BBC and its creative production staff have a talent rarely seen in the US, as evidenced by the fabulous camera work and video direction as seen in this video.
The BBC Proms are a summer series of concerts and musical events across the nation, often at the magnificently- and lovingly-restored Royal Albert Hall, and especially “Proms in the Park.”
(You may recall the name Albert Hall from the Beatles’ lyrics in “A Day in the Life.” I read the news today oh boy. Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire, And though the holes were rather small, They had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I'd love to turn you on”)
In England, many want this middle portion of the first march (known as a trio section because the beginning and end of March 1 are similar, with the middle “trio”–which is the most-widely known--very different) to become the national anthem, since England itself has no official anthem. (Some would favor "Rule, Britannia!")
The anthem of the United Kingdom, “God Save the Queen,” encompasses all the UK, leaving England without its own. The trio section of March 1–known as “Land of Hope and Glory,” with the final version of the lyrics by Cambridge essayist and poet A. C. Benson--is held dearly by many in England. A 1996 BBC poll in England said fifty-five percent wanted the anthem to be made official, leaving “God Save the Queen” to the entire UK.
(Sidebar: United Kingdom, or UK, refers to The “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, as well as offshore islands. “Great Britain” includes Wales and Scotland, plus England, of course.)
In England a good chunk of the populace apparently dislikes the monarchy, and especially the tax dollars/quid/pounds Sterling it consumes. Many also feelit is not exactly appropriate to continue the monarchy, especially since the House of Windsor could technically be considered the House of Hanover, a long-running German monarchy. After much royal wrangling (what else is new?) the family chose “Windsor” to serve as the family/last name when such naming conventions are required.
BTW, “Last Night at the Proms” encourages all guests to bring their national flags, meaning that in addition to the almost-ubiquitous Union Jack, the banners of many other countries are seen, especially during the singing of “Land of Hope and Glory.”
If you are so inclined to take a break from your hectic day, please enjoy.
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