It is time for some good old songs, a couple of sleigh rides, thoughts about midnight, and one very special call for peace. The arranger of the first piece was born 200 years ago. The arrangers, composers, or performers of the other songs and pieces had their 100th birthday in 2017.
- British/Welsh Brinley Richards (1817-1885) was, as we have seen, very good at arranging songs for piano. Here is a good one to say farewell to the old and bring in the new: Auld Lang Syne (ca. 1860). Set to a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) to the tune of an old Scottish folk song which goes back to a melody by Piemontese composer Davide Rizzio (ca. 1533-1566).
- Argentinian poet, singer-songwriter and composer Leopoldo Diaz Velez (L. Diaz) (1917-2007) was a specialist of the tango. Let's enjoy ¿Quién Tiene Tu Amor? (Who holds your love?).
Midnight Sleighride is a jazzy arrangement by Sauter and Finegan of Prokofiev's Troika from Lieutenant Kijé Suite with high woodwind and low brass effects. Prokofiev's melody derived from an old Hussar song.
- American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), known as The Queen of Jazz, Lady Ella, and First Lady of Song, here are another Sleigh Ride and Holiday in Harlem.
- Jovdat Hajiyev (1917-2002), one of the major Azerbaijani composers of the Soviet era known for his monumental orchestral works, brings us the much more serious Symphonic Poem For Peace. This student of Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885-1948) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) did his teachers proud.
- British singer-songwriter and actress Vera Lynn (b. 1917), known as "the Forces' Sweetheart," was enormously popular during and after the second world war. She has devoted much of her time to charity work for ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer.
We'll meet again (1939) was composed and written by Ross Parker (1914-1974) and Hughie Charles (1907-1995) at a time when many soldiers had to go off to fight in World War II. It is one of the most famous songs of that war.
- During this year's exploration of Laurindo Almeida's (1917-1995) vast output, we had a chance to listen of his arrangement of Thelonious Monk's (1917-1982) 'Round Midnight(1944). Here is a live performance of the original, the most recorded standard composed by a jazz musician.
Happy New Year!
- British/Welsh Brinley Richards (1817-1885) was, as we have seen, very good at arranging songs for piano. Here is a good one to say farewell to the old and bring in the new: Auld Lang Syne (ca. 1860). Set to a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) to the tune of an old Scottish folk song which goes back to a melody by Piemontese composer Davide Rizzio (ca. 1533-1566).
- American composer, arranger and conductor Bill Finegan (1917-2008) arranged for the Glenn Miller Orchestra between 1938 and 1942 and for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from then until 1952 and wrote for radio and television. From 1952 until 1958 he co-led the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra with Eddie Sauter (1914-1981)
Midnight Sleighride is a jazzy arrangement by Sauter and Finegan of Prokofiev's Troika from Lieutenant Kijé Suite with high woodwind and low brass effects. Prokofiev's melody derived from an old Hussar song.
- Jovdat Hajiyev (1917-2002), one of the major Azerbaijani composers of the Soviet era known for his monumental orchestral works, brings us the much more serious Symphonic Poem For Peace. This student of Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885-1948) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) did his teachers proud.
- British singer-songwriter and actress Vera Lynn (b. 1917), known as "the Forces' Sweetheart," was enormously popular during and after the second world war. She has devoted much of her time to charity work for ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer.
We'll meet again (1939) was composed and written by Ross Parker (1914-1974) and Hughie Charles (1907-1995) at a time when many soldiers had to go off to fight in World War II. It is one of the most famous songs of that war.