Movie Sountrack
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1939). Composed and Conducted by Max Steiner, performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra.
Playlist: Main Title, The O'Hara Family, Scarlett Prepares For The Barbecue, War Is Declared / The Death Of Charles, Escape From Atlanta, I'll Never Be Hungry Again!, The Death Of Melanie, Scarlett In The Mist / Rhett Leaves, and Flashback / Finale.
Video Credit:
Gone with the Wind, Soundtrack Suite (Max Steiner). YouTube, uploaded by Soundtrack Fred. Accessed June 30, 2017.
(c) July 2010. Updated June 30, 2017. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Elgar's Enigma Variations
Classical Music / Orchestral
Sir Edward Elgar's orchestral Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, popularly known as the Enigma Variations is composed between October 1898 and February 1899. The work comprises fourteen variations on an original theme. 'Nimrod' is the name given to the ninth and best-known variation in Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations. The composer dedicated the work "to my friends pictured within", each variation being a musical sketch of one of 14 members of Elgar's family and his circle of close acquaintances. The ones portrayed include Elgar's wife Alice, his friend and publisher Augustus J. Jaeger.
In naming his theme "Enigma" Edward Elgar posed a challenge which has generated much speculation but has never been conclusively answered. The Enigma is widely believed to involve a hidden melody. After its 1899 London premiere the Variations achieved immediate popularity and established his international reputation. The work has been recorded over numerous times.
One among my personal favourites of Elgar's Enigma Variations is this performance. It forms a historic account of the first concert Sir Georg Solti conducted as Chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) in 1975. It is also the first DVD release with Solti performing Elgar's Symphony No.2. Solti, who prepared new works by listening to Elgar's own recordings, identified closely with his music. The virtuoso playing of the orchestra combined with his fresh, energetic approach make for an exciting, uplifting experience.
One among my personal favourites of Elgar's Enigma Variations is this performance. It forms a historic account of the first concert Sir Georg Solti conducted as Chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) in 1975. It is also the first DVD release with Solti performing Elgar's Symphony No.2. Solti, who prepared new works by listening to Elgar's own recordings, identified closely with his music. The virtuoso playing of the orchestra combined with his fresh, energetic approach make for an exciting, uplifting experience.
Suggested Reading:
Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ voted greatest piece of British classical music in Classic FM’s Great British Classics. ClassicFM.com. Article written by Maddy Shaw Roberts. Accessed May 13, 2023.
The Story Behind Elgar's Enigma Variations. Classic FM. Accessed June 19, 2017.
Suggested Listening:
Vocal: This vocal arrangement of Elgar’s Nimrod is an utterly sublime moment of music. Listen to the British ensemble VOCES8, perform ‘Lux Aeterna’, arranged by John Cameron for Elgar's Nimrod. www.classicfm.com. Article written by Maddy Shaw Roberts. Here's another vocal arrangement of Elgar's Nimrod performed by the Australian Chamber Choir. Arranged by Elizabeth Anderson, directed by Douglas Lawrence. (June 2018). YouTube, accessed June 19, 2023.
Orchestral: Elgar's "Nimrod" from Enigma. Uploaded by medpiano. Accessed July 28, 2017. Daniel Barenboim with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, opening the 1997 season at Carnegie Hall in this gorgeously performed dedication to the recently deceased Sir Georg Solti, the previous music director of the CSO for many years.
Dedicated to the memory of beloved Queen Elizabeth II, revered sovereign and epitome of duty, who reigned with such grace (“Nimrod” by Sir Edward Elgar). (YouTube, uploaded by The English Symphony Orchestra. Accessed September 9, 2022.)
Trivia:
When Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's death was announced, the Proms – then in its final week –
was cancelled immediately, despite much of the audience for the evening
concert already in attendance. In lieu of the planned programme, the
Philadelphia Orchestra played the national anthem and Elgar's Nimrod. Oct 3, 2022.
Video Credit:
Sir Georg Solti - Elgar: Enigma Variation IX 'Nimrod'. YouTube, uploaded by ICAClassics. Accessed June 19, 2016.
Resource:
Enigma Variations. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed June 19, 2016.
(c) June 2010. Updated June 19, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Resource:
Enigma Variations. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed June 19, 2016.
(c) June 2010. Updated June 19, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Giovanni Boccaccio
Literature / Writers Datebook: June 16
Brief biography 14th Century Italian Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio. Famous for The Decameron.
Giovanni Boccaccio was an important Renaissance writer. He is remembered in particular for his greatest work The Decameron. His prose and poetry inspired many English writers, including Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare.
The Decameron is one of the most popular books ever written and led to a revolution in Italian literature. It's been said that the book's framework for the stories most likely influenced Geoffrey Chaucer's schemes for The Canterbury Tales.
Early Life of Giovanni Boccaccio
Boccaccio (1313-1375), was the son of a wealthy merchant in Florence, Italy. He studied law at Naples, but his real interest was in writing. As a young man he entered the court of King Robert of Anjou in western France. There he fell in love with a beautiful noblewoman. From then on this lady inspired his writings. She constantly appeared as the character Fiammetta.
At the age of 27, his father's business failed. Bocccaccio was recalled to Florence. At the time a bubonic plague, known as the "Black Death," spread over Europe and approached Italy. This inspired him to write the prose work for which he has been famous for, The Decameron, which means "ten days's work."
Boccaccio's Masterpiece The Decameron
The Decameron is regarded as one of the earliest works of fiction. Its setting is a villa outside Florence, where a group of young people have gathered to escape the plague-stricken place for the countryside. The book consists of 100 stories told by members of the group, ten young people, over a period of ten days. The principal character is Fiammetta. These stories deal mainly with every aspect of love, from the most pure of sexuality to the most down-to-earth of bodily functions.
Boccaccio the Poet
Boccaccio also wrote fine poetry. Encouraged by his friend Petrarch, Boccaccio developed his scholarly interest in the work of ancient Greek and Roman writers, and in particular, of the great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri.
Boccaccio the Scholar
Giovanni Boccaccio, besides being an accomplished author, was a scholar who led the Renaissance revival of classical learning. He wrote Latin treatises including On Famous Women and On the Genealogies of the Gentile Gods. He died at the age of c.62.
Books by Giovanni Boccaccio
Filostrato, c.1338
Fiammetta, 1343
The Nymph of Fiesole, 1345
The Decameron, 1348-1353
The Genealogy of the Gentile Gods, c.1350-1360
Concerning Mountains, c.1355-1374
Concerning Famous Women, c.1360-1374
Life of Dante, 1362
Image Credit:
Resources:
Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1978
Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994
Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997
(c) June 2010. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Handel's Zadok the Priest
Coronation Anthem / British Anthem
Zadok the Priest has been sung prior to the anointing of the sovereign at the coronation of every British monarch since its composition and has become recognised as a British patriotic anthem.
Zadok the Priest: The Coronation Anthem (HWV 258), is one of George Frideric Handel's best-known works, and the most popular of Handel's four coronation anthems of George II in 1727. The other three coronation anthems include: The King Shall Rejoice, My Heart is Inditing, and Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened. All the anthems, including “Zadok the Priest,” premiered on October 11, 1727, when George II was crowned in London’s Westminster Abbey.
Video: Zadok the Priest sung at the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The Text
As part of the traditional content of British coronations, the texts for all of Handel's four anthems were picked by the composer himself - a personal selection from the most accessible account of an earlier coronation, that of James II in 1685. The text is a translation of the traditional antiphon, Unxerunt Salomonem, itself derived from the biblical account of the anointing of King Solomon by the priest Zadok (1 Kings 1:38-40). These words have been used in every English, and later British, coronation since that of King Edgar at Bath Abbey in 973. An earlier setting is thought to have been written by Thomas Tomkins for the coronation of King Charles I in 1626, the text of which has survived but not the music.
Each of Handel’s coronation anthems is a setting of a biblical text appropriate to the stages of the ceremony. The text of “Zadok the Priest,” is drawn from the first chapter of 1 Kings in the Chrsitian Old Testament Holy Bible, or in the Hebrew Bible, that served for the anointing of the new king. The music masterfully captures the ceremony’s progression of moods: from an opening instrumental that builds a strong sense of anticipation, through the opening commanding choral declaration “Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet,” and culminates in shouts of rejoicing, the chorus ending with a moving largo "amen" cadence on "Alleluia".
Video: Zadok the Priest - G.F Handel | King Charles III Coronation 2023. YouTube, uploaded by Gentle Steps Media. Accessed May 18, 2023.
G.F. Handel, the Composer
Though George F. Handel was born in Germany, he spent most of his career in England, becoming a British subject in 1727. He had first arrived in England in 1710 with the expressed wish of learning London’s musical developments for the benefit of his employer, the elector of Hanover. When England’s Queen Anne died without immediate heirs, the throne passed to her German cousin, the elector himself, who was crowned George I and was pleased to again claim the attention of the long-absent Handel. George I’s son, George II, also preferred the work of his father’s longtime favourite, and he requested that Handel write music for his coronation.
Lyrics
The lyrics of the piece are biblical, being a distillation of 1 Kings 1:34-45:
Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king.
And all the people rejoiced, and said:
God save the King! Long live the King! God save the King!
May the King live for ever. Amen. Hallelujah.
Resources:
Zadok the Priest. Wikipedia. Accessed June 2, 2010.
Zadok the Priest: work by Handel. Britannica (online) Accessed May 8, 2023
(c) June 2, 2010. Updated May 18, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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