August 13 Dateline

Birthdays

1820 - Sir George Grove, English engineer and musicologist known for Dictionary of Music and Musicians. His interest in the music of Franz Schubert, led him and his friend Arthur Sullivan to go to Vienna in search of undiscovered Schubert manuscripts. Their researches led to their discovery of the lost score of Schubert's Rosamunde music, several of his symphonies and other music in 1867, leading to a revival of interest in Schubert's work. Grove was the first director of the Royal College of Music, from its foundation in 1883 until his retirement in 1894. He recruited leading musicians including Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford as members of the College faculty and established a close working relationship with London's Royal Academy of Music. Grove had a deep and scholarly knowledge of the Holy Bible. He contributed to the English literature on the subject, including a concordance in 1854 and a thousand pages of Sir William Smith's 1863 Bible Dictionary.
 
1879 - John Ireland (born John Nicholson Ireland), English composer and music teacher. Majority of his output consists of piano miniatures and of songs with piano. His best-known works include the short instrumental or orchestral work "The Holy Boy", a setting of the poem "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield, a formerly much-played Piano Concerto, the hymn tune "Love Unknown" and the choral motet "Greater Love Hath No Man". (John Ireland’s “Greater love” [orchestral]: St John’s Cambridge 1997 (Christopher Robinson). This orchestrated version was published in 1924. YouTube, uploaded by Archive of Recorded Church Music. Recording of a live radio broadcast from the chapel of St John's College, Cambridge, 13 August 1997, featuring the choir of St John’s College Cambridge with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Robinson. Organ scholar: Peter Davis. Accessed August 13, 2020.)

1899 - Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, English film director and producer, widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Known as "the Master of Suspense", he directed over 50 feature films in a career spanning six decades, becoming as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles in most of his films, and his hosting and producing of the television anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965). Hitchcock made his directorial debut with the silent film The Pleasure Garden (1925). His first successful film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), helped to shape the thriller genre, while his 1929 film, Blackmail, was the first British "talkie". Two of his 1930s thrillers, The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938), are ranked among the greatest British films of the 20th century. By 1939 Hitchcock was a filmmaker of international importance, and film producer David O. Selznick persuaded him to move to Hollywood. A string of successful films followed, including Rebecca (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and The Paradine Case (1947); Rebecca was nominated for 11 Oscars and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. More popular films include Vertigo, North By Northwest, Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, Psycho, The Birds, Trouble With Harry, and Strangers On A Train.  His 53 films have garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and six wins. (Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Movies. Uploaded by WatchMojo.com. Accessed August 13, 2015.)

Leftie:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 13 August - On This Day.

 

Featured Composer:  John Ireland 

John Ireland was born in Cheshire, in 1879. The majority of his output consists of piano miniatures and songs but he did write a moderate amount of church music, probably as a result of being organist and choirmaster of St Luke’s Chelsea, in London. His one film score was “The Overlanders” (Australia, 1942).

The anthem “Greater love”, a setting of texts “from the Scriptures”, was published 1912; when Ireland died in 1962, its opening words were inscribed on his gravestone as an epitaph:

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. Love is strong as death. Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness. Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness, into His marvellous light..."


Featured Music:

Bernard Herrmann's "Scene d'amour" from Hitchcock's mystery and suspense film Vertigo (1958).  Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.




Vertigo (film) is considered one of the greatest achievements of director-producer Alfred Hitchcock, referred to as "Master of Suspense. Set among San Francisco's famous landmark, the film stars James Stewart as former police detective John "Scottie" Ferguson, who is forced into an early retirement due to an incident in line of duty that caused him to develop acrophobia (fear of heights) and vertigo (false sense of rotational movement). Scottie is hired by an acquaintance as a private investigator to shadow his friend's wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), who behaves strangely, rather icy but alluring. After Scottie saves her from drowning, he becomes fascinated with her.

Historical Events

International Lefthander's Day.  This day is celebrated as "Lefthanders Day." International Left Handers Day is an international day observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals. The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of Lefthanders International, Inc. In 1976, the first one fell on a Friday and was chosen to spoof the superstitions and myths associated with lefties. (Lefthanders Day)

1415 - Henry V lands at Harfleur in Normandy. He will fight the French knights at Agincourt two months later.

1913 - The circus acrobat Otto Witte is crowned King of Albania. The fraud was based on the resemblance of Witte to Sultan Halim Eddine's nephew, who was meant to be crowned king. Witte's reign lasted five days.

1918 - Private Opha Mae Johnson becomes the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. She was one of more than 300 women who joined the marines on this day.

1940 - The Luftwaffe launches a series of attacks on Britain's Royal Air Force airfields and radar stations in the south of England during the Battle of Britain.

1942 - Walt Disney releases Bambi, its fifth full-length animated feature film.

1961 - The Berlin Wall begins construction with the East German troops. This symbol of the Cold War was the brainchild of East German leader Walter Ulbricht and approved by Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev.

1966 - China announces the Cultural Revolution: to purge the country of those opposing Mao Zedong's leadership.



Video Credit:

B.Herrmann: "Scene d'amour" from Hitchcock's "Vertigo" - E-P Salonen. Youtube, uploaded by Roberto Mastrosimone. Accessed August 13, 2017.

 

Resources:

1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.



(c) June 2007. Updated August 13, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.