William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

Op. 64 ; Year: 1844; Genre: Romance Period/classical I had another song in mind for today, but with it being my 6400th song picked I had to go with something someway fitting. So, here is master composer Felix Mendelssohn's 64th Opus; his Violin Concerto in E-Minor, which was among his last compositions. It is a truly exquisite piece that, for me at least, will demand attention, but not the entire time. Kind of lulls you with the beautiful violin only for something with the melody and/or rhythmic characteristics to snap me back to attention. He was a true master of music and composition; in my opinion a great blend of the previous, current, and future eras of classical music.   Hear Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E-Minor, Op 64 on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Mountain - The Animal Trainer and the Toad   My song pick 2 years ago today: The (Detroit) Spinners - Sadie   My song pick 3 years ago today: Taylor Hawkins & The Coatta...

From: Sergei Leiferkus sings Mussorgsky ; Year: 2016 (1875); Genre: Romance Period/classical Here's a short-but-sweet piece for piano and voice from maestro Modest Mussorgsky. While I have no idea when the vocalist is singing, since it is in Russian, which is not a language I know well enough other than a few words and phrases, but I will say the way the melody is sung along with the accompanying piano is superb. This one in reminds me of another Romance Period composer, Franz Schubert, his leids in particular. From wot I understand in Russia during the same time had a similar form called "Russian Songs," which this piece would be categorized under, so it's not a surprise.   Hear Misunderstood One performed by Sergei Leiferkus on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Rush - Face Up   My song pick 2 years ago today: Jigsaw - Baby Don't Do It   My song pick 3 years ago today: Clifford Brown and Max Roach - Sandu   My song pick 4 years ago tod...

From: H.M.S. Pinafore ; Year: 1878; Genre: Opera/Romance Period/classical Yesterday afternoon whilst passing time on the "Saturday Sloth" if you will I was enjoying listening and watching some of Gilbert and Sullivan's fun and comedic operas. Of course H.M.S. Pinafore was one of the chief ones, so I decided that I'd choose a song from it. When I Was a Lad is one of those songs that you most likely have heard, or at least a part of at some point in your life; it's still that pervasive across most cultures even 145 years after it premiered. As with most of G&S's work, it is very, very catchy and will undoubtedly get lodged in your mind just by hearing it once.   Hear When I Was a Lad on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Honey Cone - Want Ads   My song pick 2 years ago today: Max Roach - Little Folks   My song pick 3 years ago today: War - Groovin'   My song pick 4 years ago today: Cab Calloway - The Ghost of Smokey Joe   My song...

From: Carmen (opera); Year: 1875; Genre: Romantic Period/classical Even if you don't know this piece by title, you definitely should know it; the Carmen Overture is a very, very heavily used melody into this day. Hear the Carmen Overture on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Helpless My song pick 2 years ago today: Rose Royce - Car Wash My song pick 3 years ago today: Camel - Never Let Go My song pick 4 years ago today: Jerry Reed - The Legend My song pick 5 years ago today: Curved Air - Heaven (Never Seemed So Far Away) My song pick 6 years ago today: Alestorm - Rum My song pick 7 years ago today: Bachman & Turner - Slave to the Rhythm My song pick 8 years ago today: Pink Floyd - San Tropez My song pick 9 years ago today: Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz My song pick 10 years ago today: Pink Floyd - Pigs On The Wing Parts 1 and 2 My song pick 11 years ago today: Charlie Parker - Blues For Alice

Year: 1867 (Approximately); Genre: Romantic Period/classical Got in the mood for some "big" music from the Romance Period, or as I call it sometime "from whence heavy metal started." Beautiful, powerful, and filled to the brim with the extremest of emotions; this music is something to behold. And none better from this period than Modest Mussorgsky in my opinion. Hear Intermezzo Symphonique in Modo Classico on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: The Soul Seven - The Cissy's Thang My song pick two years ago today: Soundgarden - Fell on Dark Days My song pick three years ago today: Rush - Driven My song pick four years ago today: The Moody Blues - Go Now My song pick five years ago today: Queen - 39 My song pick six years ago today: Hawkwind - Standing at the Edge My song pick seven years ago today: Rush - Nocturne My song pick eight years ago today: Head East - Never Been Any Reason

From: Op.130 ; Year: 1825; Genre: Romantic Period/classical Today is another "odometer rollover pick" and I was feeling like picking another one from Beethoven and I thought it would also be great to celebrate my 2500th song picked. Cavatina is the 5th movement of String Quartet No.13 and is another one of his more popular compositions, which was also one of the songs included on the Voyager space probe's Golden Record . Hear a performance by the Kodály Quartet of " Cavatina " on YouTube. Anyway, it was interesting today when I realized that if this was still a "Top 10,000 Songs," like I originally had intended, instead of a "Song a Day" blog like it is now I would be 1/4 of the way to that goal of 10,000 songs. I'm actually glad that I dropped that limitation about a year after I started this endevour. I didn't like the idea of having a definite "end" to my list and I didn't want to feel like I had to ke...

From: La belle Hélène ; Year: 1864; Genre: Romantic Period/classical Most of the morning I've been listening to a bunch of Offenbach's works whilst getting some work done; I thought I would pick one of them today. Generally two of my favourite types of classical music are Requiems and Overtures in that order. This one happens to be the overture to one of his more famous pieces: the Opéra Bouffe La belle Hélène . It just one of many incredible pieces of music from this master of his art. Hear the La Belle Hélène Overture on YouTube. Performed by the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Conducted by Hermann Scherchen. My song pick a year ago today: Brave Belt - Another Way Out My song pick two years ago today: 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite My song pick three years ago today: Joachim Witt - Krieger Des Licht My song pick four years ago today: Jimi Hendrix - Angel My song pick five years ago today: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Sunset Road

From: The Entertainer: The Very Best of Scott Joplin ; Year: 2009, (1899); Genre: Ragtime/Pop Here's another song where the composition date coincides with my song pick number. Around the turn of the last century the musical form/genre which is ragtime was extremely popular, and Scott Joplin is considered the greatest composer of the genre. To easily think of ragtime, it's the music that often times played behind old black and white silent films; it was the kind of music that was popular at the time those kind of films were being produced. While many might view ragtime as antiquated and "old timey" it's very a very important genre, which led to the development of other genres, chiefly jazz. Anyway, this is one of Scott Joplin's more famous of his compositions and has been covered and recorded more times than I dare to count. Here is a recording of Scott Joplin playing Maple Leaf Rag on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Pla...

Op. 30 ; Year: 1896; Genre: Romantic Period/classical 1896, which is also today's song pick number, was the year that this very famous piece of music was composed and premiered. While in his time there were works of his that were just as popular, you can't deny that today this is his most famous piece. It, of course, gained most of its popularity from the initial "fanfare" section being used as both the theme song for the Apollo Program and the Stanley Kubrick epic 2001: A Space Odyssey . Ever since then it has been used quite extensively in many other things and has permeated popular culture. For those unaware, the entire piece is a tone poem that was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche 's work of the piece's namesake . Here is a performance of Also Sprach Zarathustra by the l'Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Antonio Pappano: Here is part one on YouTube. Here is part two on YouTube. Here is part three on YouTube. Here is par...

From: The Pirates of Penzance ; Year; 1879; Genre: Opera/Pop While The Pirates of Penzance first premiered in 1879 it made its London premier in 1880, (the number of today's song pick). I figured I would go ahead and pick this extremely popular and catchy song from the comedic opera written by the duo Gilbert and Sullivan. Like with many of the songs written by Gilbert and Sullivan, it's still quite famous in pop culture. This song in particular has been referenced countless times over the years, and not just in music; there are quite few parodies of it in existence as well. Watch a performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Presto My song pick two years ago today: Nirvana - Drain You My song pick three years ago today: Amon Amarth - The Pursuit of Vikings My song pick four years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Effigy My song pick five years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Threshold/Jet Airliner

Year: 1877; Genre: Popular Music I'm making another selection where my pick number coincides with the publishing date of a song. Actually, there was another very large event that happened that year that completely changed music forever: Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph. It can be argued that the phonograph was the single most important invention in music; for the first time in history live music wasn't the only way to experience it. I decided to take the opportunity to essentially kill two birds with one stone by picking one of the first songs ever to be recorded, which was also publish in 1877. Interestingly enough after hearing the recording of his song Sir Sullivan said: "I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening's experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever. But all the same I...

From: WWV. 86B: Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) ; Year: 1870; Genre: Romantic Period/Opera/classical Just a few days ago I picked another one from Wagner and I wasn't too sure if I should pick another one of his pieces so close. However, since it so happens that my pick number today, 1870, is the year that his second opera, Der Walküre ( The Valkyrie ), from his epic opera cycle: Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of Nibelung ) first debuted; apparently he had been working on this opera for nearly 20 years This extremely popular piece comes from the beginning of the third act. It ended up, even back then, that " The Ride " had become more famous than the opera itself and Wagner was asked many times to perform it outside of the opera, which was something he didn't like at all. From what I understand eventually he caved to pressure and started to perform it by itself. To this day this is by far one of his most famous songs he ever wrote and will undoubtedly stay ...

Op. 314 ; Year: 1867; Genre: Romantic Period/classical I had another song I was ready to pick today, but I happened to look through what was happening in the world of music circa 1867, which also happens to be my pick number, and I noticed two songs in particular that premiered that year that caught my attention; of course this was one of them. An Der Schönen Blaunen Donau , also known as The Blue Danube Waltz is yet another piece of classical music that anyone, save those living somewhere under a rock, has most likely heard at sometime. It is without a doubt one of Johann Strauss I's best known pieces of music over some 150+ years since it was first debuted. Hear the piece on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Walter Murphy Band - A Fifth of Beethoven My song pick two years ago today: Béla Fleck & the Flecktones - A Celtic Medley: Meridian/Traveling Light/Salamander's Reel My song pick three years ago today: Finntroll - Trollhammeren My song ...

From: Tristan und Isolde (WWV. 90); Year: 1865; Genre: Opera/classical/Romantic Period Again my song pick number today, which today is 1865, happens to also be the year that Wagner's classic opera Tristan und Isolde first premiered. However, instead of just picking the entire opera I thought I would choose one of my favourite pieces from it. This song comes at the end of the third and final act of the opera after Tristan has died and Isolde describes a vision of Tristan coming back to life, however, she ends up dieing as well. The piece's title reflects this: Liebestod or (Love Death). This kind of an outcome in musical narrative was one of the zeitgeists of the Romantic Period of classical music. If you look at most of the music of the time for the most part either everything ended happily and sugary sweet or ended up depressingly and most everyone died. Watch a performance of the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde on YouTube. Hear an orchestral performance of...

From: One Hundred Hits of Bing Crosby ; Year: 2011 (~1940); Genre: Pop For the last little bit when my song pick number happens to be the same as the year that a song was written or published I kept meaning to pick one from the pen of songwriter extraordinaire Stephen Foster . There is most likely a good chance that you haven't heard his name, but I can all but guarantee that you've heard more than a few of his compositions. He happened to pass away in the year 1864 and this song was one of many that was published posthumously. It's amazing to look at the songs he authored; many of which are known quite well today. However, even with the sheer amount of notable songs to his name when he passed away he was more or less destitute. Anyway, this is one of my favourites that he wrote and there are many versions of the song out there to pick from. In the end I decided on this one from the incomparable Bing Crosby, which is one of the best in my opinion. Hear Beautiful...

S.244/2 ; Year: 1847; Genre: Romantic Period/classical It's been rather busy since the move and I've been trying to keep up with my song a day blog as much as possible; I'm really hoping that I am not forced to miss a pick. Anyway, again I am making a pick where the date the song was composed/published happened to coincide with my pick number. 1847 happened to be the year that Liszt composed this rather popular piece of music; I can almost but guarantee that anyone who hears it would immediately recognize it. This one has permeated a lot of pop culture over the last century and will more than likely continue doing so far into the future. Hear Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 on YouTube. Hear an orchestral version of the piece on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Modest Petrovitch Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition My song pick two years ago today: Unheilig - Schutzengel My song pick three year ago today: Jaco Pastorius - Chromatic Fantasy My son...

Op. 154; Year: 1843; Genre: Romantic Period/classical I'm having a rather busy day, so I'm making kind of a quick pick. I happened to look over what was going on musically in the year 1843, (the number of my song pick today), and noticed this great waltz from Johann Strauss the Elder made its debut. I don't know what it is, but I've always found waltzes quite rousing; they are almost perfect to have playing whilst you work. Hear Lorelei Rhein Klänge on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Puhdys - Hier Oben My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Circumstances My song pick three years ago today: Rammstein - Du Hast My song pick four years ago today: Jethro Tull - Sunshine Day +

Op. 56 ; Year: 1842; Genre: Romantic Period/classical My song pick number is 1842, which is also the year that this rather interesting piece of music first premiered. This, his third symphony, is also known as the Scottish Symphony, this is because of some traditional Scottish musical themes present throughout the piece. From what I understand this piece was started over a decade earlier after Felix Mendelssohn was inspired after a trip to Scotland. Here is the symphony conducted by Peter Maag: Here is the first movement: Andante con moto - Allegro un poco agitato on YouTube. Here is the second movement: Vivace non troppo on YouTube. Here is the third movement: Adagio on YouTube. Here is the fourth movement: Allegro vivacissimo - Allegro maestoso assai on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Deep Purple - Pictures of Home My song pick two years ago today: Heart - If Looks Could Kill My song pick three years ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man My song pi...

Op. 17; Year: 1836; Genre: Romantic Period/classical In the year 1836, which also happens to be my pick number, Robert Schumann composed this rather interesting piece of music for the piano. From what I've hear about this piece, it was written to help raise money for a monument in honour of Beethoven, who had passed away a few year prior. Also, the piece was dedicated to Franz Liszt; from what I understand he played this piece, but never in a public setting. Here is the complete piece performed by Mehmet Okonsar on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Muse - Supermassive Black Hole My song pick two years ago today: Eddie Lang - Eddie's Twister My song pick three years ago today: The Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon My song pick four years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon +

Op. 14 ; Year: 1830; Genre: Romantic Period/classical 1830, which is also my song pick number, is the year that Hector Berlioz's acclaimed piece Symphonie Fantastique first debuted. While Berlioz didn't really have as many compositions as many other composers, this is considered to be one of the more important pieces of classical music from the Romantic Period. This symphony was written around a narrative that was influenced by Berlioz's infatuation with an Irish actress by the name of Harriet Smithson. During the first three parts of the symphony the main character, who today might be referred to as a stalker, pursues his love, but is unable to gain her affection; throughout the piece she is represented by a melody that is often heard and in different ways. Disenchanted, eventually the main character decides to take his own life my means of overdosing on opium, however instead of killing him he dreams that he murdered the woman of his infatuation and of his subs...