July 30, 2007
antonín dvořák
One of the spooky dinner guests from the previous post invited me to the rehearsal of her string quartet tonight, just as I was cleaning my kitchen floor. So I threw on a clean T-shirt and headed over to Kevan's grand piano. They had planned on rehearsing in an old people's home, but that somehow got canceled, hence Kevan's piano, and Kevan immediately offered the quartet to come over daily. The music was magic, and after a while I was their only audience, I felt so privileged. They were practicing Dvorak's string quartet in four movements, which they will perform this Thursday in Parry Sound. Now the second movement has a very well known theme. I asked them about it, I asked why does that sound so familiar. But none of them knew, they didn't think it was ever used in a movie or a song or anything. But I'm sure, and neighbour Marilyn was too. Those classical buffs just don't know about popular music. I am thinking David Bowie or Nina Simone or Billie Holliday even. I can't stand it that it doesn't come to me, I can almost hear the song, damn. Dvorak also used bits of negro spirituals, maybe it's that, maybe it's Billie Holiday singing a spiritual with the same theme. I guess you can't help out, can you? I could sing it to you, but then again...
Thanks to Pom, we at least have Dvorak. Now who comes up with the song?
IJsbrand knew the song, hurray!! It was Nat King Cole.
But I was partly right, Bowie sang the song too.
And Jamie Cullum.
And here I read this:
"Nature Boy" by Nat King Cole with the same theme as the first several notes of the opening of the second movement of Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81. [Court Case: Eden Ahbez, who wrote “Nature Boy” didn’t have Dvorak in mind, but he was sued over it anyway. He was quoting a Yiddish song that has the same theme].
And the Wikipedia has this: The Yiddish songwriter Herman Yablakoff alleged that the melody to "Nature Boy" came from his song "Sveig Mein Hartz" ("Be Still My Heart"); his legal action was settled out of court.
Posted by eliane at July 30, 2007 11:25 PMHet pianokwintet op. 81 (klik op mijn link)? Pianothema? Cellothema?
Posted by: pom at July 31, 2007 03:00 AMAges ago, when vinyl still ruled supreme, I bought my classical records in a Hilversum Music Shoppe for connaisseurs. All well behaved people, who stifled their coughs and spoke in whispers. One monastic afternoon, the door was thrown open with a big bang. Over the threshold, oblivious of it, stepped one of those ruddy Gooise field hockey types, in checkers and chokers and the worse for wear. And at the top of his raucous voice he yelled to the owner: "Hey, DJ -got a record with a theme by a guy called Haydn?"
That order was only marginally taller then yours. I'm no Dvorakian, but I looked it up, and he wrote over fifty string quartets. But maybe there's a verbal shortcut:
String Quartet No.12 in F major, Op. 96 "American"
Try that one on for sound!
Posted by: ruud ronteltap at July 31, 2007 05:41 AMThat's it Pom! Exactly, wonderful! Thank you so much! Now somebody out there must know the song. Yesterday's quartet played it much louder. Also very sad, but so loud and dramatic and fast that I couldn't help imagining all sorts of disasters. The piano really roared through the house, the pianist all sweaty. The dog barked after they were done.
Posted by: eliane at July 31, 2007 07:55 AMNat King Cole's 'Nature Boy' [click URL]
Posted by: ijsbrand at July 31, 2007 02:05 PMYes, that's it!! Wow, thanks IJsbrand.
Posted by: eliane at July 31, 2007 02:09 PMI like the education I get from reading the Sellotape files!
Posted by: Gwen at July 31, 2007 05:11 PMgeweldig! wat een heerlijke ontwikkeling (en zo'n prive concert lijkt mij ook heerlijk, vooral bij een etentje van de foto van het vorige logje)
Posted by: zeppo at August 3, 2007 08:50 AMI'm assuming you are talking about the Madawaska String Quartet, that perfomed with Leslie Kinton. They are indeed very special, and you where indeed very lucky to hear them in such an intimate setting. I thought to send you this link, as it is a very cool artistic photo taken of them , as they performed a work by Yoko Ono. http://65.108.12.157/promo/ago2.jpg
Posted by: Wendy at August 5, 2007 09:16 AMHi Wendy, what a hilarious photo. Yes, it's them, I recognize them through their disguise. It's Becky van der Post who lives on our street.
Posted by: eliane at August 5, 2007 02:23 PM