And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee …
—Rev 18:22
3756 Longest Band
Six Calgary Salvation Army bandsmen set new world record by staying at their horns for a full 25 hours. The big blow was in order to raise funds for new instruments. “It was a big success,” said band director Bill Stunell. “We played marches, overtures, and hymns—a good selection. We had some very tired lips!” The six recordbreakers exchanged instruments throughout the musical marathon to keep their lips awake, and rested five minutes every hour in accordance with the rules set by the Guinness Book of Records.
—Prairie Overcomer
3757 Piano-Smashing Fad
Piano smashing was a fad on college campuses. Newsmen and television crews, plus several hundred students, saw fraternity men of Wayne State University smash a piano to bits in four minutes, fifty-one seconds. This bettered the 4:55 mark set at California Institute of Technology.
Axes, crowbars, sledgehammers and other assorted weapons were used in the onslaught. The idea was to reduce the piano to such fragments that each piece could be stuffed through a circular hole, nine inches in diameter.
3758 Bad-Luck Opera
Charles VI, the opera composed by Jacques Halevy in 1843, was killed by a superstition that began seven years later during a presentation in Paris. On three successive nights, someone in the theatre dropped dead after the singing of the aria “God, Kill Him!” which caused the work to be banned until 1858 when Napoleon III ordered a revival that he and the Empress could attend. On the way, their coach was bombed and, although they escaped unharmed, many others were killed or injured. The performance was cancelled and, as far as is known, the opera was never presented again.
—Selected
3759 Catchy Tunes In Brazil
In its January 18, 1973, issue the Calgary Herald reported:
“Brazilians unknowingly find themselves humming catchy government tunes, urging patriotism, the work ethic, cleanliness, and other national goals. Propaganda is not new in Brazilian politics, but foreign and local observers agree it has never before been used so skillfully. The whole campaign is run by a soft-sell agency called AERP, from the initials in Portuguese for Special Bureau of Ppublic Relations.”
“Let me compose the songs a nation sings,” claimed one, “and I care not who writes its laws.”
3760 Napoleon Saved By Ballet
When Bonaparte put the Duke d’Enghien to death, all Paris felt so horrified at the event that a counter-revolution was expected, and would most probably have taken place had not Bonaparte ordered a new ballet to be brought out. The subject of the ballet was “Ossian,” or “the Bards.” It was regarded in Paris as perhaps the grandest spectacle that had ever been exhibited there. The result was that the murder of the Duke d’Enghien was totally forgotten, and nothing but the new ballet was talked of.
—Selected
3761 The Minstrel Blondel’s Strategy
King Richard I of England, on his way to the Holy Land, was taken captive and thrown into an unknown dungeon. He had a favorite minstrel named Blondel, who knew only that his master was imprisoned somewhere in a dungeon among the mountain-forests. From one to another of these he travelled, playing some well-known tunes outside the dungeon windows, until at last his music was answered by the voice of the king within. This discovery led to Richard’s return from exile and restoration to his throne.
3762 Haunted By “Murdered” Music
The actor, Samuel Foote, was once a member of a troupe the whole company of which was nearly driven out of their wits by a stagehand’s singing of a certain song. All day long this man would be humming, singing, or whistling, but always using the same melody which he would only get halfway through, break down, and then begin again.
Finally, Foote decided to get to the root of the matter and asked the man why, why, why he always had to sing that song.
“Because it haunts me,” replied the man.
“No wonder!” exclaimed Foote. “You are always murdering it!”
3763 Upholding Integrity Of “A”
The piano tuners of America have done the nation a service in uncovering a plot to destroy the integrity of “A” above middle “C.” As you probably know, “A” is an unvarying, unshakable, indestructible note of four hundred, forty vibrations per second. For forty-three years, the 440-vibration note has been the only “A” above middle “C” recognized by the United States Bureau of Standards. It is a global pitch, so basic that radio and television and electric companies use it for power calibration.
However, two of the nation’s top symphony orchestras have given “A” a slightly sharper edge. They are tuning their instruments from 442 vibrations per second, simply to achieve more “brilliance” in stereo and high-fidelity reproduction. The piano tuners claim the higher note puts their very lives in jeopardy. Even with a true “A” the tension on a piano’s two hundred, twenty strings builds up to twenty tons, and the stress of added brilliance will make a lot of old, tired pianos explode.
—Robert G. Lee
3764 Piano Tuners In Demand
The United States is confronted with a serious shortage—of piano tuners. The Piano Technicians Guild, Inc., which is to tuners what the American Medical Association is to doctors, reported that “we have only four thousand fully-qualified tuners for twelve million pianos—and 60 to 70 percent are untuned.”
The guild says the profession, which takes years to learn, has top pay of about ten thousand dollars a year. This salary is not attracting new blood. The guild’s executive secretary, who has had over fifty years of tuning experience, says, “No one, except a doctor or minister, is closer to the family than a tuner—if he’s the man he’s supposed to be.”
“This is serious business,” he admonished. “A tinny piano puts a family on edge. A good tuner is a friend to the family.”
—Vernon K. McLellan
3765 Moving Music Of Symphony
On went the fire alarm. When firemen arrived at the Symphony Hall in the Atlanta Memorial Art Centre in Atlanta, GA, they discovered it was a false alarm. They discovered that the sensitive fire-alarm equipment was set off by a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, directed by Robert Shaw.
3766 Legend Of Thebes
According to legend, Amphion built Thebes by the music of his lute, which was so melodious that the stones danced into walls and houses voluntarily.
3767 Book Tells Title Of Songs By Tune
London (UPI)—If you think you’ve heard that song before, but don’t know its title, Denys Parsons will be glad to tell you what it is.
Parsons, who is press officer of the British library, says he is able to do this because of one of those rare flashes of inspiration that produces an idea so simple the recipient keeps doubting his good luck.
He has just published a book, The Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes. The idea is that each tune is characterized by up-and-down pattern of the melody—and no two songs are alike in this respect.
Parsons’ book identifies tunes by an asterisk representing the first note and then a series of Ds and Us which represent downs and ups.
“Take the Star Spangled Banner, for example,” he said. “It starts with two notes going down; then four notes going up, three notes down and one up. You write that down like this, assuming you know the tune but not the title. The first note is always represented by an asterisk. Then you simply turn to the directory’s “D” section and find the entry that matches what you’ve written down. In most cases you not only get the title of the song but the composer and when it was written.”
Parsons said he tried melody after melody, always suspecting the formula would crumble, but it worked time after time with 10,000 classical and 5,000 pop tunes from Beethoven to the Beatles.
3768 Ulysses And The Sirens
The old Grecian fable tells us that when Ulysses sailed past the island of the sirens he listened a moment to the sorcerers’ music; and to prevent himself and crew from being lured to the shore, he stopped their ears with wax and had himself tied to the mast of the ship. Thus, as the story goes, they passed in safety the fatal strand.
But when Orpheus, in search of the Golden Fleece, went by the same coast, he, being a masterly musician, set up better music than that of the sirens, and so enchanted his crew with his own sweet melodies, that, without the use of either thongs or wax, they all sailed safely past the sorcerer’s isle.
—Thain Davidson
3769 She Sang Her Way To Throne
A radio listener of Springfield, Massachusetts, sent me a clipping from a Springfield paper telling the story of the romance between an American woman and a king—and their marriage. Not a lady from Baltimore, but a girl from Springfield. Not a king of England, but a king of Portugal.
Back in the 1840’s a Swiss tailor and his family emigrated to America and settled down in Springfield, Massachusetts. Elise sang in the choir of the North Church. The beauty of her voice was the sensation of the town. She studied for opera, went to Europe and became a renowned prima donna.
In due time Elise Hensler, the girl from Springfield, opened a brilliant operatic season at Lisbon, in the opera “La Somnambula.” She sang divinely. The Portuguese ruling family sat in the royal box and acclaimed her with enthusiasm, especially the King. He fell in love with her then and there. Love at first sight.
He got an introduction to her, and it wasn’t long before he proposed marriage. She accepted, and became the King’s wife in June 1852. She even became queen. They had no great constitutional scruples about that in Portugal. The girl from Springfield became Countess of Elda—consort to His Majesty, King Ferdinand of Portugal.
—Selected
3770 Finishing That Song
On the way back from Mount Higashi, where father and son had gone to enjoy themselves, the father got into a very good temper and entered the village singing. He went past his own house, and the son said, “But father, there is our house!” The father looked quite unruffled and said, “Yes, but if I go in now the song will be in the middle.”
—Japanese Anecdote
3771 In Spirit Of Christian Charity
Friend: “So you were asked for an opinion of that amateur’s playing. What do you think of it?”
Master musician: “He plays in the true spirit of Christian charity.”
Friend: “What do you mean?”
Master musician: “His right hand does not know what his left hand is doing.”
MUSICIANS
3772 Broken Collarbone
Givonni Battista Rubini, Italian operatic tenor, is noted for the fact that he sang one high note with such force that he broke his collarbone at La Scala, Milan, in 1831.
3773 Recognition Now
Richard Wagner’s music first brought groans and laughs from the majority of critics. Now it is recognized that his compositions have changed the music world.
3774 Little Ormandy’s Novel Practice
Eugene Ormandy, music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, commits musical scores to memory, which in his case is a kind of built-in microfilm system that now encompasses more than a thousand compositions. Ormandy says he developed his powers of total recall as a child in Budapest.
His father was a dentist who was determined that his son should be a great violinist. So while Father drilled away on patients’ teeth in the front room, he kept an ear cocked to be sure that son was grinding away on his violin in the rear. “I hit on the idea of memorizing the music,” explains Ormandy, “so that I could read novels as I practiced. It came easy, and has been ever since.”
—Time
3775 Jefferson And His Violin
Thomas Jefferson, one of the principal framers of our Constitution, had two rivals for the hand of the lady who finally became his wife. One visiting day the two rivals met accidentally at the gate of Martha’s home. Realizing that Jefferson was powerful opposition, they decided to combine forces against him. As they tip-toed up the porch they heard music, the music of a violin. Accompanying it was a feminine voice, the voice of Martha. The violin player was Jefferson.
Looking despairingly at each other, the two rivals slunk away, never to return. They knew that against Jefferson and his violin they had no chance.
—Arthur Tonne
3776 “You Are The Devil”
Since the Devil is reputed to be a great musical performer, it seems to be traditional that all great virtuosos be compared to his Infernal Highness at one time or another.
Once when Paderewski had surpassed himself in brilliance, he was approached after the concert by a woman who had evidently been overcome by the performance. “I know who you are,” she exclaimed. “You are the Devil!”
“And you,” retorted Paderewski, “are an angel for saying so!”
3777 Marianne Brandt’s Vocal Identification
Marianne Brandt, the famous opera star, had received a notice from the New York Post Office Department that a registered letter was awaiting her in the General Post Office at City Hall. She went there and inquired at the proper window for her letter. “Yes,” said the official, “we have it here. Have you some document to prove that you are Marianne Brandt—a letter, a bank-book, or a passport?”
“I have none of these things, but I am Marianne Brandt and I want that letter!”
“I am sorry, madame, but the rules are very strict, and you will have to bring someone to identify you.”
By this time Brandt was in a high state of indignation. “You will not give me that letter? I shall prove to you that I am Marianne Brandt!” And then she proceeded with full voice to sing the great candenza from her principal aria in Le Prophete. Her glorious voice echoed and re-echoed through the vaulted corridors of the Post Office. Men came running from all sides to find out what had happened and finally the agitated official handed her the letter, saying, “Here is your letter, but for God’s sake be quiet!”
—Selected
3778 One Benefit Of Cello
Conductor Sir John Barbirolli started to study the violin when he was about six. Practicing made him restless, and while bowing away he would wander from room to room, all over the house. This infuriated his grandfather. During one of John’s unmusical rambles, Grandpa jumped up and left the house without a word. Twenty minutes later, he returned with a child-size cello. Putting his hands on the boy’s shoulders, he pushed him down onto a chair, put the cello between his knees and barked. “Now you’ll have to sit. You can’t walk about playing that.”
“Which,” Barbirolli later explained, “is how I became a cellist.”
—Charles Reid
3779 Stradivari’s Secret
Antonio Stradivari was the world’s greatest violin maker. Commented Newsweek, “His instruments are unsurpassed in sweetness and lightness of tone which grew stronger with the years”. It has always been perplexing just why modern violin makers have not been able to produce instruments equal to the old Italian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The materials are all on record and available, except the formula for the old varnish, made of oil and gum resin. That not only enriches the tone but it protects the wood and provides a soft luster rather than a shine. The formula for the varnish which Stradivari used is unknown. It is a secret.
3780 Pianist “Down” To Premier
During the Versailles Conference after the First World War the world-famous pianist Paderewski attended in his new capacity as Premier of Poland. One day on the terrace of the palace he met George Clemenceau, Premier of France. Clemenceau greeted Paderewski with the following words:
“Paderewski, the greatest pianist in the world! Paderewski, the Premier of Poland! Mon Dieu, what a come-down!”
ORGAN MUSIC
3781 Notable Organs
The largest organ found in a home is the Aeolian of Pierre S. du Pont. It weighs 55 tons and required fourteen freight cars to ship that machine to his Longwood estate in Pennsylvania in 1930.
The organ is believed to have cost almost $300,000. It has 10,000 pipes and four manual keyboards, and is powerful enough to be heard throughout three big cathedrals.
Another notable organ is the one in the Cadet Chapel of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. When it was installed in 1911, it contained about 2,000 pipes and cost $12,000. Through memorial gifts made in the names of graduates down the years, it has about 14,000 pipes and is worth $300,000. It is the largest church organ in the west.
3782 Hanging Pipe Organ
Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, now boasts the world’s first hanging pipe organ. Most of the 4,019 pipes, weighing about fifteen tons, hang from the roof of the $600,000 building in two sections, thirty feet above the pews. The organ cost about $150,000.
—Christianity Today
3783 Music And Chess
Sir Walter Parratt, the organ virtuoso who made his debut at the age of seven and was the organist of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, for forty-two years, was a man of tremendous memory, capable of incredible concentration. In 1862 when he was only twenty-one, he gave a public concert at Tenbury in which he played immaculate Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin entirely from memory; but at the same time he also played two simultaneous, blindfolded games of chess against two strong opponents, behind his back. He acquitted himself brilliantly of both tasks. He entranced his audience with his music and at the same time won both chess games.
3784 Epigram On Music (Organ)
• From the Glens Falls, N. Y., Post-Star: “Dr. W will be at the organ flaying three pieces from Mendelssohn.”