Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
People might argue that it’s hard to understand ballet, but the stunning production of The Nutcracker by The Royal Ballet available on DVD in the Music Library will provide the audience with a different and impressive experience. The story behind the dancing scene evokes the inner feeling of everyone, and the music from Tchaikovsky endows dramatic, mysterious, and dreamy colors to the performance.
This recording from a performance in 1968 was performed by Merle Park, who was known for the brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique. The stage arrangement and design are relatively simple than in present days; however, the costumes and performers’ techniques were outstanding. My favorite part has always been the second act, where integration of international dance performance takes place: Spanish dancers represent chocolate, Arabian dancers are coffee, Chinese dancers are tea, while Russian dancers represent sugar canes.
As Christmas is approaching, check this DVD out in the Parsons Music Library! You can borrow a DVD drive from the front desk or use the equipment in the study rooms to watch the entire performance!
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
French opera is one of my favorite styles of opera, as it generally involves lots of dance numbers. This is due to the fact that when French opera began, ballet was a major component as the French thought Italian opera was lacking. Carmen was written in the French genre opéra-comique, which translates to “comedic/comical opera”. The story follows a naive soldier named Don Jose, who is seduced by Carmen and is ultimately led to his downfall.
The music is all but legendary, with the most famous pieces likely being “Los Toreadors” and “Habanera.” George Bizet will have you humming his tunes for days after you watch this opera! It is a fun, wild ride from start to finish and definitely worth checking out.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Deemed by many “the greatest show on earth,” Live Aid was, and is still to this day, the largest benefit concert of all time. On July 13th, 1985, the biggest names in Pop and Rock music joined together at both Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia to raise money for the famine that left ⅕ of Ethiopia’s total population without food.
Huge stars including, but not limited to, Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and Sting were all present across the two locations. In total, they raised more than $127 million towards famine relief – almost $330 million by today’s standards.
The four-disc DVD set of the event is available at Parsons Music library. In its case, you’ll see photographs from the concert, as well as a pamphlet that contains the first draft of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” two pages from the original Live Aid program, and various facts about the significance of the event.
Don’t have a DVD player? Have no fear! At Parsons Music Library, you can check out portable disc drives or visit study spaces with DVD players inside. If you have any questions, someone behind the front desk will always be available to help.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Rent is a Tony award-winning musical production that originated on Broadway in 1994, and has since been remade into a movie and has been touring since its 20th anniversary in 2014. The story follows a group of New York City bohemians who are struggling to make their rent payments, while juggling the challenges of the AIDS epidemic that directly affects a few main characters. We see the ups and downs of their lives, all set to catchyrock music.
This musical is a personal favorite of mine. I remember stumbling across it about 8 years ago, when I was entirely too young to really understand what was going on. I can remember my attraction to the upbeat rock music, which I had never experienced in a musical theater setting before. However, as I got older and began to grasp the story line that the talented actors were portraying, it suddenly clicked: it is such a powerful work targeting tough social justice issues.
From homelessness and poverty, to the AIDS epidemic, drug abuse, and homosexuality, this musical puts faces, names, and stories behind people who grapple with the challenges associated with these and the experiences they have. Especially for those who were born in the 1990s and after, they don’t really have an idea of what the AIDS epidemic was like in the United States. This musical is a way for us to get a glimpse into what the lives of affected individuals were like. We see a heartbroken romantic partner and devastated friends lose a loved one, we see others struggle with past losses, and we see others just wondering when it will be their turn. At times, it can be hard to watch these characters go through this, especially because the writing and acting is so realistic and authentic. However, I think it is important to watch, as it gives us a chance to reflect on our own privilege, and how lucky we are today. We never know when our time is up in this world. We must treat every day like there is “no day but today”, and we must hold onto what is important. There’s only 525,600 minutes a year: how will you measure your year?
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Madeline (class of 2019) and features Léo Delibes’ comic ballet Coppélia. Thanks, Madeline!
Coppélia is a comic ballet about a woman who rescues her fiancé after he foolishly falls for a mad scientist’s life-like doll. Though the titular character, the true heroine of the ballet is not Coppélia but a village girl named Swanhilda. Unlike the well-known masterpieces Giselle or Swan Lake, the plot of Coppélia spares the audience a tragic romantic ending. As with most ballets, it has the typical elements of grace and technical beauty, however it also includes some unorthodox and interesting character reactions. Far from the docile fairytale princesses, Swanhilda pulls pranks others and (in this production) actually raises her fists to Coppélia when she thinks she’s being snubbed. It has a similar outlandishness to Don Quixote with the happily-ever-after of Sleeping Beauty. Much like Sleeping Beauty, the entire final act is the celebrated wedding between Swanhilda and her gullible fiancé Franz. It includes synchronized acts by the corps de ballet, flirtatious pas de deux of the main couple and other villagers, and two variations meant to showcase the artistic talents and athletic abilities of the heroine and hero.
This copy is the BBC recording of the 2000 Royal Opera House performance in London. The chorographer (Dame) Ninette de Valois, is considered one of Britain’s most influential figures of ballet, and founder of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. She has been referred to as the ‘godmother’ of English and Irish 20th century ballet. Ballets and operas are best seen live, as the sound carries better in the concert hall, and nothing can trump the excitement of seeing the performers in person. However, this film contains good auditory depth when played with a surround sound system. The two advantages of having a recorded copy is being able to rewind to your favorite parts and having a full view of the stage, except when the camera focuses on the duets and soloists. If you are a fan of ballet but (like me) hate sad endings, Coppélia has a funny storyline and talented cast of dancers and musicians.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
Michael Jackson. Lionel Richie. Quincy Jones. The trifecta of musical genius that came together in 1985 to write and produce the song “We Are the World,” a collaboration of Jackson, Richie, and 43 other popular artists at the time. This feat was accomplished within a short period of time, only six days of recording in total, much to the surprise of almost everyone in the music industry. Brought together for the sake of raising awareness to the famine in Africa and support the humanitarian efforts going on to aid those affected by the famine. The musicians brought together to perform this song spanned all different ages, and all different genres of music, ranging from the King of Pop himself, to Cindy Lauper, to Bruce Springsteen. All already with successful careers and star status, and all worked with each other to help create a song that would go on to win four Grammys (1986), two MTV Video Music Awards (1985), one People’s Choice award (1986) and one American Music Award (1986). A song- and music video- of this caliber drew the attention of millions, so it comes as no surprise that there was a behind the scenes DVD documentary showing what went on during the making of the song.
Willie Nelson’s signed sheet music and poster with all of the other artists’ autographs
Directed by Tom Trbovich, with the help of producers Craig B. Golin and Howard G. Malley and distributed by Image Entertainment in Chatsworth, CA, “We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song” is a DVD documentary that shows what happened the night of January 28, 1985 on the last recording session of the song. Tom Trbovich was known at the time for his directing work on “The Bette Midler Show” and “Laverne and Shirley,” but the documentary happens to be his best known work. In a two disk, 54 minute long DVD set, Trbovich set out to help the audience understand the amount of effort and work put into the creation of the now iconic song. Narrated by Jane Fonda, the documentary takes the viewer step by step through the final day of recording, from the group all together recording the chorus, to the solos (i.e. Michael Jackson, Diana Ross), to Stevie Wonder bringing in two Ethiopian women to tell the artists what the song and the fundraising meant to them and for their country. Next, it jumps to a segment focusing on the introduction of Ray Charles (to add some soul to the song) and then to the individual interviews of some artists involved. The documentary ends with a message from Lionel Richie to the viewers, giving them the information on where the funds from the song will go to in terms of helping the humanitarian efforts in Africa, and then cuts to the music video.
Artists(from left to right) Paul Simon, Kim Carnes, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross arm-in-arm
In my music class (Music 235 I Want My MTV with Dr. Love), our final paper for class is to connect two music videos of the past and present and how the interwoven meanings in the two videos transcend the time between them (the political and/or social meaning within both songs and videos). The past video that I chose to use is the music video shown at the end of the documentary, ‘We Are the World’ by USA for Africa. This documentary is one of my main sources, because not only does it give me all the information on the music itself (instrumentals, production) but also explains the meaning behind the song, why it was written and the circumstances under which the song was written and shows all the artists that were a part of the effort to create the song and the purpose of the song.
The biggest portion(s) of the documentary that I am going to focus on is the segment with the two Ethiopian women and the ending segment of Lionel Richie reaching out and talking to the viewers about the need for the support for the humanitarian efforts going on in Africa at the time. The underlying message of the song and the music video that I want to focus on is the way the coming together of so many successful, house-hold names was for the purpose of raising awareness for a cause that was close to the heart of the writers (and performers). These two segments will be the most helpful as they show the impact the two women had on all the people and the gravity of the success behind the song and what the impact of the song could be on the people affected by the famine all over Africa. Lionel Richie’s short segment of the individual interviews is a plea for help, for people to help their fellow people, until their fellow people stop dying of hunger. He closes the documentary before the music video starts with,
“Anything you can do, if you have any feeling in your heart at all about human life and the celebration of life… give of yourselves…give what you can.”
Besides being a source for all things musical (videos included) this can also be helpful for other topics, for example, global consumer culture, as music can connect people from across the globe, and from a statistical and monetary standpoint, the sales coming from the song can show how relevant the song was in different countries all around the world and how people bought the track once it came out, and how those sales can be tracked from when the song was released up until this very day. This might be labeled as a music documentary and might be housed in a music library, but the uses of the video spread far out from just the topics of music.
“We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song” is a music documentary. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a behind the scenes look at what happens when people come together to try to make a difference in the world. And no, this is not a pitiful attempt to get people to feel bad about what they may be doing to make a difference. This is showing people the proof of what happens when people of all different backgrounds, with talents of all kinds come together and create something they can only hope can make a difference to the people who need it.
