A Musical Interlude: Les Militaribles

This parody was made by the Air Force of the Republic of Korea as a tribute to its soldiers who worked hard to clear excessive snow over the winter. It was hoped that it would encourage more youth to volunteer.

This video is well-worth watching in its entirety. Enjoy!

A Musical Interlude: The Tiger Rag

This is “The Tiger Rag” played by Richard Hill on the 1929 Wurlitzer organ (theater organ) in Assembly Hall in Sussex, UK. It’s the largest Wurlitzer in Europe. The playing is almost as impressive as my editing! Enjoy.

Humor Interlude: British Commentary on American Politics

The following video, although not directed at our increasingly dysfunctional Congress, might well have been so aimed. Anyway, it is short, worth enjoying, and captures the sentiment of a lot of Americans –

A Musical Interlude: Duets

Because this is a holiday week, and because I plan to relax and not write another blog post until the new year, I thought I would do another music video post.

One of the greatest musical art forms is the opera. The collaboration necessary to create a great opera — the collaboration of the composer and the librettist and of the singers/performers — reminds me of the collaboration necessary between an author and an editor.

I like to think that authors and editors are duetists — working together to create a masterpiece. I know I’ve suggested this before (see, e.g., Symbiosis: The Authorial and Editorial Process), and I have also stated that I consider “The Flower Duet” from Leo Delibes’ opera Lakme to be the finest opera duet ever written (yes, I know that many opera buffs would disagree, but that is the beauty of art — we can each be right). In this post, I thought I would highlight a few more great opera duets.

I begin with my favorite duetists, Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca, singing the “Bacarolle” from Jacques Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman.

Placido Domingo is one of the great opera tenors whose performances are considered the standard against which all other tenors are measured. In this video, he and Anna Netrebko perform Franz Lehar’s ”Lips Stay Silent” (“Lippen Schweigen”) from The Merry Widow.

Renee Fleming and Cecilia Bartoli are two of the greatest soprano voices ever to hit the opera world. In this video, they sing “Sull’aria” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Mozart’s The Magic Flute is a well-loved opera. I’ve found that even young children like it, especially the “Papageno-Papagena” duet. In this Australian Opera version of the duet, Papageno (Andrew Jones) uses his magic bells to call for his future wife Papagena (Kiandra Howarth) so they can be together. Reunited they sing of the happy future they will have together.

Finally, I thought the following inspirational piece featuring 16-year-old Charlotte and 17-year-old Jonathan, performing on Britain’s Got Talent 2012, is worth watching.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Worth Noting: Give a Little Love, Get a Little Love

I think the title says it all — a video well worth watching with a positive message. Now if only more people, particularly politicians, would take the message to heart.

Worth Noting: Landfill Harmonic

I find that having grown up in a rich nation like the United States, I do not always appreciate the extent of the poverty that is found in the world. More importantly, I find that I have neither an appreciation nor understanding of how less-fortunate people deal with poverty. Although I clearly know better now, it wasn’t until I was in my teen years that I knew there were people who did not have indoor plumbing and children who did not eat three healthy meals a day. I thought everyone lived as I lived.

I had my wake-up call when I traveled through America’s Mississippi Delta region in the early 1960s. It was as if I had left America and entered a new, strange, foreign land.

Because I think we all need reminders that there are people, including children, who are not as fortunate as ourselves yet who do amazing things to improve their lives and to become productive citizens of their countries that I try to promote videos such as the following. I find it amazing how these children and their teacher have overcome at least one obstacle in their education. I hope you find their story as inspirational as I do.

A Humor & Musical Interlude: A Turkey Thanksgiving

As we get ready to celebrate Thanskgiving — and a 4-day holiday weekend, Black Friday, and the beginning of the final Christmas shopping rush — I thought some fun would be warranted.

Since the original video, “I Will Survive,” was removed by YouTube, here is a replacement starring Daffy Duck in 1949′s “Holiday for Drumsticks” –

Next is “You Can’t Gobble Me”

And “U Can’t Stuff This”

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

Time for a video interlude. Enjoy the following Halloween-related videos — one each from song, cartoon, and humor. Enjoy the trick or treatin’ but go easy on the candy – too much sugar will show up everywhere!

First, a song from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas –

How can one resist a Dr. Seuss cartoon?

Ms. Swan does it again. Some Halloween comedy –

A Musical Interlude: Romancing the Wind

Sometimes beauty is right in front of us yet we don’t notice. Sometimes the ordinary can be extraordinary. Such is the case with this video of kite flying. Had we been walking by the park at the time, we probably would not have noticed. Kite maestro Ray Bethell flys three kites in a “wind ballet” set to what I consider to be the greatest operatic duet of all time: Delibes’ “The Flower Duet” from his opera Lakme. Bethell’s synchronized control of the three kites is magnificient. Watch carefully to see some outstanding kite flying.

“The Flower Duet” is sung as Lakme and her servant Mallika gather flowers. The version used in Romancing the Wind is very good; Joan Sutherland is a grande dame of opera. But given my choice, I prefer the duet as rendered by Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca, of which the following is a recording of a live performance:

A Musical Interlude: Rita Hayworth is Stayin’ Alive

Sometimes I come across a video that is worth sharing. The video below, Rita Hayworth is Stayin’ Alive, shows how dance moves over the years remains relevant. By the time the Bee Gees gave us Stayin’ Alive (a hit song from the movie Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta) in 1977, most of the actors in the video clips were deceased. But to watch the clips against the musical background of the Bee Gees is not only uplifting, but shows that music and dance cross the generations. So, sit back and enjoy Rita Hayworth is Stayin’ Alive with the Bee Gees (and keep an eye out for Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and, of course, Fred Astaire, among other notable actors who danced with Rita Hayworth) –