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Notes from a Composer
Category Archives: Musicabilia
SPAMALOT infiltrates EMILY DICKINSON in A QUIET PASSION
Arthur: But I’m alone (Patsy: oh no you’re not!) So all alone (Patsy: I’m here you twat!) All by myself I’m all alone I’m All Alone (from “Spamalot”) – Tim Curry and Michael McGrath What do Monty Python and … Continue reading
CANNIBALISM IN THE CARS – a Musical Take on Mark Twain’s Succulent Satire of Congress
Congress … yuck! A distasteful subject! Quite literally even, according to Mark Twain. Every year Congress gives us more reasons to loathe it. This year perhaps more than ever. Thinking ill and making fun of Congress is a sport that … Continue reading
SONGS OF JOB’S DESPAIR – “I’m Alive” & “Divine Intervention”
“I’m Alive” and “Divine Intervention” are two songs that speak to humanity’s age-old despair, in the person of one man crying out against overwhelming unspeakable events outside of his fault and control. They were written for The Song of Job … Continue reading
Posted in Literary Lyricism, Musicabilia
Tagged 9/11, Book of Job, Divine Intervention, I'm Alive, Job, Old Testament, oratorio, song cycle, The Song of Job 9:11
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Jacqui Sutton and the Frontier Jazz Orchestra perform “Grass Dolls”
My friend and collaborator Jacqui Sutton has posted a video of her and the Frontier Jazz Orchestra performing “Grass Dolls”, a live performance that also functions as a video submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts. “Grass Dolls” is the first … Continue reading
Holiday Repost: HAPPY HOLIDAYS – How this Carol Curmudgeon Ended Up Unwittingly Writing Three Seasonably Suited Carols Himself
(Originally posted last Christmas… Last Christmas … sniff… R.I.P. George Michael…) I plead guilty to being a bit of a Christmas Carol Grinch. OK, I used to be a BIG Christmas Carol Grinch, really loathing most carols and sometimes resorting … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Musicabilia, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged atheism, Baby Jesus, Beethoven, beTwixt beTween & beTWAIN, Caroling, Carols, Christianity, Christmas, Damascus, George Michael, Grinch, Holy Land, Innocents Abroad, Jerusalem, Last Christmas, Mark Twain, musical, Nazareth, Ode to Joy, Pilgrims, Sea of Galilee
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Holiday Flee Market in the Classic Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
This post features holiday music from the damn bestest Lesbian holiday album ever: Venus Envy’s 1990’s cult classic “I’ll be a Homo for Christmas” The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is the most famous building in Brooklyn. Completed in 1929 it … Continue reading
Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Musicabilia, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged brooklyn, Carols, Flee Market, folk, Fort Greene, Holiday, lesbian, marble floor, Mecca of Dentistry, mosaic, One Hanson Place, Park Slope, parody, photography, Skylight, Smorgasburg, Tower, vault, Venus Envy, Williamsburgh Savings Bank
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN with Notes from a Composer
As Halloween falls on a Monday this year, I think it makes sense to call this a long Halloween Weekend. Much costumed celebrating and ghoulish goings-on will have already begun yesterday and continue through today and Sunday into the official … Continue reading
BLUMENAU – OKTOBERFEST IN BRAZIL
Brazil – Desi Arnaz The classic tune “Brazil”, performed in a classic style by Desi Arnaz and his Orchestra (yes, the Desi from “I Love Lucy”, he led a Band Orchestra in real life too, not just on TV). Now … Continue reading
Posted in Musicabilia, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Blumenau, Brazil, Cavalinho Branco, Desi Arnaz, Fachwerk, flood, half-timber, Iron Bridge, Michelstadt, Oktoberfest, Polka, Prosit, Rathaus, Ray Coniff, retail, Rio Itajaí-açu, souvenir, Vila Germanica
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September 11, 2016
For this day: HOPE from the oratorio The Song of Job 9:11 For the full concert, go to the Song of Job page. Also: THE SONG OF JOB 9:11 – 14 year anniversary of 9/11/2001 Posted on September 8, … Continue reading
Posted in Live! On Stage, Musicabilia, Notes in the News
Tagged 2016, 9/11, Book of Job, oratorio, The Song of Job 9:11
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BRAZIL – Upstream into the Pantanal Waterworld
Watery Vistas with Sky Filling Flocks of Herons; Jacaré Alligators, Howler Monkeys, Toucans (well, One Toucan), and the wonderfully weird and brilliantly named Tuiuiu! Brazil – Django Reinhardt Our second Pantanal excursion. You can explore the Pantanal by car in … Continue reading
Posted in Musicabilia, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Alligator, Brazil, caiman, Corumba, Django Reinhardt, Every Breaking Wave, harpy eagle, Howler Monkey, Jabira, Jacare, Lily Pad, Pantanal, Parakeet, Toucan, Tuiuiu, U2, Victoria Regina
BRAZIL – Floating Forests, Piranhas, and Sunsets of the Amazon
Above, the Jungle Lodge, where we stayed for a weekend Amazon Adventure on the Urubu River BRAZIL (Bachianos Brazil Samba) – Michael Kamen Below views of the Urubu River from the Lodge tower. The Urubu river gets its name from … Continue reading
LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI – a mini musical adaptation
I recently created the TWAIN page, where you can read about stories and listen to musical excerpts from my Mark Twain musical comedy beTwixt, beTween & beTWAIN. Below I will reproduce a complete scene from the musical, the mini-adaptation … Continue reading
Introducing the MARK TWAIN MUSICAL Page
It’s been a while since I’ve built a new permanent page on Notes from a Composer. See the black banner border above? Where you can access the following pages, or skip to the following content: Home Bio Credits & … Continue reading
NfaC Repost: THE DAY I BECAME A COMPOSER
I have not yet written much about my parents on this blog so far, but this piece from last June includes one of my favorite anecdotes about my father: “My parents were always supportive of all my creative endeavors, but … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Musicabilia
Tagged Abraham Ashkenasi, anecdote, Born That Way, composer, composing, father, Frog Prince, high school, high school musical, John F. Kennedy School, Lady Gaga, music, music teacher, musical
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