Off Topic The Arts Thread (Paintings, Music etc)

I don't think the music world ever took Nesmith seriously because he was in the Monkees. He deserved more credit for his Monkees writing and his subsequent solo albums. He wrote a lot of good songs......Rio, Propinquity etc,,

 

Here's one which is interesting! This guy is a real street busker, if his rendering of, yes, "Begin The Beguine" is anything to go by! Rhythm (castanets) accompaniment by a rather large lady in a long black dress. Would have been a bit much putting this up again on here, but easily found on YouTube under the Diddy Bones Knap Band:

Variations on Irish banjo tune "the Fermoy Lasses" by the Diddy Bones Knap Band:

 

Avalon Jazz band - Ménilmontant (Charles Trenet)

 

Excellent performance by Paul Mescal in Episode 10 of the TV series " Normal People". This talented young Irish actor has a really promising future ahead of him, for sure.

 

Animation has come a long way.

 

With demonstrations around the globe, perhaps this is the most apt song

 

It's been years since I heard that song.

 

Leroy Anderson's "Fiddle-Faddle" (it's called Plink, Plank, Plunk in this video clip; that'll do I guess!)
Anyway, it's very well performed by the Portland (Oregon) Youth Philharmonic:

 

One of my all time favourite songs. Toots Hibbert and the Maytals. Too bad that I only discovered it a few years back.

 

Andrea Bocelli had a nice hit with Con Te Partiro, but tasted even more success when he teamed with Sarah Brightman. But I can't watch the latter version any more as I don't get the chance to concentrate on Bocelli. Here he is when his voice was still rich and vibrant.

 

Luciano Pavarotti in his prime. As mentioned in the clip, the conductor was Dame Joan Sutherland's husband Richard Bonynge. Luci stated that his breathing technique was taught to him by Sutherland. He was something else in those days.

 

Here is Sutherland. Apparently her Italian diction isn't the best, but she was renowned for her vocal "fireworks."

 

Ok, we're getting a little high brow here. First off, I know virtually nothing about opera, but in my old age, I've found an appreciation for some of the music. I had a bit of knowledge when it came to tenors, but was limited to just a few great names in history ... until the three tenors opened the door. Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma started a lot of people down the road to a whole new world. All of a sudden Luci was being portrayed as the greatest tenor since Enrico Caruso. From what I gather Pavarotti is rightly considered one of the best tenors in the last 50 years, but it's not a right to paint him the best off all time. So what do I know? Bugger all. With that, I go looking for some sort of comparison and decided to tie Pav's Nessun Dorma to a version considered the bench mark of the piece, that of Franco Corelli, a man whose voice it's, said possessed a white heat type of brilliance.

I'm a new fan.

 

Very well performed, even if Barenboim is not one of my favourite people! Been a great favourite of mine for many years. However, my better-half is very much a Beethoven aficionado, and Bolero drives her bonkers! Have to listen to it with headphones on, which is more enjoyable anyway. Missus also loves Opera (), and is, in my biased opinion, good enough to go on a TV quiz show on this particular subject. Enough of that!

Been checking with a few websites, including Wikipedia, and am reminded that Ravel originally composed this piece as a ballet commissioned by the Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein. Instead, it became Ravel's most famous musical composition. First performed in 1928.

A great musicians' tour of a symphony orchestra. Question for you both, Oddy and Cyc, can you name their instruments as the musicians pick-up their turn to play? What amazing patience a drummer has to have, right from the start. Brilliant.

 

It'd would take me a month to sort out that lot.

 

Maybe I'll try it soon. Will have to swot-up on one or two of those wind instruments before I attempt it though, e.g. English Horn (commonly called a Cor anglais, I believe), and the French Horn. However, that wouldn't do much good because the list of percussion instruments used in a typical symphony orchestra is astonishing. Could never learn and remember all of those! Guess half of them sit on the floor by the musician's feet until they're needed?

 

Academy Award Winning Male Actors of late. 19 Joaquin Phoenix, 18 Rami Malek, 17 Gary Oldman, 16 Casey Afflick, 15 Leonardo DiCaprio, 14 Eddie Redmayne, 13 Matthew McConaughey, 12 Daniel Day-Lewis, 11 Jean Dujardin, 10 Colin Firth.

Then there's class. Sir Larry smashes it.