Snow and 'Blue Skies'

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 02:53 PM

Of course. Much of Jewish culture, especially the Ashkenazi which was the predominant culture in Europe, is firmly Russian & E European based, fully as much as Hebraically. Hence of course the Gershwins (Jacob and Ira Gershvin), Kern, Berlin (Israel Balin); later Leonard Bernstein ... So the Anniversary song is right within that tradition.

~M~

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: Will Fly
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 02:29 PM

Thanks for the kind words, folks - and thanks, Michael for the provenance of the Anniversary Song. Not Jewish perhaps, but it has a similar melodic and harmonic structure to that of much Yiddish and Eastern European music. IMO, of course.

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 02:01 PM

Delightful as always, Will. I enjoy your playing every time.

Re: Anniversary Song aka Oh How we Danced..., according to Wiki, E European [Romanian, tho written acc another entry on Ivanovici by a Serb] but not shown as specifically Jewish.
~~ not by Berlin or Gershwin: attrib in an online lyrics entry to PLEYER, FRANK / IVANOVICI, J.

The following wikipedia entry applies ~~

'"Waves of the Danube" (Romanian: Valurile Dunării; Serbian: Дунавски валови/Dunavski valovi ;German: Donauwellen; French: Flots du Danube; Russian: Дунайские Волны)[1] is a waltz composed by Iosif Ivanovici (1845–1902) in 1880, and is one of the most famous Romanian tunes in the world. In the United States, it is frequently referred to as "The Anniversary Song",[2] a title given by Al Jolson when he and Saul Chaplin released an adaptation of the song in 1946. ....
Under the name of "The Anniversary Song" it was featured in Al Jolson's biographical Columbia film The Jolson Story in 1946 and the sequel Jolson Sings Again (1949).'

HTH ~ & thanks again.

~Michael~

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 01:14 PM

Very nice, Will!

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 12:54 PM

Well it was written in the late Twenties. The words take on an ironic meaning set against what the Blue Skies actually brought over the next few years.

Actually that goes for the songs from any time. That's life...

Lovely work, Will.

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: Will Fly
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 11:11 AM

The first two notes in C (forget the capo) are from A to E as far as I know, so not an octave.

As for wistful, well... I'm slowing it down quite a bit to bring out the wistfulness. :-) But you're right the tone of the tune is slightly melancholic - like a lot of Berlin's stuff.

Whenever I listen to the early music of Berlin and Gershwin, I can hear the influence of the Yiddish theatre music that they probably heard as young boys in New York. The melody to "Oh how we danced on the night we were wed" (can't recall the exact title) has always struck me as essentially as Jewish as "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" in feeling and melodic rise and fall. Great stuff!

Subject: RE: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 10:39 AM

Thanks for the music, Will. I tried the tune out and was surprised to find that the first two notes jump an octave. I would have said it was a stranger interval than that.

I believe you aren't getting the snow because we got all the snow the atmosphere could conjure up here in the Midwest. There is snow piled 8 inches high on my porch railing, cars are deeply buried, and streets are silent. This morning I tossed a throw rug over the snow and went out in my robe and slippers to give the birds water to drink. (I had already filled the feeder.)

Now back to 'Blue Skies.' Don't you think that the melody seems too wistful for the words? However that may be, the bridge is certainly a challenge. I applaud you for nailing all those half steps.

Subject: Snow and 'Blue Skies'
From: Will Fly
Date: 24 Mar 13 - 07:32 AM

Well, it's doing its best to snow here, but not quite getting there. Just the right time to get the guitar out and do a little spring-like tune in anticipation of better times to come...

Blue Skies