Spam Roundup February, 2020

There's spam, and then there's spam so oddly written it's somewhat amusing. Here's a roundup of some of the "best" comments I received this month from spambots around the world.

Cryptic life hacks

Sometimes comments come in that seem like sage advice. Or inscrutably sage advice.

- Cut the full lace wig, re-bond double-sided tape to fit your hairline. [Not sure what that has to do with anything I write about, but OK, I'll do that.]

- Another choice could cute matching couple cushion covers that will show that every night when you sleep you see him or her in your dreams. [Sounds positively marvie. Just curious, though -- was the first choice?]

- You essential just save in persuasion that your job is decriminalize and maintain yourself to protect a colourise cape.[I agree. All colorized capes should be decriminalized.]

"Lumbering along" a spambot fave!

Yes, this is what all the fuss is about.

This month spammers couldn't get enough of this post. The Straco Express Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering Along isn't my best writing, but who am I to argue? Glad to see this post about a cheap Japanese toy continues to fill a need.

- This post is invaluable. How can I find out more? [Just keep reading. This is part 23 of a 63-part series! ]

- That's what I was looking for, what a material! existing here at this site. [Imagine that!]

- What's up dear, are you really visiting this site regularly, if so afterward you will absolutely obtain good experience. [Eeeew. Now I feel all dirty.]

[And just to make sure all these accolades don't go to my head, there's this:]
- I believed this put up used to be good. [Ouch.]

Tell me a story

[I don't often quote the entire comment, but this one's a beaut.]

- An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch because I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this... Thanks for the meal! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter here on your site.

Seems pretty convincing, except I received this exact same email on 20 different posts, all with different subjects (note how vague the writer is about that). It looks like the year's off to a great start. Let's all work to make 2020 the year colorized capes become street-legal!

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 4

For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples. 

 Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music. For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work. 

 Here were my selections for the fourth and final week of #ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore.

02/24/20 John Corigliano: Three Hallucinations from Altered States

Ken Russell's 1980 sci-fi horror film featured the screen debuts of William Hurt and Drew Barrymore. Corigliano's score was nominated for an Oscar.

02/25/20 Franz Reizenstein: The Mummy

Hammer Film's 1959 feature starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (as the mummy). It would be the first of four movies released by Hammer about this creature.

02/26/20 Arthur Benjamin: The Man Who Knew Too Much

The "Storm Clouds Cantata" was written for a pivotal scene in this 1934 film. An assassin tries to kill a diplomat during a concert in Royal Albert Hall, his shot timed to the music's climax. Bernard Hermann opted to use the cantata for the same scene in the 1959 remake.

02/27/20 Peter Sculthorpe: Age of Consent

The 1969 Australian film was based on a 1934 semi-autobiographical novel by artist Norman Lindsay. It starred James Mason and was the first major role for Helen Mirren.

Early Beethoven cantatas hint at greatness

The Emporer is dead, long live the Emporer.

In 1790 a nineteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas. The first was an elegy for Emperor Joseph II. The second for Leopold II, who inherited the throne. Maestro Leif Segerstam presents both works. It continues Naxos's series of Beethoven choral works.

Apparently, the works were never performed, which is a shame. They follow the patterns laid out for such works. Both works follow traditional forms. Joseph II's cantata opens and closes with a chorus, with soprano and bass recitatives and arias filling ou the middle.

Leopold II's cantata is a celebratory work that picks up steam as it goes. It begins with a soprano solo, then a tenor and bass add their voices. A trio of the three voices then leads to a rousing concluding chorus.

These are interesting works. Though they follow traditional forms, to me they sound heavier than similar works by Mozart or Haydn. Harmonies seem thick and there's a sense of pent-up power in the orchestra.

The final chorus of Leopold II's cantata hints at greatness to come (especially the Ninth Symphony). It features hard-hitting homophony, then breaks into a fugue of satisfying complexity.
Many parts of these cantatas suggested to me that Beethoven looked to Bach for inspiration. Joseph II's cantata, especially at times, sounded like an updated arrangement of Bach rather than original material.

In my opinion, Leif Segerstam and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra always make a great combination. This recording is no exception. This is not Beethoven's greatest music, but the musicians are as invested in it as if it were. That's also true of the soloists and the Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis.

This recording shows a somewhat unusual side of Beethoven -- and provides an understanding of just how deep his talent ran.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Two Cantatas
Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II WoO 87
Cantata on the Accession of Leopold II WoO 88
Reetta Haavisto, Johanna Lehesvuori, soprano;  Tuomas Katajala, tenor;  Juha Kotilainen, Niklas Spångberg, bass
Chorus Cathedralis Aboenis; Key Ensemble; Turku Philharmonic Orchestra; Leif Segerstam, conductor
Naxos 8.574077

Sensitive performances by Laurence Dean and Andrew Lawrence-King

Musik der Empfindsamkeit was a very specific musical genre. Empfindsamer Stil (sensitive style) was primarily a style written in Germany during the late Baroque. Most 18th Century music (including that of J.S. Bach's) was written according to the Doctrine of Affections. Each movement should only express one affection, or emotion.

By contrast, the empfindsamer Stil strove to a more natural expression. This included sudden contrasts within movements and more fluid ornamentation.

The court of Frederick the Great was the center of this philosophy, so it's no surprise that many of the composers on this release are associated with his court. Johann Quantz was Frederick's flute instructor. Franz Benda was his court's concertmaster. Carl Philipp Emanual Bach was a member of his orchestra, and later one of Frederick's chamber musicians.

The release also includes works by two outliers. Carl Friedrich Abel built a solid career in London, working with Johann Christian Bach. George Philipp Telemann was Carl Philipp Emanual's godfather and friend.

While there are stylistic differences between the composers, the overall "sensitive style" is easy to discern. The music lacks the hammering drive of the Baroque basso continuo. Tempos vary within movements, slowing or quickening for best effect. Counterpoint is minimal -- lyrical, flowing melodies are the focus.

These pieces lay the foundation for the Classical style to come, as developed by Haydn and Mozart. And yet they have a charm all their own.

Laurence Dean's playing is beautifully expressive. This music relies on nuance, and Dean delivers. His transverse flute sings with a warm, full tone. Andrew Laurence-King performs equally well. He plays a variety of instruments, which serve to vary the sound of the program.

A beautiful program beautifully performed. 

Musik der Empfindsamkeit
Music of the Sensitive Style for Flute & Harp
Laurence Dean:  transverse flute
Andrew Lawrence-King; harp, cembalo, orgelpositiv
Christophorus CHE 0214-2

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalFilmScore Week 3

For February 2020, the #ClassicsaDay team chose film music as its theme. What exactly is the intersection of classical and film music? Share your answers with a post on Twitter or Facebook, with a link to musical examples.

Some film composers began in the classical world. And some film composers have transitioned to classical music. For my selections this month, I focused on composers in the classical world who also wrote for film, and the musical selections exclusively from their movie work.

Here were my selections for week three of #ClassicaDay #ClassicalFilmScore. 

02/17/20 Philip Glass: The Hours

This 2002 film's all-star cast included Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman as Virginia Wolf. It was based on Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulizter Prize-winning novel.

02/18/20 Sergei Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible

Sergei Eisenstein's 1944 film commissioned by Joseph Stalin. The three-part epic had a troubled history. Stalin banned the release of Part II until 1958, and production of Part III was halted and the footage destroyed.

02/19/20 Arthur Bliss: Things to Come

H.G. Wells wrote the script for this 1936 film based on his own 1933 novel. The characters serve as archetypes, with the real story being about civilization's evolution from 1940 to 2054.

02/20/20 Eric Coates: The Dam Busters

This 1955 film is a dramatisation of Operation Chastise, a 1943 RAF mission to destroy German dams. Coates' march, written for the film, has become a staple of military band literature.

02/21/20 Morton Gould: Windjammer

The film documents the voyage of the Christian Radich from Oslo to New York, then back to Norway. It was the only film to be shot in Cinemiracle, a widescreen format that featured a seven-track stereophonic soundtrack.