The Spring Equinox usually takes place somewhere between the 20th and 21st of March. This is not coincidence; the calendar has been adjusted to make this happen. Why? Because that's what the calendar does: it divides the year into the exact number of equal days that ensures that the earth is in the same location around the Sun every year on any given day. This is not easy, since the year is not an exact number of days, so they have to fudge it with Leap Years, and so forth.
If we stick to the year being "365¼ days", over many years, any given date will occur later and later. For instance, J. S. Bach's birthday, which was recorded as March 21, took place well into the Spring (actually just about 10 days later; I had believed it was sometime in June. I was wrong.) As everyone knows, March 21 is now supposed to be the very beginning of Spring. It used to be early Spring even in the time of Julius Caesar, but by the time the Roman empire had fallen, and Pope Gregory was in the Vatican, the too-large year had forced the date March 21 to move into March 31. Of course, it wasn't easy to move the date back to where it should have been; essentially the astronomers and the politicians advised that March 20th should be followed by March 31st. Landlords were delighted, but the renters were pretty furious to have to pay a full month's rent for just 20 days. The reason for all this is that the year is not even just 365¼ days long, but roughly 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes 12 seconds, according to Wikipedia. To make sure that this sort of thing won't happen even after several thousand years, they now even have leap-seconds. Don't worry about them; they're small.
Here's how to think about it: what date is more likely to have been important to J. S. Bach himself? March 31 or March 21, which was the date on the Baptismal register? I figure it's the latter, since Bach, being a good protestant, probably did not pay much attention to the Vatican-championed calendric reform. So I celebrate Bach's birthday on March 21st, which is conveniently the first day of Spring, too.
Part A
Johann Sebastian Bach: (Organ) Fugue in C Major, BWV 545
This is playing under my introduction. This version (since many listeners, including my wife, do not like anything played on an organ) is played with guitar and other tuned percussion sounds via MIDI, created by your favorite radio host, me.
Joseph Haydn: Nun beut die Flur das frische Grün (Now robed in cool refreshing green)
This aria from Haydn's Creation, whose libretto was taken from Milton's Paradise Lost, celebrates the creation of green vegetation. The soloist is Sunhae Im, a soprano of Korean descent.
Ludvig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, op.68 Movement 1: Pastorale
I was asking around for nominations for pieces to play for a Spring celebration, and this was a quick suggestion from my stepson, because the piece was played in the first Walt Disney Fantasia, and had a very-springlike animation to go with it. Beethoven is recorded as being a nature lover, and is said to have loved to walk through the woods and fields.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Double Concerto in C Minor for Oboe and Violin BWV 1060 - i Allegro
We had to have some Bach, for his birthday. This movement is a universal favorite.
Part B
George Gerschwin: Rhapsody in Blue (orchestrated by Ferdinand Grofé)
Johann Strauss II: Voices of Spring Waltz, Op 410
The well-know waltz has a part for soprano, here sung by Dilbér.
Philip Glass: Dance II from Glassworks
Sorry, I forgot to announce this on the broadcast
Henry Purcell: Dioclesian- Overture
Purcell was crazy about the theatre, and wrote lots of music for various plays, including some by Shakespeare.
Part C
Johann Sebastian Bach: Matthew Passion, opening chorus Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen
The Passover, and therefore Easter, is usually celebrated in the early Spring, so it's appropriate to listen to this piece at this time. However, for various reasons, some of them political, and others calendric, the Jewish feast of the Passover, and the Christian feast of Easter have been de-coupled. I sincerely hope that eventually these religions can find a way to get their acts together.
This opening chorus is possibly one of the most complex movements Bach ever wrote. It is written for two choirs, each with its own orchestra, and a small chorus of children's voices (the ripieno treble chorus. All trebles of Bach's time were young boys, so this designation has only been important since the 19th century). The chorus starts off with choir no. 1 declaring "Behold!", and choir no. 2 asking "Who?", and choir no. 1 resumes with "The Bridegroom," and so on. For the first several dozen bars, choir no. 2 only gets to interject monosyllabic questions, but soon the antiphonal chorus is in full swing. The entire Passion is technically performed within the division into two choirs and orchestras, but only this first chorus has an antiphonal element in it.
Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford: Money
This performance is by the Flying Lizards, a band at one time well known in the punk rock movement. This is an allusion to last week's broadcast, in which we played the Beatles singing this number.
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
This composition by Yale graduate Charles Ives was championed by Leonard Bernstein. The piece was originally scored for string quartet and solo wind instruments, but was later reorchestrated for full symphony orchestra. It is programme music of the most direct sort, except that the composer did not supply the programme for it; we are left to interpret the music as a question, with attempts at a response.
Part D
Medley by the Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards
Crown Imperial, by William WaltonCrown Imperial is often performed by the Lycoming Band on formal occasions. Walton is a great composer, but the piece seems rather bombastic to me.
Colonel Bogey March, by Kenneth Alford (F. J. Ricketts)
Men of Harlech (Anonymous Folk Tune)
It's a Long Way to Tipperary by Jack Judge
The Colonel Bogey March seems to have something to do with the game of golf; you can look it up. It was featured in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness, and filmed partially in Sri Lanka.
Men of Harlech is heard in the movie The Englishman who went up a hill, and came down a mountain.
It's long way to Tipperary was apparently written for a bet, and became popular during World War I.
Electric Light Orchestra: Mr Blue Sky
This song was used in a fabulous Flashmob in Ireland.
Tom Lehrer: Poisoning Pigeons In The Park
This song seems to pop up more frequently than ever on our show. This is an weird anthem to Springtime, about an initiative from the early seventies, it appears, to reduce the pigeon population in a city part in New England somewhere, possibly New Haven, CT.
Archie
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