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Phantom Regiment show choices...


"Old" or "New?"  

126 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you prefer Phantom Regiment's trend of repeating previously performed works, or would you prefer 'new' selections?

    • Repeats, a la Pagliacci, Spartacus, Scythtian Suite, 2nd year repeats (90/91, 93/94)
      49
    • New selections never performed by the corps
      62
    • Some other option explained below
      15


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Let me pose this, just suppose they had 6-8 titles and were bringing back pieces from shows that won titles, would that change your position? It seems I've never heard this argument when a corps, whose show WON, brings back previously played tunes.

RM - I'm not spartacus

ampssuck

Who are you asking? Or better stated, what perspective are you questioning? I guess it could go either way. I'd prefer that in a genre such as classical music (more appropriately labeled Western Art Music?), it is tremendously un-intelectually stimulating to pick 25 pieces and just keep repeating them ad nauseum every quarter century. While I will admit that it may be nice to see something pulled out every now and again, revisit my earlier point...Regiment is basically reliving the Dan Farell shows of the 70's and now 80's. Nice music...but how about some Strauss, Mahler, et al. I understand the idea of modern masters that they've been performing since before I marched. But even in 20th Century music there is a lot not yet touched. One of you mentioned Glass in a recent post. Not a huge Glass fan, but all in all 1000 Airplanes was done pretty well. Not my first choice for music/show, but OK. Better than their last few renditions of Tchaikovsky.

:blink::beer::blink::beer::beer:

No, and it's a shame. I came Across Alpine about 15 years ago and immediately thought Regiment (and posted this on some other thread)

RM - Alpine = :worthy:

ampssuck

Heard Boston Symphony in Tarrant County/Ft Worth Convention Center Auditorium back in about 95/96...about the same time I fell in love with all things Strauss. GREAT music! If any of you are not familiar with it, look it up! Get Berlin or Vienna with a Germanic conductor...nothing finer in the world! I have Karajan and Berlin...not the best technical recording, but musically...absolutely stunning! Zarathustra with the same...wow!

Rocketman, you are indeed right...Regiment all the way!

Not a word has been said about what the corps is playing and you feel it's a shame the Regiment can't come up with anything more creative?

Man what a tough audience.

Come on, give the guy a break. He may be Rosemont, but I'm in agreement with him. Give the kid some credit...it was a Rockfordite who started the thread, after all!

Hey as a Regiment alum who performed Gershwin in the 70s, I certainly appreciated what JD and the corps did in 2005. Highly entertaining and just plain fun.

I have a feeling we may get a smattering of the original ballet music with, let's say, something more contemporary. I'm not really a huge fan of Phillip Glass but 1000 Airplanes on the Roof rocked my world!

Gimme more! b**bs

Yes, very fun show. It gets some hate from some around here, even alum/phans, but I loved the show from the moment I heard they were doing Gershwin!

But once again, we're talking about doing the same 25 shows over and over again. Nice for retreat and SOS concerts, but lets expand our listening libraries a little bit. For crying out loud, I even complimented Cavaliers 94 opener earlier. Great Spanish-influence piece. Obscure stuff! GREAT music. This is the kind of stuff...Ginastera...Estancia...that is just simply obscure but when put on the drum corps field, rocks everybody's world!

Yet even Ginastera was a repeat.

Be right back...

From the corps' web site:

2007 Firebird...repeat of 1978

2006 Scythian Suite...repeat of 1984

2005 Gershwin...75/76

2004 New music!! OK, maybe a really bad argument for new music!

2003 New music??

2002 Shostakovich music never performed by the corps?? Good argument against?

2001 New music??

2000 Petroushka/Rite...repeat of 1978

1999 New Tchaik never performed?? Another argument against new?

1998 New...unless you count Star 91's amazing show

1997 New music! Ring without Wabbits! Only the most famous piece of classical music due to Fritz Freeling.

1996 5th Symphony repeat of 74? Can't remember which 5th 74 was.

1995 New music!

1994 My year...repeated 93's closer and 93's entire show theme

1993 Malambo...repeat of 1979

1992 Ugh...don't make me relive it...repeat 1812...twice 83/84

1991 Repeat of Saint Saens from 1990

1990 Didn't Lord Vader himself play the bari solo from Bachanale back in the 70's?

1989 Repeat, believe it or not, of 1977...dang it

1988 Repeat of 1974

1987 Hey...new Tchaik! It IS possible!

1986 Resurrection Symphony...the FIRST time!

1985 Symphonie Fantastique...new

1984 1812...not even the first time!

1983 1812...I mean, it's PR's version of Malaguena!

1982 Repeat of 1981

1981 Spartacus the First

1980 Mostly new music previously...except...

69/70 Camelot...repeating stuff right from the start!

Not counting 69/70, that's about 14 years of repeats and 13 years of new stuff since 80...now, not complete show repeats, but do you get my point? Let's get new stuff and do it right. I think I've thrown out five right off the top of my head, and that's just me.

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So tell me Silvertrombone...What is the corps playing this year? You seem to know. :blink:

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As for cutting people some slack.... Not one selection of music has been mentioned and the Regiment is getting bagged for rehashing the same stuff over and over. <**>

I don't remember seeing Blue Devils getting any flack when they announced they were playing Pegasus.

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What an odd post. I don’t understand why it’s limited to Regiment or why the same is not true for any corps playing a song that has been fielded before. I was glad to hear Boston give a go at la fiesta this year. Something that I would agree with and thanks George Hopkins for was the Cadets 2003 show. I think the hits should be brought out every generation and shown on the field, a DVD viewing of a 25 years old show really doesn’t do it justice as compared to seeing and hearing it on the field. These songs are classics or just drum corps classics for a reason and I enjoy hearing them on the field again, and no, they needn’t be done the same as before. Plus there usually is enough new stuff out there to offer a balance. Still think Cadets are over due for an update on West side story, one of the most over played shows in the 80s but it time again.

Also, I think some stuff have been brought to the field that did not merit a wider audience, that it was just on the field because it had not been there before. This gets even worse once you get into original compositions.

There is a ton of music I’d love to see on the field I have not, mahler is an easy sell for me but kind of like Wagner, you need the build up to get the pay off, not sure if that works in today’s show…oh, I’m sure they could manage somehow.

And maybe I’m more forgiving because I came of age where most of the corps would carry a song over from year to year – and yeah, when doing the same show 2 years in a row, you better really show me the second years was worth it and Regiment did in 1982 as much as I stacked the deck against them. So they earned the right for take 3 25 years later.

Also, it begs who is the audience? Most people only see about 1 live show a year and don’t own a bunch of DVDs. So hit them with the good stuff, you only get them for about 10 minutes a years. If shows were limited to pleasing the freaks like us on DCP, who own the DVDs and know many shows of the past….the shows on the filed today would look a lot different – I’m guessing we’d be in the land of bore of the late 90s still. I also think it takes more creativity to do something new with an old classic than it does to do a new song with a blank slate. I’ll never tire of Firebird (I may rue the day I said that but for now) and I think what Blue Stars, Blue Devils and Regiment did with it last years showed great creativity. Regiment introduced not only a new arrangement but a new visual with it – had they played something new, I doubt they would have been so creative with the visual.

I love the original music of the score, there are some things left in it that could be brought out, I also loved Regiment’s versions of it too - so I’d be very happy to hear the updates on the field.

Basically, no one has touched those show since before the marchers of today were even born, give them a chance to make it their own. It’s one of my favorite shows ever on the field and I’d love for others to really get to see and hear it (maybe…they could foul it up by trying to avoid themselves too much but I doubt it, well see and then I’ll let you know if it was a good idea or not)

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And to the OP, I can see how this would bug you – 94 was great but it did feel like a repeat so I understand your feeling cheated of a new show the one year you got to march your dream corps

But I still like 94 and consider it own its own merits as a fine show (I've soften on hating repeats now that I'm not getting beat by them)

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Listen, I'm gonna yell til I'm horse like all the rest of you, so don't think I'm totally bashing the corps. I bought my fair share of the merchandise, and the blue Firebird shirt is one of my all-time favorite PR designs. Flock of birds with 'Cuba' background was pretty cool on white 't,' too. But I'm getting tired of seeing shows that quote large sections of previously performed works.

The only show I marched was a repeat theme: 94 copied 93 in form and much of the closer. Same general idea with new opener and balad. 90/91 had the same closer. Many other times in the 90's/00's the corps has repeated music performed in the 70's/80's. Scythian Suite (opener from Faust). Firebird. Now Spartacus, itself a repeat of a repeat. Talk about "Episode III!"

The symphonic repertoire is obviously something that offers a wide choice of selections that even Phantom Regiment has yet to totally explore. Hell, Phantom could perform new selections every year, never repeating a single piece, and (basically) never run out of options for future shows.

There are a whole litany of composers and their works that Phantom has not begun to explore, and I would like to see them do so. The idea of resurrection was a strong theme in Faust, but unfortunately, it does not play into the story of Spartacus! While this music is stirring and automatically creates an atmosphere and expectations that the corps and design staff will undoubtedly rise to and perhaps exceed, is it really necessary to perform the same 10-15 shows over and over? They worked well in the 70's and 80's--GREAT!! Now can we move on? Play them at SOS in retreat for the local alum to keep them sending in their $50 in contributions and reliving the "glory years" and so forth. And put something new on the field.

Am I alone in this desire? I mean, we've seen some REALLY great suggestions in this chat room for new shows for a whole bunch of corps. And the BOD or Dan or whoever decided...on repeating Spartacus again? Do they think they'll pass out programs again and wow everybody with that innovative gimmick again?

Curious to hear your thoughts. Thank you. And kick butt, 08 members. I'm still going to be yelling like a crazy man for you.

Um.......Blue Devils did a redemption of Pegasus this year and it seemed to have worked out alright

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Who are you asking? Or better stated, what perspective are you questioning? I guess it could go either way. I'd prefer that in a genre such as classical music (more appropriately labeled Western Art Music?), it is tremendously un-intelectually stimulating to pick 25 pieces and just keep repeating them ad nauseum every quarter century. While I will admit that it may be nice to see something pulled out every now and again, revisit my earlier point...Regiment is basically reliving the Dan Farell shows of the 70's and now 80's. Nice music...but how about some Strauss, Mahler, et al. I understand the idea of modern masters that they've been performing since before I marched. But even in 20th Century music there is a lot not yet touched. One of you mentioned Glass in a recent post. Not a huge Glass fan, but all in all 1000 Airplanes was done pretty well. Not my first choice for music/show, but OK. Better than their last few renditions of Tchaikovsky.

Heard Boston Symphony in Tarrant County/Ft Worth Convention Center Auditorium back in about 95/96...about the same time I fell in love with all things Strauss. GREAT music! If any of you are not familiar with it, look it up! Get Berlin or Vienna with a Germanic conductor...nothing finer in the world! I have Karajan and Berlin...not the best technical recording, but musically...absolutely stunning! Zarathustra with the same...wow!

Rocketman, you are indeed right...Regiment all the way!

Come on, give the guy a break. He may be Rosemont, but I'm in agreement with him. Give the kid some credit...it was a Rockfordite who started the thread, after all!

Yes, very fun show. It gets some hate from some around here, even alum/phans, but I loved the show from the moment I heard they were doing Gershwin!

But once again, we're talking about doing the same 25 shows over and over again. Nice for retreat and SOS concerts, but lets expand our listening libraries a little bit. For crying out loud, I even complimented Cavaliers 94 opener earlier. Great Spanish-influence piece. Obscure stuff! GREAT music. This is the kind of stuff...Ginastera...Estancia...that is just simply obscure but when put on the drum corps field, rocks everybody's world!

Yet even Ginastera was a repeat.

Be right back...

From the corps' web site:

2007 Firebird...repeat of 1978

2006 Scythian Suite...repeat of 1984

2005 Gershwin...75/76

2004 New music!! OK, maybe a really bad argument for new music!

2003 New music??

2002 Shostakovich music never performed by the corps?? Good argument against?

2001 New music??

2000 Petroushka/Rite...repeat of 1978

1999 New Tchaik never performed?? Another argument against new?

1998 New...unless you count Star 91's amazing show

1997 New music! Ring without Wabbits! Only the most famous piece of classical music due to Fritz Freeling.

1996 5th Symphony repeat of 74? Can't remember which 5th 74 was.

1995 New music!

1994 My year...repeated 93's closer and 93's entire show theme

1993 Malambo...repeat of 1979

1992 Ugh...don't make me relive it...repeat 1812...twice 83/84

1991 Repeat of Saint Saens from 1990

1990 Didn't Lord Vader himself play the bari solo from Bachanale back in the 70's?

1989 Repeat, believe it or not, of 1977...dang it

1988 Repeat of 1974

1987 Hey...new Tchaik! It IS possible!

1986 Resurrection Symphony...the FIRST time!

1985 Symphonie Fantastique...new

1984 1812...not even the first time!

1983 1812...I mean, it's PR's version of Malaguena!

1982 Repeat of 1981

1981 Spartacus the First

1980 Mostly new music previously...except...

69/70 Camelot...repeating stuff right from the start!

Not counting 69/70, that's about 14 years of repeats and 13 years of new stuff since 80...now, not complete show repeats, but do you get my point? Let's get new stuff and do it right. I think I've thrown out five right off the top of my head, and that's just me.

01, not really 'new music,' i wouldnt say.

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this has been a trend of corps for years and nobody really complained about it back then. "back in the day" corps used to keep whole songs from the previous year.

santa clara did a phantom of the opera show? what year was that?? oh, yeah. it was 88 AND 89. without going into who should have won on that night in 89 - should have been phantom btw :P - even using the same opera two years in a row produced two great shows which were pretty different from each other.

as far as their staff not being creative enough.. seriously? i thought the on air show had ideas and moments that were way ahead of the activity at the moment. was it perfect? no. were the blue devils perfect? ... were the blue devils more innovative? ...

i think that their staff will have to be even more creative to design a show that isn't a rehash of the good ol' days but still pays tribute to where it came from. this is the very show that started the revolution of telling stories and having themes in drum corps shows. it has essentially paved the way for modern drum corps - among several other things.

i know JD, Dan Farrell and company will have SEVERAL tricks up their sleeves and i cannot wait to find out what they are.

Edited by euphononium
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Festive Overture was played by PR in the 70s. I think Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra was new.

Sorry, Jared...meant new to the corps, not new-new...but Jayzer pointed out that wasn't the case either.

Does anybody get the point I'm making? It would be one thing if the corps had done Firebird before, Spartacus before, and never repeated anything else except in standstills and retreats. I think my not-so-exhaustive list by the year showed it is anything but that. My point is, the corps has repeated 20 works at least once, and sometimes two repeats. It's getting to feel like Star Wars...Lord Vader reference aside. Big difference between 3 repeats and 20. Gimme some more new stuff.

By new, of course, I mean new to the corps...nothing new about Mozart Requiem. A requiem show made up of music from 6-8 Requiem's would, of course, be pretty much all old music. But lots, if not all of it, would have never been performed by the corps before.

And music like the Alpine Symphony by Strauss...seriously, has ANYBODY ever performed that? SOOO obscure.

And I ask exclusively about PR because that's 'my' corps. Nothing against anybody else, feel free to discuss here or start another thread. It would be interesting to see with what frequency other corps have repeated music year-after-year or years in between each rendition. Seriously. Just, BD ain't my passion. Neither is SCV. Cavies don't seem to repeat very much, right? That's impressive if that's the case.

And Cowtown, be careful...if you keep making points I like/agree with, there may be hope for us developing a nice e-friendship. Agree that corps performing music what others have performed...and even placed 'their' stamp on...is a cool idea. Don't even mind a corps repeating in the right context. And thank you for your compliments about 94. I was told by a fellow UNT student and member of the 94 Contra line that one of the brass staff told him at the airport after the season on the way out of town that we did the 94 show, "Because nobody could think of a reason NOT to!" Nice.

Actually, at November audition camp we read an arrangement of Rite of Spring. Not impressed. Didn't want to do that. Don't remember if we looked at Firebird then, but that was the original goal was to do those two. Also a 'repeat' concept, but at least from +/- 15 years previous. 'Repeating' 93's themattic approach seemed kind of...disingenuine. Now, the opener cooked...once we convinced staff not to perform the de Falla in a 'Bolero-ish' style...fought them over that all summer! Want Bolero? Then play Bolero! PR has never done that, have they??

Don't know that I would want PR picking up Malaguena or Planets. And Respighi was kind of...meh. But no problem with the idea of one corps doing music another nailed! Shosty 5th is NOT dead. And hopefully Tchaik 6th CAN be done on the field...one of my fav's...disappointed at its last treatment.

My major point is that it is undeniable that the corps repeats music with startlingly regularity, and I would like for it to broaden its horizons quite a bit. That's all. If you can do Glass and Piazolla (pretty) well, then there are a lot of others that can really sizzle. And who questions that the corps could do a whiz-bang show with much of what is out there. Again: Opera? Visual? HELLO???

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