Rufus67 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 So I'm not a musician (though I played one on the field for a couple of years), but I'm wondering if anyone's ever thought of doing the music from Peter Gunn as a show? I know VK did bits of it, but I was thinking something more in the spirit of the show's music (i.e., not campy). Some of the tracks from soundtrack really move such as Blue Steel, the show theme of course, and Fallout!, while there are also some great ballads. Like I said, I know nothing about how "appropriate" a song is for drum corps (or what goes into the decision-making process when putting a show together), but every time Henry Mancini's soundtrack pops up on shuffle the thought occurs to me that it would be cool if a corps could do a show with that music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I’m in I think a bunch of corps played Moon River back in the day, maybe remembering that wrongly though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearwonk Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Henry Mancini's music is a double-edged sword. It set a standard of ultra-sophistication for a generation, but at the same time he was catering to the lounge crowd with super-corn-syrupy arrangements with a good dose of schlock. It's all since become fodder for Muzak, so it's hard for modern listeners to distinguish the good stuff from the schlock unless you listen to it a lot. Film composers know the good stuff, and they constantly copy the more sophisticated style of Pink Panther for a spy movie score or Breakfast at Tiffany's for a romantic comedy score. I think there's plenty of original material for an interesting corps show of Mancini's music, though the rights to it may be prohibitive (which may be why the style is copied so much). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 ... he was catering to the lounge crowd with super-corn-syrupy arrangements with a good dose of schlock. I hope you are proud of yourself! You just hurt the feelings of Leisure Suit Larry and made him cry all over is silk shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) My favorite Mancini theme is probably Charade (a highly entertaining movie: the best film Hitchcock never made), which no corps seems to have played since the 1960s. But some Gunn would be nice, too. Edited January 16, 2014 by N.E. Brigand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Interesting trivia: the pianist on the original recording of the Peter Gunn theme was John Williams, not then known as a composer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearwonk Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) Speaking of Mancini schlock, Symphonic Soul was a drum corps favorite in the 70s. Several corps played it. Larry, too, probably. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z62gYbGtrpo Edited January 16, 2014 by gearwonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Mancini would be an excellent choice, by any level of corps! BTW, you will never, ever touch the hearts of the people like WE did in 85 VK with Peter Gunn. Just say'n! Edited January 18, 2014 by BigDale 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 This topic is interesting. People seem to be praising much of what Mancini wrote, while also acknowledging that it is a bit too low brow. I know someone who plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the BSO has a reputation for beautiful performances of the standard repertoire while also championing newer works and contemporary composers. He has argued that performing the standard repertoire can be more challenging and difficult because audiences are familiar with it and that contemporary works are not as difficult as many believe. Since he's not a first chair, he also performs with the Boston Pops and he can at times have total distain for much of what is performed, but believes it can be as difficult to perform as some of the greatest classical works. I think for some people in drum corps, if a work is popular, it looses credibility, however while I appreciate what let's say a corps like Bluecoats will do with difficult and at times music that is not familiar with most of the audience, I also appreciate what, let's say Madison Scouts, does with pieces that are beloved musical standards. I understand and respect the importance of degree of difficulty in drum corps today, and I continue to be amazed at what a corps can accomplish. I also know the importance of originality, but all of his does not have to happen at the expense of popular music. BTW: I w3ould say of last year's WC corps, 7 of the top 12 and 9 of 13-22 managed to have some great crowd pleasing moments with music that could be regarded as popular, and for those that did not have popular music in their shows, you did have wow moments, at least for me, so this is more programming advice and not a slam on the current state of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 This topic is interesting. People seem to be praising much of what Mancini wrote, while also acknowledging that it is a bit too low brow. I know someone who plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the BSO has a reputation for beautiful performances of the standard repertoire while also championing newer works and contemporary composers. He has argued that performing the standard repertoire can be more challenging and difficult because audiences are familiar with it and that contemporary works are not as difficult as many believe. Since he's not a first chair, he also performs with the Boston Pops and he can at times have total distain for much of what is performed, but believes it can be as difficult to perform as some of the greatest classical works. I think for some people in drum corps, if a work is popular, it looses credibility, however while I appreciate what let's say a corps like Bluecoats will do with difficult and at times music that is not familiar with most of the audience, I also appreciate what, let's say Madison Scouts, does with pieces that are beloved musical standards. I understand and respect the importance of degree of difficulty in drum corps today, and I continue to be amazed at what a corps can accomplish. I also know the importance of originality, but all of his does not have to happen at the expense of popular music. BTW: I w3ould say of last year's WC corps, 7 of the top 12 and 9 of 13-22 managed to have some great crowd pleasing moments with music that could be regarded as popular, and for those that did not have popular music in their shows, you did have wow moments, at least for me, so this is more programming advice and not a slam on the current state of drum corps. I think that you have hit upon something here. In that it appears to be the case that many who are engaging in DCI today are high-brow musical and academic elitists who look down on the 'so-called' low-brow trite music of us troglodytes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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