Bring Back the Oldies

[Stu]

Thank you for a wonderful conversation and please keep it up. One argument for looking back at older literature, copyright clearances would surely take less time.

Public Domain material, yes that is much easier. However, the process it takes to gain permission to arrange a copyrighted piece of music written in 1976 and a copyrighted chart written in 2016 is the same process. Just because the music is forty years older does not mean it will be easier to gain permission nor cheaper in cost.

[Jeff Ream]

sometimes you cant improve on a classic. No one has done Malaguean like Madison 88. SCV escaped with Les Miz and App Spring by going in different directions.

sometimes, it's just better to let the legends stay as they are...not imitated

[oldbandguy]

I'm guessing that for the great majority of folks at any given drum corps show the music of Claude T Smith or Francis McBeth, or most composers of "classic" wind literature, would be NEW to them.

[MelloMatt]

To be honest, though, the second least thing I want to hear is *newer* wind band literature.

Mike

There is definitely things that would translate amazingly well that are being written now. I personally will be keeping an eye on SCV this year as "Earth Song" by Ticheli (also previously announced as Sanctuary) will easily be one of the most divine ballads on the field this year, provided JD Shaw continues doing the wonderful work that he is so good at. I though am in the same boat about older band lit though. A lot of that is.. painful to say the least.

[MelloMatt]

Of course, for everyone's Oldie, there is someone even older who wants an even older Oldie.

Where is the weeping and gnashing of teeth for poor Hildegard of Bingen's music?

Also, please? Done well, some of this stuff could be wonderful. I saw Union HS out of Oklahoma do O Frondens Virga as their opener this past year. Mmmm that was fantastic, and to have a corps do that would be amazing.

This

[MikeD]

Boy I MUST be old. The oldest show the OP mentioned was 15 years AFTER I had finished marching.

[IllianaLancerContra]

Genesis just did a full show treatment of Phantom of the Opera in 2015.

Didn't Santa Clara do it in past as well?

[drumcorpsfever]

Oldies are cool if they're presented well. Playing an oldie for oldie sake doesn't cut it in today's drum corps - and I applaud the activity for that. There's a reason why DCI has never been more successful or popular (no, I'm not trying to spur a debate on that topic).

But really, the few top-notch arrangers today (i.e., Michael Klesch, Crown) could do justice to just about anything they touch. I'd put my ticket money on them any day.

But to play the oldies of yesteryear? Please, not at the top of the house!

[jjeffeory]

Well heck, why not Sousa???

Madison already did that one.

[jjeffeory]

sometimes you cant improve on a classic. No one has done Malaguean like Madison 88. SCV escaped with Les Miz and App Spring by going in different directions.

sometimes, it's just better to let the legends stay as they are...not imitated

I like good arranging and good design, Jeff. If it's good, then I like it. I partly agree with you about Legendary music; sometimes you can't improve on a classic.

This year, however, we're going to hear Jesus Christ Superstar, Pines of Rome, Man of La Mancha, YPG, Walking with Heroes, and Madea. I'd say that most of that music is classic material doing extremely well by other corps. I like what I hear so far from the corps today playing that music.

So all the nay sayers complaining about it, you're going to get a dose of classic music arranged for today. You'll probably like it.

No biggie; it's not what is being done, it's HOW it's being done.