QUOTE:
"The history of music, supported by the actual hearing of the master compositions of the different
epochs, is the shortest way to cure you of self-esteem and vanity.”
AUTHOR: Robert Schumann
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“A person may think their art is great until they compare
it with the greatest masters such as Beethoven and Mozart.”
COMPOSER
COPLAND
Long Time Ago
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Carl Davis, conductor
English Chamber Orchestra
Long Time Ago
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Sung by Sherrill Milnes
Long Time Ago
Lyrics
Traditional
On the lake where droop'd the willow
Long time ago,
Where the rock threw back the billow
Brighter than snow.
~~~~~
Dwelt a maid beloved and cherish'd
By high and low,
But with autumn leaf she perished
Long time ago.
~~~~~
Rock and tree and flowing water
Long time ago,
Bird and bee and blossom taught her
Love's spell to know.
~~~~~
While to my fond words she listen'd
Murmuring low,
Tenderly her blue eyes glisten'd
Long time ago.
Long Time Ago
from "Old American Songs"
from "Old American Songs"
 |
| Long Time Ago Genuine African-American Tune |
As stated by the Library of Congress:
"Long Time Ago," also known as "Shinbone Alley,"
is one of the few pieces of published music dating from
before the Civil War that is believed to be a genuine
African American tune. The song, published in 1833,
comes to us filtered through a performance by a white
artist, Thomas ("Daddy") Rice.
 |
| Thomas Dartmouth Rice |
It was offered for sale not as an example of
African American music but as a part of
Rice's repertory. It is, in fact, the standard
picture of Rice in his blackface costume that
stands at the head of the music.
"Long Time Ago" was republished with a different,
sentimental text in 1939 as
 |
| Lyrics by George Pope Morris Composed by Charles E. Horn 1839 |
In this form, in a harmonization
done by Aaron Copland in his Old American Songs
of 1950, it is still widely sung.
LINKS
http://way.net/SoulsOfBlackFolk/14LongTimeAgo.html
http://www.landmarksorchestra.org/tl_files/PDF%20Documents/PDF-documents/Copland_Long_Time_Ago.pdf
http://www.landmarksorchestra.org/tl_files/PDF%20Documents/PDF-documents/Copland_Long_Time_Ago.pdf
I Bought Me a Cat
 |
| The Cat - Bart Van Der Leck |
I Bought Me a Cat
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Sung by Marilyn Horne
I Bought Me a Cat
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Sung by St. Charles Singers
Robert Hanson, Conductor
Elgin Symphony Orchestra
I Bought Me a Cat
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Sung by William Warfield
Aaron Copland, Conductor
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Copland first heard "I Bought Me A Cat,"
a child's a "cumulative" nonsense song,
when it was sung to him by playwright
 |
| Lynn Riggs |
(who learned it during his
boyhood in Oklahoma),
author of Green Grow the Lilacs,
 |
| http://www.facsimiledustjackets.com/pages/books/34123/lynn-riggs/green-grow-the-lilacs |
on which the musical Oklahoma! would be based. Although Copland and Riggs
originally planned to use the tune in Tragic Ground, a large work for musical theater,
the project was abandoned for want of a willing producer; all rejected the story due
to lack of humor. However, I Bought Me a Cat survives as the most memorable and
comedic of the Old American Songs.
The style, like that of “Old MacDonald,” has a verse repeating and adding a new animal
with each iteration (the last “animal” being a wife!). The song affords the soloist the
opportunity of impersonating various animals and the accompaniment simulates
barnyard sounds of the cat, duck, goose, hen, pig, horse and cow.
from Old American Songs, Set 1 (1950)
Text: Traditional
-----------------VERSE 1-----------------
I bought me a CAT,
My cat pleased me,
I fed my cat under yonder tree.
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 2-----------------
I bought me a DUCK,
My duck pleased me.
I fed my duck under yonder tree.
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 3-----------------
I bought me a GOOSE,
My goose pleased me.
I fed my goose under yonder tree.
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My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 4-----------------
I bought me a HEN,
My hen pleased me.
I fed my hen under yonder tree.
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack,’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 5-----------------
I bought me a PIG
My pig pleased me.
I fed my pig under yonder tree.
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack,’
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack,’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 6-----------------
I bought me a HORSE,
My horse pleased me.
I fed my horse under yonder tree.
My horse says, ‘Neigh, neigh.’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack.’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 7-----------------
I bought me a COW,
My cow pleased me.
I fed my cow under yonder tree.
My cow says ‘Moo, moo,’
My horse says, ‘Neigh, neigh,’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My horse says, ‘Neigh, neigh,’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack,’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw,’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
-----------------VERSE 8-----------------
I bought me a WIFE,
My wife pleased me.
I fed my wife under yonder tree.
My wife says, ‘Honey, honey,’
My cow says ‘Moo, moo,’
My cow says ‘Moo, moo,’
My horse says, ‘Neigh, neigh,’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My pig says, ‘Griffey, griffey.’
My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack,’
My goose says, ‘Quaw, quaw.’
My duck says, ‘Quaa, quaa,’
My cat says fiddle eye fee.
----------------------------------
I Bought Me a Cat
from "Old American Songs"
Set 1
Sung by James Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSfX8Pf2da0
I Bought Me a Cat
Traditional Version
Sung by Pete Seeger
http://novellaqalive2.mhhe.com/sites/dl/free/0072307838/66027/Chap_6_Lesson_Plan_Experiencing_Style.doc
