DOCSLIB.ORG

Barry the One-Armed Pianist 6’49 Over Centuries

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Barry the One-Armed Pianist 6’49 Over Centuries 2 OBJECTS AT AN EXHIBITION INTRODUCTION TO OBJECTS AT AN EXHIBITION Every musical instrument is, in a sense, ‘Objects at an Exhibition’ may be heard Aurora Orchestra • Nicholas Collon conductor a machine. But, in science museums as a commentary on our technological they are machines of unusual interest civilisation and culture. It was important and potency for visitors, because music for the project that each of the selected 1 Thea Musgrave Power Play 6’35 is a key site for the interaction between composers would have the opportunity 2 Christopher Mayo Supermarine 12’08 science, technology and culture. to pick-out from the Museum’s hundreds 3 Claudia Molitor 2TwoLO 11’42 Music, if you like, provides a perfect of thousands of objects one that held a exemplifi cation of how technology and particular resonance for them. Most of 4 David Sawer Coachman Chronos 9’14 the arts have developed hand in hand these commissions started with an open- 5 Gerald Barry The One-Armed Pianist 6’49 over centuries. There are whole varieties ended bespoke tour for the composers 6 Barry Guy “Mr Babbage is Coming to Dinner!” 9’10 of music that could not exist without of the Museum’s spaces, when it was certain technological developments, an possible in a spatial dialogue to unite Total 55’43 observation that not only applies in the each composer with the object that more obvious case of genres dependent would become the particular subject of on modern electronics, but also with their composition. Aurora Orchestra older machines such as the tenor This project has been, from the start, an saxophone or the overstrung piano. Jane Mitchell fl ute Florence Cooke violin • sampler equal creative partnership between the Thomas Barber oboe • cor anglais Sarah-Jane Bradley viola In the ‘Objects at an Exhibition’ project, Science Museum, NMC Recordings and Tom Lessels clarinet • bass clarinet • sampler Nathaniel Boyd cello we have set out to represent that core Aurora Orchestra. The compositions by interaction between technological Gerald Barry, Barry Guy, Christopher Adam MacKenzie bassoon • contrabassoon David Lale cello capability and artistic possibility, but with Mayo, Claudia Molitor, Thea Musgrave Stephen Stirling horn • sampler Clare O’Connell cello an additional resonance. Each of the and David Sawer – with their diverse Simon Cox trumpet • cornet • fl ugelhorn Ben Griffi ths double bass pieces was commissioned as an artist’s approaches, techniques and styles Peter Moore trombone • sampler Ian Dearden live electronics response to a particular (non-musical) – offer new and interactive listening John Reid keyboard machine in the Science Museum’s experiences to Museum visitors, Aurora Scott Lumsdaine percussion collections or to the grandeur of our audiences and NMC listeners alike. Alexandra Wood violin Nicholas Collon conductor public galleries. The result is that, in total, Barry Guy’s extraordinary graphic score 2 3 (reproduced on the back page of this move and deepen engagement with NOTES FROM THE COMPOSERS booklet) is based on Charles Babbage’s our collections and spaces. For all of difference engine workings. Claudia’s us – Museum, NMC and Aurora – this ‘non-music’ is inspired by the BBC is a collaboration that has the potential Thea Musgrave faster moving 2LO transmitter and the idea that music to change how people think about both Power Play machines with ‘busy’ was originally prohibited on BBC radio. technology and contemporary music. for fl ute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, movement in more middle horn, trumpet, keyboard, violin, viola and cello range pitches. This leads to Gerald’s piece responds to a modest Dr Tim Boon , Head of Research & the third slow section of higher and extraordinary object: a prosthetic Public History, The Science Museum, The overwhelming sense of man-made arm specially made more than a century pitches where an anchoring London energy one feels upon entering the ago for a pianist who played, wearing it, cluster chord (built from notes of an Energy Hall prevents one from seeing at the Royal Albert Hall. Chris’s work is octatonic scale) tethers fl ights of fancy – and hearing – at fi rst glance the inspired by a slate statue of aeronautical This project presents six new works, by fl ute and violin – suggestive of the commissioned by NMC Recordings, exploring the differences between the various engineer R. J. Mitchell in our Flight fi ner things of delicacy and beauty that Science Museum’s world-renowned collection. ingenious machines. Further study Gallery, where signifi cant aircraft crowd The works were premiered in 2015 by Aurora can be made from these mechanized reveals each machine to have its own the ceiling. Refl ecting on a world where Orchestra in a unique walk-through concert at inventions. The fourth and fi nal section there’s an increasing emphasis on the Museum, in the presence of the object or genius, its own mechanisms and its own is a climactic coda of the summation of speed, David has chosen the mail coach space that inspired its composition. The three sounds. the three previous independent parts, partners also ran an education project with Aurora in the Making the Modern World gallery musicians, encouraging school children to explore I have chosen to focus the working together now to form the impact to ‘seek clarity in time standing still’. Thea curriculum science topics through composition. four different sections of composite energy housed in the Hall. has expressed great enthusiasm for nmcrec.co.uk/objects of my piece in the © 2015 Thea Musgrave the spatial volume and potential of the following way: starting Museum’s three-storey high Energy Hall with low pitches led with its C18th-C19th steam engines. Christopher Mayo by trumpet and horn, Supermarine She says “I am thinking generally of the fi rst section for cello, double bass and four samplers the wonders of discovery, with soloists illustrates the slow- ‘taking off’ with fl ights of fancy”. moving but powerful In the Flight Gallery at the Science For us at the Museum, music has the turning of a large Museum, dwarfed by the scale of the power to enhance deeply the variety wheel. This merges into many full-sized planes hanging from of what we can offer our visitors; the second section where the ceiling above and the vast wall of emotionally it has the potential to the oboe and woodwinds illustrate airplane engines, a life-sized statue of a 4 5 lone fi gure stares out of a display case. and in 1942 The First of the Few was the mythologizing aspects of the working – hence it has to be words The statue, made from over 400,000 released, a biographical fi lm starring Leslie Howard fi lm and the conspiracy rather than music as that would interfere pieces of Welsh slate, carefully stacked, Leslie Howard as R. J. Mitchell. The fi lm theories surrounding the attack on too much with compositional thoughts. depicts the British aeronautical engineer told the story of the Spitfi re’s BOAC Flight 777. The fi rst BBC radio transmitter called R. J. Mitchell. Mitchell, a prolifi c designer, development and Mitchell’s illness and © Christopher Mayo 2015 2LO, is an impressive object to look at. worked for Supermarine Aviation Works death and served to further mythologize But it also has a melancholic quality. for whom he designed the Sea Eagle, both the plane and its designer in the Here it sits, beautifully preserved in the Sea King, the Walrus, the Stranraer eyes of the public. Claudia Molitor its glass vitrine, completely silenced, and a series of racing aircraft including 2TwoLO Leslie Howard was killed less than a stripped of its main purpose of the Supermarine S.6B, winner of the for clarinet, horn, trombone, cello, year after the fi lm’s release when BOAC transmitting sound. It feels a little like Schneider Trophy in 1931 and one-time double bass and electronics Flight 777 from Lisbon to Bristol was looking at an exhibited Stradivari violin, holder of the world air speed record shot down by eight German Junkers Ju When I was approached to take part too precious to play, yet it is in its sound (The Supermarine S.6B is also 88 fi ghters. The attack on Flight 777 in this wonderful project the fi rst that the violin’s beauty lies. on display in the Science question was which object to base the prompted numerous conspiracy theories Museum’s Flight Gallery). composition around. This is not an easy surrounding Howard, most suggesting decision to make, particularly in a space Mitchell was most famous, that he was a spy on a secret mission stuffed with so many intriguing however, for designing the to liaise with Francisco Franco on objects that allow the imagination Supermarine Spitfi re, the behalf of Churchill. However, it was also to go wild! But when Tim Boon innovative and revolutionary suggested that, due to the fi lm, German mentioned that the fi rst BBC fi ghter aircraft which played agents had mistaken Howard for R. J. radio transmitter would soon be such a prominent role in the Mitchell himself and had ordered the displayed in the new Communication Battle of Britain. He did not live plane shot down to eliminate him. Hall the decision was made for me. to see the Spitfi re play its Supermarine is written for cello, double As a composer I spend a lot of key war-time role; dying of bass and four keyboards controlling time working in my studio whilst cancer in 1937, aged 42. software samplers. The samples used BBC Radio 4 chatters in the The Spitfi re achieved were created from audio rec ordings background.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Issam Kourbaj 'Imploded, Burnt, Turned to Ash' Performance
    Press Release Issam Kourbaj Imploded, burnt, turned to ash, 2021 Howard Theatre, Downing College, Cambridge Live-streamed drawing and sound performance in collaboration with composer Richard Causton and soprano Jessica Summers Issam Kourbaj, Burning, 2020 15 March 2021, 5pm This performance by the Syrian-born and Cambridge- I will then burn the final drawing and place the based artist Issam Kourbaj marks the tenth anniversary remaining ash in a glass box. This will be exhibited in of the Syrian uprising – a crisis that resulted in violent a sacred space to memorialise every victim of the last armed conflict and ongoing civil war. Kourbaj’s decade, while also being dedicated to all Syrians lost, performance will take place on the 15 March, the first displaced and still suffering from this ongoing crisis. day of the unrest a decade ago. The artist describes his project in his own words below: Towards the end of the performance, the viewer will hear words written by myself, set to music by renowned To mark the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, composer Richard Causton (Faculty of Music, University which was sparked by teenage graffiti in March 2011, of Cambridge) and sung by soprano Jessica Summers. this drawing performance will pay homage to those young people who dared to speak their mind, the masses Issam Kourbaj who protested publicly, as well as the many Syrian eyes that were, in the last ten years, burnt and brutally closed This project is a collaboration between the artist, forever. Kettle’s Yard, The Heong Gallery and The Fitzwilliam Museum (all part of the University of Cambridge).
    [Show full text]
  • A Rattle of Pebbles
    A Rattle of Pebbles: The First World War Diaries of Two Canadian Airmen Brereton Greenhous Un crépitement de galets: Les journaux de deux aviateurs canadiens de la première guerre mondiale Cover The cover illustration reproduces a pen and ink sketch, “Personality Counts In The Air”, by Frederick Horsman Varley (1881-1969), a founding member of Canada’s Group of Seven. This sketch was one of a series drawn in 1917 for re- cruiting posters and advertisements issued by RFC Canada — The Royal Flying Corps training organization set up in Canada to provide pilots for the war in Europe. (Courtesy Canadian War Museum) Couverture L’illustration reproduite en couverture est une esquisse plume et encre intitulée “Personality Counts In The Air”, de Frederick Horsman Varley (1881-1969), un des membres fondateurs du Groupe des Sept du Canada. Elle fait partie d’une série de dessins préparés en 1917 pour la conception d’affiches et d’annonces visant le recrutement pour la RFC Canada, organisme du Royal Flying Corps créé, au Canada, pour l’entraînement de pilots devant servir en Europe. (Courtoisie de Musée de Guerre canadien) DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE MINISTÈRE DE LA DÉFENSE NATIONALE DIRECTORATE OF HISTORY SERVICE HISTORIQUE Monograph No. 4 Monographie No. 4 Monograph/Monographie No. 1: F.J. Hatch, Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945 Le Canada, aérodrome de la démocratie: Le plan d’entraînement aérien du Commonwealth britannique 1939-1945 Monograph/Monographie No. 2: O.A. Cooke, The Canadian Military Experience 1867-1983: A Bibliography Bibliographie de la vie militaire au Canada 1867-1983 Monograph/Monographie No.
    [Show full text]
  • London Sinfonietta Nicholas Kok, Direttore Jane Manning, Soprano Kelvin Thomas, Baritono
    domenica 10 settembre 2006 ore 21 Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi PETER MAXWELL DAVIES London Sinfonietta Nicholas Kok, direttore Jane Manning, soprano Kelvin Thomas, baritono Peter Maxwell Davies (1934) Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot per soprano e ensemble Eight Songs for a Mad King per voce maschile e ensemble Nicholas Kok, direttore Jane Manning, soprano Kelvin Thomas, baritono London Sinfonietta Sebastian Bell flauto, ottavino, flauto contralto Timothy Lines clarinetto Rebecca Hirsch violino Timothy Gill violoncello Clive Williamson pianoforte, giocattoli, clavicembalo Richard Benjafield percussioni Sarah Holmes concert manager Patricia Mayes personnel manager Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot 1. Prelude Your Excellency, Your Honour, Your Worship, ladies and gentlemen, people of Sydney, most of all the deserving poor, Miss Donnithorne begs the favour of your presence at her nuptial feast and ball. May it choke you one and all. 2. Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot Green mooned the white lady of silvered Sydney town – O, stately as a candle-end, all in her winding-gown; apple-pale and like a spider’s egg her dainty muslin face and her moonstones new polished with a moon-clout of lace. She wept like a xylophone, she laughed like a tree. “Alack and alas,” she said, “who would not change with me? To have to herself alone such a fine tower of cake where the seaweed does intertwine with the precious coral snake”. She danced like a candle. “Ah, who would not be me? To keep her bed all day, embowered in a tree that springs from the cellars, all flushed with wedding wine and drops its white dew on me, at dawn when I dine”.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Mackay - 9781526137425 Downloaded from Manchesterhive.Com at 09/24/2021 07:30:30PM Via Free Access HALF the BATTLE
    Robert Mackay - 9781526137425 Downloaded from manchesterhive.com at 09/24/2021 07:30:30PM via free access HALF THE BATTLE Robert Mackay - 9781526137425 Downloaded from manchesterhive.com at 09/24/2021 07:30:30PM via free access prelim.p65 1 16/09/02, 09:21 Robert Mackay - 9781526137425 Downloaded from manchesterhive.com at 09/24/2021 07:30:30PM via free access prelim.p65 2 16/09/02, 09:21 HALF THE BATTLE Civilian morale in Britain during the Second World War ROBERT MACKAY Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave Robert Mackay - 9781526137425 Downloaded from manchesterhive.com at 09/24/2021 07:30:30PM via free access prelim.p65 3 16/09/02, 09:21 Copyright © Robert Mackay 2002 The right of Robert Mackay to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Distributed exclusively in Canada by UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 5893 7 hardback 0 7190 5894 5 paperback First published 2002 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset by Freelance Publishing Services, Brinscall, Lancs.
    [Show full text]
  • Elgar/Payne Symphony No3. an Introduction by Anthony Payne
    Elgar/Payne Symphony No3. An Introduction by Anthony Payne I first came across the sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony at the end of W H Reed's book Elgar as I Knew Him. The majority of the most important pages are reproduced there in facsimile and I was immediately fascinated by the power and vitality of the music. It simply leapt from the page, and although most of the sketches were in short score, with only a few instrumental indications, I immediately began to hear orchestral sounds in my head. I knew that on his deathbed Elgar had placed an embargo on attempts to complete the work, on what he called "tinkering" with it; but I felt this could not prevent me from musing over the sketches in the privacy of my room, and I used to follow them through, aided by Reed's account of how he played them on his violin with Elgar at the piano. It was music that seemed to me to show Elgar in inspirational flight, and it gave the lie to received opinion that he had become a spent force after the death of his wife. The history of the Symphony has been well documented, but it is worth repeating the basic facts. Elgar's old friend George Bernard Shaw had often badgered the composer about producing a third symphony, and early in 1932 he renewed his attack, suggesting that the BBC might be persuaded to commission it. This time Elgar half rose to the bait. He had recently orchestrated Chopin's Funeral March, and when he was asked by a critic if the rest of Chopin's sonata could be orchestrated to make a symphony, he replied that he would sooner write one of his own.
    [Show full text]
  • 583 Jane's Minstrels
    Page 1 My Own Country Soprano JANE MANNING JANE'S MINSTRELS conductor ROGER MONTGOMERY Songs and Music by Roger Quilter, Peter Warlock Frank Bridge, Ethel Smyth Page 2 Page 3 best, his style is finely balanced between light ballad more surprising for being the work of a woman in the My Own Country and art song, and Warlock, notably, acknowledged his male-dominated musical scene of her time, it has been debt to this kind of utterance, as did a number of Smyth's misfortune that her larger than life English song composers of the time, laced as it is with personality, splendidly represented in her extensive a French harmonic poise. Unlike Bridge, however, autobiographical writings, and her leading role in the Jane Manning ~ soprano Quilter hardly developed in manner or substance suffragette movement, have continued to divert throughout his long composing life, although , with his attention from the music. Susanne Stanzeleit ~ violin I Three Pastoral Songs of 1920, he proved still capable Marina Gillam ~ violin II of investing the well-tried style with a fresh impulse. To the unprejudiced ear, this undervaluing of Dorothea Vogel ~ viola Smyth's music may well seem incomprehensible, Adrian Bradbury ~ cello Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) belonged to a rather especially when becoming acquainted with her Four different musical world. Although still productive Songs for Voice, Flute, Harp, String Trio and Dominic Saunders ~ piano during the 1920s, she reached her seventieth year Percussion, composed in 1907. By this time, a certain Robert Manasse ~ flute before the end of the decade, at which point increasing Gallic grace had been incorporated into Smyth's Emily Pailthorpe ~ oboe/cor anglais deafness brought her composing to an end.
    [Show full text]
  • Chamber Arrangement by Anthony Payne Royal
    Bruckner: Symphonie Nº. 2 Trevor Pinnock CHAMBER ARR ANGEMENT BY ANTHONY PAYNE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC SOLOISTS ENSEMBLE Bruckner: Symphonie Nº. 2 Trevor Pinnock CHAMBER ARR ANGEMENT BY ANTHONY PAYNE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC SOLOISTS ENSEMBLE Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) Symphonie No. 2 in C minor (Arr. Anthony Payne) q Moderato.......................................................................... 17:45 w Andante............................................................................ 14:27 e Scherzo: Mässig schnell..................................................... 6:09 r Finale: Mehr schnell...........................................................16:10 Johann Strauss II (1825 – 1899) t Wein, Weib und Gesang, Opus 333 (Arr. Alban Berg).......... 10:55 Total Time: 65:39 Recorded at St George’s, Bristol, UK March 2013 Produced by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood | Engineered by Philip Hobbs Post-production by Julia Thomas | Design by gmtoucari.com Photos by Hana Zushi, Royal Academy of Music Cover Image Improvisation 9, 1910 (detail) by Wassily Kandinsky ©ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2014 Trevor Pinnock Conductor Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble Violin Oboe Trombone Eloisa-Fleur Thom Eleanor Tinlin Ashley Harper Julia Pusker Viola Clarinet Timpani Ricardo Gaspar Matthew Scott Fergus Brennan Richard Waters Michael Pearce Cello Bassoon Piano Pei-Jee Ng Natalie Watson Chad Kelly Bernadette Childs Bass Horn Harmonium Andrei Mihailescu Anna Douglass Alexander Binns Carys Evans Rebecca Alexander Flute Trumpet Emma Halnan Darren Moore 4 A New Essence for Bruckner Arnold Schoenberg founded his Society for Private Musical Performance in 1918 as a reaction against the commercialisation of music in post-war Vienna. Restoring music’s value by turning inwards and closing ranks may seem strange to us in an age when the constant accessibility of music has become a cultural assumption, yet Schoenberg believed that elevating the currency, purity of expression and mystique of music inevitably meant a degree of exclusivity.
    [Show full text]
  • Oral History Recordings Index New Forest Remembers: Untold Stories of WWII
    Oral History Recordings Index New Forest Remembers: untold stories of WWII First Name Sec Surname Name Original File File Name (M0) MP3 File Folder Interviewer Date Signed Restrictions Topics Key words Notes Transcriber Transcribe Checked Transcri Archive Editor Public Edited Portal URL Article Name Biography Name Code Name .WAV Format Duration mame Recorded Release d ptions d Uploade d ANO 1 ANO001_0001M0 Yes 00:18:35 David Larder 015 06/02/2013 08/02/2013 ANONYMISE Key Words Krystyna 12/02/2013 02/07/2014 ANO001 recalls her summer visits as a child to East Boldre. Her Mother who came from the East Boldre area had East Boldre Truscoe a holiday home that they frequented during weekends and summer holidays away from Epsom, Surrey. She also ANO001 Shops spent a few weeks at Woodfalls near Salisbury on a cousin’s farm at the start of the war. Fuel rationing Outbreak of War Two shops in East Boldre are mentioned – Symes (A general store which sold sweets) and Mathews Bakery. At the US Army outbreak of War ANO001 remembers her father burying fuel cans in the gardens at Epsom and East Boldre for D-Day use in their car. Bomb shelters, RAF Beaulieu, and rationing are briefly mentioned. Steve Antczak S-A S-A015_0111 S-A015_0001M0 Yes 00:09:28 OH Master David Larder 015 11/12/2013 11-12-113 None Hamburg,Lymington Germany, Americans, England, tailor, Gustrow, John Martin 23/02/2014 02/07/2014 Steve was born in the New Forest but his father was born in Germany and known locally as ‘Klaus’.
    [Show full text]
  • Biplanes and Bombsights: British Bombing in Word War I
    Biplanes and Bombsights British Bombing in World War I George K. WMiams Air University Press Maxell Air Force Base, Alabama May 1999 Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data Williams. George Kent, 1944- Biplanes and bombsights : British Bombing in World War I / George Kent Williams. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ' 1. World War, 1914-1918-Aerial operations, British. 2. Bombers-Great Britain. I. ' Title. D602.W48 1999 940 .4'4941-dc21 ~9-26205 CIP Disclaimer opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressedor implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release : distribution unlimited. e il Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii FOREWORD . v ABOUT THE AUTHOR . vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . .. ' , ix INTRODUCTION . : . 1 - NO. 3 WING ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE (JULY 1916-MAY 1917) . .. ... 30f Notes . 2 BRITISH BOMBING BEGINS . 35 Notes . .. 67 3 41ST WING ROYAL FLYING CORPS (JUNE 1917-JANUARY 1918) . 73 Notes . .. 125 4 . EIGHTH BRIGADE AND INDEPENDENT FORCE (FEBRUARY-NOVEMBER 1918) . 133 Notes . 180 5 EIGHTH BRIGADE AND INDEPENDENT FORCE OPERATIONS . 189 Notes . 231 6 POSTWAR ASSESSMENTS . 239 Notes . 264 APPENDIX . 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 289 INDEX . 299 iii Illustrations Table Page 1 'Battle Casualties, Night Squadrons, June-November 1918 . 210 Photographs Handley Page . 9 DeHavilland 4B . 43 Me . 63 Foreword This study measures wartime claims against actual results of the British bombing campaign against Germany in the Great War. Components of the' Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the Royal Flying Corps (RFC); and the Royal Air Force (RAF) conducted bombing raids between July 1916 and the Armistice.
    [Show full text]
  • The British War Film, 1939-1980: Culture, History, and Genre
    The British War Film, 1939-1980: Culture, History, and Genre by Kevin M. Flanagan B.A., College of William and Mary, 2006 M.A., North Carolina State University, 2009 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2015 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Kevin M. Flanagan It was defended on April 15, 2015 and approved by Colin MacCabe, Distinguished Professor, Department of English Adam Lowenstein, Associate Professor, Department of English David Pettersen, Assistant Professor, Department of French and Italian Dissertation Advisor: Lucy Fischer, Distinguished Professor, Department of English ii Copyright © by Kevin M. Flanagan 2015 iii THE BRITISH WAR FILM, 1939-1980: CULTURE, HISTORY, AND GENRE Kevin M. Flanagan, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2015 This dissertation argues that discussions of war representation that privilege the nationalistic, heroic, and redemptively sacrificial strand of storytelling that dominate popular memory in Britain ignore a whole counter-history of movies that view war as an occasion to critique through devices like humor, irony, and existential alienation. Instead of selling audiences on what Graham Dawson has called “the pleasure culture of war” (a nationally self-serving mode of talking about and profiting from war memory), many texts about war are motivated by other intellectual and ideological factors. Each chapter includes historical context and periodizing arguments about different moments in British cultural history, explores genre trends, and ends with a comparative analysis of representative examples.
    [Show full text]
  • Over 100 Opera Makers
    #OPERAHARMONY CREATING OPERAS IN ISOLATION 1 3 WELCOME TO #OPERA HARMONY FROM FOUNDER – ELLA MARCHMENT Welcome to #OperaHarmony. #Opera Harmony is a collection of opera makers from across the world who, during this time of crisis, formed an online community to create new operas. I started this initiative when the show that I was rehearsing at Dutch National Opera was cancelled because of the lockdown. Using social media and online platforms I invited colleagues worldwide to join me in the immense technical and logistical challenge of creating new works online. I set the themes of ‘distance’ and ‘community’, organised artist teams, and since March have been overseeing the creation of twenty new operas. All the artists involved in #OperaHarmony are highly skilled professionals who typically apply their talents in creating live theatre performances. Through this project, they have had to adapt to working in a new medium, as well as embracing new technologies and novel ways of creating, producing, and sharing work. #OperaHarmony’s goal was to bring people together in ways that were unimaginable prior to Covid-19. Over 100 artists from all the opera disciplines have collaborated to write, stage, record, and produce the new operas. The pieces encapsulate an incredibly dark period for the arts, and they are a symbol of the unstoppable determination, and community that exists to perform and continue to create operatic works. This has been my saving grace throughout lockdown, and it has given all involved a sense of purpose. When we started building these works we had no idea how they would eventually be realised, and it is with great thanks that we acknowledge the support of Opera Vision in helping to both distribute and disseminate these pieces, and also for establishing a means in which audiences can be invited into the heart of the process too .
    [Show full text]
  • Spitfire: a Test Pilots Story Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    SPITFIRE: A TEST PILOTS STORY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Jeffrey Quill | 336 pages | 01 Nov 1998 | Crecy Publishing | 9780947554729 | English | Cheshire, United Kingdom The First Of The Few - Spitfire () This last detail suggests that many location scenes with the three main characters ended up on the cutting-room floor. Posted to a secret forward- recon unit then training nearby at Poole, he had been given leave to star in the film, but was still so impressed by the young pilots that at the end of filming, he paid for a weekend for them all at the Savoy. For the finale, the pilots acted out a dogfight, performing various manoeuvres, including tackling enemy bombers played by a captured Heinkel. All footage had to be shot between combat operations, and some of the pilots you see at the beginning did not live to see themselves on screen. Left: Moyles Court manor outside Ringwood can be seen in the background of some shots. The young airman pictured was a real Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot. On 31st May , Howard and his manager took a commercial flight to Lisbon to attend the film's premiere in Portugal, where it received a best-film medal. He also discussed the possibility of an Anglo-Spanish co-production about Columbus, and flew back June 1st. It broke up in mid-air over the Bay Of Biscay, and everyone aboard was lost. Germany released a statement the shootdown was due to a misidentification. That is, in one fell swoop the Luftwaffe publicly downed the producer, director and star of a current propaganda film promoting British air supremacy.
    [Show full text]