Philadelphia Mummers are by no means common knowledge once you venture outside the area. It is, after all, a peculiar custom: a bunch of contractors dressing up in feathers and sequins so that they can strut and play banjoes on Broad Street in freezing temperatures, as they compete against one another for bragging rights in this very Philly New Year’s Day tradition.
What appears to be even less known to Philadelphians is the tradition of Old World mumming, in which amateur performers careen from door to door at Christmas or Midsummer, enacting traditional plays. These mummer’s plays feature fantastic characters such as St. George and the Dragon, Robin Hood, the Turkish Knight and Beelzebub. Typically, at the end of the play, a “doctor” brings a slain character back to life. The actors wear outlandish, often unsettling costumes and masks.
The custom of mumming in Britain dates back to at least the 16th century, though the wider practice appears to be of ancient origin. It was the Swedes who brought it to Philadelphia in the 17th century. Participants aren’t supposed to fire guns in the air anymore, but it still happens. It’s best to stay away from open windows on New Year’s Eve.
Lots of fun stuff about the Philadelphia Mummers here:
Today is the birthday of two notable Philadelphians.
Hershy Kay (1919-1981) is known mainly for his arrangements for George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and for his work on Broadway. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, where Randall Thompson was his composition teacher and Leonard Bernstein a classmate. He started making arrangements to get out of playing the cello in pit bands. Along the way, he taught himself how to orchestrate.
The success of Kay’s orchestrations for Bernstein’s “On the Town” put him much in demand. He would later collaborate with Bernstein on “Peter Pan” and “Candide.” His work as an orchestrator can also be heard in such varied projects as Marc Blitzstein’s “Juno,” Cy Coleman’s “Barnum” and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita.”
For Balanchine he wrote the sub-Copland “Western Symphony” and the splashy “Stars and Stripes Ballet,” after Sousa. He also reconstructed and orchestrated works of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, resulting in the “Grande Tarantelle,” for piano and orchestra, and the ballet “Cakewalk.”
David Amram (b. 1930) has always been equally at home in classical music, jazz, folk and world music. He’s composed over 100 orchestral and chamber works, music for Broadway and film (including scores for “Splendor in the Grass” and “The Manchurian Candidate”), and two operas. He’s also written three books, with a fourth in the works.
He was raised on a farm in Bucks County, where he was introduced to classical, jazz and cantorial music by his father and uncle. He took piano lessons and experimented with instruments of the brass family, finally settling on the French horn. Following a year at Oberlin, he lit out for George Washington University, where he studied history. While there, he performed as an extra hornist with the National Symphony. He also studied privately with two musicians in the orchestra.
Amram became a pioneer of the jazz French horn, as well as the New York Philharmonic’s first composer-in-residence (named in 1966). He’s worked with artists ranging from Dizzy Gillespie to Bob Dylan, from Jack Kerouac to Arthur Miller, from Christopher Plummer to Johnny Depp. He’s a musician without boundaries, who has always been open to new experiences.
Happy Birthday, Hershy Kay and David Amram!
Kay’s arrangement of the “Grande Tarantelle”:
Some of Amram’s music for “The Manchurian Candidate”:
Whenever I interview composer Robert Moran, I’m reminded of Andre Gregory’s description of “the beehive” in “My Dinner with Andre.” Only more ribald.
Anyone who has followed Bob’s career is familiar with his merry prankster ethos. He’s written works for harpsichord and electric frying pan, and any number of performance art pieces, including one which involves people walking around a financial district in giant paper bags. Here it is – like just about everything else, it seems – on YouTube:
“For 39 minutes, 100,000 persons were tripping together.” Groovy.
Bob’s new album, “Game of the Antichrist” is being released this week – just in time for Hallowe’en – on the innova Recordings label. It is the featured work tonight on “The Lost Chord” (more information about that below).
Robert Moran was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1937. He studied composition with Hans Erich Apostel in Vienna, then earned his Masters Degree at Mills College under Darius Milhaud and Luciano Berio.
He himself has taught at a number of institutions, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Portland State University. He’s been composer-in-residence to the city of West Berlin; at the Buffalo, NY, Center for the Performing Arts; and Northwestern University.
Early in his career, he gained notoriety for his compositions on a grand scale, incorporating entire cities (San Francisco; Bethlehem, PA; Graz, Austria; Hartford, CT) – their automobiles, airplanes, skyscrapers, radio and television stations, marching bands, dancers, theatrical groups and tens of thousands of performers.
He collaborated on the opera, “The Juniper Tree,” with Phillip Glass, and has composed many other works for the stage, including “Desert of Roses,” after Beauty and the Beast, for Houston Grand Opera, and “Alice,” after “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” for the Scottish Ballet.
Lest I give you the impression that Bob is all flash and no substance, I assure you he can turn around and write absolutely gorgeous music. Portions of “Desert of Roses” are so beautiful my heart could break. He also composed a lovely piece for youth chorus to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the “Trinity Requiem,” on a commission from Trinity Wall Street, the co-called “Ground Zero” church in lower Manhattan. You can sample that on YouTube, as well.
This deserves to be repertory.
Bob’s works have been performed by the San Francisco Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, The Greater Trenton Symphony, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania Ballet.
“Game of the Antichrist” is a choral/theatrical adaptation of a 12th century mystery play. It’s scored for vocal soloists, chorus, children’s chorus, winds (including recorders), brass, Alphorn, bar piano, synthesizer, harp, organ and percussion. If memory serves, I think there’s even a glass harmonica in there. Oh yeah, and puppets. Giant puppets.
Since the 1980s, Moran has made his home in Philadelphia. We had an opportunity to chat there, at his townhouse, last week, where he filled me in on some of the background to his new piece. Although I’ve edited the conversation to keep it within FCC standards (I hope), Bob still has his moments. You can listen in to his expurgated insights, as Bob is my guest tonight on “The Lost Chord.”
The program is slated to air at 10 ET. Because of the recent schedule change, the show will now repeat during the dinner hour, 6 ET, on Wednesday, smack dab in the middle of our autumn pledge drive! If that doesn’t cost me my job, nothing will. So please be generous with your support on Wednesday. To further scandalize the phone volunteers, you can even say you are pledging in honor of “the Antichrist.”
I’ve been invited to do a live preamble on Wednesday, from 4 to 6, to talk up the show and play some of my “Lost Chord” favorites from years past. Bob has generously signed and contributed ten copies of “Antichrist,” which I’ll be offering as thank you gifts exclusively during those two hours.
You can listen and make your contributions here: http://www.wwfm.org; or call Wednesday, between 4 and 6, at 1-888-232-1212. Thank you for your support!
The Three Stooges made a cameo in my discursive post yesterday. This put me in mind of one of my favorite Stooges shorts, with Larry as a starving violinist who strikes gold when he discovers the secret to Curly’s strength.
