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I wrote this for a very good high school band in 1999. I was asked to write a piece that touched on Newfoundland culture, but I was given great latitude in how I could interpret this. Newfoundland has a rich culture of traditional (i.e. folk) music, which I enjoy, but it's not really part of my heritage, being a CFA (come from away).
I have noticed that they're pretty big on shopping malls here however, which is hardly unique, but they are very much a part of contemporary life, and thus contemporary Newfoundland culture. Are you following my logic so far? Probably best not to try; the upshot is that instead of doing the expected and including some lovely folk tunes, I made this loosely based on a visit to a shopping mall and included the beginning of the justifiably famous and now classic A & W Root Bear theme. Fear not, litigiously-minded friends; I only used four notes, which could well be legal.
So, it's basically about a happy, happy stroll through the mall, beginning in the food court. I like the food court. There is tremendous variety there, and all at such reasonable prices!
This first section ends with a pompous fanfare in the brass that seems to be signalling the iminent arrival of something of importance, but since this is about a visit to the mall, nothing significant actually ensues. Instead, we hear a series of quotations from some of the most famous themes in classical music, treated irreverently, much like fast food or the soundtrack to a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Why? Why not? You can get anything you want at the mall, and... hell, I don't know why I put all those quotations in there. I thought the high school kids would get a kick out of playing them, I guess.
You get extra points if you can name all the classical tunes quoted.
Also, note the amazing clarinet solo in the Gershwin excerpt; the kid was about 15 years old when he played it, and last I heard (®2009) he's doing a doctorate at Juilliard.
Duration: 6:17
Edit: I just changed the title back to its original, which just sounds better to me, and is a reference to a local mall (the "Avalon Mall"). I decided at the last minute to change its title when I submitted it because there were already a couple of "Ratings Picks" with "The Mist..." in the title, and I thought it might be confusing. But the new title, "Shop 'till You Drop," just didn't feel right, so I switched it back. Hope that's okay!
I have noticed that they're pretty big on shopping malls here however, which is hardly unique, but they are very much a part of contemporary life, and thus contemporary Newfoundland culture. Are you following my logic so far? Probably best not to try; the upshot is that instead of doing the expected and including some lovely folk tunes, I made this loosely based on a visit to a shopping mall and included the beginning of the justifiably famous and now classic A & W Root Bear theme. Fear not, litigiously-minded friends; I only used four notes, which could well be legal.
So, it's basically about a happy, happy stroll through the mall, beginning in the food court. I like the food court. There is tremendous variety there, and all at such reasonable prices!
This first section ends with a pompous fanfare in the brass that seems to be signalling the iminent arrival of something of importance, but since this is about a visit to the mall, nothing significant actually ensues. Instead, we hear a series of quotations from some of the most famous themes in classical music, treated irreverently, much like fast food or the soundtrack to a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Why? Why not? You can get anything you want at the mall, and... hell, I don't know why I put all those quotations in there. I thought the high school kids would get a kick out of playing them, I guess.
You get extra points if you can name all the classical tunes quoted.
Also, note the amazing clarinet solo in the Gershwin excerpt; the kid was about 15 years old when he played it, and last I heard (®2009) he's doing a doctorate at Juilliard.
Duration: 6:17
Edit: I just changed the title back to its original, which just sounds better to me, and is a reference to a local mall (the "Avalon Mall"). I decided at the last minute to change its title when I submitted it because there were already a couple of "Ratings Picks" with "The Mist..." in the title, and I thought it might be confusing. But the new title, "Shop 'till You Drop," just didn't feel right, so I switched it back. Hope that's okay!
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Lyrics
Dum dum de dum, then it kind of continues from there.
Scott Carmichael
I heard several of the nods to the famous themes, and some more subtle... the clarinet solo started with a slide through notes that, I didn't even know was possible, at least not that large an interval... the kid must be a monster... There is a humor in your composition that is also evident in so many of your comments... I always see humor as an a hint of intellegence... Anyone that knows you wouldn't even question that at this point...
This is deleightful, and I'll bet they had fun playing it... a very successful composition on many levels, from one of my favorite MJer's, and a composer of note...(no pun) puns are not an indication of intellegence