 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-07-13 13:29
This morning the host of CBC's Music and Company played Chuck Jone's "What's Opera, Doc?". This is a recording of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd's antics along with a generous dose of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries". Before hearing the program this morning I wasn't aware of these cartoons being available in formats other than film. A search of the topic revealed that it's not as obscure as I thought.
This kind of recording would be an excellent boost to our education program. Since the classics were used so extensively in the older cartoons, is it possible to find recordings of these programs? And is there some kind of reference that would list the cartoons according to the classical music they contain?
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2004-07-13 14:07
Some places are selling DVDs of Bugs Bunny shows. I don't know how many are in the set, but I would guess it would be quite a few.
I forget the name, but another great one is the one with the Barber of Seville music, about Bugs Bunny as a barber and Elmer Fudd as his customer.
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"You have to play just right to make dissonant music sound wrong in the right way"
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Author: William
Date: 2004-07-13 14:29
At my old school, our very good and creative (often totally zany) general music and strings teacher, had an entire VHS tape of LoonieTunes (spellings??) cartoons featuring a lot of "good" music. She compliled this tape from various TV offerings and it was always a hit with the middleschoolers. I know that she has the two BB cartoons mentioned above, plus many others.
Of special interest to us clarinetists, didn't Mitchell Laurie do a lot of the awesome clarinet work for the soundtracks in many of these great old toons? It seems to me that he said, when in Madison a few years ago at a (now defunct) clarinet conference, that he was sometimes referred to as the "Bugs Bunny clarinet player".
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-07-13 14:40
Kalmen Opperman told me that the Warner Brothers (Loony Tunes and Merrie Melodies) sound tracks were recorded in New Jersey and that Al Gallodoro played those amazing licks, along with Kal when they needed two clarinets. I can well believe it. Al Gallodoro had the fastest fingers ever -- they moved in a blur, and the notes came out literally too fast to hear. He's still going strong at 91. See http://www.algallodoro.com/index.mv?screen=home.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-07-13 14:47
Our kids were growing up in the 50-60's, so we watched a lot of kids TV. I recall one well, a black ?penguin? hopping along to the Fingal's Cave overture, it broke us up! Many more, how about Fantasia?? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: clarinetwife
Date: 2004-07-13 15:03
Since I am also a pianist, my favorite is probably "Rhapsody Rabbit". One thing about those old cartoons that I have always noticed is that the layers of humor are really quite sophisticated. The adults and the kids literally laugh at different things. That is why those sketches have endured.
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Author: larryb
Date: 2004-07-13 15:25
The looney tunes golden collection contains "Rabbit of Seville" and another selection concerning bugs' antics with a singer trying to practice.
"Rabitt of Seville" is a favorite with my 12 and 5 year-old daughters. They often ask me to play our CD of Barber overture, and then sing along with looney tune lyrics.
To really hook kids on classical music, I highly recommend Ingmar Bergman's version of the Magic Flute - recently re-released on DVD. Aside from being a great film (not just a filmed opera performance), you'll get a real kick out of hearing your 4 year old sing the Queen of the Night's aria.
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Author: William
Date: 2004-07-13 15:31
Ken--thanks for the clarification. But I still recall ML making such a statement at our UW about playing in toons. (?????? in Madison, WI)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-07-13 16:02
Our summer band is currently playing a selection and I believe it's titled "Loony Tunes" (sp). Frankly, I haven't paid that much attention to the title and composer and apologize for the vagueness. Anyway, it ends with that "Wabbit" music to the words "da da da da that's all folks". The use of classical music as background for entertainment even includes my old favorite "The Long Ranger" radio series from the 40s. And, as mentioned, Fantasia is probably the classic example.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-07-13 16:55
Don Poulson - Of course, at the end of "What's Opera, Doc?", Bugs sits up and says to the camera, "This is opera after all. You didn't expect a happy ending, did you?"
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Author: jmsa
Date: 2004-07-13 19:44
I have been playing cartoon themes and music for a while. I especially like the theme to The Little Rascals- Our Gang.
jmsa
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-07-14 02:00
Any arrangements of these for clarinet choir? With contra bass and contra alto available? And a couple of people who double as singers?
We already have Three Blind Mice, Alley Cat and and Syncopated Clock for clarinet choir, I'd love to get some other humourous tunes in the repertoire.
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Author: justwannaplay
Date: 2004-07-14 10:02
If you're interested in the songs that appear in the Looney Tunes cartoons Brenda, there's a book, The Great Looney Tunes Collection (Warner Bros. Publications INC., 1990). Songs like 'My Mama done tol' me', 'We're in the Money', 'Hello! Ma Baby', 'Laugh! Clown! Laugh! (Pagliacci), 'The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down' (Daffy's song), 'My Wild Irish Rose', 'This is It' (Theme from 'The Bugs Bunny Show'), and many more. Some of the songs date back as far as the turn of the last century. Incredibly, my local library was selling this as a discard so I snapped it up - one guy's trash is another's treasure!
I guess you would have to transpose the music -- but what fun it would be to work on and play!
Post Edited (2004-07-14 10:12)
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2004-07-14 17:14
BobD:
We have an arrangement called "Cartoon Carnival." It includes "Merrily We Roll Along, Meet the Flintstones, Jetsons Main Theme, Animaniacs, This is It and The Merry Go Round Broke Down.
Best
Rick
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Author: Camanda
Date: 2004-07-14 23:56
Kill da wab-bit, kill da wab-bit...
Cartoon Network has (or had, I don't remember seeing it on for a while) a show called Toon Heads where they compile cartoons under a similar theme, and they had a music episode once upon a time. I fondly remember the cartoon where Bugs is trying to give a recital and there's a mouse running amok in his piano. His performance of Liszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody is hysterical.
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Author: ken
Date: 2004-07-15 01:48
While we watch and enjoy timeless Looney Tunes classics, I believe it's only fair and proper to give due credit to the genius "Raymond Scott". Clearly, if you know anything of his music you'll agree he was a major American composer whose "accidental musical animations" made indelible contributions to 20th century music. During the late 1930s, Raymond Scott led a modernistic 6-man "Quintette" whose repertoire was a dazzling mix of original melodies, hot jazz, classical motifs and novelty riffs. The group sold millions of records, appeared in films and most trendy tunes (i.e. Powerhouse and Toy Trumpet) were recorded by dozens of famous bands. In the 1940s Scott's melodies were immortalized by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Beginning in 1943, Warner Bros. Music Director Carl Stalling purchased the copyrights to many of Scott's melodies and adapted them in the scores of 100-plus Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Also, in 1943, at CBS, Scott hired the first racially-mixed radio orchestra featuring pianist Mel Powell, drummer Cozy Cole, and Ben Webster on tenor sax. Later still, he composed music for Mary Martin's Broadway musical Lute Song (Broadway's original Peter Pan and mother of actor Larry Hagman) and led the band on TV's long-running "Your Hit Parade".
Scott also earned a reputation as an engineering wizard, forever altering the textures captured on records with imaginative placement of microphones and a sharp ear for sound balancing. In the late 1950s he designed, built and recorded with such original electronic devices as the "Clavivox", polyphonic sequencers and his "instantaneous composition/performance machine," -- the Electronium.
Regrettably, by the early 1960s Scott's music practically disappeared from public view and his recordings went out of print. Except for 1963's "Soothing Sounds for Baby" (a 3-volume series of minimalist electronic lullabies for infants) he released no new recordings. In 1987 Scott suffered several heart attacks and a stroke that left him unable to work or speak. Ironically, Scott never wrote an "intentional" note for a cartoon in his life and passed away in Los Angeles in 1994 at age 85.
I recommend taking a brief trip down memory lane and checking out his website discography, it lists all the cartoons his music appears in. Coincidentally, there's been a resurgence of popularity in his music. Orchestras, jazz and rock ensembles, surf bands, even rap groups are reconfiguring his tunes. Clarinetist Don Byron is recording and performing his music, as is the "Kronos Quartet." In Holland, The Beau Hunks Sextette recorded two entire albums of Scott's Quintette masterpieces and has toured all over Europe. Today, Scott's melodies and orchestration are featured in The Ren & Stimpy Show, Animaniacs and The Simpsons. v/r Ken
http://www.raymondscott.com/
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Author: Mario Poirier
Date: 2004-07-15 02:03
Last week, the National Art Centre Orchestra (in Ottawa) gave a concert of cartoon music with real-time picture projected on screen. I am told by some of my music contacts in the orchestra that this was one of the most difficult gig they had to do for quite a while, even more difficult than ballet as the music is virtuositic most of the time, and must land on its feet at the strangest moment.
They compared this gig to a concert given 1.5 year ago with Doc Severensen. Doc brought his lead trumpet, its rythm section, and proceeded to give us the history of swing with a full symphony in the background. They had only one rehearsal in the afternoon... I even had my teacher standing up playing "Beguine the Begin" with vibrato et all. I understand that the Cartoon gig topped the Doc Severensen one as the most difficult things they had to do lately.
I have been paying more attention to cartoons lately. Tough stuff to play indeed.
Mario Poirier
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-07-15 02:14
Very well said, Ken, what a fine tribute to a "master of ?pop? music" in the mid 1900s, many of us can remember those "good ole Daze ! I have a Beau Hunks CD with Scott prominent, if I can reclaim it from a good friend, I'll report its #s. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2004-07-15 19:11
The clarinet section for:
"Aladdin"
"Beauty and the Beast"
"Pocahontas"
"The Muppets Christmas Carol"
was,
John Moses-first clar.
Mitchell Estrin-second clar.
Virgil Blackwell-bass clar.
They were all full length animated feature films, which are now available in VHS & DVD formats.
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-07-16 22:17
A couple of random related items:
1 - Don Byron also covered some Raymond Scott numbers on his album "Bug Musik" which also includes collections from John Kirby & Duke Ellington. Listen to Chopin adapted as "Charlie's Prelude."
2 - Another album/CD, entitled "Bugs Bunny on Broadway" has the soundtracks to both operas, and possible the one with the singer--which is also included in the "Gold Collection" DVD's. It also has the soundtrack to "Jumpin' Jupiter" which is particularly heavy on Raymond Scott content.
The CD came out of a project in which an orchestra toured the country playing the scores as the cartoons were projected onscreen. A difficult gig to be sure. This gives us a fresh look at some of these scores with more modern, high fidelity recordings.
3 - Carl Stalling (I'm told from album notes) developed the technique of issuing headphones to his musicians which covered one ear, and contained metronome clicks. This helped keep their pace during pieces composed during his early years at Disney and his later years at Warner Brothers, and facilitated those crazy tempo changes. I think I read that the Warner Bros. orchestra had to record an entire cartoon score in one three-hour session.
4 - Another element that I've caught more recently in the Stalling scores are German pop songs from movies which may have been produced for the Germans here in the US. Frujarhsparade, and Ein Freunde, ein Gutter Freunde have appear on a great CD of Bugs Bunny music entitled "The Carl Stalling Project." German folksongs such as Student Einer Reise (from your "Hungry Five in Germany" book) are also often used as cues.
Allen Cole
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Author: Wes
Date: 2004-07-17 20:12
Yes, Mitchell Lurie said about 50 years ago that he ha done a lot of those difficult cartoon parts. Bob Mario, a woodwind repairman, also did some of them. Both are retired, I believe from recording work.
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2004-07-19 02:23
Wes wrote:
> Yes, Mitchell Lurie said about 50 years ago that he ha done a
> lot of those difficult cartoon parts. Bob Mario, a woodwind
> repairman, also did some of them. Both are retired, I believe
> from recording work.
http://www.wolftrap.org/performances/show080604.html
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Author: larryb
Date: 2004-07-19 17:40
Ken Shaw -
speaking of Al Gallodoro, by coincidence I just noticed a photo of him and his clarinet, bass clarinet and alto sax on the front page of the Delaware County (NY) Times, dated July 9. He's performing with a keyboard player at the "Fair-in-the-Square" in Delhi, NY on July 2.
He's looking very fit.
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