What is in a Name, Engelbert?
Probably if you are a young adult now that name will not tweak your curiosity. But back in my day Engelbert Humperdinck was was a pop singer of some renown. He and Tom Jones had the women swooning.
Did you know there is another important Engelbert Humperdinck? He was a composer of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. His favourite subject of fairy tales may seem a bit light to us and even his music has the feel of a modern movie soundtrack. I recently listened to a disc while driving and I found myself quite happy at the end of my drive.
In a way it was like "incidental music", seemingly written to accompany an activity that does not focus on it much at all. I found it more like a musical icon, a window. It pulled me right through itself in a very unconscious way bringing me to a place of simple joy without leaving a heavy footprint of itself behind at all.
This is a different kind of musical brilliance. It is self-effacing. It wasn't the most memorable music. It was not trying to be virtuosic, showing off some soloist in the orchestra too much. It was like a tasty, balanced and not over-caloried meal. It simply left a fine sense of contentment.
It was a wonderful discovery and I am certainly going to listen to more of Engelbert Humperdinck!
Did you know there is another important Engelbert Humperdinck? He was a composer of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. His favourite subject of fairy tales may seem a bit light to us and even his music has the feel of a modern movie soundtrack. I recently listened to a disc while driving and I found myself quite happy at the end of my drive.
This is a different kind of musical brilliance. It is self-effacing. It wasn't the most memorable music. It was not trying to be virtuosic, showing off some soloist in the orchestra too much. It was like a tasty, balanced and not over-caloried meal. It simply left a fine sense of contentment.It was a wonderful discovery and I am certainly going to listen to more of Engelbert Humperdinck!
