by Peter Cates H.L. Mencken The delightful scoundrel H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) wrote the scholarly and hilarious Treatise on the Gods in 1930 and revised it in 1946. Like so much of Mencken’s writing, it is very biased, scores points both intentionally and unintentionally in spots, reveals blindness in other spots, and was never intended to […]
by Peter Cates Mary McCarthy Novelist Mary McCarthy (1912-1989) summered in Castine for years and received honorary degrees from Colby College, in Waterville, and Bowdoin College, in Brunswick. She possessed a feisty, at times savagely critical brilliance as seen in her novels and essays. I have read two of the novels, 1954’s A Charmed Life […]
by Peter Cates Harry C. Browne A ten-inch acoustically recorded shellac, Columbia A2179, featured singer and banjo player Harry C. Browne (1878-1954) performing Balm of Gilead, while side two contained another banjoist Fred Van Epps (1878-1960) playing Southern Medley, comprised of such quaint tunes as Old Folks at Home, Jordan Is a Hard Road to […]
by Peter Cates Symphony Sounds from the Colby Campus Century Custom Records, once based in Cape Elizabeth, released an LP, Symphony Sounds from the Colby Campus, an anthology of live performances of the Colby Community Symphony Orchestra conducted by its late Music Director Ermanno F. Comparetti during the 1970-1971 seasons. The selections were as follows: […]
by Peter Cates Baritone Oscar Seagle, Soprano Marie Tiffany Baritone Oscar Seagle (1877-1945) was one of the best selling recording stars for Columbia records during the post World War I years of the acoustic era. He recorded two hymns for the label on a 10-inch shellac in 1921 – I Love to Tell the Story […]
by Peter Cates Soundmaps Extended Realities Valeria Zorina, violin and Evgeny Sinaiski, piano Oehms Classics OC 492, CD, recorded May 1-5, 2019, in Madrid, Spain. Although she has not yet set foot in the United States, Moldavian violinist Valeria Zorina has concertized extensively in England and Europe to tremendous and deserved acclaim. The late violinist […]
by Peter Cates Perry Mason Season 4 Season 4 of Perry Mason had a particularly compelling episode, The Case of the Misguided Missile, which was first aired May 6, 1961. It dealt with a missile launch and provided some background footage at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in central California, and now renamed Vandenberg Space Force […]
by Peter Cates How Music Grew in Brooklyn Maurice Edwards; Lanham, Maryland; Scarecrow Press; published 2006; 380 pages. This hefty book of at least 10 pounds could rightfully be considered a coffee table book. A history of the Brooklyn, New York, Philharmonic, it was also a labor of love for its author Maurice Edwards (1922-2020) […]
by Peter Cates Petula Clark I Know a Place Jack and John. Warner Brothers 5612, seven inch 45 vinyl disc, recorded 1965. Now 88, singer Petula Clark achieved fame in England and Europe before hitting paydirt over here. Downtown, This Is My Song, and Don’t Sleep in the Subway are megahits for the best reasons-they […]
by Peter Cates 29 Classics You Should Know Various orchestras; RCA Camden CFL-103, six lps of reissues from Victor 78s. This bargain priced mid-’50s set contained very good performances and, for their day, quite decently recorded sound. The list of orchestras on the record labels contain the actual names for some pieces, and pseudonyms, due […]